ExtraOrdinary Districts

Karin Chenoweth
  • 4.9 (44)
  • EDUCATION

Hosted by The Education Trust’s Karin Chenoweth, ExtraOrdinary Districts guides listeners through the toil and triumphs of three school districts. While each district takes a different approach, they all demonstrate a commitment to students, research, and continual evaluation to solve many of the problems that face school districts nationwide.

  1. 05/23/2022

    A Dream Project, Staff Shortages, and Canceling the Ku Klux Klan—Wait, What?

    In Episode 4, we hear from Melinda Young, superintendent of Steubenville City Public Schools, Kayla Whitlatch, Steubenville’s treasurer, and Lynnett Gorman, the district’s federal grants administrator, about how ESSER funds are allowing Steubenville to construct a STEM building connected to the high school, which they view as a long-term investment in students’ dreams and post-pandemic economic growth. “This is the money to use for our dreams that we probably would never have had enough money to do any other way,” Young says. In Geary County, Kansas, Dr. Deb Gustafson, associate superintendent, and Jennie Black, director of curriculum and instruction, say their ESSER funds are being used for essentials — like improving the knowledge and skills of teachers, raising pay for substitute teachers, paying for math and ELA curricula, and — they hope — hiring cooks to improve school lunches. Kimberly Hoffman, executive director, data monitoring and compliance, and Jennie Wu, director of school improvement, both in Baltimore City Public Schools, note that they, too, are having trouble finding staff — particularly social workers and school nurses — and talk about how they are dealing with those issues. Dr. Lorna Lewis, superintendent of Malverne School District in Nassau County, New York, adds speech therapists to the list of candidates who are in short supply. Throughout the episodes, we hear directly from expert education leaders about the significant challenges that they are facing. While they all note that many students and school staff have experienced loss and hardship amid the pandemic, these leaders also seem steadfast about keeping calm in the face of obstacles and ready to turn this challenging moment into an opportunity to greatly improve instruction. To hear more from Melinda Young and Lynnett Gorman, listen to Season 1, Episode 3 of ExtraOrdinary Districts and Season 3, Episode 7 and Season 4, Episode 6 of ExtraOrdinary Districts (in Extraordinary Times). To hear more from Jennie Black, listen to Season 3, Episode 9 and Season 4, Episode 4 of ExtraOrdinary Districts (in Extraordinary Times). To hear from the principal of Malverne High School, Dr. Vincent Romano, listen to Season 3, Episode 2, Season 3, Episode 16, and Season 4, Episode 7 of ExtraOrdinary Districts (in Extraordinary Times).

    42 min

  2. 05/16/2022

    Leading the Way

    In Episode 3, leaders in two states explain how they are using ESSER funds to pursue statewide improvement efforts. In Delaware, recently retired state superintendent, Dr. Susan Bunting, along with Dr. Michael Saylor, education associate for school leadership initiatives, and Dr. Jackie Wilson, director of the Delaware Academy for School Leadership, note that their state has developed a leadership pipeline that includes teacher leaders, assistant principals, principals, and superintendents, in response to the fact that 40% of current principals and assistant principals will be eligible to retire in the next five years. In Maryland, we hear from State Superintendent of Schools Mohammed Choudhury, who is using $150 million in grants to encourage Maryland’s 24 school districts to “choose their own adventure” and adopt two or more improvement strategies — ranging from the science of reading to Grow Your Own teaching force — that are proven effective. He notes that even small districts are eligible for large grants.

    29 min

  3. 05/09/2022

    Addressing Learning Needs

    In Episode 2, we sit down with Tricia McManus, superintendent of Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools, who says that her district is making the most of its relief money by using it to address pressing needs and invest for the future. She’s spending on everything from COVID mitigation and new curricula to contracting with community “violence interrupters” to help mentor and engage students. She is also hiring an evaluator to ensure that the district will be able to see what works and needs to be extended and what doesn’t and needs to be stopped. “I don’t believe we’ll ever have this opportunity again,” she says, adding that “This is a lot of money and we’ve got to be able to show some results.” We also talk with Dr. Tracy Epp, chief academic officer for Richmond Public Schools, and Tyra Harrison, executive director of teaching and learning for the district, who say that the infusion of federal funds has helped the district pump up its literacy program, which is now “on steroids,” thanks to a new literacy institute, investments in teacher training, a new reading program, and the purchase of classroom libraries and books for students to take home. To hear more from Dr. Tricia McManus, listen to Season 3, Episode 15 of ExtraOrdinary Districts (in Extraordinary Times) and Season 1, Episode 6 of EdTrusted

    24 min

  4. 05/02/2022

    Where Are All Those Dollars Going?

