Mr. Thomas Brady Interview, Superintendent of Providence, RI Public Schools.

Leading a School Community to Success through Change

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Topic: Leading a School Community to Success through Change

Join us to listen as we interview Mr. Thomas Brady, the superintendent for Providence Public Schools, Providence, RI. What makes us the leaders we are? How do our life experiences surface when we serve as public school superintendents?

These and many other questions are answered in a stirring discussion and retrospect of Mr. Thomas Brady’s current career in public education. Our host Arthur Griffin and Mr. Brady discuss the challenges Mr. Brady has faced in the more than ten years he’s been working in public education, and the intersection and differences among his experiences in Philadelphia and Fairfax, VA.

In a unusual twist, listeners will also discover how Brady’s extensive military career has helped shape and prepare him for the unique challenges he has faced as a public education leader in the current educational climate. From making the tough decisions, to monitoring performance and finding the right management style, this episode provides compelling inspiration, thoughtfulness and support for educational leaders.

Key topics covered include:

• Leadership styles building upon prior life experience (military)
• Building a core curriculum – A school district takes ownership and action
• Change process perspective and strategies
• Parents as partners in the learning process
• Special education needs
• Student achievement
• Tough decisions: Resource allocation
• Race to the Top: RI experience and comments

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Biographical Background:

Mr. Thomas Brady was appointed Superintendent for Providence Public Schools in March 2008. He officially assumed the role of Superintendent on July 14, 2008.

Before that, Brady served as Interim Chief Executive Officer for the School District of Philadelphia, the eighth largest school system in the country. He also served the Philadelphia district as Chief Operating Officer.Brady actually began his affiliation with Fairfax County as a parent leader, serving as President of the Hayfield Secondary School Parent-Teacher-Student Association for four years.

Prior to his nearly 10 years of service in public education administration, Brady had a distinguished 25-year career in the United States Army where he attained the rank of Colonel. He was the commanding officer at Fort Belvoir, Virginia and oversaw a $770 million budget, $660 million payroll, $94 million in contracts, and over 20,000 residents and military personnel.

Brady is a 2004 Fellow of the prestigious Broad Urban Superintendents Academy. The Academy is a rigorous 10-month executive management training program designed to prepare CEOs and senior executives from business, non-profit, military, government and education backgrounds to lead urban public school systems.

Brady holds a Master’s degree in Human Resource Management from Pepperdine University and a Bachelor’s degree in Education and Social Sciences from Niagara University.

Related Web Links:

For more information email us at podcast@districtleaderspodcast.org or phone us at 1-866-435-5337 (toll free) and leave a voice message for our hosts.

Interview with Dr. Judy A. Alston  Author on School Leadership

Cultural Border Crossing and Student Achievement in American Schools

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Topic: Cultural Border Crossing and Student Achievement in American Schools

Dr. Judy A. Alston, co-author of School Leadership and Administration: Important Concepts, Case Studies, & Simulations (McGraw-Hill), discusses hot topics in school leadership with guest host, David Patterson,  in this 49th episode of District Leaders Podcast. The particular focus is about the importance and relevance of border crossings and student achievement in schools.  Join us for a breakthro0ugh discussion about motivation, critical thinking and student achievement for a wide base of students you serve in your schools every day.

• Research about effective schools by applying the concept of cultural border crossing.
• Addressing issues of racism, classism, and sexism,
• Recommendations for how school leadership can help students effectively cross borders and reach the highest possible levels of achievement.

Note: In addition to discussing her book, the interview includes reference to a recent article about border crossing in schools. The reference and abstract are Alston, J.A.(2004).The many faces of American schooling: Effective schools research and border crossing in the 21^st century. American Secondary Education, 32 (9), 79-93.

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Biographical Background

Judy A. Alston, Ph.D. is Director/Professor of the Doctoral Program in Leadership Studies at Ashland University.  She also teaches the following courses:  Leadership Theories, Ethics and Leadership, Issues in Higher Education, and Dissertation Research Design.  Her research foci include Gender and Educational leadership with a focus on Black Female school superintendents; Urban Education and Educational Leadership highlighting administrative reform in urban schools; and Diversity and Educational Leadership exploring how the intersections of class, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual diversity, and ability affect leaders. She is author of numerous articles and book chapters.  She is the author of Multi-leadership in Urban Schools (University Press of America).  Additionally, she is co-author of the 7^th and 8^th editions of the bestselling textbook, School Leadership and Administration: Important Concepts, Case Studies, & Simulations (McGraw Hill).

