Read Transcript:

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Carla Cummins: Welcome to the Better Learning Podcast.

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My name is Carla Cummins.

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You all know me.

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I’m the host today joined by Mary Preston, our, EEML in the Dallas area, as well as Superintendent Mason.

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So, um, going in today, we are gonna be talking about what it truly means to lead.

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Design and serve through, well, we always say err, radically student centered mindset, which on our side it’s a little bit different than obviously your side.

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But we’re gonna figure what that means to you in this conversation here.

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So, uh, superintendent Mason, if you’ll tell me a little bit about yourself.

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I always hate bios, by the way.

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Chris Mason: Uh, no.

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Uh, my name’s Chris Mason.

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I’m the superintendent here in equipment.

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ISD Uh, we’re a rural school district out in East Texas.

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Uh, so we serve about 1200 students.

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Uh, we’re pre-K through 12, uh, very, uh, traditional in that where we’ve got, you know, three buildings and, three different principles and all the fun stuff, and so.

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Uh, very community driven hearing equipment.

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Um, this is my 22nd year in education.

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Um, I’ve gotten to be a little bit of everything, uh, taught and coached in junior high, high school was a, uh, lead junior high principal, a lead high school principal, uh, then an assistant superintendent of federal programs.

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And I always say slash uh, when you’re in small school.

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Uh, did safety, security, maintenance and operations, athletics, uh, curriculum instruction, a little bit of everything.

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And so, uh, have now been the superintendent here in equipment for the last, uh, three years.

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Uh, married to a wonderful educator as well.

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She’s an assistant principal.

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Uh, down the road from us.

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And so we get to have, uh, fun talks on our evening walks about all things education.

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And then, uh, I’ve got twin boys that are 16, uh, started driving this year.

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Uh, my hair was voluptuous and blonde before that, and now this is what you get.

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So, uh, but excited to be here.

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Uh, love public ed, love kids.

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And so, uh, excited to talk about that.

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Carla Cummins: Yeah.

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What’s, what’s been your favorite role?

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I mean, obviously you kind of have to say superintendent, right?

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But if you’ve said, you’re like, no, I don’t have to.

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when you think about all the seats you’ve sat in, because you had to have sat in a, in a lot of them, what do you think by far is your favorite?

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Chris Mason: Uh, I think my first, uh, go around as a principal at the junior high was amazing.

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As a superintendent now I look and I, I I look at the, the world of rainbows and butterflies at the elementary and go, man, that’s a pretty good gig.

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Uh, but I just really enjoy junior high kids.

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And if you’ve ever been a, a junior high, anything, you either love ’em or you get out of junior high as fast as you can.

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Uh, ’cause they’re just a unique, uh, a unique group.

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Uh, they’re trying to figure out life.

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They think they know things and, but they’re also.

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You know, just changing and growing and, it’s just a fun time to, to be able to, to serve and love kids at a, at that age level.

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Mary: What landed you into leadership?

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How did you get there?

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Chris Mason: Uh, so when I was coaching and teaching, I, I got the opportunity to go from a little small school out in East Texas, uh, Loke, ISD.

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a friend asked me to come to Mesquite ISD, Poti High School.

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And so I took a big leap.

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Uh, we went from a, a high school with 300 kids into it, and I, I landed at Poti High School with 1800.

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Students.

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And so, mosquito, SD was a fantastic organization and, at that time they were paying for, uh, up to like $7,500 of your master’s.

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And so I had the coach brain thought, Hey, I’m gonna get that master’s degree, it’ll help me get a head coaching job.

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Um, and my faith is very important to me.

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And so as I was walking through that, uh, just felt God saying, Hey, we need good leaders and we need good people to be in administration.

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And so.

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took that leap, uh, was able to be, uh, in Mesquite Leadership Academy.

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Um, and, and through that just realized the impact that leaders have and.

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The fact that, you know, as a coach, my, my circle was a little bigger than just a classroom teacher with the kids that you got to coach and then the realization of being a campus leader, uh, that circle just got bigger.

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And then, you know, as I’ve continued to step up, that circle’s just gotten more and more.

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And so going from, you know, the first couple years of teaching, having a hundred kids that you impact to now.

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this is year seven here at Equipment ISD and and 1200 kids every year.

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getting to have a direct impact on their lives and hopefully, uh, give them the skills and abilities that, let them go be successful adults.

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Carla Cummins: so I’m gonna guess, right.

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Did you, going into your teaching career, did you hope to be in leadership or was it just something that you were naturally led into?

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Chris Mason: Yeah.

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Uh, you know, I, I think it probably started when I was in high school and the fact that, uh, I have a criminal justice degree.

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And so, um, I got a criminal justice degree, thought I was gonna go be a police officer, and then was sitting through a second round interview.

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And in that interview, I, I’m, I’m fairly decisive and so in that interview I was listening to a guy asked me a question for the 19th time and was like, yeah, I don’t wanna do this.

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And so, uh, got alternative certified and, I, I think you just kind of fall into it at sometimes, like you have a, you have a little bit of, uh, ability, but also, uh, just having your yes on the table for things.

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And so when things came up and they said, Hey, can you do this?

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Yeah, no problem.

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You learn a new spiel and, and you learn how to, to navigate something else.

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And then, uh, that just kind of led into, uh, roles as coaches.

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And then, you know, my, my last stint in Mesquite, uh, I was the assistant head coach, which just means I got to do all the paperwork, uh, and, and, and have a cool title.

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but just saying yes to things and, and understanding, Having a, a growth mindset of like, Hey, I want to try to be a better version of myself every year, uh, and how can I do that?

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And so leadership stretches that and, uh, really makes you dive into it and go, okay, how can I be a, a better version of myself to help serve people?

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my definition of success of success is am I giving people the tools and abilities to chase the DR things they want and, and the dreams they want?

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And so, that, that process has always kind of been the underlying reason why I say, yeah, I can do that.

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Yeah, I can do that.

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And, uh, and so it, it’s just, it’s worked out.

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Carla Cummins: love that.

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So I guess, um, one of our questions that we always ask is, what moments or mentors most influenced you to lead today?

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I’m guessing that it’s the, the moment in training, right?

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Or in your interview that just.

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Is that the most pivotal moment or is there something

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Chris Mason: I think, uh, that, that my two years in Mesquite were probably the biggest ones.

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One, they, they did a great job of mentoring teachers and so I always thought I was a pretty good teacher.

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Uh, and, and then I got to Mesquite and the first data meeting we had, I was like, okay, I got, I got some things to learn.

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And so being able to have great instructional mentors there of really talking about.

