Anette On Education

As Texas moves into another special session, called by the governor to ram vouchers down our collective throats, Anette visits with Rev. Charles Foster Johnson again, Executive Director of Pastors for Texas Children. 

Once again, the Texas Legislature will determine whether or not Texas slides down the slippery slope of spending taxpayer dollars for the benefit of mostly affluent Texans who already send their children to private school, or sending state-funded debit cards to families who homeschool. Should the Texas House not stand firm against vouchers, the projections are that, not only will this significantly hurt public schools, it will empty the coffers of the state in short time.

Voucher and education research experts mentioned include Dr. Joshua Cowan and Dr. David DeMatthews. Education podcaster mentioned is Jennifer Berkshire with the Have You Heard Podcast. 

As Charlie points out, call your representative to stand against vouchers. Don't let Greg Abbott bully Texas into bad education policy. 

Anette has her a conversation with her dear friend, Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart, in his final days as President at Amarillo College, before he takes over as Chancellor at Austin Community College. After working together for over twenty years, they've formed a strong friendship they know will continue. Moving from Badgers to River Bats, Anette wishes Russell and family the best in their new journey, As chair of the Amarillo College Board of Regents, Anette will endeavor to find a new college president for AC! Russell, thank you for being my friend.

Anette visits with Pascale Charlot, the Managing Director of the College Excellence Program (CEP) at the Aspen Institute. Amarillo College was just selected as the top college along with Imperial Valley College, both co-winners of the Aspen Prize for College Excellence. Lots of good information is shared as Anette and Pascale discuss the award and the benefits of community colleges.

Pascale is a visionary and outcomes-driven leader deeply committed to student success. An alumna of Aspen’s year-long Rising President Fellowship, Pascale plays a lead role in crafting and overseeing CEP’s strategy to develop a network of transformational college presidents who share a relentless commitment to advancing excellence and equity in student outcomes.  Chief among these programs are Aspen’s Presidential Fellowships, which have graduated over 100 presidents of community colleges that together educate over a million-and-a-half students. In the Fellowships and across CEP’s work, Pascale helps lead efforts to strengthen the inexorable connection between institutional reform and student success.

Prior to joining CEP, Pascale was at Aspen Prize-winning Miami Dade College, where she most recently served as president of the Kendall campus, the largest of the college’s eight.  Pascale was also dean of Miami Dade’s highly regarded Honors College, where she developed and implemented a pathways strategy that increased the number of first-generation students who went on to attain a bachelor’s degree.  Herself a transfer student, Pascale brings substantial expertise to one of Aspen’s core priorities: advancing post-graduation outcomes for students of color and low-income students. Demonstrable student learning, equitable talent development, and social mobility for students and families are key levers that inspire Pascale’s student-centered approach.

A graduate of Duke University and the University of Michigan Law School, Pascale also held leadership roles at both New York University and Rutgers law schools earlier in her career.

A link to the process of selecting the Aspen Prize winner can be found here.

Episode produced by Darwin Carlisle. Music by Bret Boyer.

Anette visits with public ed advocates Ted Beard and Helen Warwick, discussing the recent op-ed written by the two of them in response to one by a community outsider with questionable motives. Thanks to both Ted and Helen for their pub ed advocacy and years of service! Learn more below.

Ted Beard Bio

Theodore “Ted” Beard was elected to the Longview ISD Board in 1998 and has served in various capacities, including assistant secretary, secretary, vice-president, and twice as president.

He earned a bachelor’s in human services from LeTourneau University. Beard is a retired sergeant major from the United States Army and a combat veteran of Desert Shield/Storm, in which he was awarded the Bronze Star,  and also an Iraqi Freedom veteran. He also retired from the Social Security Administration, where he worked as a technical expert and also as a collateral duty equal employment opportunity (EEO) counselor.

Ted currently serves as the Immediate Past President of the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB).  Also in 2007, he was appointed to the TASB Risk Management Fund Board and currently serves as chair. He is a 2012 graduate of Leadership TASB and a past president and current member of the Texas Caucus of Black School Board Members.

