Catherine Wang: We’re seeing even more clearly, when we commit the time, when we are together, we are becoming much more aligned on our values and our mission of growing every heart and mind. 

[Intro music plays in the background.]

Introduction

Janet Pilcher: Hello everyone, welcome to the Accelerate Your Performance podcast. I’m your host, Dr. Janet Pilcher, founder and president of Studer Education. 

If you’re searching for a clear sign that it’s time to invest in leader development, let my guest be your encouragement. Today I’m happy to welcome Dr. Catherine Wang, Superintendent of Glencoe School District 35. She’s here to share how fostering strong leadership has brought her district to a place of tight alignment with everyone pulling in the same direction. We’ll dive into that along with the strategic power of the pause. 

Before stepping into her current role, Catherine served as a teacher, technology director, principal and director of curriculum and instruction. Under her leadership, Glencoe has successfully implemented many initiatives including curricular alignment across all content areas, comprehensive communication plans, and an assessment plan addressing both academic and social emotional growth for students. Let’s dive in and hear about the journey to building highly aligned leaders. 

Interview

Janet Pilcher:  It’s with great pleasure that I welcome Catherine to our show today. Catherine, welcome. 

Catherine Wang: Thank you. Thanks so much for having me and for all the work that you do, Janet. You and the team at Studer have really made a difference in our lives, so thank you. 

Janet Pilcher: Well, thank you so much. So let’s start with you, Catherine. Tell us a little bit about your leadership background and what led you to the role that you’re in. 

Catherine Wang: Yes. So I have to say education was not originally my path. I thought I was headed into a career in medicine and after undergrad, I took some time. I taught overseas, and it really started a spark for me. And I thought about considering ways that I could make stronger connections and make a deeper impact in a longer term way. 

Fast forward, I went back to school, grad school for school administration, and I found a new passion in serving students and serving families and serving staff. And I would say along the way, I had leaders who really supported and mentored me to try new things and saw some potential. So I had the opportunity to be in a few roles after teaching. I was a tech director, a principal of a few different buildings and curriculum director before. Now my opportunity as a superintendent, and I think all of them have really have been a challenge. I say I learn something new every day, and I also still get a great deal of passion in the work and fulfillment in helping others. I really feel like that’s my job is being that support team to help others thrive, whether it’s a child or a student, a family or a staff member. 

Janet Pilcher: Yeah, you know, and it’s so funny, Catherine, because you know, my path, I didn’t go right into education. I was, I just kind of got pulled. It was probably a passion of mine, but I was doing other things and just got pulled back in it and you just know. You know, I mean, you just know, once you have that touch of teaching and helping people learn, you know, you’re just drawn to it. You just, you can’t leave it, I think. 

Catherine Wang: And I, you probably feel the same way in all your years. It’s not work. It fulfills me and drives me in a way that it, you know, you hit that flow state of like, Hey, we’re doing good, we’re doing good work here, and how else can I help others? That keeps me going. 

Janet Pilcher: Yeah, so good. So let’s talk a little bit more about the work that you do as superintendent. And I know that you value investing in organizational development and the work that you’re doing in your school district to develop your people as well as to hit the, you know, the measures that matter within your district. So why is that a priority for you as a superintendent? 

Catherine Wang: Yeah, I think I’ve grown in this area and continue to grow greatly every day. The time to build in that leader support, that coaching, the defined development only benefits the whole district. So finding time to learn, to reflect, to define the processes that connect the work that we’re doing has been really critical. I also find that as leaders, giving our leaders the opportunity to really think about a safe place to work through things, to reflect, to talk about failures and how we might do something different next time, that only strengthens what we’re trying to model and do for our students and ask our teachers to do for our students. 

Like let’s embrace failure, let’s learn from our mistakes, let’s be reflective. I also feel like building that capacity from a leadership level only at the end of the day is going to benefit the students whom we serve and keep our staff more engaged, keep our leaders more engaged. 

I look back on some of the best work that we did as a district was actually during COVID. When we pivoted greatly, we responded to student, staff, family needs, and we got really tight with aligning with our values and our mission. And I think we can, we still can learn from that to say “how can we get to that place again where we’re really tightly aligned and we’re all moving in the same direction and we’re all working on those things that are most important to serve our students, to serve our staff, to serve our families.” 

And I think an area that we’re growing and continuing to grow is that idea of dedicating that time for our leaders and finding that time and allowing that pause to happen. We learn in the pause, and sometimes that’s the first thing to go of like, “oh, let’s put that off, let’s find that time elsewhere.” and it’s critical for our leadership. 

Janet Pilcher: Yeah, it is. And I think you’re right, there’s so many times that we have put that on a pause with really developing our leaders, attending to our leaders, giving our leaders a chance to process because they’re so in the work, they’re so tactical, they’re doing the day to day. But leadership is, there’s a lot of reflection to it, a lot of learning, a lot of learning when things don’t go so right. Or like, I love what you said with COVID, when COVID hit, we had to come together. I mean, we just had to come together and figure that out. And when we had to do that, we did, right? We did it in a way that we had to align ourselves with each other. 

