Getting Unstuck #181: Stressing The Urgency for Change. Now.
“We’ve been focused for the past six, seven years on creating a better alignment – a better cohesion – between the world of work, developing student voice and purpose, and what we do in the classroom.”
“We have got to unleash the talent of the teachers to unleash the talent of the kids.”
Our guest
Mike Matsuda is a nationally recognized 21st century educational leader known for innovation, entrepreneurship, and compassion. Under his leadership as Superintendent, the Anaheim Union High School District has built a new educational model incorporating “reverse engineered” career pathways in partnership with higher education, private, and non-profit sectors, which have extended and transformed educational opportunities for all students.
Since becoming superintendent in 2014, Mr. Matsuda has earned several accolades, including: one of twelve national “Leaders to Learn From” Award from Education Week Magazine, the “Visionary Education Leadership Award” from Cal State University, Fullerton, the California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE) Administrator of the Year Award, and an honorary “Doctor of the University” from Chapman University.
Why this conversation matters
This interview is part of our “Unstuck” series. These interviews focus on school leaders who are not just getting unstuck, they’re already "unstuck." And by "Unstuck," we mean they are leading or embracing a major shift in student learning, instruction, ongoing teacher professional development, community relations, or personal leadership. They’re doing things better, not just differently, not just as part of the most recent fad or trend, but because they want to increase the likelihood that they can achieve desired outcomes on behalf of those they support.
These change leaders have also embraced one or more of the nine recommended change shifts we detail in our book, Shifting: How School Leaders Can Create a Culture of Change. Those shifts were heavily informed by our research with thought leaders and practitioners. Now, in this series, we tell the stories of educators who are demonstrating one or more of those shifts, highlighting where their school or district was before the change, and where they’ve led or are leading their school or district. In short, we want to take our narrative from principles to practices that can inform the work of other educators.
“We have 20,000 high school students and 11,000 of them are involved in a career tech education pathway. All the way from the traditional trades, but also to cutting edge areas: artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, biotechnology. We lead California in that area. And we bring in corporate and business partners alongside the Community College partners to design courses for high school students that can lead to a certificate or qualified qualification that that corporate partner is going to look for in hiring.”
Listen for
√ The “what” and the “why” behind the district’s “Career Preparedness Systems Framework”
√ Why the district emphasizes having students deliver TED Talks
√ What qualities Mike looks for in prospective principals
√ Why it’s imperative that elements of citizenship and democracy be studied cross-curricular
√ How Google and Amazon are becoming educational competitors
√ The role of partnership programs in expanding the definition of “Career and Tech”
√ The kinds of shifts Mike is demanding of his teachers
Connect with Mike
https://www.auhsd.us/District/Department/14175-Superintendent-s-Office
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