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Pioneering Pathways: Jeff Hadley on Innovative Inclusion Programs & Career Readiness for Students of All Abilities · Exceptional Educators Podcast by FrenalyticsEDU

• 0:00
  Matt Giovanniello: Welcome to the Exceptional Educators Podcast by FrenalyticsEDU, where innovation meets inclusion in education. I'm your co host, Matt Chilvanello, the CEO and co founder of Frenalytics. At Frenalytics, we put special education and English language learners front and center. Our award winning FrenalyticsEDU platform helps streamline progress monitoring, improves communication and compliance, and helps offer truly personalized learning to your students' availabilities. Each episode of our podcast features candid conversations with district and school leaders, classroom changemakers, ed tech founders, and industry executives, all dedicated to transforming learning for each and every student, especially our learners with unique abilities.
• 0:39
  With a focus on extraordinary educators and the exceptional students they serve, we explore the latest in special education, accessible technology, and inclusive leadership. In this episode, Exceptional Educators is exceptionally thrilled to welcome Doctor. Jeff Hadley, the superintendent of Avonworth School District in Pennsylvania, a district nationally recognized for innovation and inclusion. From unified sports teams and the Jam Be the Kind Kid movement to a coffee shop run by students in the life skills program, Doctor. Hadley has built a culture where every student is seen, valued, and challenged to grow.
• 1:09
  Jeff, thank you for joining our podcast this morning. It's so great to have you here.
• 1:12
  Jeff Hadley: Absolutely. Thanks for inviting me.
• 1:14
  Matt Giovanniello: Of course. We want to open today's episode with a question we ask each of our guests. That question is, what is your why? What brought you into the world of education? What's keeping you here?
• 1:23
  And what's getting you excited for your road ahead in your district?
• 1:26
  Jeff Hadley: Well, it's a big question. There's a lot of there's not just one, but honestly, making the world a better place would probably be the simplest way to put it. It's an honor to be in education and have the opportunity to work with amazing educators and amazing kids and families. Throughout my career, whether it's been a teacher, principal, central office administrator, and superintendent, it's just an honor to be able to contribute to the growth and well-being of kids, hopefully preparing them to go out and take on the world and be successful.
• 1:55
  Matt Giovanniello: It's an extremely important position to be in to shape the next generation of our leaders, our workers, and our community. I'm just so grateful that you find humility in that position and that responsibility. We're really grateful to have you in that role. I think one of the biggest pieces that just personally running a company that promotes special education and inclusion, what got me so excited for us to talk today, is your firm stance on inclusivity and inclusion practices within your district, not just in academics, but beyond. We listed a couple of the programs that Evenworth has been building over the past couple of years.
• 2:27
  One of them is that World of Work program. So tell us a little bit more about how that's benefiting students with learning disabilities and those who are struggling in traditional academic settings. How is it uplifting them? How is it giving them more opportunities than maybe they otherwise would have?
• 2:40
  Jeff Hadley: Well, the World of Work program is probably one of my favorite initiatives that I've been a part of. I'll try to give you a little bit of backstory. I'm the superintendent here that we are in the League of Innovative Schools. So, and colleagues in the Pittsburgh region, we've been fortunate enough to travel to different parts of the country and see different schools. We were out at Cajon Valley in San Diego, and they started the World of Work program.
• 3:02
  So, I want to give them a shout out and give them their due recognition for starting the program. We all saw it and we saw the value, and then we wanted to bring it back to Pittsburgh and create our own. So, there's four superintendents, myself and three others, that collaborated with members of our teams to create what's called the Pittsburgh World of Work program. And one of the foundational pieces of it is the RIASEC Collins code. All of our students, beginning in kindergarten, take the assessment to find out what their three dominant letters are of their code, of RIASEC being.
• 3:34
  That has been really the foundation of it. The kids learn what their code is, and then we teach them that their code can change as they grow. It doesn't mean that just because they're artistic today and that's their strongest characteristic that they're always going to be. We want them to understand that they're going to learn and grow and that might morph over time.
• 3:53
  Matt Giovanniello: I'm familiar with Ryosec from some of the districts that we partner with out in Indiana, and it's so cool to hear that it's reaching you in Western Pennsylvania. R is realistic. Those are our doers. I is investigative. Those are our thinkers.
