INTRO: In my third year as a superintendent, the AVID classes at one of my high schools invited me to the school library at 7:30 in the morning. That is EARLY for high school students accustomed to starting school at almost 9 o’clock, so it had to be important. Over donuts and juice, it was the students who led an activity called Philosophical Chairs. The topic? Weighted grades. Our school district didn’t offer weighted grades and the students saw this as a distinct disadvantage. They were prepared for my argument to maintain the status quo. I reasoned, “Why would we need weighted grades? The research is really clear. If you complete an AP course, even with a C, you’re more likely to complete college.”

In Philosophical Chairs, after each statement, participants can choose to move in proximity to the person making the statement. I didn’t sway anyone. A student then stated, “I hear the argument that completing an AP course shows me that I can handle a college course, and that it becomes more likely I will finish college, but I need to GET into college first, and I need to get a scholarship to pay for it, and a peer who takes a less rigorous course and gets an A gets accepted to college and gets a higher scholarship.”

She was right (we verified this with our local University and they weren’t stripping weighted grades from transcripts). I was won over. I wish I could say that this change happened immediately. Getting 4 votes from the school board took some time, but we got there. My guest, Dr. Melvin Brown, shares his experience with a decision he made about weighted grades in Montgomery, Alabama.

In Part 1, Melvin Brown talks about the importance of reclaiming the narrative in Montgomery Public Schools. He talks about how enduring change will take time. He talks about recognizing the systems that exist, persist, and ways to RESIST. We discuss the ways external partners like EdConnective can support leadership development. We talk about the goal of increasing opportunities like algebra at middle school and the systems thinking approach that will be necessary to do that.

In Part 2, we talk about weighted grades, how AP courses and honors courses earned the same full point on a transcript, and the unintended consequences on a student’s future (scholarships and such). Dr. Brown lived the role of a lead learner.

It’s a great episode. Also, this episode had one of my favorite lines ever! I laughed out loud when Dr. Brown described himself as a student. He said, “Summa Cum Laude? No, it was more like, thank you, Laude!” I edited out my outburst!

BIO: Dr. Melvin Brown is the Superintendent of the Montgomery Public Schools in Montgomery, Alabama, a position he has held since 2022. Previous to that, he served as Superintendent of the Reynoldsburg City School District in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. And before that he served as a Superintendent in Residence and Visiting Professor at The Ohio State University. And before that, he held various leadership roles: as Deputy Superintendent, as Director of Human Resources, as an Associate Superintendent, and as both an elementary middle school principal.

INTRO: As many of you know, I serve on the Board of Directors for Be the Change Volunteers. We build schools, teacher housing, and bathrooms all over the world (currently in Peru, Malawi, India, Rwanda, Puerto Rico, and Papua New Guinea). It’s an incredible experience – if you ever want to join a build, please let me know – and one thing we try to be mindful about is the return back home after a build. You’ve just seen a lot and experienced a lot, and there is a transition back to your regularly scheduled programming. When I was speaking with my guest today, she highlighted the importance of preparing employees for when they are relocated to another country.

Brenda Harrington is my guest. In Part 1, we talk about her book, Access Denied, which seeks to support the trailblazers in your organization, the one, and often the only one in a work space and the importance for peers to be aware of the cultural field they create, curate, and permit to persist.

In Part 2, we talk about an area of Brenda’s experience that many leaders will relate to: the need to move to a new community, sometimes in a new state (you’ll hear my initial confusion about the term global mobility). Brenda talks about the coaching needed before a leader changes locations and the call to companies to think about an employee’s success.

BIO: Brenda Harrington is the CEO and founder of Adaptive Leadership Strategies, a service business that offers coaching and consulting solutions to help companies develop and grow top talent. In addition to Brenda's work as a CEO, she is also the author of Access Denied.

INTRO: When I was a superintendent, we created a geometry and construction class. Kids would take geometry on A days and then apply those principles to building a tiny home on B days. And I loved asking a student who was out there working on the home in the dead of winter why it was important to be out there working when it was so cold outside. “Today, I’m cold. Tomorrow, someone will have this home and will no longer be cold.” I loved that response. Our kids were learning, geometry, home building, empathy, and compassion. We had another class where on A days kids learned algebra and on B days, they applied their learning to a small business, a t-shirt company, they were operating. Finding ways to build relevance and entrepreneurial opportunities. These weren’t my ideas. I just was smart enough to support the educators who came to me and pitched these classes. My guest today reminded me of the importance of reclaiming the narrative about public schools - how innovative they really are and how they support opportunities previously unheard of in traditional schools (an entrepreneurial hub for students, internships, real world experiences, early college for juniors and seniors to graduate high school with an Associate Degree, debt free). Please welcome Dr. Scott Menzel.

In Part 1, we talk about creating opportunities for kids and the importance of reclaiming the narrative when it comes to public education. Scott’s rallying cry is a simple one: Because Kids. He believes the misinformation and disinformation must be confronted because otherwise false narratives take root. In our conversation, I give the example of a State Representative in Missouri who continues to claim that children are allowed to identify as cats and use litter boxes at school. Scott responds with a strategy for leaders on how to reclaim the narrative.

In Part 2, Scott talks about a technology initiative, a three-year pilot, using VR technology to improve middle school and high school math achievement. He describes the difficult decision to pull the plug on the initiative and what he learned from that.

BIO: Scottsdale Unified School District welcomed Dr. Scott A. Menzel as Superintendent on July 1, 2020. Always looking to the future, Dr. Menzel’s approach to education is student-centered with a relentless commitment to excellence and opportunity for all. Having provided 18 years of leadership to school districts within the state of Michigan, Dr. Menzel became Scottsdale Unified School District’s 27th superintendent on July 1, 2020. In 2023, he was named Superintendent of the Year by Save Our Schools Arizona and in 2024 received ERDI's Resilient Leader Award.