A native of Charleston, SC, she graduated from Bishop England High School in 1983.  She then matriculated onto Winthrop College where she graduated with a B.A. in English in 1987.  She taught English at Cainhoy High School during the 1987-1988 school year.  She moved onto Brookland-Cayce High School (1988-1993). At that time she also completed a M.Ed. in Secondary English in 1990 and another M.Ed. in Educational Administration in 1992. In 1993, she began the Ph.D. program in Educational Administration at The Pennsylvania State University. She graduated in 1996.

Dr. Alston began her teaching in higher education at the University of Houston (1996-1999). She moved onto Bowling Green State University (OH) (1999-2005) where she was tenured and promoted to Associate Professor in 2003. In 2005, she was appointed Associate Dean and Director of the Center for Education at Widener University in Chester, PA. In 2007, she began teaching in the Doctoral Program at Ashland University as an Associate Professor and in 2008 became the Director of the Doctoral Program in Leadership Studies. She was recently promoted to Full Professor.

Dr. Alston is an active member and leader in the American Educational Research Association (AERA).  Currently she serves of Chair of the Queer Studies SIG. She was recently elected as Chair-elect of the Research Focus on Black Education SIG. She is also an active member of Columbus (OH) Alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Interview with Ms. Eileen Cooper Reed, Cincinnati School Board

The School Board’s Role in Decision Making: Insights from the President

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The School Board’s Role in Decision Making: Insights from the President

Elaine Cooper Reed, Cincinnati School Board President, discusses issues facing public schools today with host Mr. Arthur Griffin. Ms. Reid discusses the challenges she has faced with school funding and downsizing, as well as many other issues. This episode is revealing and helpful as she shares with us many insights she’s garnered over years as a member of the governance team.

District Leaders Podcast is always

Leading Today for Success Tomorrow!

Biographical Background

After practicing clinical social work for several years, Eileen Cooper Reed attended the University of  Cincinnati College of Law, graduating in 1984. Her Administrative Law Team won 1st place in the National Administrative Law Competition. She was awarded the Shmieg-Weil Award for being the Outstanding Moot Court Competitor in 1984.

After Law School, Eileen became a staff attorney for the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati. She served as a Hamilton County Assistant Prosecutor before being tapped as a Juvenile Court Referee. During her stint at Juvenile Court, Eileen spent three years handling truancy cases in Juvenile Court. These cases were heard at the school site and it was there that she developed a thorough understanding of attendance issues in the Cincinnati Public School system.

In 1992, then Mayor Dwight Tillery appointed Eileen to the Mayor’s Commission on Children. While serving on the Commission, she opened and became Director of Children’s Defense Fund in Cincinnati. For the next 11 years, Eileen advocated for children in Cincinnati and eventually, became the Director of the Children’s Defense Fund, Ohio advocating for children across the state. She and her staff documented the needs of Cincinnati and Ohio children in child health, child welfare, early childhood care and education, and K-12 education and used those statistics to propose sound policies to legislators from the local to the federal level.

Eileen was appointed to both the Ohio Department of Education’s Achievement Gap Task Force and the Early Childhood Task Force. While serving on those bodies, she learned about educational issues across the state and noted how Cincinnati did in comparison to other areas of the state. Under former CPS Superintendent Steven Adamowski, Eileen became the only community member of the CPS Redesign Team where she developed a thorough understanding of the CPS method of assessing school and student achievement. During that time, she and her staff at the Children’s Defense Fund were responsible for engaging parents and community in both the academic redesign process and, subsequently, the CPS community learning center and facilities programs.

Having previously served on numerous boards, Eileen currently chairs the SC Ministry Foundation Board of Trustees, is a Director of the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati and is a member of the Xavier University President’s Advisory Council.

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Related Web Links:

• Cincinnati Public Schools web site

• CPS Board President Page (Eileen Cooper Reed)

District Leader’s Podcast is produced and copyrighted by The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2007. All rights reserved.