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For the first time, probably in eight years of teaching, really diving into what pedagogy looks like and what tier one instruction looks like and best
practices in that, uh, really got my fire kind of lit beyond the, the playing field of, hey, this is a, an awesome profession and it has a lot of.

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Little intricacies in it that, uh, I hadn’t noticed before.

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I think the biggest step for me in leadership out of the principalship was, uh, a really a what I, some people would say a failure.

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I was on a, a job interview for a principal’s job, and.

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The superintendent called me back after the second round and said, Hey, I’m going with someone else.

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Uh, and I was, you know, of course disappointed.

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I thought I’d had done a great job and, uh, was ready and it was a bigger school.

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And, he told me, he said, Hey Chris, you need to quit applying for principal jobs.

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Uh, you’re ready to be a, an assistant superintendent or superintendent, um, and you need to just go ahead and do that.

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Uh, start it now and, and dive in.

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And so I took his advice.

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Applied for this assistant superintendent position here in Quitman and got lucky enough to, to, to be asked to come over and, and try it out.

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And I laugh.

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my mentor here, uh, Ms. Rhonda Turner, you know, that first year she’s like, you know, that’s just really a tryout year.

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We don’t know if, uh.

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If this is gonna work or not, Chris.

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And so, you know, I always mess with her about that.

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And, grateful for the opportunities of, you know, there’s so many people in your, in your walk that, that impact your life.

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And I’ve been lucky to, to, to serve under some great leaders.

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Uh, our principal, Dr.

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Karen Cummins at Mosquito D was fantastic.

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Uh, she was just a, a, an authentic leader.

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Her ability to, to communicate clearly and with clarity was, was something that you could pull away from and go, okay, that’s, that’s what good communication looks like.

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Hey, you know, she just had a really hard conversation with me and I feel like I’m okay.

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the ability to, to do those things.

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And so, a coach I worked with, Randy Jackson was a, a great, Mentor and the fact that, uh, a phrase I use from him all the time is, uh, when we talk about data, it’s like, Hey, do you feel like it was good or do you know?

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And so that’s a, a term we use a lot here when we talk about data.

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Is it, it, the feeling piece doesn’t really matter.

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What does the, what does the data tell us?

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And we wanna be data driven in our decisions and conversations.

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And so, uh, I could go on forever, guys.

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Sorry.

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Uh, about just the mentors.

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Uh, just so many great people, uh, and that, that were willing to pour into me to, to listen to me and ask questions.

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And then also love me enough to go.

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Hey, that was dumb.

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Don’t do that again.

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Carla Cummins: Yeah.

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Chris Mason: so that’s, I think sometimes those failure pieces are big growth moments as well.

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Carla Cummins: Oh, absolutely.

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Yeah.

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And I think too, it’s, it’s, there’re some of the biggest opportunities because to be able to be humble enough to just hear it out and just say I wasn’t so great.

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And to be able to acknowledge it and determine your next steps and how to be great next time.

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Did you have a question, Mary?

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Mary: Um, but I wanted to circle back to equipment.

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I drove through equipment about a month ago, uh, in East Texas and east Texas overall is just a beautiful special place.

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What makes equipment so special to you?

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Chris Mason: Yeah.

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Uh, so this is year seven here.

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Um, and, and so the, like, life of a coach, I’m like, I’ve never been anywhere.

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Seven years.

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It’s amazing.

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the community here in equipment is, is very special.

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So, uh, like a lot of small schools, uh, the, the school buildings and the school culture becomes the hub.

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Uh, and, and the term we’ve used the last three years is we we’re team equipment.

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And so, uh, we just invest in each other as a community and school district.

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And so, uh, I, I’m fortunate to, you know, be able to go to church here and be in a deacon in our church, but then also serve on the hospital board and our economic development committee board and be active with our Chamber of commerce.

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And so, The special relationship that exists here is just a, a, a fun one of everybody kind of coming together and saying, Hey, we’re gonna do this, uh, as a, a town, as a city, and we’re gonna try to take care of kids.

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Uh, we were lucky to pass a bond last May, the biggest bond in our school history at $30 million.

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Uh, and that that comes from having such great community members that served on our, facility committee.

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And then we’re able to go out and really talk to folks and, and.

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And fight for our kids and say, Hey, this matters not only to the kids that are gonna get to use it year one, but 50 years down the road.

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And so, uh, being able to just talk about those impacts and, and how important it is.

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So, so equipment’s a special place.

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And the fact that it just has a whole lot of, of great people that wanna do what’s best, not only for the city, but for us as a school district as well.

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Carla Cummins: I’m sitting here the, so Chris, I am born and raised in Texas, but I’m like, where?

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And I’ve not been there for a long time, but East Texas would be, are we talking up?

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Chris Mason: Yeah, so we’re about, uh, an hour and 45 minutes southeast of Dallas.

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And so if you know where Tyler is, we’re about 50 minutes north of that.

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Carla Cummins: Perfect.

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Yeah.

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Yeah, that explains, I, I grew up in Austin, but I had to do never eat Sour Watermelon to really like, think about,

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Chris Mason: Yeah.

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Carla Cummins: think about the East Texas map, which I don’t know, it says much for me.

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Okay, so I did listen to your Little Wins podcast, just so you know.

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Um, so I know a little bit more than maybe what Mary knows, but, one of the conversations that you had on there was, I mean, really kind of about y’all’s mantra.

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So, um, educating every child, every chance every day, which is great.

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Um, and something that definitely resonated.

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But I think one of the biggest things that I took away from was when you were talking about, um, your district and the way that you lead is the transparency to communicate the openness that.

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That you, um, really, I guess, embody throughout the school with your school leaders and teachers and everything else.

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How did you, um, create a culture

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Chris Mason: Yeah.

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Uh, so if, if I was a leader kind of taking over something new, uh, I, I think the, the, the best first thing is just to start.

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when I first took over, that was the emphasis was really, Hey, we want to make sure that there’s not a. a stigma with central office versus everyone else.

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And so, that, that really starts with being present and out and about and being available.

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Uh, so you can be present and not available.

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I used to joke if, if I didn’t wanna, when I was a principal, if I didn’t want anybody to talk to me, I just got a cup of coffee, a clipboard, and I would look kind of angry and walk fast and people thought, man, he’s busy.

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Uh, and so I think being present.

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And then the second piece of that is just being available.

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And so that, that’s really step one, is you’ve gotta have, uh, the presence to, to meet people where they’re at and ask them about their day and, and remember and listen and build those relationships.

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And once those relationships are built, then it’s just consistency in your messaging.

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And so if we say, Hey, we’re gonna be transparent.

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Then that means you have to be transparent.

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And so the details that we can share, we want the people to know the why behind any decision that’s gonna come out.

