Latest / Elevate Podcast: Powered by Braden / Elevate Ep 57: Jennifer Tyrrell, Principal of Lyons Township High School, District 204

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Elevate Ep 57: Jennifer Tyrrell, Principal of Lyons Township High School, District 204 · Elevate Podcast: Powered by Braden

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Welcome to the Elevate podcast, where
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every leader has a story. We bring you
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conversations with influential leaders
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who are shaping our local communities.
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Hear about their path to leadership and
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experiences that define them and how
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they're driving meaningful impact today.
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Hey everybody, Jason here with another
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episode of the Elevate Powered by Brain
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podcast. And as you can see, we're not
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in our Fisher studio. We're actually on
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location up in the greater Chicago area
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having an awful lot of fun with this
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series and talking with forprofits,
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nonprofits, higher ed, and also K
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through 12. And sometimes I think the K
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through 12 is the best opportunity to
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have some cool conversations. But I'm
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with a new friend, Jen. Welcome to the
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show.
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>> Thank you so much, Jason. Happy to be
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with you.
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>> All right, so let's set the stage first.
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Where are we sitting and what's your
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current role?
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>> Awesome. Well, I'm happy to be here with
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you today. Uh we're at Lions Township
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High School in Western Springs,
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Illinois. Uh we're actually a two campus
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high school, one school uh within our
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district and we are at our south campus
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in Western Springs right now. Our north
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campus is in Lraange and we're an
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awesome system. We serve 11 different
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communities in the western suburbs of
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Chicago. Um we are comprehensive
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secondary school and uh serve about
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3,800 total students.
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>> Wow. I love that. I know we'll talk more
1:20
about that. Very very cool story, but
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it's not where you started. So, where
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are you from, Rachel?
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>> Yeah, so I grew up in the south suburbs
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of Chicago, Payless Heights. I went to
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Stag High School. So, uh, was there from
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the time I was in about sixth grade,
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which is Stag and that was actually my
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first job as well was at the high school
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that I went to.
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>> Now, wait a second. Okay, so you can't
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just drop that off there. You got to ask
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the question. So, so Stag High School,
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first job
1:44
>> was was the first job while you were in
1:46
high school. What were you doing?
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>> No, actually, I had many different jobs
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in high school. That was my first job in
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education.
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>> Gotcha. And actually, funny story about
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that, I thought for sure I was going to
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be a college softball coach. So, growing
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up, I was an Abbott softball player. It
2:00
was all I wanted to do. I ended up
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playing division one softball at Western
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Illinois. Okay.
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>> I stayed there after I finished playing
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for a couple of years, but I got my
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master's degree.
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>> And I decided when I was at Western that
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maybe coaching college wasn't for me
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because I'm really picky about where I
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want to live. And I knew I wanted to
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return back to the suburbs. So, I can
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remember it like it was yesterday. I was
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uh at in Mcome at Western Illinois and
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my sister called me and she said, "Jen,
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you've got to apply. There's a PE
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teaching job at Stag." So, you know,
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back in the early 2000s, I didn't have a
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computer. I ran to the computer lab,
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submitted the application, and hours
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later, got a call for an interview,
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drove home the next day, interviewed,
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came back to Mcome, returned for a final
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round interview. I was actually going to
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Vegas that weekend. Landed in Vegas and
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got a call from my former boss that I
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landed my first teaching job at West.
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>> Gosh, that's crazy. And that's awesome.
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All right. So, high school was Philip
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was softball.
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>> It was.
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>> And uh so which position?
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>> Second base.
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>> Second base. All right. And then going
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to college, why choose Western?
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>> Yeah. I had a couple of different uh
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schools that were looking at me for
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softball. I knew I wanted to play
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softball. I honestly wasn't sure what I
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wanted to major in. I knew I wanted to
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major in something that was kind of
3:14
close to coaching and so I looked at
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University of Illinois Chicago, Western
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and Illinois State and ended up going to
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Western and it was an amazing experience
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for me.
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>> Gotcha. All right. So, four years there,
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what you what what degree did you
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graduate with?
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>> Physical education with a health ed
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minor.
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>> Okay. Gotcha. All right. So, coming out,
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you didn't maybe know what you wanted to
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do, but a friend called said, "Hey,
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there's Oh, your sister."
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>> My sister. Yeah.
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>> Sister called. All right. So now you've
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landed this first role back at your old
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high school.
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>> Yeah.
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>> Okay. And how how'd that go?
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>> It went really well. And actually it was
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a uh maternity leave position. So it was
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like it opened up kind of late, but it
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was going to be a full year position.
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And so my first full year there, I just
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fell in love with the place, fell in
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love with the community, and but was
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also a little bit sad during that time
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because I wasn't sure if it was going to
4:01
materialize into like a long-term
4:03
full-time position. Uh but the woman who
4:05
went out on leave that year, she decided
4:07
that she was going to stay at home for a
4:09
while with her kids and so ended up
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teaching there for four years coaching
4:13
softball and also tennis and then after
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four years went into administration.
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>> All right. So four years coaching which
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is right. So you got a chance to coach.