For more information email us at podcast@districtleaderspodcast.org or phone us at 1-866-435-5337 (toll free) and leave a voice message for our co-hosts.

Interview with Dr. Eugene G. White, Supt. Indianapolis Public Schools

Handling the Tough Decisions: Preserving Student Achievement during Budget Cuts

Handling the Tough Decisions: Preserving Student Achievement during Budget Cuts

Dr. Eugene G.White, Superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) in Indiana discusses difficult choices in district leadership with host Mr. Arthur Griffin. An accomplished author and recipient of 2009 Indiana Superintendent of the Year award (also in 2002). Having experience through the ranks from school principal through medium to large urban districts, he has much to share on leadership and coping with the difficult decisions faced in these roles.

Dr. White has authored two books for school leaders including Leadership Beyond Excuses: The Courage to Hold the Rope.

Specific topics included in this interview with Dr. White:

• Most difficult decisions faced across 30 years of school and district leadership
• Coping with large budget cuts while maintaining educational excellence
• Describing priorities, equity, and negotiation during process of budget cuts
• Effective strategies to promote student achievement
• Role of early childhood education
• Challenges facing district leaders today

District Leaders Podcast is always Leading Today for Success Tomorrow!

Biographical Background

Dr. Eugene G. White was born in Phenix City, AL, to a single 17-year-old mother in December 1947. He was the first person in his family’s history to graduate from high school. He grew up in a time of segregation and Jim Crow practices in Southeast Alabama. In high school, he excelled in football, basketball, and baseball. His mother, grandmother and athletic coaches heavily influenced him. He was a starting member of the 1966 Alabama State Championship Basketball Team and accepted a basketball scholarship to Alabama A&M University. He graduated with academic honors and set career scoring marks at Alabama A&M University.He was a teacher, coach and school administrator in the Fort Wayne Community Schools for 19 years. He was the first African American high school principal in the Fort Wayne Community Schools, where he served as principal of Wayne High School from 1985 to 1990. In 1990 he became the first African American high school principal of North Central High School in Indianapolis, serving until 1992. He was Deputy Superintendent of the Indianapolis Public Schools from July 1992 to January 1994. He served as Superintendent of the Metropolitan School District of Washington Township for 11 years. In 2005, Dr. White was named Superintendent of the state’s largest school district, IPS.

Dr. White has served in a large number of leadership capacities over the years, most recently as President of the American Association for School Administrators in 2006-07.

Dr. White has received a wide variety of honors over his career, including:

• 2002 and 2009 Indiana Superintendent of the Year
• 2007 National Association of Black School Educators (NABSE) Superintendent of the Year
• 2006 Modern Red Schoolhouse Distinguished Service Award
• 2001 Alabama A&M University Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee
• 1997 Indiana Music Educators Association Outstanding Superintendent of the Year
• 1995 Center for Leadership Development Education Award
• 1992 named by Redbook magazine as a “visionary leader” as principal of one of America’s  Best Schools

Dr. White is the author of the book, “Leadership Beyond Excuses: The Courage to Hold the Rope.”  He co-wrote a second book, “Leading Schools of Diversity.”

He received an Ed.D. in Education Administration and Supervision from Ball State University in 1982, an Ed.S. in Superintendency from Ball State University in 1977, an M.S. in School Health from the University of Tennessee in 1971, and a B.S. in Social Studies, Health and Physical Education from Alabama A & M University in 1970.  He is a Life Member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.

Dr. White is married to Jetties White and has two children: Reginald E. White, Dean of Students and Head Girls Basketball Coach, Arsenal Tech High School in IPS, and Kimberly R. White, a teacher and coach at John Marshall Community High School in IPS.

Interview with Mr. Neil Rochelle, Supt. Iroquois Central School District, Western NY.

Handling H1N1: With Your Community, Media, and Social Media

Handling H1N1: With Your Community, The Media, and Social Media

Neil Rochelle, Superintendent of the Iroquois Central School district in Western New York, provides a riveting account the real needs facing district leaders across the USA and globe today regarding community issues such as H1N1. He discusses the topic, the unfolding of the experience in his district in fall 2009 and the strategies he employed, including social media communication. All of these details are included in this interview with District Leaders Podcast host Dr. Kathleen P. King. Bonus topics include social media decisions, relationships with the State Health Department, and what to do when the experts disagree!

