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Galvanizing Community Around a Shared Vision | Dr. Sandy Husk, Superintendent Emeritus
In this episode of Build Momentum, we are joined by Dr. Sandy Husk. During her remarkable 48-year career, she has served at every level, from classroom teacher and school counselor to superintendent to interim CEO and executive director for ACSD (the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, a nonprofit with more than 125,000 members in 128 countries). She is currently the advisor to the CEO for MindPrint Learning; a member of the board of directors at Wayfinder and at Abl; and a board member and advisor for Husk Consulting. As a district leader, she has helped prepare students for graduation all across the U.S., including Oregon, Tennessee, and Colorado, learning each state’s idiosyncrasies.
In this episode of Build Momentum, we are joined by Dr. Sandy Husk. During her remarkable 48-year career, she has served at every level, from classroom teacher and school counselor to superintendent to interim CEO and executive director for ACSD (the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, a nonprofit with more than 125,000 members in 128 countries). She is currently the advisor to the CEO for MindPrint Learning; a member of the board of directors at Wayfinder and at Abl; and a board member and advisor for Husk Consulting. As a district leader, she has helped prepare students for graduation all across the U.S., including Oregon, Tennessee, and Colorado, learning each state’s idiosyncrasies.
Some Questions We Ask:
- Tell us more about your career. (01:22)
- What have been the most rewarding aspects of your work in education? (02:47)
- Do you agree with the RAND research showing that superintendents have one of the most stressful jobs in America, and how did you cope with stress in your own career? (04:05)
- How has scrutiny of the superintendency changed over the years? (06:03)
- How did you unify communities to see your vision for the district–especially during times of budget cuts? (06:51)
- How did your experiences compare with other superintendents across the nation? (09:28)
- How are you able to rally people around storytelling and communications opportunities? (11:05)
- What advice can you give to superintendents having difficulties building relationships within a divisive community? (12:21)
- Why is it important for the community to see superintendents as real human beings? (14:53)
- What can community advocates do better in supporting K-12 leaders? (16:25)
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
- About Dr. Husk’s career (01:31)
- Rewarding aspects of her career serving districts in multiple states (03:01)
- Her perspective on stress and coping strategies (04:30)
- Changes in scrutiny of the superintendency (06:12)
- How to promote a unifying vision for a district (07:12)
- Her personal experiences as a superintendent as compared to others (09:45)
- Different ways of rallying a community (11:24)
- Advice for superintendents today (12:29)
- The importance of communities’ viewing superintendents as real human beings (15:03)
- Suggestions on advocating for K-12 leaders (16:46)
Quotes:
“Every employee and every connected leader needs to be working towards the same communications so that you can get that confidence and the belief up. I have said this many, many times: I can get up and make a speech, and a whole bunch of people aren't going to believe it—but if the teacher and the bus driver and the secretary are saying it, now you've got momentum.”
“One thing I learned over the many years is I had to get some rules for myself on work-life balance.”
“You have to keep focusing on the vision. We want to feel good about each other even when we're making really, really tough decisions.”
“What I did with employees … was to try to get them to equate [the cuts] to something that they understand in their household budget. If you were using your savings account to pay for your rent or your mortgage, you're in deep trouble. And when you use your reserves in school districts to pay for your operating costs, it's the same thing. So it takes a lot of communicating, a lot of trying to break it down into terms that you can actually relate to.”
Stay in touch with Dr. Sandy Husk:
LinkedIn
Stay in touch with Sarah Williamson:
Free Case Study Guide
Stay in touch with Chad Bolser:
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About "The Secret to Transformational Leadership," which Sarah co-authored with Dr. Quintin Shepherd:
Transformational Leadership Secret website
In this episode of Build Momentum, we are joined by Dr. Sandy Husk. During her remarkable 48-year career, she has served at every level, from classroom teacher and school counselor to superintendent to interim CEO and executive director for ACSD (the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, a nonprofit with more than 125,000 members in 128 countries). She is currently the advisor to the CEO for MindPrint Learning; a member of the board of directors at Wayfinder and at Abl; and a board member and advisor for Husk Consulting. As a district leader, she has helped prepare students for graduation all across the U.S., including Oregon, Tennessee, and Colorado, learning each state’s idiosyncrasies.
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In this episode of Build Momentum, we are joined by Dr. Adam Clark, Superintendent of Mount Diablo Unified School District in California. He was named as a 2022 Superintendent to Watch by the National School Public Relations Association. Previously, Dr. Clark served as Superintendent for Vallejo City Unified School District and Associate Superintendent at Antioch Unified School District. He has also been a principal at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.
In this episode of Build Momentum, we are joined Dr. Randy Mahlerwein, an Assistant Superintendent in Mesa Public Schools in Arizona. He has been a public educator and leader for the past 24 years and a key contributor for the past four years in his district’s implementation of the Next Education Workforce. He is also an influencer, researcher, and educator. Dr. Mahlerwein is hyper-motivated to change the conditions that influence the environments in which educators and students operate daily.
In this episode of Build Momentum, we are joined by Dr. Susan Enfield, the former superintendent of the Washoe County School District in Nevada. She also spent 10 years as the superintendent of Highline Public Schools in Burien, Washington. Prior to joining Highline in 2012, she had held the positions of Chief Academic Officer and Interim Superintendent at Seattle Public Schools.