Ted and his wife Rosalind are the parents of three sons and two daughters.

Helen Warwick Bio

Helen Warwick served as a Trustee for Marshall ISD for 17 years, where she served as Board President for many years. She is a proud graduate of Leadership TASB Class of 2014. Advocating for the public schools of Texas and the nation is a passion that strengthened through her involvement in the Leadership TASB program. 

Helen’s involvement with the students of Marshall ISD is extensive. She has served the students and the community through her involvement in the Parent Teacher Association (PTA). Helen has held leadership positions in the PTA from the local to state levels, including campus level, City Council PTA, Area 13 PTA and the Texas State PTA Board. She has also been awarded a Texas Life Membership. Helen continues to volunteer in the classroom through the Junior Achievement program, as she has for the past 20 years. She enjoys being invited to campuses and interacting with the students.

Helen has a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and Masters of Education. She taught Kindergarten and worked as a substitute teacher. She also served on Site Based Decision Making Teams and School Improvement Committees as well as the Marshall ISD School Health Advisory Council. She is a past Cub Scout leader and Girl Scout leader. The Girl Scouts recognized her as an Outstanding Leader. As a Girl Scout leader, she participated in a statewide curriculum review committee.

She is also a regular volunteer with the local food pantry within Mission Marshall and serves as a tutor with the Harrison County-Marshall Literacy Council. Helen and her husband, Mike, have two children who are both proud and successful graduates of Marshall ISD.

Episode produced by Darwin Carlisle. Music by Bret Boyer.

After the governor's tour of private religious schools to push his voucher scheme, some passionate public education advocates put together a press conference to share their thoughts on this effort.

Music by Bret Boyer.

Anette visits again with friend and lifesaver Glenda Moore, founder of Kind House Ukraine Bakery in Amarillo, Texas. See how their mission and work has evolved over the past year. Recorded on the one-year anniversary of the major Russian invasion of Ukraine. Follow KHUB on Facebook to learn how to help.

Episode produced by Darwin Carlisle. Music by Bret Boyer.

Anette visits with friend and long-time Texas journalist, Evan Smith, of The Texas Tribune.  How does one interview one of the best known interviewers around? Listen and find out, and enjoy!

Evan Smith is the CEO and co-founder of The Texas Tribune, a pioneering nonprofit, nonpartisan digital news organization whose deep coverage of Texas politics and public policy can be found at its website, texastribune.org, and in newspapers and on TV and radio stations across the state. Since its launch in 2009, the Tribune has won international acclaim and numerous honors, including a Peabody Award, 23 national Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association and three general excellence awards from the Online News Association. Evan is also the host of “Overheard with Evan Smith,” a weekly half-hour interview program that airs on PBS stations around the country. A native of New York, he's a graduate of Hamilton College and Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

Episode produced by Darwin Carlisle. Music by Bret Boyer.

Long-time friend and educational leader, Doug Loomis, visits with Anette about leading a school district in these challenging times, and adapting as needed to meet the needs of all students.

Throughout his 30-year career in Amarillo ISD, Superintendent Doug Loomis has made an impact across the District, working in schools in every cluster and at every level. He began as a PE teacher at Wolflin Elementary and soon found his career growing along with the students he taught, as a science and health teacher at Fannin Middle School, assistant principal of Houston Middle School and Palo Duro High School, principal of Amarillo High School and executive director of the Caprock High School cluster. For the past five years, he has been the District’s chief human resources officer.

Mr. Loomis is a graduate of Oklahoma Panhandle State University and earned a Master of Education degree from West Texas A&M University. He and his wife Gisele, a retired teacher, have been married 32 years and have two grown children. 

Mr. Loomis was named interim superintendent in October 2018 and the lone finalist for superintendent in early March of 2019. Trustees finalized his appointment on March 27, 2019.

