Adam Leckie: That idea of really thinking everyone within our organization has a voice to contribute to the conversation of improvement has been really powerful for us.

Introduction

[Intro music plays in the background.]

Janet Pilcher: Hello everyone, welcome to the Accelerate Your Performance podcast, where we gather each week to share strategies for hard-wiring excellence in education. I’m your host, Janet Pilcher.

Today I welcome Dr. Adam Leckie to the show. Adam is the superintendent of Casa Grande Elementary School District in Casa Grande, Arizona. He began his career as a special education teacher and has held previous roles as Director of Exceptional Student Services and Assistant Superintendent. I’m excited for you to hear this conversation today because it’s a good reminder of the interconnectedness of all the work that we do.

Adam also recently spoke at our What’s Right in Education conference. This conference brought together so many incredible leaders to talk about their successes, strategies, and how they’re continuously improving their schools and districts. If you want to stay in the loop and have access to this content as it releases, head over to studereducation.com/subscribe. So let’s get started with our conversation with Adam.

Interview

Janet Pilcher: It’s with great pleasure that I welcome Dr. Adam Leckie to our show today. Welcome, Adam.

Adam Leckie: Thank you for having me.

Janet Pilcher: Absolutely. So let’s talk a little bit about What’s Right in Education and the recent presentation and panel that you were on as we kick off. Adam, I just loved What’s Right in Education this year. It’s always good to be with our partners and to be in person with everyone and for people to meet each other. So I just, first of all, appreciate you participating in that conference with us. So thank you for doing that.

Adam Leckie: You’re welcome. It’s always one of my favorite events of the year ever since we attended last year because it’s really more than a conference. It’s almost like a professional learning community all gathering around the things they’re passionate about. So I just love being able to bring a team there and learn from other leaders.

Janet Pilcher: Yeah. Thank you so much. My conversation has been really around the network, bringing a network of people together who really can build those connections. And just an opportunity to have great leaders in the same place is a real high for me personally.

So let’s talk a little bit about your panel. You were on the panel and called Executing for Impact. You kicked off highlighting some areas that were bright spots, but just talk about a few areas that you focused on in that panel.

Adam Leckie: Yeah, that was such a great opportunity to share our story of improvement from Casa Grande Elementary School District and just sit up there alongside some other amazing leaders doing this work. So we, over the past about a year and a half now, have been engaged in this continuous improvement organizational excellence work with Studer. And in that time, the things I point to as real bright spots on our organization really all come back to this idea of putting people first and paying ridiculous attention to those that are doing the work.

And for us, we’re starting to really see some metrics move in terms of what we’re measuring for impact. But I always like to talk about how that’s been shaped by our focus on the culture and thinking through this idea of building a culture and an organization of gratitude where we acknowledge the people living our values and that are doing the things in our organization that we want everyone to be able to do and focusing a light on them. So that’s been really powerful in terms of setting the foundation for all the strategy that’s going to come later, really understanding how we can show up for one another every day and lean on those people that are closest to the work. So it’s been a huge cultural change for us in terms of just this intentional recognition and idea of celebrating the individuals in our organization.

The other big powerful cultural shift for us was really about shifting our mindset and thinking through our responsibility as improvers within the organization and not just role specific duties. And so how can I as a educational service professional or paraprofessional, bus driver, cafeteria worker, grounds crew, how can I lend my voice to the improvement process, identify where we’re getting stuck, wherever that might be for that individual, and then contribute that information to the people that can help problem solve and implement new strategies? And so that idea of really thinking everyone within our organization has a voice to contribute to the conversation of improvement has been really powerful for us, too, and celebrating that when it happens and highlighting those people who bring those types of pieces of information that we can act on for improvement to the forefront. So it’s been really great.