• 4:03
  A is artistic. Those are our creators, as you pointed out. S is our helpers. E is enterprising or persuaders who follow the entrepreneurial realm. And C is conventional or more organizers.
• 4:12
  So just for some background there, Risek is awesome. So please keep telling us about it.
• 4:15
  Jeff Hadley: The kids learn what their three strongest are, and I'll give you a story to tell you why I love this part of it. When I was visiting a fourth grade classroom, one of our teachers that helped create the Pittsburgh World of Work program pulled me aside and wanted me to observe one of the students in the classroom. And she told me a little history about that student. That student in the past had been a little bit more quiet, didn't really interact with their peers as much, and the peers didn't really gravitate to that student. As they learned their rhyosec code and they started to partner for different projects, the classmates started to understand that that student was artistic.
• 4:49
  And they started to realize in certain projects, we need somebody artistic. So what she pointed out to me is how much that student was now interacting and how the other students in the class were gravitating to that student. And that student, as I observed, looked like every other student in the classroom, where in the past the teacher said that class, that student may have hit off in the corner or not really interacted. So what I love about it is that at an early age, every student in the class, whether they're a special education student, a gifted student, student in the class starts to learn that they have value in this world, they can contribute to this world. And then through the World of Work program, in addition to just RISEK, our kids, beginning in kindergarten all the way through eighth grade, explore seven different careers every school year.
• 5:33
  Not to say they're going to pick their career when they're in third grade, but so that they start to understand, I have talents, I have gifts, and my gifts fit in this world in a career like this one or a career like that one so that our kids at an early age start to see how they can contribute to the world and make their learning more relevant as well. They start to understand that, Oh, I'm learning this in math or I'm learning this in reading or social studies or science, and it's connected preparing me for potential careers in the future. So World of Work has by far been one of my favorite initiatives that we've been a part of.
• 6:04
  Matt Giovanniello: That is so awesome to hear, and I love that you're bringing up the League of Innovative Schools as well. For those listening to this that aren't familiar with Digital Promises, tell us a little bit more about what that looks like and what's involvement. It's an elite group of districts all around the country that have the most innovative programs to offer. You host other district leaders when you have your convenings. Just tell us a little bit more about what the league looks like for you from your vantage point and what you've seen through those other convenings.
• 6:30
  Jeff Hadley: Sure. Evan Worth joined the League of Innovative Schools in 2014. My predecessor, Doctor. Tom Ralston, went through the process. It's really a superintendent driven process.
• 6:40
  You have to be interviewed and the superintendent has to be the one who gets you into the league. I then followed once he left and I became the superintendent here. I did the same process so that Avonworth could remain in a league of innovative schools. When we joined the league, even my eight years ago when I came to Avonworth, there were maybe about 50 to 75. There's around 150 school districts now across the country that are part of the league.
• 7:03
  And we're involved in a couple convenings a year. We've done some work on the Hill in DC, working with legislators there to share what's important to us as educators, changes we want to see happen, and hopefully they'll support them in the future. But we have convenings where we get a chance to travel to different parts of the country to visit each other's schools. Like you mentioned, Pittsburgh actually hosted last year in the spring, and we had a fabulous time hosting educators from across the country. We had about 400 to 500 folks that were here.
• 7:35
  And I will give a shout out to Pittsburgh. We have the most school districts in one concentrated area that are part of the league. Last spring, we had 13. Now, I think I heard there were about four or five more school districts that are coming into the League of Innovative Schools. So, there's a lot of research that the league does that we get to be a part of and benefit from, but we also mostly benefit from visiting each other's schools, collaborating with each other, building relationships with each other, sharing practices, and helping our own individual districts grow and thrive.
• 8:04
  Matt Giovanniello: Well, that's awesome. So, so, so cool. So you were talking about the RIASEC program at Avonworth for grades K through eight or even pre K through eight. Now let's think a little bit about grades nine through 12. I know that there are grants that your district has been awarded and working on as it relates to college and career readiness.