Episode produced by Darwin Carlisle. Music by Bret Boyer.

Anette visits with friend and long-time education leader, Dr. Jim Largent. After over 30 years in public education, Jim has shared his wisdom in his new book, Leading in Chaos, which can be found here.

Dr. Jim Largent graduated high school in 1983 and attended Lamar University and Sam Houston State University. He spent 31 years in public education as a teacher, coach, athletic trainer, principal, and superintendent. 

Jim is a four-time nominee for the Texas Superintendent of the Year, was named Citizen of the Year and was given the Key to the City on his retirement.  He has written a memoir, has several published articles, and founded a consulting firm. He can be found on golf courses around the country and at www.largentconsulting.org.

Episode produced by Darwin Carlisle. Music by Bret Boyer.

Anette visits with Dr. Arthur Levine about higher education, its history, but, more importantly, the changes coming.

Arthur Levine is a distinguished scholar of higher education at New York University, a senior fellow and president emeritus of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, and president emeritus of Columbia University's Teachers College. A thought leader in higher ed for decades, Arthur is also author and coauthor of a number of books, including The Great Upheaval, discussed here.

Episode produced by Darwin Carlisle. Music by Bret Boyer.

Anette visits with long-time friend and educational leader, Denese Skinner, Vice-President of Student Affairs at Amarillo College. 

Denese Skinner has 29 years of leadership experience in higher education as well 7 years of successful public school service as a teacher and a coach. 

At Amarillo College, Denese coordinates the efforts of the talented team within the Division of Student Affairs to ensure student success by enhancing the classroom experience through purposeful co-curricular activities and support services.

Denese has prior higher education experience at West Texas A&M University where she served in various leadership roles: the director for Career Services, the interim vice president of Student Affairs, the interim dean of Enrollment Management, the senior director of Enrollment Management, and the director of Student Counseling Services.

A few of Denese’s professional honors include: twice receiving the WTAMU Clarence E. Thompson Staff Excellence Award; recipient of the WTAMU President’s Community Service Award; honored with the Texans Caring for Texans recognition given by State agencies in the Panhandle region. Also on Denese’s list of accomplishments, you will find that she was a head coach of a state championship girls’ basketball team that, at that time, set a national record of 12 state championships. Denese is a graduate of and past board member for Leadership Amarillo & Canyon. Denese was also a part of the efforts of Panhandle Twenty/20.

Denese is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Supervisor as well as a Certified Professional Vocational Counselor.   She is certified as a Six Sigma Black Belt as well as a Gallup-certified CliftonStrengths coach.  Denese holds a M.Ed. in School Counseling from West Texas A&M University and received her B.S. in Education from Texas Tech University. 

Episode produced by Darwin Carlisle. Music by Bret Boyer.

Once again, Anette visits with Patti Everitt about charter schools in Texas. They discuss the push from higher ups to grow the presence of charter schools in Texas and beyond, and how they are not a good investment for the future of Texas.

The earlier podcast with Patti can be found here, from September of 2020.

Patti Everitt is a consultant on state education policy with a focus on the impact of charter schools on public education.  She collaborates with many statewide education organizations, school districts, and parent groups to increase understanding about how charter schools operate and to make charter schools more transparent. Patti has worked with national and international foundations, school districts, and nonprofit organizations to develop innovative education and employment programs for youth.  She is a graduate of public schools, and her son attended Austin ISD from K – 12.

Episode produced by Darwin Carlisle. Music by Bret Boyer.

Anette visits with author, speaker, and transformation and change expert, Greg Satell. They met when Greg did some training for Amarillo College, and Anette really identified with the info in his book, Cascades. (Link to Srdja Popovic's CANVAS website.) 

Episode produced by Darwin Carlisle. Music by Bret Boyer.

Greg Satell is a transformation & change expert, international keynote speaker, and bestselling author of Cascades: How to Create a Movement that Drives Transformational Change, whose work has appeared in Harvard Business Review, Barron’s, Forbes, Inc., Fast Company and other A-list publications. His earlier book, Mapping Innovation, was selected as one of the best business titles of 2017.

