Meet the New Superintendent! - The Inside Wayzata Podcast

In this episode, Dr. Robb Virgin shares his journey to becoming the superintendent of Wayzata, his leadership philosophy, and his vision for the district's future. Topics include community engagement, student voice, high standards, innovation, and the importance of relationships in education.

Leadership transition and community involvement
The importance of student voice and community feedback
Maintaining high standards while fostering innovation

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Dr. Robb Virgin
03:08 Navigating the Hiring Process
07:59 Building Relationships and Trust
12:40 Long-Term Vision for Education
17:05 The Impact of Education and Community
20:20 Coaching and Leadership Parallels
26:31 The Importance of Student Voice
29:21 Creating a Thriving School Environment
33:36 Balancing Excellence and Innovation in Education
36:04 Listening and Learning: Building Connections
42:18 Career and Technical Education: Bridging Academics and Workforce
47:35 Lightning Round: Personal Insights and Community Commitment

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Welcome to the next episode of the Inside Wise podcast. Uh, we have a very special guest joining us today, uh, Dr. Rob Virgin, who is the are you the superintendent elect, or how what do we what do we call you?

SPEAKER_01 0:19

When Dr. Anderson and I were out at schools this week, he kept calling me new guy. So he's like, you got the old guy and the new guy. So I don't know if that was a technical term or yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Um so officially, um uh Dr. Virgin was hired. Um the Wiseetta School Board selected him as Y's out as next superintendent in March, and uh he will replace um Dr. Anderson, who is retiring at the end of June. So the first question I have for you is if we're in the grocery store and we see you, whether it's me or someone in the community, what do you want people to call you?

SPEAKER_01 0:55

Rob would be great. Right. People feel they know me well enough to call me Rob. And if we're in some setting where something else feels better to more comfortable for you, Mr. Virgin or Dr. Virgin, sure, but I would prefer Rob. Rob's good.

SPEAKER_00 1:07

Okay, Rob, new guy, whatever, whatever you want. Right. Um, well, thank you for joining us. We we appreciate it. Okay, so uh Chase announced his retirement in September of this last year. At what point did you say that's a job I want?

SPEAKER_01 1:24

Yeah, I knew about it immediately, uh, through a lot of a lot of channels was coming in the phone pretty quickly. Yeah, do you guys have like a superintendent like text channel? People who live here, people who work here, yeah, superintendent folks, and then shortly after Chase and I connected, of course. But um, I knew about it immediately. And you know, I've been an administrator in the lake conference for the last 11, 12 years. And uh, so I'm familiar with YZA, familiar with the excellence that is YZA, the commitment that the community has, the awesome educators, the everything that goes into it. And um, I've also followed Dr. Anderson's work and learned a lot from watching him. Uh, I was a high school principal like him, I was assistant superintendent, and um, so I've been keeping a close eye on this. And then as you know, I started to really do some research here. Okay, what even though I was familiar with the district, of what is the history, what's in that strategic roadmap, try to listen into the school board, listen into this podcast, try to listen in, okay, what is it that they're looking for? And it just really cemented in for me of like, I think I'm a fit for this. I think my values align, I think my experiences align, my aspirations, and this is a spot where I can really dive in for the long haul. And uh, so it was on the radar, and then as I got more research, it was it became became pretty darn clear.

SPEAKER_00 2:43

So I think the other thing that was fascinating for me, and maybe not everyone listening, but the hiring process was very public. And we're kind of following it, you know, working in communications. We're kind of have differ involved in different pieces, like I suppose there's a pool, and then there's uh semi-finalists, a finalist. It's a very public interview process. Um, and um, for most of us, like we don't have to interview publicly in front of uh an audience and and something that's even being you know live streamed. What was it like to go through all that hiring process from you know the beginning until ultimately in March when you were selected?