• 8:20
  Not every student, especially our unique learners, are destined for on time graduation, let alone college afterwards. Exposing them to career opportunities that don't require a degree or require an alternative program outside of college is growing increasingly important. Tell us a little bit about some of the work that's happening under that grant program and how you're increasing access, especially to our underrepresented students.
• 8:43
  Jeff Hadley: Yeah, we are very fortunate. We've had a really great Pathways program in our high school for a long time. One of my desires with the of Work was to make sure we were preparing kids to get to high school and have a better idea of where they wanted to go. So that's what the World of Work program does K-eight. So when our kids get through that program and come into our high school, they have many opportunities.
• 9:04
  We have a great partnership with Beatty Career Center in our region here. There's nine Northern Area school districts that are part of the Career Center. Our students have that opportunity to go there. They have an opportunity to join one of the pathway programs in our high school, and we have teachers that sponsor those pathways. The pathways are meant to help guide kids into what courses they might want to take based on what their interests are and their desires might be beyond high school.
• 9:29
  But the Pathways themselves also provide a lot of opportunities, whether it's speakers that come in or field trips that the kids take out of the building to go and see different things related pathway. For example, if you're in the medical pathway, you get the chance to go see an open heart surgery just to get a sense of, Is this something I might want to do related to medicine? So the pathways are a very powerful part of our programming in the high school. So right now, we're involved in the grant that you mentioned. It's a moonshot grant through the Grable Foundation that was awarded to the University of Pittsburgh, and there are six school districts, Abmorth being one of them, that are part of that grant process, to reimagine the senior year.
• 10:05
  But can't really reimagine the senior year without thinking a little bit more about high school as a whole. So we are looking at our Pathways programs right now. I think what we're going to end up focusing on in our Moonshot grant is some of our underrepresented students. We're very fortunate we're a smaller school district, so I don't feel like we lose a lot of students through the cracks, but we want to make sure we're focusing on some of those students that don't find a pathway that might be underrepresented, and we're brainstorming ways right now that we can create a pathway so that every student gets an enriched experience in high school, hopefully opportunities outside of our walls to explore so that our hope is that every student who leaves here has a plan. So that's a huge focus of ours, and that Moonshot grant is a great opportunity to help us continue to build upon what we already have in place.
• 10:53
  Matt Giovanniello: That is so fun, it feels like a celebration, not only of completing high school, but saying, Okay, here is the package deal of what I'm about to pursue next, regardless of that CCR track, where each student's going be heading. I have a related question for you, Jeff. For your underrepresented students, as you called out, especially those with an IEP, a five zero four plan, your relatively small population of English language learners, getting to that finish line is exceptionally hard for them, and the need to think beyond twelfth grade, as you pointed out, and high school, and even before high school, is paramount as a result. So I'd love to hear a little bit more about some of the initiatives you've been taking on, whether it's through the grant or otherwise, about helping students reach that level of social emotional growth, helping them get exposed to employment opportunities even earlier on as a part of your regular special education programming. So even outside of this CCR push, how is your curriculum reflecting the needs of those students who need to be exposed to it a little bit sooner, and what's reception to that like?
• 11:49
  Jeff Hadley: There's a lot of different things that started to go through my head as you were asking that question. For example, our life skills students. We have a really thriving life skills program here in the school district, and we really believe that every student we need to prepare them for whatever that next step is, whether you're a life skills student or one of our gifted academic students. So I'm really proud we have a buddies program through part of our curricular program. So we have students, peers that will work with our life skill students through different courses.
• 12:16
  That's a great experience for them, but it also helps us with the inclusion part and the sense of belonging for all kids in our school district. We introduced the PACE program now. The educators out there will know what I'm talking about the PACE program for high school students. It's really a job embedded curriculum that our students go through in the high school and the life skills program to prepare them for work beyond high school. So we do have that coffee shop you mentioned that our students participate in.
• 12:43
  Again, that in and of itself really helps with that sense of belonging, which I think is a huge piece of the puzzle when it comes to feeling prepared to leave here, that you feel you have a sense of belonging in this organization here, and you build the social skills to take with you and continue that sense of belonging, whatever your next step or the place is that you arrive. Pathways, Beatty, I feel like we've tried to provide an opportunity for all kids to explore what they are interested in and prepare them to leave here and be successful.