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Yeah.
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>> But did that at the high school level?
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Yeah. Which was probably terrific. It's
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a lot of fun. But tennis also. Did you
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play tennis in high school?
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>> I did not. Okay.
4:30
>> My first day on the job. That's a great
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question. my first day on the job. Uh
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former athletic director, he's recently
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passed away one or two summers ago. Um
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Bob Frizzio, just a great mentor to me
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and so many other people. He sent me an
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email first day and said see please see
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me coach. And Bob was notorious for
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that. Like he would send these please
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see me emails and you didn't know if
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like you were in big time trouble or if
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he just wanted to see how your family
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was doing. So I ran across the hall to
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his office and he said,
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"Congratulations, Coach Tyrell. are now
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our new JB tennis coach. And I said,
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"Well, coach, I never played tennis. I
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never coached it." It's okay. You're
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going to do great. I'll see you over at
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Oak Forest High School this afternoon.
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>> All right.
5:10
>> So, I go over to the very first match of
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the season. He was there. Jumped right
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in with the kids and had an absolute
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blast doing it for four years.
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>> You have volunte.
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>> It was so fun. It was so fun because
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softball was always so competitive to
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me. I knew a lot about it. I loved it so
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much. I was super competitive and
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coached not just high school but then
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also like high level travel and so it
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was just intense and tennis was not that
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way to me because I was coaching JB
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tennis something that I was learning the
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kids were most for the most part just
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starting to play so it was like a really
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great balance for me.
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>> That's awesome. Yeah, that's terrific.
5:44
Okay, so four years teaching and then
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you start to move into administration.
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What was the what was kind of the
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trigger to think that you wanted to make
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that pivot to go into leadership? Yeah,
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I I had thought that the administrative
5:57
or leadership position that I would
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eventually go into was athletic
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director. Just seemed like at that point
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in time that would have been the role.
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Coaching was always part of my life. And
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um this job came open which was a
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supervision of teachers. So it was
6:10
division chair for physical education
6:11
help and driver ed. It was opening
6:14
because my boss was retiring and I had
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talked to him and I talked to the
6:17
principal and they thought it would be a
6:19
a good step for me uh and something that
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would help for future opportunities at
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that time. Thought it would be an
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athletic director in that role. Um and I
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always I always knew that I was
6:30
interested in leadership. Um I look back
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I'm glad I took that opportunity. I'm
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glad I was given that opportunity. I do
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wish like with part of me that I would
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have caught a little bit longer. like it
6:40
would just be great in the role that I'm
6:43
in right now to just have a little bit
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more teaching experience, but it was the
6:46
timing was right and and that job came
6:48
open and there were leaders that
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believed in me and gave me that
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opportunity.
6:52
>> That's terrific. All right. So, that
6:53
little bit of a pivot there, things kind
6:55
of line up. When did you you always kind
6:57
of thought of athletic director?
6:59
>> Yeah.
7:00
>> When did the thought of principal and
7:02
those types of things start to come into
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play?
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>> Yeah. So, when I had that division chair
7:05
role, I started working in instructional
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leadership. So I was leading curriculum
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efforts, intervention, professional
7:11
learning, community efforts. And so I
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started to become just more interested
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in the academic component of what we do
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and more interested in instructional
7:20
leadership. Had an awesome team that I
7:22
worked with of individuals at Stad,
7:24
learned from the other DCs, learned from
7:26
a great associate principal and really
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just started becoming interested in
7:29
instruction. And so that was actually
7:31
then my next role. So okay after five
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years in the division chair role the
7:35
associate principal position opened at
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stad same principal still is what I came
7:40
in as a teacher. So I worked with Bolson
7:42
as a teacher as a division chair and
7:44
then eventually as the associate
7:46
principal as well so had the opportunity
7:48
to go into that role.
7:49
>> Wow the consistency is terrific. That's
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awesome. So four years as a teacher five
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years in in the leadership role. Now
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you're assistant principal and and how
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does that role go and then eventually
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you end up now as a principal. Tell me a
8:01
little more about that story.
8:02
>> Yeah, it went really well. I learned a
8:04
lot. I worked really hard. Eric gave me
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a lot of autonomy to like try things
8:08
out, different things, not just within
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curriculum instruction, but just like
8:11
larger school leadership. So was in the
8:14
middle of my third year, at the
8:15
beginning of my third year doing that or
8:17
fourth year doing that. And the
8:18
principal job came open at another
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school in that district. So came open,
8:23
applied for that job, like engaged in a
8:24
really lengthy interview process. And I
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was fortunate enough to become principal
8:28
at Carl Samberg High School, which was
8:29
in that same district. Um, and spent
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three years serving that community. And
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it was it was a great experience for me.
8:37
Just so many amazing people.
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>> Oh, that's awesome. It sounds like, you
8:40
know, the leadership that you worked
8:42
with. Obviously, consistency is key, but
8:45
I'm curious if you could look back now
8:47
at at your career, if there are others
8:50
that are kind of taking that same
8:51
journey. Are there some maybe tips or
8:54
tricks or something you would maybe give
8:55
as a best practice for those folks that
8:57
want to follow kind of in your
8:58
footsteps?