And the last thing I’ll share that I shared at the panel too is this idea of really leveraging simple tools. So as we build the culture, how can we use these simple tools and processes to gain the big impact? And I really think about that in terms of our rounding, our stoplight reports. Some of the most important strategies have really been the easiest lift for us. It’s just identifying with intentionality how we’re going to use those to move the needle on the things that matter. And they align with this idea of building culture and focusing on people because when you round, you’re really giving an opportunity for someone within the organization to have an intentional conversation. So those have all been such valuable approaches for us, and we’re getting such traction with that throughout the organization that that’s the thing that we know built the foundation for future success. And we’re starting to see our outcomes now start to move as well.

Janet Pilcher: Yeah, so good. And one thing, Adam, that as I’ve had conversations with leaders, the cultural part and building that foundation is important. And what I hear you say, which is very specifically gaining the input and the improvement process and building that culture, they all go hand in hand.

It’s not one or the other or it’s not one on top of the other. Am I making sense there? Because what you said was so well communicated in terms of how you integrate the two at one time. Does that make sense to you there?

Adam Leckie: It does. And that’s what we’ve really lived through this last year and a half is some of the tactics like rounding that we use help us build the culture, which then helps us gain the information and celebrate people. And so they’re reciprocal, they’re integrated, they feed off of one another. So you gain so much momentum when you start to really do the things. When you just start with this work, it really builds on itself, which was what we’ve seen.

Janet Pilcher: Yeah, so good. Thank you for that. That was such a good example with the three highlights. And just continuing to go with your people first, because as we know, organizations don’t improve obviously with our people and we don’t achieve results without them. And so what you are doing in your district is each administrator spending time working alongside another employee in the system, getting to know their work, getting to shadow them and understand that. Tell us a little bit about that experience and what impact that’s having.

Adam Leckie: So this really came about because of our desire to think about other ways in which we can connect with our employees to build one authentic relationships with people within every level of the organization and really what our responsibility is as leaders to understand what the work looks like if we’re going to make decisions as an organization that’s going to impact all these employees. And so it was kind of both to build trust and strategy and relationship, but also to think about information and opportunity for us to learn.

So this is our first year doing this, but the initial response has been overwhelmingly positive. The employees see the willingness of executive level leaders to get down to the school level, to the site level, the department level and really live the work alongside them as meaningful. And we do that with intention and real commitment. So it’s not meant to be publicity. It’s not meant to be, “okay, now that you’ve seen me in your classroom, now you just have to listen to what I say.” It’s really meant to be a part of our process of building this reciprocal relationship where we gain the insights that we need as leaders and then we help support the people that are doing the work every day.

And so, so far we’ve had tremendous success, and the executive level leaders that have gone in to the classrooms have always brought back something important for us to consider. And to think about how limited a scope that is and yet how powerful the information that we gather, we’re certainly going to be doing more of this as we move forward as an organization, because it’s just so meaningful and important for us to engage in this type of activity. So really excited about it.

Janet Pilcher: Yeah. You know, I mean, two things come to mind. One is people sometimes will get feedback on employee engagement surveys, like the leaders, they don’t really know what I do, right? This kind of solves for that, that you have a true understanding of what they do because you’re living that with them as they’re doing it. I think the second thing that you are alluding to is the wealth of information that you bring back, that when you’re making decisions, the other employee engagement survey, that item that usually gets lowest scores is input on decisions that affect my job, but you’re basically making decisions. You would have to bring that. You’re going to make decisions based on what you understand their life to be with more clarity because you’re in that work with them and having to look at it from a different lens.

So, you know, those are two areas, it just hit me, those are two areas that are just sometimes the lowest scoring areas that just that one action can have a tremendous difference with those outcomes. So that’s nice work there. And I’m sure enjoyable, Adam, you know, for your people, you know, I’m sure they enjoy the interactions with the people that they work with and shadow.

Adam Leckie: Oh, my HR director had a blast teaching kindergarten.

Janet Pilcher: [laughs] I love it. That’s great. Yeah, so good. Well, in speaking of the classroom, several of our partners focus on the classroom improvement efforts, taking the improvement work and integrating it at the classroom level with the teachers and the students. You’ve been doing that for over a year now. So talk about what shifts you’ve seen in the classroom and what areas have had great impact.

