In this replay episode of Build Momentum, we are joined by Michael Gonzalez, executive director of the Rural Schools Innovation Zone out of Premont,Texas. He was also a former principal at Premont Collegiate High School. This is the first episode in a four-part series focusing on rural collaboratives that are developing opportunities for students in specialized career pathways.

Some Questions I Ask:

• What is the Rural Schools Innovation Zone? (01:16)
• Please tell us more about the three school corporations involved. (07:06)
• What are the challenges and successes in dealing with the higher education system? (09:27)
• How do you recommend the funding model to other education organizations and districts? (12:58)
• What are the outcomes of the zone and how are you growing this? (16:59)
• How do you address the potential barrier of transportation? (22:01)
• What about other logistics like bell schedules? (24:12)
• What advice can you give to school leaders about starting a real collaborative? (26:08)
• How do you share your story to the community and the whole educational sphere? (27:45)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• All about the Rural Schools Innovation Zone (01:31)
• The participating schools (07:41)
• The successes and challenges in dealing with the higher education system (09:49)
• Recommendations for the funding model (13:10)
• Student outcomes and growth (17:31)
• Ideas for handling transportation (22:10)
• Making the logistics work (24:48)
• Mike’s advice to school leaders looking to start a collaborative (26:17)
• His way of sharing this story to the community (27:59)

Quotes:

“Be a champion for your community. Be a champion for the kids that are there that are underserved for a wide variety of reasons, whether it be resources or parity or scarcity, whatever the right word is. The local champions need to come to the forefront [and] advocate for the right things to do for kids. Start with your local school boards, your principals, your students, your superintendents, and then take it to the next step from there.”

“You can live in your community and take advantage of other resources and other programs away from your community but come back and still have community pride.”

“I’m trying to get to those organizations that reach the older members of the community that don’t have kids in school so they can understand what we’re doing, because they’re the ones going out and voting.”

Stay in touch with Michael:
RSISZ Website
LinkedIn
Email: mgonzalez@thersisz.org
Text: (361)-522-0261

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

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 we have a special group with us from the Sturm Collaboration Campus in Castle Rock, Colorado: Jill Garber, the Director of the CSU Collaboration Campuses; Dr. Stephanie Fuji, the President of Arapahoe Community College; and Danny Winsor, the Assistant Superintendent of Douglas County Schools. We explore the Big Blur and how they have brought individuals, partners, and education institutions together to do what's best for students.

Some Questions I Ask:

• How did the collaborative come together in Castle Rock? (01:19)
• What problems would you like to solve through this partnership — and have you been involved in K-12 public-private partnerships in the past? (03:02)
• Tell us more about the Big Blur. (06:39)
• For Danny: How can K-12 school districts reimagine their collaborations to ensure they provide relevant experiences to students? (11:07)
• For Jill: How do you see the rise of work-based programs at Sturm and what is your advice for higher education institutions implementing them? (16:44)
• What’s next for Sturm? (20:45)
• How do you share your ventures with the community? (28:09)
• What are you most hopeful about for the future of work for our students? (35:15)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• From Jill about the Sturm Collaboration Campus (01:31)
• Danny’s point of view regarding public-private partnerships (03:19)
• Stephanie’s take on the Big Blur (06:54)
• How to ensure school district partnerships provide relevant experiences(11:41)
• Jill’s take on the rise of work-based programs (17:11)
• The future of Sturm (21:30)
• Strategies for sharing their ventures with the community (28:52, 30:41, 32:54)
• Their hopes for the future of work (35:27, 36:07, 38:54)

Quotes:
“If you truly, truly want to blur the lines between K through 12, post-secondary education, and the world of work, you have to have partnerships in which folks are willing to do work that's messy.”

“It's important to seek the input of industry, involve them in the process, and have relationships with them … and to also have wraparound services for students — things like advising, career counseling, and especially transfer admissions. Our internal minutiae can make it weird for students sometimes and impact their success.”


Stay in touch with:
D. Winsor:
Douglas County School District
Dr. Fujii:
Arapahoe Community College
J. Garber:
Colorado State University
Email

Resources Mentioned:
The 74 Million Survey

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 Tim Taylor, who is a co-founder and the president of America Succeeds, a nonprofit organization committed to engaging business leaders in modernizing the education system. He also served as the founding president of Colorado Succeeds. One of the America Succeeds initiatives Tim highlights is Durable Skills, which includes a combination of how you use what you know – skills like critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity – and character skills like fortitude, growth mindset, and leadership.