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Uh, we do that as best we can, and I’m not gonna say we’re, we’re perfect in any form or fashion, uh, but we do strive to, to meet that idea of transparency, of, giving people, input, allowing collaboration as much as we possibly can.

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So, you know, an example of that is our district calendar.

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When I first got here as assistant sup, they were still doing the, I’ll call it, you know, an old, old system of four or five folks were the calendar committee and then they, they made the decisions for everybody else.

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And, um, you know, I was busy with a lot of things.

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I was like, I don’t wanna do that.

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So I’m just gonna send a survey to the staff and say, what do you want?

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And, uh, being able to.

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Get all of that feedback then, and then turn around and make a district calendar that had that in there.

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just made sense.

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And so we really try to do that.

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Uh, whether it’s admin level meetings, down to to teacher meetings.

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We, we try to make sure that, we are communicating up and down the chain of command and.

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I probably said it in that la the other podcast, but our biggest thing is that everyone, we’ve got 220 employees and every one of them has the ability at any point in time to tell anyone and stop ’em and say, wait, is this what’s best for kids?

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And, and underlying that and, and making that a non-negotiable, a closed handed item for us when we say, Hey, our mission is educating every child, every chance, every day, uh, that’s the main thing for us.

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And so anybody can challenge anybody with that.

00:15:06.085 –> 00:15:09.955
Uh, and trust me, I have principals that, that bring that up in principals meetings.

00:15:10.157 –> 00:15:11.927
uh, just hanging onto that and then.

00:15:12.202 –> 00:15:15.802
Just clearly tra, you know, communicating those expectations.

00:15:16.042 –> 00:15:19.942
and I think when you set those standards, it has to be standards that are set for all of us.

00:15:20.272 –> 00:15:22.852
It can’t be, well, this is for y’all, not for us.

00:15:22.852 –> 00:15:32.894
And so, uh, holding ourselves as leaders at a, a higher standard and making sure that we are taking care of our people, all kind of goes into that transparent communication.

00:15:34.044 –> 00:15:34.704
Carla Cummins: Hundred percent.

00:15:34.974 –> 00:15:42.474
So that kind of might tie into to the next, uh, topic of conversation we always say, or we started saying on the podcast.

00:15:42.929 –> 00:15:47.909
I just say we, but it was really Kevin, uh, the owner of K 12, but he started saying radically student centered.

00:15:47.909 –> 00:15:52.439
You know, as we were having conversations, it was like, wow, that is radically student centered.

00:15:52.439 –> 00:15:57.749
Radically not in any way, whatsoever a bad thing, but radically in terms of passionate.

00:15:57.779 –> 00:15:58.169
Right.

00:15:58.169 –> 00:16:00.059
Or however you wanna describe it.

00:16:00.419 –> 00:16:08.069
So when you hear it, when you hear the phrase radically student centered, what does it mean to you and what resonates first?

00:16:09.369 –> 00:16:15.669
Chris Mason: Yeah, well, like I said, I, I really don’t have a filter guy, so to me I’m like, duh, that, that’s exactly what we’re supposed to be.

00:16:15.792 –> 00:16:17.562
we exist to serve students.

00:16:17.967 –> 00:16:23.157
Uh, we don’t exist to create paychecks and make buildings or do anything else.

00:16:23.157 –> 00:16:30.717
We’re, we exist as a, as an entity, equipment, ISD to, to serve and better the lives of the students that walk through our hallways.

00:16:30.717 –> 00:16:32.787
And so, to me, that’s what it is.

00:16:32.787 –> 00:16:34.827
It’s like, well, we can say it, but do we mean it?

00:16:35.307 –> 00:16:40.437
Uh, and so do our actions tie into, you know, educating every child, every chance, every day.

00:16:40.437 –> 00:16:42.927
And so when we say words like all students will.

00:16:43.387 –> 00:16:55.417
We have to mean that and, and what that means is when we need to have a crucial conversation with someone, because maybe we’ve come off of that standard, we bring it back to that and we say no, like we are in the kid business.

00:16:55.717 –> 00:16:57.217
It’s not about the adults.

00:16:57.307 –> 00:16:58.327
The adults are important.

00:16:58.767 –> 00:17:00.477
The adults are not primary here.

00:17:00.717 –> 00:17:07.227
And so, uh, we, we do have people that are, that are gonna push back on that and say, well, if you don’t take care of your teachers, they can’t take care of kids.

00:17:07.227 –> 00:17:08.727
And I’ll say, you’re absolutely right.

00:17:09.267 –> 00:17:13.077
But our first and foremost goal is to take care of our kids.

00:17:13.137 –> 00:17:20.337
And so, you know, I think when you hear, you know, being radical in that approach, I think it just means being consistent in it.

00:17:20.607 –> 00:17:23.187
It, it can’t be when it fits or when it’s easy.

00:17:23.187 –> 00:17:25.257
It has to be in, in all of the times.

00:17:26.147 –> 00:17:26.597
Carla Cummins: Yeah.

00:17:26.657 –> 00:17:31.127
And we always just circle back to it and just say, is it, is it what’s right?

00:17:31.127 –> 00:17:32.747
Is it, what’s, what best is it?

00:17:32.957 –> 00:17:38.742
Is it what’s best, for kids and for students, especially in what we do on a, on a day-to-day basis.

00:17:38.742 –> 00:17:39.912
Did you have a question, Mary?

00:17:40.687 –> 00:17:50.437
Mary: Well, when you lead with that, when you lead with when we’re gonna do everything that’s right for kids, there are a lot of hard decisions that become pretty easy at that point, doesn’t it?

00:17:51.497 –> 00:17:51.677
Chris Mason: Yeah.

00:17:51.677 –> 00:17:53.597
I mean, it just clarifies your mission, right?

00:17:53.597 –> 00:18:07.697
And so we, we talk about that in our leadership, uh, conversations of we’re gonna let the standard be the bad guy, and we’re gonna be
very upfront and, you know, I’m, I’m gonna be the superintendent that stands in front of everyone and says, look, education’s hard.

00:18:08.527 –> 00:18:15.847
Uh, if you’re getting into this job, ’cause you are, you think it’s gonna be rainbows and and sunshine all the time, then you’re gonna be mistaken.

00:18:16.267 –> 00:18:20.797
This is a, for a lot of us, a mission field and it’s a lot of hard work.

00:18:20.857 –> 00:18:27.631
And, I, I encourage folks like, if this is not what you want to do, go do something else because our kids deserve the very best of you.

00:18:28.005 –> 00:18:30.915
we have to let people have room to, to own that.

00:18:31.005 –> 00:18:35.685
And we have to let them, mine is, I, I wanna make sure that they know, like.