8:59
>> Yeah, I think surround yourself with
9:01
people who treat you well. Surround
9:03
yourself with people who are going to be
9:06
those individuals that will both provide
9:08
a little bit of coaching and direction,
9:09
but also give you the space and voice
9:11
and autonomy that empowered you to like
9:14
try things on to sometimes make
9:16
mistakes, learn from those mistakes, but
9:19
also be right there with you when those
9:20
mistakes happen. And so, I said this a
9:23
little bit ago, like I've had
9:24
outstanding mentors, outstanding leaders
9:27
and administrators and coaches and
9:28
teachers that I've worked with
9:29
throughout my entire life. And truly,
9:32
that's part of why I'm in this role
9:34
right now.
9:34
>> Yeah, that's excellent, by the way. And
9:35
it's great advice, too. I think you have
9:37
to surround yourself with people that'll
9:39
give you opportunities, but also you
9:41
said something I think people need to
9:42
pay attention to. Give you the
9:44
opportunity to make a mistake, right?
9:46
You make a mistake and you learn from
9:48
that mistake. It's probably the quickest
9:49
way to learn. I mean, that little bit of
9:51
pain that you feel, you don't
9:52
necessarily want to feel that again. And
9:54
so, most folks will try to rise above
9:56
that. And so, but it takes leaders
9:58
willing to to work through that with
10:00
you. and not just kind of do things for
10:02
you, which is terrific to hear.
10:04
>> Yeah. And I learned I think from from
10:06
that experience as somebody kind of
10:08
coming up like a lot of things have
10:10
stuck with me that I I hope to reflect
10:13
in my practice now like when things
10:16
don't go well here. We're a large
10:18
comprehensive high school. We have
10:19
almost 4,000 students. We have several
10:21
community members, 500 staff. Like we
10:23
have a lot of people. We're like a small
10:25
town. So there are going to be things
10:27
that don't go well. And I truly believe
10:30
that it's my responsibility to take
10:33
ownership of those things that don't go
10:34
well. I always will. Whether I had
10:37
direct involvement in something or not.
10:39
Um just because another administrator
10:42
was working on something that maybe
10:43
didn't go well or a mistake was made or
10:45
something happened doesn't mean that
10:46
they need to work through that alone.
10:48
No. They work they work with us. They
10:50
work on a team. They're part of, you
10:52
know, a district administrative team
10:54
that's here to do our best work for our
10:57
community.
10:57
>> Yeah. It's terrific year by the way.
10:59
Those are great leadership thought
11:01
thoughts there. So eventually obviously
11:03
you're principal now and then become
11:05
principal here at LT. How long you've
11:07
been in this role?
11:08
>> Yeah, I'm going into my sixth year in
11:09
this role and you know people always ask
11:12
like you know Samberg and then LT and my
11:14
answer is always I've had the
11:15
opportunity but pleasure uh to work at
11:17
two amazing high schools. Um, so a
11:20
couple things like when I was uh first
11:24
coming to LT, um, the position posted
11:26
before I even got here and I was
11:28
thinking about if I wanted to apply for
11:29
a position. Again, I love Samur, love
11:31
where I was at. Um, but I had worked in
11:34
a few spots with Brian Waterman, our
11:35
superintendent. um just you know
11:37
observed him at conferences, done a site
11:39
visit to LT and I just knew that he was
11:41
an amazing person, amazing human and
11:43
somebody who I knew I could learn with
11:45
and work for and just feel really good
11:48
about that. So he had moved from the
11:50
principal to the superintendent role I
11:52
and so that's why the position opened.
11:54
So it opened, it was posted. I knew he
11:56
was just an amazing human and I also
11:59
live like a mile and a half from each of
12:01
our campuses. So, I knew how special
12:04
this community was and at the time um
12:07
had my first child and knew that like I
12:09
would love my my own child to grow up in
12:13
the community that I was working in and
12:15
just knew that it would be a special
12:17
place and knew that he would grow up
12:19
they now would grow up here at LT and
12:21
that they would be part of like this
12:22
special thing as well. So, going into my
12:25
sixth year here and the people are just
12:27
amazing. When people ask me like what do
12:29
you love about LT? What do you love
12:32
about this community? It starts and it
12:34
ends with the people for me. And that's
12:36
all people. It's our students. It's our
12:37
staff. It's their families and the
12:39
community. And I've gotten to know so
12:41
many amazing people through my time
12:43
here. And my vision of what it would be
12:46
like to raise my kids here has truly
12:48
carried out. When we have a football
12:50
game, my kids will come to that game.
12:52
They will be there. More people know
12:54
Jackson and Jordan in the community than
12:56
know me. Sometimes they both come to our
12:59
LT preschool program. And so, you know,
13:02
when you come to preschool at LT, you
13:04
have about 80 students as your teacher.
13:06
So, we'll be walking down Lrange Road,
13:08
going to Starbucks, and people recognize
13:10
Jackson and Jordan everywhere. And
13:12
that's exactly what I wanted. I wanted
13:13
to be at a special place for my kids to
13:16
grow up at that place, too.