Some Questions I Ask:

• Tell us more about America Succeeds. (01:14)
• Based on your research, what skills are applicable to the workforce community? (02:50)
• Are you seeing more public- private partnerships with K-12 organizations now than the past? (06:10)
• How did America Succeeds begin working with the Indiana Employability Skills Innovation and Implementation Grant and what was the outcome? (08:16)
• How are you working with America Succeeds partners networks across the country? (15:46)
• How do you recommend business leaders, partners, and everyone to work together and move this mission in a collaborative way? (18:13)
• How are you sharing America Succeeds stories? (19:50)
• What are your hopes about the future of work? (22:04)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• About America Succeeds (01:40)
• About durable skills for the workforce (03:06)
• About public-private partnerships with K-12 organizations (06:26)
• How America Succeeds and the Indiana Employability Skills Innovation and Implementation Grant intersect (09:07)
• About America Succeeds partnerships across the country (16:03)
• Tim’s recommendations for collaboration (18:46)
• How he shares America Succeeds stories (20:03)
• His hopes for the future of work (22:13)

Quotes:

“The challenge everywhere is how do we make a student's day look different or a classroom look different to practice these skills when we're asking so much of teachers already. And one of the things we discovered in working on this project is that it's not doing more, necessarily, it's just doing what you do a little differently.”

“It's rare that I have talked this long about durable skills without talking about one of our big drivers: economic mobility and equity. … There's been a lot of inequity.”

“The Association for Talent Development did a study, and 83% of employers complained about a skills gap. The largest two in the workforce are critical thinking and communication skills. We're hearing this over and over again; this is not an isolated problem.”

Stay in touch with America Succeeds:
Tim Taylor LinkedIn
America Succeeds Website
Durable Skills by America Succeeds Website
Email:info@americasucceeds.org

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

In this episode of Build Momentum, we are joined by Joel Vargas of Jobs for the Future, a nonprofit that focuses on strategies to transform education and workforce systems. Vargas is vice president of JFF’s Education practice, which supports systems change in the education ecosystem, influences policies that promote diverse pathways, and identifies and applies data-informed, learner-centered solutions. Before joining JFF, Vargas directed, initiated, and studied programs designed to help students from populations underrepresented in post-secondary education enter and complete college.

Some Questions I Ask:

• Tell us more about Jobs for the Future. (01:18)
• How have you seen districts prioritize workforce development? (03:43)
• How are effective are educators at transmitting this shift to students and parents? (06:56)
• What’s The Big Blur and what impact is it having? (11:08)
• Is there an increase in public-private partnership in terms of workforce development? (16:37)
• What are some successful funding strategies for district partnerships? (20:20)
• How do you feel about AI? (22:29)
• Tell us more about how you share your success stories across the education community? (25:15)
• What are you most hopeful about for the future of workforce development? (27:20)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• All about Jobs for the Future (01:30)
• Joel’s thoughts on districts prioritizing workforce development (04:05)
• How this shift in priorities is transmitted to students and parents (07:37)
• The Big Blur as a principle for organizing older adolescents’ learning (11:20)
• Public-private partnerships in workforce development (17:07)
• Funding strategies for district partnerships (20:35)
• Joel’s thoughts about AI (22:50)
• Tips for sharing successful stories across the education community (25:33)
• Joel’s hopes for the future of workforce development (27:27)

Quotes:

“We really think we need the ‘power of us’ in this day and age—and frankly, in this political climate—to get some of these things done. So we're going to have an explicit focus on policy.

“Young people have to start working earlier, out of necessity. And our systems don't support learning and working at the same time. So we said, ‘What we need to do is blur all the systems.’”

“Our Pathways to Prosperity network just celebrated 10 years. We've worked with well over 30 communities, states, and regions over the last 10 years to advance these kinds of college and career pathways.”

Stay in touch with Jobs for the Future:
Website
Email: jvargas@jff.org

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 Jessica Morrison, the Executive Director of Southwest Colorado Education Collaborative, one of the partners in the newly established Career Launch Southwest initiative, which serves as a vital link between employers and the workforce of the future. She was previously the Director of Career and College Counseling at Animas High School in Durango for six years. In June 2021, the school won the Individual Career and Academic Plan (ICAP) Award from the Colorado Department of Education for its Sophomore Inspire Week program.

This episode concludes our series focusing on rural collaboratives that are developing opportunities for students in specialized career pathways.

This is the final episode in a four-part series focusing on rural collaboratives that are developing opportunities for students in specialized career pathways.

Some Questions I Ask:

• Tell us more about Southwest Colorado Education Collaborative. (01:21)
• How do you create partnerships? (04:39)
• What are the challenges and successes in working with higher education partner institutions? (07:50)
• What is your funding model and how do you make it work for school districts? (11:51)
• What are the credentials you are currently offering to high school students and what are the outcomes of the program? (15:22)
• What advice can you give to leaders about starting the collaboration process? (24:30)
• How are you sharing your success stories? (30:14)
  
  

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• All about the Southwest Colorado Education Collaborative (01:34)
• Southwest Colorado Educational Collaborative’s partnerships (04:56)
• Challenges and successes in higher ed partnerships (08:14)
• Southwest Colorado Education Collaborative’s funding model (12:07)
• Credentials and outcomes of the program (15:53)
• Advice to leaders interested in collaborating on workforce development(25:17)
• Strategies for sharing success stories and elevating thought leadership in education (30:40)

Quotes:

“I want all of your listeners to understand that these pieces take time—this is not for a school district that is faint of heart. I've worked in K-12 institutions as well as on the federal government side, and I know how important data is. What are the numbers? How many students are earning industry credentials? But laying the groundwork takes years, so it's looking at all of the different components to then determine what are the steps that need to be put in place along the way.”

