Superintendent Neil Gupta speaks fondly of the “pivotal moment” when his mentor scuttled his plans to hold town hall meetings with teachers when he was a newly hired director in a previous district.

In the latest episode of District Administration‘s “A Good Lesson” podcast, hosted by Amy Dujon, Gupta—now the superintendent of Ohio’s Oakwood City Schools—shares how he erred in asking sixth-grade teachers from 11 elementary schools to attend a meeting at central office rather than visiting them in their classrooms.

He wanted to inform them of the growing district’s plan to expand its middle schools and move sixth graders into those buildings.