00:18:36.325 –> 00:18:40.645
Every day you show up as a, as an educator, and when I say educator, I mean our food service.

00:18:40.645 –> 00:18:43.315
I mean our child nutrition, I mean our bus driver.

00:18:43.645 –> 00:18:47.995
Every day you have the opportunity to impact a, a student life in a positive manner.

00:18:48.625 –> 00:18:50.575
Let’s have a sense of urgency with that.

00:18:51.055 –> 00:18:56.215
Let’s make sure that we know what we do is impactful and, and let’s get after the good work.

00:18:56.323 –> 00:19:01.132
Carla Cummins: So in, in your district and in your role, are you, what problems are you trying to solve?

00:19:02.110 –> 00:19:08.925
Chris Mason: I think a lot of, uh, schools in Texas right now are, are still trying to navigate all the new legislative stuff and the, uh, the, that environment.

00:19:09.185 –> 00:19:15.035
you know, I think, uh, the news sometimes gets out that, hey, all this bad stuff’s happening in, in public schools.

00:19:15.035 –> 00:19:23.225
And, uh, what I try to tell folks when I run to ’em at church or the the grocery store is no like, come volunteer, come be a part of our school district.

00:19:23.255 –> 00:19:26.225
Uh, it’s just, are we gonna have problems?

00:19:26.225 –> 00:19:28.685
Are we gonna, you know, have the occasional upset parent?

00:19:28.685 –> 00:19:29.315
Absolutely.

00:19:29.585 –> 00:19:34.235
Uh, when you have 1200 students and you’re serving, you know, 900 plus plus families.

00:19:34.705 –> 00:19:36.325
You’re gonna run into issues.

00:19:36.325 –> 00:19:38.640
And I said, that’s not the, the full picture.

00:19:38.700 –> 00:19:44.657
And so we, we do our best to, to navigate those and, and, remedy situations the best we can.

00:19:45.017 –> 00:19:51.137
Uh, but, you know, a saying that my assistant superintendent loves, uh, is if you wanna make everybody happy, go sell ice cream.

00:19:51.882 –> 00:19:52.452
Um, and

00:19:52.452 –> 00:19:59.592
so there are times when we are gonna do as much as we can, and we’re still gonna have people upset with the, the outcome.

00:20:00.102 –> 00:20:03.792
Um, and so owning that, and we can still be apologetic.

00:20:03.792 –> 00:20:05.322
We can still say, Hey, we’re very sorry.

00:20:05.322 –> 00:20:06.522
The outcome is here.

00:20:06.822 –> 00:20:08.232
We don’t wanna ever be here.

00:20:08.335 –> 00:20:10.278
but this is what we can do.

00:20:10.368 –> 00:20:15.388
And so, uh, you know, I think that, Perception, I think is still out there.

00:20:15.388 –> 00:20:22.588
And, and right now I think is still just building trust with folks to, to let them know like, Hey, we’re not doing secret things.

00:20:22.588 –> 00:20:28.438
We’re not, we don’t have secret meetings where we just talk about, you know, how to get kids or do anything bad.

00:20:28.656 –> 00:20:29.796
we’re, we’re an open book.

00:20:29.826 –> 00:20:32.016
If you wanna wanna come to our school, come on.

00:20:32.016 –> 00:20:33.966
We’ll, we’ll get you a volunteer packet.

00:20:34.356 –> 00:20:35.161
We’ll, we’ll put you to work.

00:20:35.916 –> 00:20:37.896
And we’ll let you come see what we’re dealing with.

00:20:37.896 –> 00:20:47.062
And, uh, I think the other big challenge most public schools are, and this is nationwide dealing with, is just the, the behavioral, outcomes that we’re seeing in our younger kids.

00:20:48.412 –> 00:20:52.259
Really when we start in, you know, early August, it, it’s been challenging.

00:20:52.469 –> 00:20:59.009
Uh, we, we do have more kids that are coming to us with less of a toolbox to, to self-regulate.

00:20:59.399 –> 00:21:02.489
And so, you know, how do we address those behaviors?

00:21:02.489 –> 00:21:06.719
How do we do it in a positive way to get them on track so that they can get to learning?

00:21:07.199 –> 00:21:11.243
And so, that, that is probably one of the bigger, pieces that I think.

00:21:11.508 –> 00:21:16.338
All public schools, you know, uh, superintendents are dealing with is how do we support our teachers?

00:21:16.608 –> 00:21:22.968
How do we support those kids, and how do we support those families in continuing to get them ready to, to be in school?

00:21:23.913 –> 00:21:24.638
Carla Cummins: You know, it’s crazy.

00:21:24.638 –> 00:21:34.495
I had that conversation this morning standing in my kitchen with my 15-year-old, She’s a freshman in high school, but it is the anxiety associated with all aspects of things.

00:21:34.495 –> 00:21:39.865
And I’m like, it doesn’t end whether or not you’re, you’re 15, 16, 25, 48, 52.

00:21:39.865 –> 00:21:41.245
It does not make a difference.

00:21:41.725 –> 00:21:45.265
You know, it’s a matter of how you handle it and, and the pace that you set.

00:21:45.265 –> 00:21:48.715
And she looked at me and she’s just like, you don’t understand what I’m talking about.

00:21:49.605 –> 00:21:49.795
Chris Mason: Yeah,

00:21:50.600 –> 00:21:50.820
Carla Cummins: but.

00:21:51.240 –> 00:21:56.730
The reality is, is like it’s, it’s, uh, it’s a topic of conversation across the board, right?

00:21:57.260 –> 00:22:00.775
Chris Mason: I, I do think there’s a piece to, to hang on to when we talk about the word grit.

00:22:02.000 –> 00:22:06.200
Getting kids to understand like, Hey, that doesn’t mean you’re not gonna feel those feelings.

00:22:06.200 –> 00:22:07.820
It doesn’t mean you’re not gonna have anxiety.

00:22:07.820 –> 00:22:09.470
It doesn’t mean you’re not gonna have a bad day.

00:22:09.800 –> 00:22:14.300
It just means that you’re gonna dust yourself off, get up and do it again the next day.

00:22:14.780 –> 00:22:21.171
And so, there, there’s something to said, to be said about, are you tough and can you handle it because

00:22:21.291 –> 00:22:23.781
Carla Cummins: Did you ever read the Angela Duckworth book?

00:22:23.841 –> 00:22:24.201
Grit?

00:22:24.691 –> 00:22:24.911
Chris Mason: Yep.

00:22:25.071 –> 00:22:25.656
Carla Cummins: It’s really good.

00:22:25.726 –> 00:22:26.016
Yeah.