Specific topics include the following issues:

• In the fall 2009, when your district had 500 of 3000 students home sick, why and how did you decide not to close the schools?
• How did you seek to control panic in the school community as H1N1 and other disease related issues were threatening to emerge?
• Where can district leaders turn for assistance and guidance?
• How did you use social media to communicate and build support and which ones did you use?
• What do you suggest superintendents do now and if facing the introduction of the flu into their school district populations?

Special features referenced in this interview:

• Read the community letter which Neil posted on the district website’s front page.
• Visit the H1N1 area of the District website Neil and his team created
• Neil’s Superintendent Community Newsletter

MORE RESOURCES

• Flu.gov
• Center for Disease Control (CDC) regarding H1N1

For more information on this subject or to connect with Neil

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Ning (below)

District Leaders Podcast is always Leading Today for Success Tomorrow!

Biographical Background

Currently, Neil Rochelle is Superintendent of Schools of Iroquois Central School District. Previously, he was not only superintendent of schools at Keshequa Central School, but prior to that elementary principal at Keshequa Central School.

Having been a teacher for 13 years, he has now been a superintendent for 10 years. His teaching roots are in special education. He also has a specialty in Traumatic Brain Injury and served as a consultant for the NYS Education Department. Before becoming a superintendent he was a Director of Special Education and an Elementary Principal.

Neil states his goals as a superintendent simply,

My goals are simple. Provide the best leadership I can for students to be successful 21st Century Learners. In the long-term, for students to be prepared for college or post-secondary plans and eventually successful in a competitive, global economy.

Neil was born and riased in New York City. He earned his degrees at State University of New York College at Brockport (CAS, Educational Administration) and State University of New York College at Genesco (MSE, Special Education)

Related Web Links:

• Iroquois School District web site
• Iroquois School District superintendent’s page
• Neil’s Superintendent Community Newsletter
• Virtually Iroquois- Neil’s District Ning
  • http://virtuallyiroquois.ning.com/
• Changing High Schools (Neil’s Blog)
  • http://changinghighschools.blogspot.com/

District Leader’s Podcast is produced and copyrighted by The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2007. All rights reserved.

For more information email us at podcast@districtleaderspodcast.org or phone us at 1-866-435-5337 (toll free) and leave a voice message for our co-hosts.

Interview with Dr. Bruce Cooper, Professor of Educational Leadership, and Policy,  Fordham University.  Solutions for School Finance and Policy Issues

Solutions for School Finance and Policy Issues

Dr. Bruce S. Cooper, Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy,  Fordham University, prolific author, well-known expert in school policy and finance and former President of the Politics of Education Society (PEA) is our guest for this special interview with District Leader’s Podcast joining our guest host Dr. Kathleen P. King.  In the field of educational administration, policy, and finance, Dr. Cooper is a trend setter and prolific author, research and mentor of school leaders and superintendents around the globe. In 2009, he also received the Scribner Award for Mentoring from UCEA. Join us for this vibrant discussion as Cooper and King share how school superintendents strategize to succeed during a time of decreased funding and increased demands.

Specific topics include the following hot topic issues in policy and finance related to stimulus funding:

• How can the stimulus funding money be allocated and distributed equitably to your schools?
• How can superintendents efficiently distribute monies across schools, children and special needs?
• Is there a proven method that will help school leaders?
• Why is school effectiveness demanded, and is there anything new about how it can be measured?

District Leaders Podcast is always Leading Today for Success Tomorrow!

Biographical Background
Bruce S. Cooper, Ph.D. is Professor in the Division of Educational Leadership, Administration, and Policy (ELAP) in the Graduate School of Education at Fordham University. A graduate of the University of Chicago (Ph.D. ’74 and M.S. ’72), Dr. Cooper has done extensive research on school finance, organization, policy, and reform, working at Coopers & Lybrand in the development of the In$ite finance model, with Mayor Guiliani on analysis on school-site funding in NYC public schools, and the decentralization of governance in the nation’s most centralized school system (no local districts, boards, or superintendents).

