This episode is stacked with tips from the San Antonio Independent School District’s Superintendent, Pedro Martinez’s career leading Chicago’s education system with Arne Duncan, turning education around in Nevada, and now with a community ready for change in one of the fastest growing districts in the country. Take note of Pedro’s advice for strengthening your systems-building muscles, how to balance quick wins with long term planning, and more!

The Leaders' Table

The Leaders' Table: Pedro Martinez, Superintendent of San Antonio Independent School District

It’s no coincidence that Irene Holtzman spends her days advocating for agile school decision making, and her favorite evenings, rocking the dance floor. But being quick on her feet takes a lot of planning. Put your earbuds in and join us as a fly on the wall for Irene’s reflections on her path from 6th-grade teacher to Executive Director of Friends of Choice in Urban Schools (FOCUS). From the tough lessons in her first year leading a team to the importance of mentorship from a leader who she describes as “the baddest of the bad”, this interview have you moving to the rhythm.

The Leaders' Table: Irene Holzman, of Friends of Choice in Urban Schools (FOCUS)

For our milestone 20th episode, we’re excited to share The Leaders’ Table with CEO of New Day New Year and former Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, John Deasy. Deasy is a leader on a mission to kill the school to prison pipeline with lessons to share on keeping calm under pressure. If you’ve listened to other episodes of The Leaders’ Table, you know this episode is packed full of the good stuff!

The Leaders' Table: John Deasy of New Day New Year

What hasn’t Rick Hess done? He’s an educator, political scientist, advocate and author of many books including the recently published Letters to a Young Education Reformer, not mention his role at the American Enterprise Institute. This conversation ranges from evolution and revolution in school systems to how we can move beyond treating the symptoms of struggling schools, to why you usually learn the most from those who disagree with you. But the best part? Rick’s reflections on how to handle the astonishing difficulty of working for change, and how to avoid overwhelm and burnout for a sustainable career. I’d say he should write a book on that, but he already has!

The Leaders' Table: Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute

Thank you for joining The Leaders' Table where we host conversations with education policy changemakers about their professional path, personal insights and the tips, tools and practices that make them successful . Their stories have power for learning, illuminating a career path, and discovering what makes us all better leaders. For more info, visit www.educationalequity.org or email leaderstable@educationalequity.org.

The Leaders' Table Podcast

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