13:17
>> That's awesome. And so 22 it's a dual
13:20
campus environment around 3,800 students
13:23
500 faculty staff uh people working here
13:27
so big or it's always look like a small
13:29
town just said but tell us more about
13:31
the school system.
13:32
>> Yeah that's great. So it is a big place
13:36
but I will say um we have an amazing
13:39
leadership team 25 people um and our
13:42
structures we have a central leadership
13:44
team with the superintendent and
13:46
directors and then we have a lot of
13:48
building level leaders so we had our
13:50
assistant and associate principles
13:51
athletics and activities division chairs
13:53
and chief instructional programs so I
13:56
say that in that it's a big system
13:58
there's a lot of people but we also have
14:00
a very geek special and powerful
14:02
administrative team uh So I never feel
14:04
like I'm doing any work alone. It is all
14:06
a collaborative effort with the student
14:09
experience in mind. And that that's
14:10
something that we think about all of the
14:12
time is what that experience will be
14:15
like for every single one of our
14:17
students. And we're we're entering a
14:20
really exciting time. So when Dr.
14:22
Waterman started and I started with him
14:24
in this role five years ago. We went
14:26
through a strategic planning process and
14:29
we are about to embark on another
14:32
strategic planning process. And so we
14:34
have five goals, many strategies that
14:36
we've been working on over the course of
14:37
the five years. We made a very
14:39
intentional decision not to have a
14:41
separate equity plan. Made an
14:43
intentional decision to have equity
14:45
threaded and embedded within our
14:46
strategic plan. And I think that
14:48
represents who we are. And we are we are
14:50
a place that thinks about every single
14:53
one of our students. We want to close
14:55
the gaps that exist in all of the areas
14:58
that we believe are important to the
14:59
high school experience and we want to
15:01
prepare each and every one of our
15:03
students to be ready for whatever their
15:05
next step is. And the reality is every
15:07
kid's next step is going to be
15:09
different. For some that's a four-year
15:11
school. for some two-year military
15:13
career, whatever it might be, we want to
15:15
make sure our kids are ready for it and
15:17
that they have every single opportunity
15:19
that they might have um that they might
15:21
want after high school. You know, it's
15:22
so great to hear an answer like that
15:24
because every single student has their
15:26
own story in wherever they happen to go
15:28
on that journey, but they're part of
15:30
that season is with you here for these
15:32
four years. And you have an opportunity
15:34
to help them go in whatever direction
15:36
they're going to go and and there's so
15:37
many opportunities for kids out there
15:39
and it's just great that they'll get an
15:40
opportunity to see what they might like
15:42
and enjoy.
15:43
>> And it's great to hear leaders speak
15:45
that way.
15:46
>> Thank you. I love how you said it like
15:47
season. It's so true. We only get them
15:49
for four years and they only get this
15:51
experience for four years. But when we
15:53
close our eyes and and kids leave us and
15:56
we think about what their next four or
15:58
next 20 or whatever's whatever their
16:00
next wherever their life is going to
16:02
take them, we want them to be able to
16:03
look back on their high school
16:04
experience and we want them to say like,
16:07
"Wow, I was at an amazing place that
16:09
cared for me, that gave me
16:11
opportunities, that pushed me, that
16:13
supported me, all of those things."
16:15
things. And I'll tell you something,
16:16
Jason, like graduation day, after
16:19
graduation is over and the kids throw
16:21
their caps and the fireworks go off, it
16:24
is my favorite hour of the school year
16:27
because I walk around, we hold
16:28
graduation on our football field. I walk
16:31
around that field and I'm the last
16:32
person to walk off. I make it a point to
16:34
be the person that that leaves last and
16:37
all I can see is joy and happiness and
16:40
gratitude for the experience that they
16:42
have and I absolutely love it. And to do
16:44
that and know many of the kids
16:46
personally and many of families
16:48
personally just means something.
16:49
>> Oh wow, that's awesome. Well, you know,
16:51
we're sitting here, we're talking about,
16:53
you know, your career and your journey
16:55
and bring business systems. We're a
16:57
second generation family business
16:58
primarily in the technology space and
17:01
we're we're talking to leaders to get an
17:03
understanding of how technologies
17:05
evolved in their space. I always like
17:07
talking to the K through 12s, especially
17:09
folks with a little bit of experience
17:11
because technology has evolved rapidly.
17:13
>> Yeah. But even now with AI and different
17:15
things over the last couple of years,
17:17
it's even off the charts sort of
17:18
evolved.
17:19
>> I'm just curious the evolution of tech
17:22
here in the space and maybe where do you
17:23
think you see it going here in the near
17:25
future?
17:25
>> Yeah. So I think we are a really good
17:28
example of um
17:31
technology use and implementation being
17:34
expedited by co. I truly believe that.
