SPECIAL EPISODE: Hope Is Not a Strategy with Dr. Brandi Chin from The Opportunity Trust

In this special episode of Hire Ground, host Josh Czupryk sits down with Dr. Brandi Nicole Chin from the Opportunity Trust to discuss her new book, Hope Is Not a Strategy: How Great Leaders Build Real Accountability (releasing January 14, 2026). They explore why high-performing schools maintain exceptional teacher retention rates, even through challenging times, and how leaders can shift from fear-based leadership to creating thriving adult cultures. Dr. Chin shares practical insights on involving teachers in the work, building differentiated staff retention and onboarding plans, elevating teachers as culture carriers, and using accountability as a tool for support—not surveillance—to drive consistent results for kids.

This episode builds on the season's focus on solutions to teacher and leader burnout, emphasizing that when teachers thrive, students thrive.