77: Creating Effective School Boards with AJ Crabill
AJ Crabill serves as Conservator at DeSoto ISD — where during his guidance, DeSoto improved from F ratings in academics, finance, and governance to B ratings — and as Governance Director at CGCS. He has also served as Deputy Commissioner at Texas’ Education Agency and Board Chair of Kansas City Public Schools. Join us for this conversation about creating effective school boards, letting go of ego, committing to continuous improvement, and finding alignment within our schools and classrooms. IN THIS EPISODE, WE DISCUSS: AJ’s reflection on the space between intentions and impact. The commitment to continuous improvement in the classroom and in the boardroom. Shifting the mindsets of school board members. Letting go of ego so we can embrace a student-outcome focused approach. The one thing that more schools need to succeed. Peer-to-peer restorative justice in schools. Assessment, standardized testing, and the importance of alignment. The emergence and use of AI and how we can adjust our expectations. A look into AJ’s new book "Great on Their Behalf: Why School Boards Fail, How Yours Can Become Effective". RESOURCES AND LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Connect with AJ on Twitter, Instagram, or send him an email at aj@ajcrabill.com Check out AJ’s website: ajcrabill.com Get your copy of AJ’s new book Great on Their Behalf: Why School Boards Fail, How Yours Can Become Effective Learn more about Rebel Educator, explore our professional development opportunities for educators and students, and check out our project library Visit us at UP Academy to learn more about our personalized and inclusive learning environment Connect with Tanya and UP Academy on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram and learn more about her journey here Check out my book Rebel Educator: Create Classrooms Where Impact and Imagination Meet: amzn.to/3AcwlfF Enjoying the show? Leave us a rating and review and help more people find us! bit.ly/RebelEducatorApplePodcasts We’d love it if you could take a few minutes to fill out this survey to let us know how we can bring you the best possible content: forms.gle/JcKHf9DHTZnYUmQr6 Interested in being on the Rebel Educator podcast? Fill out this form and we'll reach out to you if we think you'd be a great fit for an upcoming episode. forms.gle/zXR2KGPK3WEmbrRZ6 Want to learn more about opening your own UP Academy? Check out the Rebel Educator Accelerator: www.rebeleducator.com/courses/the-accelerator MORE ABOUT THE REBEL EDUCATOR PODCAST: In each episode of the Rebel Educator podcast, I deconstruct world-class educators, students, and thought leaders in education to extract the tactics, tools, and routines that you can use as teachers and parents. Join me as we discuss how to shift the classroom, the learning environment, the mindset, and the pedagogy, to resist tradition, reignite wonder, and re-imagine the future of education. This podcast is dedicated to all of the educators who work thankless hours to make our next generation the best it can be. It was designed to begin conversations on how we can redesign education for the future of work and the success of our students. It is meant for teachers, students, administrators, homeschoolers and anyone who interacts with and teaches youth.
AJ Crabill serves as Conservator at DeSoto ISD — where during his guidance, DeSoto improved from F ratings in academics, finance, and governance to B ratings — and as Governance Director at CGCS. He has also served as Deputy Commissioner at Texas’ Education Agency and Board Chair of Kansas City Public Schools.
Join us for this conversation about creating effective school boards, letting go of ego, committing to continuous improvement, and finding alignment within our schools and classrooms.
IN THIS EPISODE, WE DISCUSS:
- AJ’s reflection on the space between intentions and impact.
- The commitment to continuous improvement in the classroom and in the boardroom.
- Shifting the mindsets of school board members.
- Letting go of ego so we can embrace a student-outcome focused approach.
- The one thing that more schools need to succeed.
- Peer-to-peer restorative justice in schools.
- Assessment, standardized testing, and the importance of alignment.
- The emergence and use of AI and how we can adjust our expectations.
- A look into AJ’s new book "Great on Their Behalf: Why School Boards Fail, How Yours Can Become Effective".
RESOURCES AND LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Connect with AJ on Twitter, Instagram, or send him an email at aj@ajcrabill.com
- Check out AJ’s website: ajcrabill.com
- Get your copy of AJ’s new book Great on Their Behalf: Why School Boards Fail, How Yours Can Become Effective
- Learn more about Rebel Educator, explore our professional development opportunities for educators and students, and check out our project library
- Visit us at UP Academy to learn more about our personalized and inclusive learning environment
- Connect with Tanya and UP Academy on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram and learn more about her journey here
Check out my book Rebel Educator: Create Classrooms Where Impact and Imagination Meet: amzn.to/3AcwlfF
Enjoying the show? Leave us a rating and review and help more people find us! bit.ly/RebelEducatorApplePodcasts
We’d love it if you could take a few minutes to fill out this survey to let us know how we can bring you the best possible content: forms.gle/JcKHf9DHTZnYUmQr6
Interested in being on the Rebel Educator podcast? Fill out this form and we'll reach out to you if we think you'd be a great fit for an upcoming episode. forms.gle/zXR2KGPK3WEmbrRZ6
Want to learn more about opening your own UP Academy? Check out the Rebel Educator Accelerator: www.rebeleducator.com/courses/the-accelerator
MORE ABOUT THE REBEL EDUCATOR PODCAST:
In each episode of the Rebel Educator podcast, I deconstruct world-class educators, students, and thought leaders in education to extract the tactics, tools, and routines that you can use as teachers and parents. Join me as we discuss how to shift the classroom, the learning environment, the mindset, and the pedagogy, to resist tradition, reignite wonder, and re-imagine the future of education.
This podcast is dedicated to all of the educators who work thankless hours to make our next generation the best it can be. It was designed to begin conversations on how we can redesign education for the future of work and the success of our students. It is meant for teachers, students, administrators, homeschoolers and anyone who interacts with and teaches youth.
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