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 [email protected]
• 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

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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. 

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. 

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.