17:37
So we are a system that was not a
17:39
onetoone you know device system before
17:42
covid and very quickly the
17:44
administrative team that was here at
17:45
that time put a plan in place uh to get
17:47
devices in kids hands at that point in
17:50
time a hub for us is canvas. Canvas is
17:52
our learning management system uh that
17:55
our students and staff use. It houses
17:57
all of our instructional materials and
17:58
courses. Um, and at that point in time,
18:01
we first adopted Canvas and we've just
18:04
seen it explode here since then. Kids
18:07
really have access to all the learning
18:09
materials that they need through that
18:11
platform. Nah, make make no mistake
18:14
about it. There is no substitute for an
18:17
amazing teacher. Sure, all of our kids
18:19
in class with a teacher every single
18:22
day, but our amazing teachers are using
18:24
that system to bring the curriculum to
18:27
life to our students. And so, um, that
18:30
system and our use of that system really
18:32
has increased significantly over the
18:35
last five or so years.
18:36
>> Okay.
18:36
>> Um, I'd say like a small example like
18:40
kids are kids are engaging with content
18:43
all of the time. Like there's so much
18:46
content in a large suburban high school
18:48
that sometimes challenge that we have is
18:49
like getting kids the right content
18:51
through the right platform.
18:53
>> Oh, okay.
18:54
>> Yeah. Like clubs is one example. We have
18:57
130 clubs here at LT, which is insane.
18:59
That is something that makes LT really
19:01
special. You ask kids about their
19:04
experience at LT. Almost every kid will
19:05
say like one of the best parts has been
19:07
the clubs and the co-curricular
19:09
opportunities available. But then I sit
19:11
in principal student advisory committee
19:13
meetings or other student voice
19:14
workshops and I hear kids say, "We need
19:16
to learn more about our clubs. We need
19:18
the information." Well, how do you
19:20
consume your information? How do you get
19:22
it? And so we try to ask them questions
19:24
about that. So, of course, we used the
19:25
traditional systems, website, social
19:27
media, announcements, but kids said, and
19:30
this is such a small thing, and other
19:31
schools have had this for a long time,
19:32
but kids said like, well, we need to
19:35
like see the announcements like when
19:37
we're walking the halls, like we need to
19:39
see it. And so, we've like amplified our
19:41
digital signage and have kids like now,
19:43
you know, are able to engage with that
19:45
content as they're walking the halls
19:46
here at our campuses. We've also
19:47
designed some new spaces. So, we've had
19:50
the opportunity, we are coming off of
19:52
about a $45 million project where we
19:55
here at our south campus got a new
19:57
cafeteria um and also a common space, a
20:00
new uh drop-in center for student
20:02
academic learning, new music spaces, and
20:05
then um additionally some restrooms and
20:08
air conditioned project at both north
20:09
and south campus. And so when we
20:11
designed those spaces, we made sure to
20:13
include like components where we had
20:16
access to be able to present. So audio
20:18
and visual visual equipment uh and the
20:21
tap resources that our kids need. I mean
20:23
collaboration is huge among among
20:25
students and so they need the tools and
20:27
resources to be able to facilitate like
20:29
easy collaboration. And so in our
20:31
drop-in center we have breakout rooms.
20:33
Kids can plug in, use the monitors, work
20:36
together, and it's easy. It's not
20:38
challenging. Here at South Campus, it
20:40
was challenging before. One, they didn't
20:41
have the space. They didn't have the
20:43
technology to support it. All that. Um
20:45
and then one other example I'll give
20:47
you. You're right. AI is is the way of
20:49
the future and we'll be embarking on
20:51
some continued work in AI. We've done a
20:53
little bit work with a task force.
20:54
Certainly, our students and staff are
20:56
using artificial intelligence. We have
20:58
amazing technology coaches uh here at LT
21:02
and they did a really applicable session
21:04
for our teachers last year that got
21:06
great reviews on using Gemini. We are a
21:08
Google district. We use all um you know
21:11
all uh platforms available within the
21:13
Google suite. And so they did an amazing
21:15
session for our teachers on Gemini and
21:18
just provided them an opportunity to
21:20
learn about how they could evolve their
21:22
lesson design and their experiences for
21:24
kids in the classroom by using this tool
21:26
that is access to like everything within
21:28
their drive. And so those are just a few
21:30
examples of some things uh that that we
21:32
see here at LT.
21:33
>> You know what's great? You talked a lot
21:34
about technology in there, but the thing
21:36
that I really pulled out was
21:37
collaboration with the students.
21:39
>> And one of the things you said was they
21:42
said they needed to see about the the
21:45
130 club.
21:45
>> Yeah.
21:46
>> Those are like I wouldn't think that
21:47
way, right? Me walking down the hallway
21:49
seeing digital signage, it's probably
21:51
going to be noise.
21:53
>> Yeah.
21:53
>> But if that's the way that they're going
21:55
to be able to consume the information,
21:57
you're never going to know that unless
21:58
you ask. And so that whole technology
22:01
conversation, I heard collaboration with
22:04
students to be able to help them and get
22:07
get to their information so that they
22:09
can have a better experience. Such a
22:11
great answer around technology.