A Lecturer at The Wharton School, accomplished entrepreneur, executive and one of the foremost experts on transformation and change today, Greg speaks to audiences around the world and works with leading organizations to better compete in a disruptive marketplace. He is consistently ranked as one of the top innovation bloggers in the world and was named by IDG as one of “10 Digital Transformation Influencers to Follow Today.” Greg helps organizations overcome resistance to change and blaze a path toward a better future.

Greg was formerly a senior executive for the Publicis Groupe, one of the world’s largest marketing services companies. Before that, Co-CEO of KP Media, which he scaled from a small privately held company to a market leading, publicly held firm valued at $100 million with over 800 employees. The firm was sold to Ukraine Media Holding in 2010.

A global citizen, Greg spent 15 years living and working in Eastern Europe where, among other things, he managed a leading news organization during Ukraine’s Orange Revolution. You can learn more about Greg on his LinkedIn profile and follow him on Twitter @DigitalTonto. For rates, programs and testimonials, please visit his eSpeakers Page.

Greg is available for advisory, workshop and speaking engagements. If you would like to hire him for an engagement or an event, feel free to contact him directly at innovate (at) digitaltonto (dot) com 

Anette visits with Rey Saldaña, President and CEO of Communities In Schools, the national organization that ensures all students are empowered to stay in school and on a path to a brighter future.

Saldaña is a CIS alumnus, whose journey from former student supported by CIS to national leader of Communities In Schools, sends an inspiring message to young people nationwide about the power they have to write their own success story.

Most recently, Saldaña served as the Regional Advocacy Director for the Raise Your Hand Texas Foundation and the Chair of the San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Agency-VIA. Prior to that, he successfully served four terms on the San Antonio City Council where he was first elected at age 24, becoming the youngest council person in that city’s history.

During his four terms, Saldaña focused on helping to meet the needs and harness the skills of young people and working families in his community. He championed the expansion of park space and community clinics in underserved areas, fought for increased funding for the city’s public transportation system, successfully campaigned for funding of the city’s early childhood initiative (Pre-K 4SA), and streamlined the city and county’s child truancy court. He chaired the city’s Intergovernmental Relations Committee, where he worked closely with state and federal legislators on law making and local policy development.

Concurrent with his elected position, he taught as an Adjunct Professor at Trinity University and Palo Alto Community College. Additionally, he worked with The University of Texas at San Antonio’s Office of Community Engagement and served as Chief Engagement Officer with KIPP San Antonio Public Schools.

In recognition of his accomplishments and enduring interest in the mission of Communities In Schools, in 2017, Communities In Schools invited Saldaña to serve on the CIS National Board of Directors, making him the first alumni to join the Board.

Saldaña holds a master’s degree from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education where he studied policy, organization and leadership studies, and two bachelor’s degrees in political science and communication from Stanford.

The son of immigrants who came to this country from Mexico, Saldaña was born and raised on the South Side of San Antonio and is the product of Title I Texas public schools. He is a proud first-generation American and first in his family to graduate from college. He and his wife Jessica are the happy parents of Eli, Olivia, and two rescue dogs.

Anette visits with friends from Raise Your Hand Texas about their Measure What Matters focus. Libby Cohen, Bob Popinksi, and Kelli Moulton bring a state-wide lens to the current accountability system in Texas, and whether or not it is the best thing for our schools and our students. Become part of this important conversation by first learning more about it from these experts.

Anette visits with friend and amazing humanitarian leader, Glenda Moore, who has been baking for Ukraine since 2013. Glenda was on an earlier episode with Anette, and also a recent one with Jason Boyett on the Hey Amarillo podcast, in case you want to learn more about Kind House Ukraine Bakery! Glenda fell in love with the people of Ukraine years ago, and now the world understands why. Listen and learn how you can help people of Ukraine by supporting Glenda's efforts right here in Amarillo, Texas. It really is a small world, isn't it?