00:22:31.737 –> 00:22:36.477
You know, when we work with schools at K-12 it’s not just about furniture design, it’s about impact.

00:22:36.717 –> 00:22:40.857
Our radically student-centered approach puts students at the center of every decision.

00:22:41.217 –> 00:22:47.487
From that first conversation to the final walkthrough, we’re focused on creating spaces that actually work for the kids.

00:22:47.907 –> 00:22:49.257
Teachers and the community.

00:22:49.557 –> 00:22:54.837
So if you’re looking to do more than just check a box on your next project, let’s talk Visit k12.com.

00:22:54.837 –> 00:22:56.187
That’s kaytwe1ve.com

00:23:00.087 –> 00:23:03.567
and see how we’re helping schools transform learning one student at a time.

00:23:03.897 –> 00:23:07.977
Because at K12 it’s not just about projects and furniture, it’s about purpose.

00:23:13.377 –> 00:23:16.617
Carla Cummins: Well, so in your district, when you look at students, right?

00:23:16.617 –> 00:23:19.227
Like student voice is always incredibly important.

00:23:19.227 –> 00:23:23.847
How do you as a superintendent, you’re, you’re spread out, right?

00:23:23.847 –> 00:23:26.517
But the student voice has gotta be important.

00:23:26.517 –> 00:23:29.571
So how do you, um, consider kids

00:23:30.217 –> 00:23:30.517
Chris Mason: Yeah.

00:23:30.817 –> 00:23:34.747
Um, I, I think that’s probably the, the hardest piece to grab a hold of at times.

00:23:35.382 –> 00:23:37.387
Uh, ’cause we do want to take care of teachers.

00:23:37.387 –> 00:23:37.957
We do.

00:23:38.162 –> 00:23:44.857
I I do a lot of work with, you know, surveys and listening tours and sitting down on campuses and letting people come to me and talk.

00:23:44.857 –> 00:23:49.597
And, uh, I think sometimes what we forget is that our students are a, a main part of that.

00:23:50.017 –> 00:23:56.086
And so, uh, one thing that we did implement this year is a, a, a senior, uh, 12th grade survey.

00:23:56.086 –> 00:23:58.276
Just kind of a, Hey, how, how’d we do.

00:23:59.236 –> 00:24:01.156
And so it’s, it’s been eyeopening.

00:24:01.456 –> 00:24:02.236
Uh, I laugh.

00:24:02.236 –> 00:24:04.246
I think we got a really good lunch program.

00:24:04.486 –> 00:24:06.286
Uh, our ladies work really, really hard.

00:24:06.466 –> 00:24:09.706
I think if you ask any student anywhere, they’re gonna say, well, lunch isn’t great.

00:24:10.396 –> 00:24:12.106
Uh, regardless of where you go.

00:24:12.106 –> 00:24:14.206
And so, uh, you see those kind of comments.

00:24:14.206 –> 00:24:25.756
But then you also, uh, a positive for us was out of the, the 50, uh, or so responses I got was, uh, one of our questions was, do you have a, a trusting and carrying adult in the building?

00:24:26.116 –> 00:24:27.976
Uh, and every one of ’em said, yes.

00:24:28.471 –> 00:24:30.301
And so we’re capturing kids’ hearts.

00:24:30.301 –> 00:24:31.951
Uh, school district, we practice it.

00:24:31.951 –> 00:24:32.761
We believe in it.

00:24:33.181 –> 00:24:34.261
Uh, we work hard at it.

00:24:34.981 –> 00:24:38.221
And so for me that was a win as a superintendent of look.

00:24:39.061 –> 00:24:46.067
We wanna make sure, uh, when kids come to us, they have somebody they know is, their champion, right?

00:24:46.277 –> 00:24:55.277
That they know, Hey, this person, regardless of how my day’s going, regardless how I perform, at least that one person loves me and can take care of me.

00:24:55.277 –> 00:24:57.647
If I need something, I can go to them and say, Hey, help.

00:24:58.157 –> 00:24:59.987
And so that was a big win for us.

00:24:59.987 –> 00:25:05.387
But then, you know, it, it’s also great information to see of like, Hey, you know, were your classes hard?

00:25:05.417 –> 00:25:06.587
And some of those kids say, nah.

00:25:09.017 –> 00:25:10.157
Don’t want that response.

00:25:10.187 –> 00:25:12.332
I want, I want our kids to work hard when they’re here.

00:25:13.037 –> 00:25:14.447
Carla Cummins: Well, and be challenged, right?

00:25:14.447 –> 00:25:14.957
Like.

00:25:15.422 –> 00:25:15.632
Chris Mason: Yeah.

00:25:15.632 –> 00:25:20.282
You know, the, we want, we want them to, to be prepared for, for life.

00:25:20.282 –> 00:25:28.772
And whether that’s college or, you know, uh, trade school or just right to the workforce, we want them to be challenged academically in a way that prepares them for that.

00:25:28.772 –> 00:25:31.562
And so, uh, that student voice has been big.

00:25:31.892 –> 00:25:34.917
Uh, and then, uh, something will be rolling out in the fall.

00:25:35.462 –> 00:25:38.852
Uh, which is new for us as well as a, a student advisory committee.

00:25:38.852 –> 00:25:42.696
And so, we’ll use juniors and some junior high kids as well.

00:25:42.696 –> 00:25:48.276
But, uh, really trying to have like quarterly meetings with them to say, Hey, what are y’all seeing in here?

00:25:48.276 –> 00:25:50.616
And what are things that we need to know as adults?

00:25:50.616 –> 00:25:57.876
And uh, I just read an article not long ago that said, Hey, influence as an individual, uh, to others is really.

00:25:58.131 –> 00:26:00.471
Kind of bookend by 20 years.

00:26:00.501 –> 00:26:13.761
And so if I’m 45, that means I can go 20 years down and have impactful conversations or 20 years up and, uh, quickly enough that 20 years doesn’t reach those 15 and 16 and, you know, junior high kids anymore.

00:26:14.001 –> 00:26:17.361
And so trying to stay up on what’s important to them.

00:26:17.746 –> 00:26:21.616
Where they are having stress points and what is causing them anxiety.

00:26:21.750 –> 00:26:27.390
because if there are things that we can remove, if we can look at constraints and barriers to address, then, then we want to.

00:26:27.390 –> 00:26:32.700
But, uh, for us, I think we’re in our infancy of really having strong student voice.

00:26:33.060 –> 00:26:39.690
Um, it’s definitely something on our radar that we need to do a better job of and ’cause we know that it’s like, okay, well what’s the next best step?

00:26:39.690 –> 00:26:41.610
Well, the next best step is starting something Chris.

00:26:41.865 –> 00:26:44.445
Get after it and, uh, get moving.

