'Talking Out of School' podcast: Here comes the 100 Superintendent March

By Micah Ward and Matt Zalaznick
Podcast
March 11, 2024 at 07:00 PM
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A group of superintendents will make their voices heard at the White House and in Congress during next week’s "100 Superintendents March on the Hill." In the latest episode of District Administration’s “Talking Out of School” podcast, we speak with three leaders who are participating about the issues they will raise when they visit the nation’s capital.

Diane Hatchett
“We come together and represent marginalized communities as well as all communities across the U.S.,” Superintendent Diane Hatchett of the Berea Independent School District in Kentucky explains on the podcast. “We voice our concerns, propose solutions and try to brainstorm ideas.”

The march is a collaboration between the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS) and the National Alliance of Black School Educators.

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Don Austin
Some of the major issues that superintendents plan to raise include accountability and testing, third-grade literacy and, adds Superintendent Don Austin of California’s Palo Alto Unified School District, how artificial intelligence can help educators “lessen the cognitive load.”

“It’s not something to be feared or blocked,” says Austin of AI, “but something to be embraced. Let’s work together smartly about how to move forward.”

D. Ray Hill
D. Ray Hill, superintendent of Anniston City Schools in Alabama, hopes to ask for more flexibility in how school districts can use federal funds. For example, districts may not use all of their professional development funds simply because leaders don’t have time to offer that much training.

“There are so many restraints … we have to follow specific guidelines and these are the same guidelines that were in place 30 years ago when I started in education,” Hill notes.

You can listen to this episode anytime on Apple, Spotify, Podbean or by clicking below.


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