Catherine Wang: And we did it in a way that elevated and allowed us to lean into all the great principles of Hardwiring Excellence in Education. That idea of huddling and following up and tight feedback circles; that was some of the best example of that. We didn’t name it then, we didn’t know it was called that. That’s what we were doing. And it’s okay to reflect on that and learn from that and move it forward. 

Janet Pilcher: Yeah. Yeah, so good. So let’s stay a little bit with development. I know that you’re deeply committed to new staff onboarding. So what are some of the changes you’ve implemented and what are some of the key insights you’re learning from your new process? 

Catherine Wang: Yeah. We intentionally took time to hear from our first year teachers, our second year teachers, and build in those feedback loops, really to understand what’s been helpful, where there might be barriers that we could address. We stepped back to say, you know, the true onboarding goes all the way back to how do we welcome interview candidates; how do we welcome you as you move through that hiring process?

And we added just simple things. We added a welcome video that really speaks about who we are, what we value, what kind of supports you can expect as a member of our district team. And we found that sharing that ahead of their first day of true onboarding just brings them to a place of being calm, connected, and feeling that wrap around from the district. And that’s been a really special change. 

We completely revamped our onboarding sessions to more closely align with what we heard from our new staff. We organized an annual plan, including many learning sessions throughout the year to allow those new staff to stay connected, engaged, and also problem solving some of the challenges they’re facing. 

One example, for example, we looked at our first fall one being a precursor to parent teacher conferences. 

Janet Pilcher: Oh, wow. 

Catherine Wang: Allowing it to be, you know, examples of ways to prepare, examples of maybe some challenging conversations you may face, but working through some role playing, how you could handle that. But it also gave new staff members an opportunity just to problem solve together and feel that support network as being new members. 

But through all of the work that we did, we realized we had been so heavily focused on our onboarding process and tightening that up for teachers, but we had a whole host of other staff members: teacher associates, office team, custodial support staff. And so we’ve taken that model and made an alternate parallel model for all of those other team members. 

The second thing that we realized through the process, and again through the learning through Studer, we were really focused on the traditional “you start at the start of a school year, and that’s when you onboard.” And we know that that’s not reality. 

We’re bringing new team members, not as many in our district, we’re a smaller district, but we’re bringing new team members along the way. And so we also created a modified version for that mid-year hire or the substitutes that hire all through the year to give them a mini onboarding session and address the needs. 

And through all of it, we’re continuing to gather feedback and we keep refining each year. Again, I think what we’re seeking to do is help all those new team members feel connected, to feel valued, and part of our culture. And it’s working. We’re getting positive feedback from that. 

Janet Pilcher: That’s good. You know, and I mean, two things that are coming to mind. I mean, one is that you’re using the feedback from the people who went through it to gather that information to make those modifications and changes and continuing to do that. And I’m thinking, Catherine, as you’re bringing the new employees on board with you, they also are connecting with each other would be my guess. Is that right? So you’re giving them more time to engage in conversations that connect them together. So I’m thinking they probably stay connected at least for a while. 

Catherine Wang: They do. They become a little class of 2024, class of 2025. And they remember and lean into each other in different ways. Even if they’re not in the same building, they feel like I have a friendly face. I have a connection. I have someone I can reach out to because we’ve struggled through some things together. We’ve problem solved together. Yes, yes, for sure. 

Janet Pilcher: Yeah, that’s a great advantage of really not just a “sit and get” meeting, but really engaging them in meaningful conversations with each other. 

So you’ve mentioned it a few minutes ago a little bit, but Dr. Greco, Pat, shared with us that leadership development has not always been a priority, but it is now for you. So what are you learning about the impact of having your leaders engaged as one team in that coaching process? What’s made that a priority for you? 

Catherine Wang: Yes. So we like to say in the past, first of all, I would say we have a very high longevity on our administrative leadership team. So there’s not a lot of turnover. And maybe you could say we got a little bit complacent in terms of what we were doing for leader development. And we also, I would say, approached it as I like to use the term if you’re having a dinner party as a family, like family hold back, let everyone else get what they need. We take the leftovers or the last bit, but we really were not intentionally looking at “what does each leader need to grow and learn and how do we promote that?” 

We’re now working together as a team, going through leadership coaching together with Dr. Greco. We’re seeing even more clearly when we commit the time, when we are together, we are becoming much more aligned on our values and our mission of growing every heart and mind. Being able to talk through how we’re using feedback loops, how we’re using rounding is helping us, again, to be aligned and a better path forward to address the needs of the district. And I think probably one of the best pieces we’re continuing to embed throughout our weeks and our months is that idea of taking every opportunity we can to ask that question, what went well? What would we do differently next time? 