00:26:44.505 –> 00:26:47.025
And so, uh, that’s really where we’re at in in equipment.

00:26:47.025 –> 00:26:51.642
ISD is, I think we’ve done a great job of listening to our adults and now it’s really okay.

00:26:51.702 –> 00:26:53.262
We need to start hearing from our kids.

00:26:54.095 –> 00:27:01.265
Carla Cummins: Yeah, I mean, sometimes you might be surprised by the squeaky wheels, you know, that that aren’t of that adult age.

00:27:01.265 –> 00:27:06.305
I think it’s always eye-opening for us in our day-to-day work, what their needs and expectations are.

00:27:06.480 –> 00:27:08.400
Chris Mason: it’s like doing a, an anonymous survey, right?

00:27:08.430 –> 00:27:08.940
What happens?

00:27:08.940 –> 00:27:10.830
Well, we get upset when we hear negative things.

00:27:11.190 –> 00:27:12.180
Well, why do we do that?

00:27:12.240 –> 00:27:14.490
Well, ’cause it, it, it pushes against our assumptions.

00:27:15.470 –> 00:27:15.890
Mary: Mm-hmm.

00:27:15.900 –> 00:27:21.900
Chris Mason: so I think when you create student voice, you’re giving them an opportunity to push against assumptions.

00:27:21.990 –> 00:27:24.240
And so we can do one of two things.

00:27:24.240 –> 00:27:31.110
We can shut down and get upset that they’re attacking us personally, or we can go, okay, hey, their perceptions are reality.

00:27:31.140 –> 00:27:32.100
How do we address that?

00:27:33.150 –> 00:27:33.540
Carla Cummins: Yeah.

00:27:33.772 –> 00:27:36.652
And it can change, I mean, your perception of what it is, right?

00:27:36.652 –> 00:27:48.039
And, and two, a complete and total different way of what you think is, we’re doing a great job at sometimes we, we learn we’re not, we, you know, I, we go through that every single day.

00:27:48.039 –> 00:27:49.809
Well, so let me ask you a question then.

00:27:50.289 –> 00:27:57.609
Um, as you look at yourself, right, obviously a leader, how do you, how can leaders, um, build trust while leading change?

00:27:57.609 –> 00:28:00.399
Because obviously you just passed a bond, there’s.

00:28:00.819 –> 00:28:02.949
I don’t know what your bond was on, so I apologize.

00:28:02.949 –> 00:28:04.719
I didn’t go that deep today in looking at it.

00:28:04.719 –> 00:28:14.049
But like you’re obviously pushing change within your district and it was communicated well to your community around your community wouldn’t have voted, you know, in favor of that.

00:28:14.559 –> 00:28:19.629
So how do you think that leaders can build trust or the best ways?

00:28:20.694 –> 00:28:23.184
Chris Mason: Uh, well, we’ve already talked a little bit about transparency.

00:28:23.214 –> 00:28:30.174
I, I think you have to show people where you’re at and, and so a big conversation for us this year is we’re a really good school district.

00:28:30.375 –> 00:28:32.925
and, and we wanna own that, and we want to celebrate that.

00:28:33.315 –> 00:28:37.515
Uh, but then, then you have to invite folks to come along for a, a fun journey, right?

00:28:37.515 –> 00:28:39.555
It is like we’re a good school district.

00:28:40.095 –> 00:28:42.075
Do our kids deserve greatness?

00:28:43.005 –> 00:28:44.895
And when we talk about that.

00:28:45.525 –> 00:28:50.325
That’s a scary conversation because then it’s, what is this guy talking about?

00:28:50.505 –> 00:28:51.195
Like what?

00:28:51.255 –> 00:28:52.185
What is that step?

00:28:52.815 –> 00:29:00.765
And so I think you have to really clearly show, Hey, this is who we are right now and this is who we could be.

00:29:01.455 –> 00:29:04.035
And here are the steps that I see that we can get there.

00:29:04.545 –> 00:29:06.345
But I want your voices to come with me.

00:29:06.345 –> 00:29:08.175
I want you to say, Hey, what do you see?

00:29:08.625 –> 00:29:11.625
Then having those conversations about, are we ready?

00:29:12.195 –> 00:29:13.545
And, and change is tough.

00:29:13.875 –> 00:29:20.265
Uh, it’s one of those things most people will push back on, even though change happens every day, right?

00:29:20.445 –> 00:29:20.805
Change.

00:29:21.045 –> 00:29:22.065
Change is inevitable.

00:29:22.335 –> 00:29:26.025
And so for me as a leader, I’m a, I’m easy with change.

00:29:26.145 –> 00:29:27.945
That that’s my personality type.

00:29:27.945 –> 00:29:32.715
You know, I was the teacher that was gonna change the desk arrangement probably every two, three weeks ’cause I got bored.

00:29:32.938 –> 00:29:36.268
for me, it’s, as a leader is understanding that.

00:29:36.627 –> 00:29:39.447
For me to go fast, I’ve gotta go slow, right?

00:29:39.447 –> 00:29:42.807
For me to help implement change, then we have to really do our homework.

00:29:43.197 –> 00:29:51.927
We need to front load information as much as we can, and then we need to find those other folks who are ready to jump on board and help push the rock up the hill, right?

00:29:52.347 –> 00:29:55.272
Uh, we need to find those folks and let them be part of the process.

00:29:56.322 –> 00:29:59.982
Let them have a voice in, in the change that’s taking place.

00:30:00.402 –> 00:30:03.192
And then once they get a voice, listen to it.

00:30:03.252 –> 00:30:05.472
And whenever they say, Hey, I don’t think that’s gonna work.

00:30:05.862 –> 00:30:07.962
Before we dive off into it, go tell me more.

00:30:08.517 –> 00:30:09.177
What do you mean?

00:30:09.477 –> 00:30:17.817
And so having those conversations and being able to, to collaborate with your people, uh, I think is the only way that you’re ever gonna see really true change.

00:30:17.817 –> 00:30:19.947
And so, uh, you talked about our bond.

00:30:19.947 –> 00:30:25.227
I think the reason it was successful is because we used a a 45 person bond steering committee.

00:30:25.407 –> 00:30:32.157
And we spent three months looking at the school district and say, and then telling them, Hey, this is who we are, this is where we’re at.

00:30:32.244 –> 00:30:36.200
and then being able to show them information to say, Hey, this is where we’re headed.

00:30:37.340 –> 00:30:38.900
What do you guys think we need?

00:30:38.960 –> 00:30:45.320
And so, uh, for us, that was an eight room expansion at the elementary, a four room expansion at our junior high.