Drs. Ouchi and Cooper received a $1 million grant to analyze organization and funding in six North American districts (NYC, Chicago, LA, Edmonton, and Houston), looking at the relationship between funding, management, and student achievement. He has served on the editorial boards of The Educational Administration Quarterly, Journal of School Leadership, and Policy and Leadership in Schools. He has authored and coauthored 22 books, and over 275 articles, chapters and papers, and serves these last years as national president of the Politics of Education Association.

Cooper co-edited Better Policies, Better Schools with (Allyn & Bacon, 2004) and Handbook on Education Politics and Politics for Lawrence Erlbaum (Drs. Lance Fusarelli and Jim Cibulka). His newest work is The Rising State: How State Authority is Changing our Schools Albany, NY: SUNY Press with Bonnie Fusarelli (2009).

Other recent books and very relevant include

• Better Policies, Better Schools (2004, Allyn and Bacon) with L.Fusarelli;
• Promises and Perils Facing Today’s School Superintendents (Rowman and Littlefield, 2003) with L.Fusarelli;
• Truancy Revisited (Scarecrow Press, 2003) with R. Guare;
• Optimizing Educational Resources (Greenwood Press, 1999); and
• Career Crisis in the School Superintendency? The Results of a National Survey , with L. Fusarelli, & V. Carella (Arlington, VA: National Association of School Administrators, 2000),
• Home Schooling in Full View (Information Age Publishing, 2006) was one of the first books on this new form of private education.

His consulting has included a national survey for Pres. Nixon for the President’s Commission on School Finance, work with Coopers & Lybrand LLP and SchoolNet, and with Mayor Guiliani in NYC on school finance and student achievement and high school to college transition. He’s currently an expert witness in a NY State equity/adequacy case.

Related Web Links:

• Fordham University, Graduate School of Education
  • http://www.fordham.edu
• UCEA, University Council for Educational Administration
  • http://www.ucea.org/

District Leader’s Podcast is produced and copyrighted by The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2007. All rights reserved.

For more information email us at podcast@districtleaderspodcast.org or phone us at 1-866-435-5337 (toll free) and leave a voice message for our co-hosts.

Interview with Waterbury CT Superintendent
Dr. David Snead
Mobility and Poverty: Urban Education and the Role of the Superintendent

Key Topics include: Leadership | High Stakes Testing | Teacher Training |  Vocational Education | ARCHIVE | Trends in Education | Urban Education |  Making the Tough Decisions |  Improving Student Performance |  Professional Development

Dr. David Snead, Superintendent of the Waterbury (CT) Public Schools, joins host Ed Milliken for an interview which discusses vital topics effecting schools, superintendents, students and society today. They particularly focus this session on the topics of pupil achievement from the perspectives of poverty and mobility. In just one example of the depth and relevance of this interview, Dr. Snead emphasizes and explains how standards level performance is difficult to achieve when students live in an environment of poverty and children and families are very mobile. This school leader calls for curricular consistency as a powerful way enable students to progress in a learning sequence. He also points out that many of these same strategies are available to assist struggling students as they are available to educators and school districts, however additional resources are needed.

Join the District Leader’s Podcast for this 20 minute segment of refreshment and encouragement. Reaching out to superintendents, school leaders and school board members around the world, this series provides support, refreshment, resources, insight and encouragement.

Dr. Snead is optimistic about the future for the next generation of school superintendents and educational leaders. Listen in as we discuss curricular issues, leadership challenges, poverty, racism and teacher professional development within the reality of our schools and society.

Biographical Background

David Snead, Ph.D., is currently the Superintendent of the Waterbury (CT) Public Schools; a position he has held since August, 2000. The district, a department of the City of Waterbury, serves nearly 18,000 students (27% African American, 40% Hispanic, 31% white) with an annual budget of $123.5 million.

