Making policy changes at all levels: Musings since my Live on Leadership with Jessica Sutter, President of the DC State Board of Education
It was such a pleasure to go Live last week with Jessica Sutter, longtime friend and current President of the DC State Board of Education. She has seen it all—from being an incredible classroom teacher to receiving her doctorate to working in city government from many perspectives to consulting with clients like the Gates Foundation, and Jessica’s knowledge shone through our conversation. You can catch the replay here or on my LinkedIn page—or below! Like all great conversations, this one has stuck with me over the last few days—I have a feeling that I’ll be thinking about some of these for years to come.
I think there is a 99% chance I have actually ridden a yellow bus with Jessica, likely when we were doing school observations in 2006ish.
When thinking about making change, think about depth and breadth—and what you are best suited for. One of the many reasons Jessica was really interesting to speak with is not only does she think about how to make change in her position as the President of the DC State Board of Education, but she also teaches graduate students about policy change (which is often at the school or district level) and as a consultant she works with all kinds of clients around change. As she gave advice on making change, she highlighted that schools and districts are really well positioned to make deep change, and larger systems are well positioned to make broad changes. As she spoke about some of her ability to enable the conditions for success, it made me think about how many times in a school setting I wanted broad change and was frustrated—and didn’t always appreciate that opportunity I had to make deep change. Then, when I was in a place where broader change was possible—I missed that deep impact I had!
Be mindful of your community. Jessica cautions against following best practice simply for the sake of best practice, and talks about considering the needs of your community and students. Especially going into our third year of a covid education experience, that resonated—and made me think that in the times where change I implemented was most successful, I always thought a lot about what my community needed. (And if I didn’t know, I pulled out one of my time-honored tools: piloting. My team got a little tired sometimes of hearing “We’re going to pilot…”—but we always got great data, and it always helped make the path forward clear!”)
More often than you might think, leaders are facing a blank page. Jessica talks about what she termed a “not sexy” example, but I object! The DC Social Studies standards are very sexy! When she went about the process to change them, something she campaigned on, she realized… there was no process. We talked about how often people assume there is a way you ____________(fill in the blank with your desired change) but there often isn’t, and you need to create one. As a leader, you have great power in the blank page but also a great responsibility to include as many people in the process as possible so it reflects all the people you represent.
Experts listen more than they talk. Jessica talked about how she assumed that when she was the expert in a room, she’d share her knowledge—but really, so much of what she does is listen, and try to really hear what her community is saying (as noted a few paragraphs ago!). In many ways listening (surely in many cases for hours through public hearings and the like) allows her to think big picture and synthesize and reflect back what others are saying.
The world is so small, and that gives me comfort and hope. One of Jessica’s current students in graduate school was a woman I taught in 7th grade! She is leading the school I helped grow to full size, and taking Jessica’s course on policy making. We talked about how when the world feels overwhelming and scary (as it often does these days) connections like that can make the world feel so much closer together and the world can be of a little more hope.
There’s so much to reflect on but this is what’s top of mind for me this week. Leadership is complicated, and making policy change is complicated, but Jessica’s wisdom helps us all learn and reflect on sharpening the skills that allow us to lead successfully and make meaningful change.
If you’re interested in making change in your school, district, city or state, book a call here so we can see how I may be able to help you.
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