Adam Leckie: The leading classroom improvement work has been so transformative in terms of those classrooms that have been able to really fully embrace the idea of student agency and how these feedback cycles can really be applied to a learning environment.

And so we started with a select group of teachers on our outer ring of our strategic bullseye really that experiment and explore and as we gain insight into what’s working we start to spread that throughout the organization. What I’ve seen as a superintendent when I go into classrooms is this entire shift in it being really a directed learning environment by the teacher to one in which students have real say and ownership over the learning process. And I can’t speak more highly about how that changes the learning environment for the student and for the teacher because they’ve been empowered to provide the feedback that the teacher really needs to better provide instruction for our students. And so we started really small just getting plus deltas in there.

Janet Pilcher: Yeah.

Adam Leckie: And we really just had teachers use plus deltas for something simple. What, you know, what is going well with recess, and what could we do better with recess? Or, you know, what about lunch? And we so we started with this kind of introduction to the process in a fun way that kids kind of gravitated to but because they got acclimated and accustomed to it when we start to apply to the learning process they already have a sense of how powerful it can be because their feedback is actually being acted upon. And that, I think, is what changes. Students feel that they really do have a part of that process.

And of course some of the other things that we’ve leveraged in the pre and post test data tracking where we give students really that ownership over their own performance has been really great and just kind of sharing these stories within the classroom setting of how teachers and students view it after we’ve implemented has been incredible to hear some of the work that’s going on. So it’s been a real highlight for us and I think transformative in terms of how we’re approaching classroom instruction.

Janet Pilcher: Yeah, and are you finding, Adam, that as you started with a small group of teachers, you know, that now it’s beginning, other teachers are beginning to kind of look at it and say, “Okay, yes you know this might be something that I want to do or see the impact and the power of that.” Can you feel that continuing to kind of build in your system?

Adam Leckie: Oh absolutely, and that’s really the, the power that we’ve seen once we’ve set this real foundation of culture focused on gratitude and recognizing the people that are doing great work. The teachers and the people alongside them that are having these experiences and these successes are really the best storytellers for the rest of the organization.

So they’re the ones that are really going in there and saying, “I’ve experienced the power of this work. I want to share it with you as a colleague because I know your students will benefit from it and you as a teacher will benefit.” So they’re our best advocates for the shift in kind of approach, and it’s starting to really be this organic spread as we start to see other teachers gravitate to it.

You know it’s always amazing when you have the one teacher say, “hey, I saw what you were doing in that with your students. I really want to know. Can you tell me more about that?” Right this initiative to go learn more and think differently about the work that they’re doing.

I think our only anxiety as an executive leadership team is are we going at the right pace? Do we have the right supports available? Because, yeah, so many people really identifying it as a need. And of course, you know, we’re like any other organization. There’s, you know, it’s not uniform across our system, and we’re working on areas that are getting a little bit more stuck than others, but when you hear how powerful it is for those teachers that have been able to really grasp hold of it, it’s pretty incredible. So we’re excited about the future.

Janet Pilcher: Yeah and that’s the problem that you want to have is really working off of that organic growth where it’s not coming top down in terms of “here’s what we’re gonna do.” But it’s really, really beginning to organically grow with excitement for all the right reasons. That’s the greatest part because they’re seeing–it’s like what we all know. Most teachers want what’s best for all students, right, for their students, and when they see something work, they’re gonna want to have a part of it. I believe that with all my heart.

Adam Leckie: Absolutely.

Janet Pilcher: So we’ve talked a little bit about your system and leaders and the employees going down to the classroom with improvement, and so the other touchpoint that we know we connect with is our community and the industries that we work with, our families that we connect with. So talk a little bit about what you’re doing with the connection with your community leaders and your families and what goals you have in that area.

Adam Leckie: Yeah, this is one of a real focus and importance for us as we move forward, and this last year, we also refreshed our strategic direction and created our organizational scorecard. And one of the core priorities that we have for CGSD is to build strong family connections and community partnerships because we know that those are going to be really critical for us our success moving forward.

