The Chief Translator at the Cabinet Table One of the most important leadership roles isn’t written into your job description. But it shows up in every board meeting. Every family conversation. Every headline that makes you pause and think, are we ready for this? You are the translator. And right now, in the national conversation…
And why that invisibility is actually a leadership risk Last week was spring break. Which means this week, every system gets tested. Devices reconnect. Passwords are forgotten. Tickets spike. The quiet hum of operations either holds…or it doesn’t. And most senior leaders don’t realize: When everything works, no one notices. When one thing breaks, everyone…
There’s a pattern I’ve watched repeat itself across leadership teams, and I’ve lived it myself more times than I’d like to admit. The calendar fills. The inbox multiplies. The to-do list becomes a moving target. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, the most important work, the thinking, the perspective, the direction-setting, quietly…
There’s a moment every leader recognizes, even if we don’t always name it.A question gets asked. A concern surfaces. A shift is happening. And instead of responding, we pause.We wait for more information.We wait for the right time.We wait until we can say it perfectly.And in that space, we tell ourselves: It’s better to say…
Strong systems do not automatically produce strong public understanding. That’s one of the most counterintuitive leadership lessons I’ve encountered, and one I’ve watched play out in districts across the country. Some of the best-run schools I’ve seen are also some of the least visible. The assumption underneath that invisibility is almost always the same: If…
Each year, EdTech Digest highlights leaders helping shape the future of learning, bringing together voices from schools, research, policy, and the edtech industry. Last week, I was honored to be named one of the Top 100 Influencers in EdTech by EdTech Digest in 2026. It’s one of those recognitions that makes you pause for a…
In K–12 leadership, we work with a lot of vendors. Some are responsive. Some are innovative. Some are persistent. But very few are true partners. And in this moment, the difference matters more than ever. District leaders are navigating AI, cybersecurity, interoperability, enrollment shifts, staffing shortages, board politics, and community trust, often all at once….
There’s a moment I still think about. I was standing in front of our school board. Slides ready. Data polished. Language precise. Huge, impactful initiative ready to share. I said the word interoperability, and I watched the room go still. Not confused. Disconnected. In that moment, I realized something uncomfortable: It wasn’t that they disagreed…
There is a moment in almost every leadership day when you realize: The work itself isn’t the hardest part. The explaining is. And explaining poorly is expensive. I felt this acutely when I discovered one of our coaches had created a “rogue” Facebook page because he was frustrated that practice schedules weren’t getting posted quickly…
Next Friday, I’ll facilitate three AI-focused workshops as part of our district professional development day. We’ve done the technical groundwork and policy work needed to support AI responsibly. The infrastructure is in place. But infrastructure alone doesn’t create change. The tool doesn’t fail. The trust does. That’s the part I’ve been thinking about most as…