00:30:45.650 –> 00:30:51.740
A remodel of a, a locker room in the girls side of, uh, our gym that hadn’t been touched since 1960.

00:30:52.130 –> 00:30:54.205
It’s a 20,000 square foot career tech building.

00:30:55.490 –> 00:31:01.070
You know, it’s a, it’s a new baseball field that is housed on campus versus offsite, you know?

00:31:01.534 –> 00:31:14.636
for me, change is one of those things that, hey, it’s inevitable, as a leader are you looking five, 10 years down the road and then working backwards to help set your people up to be ready for when it comes.

00:31:14.936 –> 00:31:20.036
Because I think the, where you’re gonna find failure is if you show up day one and you say.

00:31:20.441 –> 00:31:23.141
Hey, all of this A, B, and C is different now.

00:31:23.171 –> 00:31:23.801
Here we go.

00:31:24.226 –> 00:31:32.285
And, and we never give any opportunity to let people sit with it and understand it, and then move forward with it.

00:31:32.675 –> 00:31:34.565
Uh, then, then you won’t be successful.

00:31:34.865 –> 00:31:38.195
Uh, a prime example of that is the testing that’s changing in 2028.

00:31:38.195 –> 00:31:44.645
Uh, we were already having conversations with our, our admin team and our teachers about, Hey, these changes are happening.

00:31:45.215 –> 00:31:47.795
We can do nothing now and wait.

00:31:48.875 –> 00:31:53.165
Two years have to change everything, or we can go ahead and make some tweaks now.

00:31:53.495 –> 00:31:59.225
And we put that in front of our teachers and said, look, this is the box that we’re gonna have to work in in 2028.

00:31:59.705 –> 00:32:02.075
What can we do right now that helps us get there?

00:32:02.105 –> 00:32:03.905
What are we doing right now already?

00:32:04.265 –> 00:32:07.145
And then what small changes can we make in the next two years?

00:32:07.145 –> 00:32:09.665
So we’re not trying to eat the elephant in one bite.

00:32:09.984 –> 00:32:22.644
Carla Cummins: when you look at it, no matter where you are, whether or not you’re sitting in as a superintendent or you’re sitting as a, an employee of, I mean, look at we within our company, we deal with change all the time, right?

00:32:23.034 –> 00:32:25.104
And our core value is be the change.

00:32:25.164 –> 00:32:35.274
Because at the end of the day, you just have to be able to recognize that you may not always agree with the changes, and it may not always align with, with what your beliefs are.

00:32:35.339 –> 00:32:35.819
Spot.

00:32:35.819 –> 00:32:43.259
Realistically, we’re working towards a collective and the biggest thing in a district is, is that you’re working towards a community, right?

00:32:43.739 –> 00:32:51.719
And, and to know that the impact that your schools and your district makes within a community is so pivotal, pivotal.

00:32:52.229 –> 00:33:02.819
But those changes, even that change management component of it can be so difficult because you’re dealing with so many people, but those people impact a huge number of people.

00:33:02.819 –> 00:33:08.729
When you look at, you know, your kids go home and they have a mom and a dad, and three brothers and sisters, and.

00:33:09.534 –> 00:33:10.644
What that looks like.

00:33:10.644 –> 00:33:21.534
And two is like, how do you address it and how does it change the morale of, of your specific community, whether or not it’s your teaching community, your student community, or just, just the general aspect of it.

00:33:21.534 –> 00:33:23.214
So there’s so much to it.

00:33:23.214 –> 00:33:37.374
So, well, do you have, um, I always say like special projects, do you have special initiatives that you’re working on that you’re like, this is a big deal to me, but might not be well known to others?

00:33:37.989 –> 00:33:42.399
Chris Mason: Uh, yeah, I probably have like seven, but I’ll go with what, one, one that’s on the top of my head.

00:33:42.790 –> 00:33:50.920
uh, the last two years, uh, through a partnership with the, uh, wood County Hospital Board, uh, have partnered with, uh, a group called Andrew Center.

00:33:51.295 –> 00:33:54.235
Uh, to provide mental health supports to our school students.

00:33:54.565 –> 00:34:02.485
Uh, and what that looked like, uh, originally is, uh, we got in the same room and basically they said, Hey, we, we had this opportunity.

00:34:02.485 –> 00:34:03.415
You’re all interested.

00:34:03.882 –> 00:34:06.702
my, my first, I’m the world’s worst negotiator, by the way.

00:34:07.182 –> 00:34:08.502
Uh, my, my first.

00:34:09.582 –> 00:34:12.192
I know that that’s why, one of the reasons I’m not very good at it.

00:34:12.612 –> 00:34:21.342
Uh, and, and so, uh, when we met, they said, Hey, there’s this opportunity Andrew Center can come provide, uh, mental and behavioral supports on campus.

00:34:21.342 –> 00:34:24.102
And I said, well, I said, look, let, let’s try it.

00:34:24.252 –> 00:34:26.562
Uh, if it impacts one kid’s life, then it’s important.

00:34:26.562 –> 00:34:26.952
Let’s try it.

00:34:27.582 –> 00:34:31.512
And so they, they paid for that that first year, and it was a huge success.

00:34:31.512 –> 00:34:36.282
We went probably have, uh, anywhere from 50 or so kids that were utilizing that.

00:34:36.707 –> 00:34:43.697
Um, through Andrew Center and, and being on campus, it, it saved parents’, uh, ability to not have to take off work.

00:34:43.697 –> 00:34:46.217
And it just opened up a lot of pathways for us.

00:34:46.247 –> 00:34:53.657
Uh, and it was so successful that, uh, first year that, uh, our poor counselors that were coming from Andrew Center was like, we, we have too many kids.

00:34:53.657 –> 00:34:54.797
We, we need another day.

00:34:55.277 –> 00:34:57.152
Uh, and so I, I, you know, again.

00:34:57.882 –> 00:34:58.992
World’s worst negotiator.

00:34:58.992 –> 00:35:01.812
I just told the, our, our, the Wood County Hospital Board.

00:35:01.812 –> 00:35:03.462
I’m like, look, we’re gonna increase it.

00:35:03.462 –> 00:35:08.472
If y’all can keep your 50, you know, you can keep your share, then we will take on the other share.

00:35:08.652 –> 00:35:15.162
And then I had to kind of sneak into the business office of manager’s office and say, Hey, by the way, uh, we gotta find this much money.

00:35:15.320 –> 00:35:17.437
but it has been a huge, uh.

00:35:17.857 –> 00:35:22.597
Undertaking, but also just a, a wonderful support for our kids and our family.

00:35:23.137 –> 00:35:27.301
Um, we see probably about 80 kids a, a year, through that program.