We’re in a community that’s growing at a pretty steady rate. There’s a lot of industry developing in our area, and there’s a large amount of opportunity for our students if we can create a system that’s going to give them the skills and knowledge they need to be successful. And so we’ve talked about this in the context of creating a destination district in our community–

Janet Pilcher: I love that.

Adam Leckie: –where all staff want to come and work and all students feel successful and so thinking about how we can communicate that message and how our community partners can be a part of that process because really as the level of manufacturing and industry moves into the area, we are poised and have a unique opportunity to build a pathway for our students to then take those high pay high status jobs in their own community.

The benefit of that and the power of that is that they then contribute back to the local economy and raise the standard of living not only for them and their family but for the rest of the community because those dollars get reinvested. And so what we see this is is a community-wide city-wide transformative approach where we’re really looking at everyone benefiting from a strong school system that’s focused on giving students the right skills. And so we’ve enlisted our community partners and our families and thinking about how their role can contribute to that. What are the things that we can do for each other to really build that system that’s going to give our kids that leg up and that clear pathway to be a successful contributing member of this community?

Because the one thing that we have here is this really deep-seated commitment and connection to Casa Grande. It’s a historical and generational connection, and so people want to stay here. They want to be in the community. We give we have to give them the opportunity to do that and still have a high-level standard of living too.

Janet Pilcher: Yeah, it’s so good. And I mean that’s the, it’s the connector, Adam, of what you’re doing there that sometimes we miss and we don’t think as much about because we’re so focused with what happens within the district and in our classrooms we forget about, you know, the common purpose of how we’re building impact in the community. So just appreciate the work that you are doing to lead that aspect of the work as well.

So as we close today, again, I just, you know, as we were connecting to the session this morning, I mentioned that Pat Greco sings your praises and always always puts your name in front of us, Adam, in terms of really a star and a leader who’s going to be one of the best that we’ll hear from for a long time. And she, you can tell by the the way that you connect the dots and look at systems as a whole and as you’re strategic and methodical you can see that.

So as you’re thinking of where you’ve been and then the work that you’re doing and and as a leader, you know, what have you learned or what will you continue to learn that you would provide advice to others like this is really key you know to being a good leader today in our systems?

Adam Leckie: Well first, it’s high praise coming from Pat Greco, and I have the utmost respect and admiration for her because she’s one of the most thoughtful and supportive leaders I’ve had the pleasure of connecting with. So it just really means a lot that she thinks highly of me.

In terms of advice for other leaders, it’s really, I think, about creating organizations that focus on people. And how we do that with intention, how we do that with strategic thinking, and how we use that information to continually improve our organization. There’s a lot of sayings that we use. We put people first. We focus on those living our values, and at the end of the day, if you don’t have an organization built on its people that are dedicated to the work, all the strategy in the world is not going to matter. So I think that’s the thing you have to get right is thinking about what systems you can put in place to build a workplace culture that’s focused on its people and building its people up.

Janet Pilcher: Yeah, such great advice, Adam. Such a pleasure to be with you today. Thank you so much for your time.

Adam Leckie: This was wonderful. Thank you so much for having me.

Janet Pilcher: Absolutely.

Conclusion

[Outro music plays in the background.]

Janet Pilcher: Creating best places to learn, work, and succeed starts with prioritizing people at every level. Adam’s commitment to putting people first has created, as he put it, a transformative change. I’m grateful to him for speaking about how this approach expands from district leadership to the classroom and into the wider community. It’s a powerful and lasting impact that truly is making a difference.

Before we go, just a quick reminder that the podcast will have a name change in January. Accelerate Your Performance will become Hardwiring Excellence in Education in 2025. Be sure to follow us on your favorite podcast platform so you don’t miss a thing. It’ll update automatically.

And I always thank you for tuning in to our episodes. As always I look forward to connecting with you next time as we build upon the Nine Principles Framework to hardwire excellence in education.

You are the ones who connect with me every week just like Adam has this week as a great leader across the country to make a difference in the lives of those we touch each and every day. I am grateful for the time that you spend with me and the work that you all do each and every day. Have a great week everyone.