After teaching in Detroit, he served as a Detroit high school principal and named Principal of the Year. He became Superintendent of the Detroit Public Schools in 1994, and named Superintendent of the Year in Michigan in 1995. Since his arrival at in Connecticut, the Waterbury Public School district has undergone major changes, including the implementation of K-12 curriculum revisions, the updating of outdated textbooks, the initiation of new staff evaluation procedures, the establishment of diversity training for staff, the opening of a Family Intake Center for new student registrations, among other things. The district has a new inter-district magnet middle / high school for fine and performing arts and created e-mail accounts for all staff along with an extensive web site for parents and the community. Under his leadership, test scores rose significantly across the district. Due to the schools’ scholastic improvement, Waterbury received the “Outstanding Academic Leadership Award” from the Connecticut Association of Urban Superintendents in 2002-03. The district has begun closing the achievement gap between minority and majority students.

On numerous occasions, Dr. Snead has been recognized for his excellence in education. He was named one of the top ten Administrators in the United States by the National Council of School Safety, “School Administrator of the Year” by the Michigan Alliance for Arts Education, “Executive Educator of the Year” by the IBM Corporation and the Executive Educator Journal, and “Michigan Superintendent of the Year” by the Michigan Association of School Administrators. He is also the recipient of the Septima Clark National Education Award from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Related Web Links:

• Waterbury (CT) Public Schools
• Connecticut Association of Urban Superintendents
• National Council of School Safety

District Leader’s Podcast is produced and copyrighted by The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2007-2008. All rights reserved.

For more information email us at podcast@districtleaderspodcast.org or phone us at 1-866-435-5337 (toll free) and leave a voice message for our co-hosts.

Interview with Superintendent of Enlarged City School District of Troy New York, Fadhilika Atiba-Weza
Urban Education: Challenges and Success Strategies

Key Topics include: High Stakes Testing · Career and Technical Education · Leadership · Improving Student Performance · Making the Tough Decisions · Urban Education

This exciting episode of the District Leader’s Podcast features an interview with Superintendent Fadhilika Atiba-Weza and podcast host Ed Milliken. They discuss the great challenges facing superintendents and real strategies for success in serving populations of students with performance disparities. Listen in as this school leader shares insight on balancing the needs for assessment, accountability and evaluation. This exciting discussion also delves into the role of the superintendent in reaching out to the community and parents.

Don’t miss Episode 10 of The District Leader’s Podcast and the chance to join your colleagues as they consider these examples of managing, leading and coping with some of the most critical topics of school leadership.

Biographical Background
Fadhilika Atiba-Weza is the Superintendent of Schools of the Enlarged City School District of Troy, New York. The City of Troy is on New York’s Hudson River, across from Albany, the Capital of the Empire State. Prior to his appointment as superintendent of the Troy schools, Atiba-Weza was the superintendent of Long Island’s Central Islip School District. Like the Troy School District, the Central Islip School District enrolls a diverse population of students.

Atiba-Weza began his educational career as a New York City school teacher. Over his eleven year tenure, he taught social studies, mathematics, and technology courses. Subsequent to his teaching experience, he was appointed as Principal of Western Suffolk County’s (NY) vocational high school.

Related Web Links:

• The Enlarged School District of Troy, New York

TROY CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
A small urban school district with approximately 4,300 students, we have programs housed in nine buildings. Troy has achieved remarkable progress in recent years. Our school improvement efforts have not only raised expectations, but also resulted in measurable changes across the district. The district’s public schools continue to serve as a vital part of the city of Troy’s revitalization. Troy is one of the largest school districts in the Capital Region. The personalized nature of being a small city school district empowers students to excel in an environment that encourages and supports lifelong learning.
(From the School District web site 3/08)

District Leader’s Podcast is produced and copyrighted by The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2007. All rights reserved.

For more information email us at podcast@districtleaderspodcast.org or phone us at 1-866-435-5337 (toll free) and leave a voice message for our co-hosts.

Former Superintendent of Jackson Mississippi Public Schools Dr. Earl Watkins:
Urban Education, Leadership, Student Success: Schools as Transformation Opportunities

Key Topics include: Improving Student Performance · Urban Education · Leadership ·Teacher Training

Dr. Earl Watkins, Superintendent of Jackson Public Schools, Mississippi (2002- Aug. 2008) provides an inspirational interview with host Arthur Griffin. Dr. Watkins addresses issues of the difficult challenges of urban education and shares his vision of schools as an opportunity for student transformation. This podcast illustrates the dynamic relationship and impact which authentic leadership can have on student performance and their schools. Bringing all efforts to bear on this purpose can have dramatic results. Don’t miss this vibrant exchange which provides strategies from his experience for leadership, improved student performance, teacher training and school change.