• 13:14
  Matt Giovanniello: Going back to some of the pieces around your special education curriculum, Just tell us a little bit more about how they support your curriculum around special education, whether it's that life skills environment or resource room or the inclusion model that we know you follow. They could run independently of one another, but I'd love to know if there are ways where they overlap it just gives students that exposure as they're going through their regular academics and behavioral curriculum.
• 13:37
  Jeff Hadley: Yeah, I think what we do really well you mentioned our inclusion approach is we don't take it for granted the amount of support some students might need. So, we have special education teachers that are dedicated in the high school to different content areas. So you want to have those special education students involved in the regular curriculum as much as possible, but obviously with support when needed. So our special education teachers that are part of what you would consider more of the core curriculum do a fantastic job supporting students when they're in the regular ed classroom. We feel that's a really important piece.
• 14:11
  We don't want to take your special education students and completely pull them out of the regular curriculum. They're going to be able to learn at their pace and at their level in those classrooms with the support that's needed, and that's critically important for their continued growth, keeping that bar set where it needs to be set for them. We have great paraprofessionals in our school district that also support students that might need a level of support in their academic learning. And then, of course, I mentioned life skills programs. So, I really feel we're doing a great job trying to cover the whole spectrum of that ladder of least restrictive environment for kids to make sure they're getting everything they need with the support that they need, but push them as much as we can, too, to include them in regular ed learning as much as possible.
• 14:58
  Matt Giovanniello: You touch upon every piece of it, and you almost make it seem easy, but you're doing it, and we all know, especially you and your staff, that it's easier said than done. But the fact that you have all of these supports built out is really heartening to see and making sure that all of your students are supported, especially those with unique needs, but you're considering everybody k 12 learning disability or not. For those programs, Jeff, that you're building out, especially in support of students in a life skills program let's go back to the Lopes Lounge concept for an example. Let's get into more detail on that. How did that concept come about?
• 15:28
  How did you build it out? What obstacles did you go through? What are some lessons that you can reflect on that other leaders who might wanna incorporate a similar style shop in their district for those students might want to know about and learn from so they can kind of trip and fall a little bit less and be even more successful?
• 15:44
  Jeff Hadley: Well, started before I became the superintendent. I have to give credit again to my predecessor and working with the teachers to get it started. But we had an old computer lab. Things in technology have changed a little bit. We had a small building and we didn't need it as a computer lab any longer.
• 16:00
  So our former superintendent Tom did a great job of inspiring people to think differently about how can we use a space. It was really a collaborative effort between not just our life skills teacher, was a collaborative effort with the principal. We had students involved in design and just students involved in just coming up with what they thought it should look like. They created that space that became a coffee shop in the middle of our high school. We since have gone through a construction project where that became a space needed for a classroom, but we created a new Lopes Lounge that doubles as a concession stand now in the evenings.
• 16:36
  Really, lot of credit has to go to the teacher, Tiffany White, who helps run it. She runs it with her students. She's responsible for the inventory, taking the kids shopping for the things and supplies that they need in the Lopes Lounge. I mean, lessons learned really are probably just let the kids run it. Don't be too hands on.
• 16:56
  Just because they're our life skills students doesn't mean they can't take the lead. And that's one of the things I love about visiting the Lopes Lounge is you don't have a teacher overseeing too much or too much hands on with the teacher. It's the kids. If they make a mistake, they make a mistake. That's okay.
• 17:11
  Probably that's the biggest lesson. Just let the kids have ownership of it. It doesn't matter if it's the Life Skills Loves Lounge, too. Honestly, let kids have ownership over their learning and you'll see great things happen.
• 17:21
  Matt Giovanniello: That's a great reflective exercise, especially when it started prior to you joining the administration, but wanting to keep it alive. I mean, Jeff, you mentioned that you started at Avonworth over ten years ago. The fact that a student led coffee shop existed in the 2010s, any part of it, especially the early part, speaks to Avonworth's commitment to diversity and inclusion of student populations in special ed far more than most districts do nowadays. Kudos for keeping it up, it's awesome to see that that's been embedded for so long within your district. I want to switch gears a little bit and talk about, kind of on a related note, mindset beliefs, because Avonworth as a district clearly believes in supporting its students with diverse learning needs, not just academically and behaviorally, but through all of these other projects and initiatives that you've been describing throughout today's episode.