22:12
>> Oh, thank you. And really the answer is
22:14
really, you're right, around student
22:15
voice, right? It's about engaging with
22:17
your consumer. In this case, students
22:19
are a consumer to figure out what they
22:21
want and need. And I think that's
22:22
something else that makes LT really
22:24
special. A lot of schools say that they
22:26
prioritize and solicit student voice. I
22:28
think we really bring that to life here.
22:31
Uh, you know, and that's just one
22:32
example of it. We have committees,
22:34
right? We have I have a committee. We
22:36
have a student belonging equity and
22:37
belonging committee, student voice
22:39
workshops. When we interview candidates,
22:42
students participate on those hiring
22:44
panels. They actually participate in the
22:46
interviews. Um, because we truly value
22:49
and appreciate and use our student voice
22:52
to make this experience better for them.
22:55
uh we can't just guess what they want
22:57
and what they need. We have to ask them
23:00
and then when we ask them and they tell
23:02
us of course we can't do everything we
23:04
already say. Um but when they ask us for
23:06
things and there's good rationale for it
23:08
and aligns to who we are and what our
23:10
vision is then we have an obligation. We
23:13
have an obligation to do what we can to
23:15
put the things in place that that they
23:17
believe and that ultimately will make
23:19
their experience better.
23:20
>> That's right. Absolutely. You know
23:21
they'll ask sometimes maybe just for
23:23
cake for lunch. She can't just have cake
23:25
for lunch every day.
23:25
>> That's right. Probably need to make a
23:27
better decision there. So, we can't do
23:28
everything. Well, we could at least hear
23:30
you and acknowledge you. Yeah. And then
23:31
make sure we do the right thing in those
23:33
situations. But just that whole
23:34
collaboration sounds terrific. As you
23:37
think back through your journey, you've
23:39
mentioned, you know, kind of in your
23:41
career from high school and college and
23:43
now through your professional career.
23:45
You mentioned a lot of different
23:47
communities. One of the things we ask
23:49
our viewers is, you know, when they
23:51
think of community, what what's
23:53
community mean to you? So, I'm curious,
23:55
what's community?
23:56
>> Yeah. When I think of community, I I
23:59
think of a larger scale community. Like
24:01
I feel like I am personally part of LA
24:03
community. Our my family is a community.
24:05
I think of our like all of the towns
24:07
that we serve as part of our community.
24:09
And then of course, I think of community
24:11
with relation to our school. But the
24:13
number one word that I think of when I
24:15
think of community is belonging. And
24:18
that is also foundational to who we are.
24:20
I would actually say the most important
24:22
work that we do here is to create a
24:25
culture of belonging for every single
24:27
person who's attached um to LT,
24:30
especially our students because if they
24:32
feel safe, valued, connected, they feel
24:34
like they have really strong
24:35
relationships with their teachers and
24:37
staff and other students in the
24:39
classrooms that they're sitting in and
24:40
the athletic teams that they're
24:41
participating in, they're going to be
24:43
their best selves. And the research
24:44
shows that when you feel that sense of
24:47
belonging, you're actually going to do
24:49
better academically and your achievement
24:50
is going to be better as well. And so I
24:53
would say that community is creating
24:56
belonging and that is something that we
24:59
strive to do all the time. It sets the
25:01
foundation for all of the other work
25:02
that we do here at Alti. And you know,
25:04
I'm sure I'll have the opportunity to
25:05
talk a little bit about our work um that
25:07
we're doing right now that's like super
25:09
relevant, but um our work in building a
25:12
restorative culture of belonging has
25:14
been the most powerful and impactful
25:16
work that I have done in my entire
25:18
career. And I'm just proud and lucky and
25:21
blessed that we have support from every
25:24
level of people in our community, our
25:27
board of education, our district
25:29
leadership, our staff, our families, our
25:31
kids to do that work that we believe
25:33
sets the foundation for everything else.
25:35
>> By the way, amazing answer. I've asked
25:37
that question every time we've done a
25:39
podcast and that's the first time
25:40
somebody brought community and tied it
25:42
to belonging.
25:43
>> So, a very, very good answer there. Talk
25:45
more about what you guys are doing now
25:47
because it's pretty exciting. There's a
25:48
lot of cool stuff going on.
25:49
>> Yeah, it's honestly like I said, it's
25:51
the best work, most fulfilling and best
25:53
work I've ever done in my career and it
25:55
takes everybody to do it. That's the
25:57
thing about belonging work, right? When
25:59
you are working, when that is something
26:00
that's foundational to who you are, it's
26:02
something that everybody's responsible
26:04
for because everyone's responsible for
26:06
the culture that you create within an
26:08
institution. So, I'll just go back a
26:10
little bit to go forward. Sure.
26:12
>> When um Dr. Waterman moved into the
26:14
superintendency and it was my first year
26:15
at LT, it was a really challenging year.