00:35:27.961 –> 00:35:36.369
Uh, and again, we just met this week or last week or fixing to expand from, we went from two days to three days, and we’re fixing to expand to fourth as well.

00:35:36.759 –> 00:35:36.879
And

00:35:36.929 –> 00:35:38.814
Carla Cummins: did you negotiate that fourth day better?

00:35:39.574 –> 00:35:41.319
Chris Mason: I, I haven’t yet, so hopefully.

00:35:41.384 –> 00:35:41.804
Carla Cummins: But I,

00:35:43.734 –> 00:35:45.294
Chris Mason: Well, we haven’t got that cost yet.

00:35:45.294 –> 00:35:49.614
And so, uh, I’ll be honest, it’s probably gonna go the same way as the last one went.

00:35:49.614 –> 00:35:52.044
I’m gonna say, look, if y’all keep giving us money, we’re gonna figure it out.

00:35:52.544 –> 00:35:56.354
I’ll just cut some more of my own budget and figure, you know, buy my own books or something.

00:35:56.354 –> 00:35:56.744
I don’t know.

00:35:57.266 –> 00:36:16.706
Carla Cummins: well, you do, you look at it from standpoint of it’s not just, you know, an an initiative, it’s an investment because not that, not that the families aren’t
investing in those kids, but to be able to have a space where you know that your school system or your school is directly impacting and contributing towards your mental health and.

00:36:17.861 –> 00:36:22.631
The ability to pro provide mental clarity for kids is incredibly important.

00:36:23.426 –> 00:36:25.916
Chris Mason: Well, and for us, we’re a low economic group.

00:36:25.916 –> 00:36:31.526
And so for them to have that access is, is access they wouldn’t have otherwise.

00:36:31.752 –> 00:36:33.702
it’s always that those are easy yeses.

00:36:33.858 –> 00:36:42.438
Mary: So, um, superintendent, you mentioned, student wellness and discipline trust in the community.

00:36:43.015 –> 00:36:49.075
what kind of, what, what picture are you painting for the community for where equipment is going?

00:36:49.165 –> 00:36:51.685
Like Vision 2030.

00:36:52.555 –> 00:36:54.535
Where’s, where’s, where’s equipment?

00:36:54.850 –> 00:36:55.870
Chris Mason: you put me on the spot.

00:36:56.098 –> 00:37:06.213
I mean, honestly, uh, when, when I talk to, our staff and when I talk to our board, mine is we wanna be the very, we wanna be the best school district in East Texas, and then we wanna be the best.

00:37:06.998 –> 00:37:10.838
School district in North Texas, and then we wanna be the best school district in Texas.

00:37:11.318 –> 00:37:16.688
Um, I, I, for us, I think that’s the standard, is look, we wanna be the very best version of ourselves.

00:37:17.108 –> 00:37:27.068
Um, and, and when I took over, we, we had a bad habit of kind of comparing ourselves to other school districts around and like, oh, well, you know, so-and-so’s doing this and so and so’s doing that.

00:37:27.488 –> 00:37:32.798
Uh, and, and I just wanted to start with, look, we’re, we’re done comparing ourselves with anybody else but ourselves.

00:37:33.363 –> 00:37:38.223
And so if we get a little better each year than, than we’re being successful.

00:37:38.643 –> 00:37:42.633
And so for us, if I said 2030, you know, what do we want?

00:37:42.633 –> 00:37:45.993
Well, I, our, our, our career tech building will be open.

00:37:46.263 –> 00:37:48.273
We, we wanna be the hub of our community.

00:37:48.573 –> 00:37:50.793
Uh, for me, I know we’re being successful.

00:37:50.793 –> 00:37:53.763
When kids graduate, they go out and see the world.

00:37:53.763 –> 00:37:55.743
They do the things and then they come back.

00:37:56.163 –> 00:38:06.693
And that’s another one of those special things about, uh, equipment is that we probably had a little over 25% of our staff are alumni, uh, that, that went to school here.

00:38:06.693 –> 00:38:07.953
That seed the things.

00:38:07.983 –> 00:38:12.483
And for me as a superintendent, it’s are we providing the very best?

00:38:12.993 –> 00:38:15.243
For the, for the kids that we are currently serving.

00:38:15.363 –> 00:38:17.973
And so, you know, a career tech building, what does that do?

00:38:17.973 –> 00:38:24.093
Well, it just, it opens up so many doors and so many opportunities that, uh, prior to the kids didn’t have.

00:38:24.453 –> 00:38:29.793
And so for us, that’s just the continual building process of are we getting a little better?

00:38:29.823 –> 00:38:30.993
Are we getting a little better?

00:38:31.415 –> 00:38:40.025
Ideally, when we look at ourselves and we look at all those metrics and standards, whether it’s the A through F, uh, for us, it’s all those.

00:38:40.025 –> 00:38:41.915
We, we, we do lone star governance here.

00:38:41.915 –> 00:38:43.115
And so we have a scorecard.

00:38:43.475 –> 00:38:48.905
Uh, are we meeting our, our metrics to say we’re growing in the right direction.

00:38:49.235 –> 00:38:52.385
And, and you know, as long as we’re drawing up arrows, then we’re happy.

00:38:52.385 –> 00:38:54.515
If we’re not, that’s an opportunity for growth.

00:38:55.035 –> 00:38:57.795
How do we look at that and say, what’s the problem of practice there?

00:38:57.795 –> 00:38:58.755
What are we missing?

00:38:58.785 –> 00:38:59.955
What needs more support?

00:39:00.225 –> 00:39:04.785
What needs more time, what me might need more monetary supports?

00:39:04.785 –> 00:39:08.625
And so, uh, always trying to do that and take care of the people that we serve.

00:39:09.403 –> 00:39:13.093
Carla Cummins: Well thank you for answering that, but I’m glad Mary put you on the spot.

00:39:13.377 –> 00:39:13.797
All right.

00:39:13.797 –> 00:39:16.977
Well, thank you so much, uh, superintendent Mason for joining us.

00:39:16.977 –> 00:39:21.147
We appreciate you and all the work that you do, especially within your community and the impact that you have.

00:39:21.148 –> 00:39:25.132
as we close today, I wanted to just say thank you for listening to the Better Learning podcast.

00:39:25.132 –> 00:39:25.822
If you.

00:39:26.272 –> 00:39:32.872
Those who meeting, who are listening, um, want to share your own experiences, go on and visit the Better Learning podcast.com.

00:39:32.872 –> 00:39:36.951
Apply to be a guest, through our social channels or anything else.

00:39:36.951 –> 00:39:40.461
And always be sure to subscribe and, um, join.

00:39:40.821 –> 00:39:41.331
Thank you.