The School Perceptions Podcast
A place to share the inside scoop on the successful things schools are doing to confront their most pressing challenges.
Episodes
In this episode, Derek reviews the research literature on the effects of implementing a personal-devices policy in schools; and then Rob joins the conversation to talk the things that staff, students, and parents want a phone ban to achieve -- and they're not the same!
If you're interested in surveying your stakeholders, reach out!
Below is a brief bibliography of the studies references in the episode.
- Abrahamsson, S. (202...
Tammy Champa sits down with Derek to talk about her experience with transforming school climate in Hastings, Minnesota.
Here we revisit the impact of Wisconsin's landmark Act 10 legislation, which gave Wisconsin district leaders unprecedented flexibility to experiment with teacher compensation. Dr. Steve Kimball, from the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, talks about WCER's recent follow-up study, tracking what districts have done with that flexibility. And our own Daren Sievers recounts his process of developing a new compensation sy...
Superintendent Liz Freeman joins us from the Cedar Grove-Belgium School District to talk about using survey data to build trust, engage the community, and drive improvement.
Visit our website to see the various survey tools available for you to use!
Dr. Stephen Plum, superintendent of the Kettle Moraine School District, joins us to talk about the task of triangulating staff, student, and parent survey information -- and putting it all together with attendance and achievement data -- in order to improve parent engagement, staff compensation, and student experiences.
For more information about our staff, student, and parent surveys, visit our website!
Roy de la Garza, veteran school leader with experience in the Houston Independent School District and Carlsbad Municipal Schools, joins us to share what he's learned about how to improve student behavior, staff buy-in, and school climate all at once.
For our suite of tools to help district and school leaders do their work well, visit our website!
Steve Schroeder, of the Association of Wisconsin School Administrators, and Kelly Thompson, of the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, join Derek to talk about what makes for great board/superintendent relationships and how those can go awry.
Use our leadership tools to help get or to help keep your administration and your school board aligned!
Elise Murn and Kevin Mullen, of Baird’s Wisconsin School Financing team, join us to share their experiences and advice when it comes to informing concerned citizens about districts' financial situations. Hear about:
- Topics, questions, and responses that can derail community conversations
- The nuts and bolts of estimating tax impacts
- How property reassessments interact with school referendums.
- How to educate the public on the fun...
In which Anne tells us all about what's new and different in Wisconsin's new biennial budget, what it means for schools and taxpayers, and what kinds of topics of conversation we can expect to hear popping up in communities around the state. For more on WASBO, where Anne is the Research Director, see their website. You can also see our own data on the history of Wisconsin school referendums here.
Wendell Quesinberry, Administrator of Tomahawk School District, sits down with Derek to talk details about how Tomahawk improved staff and student perceptions of school discipline policies over the past few years. It involves strategic planning, cascading leadership, and of course lots and lots of listening.
To keep up with the patterns we're seeing as we survey schools and districts around the country, visit our resource center...
Wade McKittrick, of Montevideo Public Schools and BetterU Solutions, shares how his Minnesota district flipped the script on school improvement. From student-led healthcare pathways and a thriving welding academy to community mental health initiatives that changed lives, Wade walks us through how authentic listening and small-town collaboration can lead to big-league innovation.
Visit our website to see our suite of Iistening tools,...
McFarland’s Aaron Tarnutzer joins us to discuss how, why, and with whom to take the summer months to analyze and plan for the future.
Find more of our, well, findings at our Resource Center, and see our website for more information on the survey tools we offer.
Our VP of Research joins us once again, this time to talk about what we've learned from analyzing ALL of the staff, student, and parent surveys we conducted over the 2024-2025 academic year. There's good news, there's a little bad news, and there's some weird news, too.
Subscribe to our Resource Center to stay on top of future analyses, visit our website to see all of our survey tools, and use our contact form to reach out with any ...
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 proce...
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 survey...
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!
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 ...
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!
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 T...
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 c...
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