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.

Some Questions We Ask:

• Please tell us more about your roles as a superintendent, the districts you oversaw, and your current activities? (1:23)
• Describe how you have gone about building The Network of Distinguished Educators and its work and achievements? (1:56)
• What was your greatest source of fulfillment as a superintendent? (4:11)
• Can you tell us more about your upcoming book? (5:39)
• How did you handle different stressors throughout your career as a superintendent? (9:21)
• What are your observations with regards to the changes in the role of superintendents over the years? (11:50)
• How much do your experiences reflect those of other superintendents across the nation—and do you think you all have had similar experiences in relation to the stressors? (13:26)
• What is the key to bringing people to see your vision as a leader and cultivating communal support? (15:36)
• How have you been able to engage with educators, families, and communities through storytelling and communication? (17:56)
• How can parents and members of the community help our country's school districts more effectively? (20:04)
• Would it be beneficial if community people and parents could comprehend superintendents by placing themselves in their position? (23:09)
• How do you cultivate quality board members? (25:02)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• About Dr. Susan Enfield’s life as a superintendent (1:30)
• Her role in building The Network of Distinguished Educators (2:05)
• Dr. Enfield’s greatest sources of fulfillment as a superintendent (4:15)
• All about her upcoming book (5:56)
• How she handled stressors while in the role of a superintendent (9:28)
• Changes in the role of superintendents throughout the years (12:00)
• Ways in which her own experiences were similar to other superintendents (13:40)
• Key factors in uniting people behind her vision as a leader (15:51)
• Her engagement with educators, families, and communities (18:11)
• How of parents and members of the community can help school districts (20:18)
• Effectively understanding superintendents (23:49)
• Cultivating quality board members (25:37)

Quotes:

“I think we are in a time where we have to find language and causes that bring all of us together around the right things and have conversations around that.”

“The work of serving children is a gift on any day, and you endure those hard days on the job for the sake of the work."

“Leadership is not about self-aggrandizement. Leadership is not about personal, individual accomplishments. Leadership is about service above self.”

Stay in touch with Dr. Susan Enfield:
The Net

Stay in touch with Sarah Williamson:
Free Case Study Guide
SWPR GROUP Website
LinkedIn

Stay in touch with Chad Bolser:
LinkedIn

About "The Secret to Transformational Leadership," which Sarah co-authored with Dr. Quintin Shepherd:
Transformational Leadership Secret website
Purchase the print or ebook

Hello Build Momentum for Education listeners, we're so excited to kick off Season 5 of the Build Momentum for Education Podcast.

This season, we're exploring a particularly unique perspective in K-12, thought leadership, humanizing the role of the superintendent. In this special podcast series, we interview current and former superintendents and researchers to pursue the core question, how can we better see superintendents as real people navigating complex challenges to provide the best possible education for our K-12 students. We dig deeper into how this important work can help build community, invite collaboration and increase widespread engagement.

Episodes will run every other Thursday on Spotify, iTunes or whatever platform you listen to.

Stay in touch with Sarah Williamson:
Free Case Study Guide
SWPR GROUP Website
LinkedIn

Stay in touch with Chad Bolser:
LinkedIn

About "The Secret to Transformational Leadership," which Sarah co-authored with Dr. Quintin Shepherd:
Transformational Leadership Secret website
Purchase the print or ebook

Stay in touch with Sarah Williamson:
Free Case Study Guide
SWPR GROUP Website
LinkedIn

Stay in touch with Chad Bolser:
LinkedIn

About "The Secret to Transformational Leadership," which Sarah co-authored with Dr. Quintin Shepherd:
Transformational Leadership Secret website
Purchase the print or ebook

In this episode of Build Momentum, we are joined by Marina Parr, Director for Workforce System Advancement at Washington’s Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board and Stephanie Davidsmeyer, a Director of Communications for the Washington State Board of Education. Stephanie has 10 years of experience in nonprofit, corporate, and government outreach media relations.

Some Questions I Ask:

• Marina, tell us more about your work and if you have seen a shift in how districts prioritize workforce development. (01:25)
• Stephanie, from the communications perspective, what trends are you seeing in workforce development and advancement? (04:03)
• Have you both seen an increase in public-private partnership when it comes to workforce development in Washington? (08:09)
• How is the ESSER cliff impacting districts in Washington in terms of workforce development? (16:39)
• What are the key takeaways of the Workforce System Poster? (21:20)
• Stephanie, how do you share powerful success stories to the community? (23:51)
• What are you most hopeful about for the future of workforce development? (27:57)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Marina’s work and her view of districts prioritizing workforce development (01:49)
• Stephanie’s perspective on workforce development across Washington state (04:34)
• Marina and Stephanie’s points of view with regards to expansion of workforce development (11:08)
• Impact of the ESSER cliff on workforce development in Washington state (18:32)
• Key takeaways of the Workforce System Poster (21:42)
• How Stephanie tells powerful success stories(24:13)
• Marina’s hopes for the future of workforce development (28:21)

Quotes:

“We know that businesses are busy. Probably the biggest challenge in workforce development is getting businesses to the table, because they're really trying to run their businesses. So you need to make effective use of their time.”

“I've talked to students that are making canoes and then talking with advisors and building reports about how much it would cost to open their own business in boat making. They have all this math and all these figures that go into it. These kids will just blow you away.”

“Our state has had something called industry skill panels that bring together similar businesses so they can discuss common skill gaps, hiring challenges, difficulties that their employees face finding housing and other support. And the interesting thing is that these businesses are typically competitors.”

“Chronic absenteeism is an issue. It really did start with the pandemic [when] kids kind of checked out, and then they never really checked back in. So we have to figure out how to re-engage students and really get them to be present. And we know that populations that have struggled the most had the widest gap.”

Stay in touch with the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board:
Website

Stay in touch with Sarah Williamson:
Free Case Study Guide
SWPR GROUP Website
LinkedIn

Stay in touch with Chad Bolser:
LinkedIn

About "The Secret to Transformational Leadership," which Sarah co-authored with Dr. Quintin Shepherd:
Transformational Leadership Secret website
Purchase the print or ebook