Join us for this episode of Vision and Action from

the District Leader’s Podcast.

Leading today for success tomorrow.

Biographical Background

Dr. Earl Watkins, Superintendent of Jackson Public Schools, (2002- Aug., 2008) is a native Mississippian. He was raised in the heart of the Delta and attended the public schools in Belzoni. He has degrees from Mississippi Valley State University and Jackson State University.

He brings a wealth of experience to this post. He has served JPS as a teacher, a math curriculum coordinator, an assistant principal, a middle school principal, a high school principal and as executive principal for the Jim Hill feeder pattern. He has also been an adjunct professor at Jackson State University in the Department of Educational Foundations and Leadership since August 2000.

With Dr. Watkins serving as superintendent of Jackson Public Schools June  2002 – August 2008, he became the district’s youngest superintendent in recent history.

In addition to being a dedicated employee of JPS, Dr. Watkins also is active in the community. Besides serving on several boards for educational entities, he has also been vitally involved in his home church, World Overcomers Ministries Church, where he serves as a lay minister and a board member. He and his wife, Cassaundra, have founded an organization called, Up From the Ashes, a faith-based organization (ministry) that was developed to provide services to people who need help in areas such as education, Biblical teaching, and personal development.

Related Web Links:

• Jackson Public Schools
• Jackson State University

District Leader’s Podcast is produced and copyrighted by The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2007-2008. All rights reserved.

For more information email us at podcast@districtleaderspodcast.org or phone us at 1-866-435-5337 (toll free) and leave a voice message for our co-hosts.

Interview with Jericho School District Long Island, NY Superintendent
Henry Grishman
Leadership- Innovative Approaches to Curriculum – The Role of the Superintendent

Key Topics include: Vocational Education · Career and Technical Education · Teacher Training · High Stakes Testing · Leadership ·

Henry (Hank) Grishman, Jericho School District (Long Island, New York) Superintendent of Schools, is interviewed by our podcast co-host Ed Milliken on the subjects of leadership and how to improve student performance. This vital interview emphasizes the achievement focus driving today’s schools, while Hank Grishman recognizes the learning disparities and raises concerns about the performance gap. School leaders around the country are not alone in coping with the variety of issues that arise from the situation. Listen in to this episode of the District Leader’s Podcast to gain support and additional strategies in leading your district and schools. What are the stress on schools and teachers? How can testing, school calendars, teacher professional development, curricula and programs be changed to bear results in this volatile matter?

With the many demands on schools, educational leadership positions are not particularly attractive. These conditions result in fewer career educators aspiring to the position of superintendent. Interesting information revealed in this interview shows that when asked, some of the elementary pupils in the Jericho School District offer their perception on the role of the School Superintendent.

Join us for another episode filled with insights for leadership success!

Biographical Background

Hank Grishman has been a superintendent of schools for 29 years. In 2008, he will celebrate a 30 year longevity anniversary as a New York State school superintendent. For the last 12 years, Hank has been Superintendent of the Jericho School District which has been recognized for its students’ high academic performance.

With his extensive background in educational leadership, Hank serves as the current President of the New York State Council of School Superintendents. Also, he is Vice President of the Nassau County (NY) Council of School Superintendents. An advocate of extra curricular and support programs for students, Hank is a member of the Executive Board of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association and Chairman of the Nassau County Superintendent’s Board for Athletics.

He began his education career as an elementary and middle school mathematics teacher. His first administrative assignment was as an Elementary School Principal in the Yonkers City, NY, School District, where he grew up. In 1978, he received his first appointment as a Superintendent of Schools in the Sharon Springs School District.

His collegiate experience includes an undergraduate degree from Penn State, a master’s degree from William Patterson University, and an educational leadership program at NYU.

Related Web Links:

• Jericho School District Long Island, NY

District Leader’s Podcast is produced and copyrighted by The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2007-2008. All rights reserved.

For more information email us at podcast@districtleaderspodcast.org or phone us at 1-866-435-5337 (toll free) and leave a voice message for our co-hosts.