• 18:09
  That requires a growth mindset. That requires thinking a little bit differently than thinking outside of the box. I think a number of school leaders, not to call out anybody in particular, but they might be coming from an institution where there's kind of this fixed mindset belief, and maybe they're inheriting it from other educators who are tenured or are longstanding teachers there, or it could just be the way that they go about things. But for those who are trying to shift from this fixed mindset to more of a growth mindset belief, what advice do have there? What do you think are the most common pitfalls for people resorting to that kind of thinking?
• 18:39
  How have you at your district been working to shift those beliefs among those who might still think that way?
• 18:43
  Jeff Hadley: That's a great question. I think I'm very fortunate, so I'm going start with the school board. You have to have a school board that is willing to let you take some risks and some chances. And that's been in place for quite a while at Avonworth, where years ago, the former superintendent wanted to get us more involved with project based learning. And they took on some initiatives that were challenging.
• 19:07
  You think about mindset shifts, you think about the parents as well, and they started to see school happening a little differently than what they've experienced in the past. So, there were some difficult conversations that happened in the past about what learning can look like, should look like, and what skills and attributes we're trying to build in our students. I think that shift took place over time, and I'm somewhat the beneficiary of coming into a situation where there was a better mindset, a growth mindset in place. But to keep that going, you have to keep moving forward and keep those conversations, keep those stories and narratives at top of mind for people. So we do a lot through our monthly newsletter to share those stories, our annual report to share those stories.
• 19:49
  But I think keeping those stories, keeping those things at top of mind for people and seeing the benefits of how students are growing and thriving in innovative practices that we put in place keeps the school board informed of the value and keeps everyone moving in that same direction and not being afraid to take chances and try new things like World of Work, for example. Sometimes people see new initiatives and it can feel challenging and what's this going to be? But if you tell the story the right way and you have kids tell the story, you really start to see the benefits of continuing to push in that innovative direction.
• 20:25
  Matt Giovanniello: Of course, that is evident, by the way. But I think there's two kind of components to this. One, there needs to be funding tied to these unproven initiatives that it helps to certainly have that in place so far or to apply for grants in your case to make sure that these ideas can become a reality. But even if you do have the funding for it, to your point, you need the school board support. You need the community support.
• 20:45
  You need your own educator support and admin support. For all of those pieces of that puzzle to come together so nicely and to be able to do it for such a prolonged period is really special. Just kudos for making that happen, because I think that a lot of districts may have one or a portion of those pieces, but not all of it. And it shows because initiatives either pilot and never continue, or they never get off the ground. The fact that they are and they're just helping increase outcomes across the board is really special for your students, and I bet and I hope they're grateful for it.
• 21:12
  Jeff Hadley: Yeah. You made me think of something else that I think is really important. We've talked about the League of Innovative Schools, but one thing that I feel is very, very special about the Pittsburgh region is superintendents. We don't live in our own bubble in our school district and not collaborate or talk to each other. There's a lot of collaboration that happens, and I think it's helpful to school boards and school communities, especially in my region where our school districts are somewhat smaller, but we collaborate a lot with each other.
• 21:38
  And so, creating those stories together as a region has been also a catalyst for continuing to change and keeping that growth mindset alive. You also mentioned funding, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention that we are really fortunate in this region to have the Grable Foundation, because as you said, funding's important. One thing that the Grable Foundation has really emphasized is creating that level playing field. Whether you're a district with a large budget or small budget, all of us have the opportunity to get involved with ASA through the Grable Foundation and have trips funded so that if you don't have it in your budget, we are getting funds to help us go have trips, visit other schools, and participate in initiatives like the Moonshot Grant I talked about. So, I'm lucky in that sense.
• 22:26
  But I would encourage superintendents to make sure you're talking to your colleagues in your region and trying to connect with whatever those resources might be in your region. People generally want to help. Foundations want to help. Businesses want to help. So, a good ecosystem as best you can is a great way to generate support, growth mindset, and also hopefully funding to help you with your initiatives.
