Episode 341

full
Published on:

9th Jan 2025

More Than Grades: Building Schools That Inspire, Connect, and Lead

Join CT as he chats with Dr. Ryan Saxe, Superintendent of Berkeley County Schools, about building a thriving school district. Dr. Saxe shares his vision for blending trust, innovation, and personalized learning to create a vibrant educational environment.

Explore how he’s reshaping education with workforce development programs, leadership initiatives, and a focus on real-world readiness. Perfect for leaders seeking practical strategies to drive growth and engagement in schools.

Key Takeaways:

Customer-Focused Education

Public schools must prioritize engagement, relationships, and an enriching curriculum to remain the top choice for families in a competitive educational landscape.

Flexibility in Accountability

Dr. Saxe advocates for customized accountability measures that reflect the unique needs of each district and foster well-rounded education.

Building Relationships & Trust

Strong relationships between schools, families, and communities are essential. Dr. Saxe emphasizes creating a welcoming environment with meaningful parent-teacher connections.

Holistic Workforce Development

Berkeley County blends technical education and academics to prepare students for college, careers, or military service, ensuring real-world readiness.

Leadership Pipeline

Through initiatives like the Aspiring Leaders Network, the district focuses on developing future leaders by offering structured training, coaching, and growth opportunities.

Balancing Vision & Action

Effective leadership requires addressing immediate needs while maintaining a long-term vision for sustainable district success.

Continuous Growth

Dr. Saxe stresses the importance of lifelong learning for leaders, reflecting on his own experiences in adapting and evolving in leadership roles.


Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

04:09 Best First Choice

09:50 Customer Service

18:02 Instructional Leadership

27:30 Future Leaders


Connect with Dr. Jim: linkedin.com/in/drjimk

Connect with CT: linkedin.com/in/cheetung

Connect with Dr. Ryan Saxe: linkedin.com/in/cabellsupersaxe

Music Credit: Shake it Up - Fesliyanstudios.com - David Renda



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About the Podcast

Engaging Leadership
Uncovering stories and strategies behind successful educational leadership
Each week we sit down with inspiring leaders who are transforming education and creating positive outcomes for students across the country.

In their own words, these leaders share their daily challenges, breakthrough moments, and the practical approaches they use to build and support high-performing teams.

Whether you're a principal, superintendent, or aspiring educational leader, you'll find actionable insights you can use right away.

Want to stay connected with more stories from innovative education leaders? Visit engagingleadershipshow.com and subscribe to our weekly updates.

About your hosts

CheeTung Leong

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I'm committed to helping people live their best lives through work.

I'm one of the co-founders of EngageRocket, an HRTech SaaS startup and we are focused on helping organizations build empowered managers, engaged employees, and elite teams.

I'm a big nerd when it comes to economics and psychology and regularly use data and tech to help folks live their best lives.

I've been recognized by Prestige Magazine as one of the top 40 under 40 business leaders and have been featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, Business Insider, and Tech in Asia.

Jim Kanichirayil

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Your friendly neighborhood talent strategy nerd is the producer and co-host for The HR Impact Show. He's spent his career in sales and has been typically in startup b2b HRTech and TA-Tech organizations.

He's built high-performance sales teams throughout his career and is passionate about all things employee life cycle and especially employee retention and turnover.