Welcome to the School Perceptions podcast!

We created this podcast to share real, practical solutions that schools across the country are using to tackle their biggest challenges. Our goal? To give you the inside scoop of what’s working and ideas that you can bring home.

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10. We're in the Buffet Business: Strategic Planning amid Multiple Goals and Stakeholders

In this second half of my conversation with Ted Neitzke, we talk about the educator career ladder, managing conflict within systems, avoiding the dynamics of "reform churn," and so much more.

You can hear more of Ted on his Smart Thinking podcast, you can subscribe to our own newsletter for our the latest research we put out, and you can check out our leadership survey tools to help you in your own strategic planning process.

9. From Binders to Bylaws: The Evolution of Strategic Planning, with Ted Neitzke

In part one of this two-part episode, leadership expert Ted Neitzke sits down with us to talk about the Baldrige Excellence Framework, the human need for structure and status, and how to draw upon "legacy experts" in the developing a strategic plan.

Give Ted's Smart Thinking podcast a listen, if you haven't already; subscribe to our newsletter to stay on top of the resources we have to share; and take a look at our leadership surveys to help you in your own planning processes.

8. It's All Relationships: How to Build Career Academies, with Eric Burke and Lexi Allen

The School District of Rhinelander's Eric Burke and Lexi Allen join us to talk about how they're expanding postsecondary pathways.

Learn more at their Academic and Career Planning website, and find additional information about their Partners in Education program here, too.

To stay on top of what we at School Perceptions are discovering through our survey work, sign up for our newsletter!

7. School Stores and Life Skills, with Kim Smessaert and Phil Ourada

Under Kim Smessaert's guidance, Slinger's school store, the Rookery, has become so much more than an extension of DECA. Hear how Slinger is opening doors for its students, equipping them with the skills and experiences they'll need in their early jobs--and building community cohesion all the while!

For our next live recording, join us here at this link TOMORROW, May 21st, 11:00am central time, to hear Eric Burke and Lexi Allen talk about building career academies and establishing community partnerships in Rhinelander!

6. Strategic Planning Is a Win-Win, with Gail Gilman and Chris Thompson

Gail Gilman of the Minnesota School Boards Association and Chris Thompson of the Unified School District of De Pere sit down with us to talk about how and why to do strategic planning right.

Subscribe to the ⁠School Perceptions blog⁠ for information on upcoming live recordings. And ⁠visit our website⁠ to see what our community planning surveys can do for you!

5. Retention is the New Recruitment, with Tonya Olson

Lake Mills Area schools received five times the expected number of applications for an open teaching position. What is going on there that makes the district one that staff want to join and stay in?

Subscribe to the School Perceptions blog for information on upcoming live recordings. And visit our website to see what our staff surveys can do for you.

LINKS to cited sources in early going:

Tuan Nguyen, et al. (2019), "Factors of Teacher Attrition and Retention"

Wisconsin Policy Forum (2023), "Revolving Classroom Doors."

Tuan Nguyen (2022), "Burned Out and Dissatisfied?"

Michael Hartney (2022), How Policies Make Interest Groups

Matt Kraft, et al. (2020), "Teacher Accountability Reforms and the Supply and Quality of New Teachers."

Jon Shelton (2017), Teacher Strike! Public Education and the Making of a New American Political Order

Barbara Biasi and Wayne Sandholtz (2025), "The Political Consequences of Controversial Education Reforms: Lessons from Wisconsin's Act 10"

4. April Referendum Recap

Our own Scott Girard and Rob DeMeuse help us think through the Wisconsin school referendum results from April 1st. It's a wide-ranging conversation

1.) How did April 1st fit into historical trends in the state, and what is driving those trends?

2.) How does community conversation -- the information school districts share with their constituents and the way districts listen to voters -- affect the final vote?

3.) What can schools and communities do to make sure that they're asking voters for the right things in the right amount?

For more, see Scott and Rob's blog post analyzing these trends; and to contact us, use our website!

3. Opening Doors for Students, with Bill Foster

School Perceptions is in the business of helping schools do their jobs well. Every school wants to help kids plan for and access opportunities after graduation. Our founder, Bill Foster, joins us today to talk about our new "Opening Doors" project, which shares concrete examples of schools and communities doing innovative and successful things in this space.

Visit our Opening Doors page for more information!

2. What's Going On With Superintendent Turnover? with Rachel White and Rob DeMeuse

Dr. Rachel White, founder of the Superintendent Lab, joins Derek and Dr. Rob DeMeuse to talk about what's driving superintendent transitions, who's filling those openings, and whether it's even a good idea for a new superintendent to try to "hit the ground running."

Rob mentions our "pulse-check" tool for superintendents and boards, as well as our staff surveys, so I'm linking to them here, as well. And for more of our internal analyses, using data from the thousands and thousands of surveys we've done, see our Resource Center.

1. Superintendent Transitions, with Dennis Pauli and Anna Young

What does it take to step out of or into the superintendency well?

Edgerton's Dennis Pauli and Glendale River Hills's Anna Young sit down to talk about how they prepared to exit and to enter the superintendent position.

LINKS:

Contact us!

Our Resource Center

The School Perceptions suite of leadership tools

0. Introducing the show

Visit our website (SchoolPerceptions.com) to learn more about our work!

For an entire generation, the overall theory behind education reform has said that we need to figure out what works in general and then use policy and regulation to make schools do those things.

But if you’re leading a district, you know that no two schools are exactly alike – and what works in one place doesn’t always translate to another.

That’s where we come in.

For the past two decades, we’ve conducted a lot of surveys… More than3 million, in fact, for thousands of schools and districts, asking students, staff, parents, and community members what matters most. We’ve had a front-row seat, seeing where districts struggle, but also where innovative ideas are actually working.

So, instead of trying to figure out the thing that works everywhere, we simply share examples that we have seen work somewhere.

Each month, our podcast will dive into two areas.

First, we will highlight some of the most effective leadership strategies we’ve encountered. From improving staff retention to fiscal management, we’ll be talking with those leaders who have made it happen. We’ll ask them:

Second, each month we will feature districts who are successfully helping students explore career opportunities, discover their passions, connect with local businesses, and prepare for life after high school. We call this Opening Doors.

Nothing works everywhere. But if you’re a school leader, if you’re a parent, if you’re a taxpayer, if you’re a student – and the story you’re hearing sounds similar to yours – then there’s a good chance that what they did might work for you, too.

At School Perceptions, our mission is to measure what matters and help schools thrive. This podcast is one more way we’re working to support schools like as you navigate the complexities of education today.

Thanks for listening – we hope you find it useful and inspiring!