My Values: I lead through the following values and beliefs about public education.
World Class educational experiences and outcomes are fundamental human rights for each and every student. - We are responsible for ensuring these for ALL students. We will know we are successful when every student, staff, and community member is Happy and Proud of their experiences with the Tigard-Tualatin School District.
“Are we really doing what we say we are doing?” - Our programs and initiatives must be implemented at the classroom level in order for students to benefit. I use this simple question everyday as I make sure we are focused on our goals. I also studied the idea of implementation science at the University of Oregon for my doctoral work, please see my dissertation for a more technical approach.
I believe in, empower, and trust our board, faculty, and staff. This belief leads to deep collaboration, greater reciprocal accountability and higher achievement from our team.
Examples of my work: All links are public and can be shared as needed
Reflection on my work: I think that feedback is one of the best ways for everyone on my team to learn and grow. Each year I ask my leadership team to rate me on the same criteria used in my formal evaluation. This link is to a copy of their responses and open ended comments for the current school year.
Superintendent Entry Plan: This is a link to an informed, yet hypothetical outline for my key actions during the first 100 school days in the Tigard - Tualatin School District. While it is conceptually accurate, my engagement with the students, staff, the Board, and the community will certainly impact the details.
Community Leadership: In May of 2024 our community approved a ~$50M Bond Option in our local election. In doing so, they agreed to an approximately $1.20 increase (per $1000 assessed) to their property taxes. The success can only be attributed to a true mobilization of our community. Our engagement efforts drove a ballot return rate approaching 50% with school district families reaching over 60%.
Strategic Planning and Implementation: My experiences have taught me that a strategic plan can be a powerful way to make sure our work represents of the values of a community and district. However, it will only have lasting impact if it is strategically implemented and continuously assessed. The innovative approach of my team was showcased in a podcast produced by Studer Education. I had the privilege of being an exclusive guest on Episode 331, "Plan and Execute for Organizational Excellence," where I shared insights into our implementation process.”
The development of an authentic strategic plan is a vital yet introductory step in achieving organizational excellence. The true benefit comes from the implementation and evaluation. My team uses a scorecard and short cycle of improvement process to make sure we are monitoring the impacts of our actions regularly throughout the year. Here are a few examples from my current team (District Strategic Plan and Scorecard, Example School Scorecard, Example School Action Plan that has been analyzed)
Instructional Leadership: I believe that an important role of the Superintendent as an Instructional Leader is to ensure that everyone in the system has a shared understanding of our collective vision for instruction. One important piece to think about is how to take big ideas in education and make sure they are applied to our local context. In the following examples, the Five Dimensions of Teaching and Learning (Center for Educational Leadership, University of Washington) were used by our instructional leadership teams to create clear Instructional Visions for each of our schools. (Links to the Instructional Visions of the Banks School District). We work to implement those visions through supportive coaching, adult learning, and clear and targeted feedback.
Facilities and Financial Stewardship: Managing the resources of the school district is a complicated and takes the work of our entire team. In addition to our state school funds, the use of general obligation bonds as well as supplemental levies are key tools in that process. For both, the work begins well before an election. It begins with ensuring that students, staff, and community members are Happy and Proud of their experiences with our district. I am currently engaged in a significant Bond effort which is attempting to be the only first ballot approval of a bond measure in our district.
Board Communication: The relationship between the Superintendent and the Board is one of the most rewarding parts of the Superintendent's job. We will be working closely to make sure that we "Are Really Doing What We Say We Are Doing" as we work toward excellent experiences for our student, staff, and community. Our relationship will be based on transparent, authentic, and regular communication. I look forward to working with all of you to work out the details of our meetings, updates, and overall working relationships to best fit with your goals and the goals of the community.
Thank You for the opportunity to meet with you all. I know there are many links here, I am happy to talk through any questions or comments that you have. Please let me know if there is anything further that I can provide.