• 22:50
  Matt Giovanniello: So glad you called that out because I think that's another really important distinction between the closed mindset or the fixed mindset belief and a growth mindset. Closed mouths don't get fed, Jeff, as we know. And so if you're reaching out to your community in support of your students, I think you'd be surprised, to your point, by the number of foundations, philanthropic agencies, government funding opportunities, etcetera, that will come to you if you just ask. And granted, it's a little bit more difficult than how easy I'm suggesting it to be, but I think that banding together, the better together philosophy of multiple districts coming together to increase resources and funding and opportunities is one really important piece, but the other is the advocacy piece there, and if you are destined to get resources for your district, kind of no matter what it takes, next thing you know, you'll have them versus maybe expecting them just to reach you without asking. So I'm really glad you're bringing those pieces up.
• 23:38
  I want to change gears a little bit and talk about what's going on within classroom walls. So tell us a little bit about your philosophy at Avonworth about how data is being collected, both from a special education lens, but also more generally throughout the district to see how we can increase outcomes for students academically, behaviorally, socially, and everything in between.
• 23:58
  Jeff Hadley: Data for me is a dangerous subject just because I fear at times when we talk about data that people only think about that accountability piece. So, my philosophy and my approach with staff here is to emphasize more of using the data to learn and for us to grow and not be so worried about the accountability piece. One snapshot test score of a standardized test that we have to give in Pennsylvania. It's nice and it's helpful and it's important to look at, but it is one snapshot in time. And what we focus on a lot in our school district here is the data we collect in our classrooms, through our data process at each of our buildings with our data teams that we collect on a daily, monthly, weekly basis to analyze how are our kids doing.
• 24:44
  And we have strong intervention programs in place, especially K-five. But I'm really proud of our middle and high school because they're interested as well in continuing to learn and understand how they can use data to hone in on where students need support and help. But we use data a lot in our primary and elementary school to understand where our students are struggling, reflect on our curriculum, and how can we improve ourselves in what we provide to our students. We have a strong intervention program that puts kids into different groups, but we're very cognizant of making sure those groups are fluid and as kids learn and grow, we are moving them in and out of groups to make sure we are giving all students who might need support the support they need. Our special education students are part of that intervention process that occurs, so they're not receiving supports only as a special education student from a special education teacher.
• 25:35
  They're taking the same curriculum based assessments, progress monitoring assessments that we give, and we're using that data to hone in as well on core curriculum support that all students need. So, that's how we use data here. It's important, but it's not the be all end all. I also feel very strongly that you can't focus 100% on data and improving test scores. If that's the only part of your language, that's when everyone falls into the accountability side of the data puzzle.
• 26:04
  I want us to as well focus on that sense of belonging, the inclusion, the experiences that we can give our kids, like I mentioned through Or With Work, so that kids are learning that they're more than a test score. And I can't stand when we label students as a proficient student or a basic student, or they feel they're only met. They're only identified as a test score. I want our kids to understand that they have special unique talents that, you know, it's okay if you got 70% on something that's not, that doesn't define you. You are working hard, you're growing, you're thriving, you're always going to continue to learn and grow.
• 26:42
  That's more important to me than a test score.
• 26:45
  Matt Giovanniello: And I think that the D or capital D data can be a slippery slope because next thing you know, your entire district is making you know, moving mountains to move the wrong needle on increasing test scores only because that seems to be an accountability measure and we're not you know, we're losing sight of the broader goals of growth around a student that it goes way beyond a single test score that happens from year to year. So I hear you, and I appreciate that perspective. You know, the labels of students as proficient, improving, not improving, depending on the angle that you're looking at can serve you know, there's a time and a place for them, but it shouldn't be the sole thing that we we get all consumed by because to your very salient points, we're not going to be able to help a student grow and thrive in all aspects if we're only focusing on, you know, their once a year ELA measure, for example, a third grade. Like, it's there's so much more to a student than that.
• 27:33
  Jeff Hadley: Yeah, I was thinking about Simon Sinek and the word yet. You're just not there yet. It's okay. Not everyone gets to the same point at the same time. So we want that mindset for teachers and our students that you're going to continue to learn and grow.