SPEAKER_01 3:23

Yeah, I'm not gonna lie, it was a little intense. Um, I'd also say interviews in general are weird, you know, where you're spending this time talking about yourself. Uh, and I think particularly in education where nothing good is done that doesn't have a team. Like, you know, I've nothing I've ever accomplished is not been without a team. You know, you don't do anything alone. And so, but the interview, the way those are structured in the hiring process is you're asked all these questions about what have you done? What would you do? So that's just a little funny. And I grew up in Minnesota, so that's also not all Minnesotan's talk. That's not how educator's talk. Um, but it overall I appreciated it is for a few reasons, is you know, superintendent is a trust building role. And so people should know how I operate, they should know where my values are, how I think about things. And the other part of it being so public is even before getting even the offer, um, I was able to learn a lot about the community uh through the process. So I felt like I had a rolling start there. It was just more research for me too. So I appreciated all that. You know, I as I mentioned, you know, the more I researched, the more I felt like this is a fit. And so I really came in uh to the process with two strategies in mind or two goals is one is try to stay as authentic as you possibly can, even though the environment is different and you're presenting and you're meeting people and it's a little you know different than a day-to-day. Um just try to be yourself because I thought that this is a is uh was a fit. The other part was I wanted to give as much information as about myself as possible so that people knew and that they could make as informed decisions as possible. And um something else I I don't talk about much, but like a guiding principle for myself is that I'll never I I try to um make a commitment to never being outworked. And I think there's so much in in our lives and and in leadership that isn't within our control, but how much you prepare is, and so I made sure that I was as prepared as I possibly could be.

SPEAKER_00 5:22

Yeah, was it like uh studying for an interview to be a superintendent?

SPEAKER_01 5:27

I'd I would have no idea. Yeah. Well, I think you the way I approach it was you know, this job is to serve the community. And are you uh what is it that the community needs? And so this isn't about you um through the hiring process, but more importantly, the once you're actually in the job is how can you actually help kids and how can you help the community and the staff have a better experience and continue all the things that are great here and continue to provide great experiences. And so trying to figure out what is it that they need, not what I can what I can bring and um or what what I want, and then how what can I bring match those needs? So really mainly the preparation is about trying to assess that and then just you know the other parts of trying to you know get good sleep and be eat healthier and stuff like that. So you're on so you're you're on top of your game. I think I remember um you're under the weather for the the interview too, aren't you? That was uh that was as sick as I've been in a long time. Uh it was it was horrible. Uh it was it was high fever. You know, I ended up leaving the house and stayed in a hotel because I just to try to get some sleep and not get the rest of my family sick. And um, you know, so I my wife and I have joked, like, I hope they like you when they actually see you, when they get to know the real you, not the not the sleep-deprived kind of limping through things that hope you don't overwhelm them.

SPEAKER_00 6:50

But you know, the the Michael Jordan flu game is famous for uh in the NBA finals. Yeah. So that was your uh I wish your flu game. I wish. Um you alluded to it a little bit. I I think to put simply YYZ for you.

SPEAKER_01 7:07

You know, it it I alluded to it, and it's it's actually a a tough thing to get into a short answer because to me it's so much and it's so important and so clear. But you know, if I had to put a tagline on it, is this district has been so well cared for. You know, you've had vision, the the leadership has been a combination of visionary and stable. The the board looks at the short and the long term. People who work here are respected across the metro and across the country. These are educators at the top of their field, and the community supports it and believes in education and believes that how you treat kids and the experience that our young people have is the future. And when you have a place that has all those signs of just care, that has a rich history, but also is so optimistic about the future that isn't just oh hey, we did that, now we're done. It's like, no, we're proud of that. And how do we just keep being um at the at the top of the heap here? Is is a rare combination. And I've been in a lot of schools across the country, and there's not many like this. And so um, yeah, it's tough for me to condense that down because it's just so deep of um I'm just thrilled. I'm thrilled and feel feel very fortunate.

SPEAKER_00 8:15

You know Chase, and that's not not just through this interview process. How uh how do you know Chase and how far do you guys go back?