    In Episode 1, we talk about the big picture with Phyllis Jordan of FutureEd, a Washington think tank that has been tracking how districts are spending the money. She says that what is very clear is that what she calls “under-resourced districts” are using much of their money for immediate needs, such as repairs or to prevent illness. We also talk with Dr. Luvelle Brown, a superintendent in Ithaca, New York, and Dr. Corey Miklus, a superintendent in Seaford, Delaware, about how much of their Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds had to be spent to keep students and staff safe from illness. And Seaford’s director of building services, Doug Henry, explains what it takes to retrofit old buildings so that they repel water and circulate air properly. To hear more from Dr. Luvelle Brown, listen to Season 1, Episode 6 of EdTrusted. To hear more from Dr. Corey Miklus, listen to Season 2, Episode 4 of ExtraOrdinary Districts and Season 3, Episode 6 of ExtraOrdinary Districts (in Extraordinary Times).

    23 min

  5. 04/13/2022

    COMING SOON: Season 5 of ExtraOrdinary Districts

    Are you wondering how school districts are spending the money the federal government sent them to get through the COVID crisis? Karin Chenoweth, a writer-in-residence at The Education Trust, has been talking with educators around the country for Season 5 of ExtraOrdinary Districts. Karin explores how this once-in-a-generation investment in education is being used to meet the immediate needs of students during the pandemic and to set up long-term strategies to address inequities.

    3 min

  6. 04/23/2021

    Districts That Succeed

    In the final episode of this season of ExtraOrdinary Districts, Tanji Reed Marshall interviews her co-host Karin Chenoweth about Chenoweth’s new book, Districts that Succeed: Breaking the Correlation Between Race, Poverty, and Achievement, which will be published May 25 by Harvard Education Press. Be sure to subscribe to ExtraOrdinary Districts to be notified of new episodes when they come out.

    48 min

  7. 04/16/2021

    What Have We Heard? What Have We Learned?

    In this episode, ExtraOrdinary Districts co-hosts Karin Chenoweth and Tanji Reed Marshall chew over what they heard and what they learned from five previous episodes that explored different aspects of reading instruction. They connect the question of reading instruction to our historical moment in which we as a nation are deciding whether to be a democracy in which all citizens are equal or an autocracy in which some citizens are marked to be members of a lower caste. If we are to be a democracy, all our citizens must be educated. At the very least that means able to read. The podcast’s extended look at reading instruction was prompted by the Council of Chief State School Officers’ call to states to improve reading instruction.

    58 min

  8. 04/09/2021

    What Can States Do to Improve Reading Instruction?

    When Tennessee showed no progress on the last results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress and Massachusetts actually declined, both states were spurred to make some major changes to improve the reading instruction in their states. In this episode, Dr. Lisa Coons, chief academic officer of the Tennessee State Department of Education, Dr. Heather Peske, senior associate commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Education, and Katherine Tarca, director of literacy and humanities in the Massachusetts Dept. of Education, discuss what those two states are doing. Coons describes a statewide effort that is being driven by the governor, legislature, and state department of education to provide training for aspiring and existing teachers and school leaders, curricular resources, and tutoring services for students who are not proficient in reading. “This is pretty comprehensive. It is pretty intense,” Coons said. Social media, she said, has helped spur efforts within Tennessee to ensure that all children learn to read well. Part of that is a series of podcasts by American Public Media’s Emily Hanford, which has brought an intense scrutiny on reading instruction and the training teachers receive in their teacher preparation programs. The podcasts were cited by the Council of Chief State School Officers in its call to states to improve reading instruction, a call which prompted ExtraOrdinary Districts to produce a series of episodes on reading instruction. In Massachusetts, a new campaign called Mass Literacy is focused on providing grants, creating resources, and providing information about evidence-based reading instruction to educators in the state’s 400 school districts. “We’re trying to promote the idea that all our students have the right to learn in a culturally responsive and affirming environment,” said Tarca. “All students deserve to read wonderful literature. And all students deserve to be taught to read fluently and pull the print off the page. And none of those things are mutually exclusive.” Although the Massachusetts effort is much smaller in terms of budget and scope than Tennessee, “One of the messages you’re hearing from us,” said Peske, “is the importance of coherence within the state agency and using the available levers to us whether it’s licensure, educator preparation, in-service professional learning, access to high-quality instructional materials.”

    51 min
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4.9
out of 5
44 Ratings

About

Hosted by The Education Trust’s Karin Chenoweth, ExtraOrdinary Districts guides listeners through the toil and triumphs of three school districts. While each district takes a different approach, they all demonstrate a commitment to students, research, and continual evaluation to solve many of the problems that face school districts nationwide.

Information

  • Creator
    Karin Chenoweth
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2022
  • Episodes
    72
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 ExtraOrdinary Districts
  • Show Website
    ExtraOrdinary Districts