26:17
we are coming out of co uh I didn't have
26:20
a lot of relationships some there were
26:22
other members of our administrative team
26:24
that were new that didn't have
26:25
relationships with staff students
26:27
families in the community
26:29
student behaviors were a little bit
26:31
challenging and problematic as kids had
26:33
been learning either at home or you know
26:35
in hybrid fashion for the last year or
26:38
so um trust wasn't there and so it was a
26:41
really challenging time within our
26:43
school community um and we knew at that
26:46
point in time that we had to really deep
26:48
dive into our data and and possibly do
26:50
something different. Like we've had to
26:52
make some changes to get to where we
26:54
wanted to be as a culture. And so we
26:56
looked at all of our data, all the
26:58
points that we believe are important.
26:59
And something that really stuck out
27:01
aligned to like student behaviors was
27:03
like disproportionality that existed
27:05
within our discipline data. So uh
27:07
referrals, suspensions, and school
27:09
suspensions were disproportionately
27:11
given to students of color uh and other
27:14
special populations as well. And we
27:16
started digging into that a little bit.
27:18
I also was challenged to learn a little
27:21
bit more by some members of our
27:22
administrative team about restorative
27:24
practices. And restorative practices are
27:26
about a lot of things. There are
27:28
responsive practices that are a way to
27:30
respond to discipline situation, but
27:32
they're also about the proactive work
27:34
that you could do within a community to
27:37
hopefully not get in a position where
27:39
you don't have as many discipline
27:40
issues. row. We started as leaders doing
27:43
a little bit of learning around
27:45
restorative practices. So we started
27:48
doing research. We engaged in training
27:50
with our director of equity and
27:51
belonging. We started connecting with
27:54
leaders at other schools who implement
27:56
RP and started to build out a plan to
27:59
really implement restorative practices
28:01
at every tier. Uh so what that means is
28:04
from an educator's perspective, we're
28:06
going to do things proactively, build
28:08
community in our classrooms, use
28:11
affirming language with our students,
28:13
elevate students voices and
28:14
perspectives. Those are all things that
28:16
we can do all the time, right?
28:18
>> Uh and then we're going to respond a
28:20
little bit differently when there are
28:22
hiccups, when there are situations.
28:24
We're going to ask students what they
28:26
were thinking when things happened and
28:28
who may have been armed by the decision
28:30
that they made. said, "We're going to
28:33
think a little bit differently about how
28:34
we react, not just with traditional
28:36
consequences, but with actual learning
28:39
opportunities for students." And so, our
28:41
student services team and our discipline
28:43
office engaged in additional learning
28:45
and started changing practice. And so,
28:48
we've been fortunate enough to see a lot
28:50
of great changes. Data has improved, how
28:53
students feel has improved, and our
28:56
staff has been incredibly responsive. um
28:59
they have here at LT thought about
29:01
belonging as a core principle for a long
29:03
time. Restorative practices gives us the
29:05
actual tools to operationalize
29:08
belonging.
29:09
>> Right. You know, it's terrific when you
29:10
talked through that. There's that
29:12
front-end piece where we're going to be
29:14
able to help coach differently so that
29:16
maybe we get to the results that we want
29:18
to get to as opposed to what we're
29:19
currently doing which is producing the
29:21
results we don't want. But the other
29:23
piece of it is too when somebody makes
29:24
that mistake giving them just a
29:27
consequence right it's difficult for
29:29
them to learn what what might have
29:30
happened what they could have done
29:31
differently or who really might have
29:33
affected it's no different when you go
29:34
back to the beginning of your career you
29:37
get an opportunity right to work with
29:38
someone and they will give you some
29:40
opportunity to go try some new things
29:42
you might have failed but they were
29:44
there to help you coach understand and
29:46
kind of move you in the right direction.
29:48
doing that for the students just brings
29:50
it back full circle and that's terrific
29:53
and it's good to see that the numbers
29:54
have come up that it's working
29:56
>> and you can hear it in everything you
29:58
said in our conversation Terry that
29:59
spirit of belonging right that's kind of
30:01
the core yeah
30:03
>> and helping everyone get to where they
30:04
want to go that's terrific
30:05
>> yeah thank you so much and I'll tell you
30:07
uh we have this program that we started
30:09
it's called our restorative intervention
30:10
room so when we did that peak dive I
30:12
data in 2122 not only was it
30:15
disproportionate but we were using
30:17
school suspension as a regular tool
30:19
within our disciplinary toolbox and I
30:22
think the number was around 89. So after
30:24
the 21-22 school year, we suspended 89
30:27
students, which for most schools would
30:30
not be considered a really high number.
30:32
For us, it felt it felt very high. And
30:35
so when we started to learn more about
30:37
restorative practices, we also started
30:39
building a plan to implement a
30:40
restorative intervention, which would
30:42
become an alternative to exclusionary
30:44
discipline. Essentially become one of
30:47
those hubs for when you make a mistake,
30:49
you get the opportunity to really deep
30:51
dive into that. we get the opportunity
30:54
to wrap our arms around you and say
30:56
you're part of this community. We want
30:58
to help you. We want to support you. We
30:59
want to give you the resources that you
31:01
need to hopefully make a change. And so
31:04
when we look at our data, uh the last
31:05
school year 2526, we had eight out of
31:08
school suspensions. So we went from 89
31:10
to 8 to 8.
