Episode 364

full
Published on:

13th Feb 2025

Would You Fly in a Plane Built By High School Students?

CT discusses educational transformation with Dr. Chris Allen, Superintendent of Midway ISD in Texas. Explore how a high-achieving district is shifting from rote learning to critical thinking and experiential education. Learn about initiatives that integrate real-world applications, foster future-ready skills, and balance academic and behavioral interventions. Dr. Allen highlights the importance of student agency, leadership development, and community engagement in modern education.

Key Takeaways:

Critical Thinking Over Memorization – Midway ISD prioritizes deep learning and problem-solving over rote memorization, ensuring students can think at the highest levels.

Experiential Learning in Action – Hands-on projects, like building an actual airplane, integrate multiple disciplines and prepare students for real-world challenges.

Future-Ready Competencies – Students develop skills such as analytical thinking, leadership, resilience, and lifelong learning to thrive in evolving industries.

Balanced Academic & Behavioral Growth – The district combines academic support with behavioral interventions, fostering student responsibility and ownership of learning.

Engaging Stakeholders & Overcoming Resistance – Successful educational change requires clear communication, gradual implementation, and trust-building with faculty, students, and the community.

Leadership Rooted in Transformation – Dr. Allen’s leadership journey is driven by a passion for systemic change, focusing on empowering students and educators to reach their full potential.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

02:21 Midway Mindset

06:52 Experiential Learning

13:39 Future Skills

24:32 Student Agency

35:11 Leadership Journey


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

Connect with CT: linkedin.com/in/cheetung

Connect with Dr. Chris Allen: linkedin.com/in/dr-chris-allen-926aa01a1

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 student achievement.

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

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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.