More ways to follow the work of KHUB:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ukrainebakerykindhouse/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kind_houseub?igshid=t3sdsnjp9gol

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KindHouseUB

Amazon Wish List: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2GEKZWSCSRZKJ?ref_=wl_share

Audio editing by Darwin Carlisle of First Class Reels.

Anette visits with friend and long-time community college leader, Dr. Joe May. Dr. May is now with Educate Texas as their Community College President in Residence, but served as the Chancellor of Dallas College, formerly Dallas County Community College District, since February of 2014.

Throughout his career, May has expanded opportunities for students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree by starting at a community college. At the same time, he brings a strong commitment to improve the Dallas economy by helping to grow middle-class jobs. He is known both nationally and internationally as a result of his relentless advocacy for the role of community colleges in solving today’s most challenging social issues.

As a community leader and educator, he strongly believes in achieving academic excellence and has worked closely with public school districts, sponsored charter schools, career academies and early college programs.

A hallmark of his leadership approach for community colleges is the creation of public-private partnerships.

May previously served as president of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System; system president for the Colorado Community College System; and president of Pueblo Community College before he accepted the system’s CEO position. Respected throughout the world, May has delivered consulting services to new community college initiatives in Japan, the United Kingdom, Russia and Saudi Arabia. He also served in leadership roles at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas; Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas; and Vernon College in Vernon, Texas.

A native of East Texas, Dr. May earned his doctorate in education from Texas A&M-Commerce.

Anette visits with John Tanner, an educational writer and thought leader committed to a benefits-based accountability in every school and community. Accountability in effective organization is a truth-telling communication and directional system used to build trust with the organization’s stakeholders. It can be done well or poorly, and there are consequences for both. It would never be turned off in a crisis, which is when it is most urgently needed.

What has long passed for educational accountability has nothing to do with building trust, but rather, is based on the model used to force compliance with safety and other standards. This is a legitimate but also a limited model and must be deployed thoughtfully, because when such systems reach too far, they will create the very problems their creators intended to avoid. Their far-reaching use in schools has done just that, trapping them in a narrative of failure, with the poorest, most vulnerable of our students experiencing the greatest amount of harm as a result.

John has long believed that school accountability should be to students, their parents, and the communities they come from. His time and effort are dedicated to finding and putting in place what he calls True Accountability. True Accountability begins with the question: “what are your hopes and dreams for your children?” and then looks forward and determines what must be done to make that happen. Two questions show the power in this: was my child safe yesterday? is an important question but an after the fact report. Will my child be safe tomorrow? is the true accountability question, since it will be the one that directs future efforts. True Accountability in schools must be focused on generating enough trust with stakeholders that they entrust school leaders to shape schools in anticipation of the future.

John has spent his entire educational career focused on educational accountability. He started his career in testing when that was considered the best means for an educational accountability and has served as a state test director and an executive at a leading test publisher. He served as the director of accountability efforts for one of the leading educational organizations in the country, which is when he began formulating the ideas for what a True Accountability should look like. He founded bravEd (formerly Test Sense) in 2009, an organization dedicated to the True Accountability movement he helped create. John lives and works in San Antonio, TX.

Links to more of John's work: 

Texas Accountability Series

The Accountability Mindset

Policy Brief

Anette visits with longtime educators and friends Kevin Phillips, Chad Huseman, and Terri Huseman, all of Amarillo Independent School District. Kevin is Deputy Superintendent of the district, Chad is principal at Caprock High School, and Terri is principal at Rogers Elementary. All do an excellent job explaining the complexities, frustrations, challenges, and benefits of implementing HB4545, a recently passed law by the Texas Legislature.

A re-release from last December! Anette interviews her next door neighbor, Jerome the Gnome, and talks about magical creatures, coding (gnoming), and getting along with others. She appreciates Jerome being on her podcast, and bringing a little magic to the last podcast episode of 2021!