31:12
>> That's amazing. By the way,
31:14
>> and it again, when you're in the
31:15
community, when you shift people out,
31:18
they don't feel like they're part of
31:19
>> That's right. keeping them here, having
31:21
your arms around them, that's going to
31:23
allow them to feel differently. Wow.
31:24
It's terrific to hear what you guys have
31:26
been doing over the last five. So,
31:28
>> you know, when you think back through
31:29
your story, right? So, you start here in
31:30
the suburbs, you're playing softball,
31:32
second base, thinking you're going to be
31:34
a college coach. You go to Western. Oh,
31:36
yeah.
31:36
>> Right. Play play softball there. And
31:39
your sister calls. Yeah. Get an
31:41
opportunity to be a PE teacher.
31:42
>> Oh, yeah.
31:42
>> Right. And then you're there at that
31:44
school where you actually went to high
31:45
school for four years as the PE teacher,
31:47
five years in that first leadership
31:49
role, four years I think as an assistant
31:51
principal.
31:52
>> You're a good
31:53
>> And then and then you end up coming here
31:54
because you see someone go from
31:56
principled role to the superintendent
31:58
role and you know you can learn from
32:00
them.
32:00
>> Yes.
32:00
>> It's a great opportunity that you came
32:02
in. You're now going on your sixth year
32:04
and to see the numbers and what you've
32:06
been doing with these kids. The one
32:07
that's going to stick out to me was 89
32:09
to eight. Mhm.
32:10
>> So 89 out of school suspensions to just
32:13
eight
32:13
>> and showing that that spirit of
32:15
belonging actually means a lot here at
32:17
LT.
32:18
>> One of the things that we ask before we
32:20
close, right? Obviously you're ingrained
32:23
in this community. Everybody knows your
32:25
two kiddos, right? Oh yeah.
32:26
>> Because they're part of this community
32:27
as well like you said. But if you're not
32:30
working, what do you do for fun?
32:32
>> Yeah. it. So, a few years ago, I work a
32:35
lot and I have little kids and so that
32:37
answer is a lot harder for me than it
32:39
would have been probably five or six
32:40
years ago, maybe even longer, you know,
32:42
eight to 10 years ago, which I coached a
32:44
lot of softball. So, a few years ago,
32:47
um, I was just working with the kids all
32:50
the time and I said to somebody during a
32:53
work day, they were probably sitting, I
32:55
really need a hobby. And they're like,
32:57
why do you need a hobby? You're so busy.
32:59
like, you know, I'm like, "No, I need
33:00
something that I can do, right? I need a
33:03
hobby. I haven't found one yet, but the
33:04
story is about someone else." So, I go
33:06
home that night and it was like she was
33:09
sitting at the table with me. My wife
33:11
says, "You know, I'm going to start
33:12
playing basketball here." And I said,
33:14
"You're not supposed to find a hobby.
33:16
I'm supposed to find a hobby." And she
33:17
was she, you know, she was confused. So,
33:19
anyway, uh, fast forward, I think my new
33:22
hobby, I've only played a few times, is
33:24
going to be pickle ball. Pickle ball is
33:26
something that anyone can do. I used to
33:29
work out a ton. I was a runner, had an
33:31
injury, and then really just like never
33:33
never started. So, I guess like the
33:35
hobby I currently have, I have a mini
33:37
Bernadoo puppy named Skipper. I like to
33:40
my dog.
33:40
>> It's it's really fun to live in the
33:42
community. I see people everywhere. My
33:44
favorite time to walk her is when I get
33:46
home to a late from a late night event
33:48
and she's ready. She's up. Everybody
33:50
else is sleeping and I take her for a
33:53
long walk around the community and it's
33:54
just a time for me to like be with
33:56
myself and my thoughts, enjoy enjoy
33:58
that. Uh but our neighbor little guy is
34:00
going into seventh grade and he's been
34:02
playing a lot of pickle ball in the
34:03
driveway so I started hitting around
34:04
with him. So I I think that's something
34:06
I'm gonna take up.
34:07
>> All right. So pickle ball could be in
34:08
the
34:08
>> Yeah, I think it might be. Well, I'll
34:10
continue to say that the K through2
34:12
conversations, whether they're Indiana
34:14
or Illinois, are some of my very
34:15
favorites. It's great to hear the
34:17
leaders talk about community and
34:20
belonging and those types of things and
34:22
helping our students during this
34:24
critical period of their life, this
34:26
season of their life before they go on
34:28
to be what's next. But Jen, thank you
34:30
for sharing your story, for being on the
34:31
show.
34:32
>> Oh, thank you so much. It was really fun
34:34
and you are great at what you do and
34:36
thanks so much just for Brady to do this
34:38
is really cool to be able to just
34:40
connect with different people and you
34:42
know stories are so fun and so to be
34:44
able to share mine just a little bit
34:45
with with you and whoever the audience
34:47
is uh has been really great opportunity.
34:49
So thank you.
34:50
>> Thank you for listening to the Elevate
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34:59
with the leaders who are driving change
35:01
and elevating organizations across our
35:03
community.