Episodes

Student-Centered Learning, Personalized Instruction, and Life-Ready Competencies

Nov. 22, 2020

“Student-centered learning is a change in mindset to not have the learner become compliant to the system, but to have the system customized to the learner.”

Guest: Superintendent, Brian Troop

Change, Leadership, and Work-Life Balance

Nov. 8, 2020

“We’re changing faster than we’ve ever changed before. The issue is that education is moving at a linear pace but society’s changes are exponential. We need to keep pace to be relevant.”

Guest: PJ Caposey

Transforming Education Systems During Crisis

Oct. 25, 2020

“What opportunities do we have that we can really transform the way we do business? Is every child successful within your system? If not, we really need to think about how we do things differently.”

Guest: Matt Pope

Servant Leadership, Equity, and Student Success

Oct. 18, 2020

"There are many opportunities that are emerging from the pandemic. It’s given us the autonomy to try new things. We can turn this into the biggest positive in the history of education.”

Guest: Superintendent, Brady Cook

Remembering Where the Diamonds Are in Difficult Times with Superintendent, Dr. Yvonne Curtis

Oct. 11, 2020

“Context matters. No matter how much experience you have or how much you’ve learned, how much knowledge, when you come to a new area, you have to spend time listening to the people.”

Guest: Dr. Yvonne Curtis

Superintendent, Paul Marietti

Oct. 3, 2020

“This pandemic, although not the education we want for students, has really forced us to roll up our sleeves and dig into what distance learning is, what it is not, and how to do it well.”

Guest: Superintendent, Paul Marietti

Superintendent, Gustavo Balderas

Sept. 12, 2020

“The system is not working for some kids and it has not worked for some kids and that’s why you need to use the information to ensure that you meet the needs of all kids. And that is something that I will continue to push th…

Guest: Superintendent, Gustavo Balderas

Superintendent, Martha Salazar-Zamora

Sept. 5, 2020

“Remember grace, have patience through this and remember, we all went into education because we love it. And not only love each other but remind our students how much we love them.”

Guest: Superintendent, Martha Salazar-Zamora

Superintendent, Anibal Soler, J.

Aug. 29, 2020

“I’m not a superhero, but you are in this work to try to make a difference for all kids. When you hear about the one kid or the two kids or the five kids – those are the things that keep you up. Have we done everything we co…

Guest: Superintendent, Anibal Soler, J.

Socorro Shiels

Aug. 22, 2020

“We must remain hopeful. Because children look to us, other adults in the community look to us; schools are the bedrock of so many communities. "They are the heart and soul of so many neighborhoods, cities, towns, of places …

Guest: Socorro Shiels

Welcome to Season 2

Aug. 16, 2020

After a two year hiatus, the District Leader Podcast is back to bring you inspiring conversations with school district leaders across the country. The show is hosted by Luis R. Valentino, a career educator whose 30 years of …

Guest: Luis R. Valentino, Ed.D.

Michael Lubelfeld, Ed.D.

Feb. 7, 2017

Unlearning Leader: Leading for Tomorrow’s Schools Today "We have experienced reform movements since the 1940s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, 2010s. Elements of them have been really nice, really successful, or really eff…

Guest: Michael Lubelfeld, Ed.D.

Fred Navarro, Ed.D.

Jan. 31, 2017

"I think that when the system provides support to staff members and they feel they can take risks, they feel they can be rewarded for being creative and for helping one another, for stepping out of the box, and I see that h…

Ricardo Medina

Jan. 24, 2017

"I come from that background as a migrant worker, myself as an English learner, so I had an empathy and an understanding for the struggles that many of the families worked through. And I believe that helped to shape me as a…

Guest: Ricardo Medina

Phil Ertl, EdD

Jan. 17, 2017

"The most important part of education is relationships. Whether it's a teacher-student relationship or the teacher, principal, and so on, without good relationships nothing positive is ever going to happen." - Phil Ert…

Guest: Phil Ertle, Ed.D.

Happy Holidays

Dec. 20, 2016

Hi everyone, and welcome to District Leader. We’re taking a break for the holidays, but will be returning with incredible guests in the new year. In the meantime, I invite you to listen to our past District Leader podcasts…

Randy Ziegenfuss, Ed.D.

Dec. 13, 2016

"How do we create that inspiring vision that will help us break out of that cycle, something that is greater than ourselves, something that can only be achieved by everybody working together." -Randy Ziegenfuss, Ed.D. -R…

Guest: Randy Ziegenfuss, Ed.D.

Hector Montenegro, Ed.D.

Dec. 6, 2016

"...there are these skillset gaps that happen because ...even though they might have been in the system, the system may not have really developed a strategic plan for succession leadership. It's just whose next available o…

Guest: Hector Montenegro, Ed.D.

Cindy Zurchin, Ed.D. (22)

Nov. 29, 2016

"My immediate thought was that nobody was going to die on my watch. I certainly had no plans to die that day, and I didn't have any plans that any of my students were going to be hurt or injured..." - Cindy Zurchin, Ed.D.

Guest: Cindy Zurchin, Ed.D. (22)

Thanksgiving Message

Nov. 23, 2016

Hi everyone, and welcome to District Leader. Thank you for joining us. You know, I had a great conversation with Superintendent Zurchin to share with you this week. But instead, we're taking a hiatus, with the hope that…

Kristan Rodriguez, Ph.D.

Nov. 16, 2016

"...I think it's essential for us at the central office to stay connected to the schools, to stay connected to the kids... to the educators; but also we really are the conduit to the greater community, and we need to be the …

Guest: Kristan Rodriguez, Ph.D.

Guest: Eve Kaltz