“As you're building out this dream of consolidating resources in order to do more or bring more to a region, you can also be doing some more low-hanging fruit like priming students to be ready, which pushes your partners to get to the place of shared courses.”


Stay in touch with Jobs for the Future:
Career Launch Southwest Website
Southwest Colorado Education Collaborative Website
Email: info@swcoedcollaborative.org

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 Aaron Black. He is currently the Superintendent at Randolph Eastern School Corporation in Union City, Indiana, and is spearheading the Rural Alliance Zone 32. Aaron was named a semifinalist for the Yass Innovation Prize 2023 from the Yass Center for Education (formerly the Center for Education Reform). The prize recognizes leaders in sustainable, transformational, outstanding, and permissionless education.

This is the third episode in a four-part series focusing on rural collaboratives that are developing opportunities for students in specialized career pathways.

Some Questions I Ask:

• Tell us something about yourself and Randolph Eastern. (02:22)
• What do you do in Randolph Eastern and what trends do you see on a national scale? (05:47)
• What made you decide to start the Rural Alliance Zone 32? (07:32)
• What is your funding model and how would you advise other superintendents about joining a collaborative? (09:16)
• What credentials students are looking for and what are you offering? (11:31)
• What are students’ experiences within your program? (15:15)
• What are your goals in the next five years? (18:33)
• How do you share your story? (20:10)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• All about Aaron Black (02:35)
• His role at Randolph Eastern and trends he sees (06:02)
• The start of rural collaboratives in Randolph County (07:59)
• His advice to other superintendents about joining rural collaboratives and about funding models (09:39)
• Credentials students look for and what Randolph Eastern offers (11:57)
• Student experiences with the program (15:46)
• Goals in the next five years (18:48)
• How to emulate the way Aaron shares his story (20:22)

Quotes:

“We start with kindergarteners, taking career exploration trips and being very intentional about getting them out in front of employers and learning how the world works. We do that with every grade level, and it culminates at the high school.”

“We know [students] have their skills and interests, right? We know what their passions are. But we're not telling them, ‘Hey, you're going to be a nurse your entire life.’ We're saying, ‘Hey, check out this health care pathway. It may be a perfect fit for you.’”

“Success looks like student participation and access. … The win is in five years if the numbers multiply five times by student participation and if we continue to attract schools to help us figure out this access issue.“


Stay in touch with Aaron:
LinkedIn
Twitter
The UC Experience Podcast
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

In this episode of Build Momentum, we are joined by Lauren Marie Hall Riggins, a senior manager at Empower Schools, a national nonprofit that partners with communities and educators to reimagine local education systems. Lauren is currently the Director of Youth Poet Laureate at VOICES Corporation, an organization offering culturally sustaining programs for young people, where she also serves as a board member and consultant. She is an experienced educator, researcher, and nonprofit leader with many notable achievements.

This is the second episode in a four-part series focusing on rural collaboratives that are developing opportunities for students in specialized career pathways.

Some Questions I Ask:

• Can you tell us more about Empower Schools? (01:34)
• What workforce issues are being addressed in the traditional CTE space? (04:04)
• What opportunities have you developed with higher education partners, and what challenges have you encountered? (07:05)
• How do you address funding in K-12 education collaboratives? (10:54)
• What credentials are you looking to offer in these collaborations, and how do they enhance students’ futures? (14:19)
• How do the collaborations address student transportation? (19:21)
• What are your goals in rural collaboratives, and do you have to be rural to be part of them? (25:08)
• What other places across the country have built impressive collaborations to support students? (28:43)
• How do you share your powerful story of success? (31:33)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• All about Empower Schools (01:46)
• Workforce issues traditional CTE addresses (04:19)
• Opportunities and challenges with higher education partners (07:35)
• Strategies for funding K-12 collaboratives (11:09)
• Pros and cons of credentials (15:41)
• Creative approaches to student transportation (19:34)
• Aspirational goals for education collaboratives anywhere (25:29)
• Which other states have built impressive collaborations (29:02)
• How Lauren shares her organization’s success (31:49)

Quotes:

“I joke with my friends in the education innovation scene—excuse my language if we can't use this term—but someone needs to make transportation sexy. Why is no one innovating transportation?.”

“We've created a situation where we have thousands and thousands of students across the country who have insane amounts of post-secondary debt and no real career prospects. … Post-secondary is important, but let's marry it with very intentional academic supports and a clear path that kids have explored and feel good about—and that leads to a family-sustaining wage.”

“Rural collaboratives are a really unique way of maintaining community identity and collective efficacy, the sense that a group of people feel like they can do something well together, take care of their kids, [and] create a really strong regional economy.”

Stay in touch with Lauren:
LinkedIn
Email: lhallriggins@empowerschools.org

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