For many reasons, people may not have access to the local newspaper. To help get the message out there, I’ve copied my responses to their questions below.

What issue is driving you to run for office?

This is the most transformative time for US education in a lifetime. The disruption due to COVIE we have all experienced presents an amazing learning opportunity to examine assumptions about educational policy and to make changes that benefit students and the community for decades to come.

The broad-scale adoption of online learning led us to one of three outcomes. It either worked better than education-as-usual, worse, or about the same.  Every one of those outcomes presents challenges and opportunities.  Maybe we have found a better way to deliver education at scale?  Or perhaps gaps in achievement and equity have widened, and we need to develop tangible strategies to close that gap quickly?

This drives me: the potential to create and shape a better system for our students, families, and community.

What are you learning when you talk to voters?

The voters I have talked to value two things: transparency and consistency.  They want to have access to all the information used to make decisions to understand the logic and rationale behind them. They want people to communicate directly with them, not at them.  The public is capable of handling nuance and the context; let’s share it.

Voters also value consistency, especially in messaging. This has been an extremely confusing time, with mixed messages coming from school leadership.  Rumors and half-truths spread fast through social media, and parents and concerned stakeholders are left with frustration and confusion. Therefore, decisions must be explained in the open and then disseminated in a clear, consistent, and accessible manner.

My buddies at AIR put out this infographic to help parents interpret how college rankings are computed and scored. Check it out at the link below!

Most of my work over the past decade have been around readiness for change. This involves considering the conditions that are needed to put a specific policy, program, or practice into place. Exeter Township is faced with many changes over the coming years. We need to both get ready and then stay ready to implement these changes well. But what does it mean to be ready?

Readiness isn’t one thing. There are actually many different elements that contribute to how successful a new change will be.

General Capacities: These are the conditions that are relevant, no matter what the change is. This includes things like leadership (Dr. Minor, the School Board, the principals), the culture of the school, the flexibility and adaptability to change, how the school finds and uses resources, and many more.

Innovation-Specific Capacities: These are the conditions that are needed for a specific change. Putting into place virtual learning is very different then developing a testing program, or implementing a new math curriculum.

Motivation. Readiness is more than skills; it also involves the psychological commitment and motivation of those putting the change into place. This involves whether the change seems beneficial, whether the change fits, how much of a priority the change is, and many more.

I’ve used this model of readiness in dozens of studies and settings, including a study of school safety in California, and with Haitian immigrants in Atlanta-base churches. What we have learned is that change requires that both the tangible and psychological factors be addressed when implementing a change. That makes it more likely the change will succeed.

There are going to be many changes as Exeter emerges from COVID. The reality is that we’re never going back to the way things were in February 2020. Therefore, we need to ensure that our stakeholders have both the motivation and skills to put and maintain changes that will benefit our students and our community.

The good news! Readiness can built. There is ample research in schools that demonstrate effective ways to support change. My colleague and friend, Gene Hall, an expert on educational leadership, always likes to say, “Change is a process, not an event.” Let’s start the process right and make sure our changes are successful.