• 27:47
  Matt Giovanniello: That's the beauty, but also the challenge and the reward of education. Every student is on their own path and they're learning at a different pace. Does that make the job of a teacher easier? No, but it makes it all the more rewarding when each of our students get there. I love that.
• 27:59
  Jeff, I have one more topic for you that I know is a particular area of passion, and that is Avanworth's athletics. Today is a big cause for celebration. Last night, girls volleyball team made states for Pennsylvania. That is so exciting. Congratulations.
• 28:12
  Tell us the role that athletics plays in the district and how inclusion within athletics is being supported district wide K-three.
• 28:19
  Jeff Hadley: I am very proud of our athletics. Since I came to Avonworth, there's been so many successes. The girls volleyball being one of them you mentioned from last night. Those girls actually came into what's called the Western Pennsylvania playoffs as the 11 seed and historically won as an 11 seed, won the Whitfield championship, and now continued to succeed, and they're going to the state championship. Our football team continues to do well.
• 28:44
  What is the ingredient to that? I think it's great families, great youth programs, great coaches that support our students and our student athletes, and really a sense of community. We just support our kids in whatever their endeavors are. We have an extremely successful music program as well. I don't want to leave them out.
• 29:00
  Our band is incredible. As far as the inclusion part, our students can be involved in any of these activities in any way that will suit them with whatever their skills are they want to bring to that. So, we're just really proud of all the success we've continued to have, both athletics and our drama program. I can't leave them out. We have so many students who are part of the drama program, and that's probably a great one for the inclusion piece because there are so many roles.
• 29:24
  You don't have to be on stage to be part of the drama program. You can be behind the scenes, working on lighting, working on sound. So our students, being a small school district, whether you're a special education student, high academic learner, you have a place. You have an opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities. I'm happy to see all of them be so successful.
• 29:45
  Matt Giovanniello: It's super, super special, and it's reminding me, Jeff, of some of the programming from the public high school I attended on Long Island. We had Best Buddies. We had Center Stage, which is really similar to the drama program for inclusion that you're describing. And it's reminding me that I'm glad that these programs are everywhere, not just my little neck of the woods, but they're reaching students far and wide. And so I'm just so glad that you're passionate about it, that you're leading the charge there, and that all of these opportunities are available to students regardless of their abilities or disabilities.
• 30:13
  That's really awesome to hear.
• 30:15
  Jeff Hadley: One thing that makes us, I think, special as well are principals and teachers. All it really takes is a parent or a student speaking up and saying, I need this, or I'd like to do this, and we do everything we can to make that happen for kids. So just a shout out to our amazing staff all around, our teachers and administrators, our paraprofessionals just do a fantastic job supporting kids. That's one ingredient that's really special here is how much people just simply care about kids.
• 30:39
  Matt Giovanniello: That's amazing to see it on full display each and every day. It must make you immensely proud. The fact that your community not only is bought into this belief that they have a voice, but that they're actually advocating for themselves and executing on it and giving all sorts of amazing suggestions that your wonderful staff are really considering and have implemented over the years. What a cool blueprint. I hope that everybody listening to this in a district level hopefully feels inspired and is able to take on some of the many projects that you told us about here today, Jeff.
• 31:06
  Thank you. I have one more question as we wrap up today's episode. My question for you, Jeff, is what does being an exceptional educator or being an exceptional leader mean to you? It means putting others first.
• 31:17
  Jeff Hadley: You have to be willing to be behind the scenes to do a lot of work to make other people successful, whether it's kids, your administrators, your teachers. And I think that's for me anyway, that's what's important to me. It's not me being out front. It's doing the things I do to hopefully support everyone else in their endeavors, which will that's success to me, to see other others succeed.
• 31:41
  Matt Giovanniello: That's huge. It is so selfless. You're paying it forward. The humility is there. Jeff, you're exceptional for the work that you do leading your district.
• 31:48
  Thank you. And it sounds like your administrative team and your building leadership and your teachers and everybody in between are exceptional as well. So thank you for sharing your story and your voice and inspiring us today. It was such an honor to chat with you this morning. For everybody listening to today's episode of the Exceptional Educators Podcast, thank you again for joining us, and we look forward to seeing you at the next one.