And I hear Dr. Greco in my head, like that idea, like, let’s just get a bit better every day, a bit better every day. We always can. There’s always opportunity for that. And we’re seeing the value of that, of having those difficult conversations, you know, an after action report when we go through something. It could be something as mundane as a rainy day dismissal to something more serious that’s a safety event or other. And having that be an embedded practice that we work on as a leadership team. Let’s take a scenario or an event and let’s walk through it and just consider refinements. And that mindset shift and the dedicated time together is, it’s inspiring our team. It’s helping our team, like, lean into that in each of their roles. And it’s only helping us work better together for the entire district. 

Janet Pilcher: Yeah, it’s, there’s just a theme that’s running through the conversation, Catherine, and that is, and I think you’re doing, just leading this so well. It’s the, it’s using the tools, but it’s engaging people in conversations, using those tools to engage your teams, people in conversations around those areas that sometimes need our attention. So we’re not just going in, you know, I was talking to someone the other day and I said, “sometimes our job as leaders is not to go in and solve the problem. You know, it’s to basically hand over the problem to the conversation and let those as you would hear Pat say closest to the work, solve them. And they usually come out with better solutions.”

Catherine Wang: Right, right. And prioritizing time for that and maybe just a reminder about who, who else do we need to be part of that conversation? Whose voice is not present right now? Whose voice are we missing? And that has been another key component that our work with Studer has really helped us to think about, whether it’s the surveys we’re doing and, you know, getting feedback and thinking, “how else can we interrogate this feedback that we’re getting? How else can we dig into it and learn more? Again, whose voice also is missing from this that we need to hear from?” 

Janet Pilcher: Yeah, so good. So as we conclude today, I’m going to just focus it back on you. And again, just, you know, just my opportunity to have conversations with you and your conversation at the virtual conference, you know, just outstanding, Catherine, you’re just, I walked away from our virtual session with our first time connecting and thinking, “what a great leader you are. How lucky your team is to have you as a leader.” 

So, you know, as you think about that, you know, beyond all the achievements and challenges, what’s one moment or experience that reminds you why you do this work, what keeps you inspired every day? 

Catherine Wang: That is an easy, it’s the students. And so we are currently prepping for graduation of our eighth graders. Graduation is happening tomorrow. So I spent some time this weekend, I do an eighth grade graduation video from when they joined our district to when they’re leaving and just a montage of the memories. And as we consider and I consider the growth that has occurred for these, these students, it’s amazing. It’s a reflection not only of their hard work, but our staff members’ hard work and dedication, the care, the community that’s been built. That’s what inspires me. That’s what keeps me going and keeps me challenged to say, “how else can we get a bit better every day for the future?” Those those eighth graders are moving on, and they’re the future for us and our community and, and our nation. And that’s inspiring to me. 

Janet Pilcher: Yeah. And it’s an awesome responsibility. Isn’t it Catherine? 

Catherine Wang:Yes. 

Janet Pilcher: You know, I think through one thing you said a few minutes ago, I’ve said this a lot lately, but I’m humbled every day by being a leader because as soon as you think you have it, you know, you realize something happens, you’re like, oh, not so much. You know, I’ve got a lot to learn. 

Catherine Wang: I say that every day, every day. Learn something new or experience something. People might say, you know, it’s kind of, “is it monotonous at this point?” And I said, “absolutely not. Every day is a new challenge. Things happen that we haven’t experienced before.” And again, to your point, humbled by all of the staff members and families and students who make it work every day. It’s amazing. 

Janet Pilcher: And we know we do the right thing. We’re out for what you’re talking about. We’re giving the students and families their best, you know. 

Catherine Wang: Yes. Well, Janet, I just, I want to say thank you to you and Studer for all the resources and support. Again, our gratitude to you for being a part of our work and helping us to be a bit better every day. 

Janet Pilcher: Yeah. Catherine, we’re so grateful. And I look forward to seeing you in person in Chicago in July. So I can’t wait for that time together. Thank you very much. 

Catherine Wang: I look forward to it.

Conclusion

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Janet Pilcher: As Catherine so powerfully put it, it all comes back to the students. And every day we have a truly awesome responsibility to shape that future. Because quite simply, they are the future. 

Thank you, Catherine, for your clear dedication to your team and your students. Your gift for creating a safe space for growth is invaluable. And what you said about getting a bit better every day is a mantra we can all hold close. 

To hear more from Catherine and like-minded leaders, visit StuderEducation.com/events. There, you can register for and access all the valuable sessions from our Destination High Performance K-12 Virtual Conference. You’ll also be able to register for our conference coming up in July, July 22nd and 23rd in Chicago. And Catherine will be on stage with us there. So please connect with us, continue to learn and grow, and build those networking connections with people who are doing unbelievable work like Catherine. 

And as always, I thank you for tuning into this episode of the Accelerate Your Performance Podcast. I look forward to seeing you next time as we continue to work together to achieve organizational excellence. Have a great week, everyone!