SPEAKER_01 8:21

Yeah. So both of us can still picture exactly where we were standing when we met. Uh when I was high school principal, we were at the state swim meet, just happened to be watching the our respective schools there. I was high school at Eden Prairie High School, and he was here, of course. And um here's Matt. And at the first conversation we had, I knew he was in the same or he completed the same PhD program I was wrapping up. Um his PhD in curriculum instruction, which isn't like totally rare, but it's a little bit unique for you know people in in our positions. And I knew he had done that because there was a couple of us that were through that. And um I was reluctant to tell him, like, uh, we've got two young ones right now. I don't think I'm gonna finish. And uh he, as you can probably picture, in a very kind but supportive and you know, kind of persistent way. Um just kept asking questions and helped me rethink about that. And then we stayed in touch through that. And uh his advice was you just gotta have a plan. You just gotta have a plan. And we came up with a plan that was really similar to what what he did actually of um got grandparents involved with the young kids and kind of mirrored what he and Barb had done. And so then you just see each other at different events. We both love going to stuff, you know, different high school events and being in the late conference. And it was probably about once a quarter or so um I would reach out to him, or he'd reach out to me, usually, usually me to him, asking, Can we get together for a coffee? I'm working on this, I'm thinking about this. And time would kind of go pretty fast as we would we had a common meeting spot uh that we would meet at and have an early morning coffee. We both like to get going pretty early. And uh just kind of kept in touch that way. And then my oldest has gotten to know him a little bit better um because he chases our we both are big Gopher football fans, and our tickets are pretty close to each other. So sometimes, and Teddy tends to tag along with me to the games more than others, so we'll sometimes kind of fly by there. So um and all that's just you know happened over several years, and uh we both kept a uh a distance during the interview and selection process here, um, which kind of makes this even sweeter. Um you know, to be honest, it was it was a really odd feeling during the process because if I was interviewing anywhere other than Y Zeta, I would have been talking to Chase every night. Um and to be in the district he knew best, but we weren't talking was was a little bit, you know, different, uh or just kind of curious. Um but now being on the other side, it's just um it's it's awesome. Um and uh then it's now it's our relationship's obvious obviously different now. Um but uh the familiarity we've had and then um and his his commitment, and I get that it's a commitment to me, but uh his commitment's really to the community. Yeah. Because he wants this transition to go really well for all the educators here that he loves, for all the families that he loves, for all the you know, community that's treated him so well and that he's so proud of and and rightfully so that you know uh to have somebody that I know is as committed to the transition as I am. Um I can't I can't put words to that, you know. It's just the feeling um is is remarkable. I I do get you know excited and and um you know realize like we got a we got a big transition coming up here, um, but I do sleep a lot better knowing that we've got the full community support, including Chase's.

SPEAKER_00 11:46

And I gotta ask, what is have you thought about your snow day morning approach? Um are we doing are we gonna do a ride along or how does this work?

SPEAKER_01 11:55

Well, he seems pretty good at it. I don't know if there's a track. I don't know. He I know he'll be up. So there might be some of that. Um but yeah, I I I've learned that approach from him, so I'll maybe ask him to do a do do a first one or two with me. But uh he's promised me he's not not moving out of the country or anything crazy like that, and he'll keep the same cell phone number. So I think I think our copies will just be a little bit more frequent.

SPEAKER_00 12:22

I remember we were I was part of a focus group when they were trying to figure out, you know, whether it's like asking the community and staff about you know what um you know what what do you all want in a superintendent? Um must have been interesting. It was it was interesting, yeah. And and and one thing that so MSBA is Minnesota School Boards Association, they helped, they were the firm that you know helped uh ultimately lead us to uh to Rob. But one thing that the that Barb from MSBA said was the average superintendent tenure in Minnesota, it's give or take like three years. And you know, when we look at um Dr. Anderson has been here for almost two decades, and I think, you know, in your opinion, why is this a destination job?

SPEAKER_01 13:14

Or not too different than what I shared there uh earlier of you have a community that's this plugged into public education that wants excellence for each and every student, and not only like wants it, like we all can say we want it, but is willing to put in the work and the investments to make that happen. That's a place where you want to be, and that's a place that can keep people in all the jobs, whether it's superintendent or any other job, to say, this is where I'm gonna, this is where I'm gonna invest. Podcaster. Yeah, podcast. Um, this is where I'm gonna invest. And you know, people move into this district with the schools in mind, and that that contributes to the pride that's here and the pride of like that's where I want my kids to be. And I that's what I want the conversation to continue to be here is you're on your your driveway or parking lot or wherever you might be, is like, yeah, my kids go to Wizetta, and I'm really proud of that. And uh, I think Dr. Anderson's leadership has made it even more of a destination of the combination of visionary and and steady leadership and really the relational leadership that exudes the district. Of this is a this is a warm, welcoming place, and it's been awesome to experience that the last couple of weeks in a different way.

SPEAKER_00 14:22

Yeah, and I've heard you say uh uh several times you use the the term, you know, long run. Like, you know, you're you're in it for the long run. Yeah. What for you, what does that mean for this job?

SPEAKER_01 14:35

Yeah. How I think about it is that just like if you're going on like a long drive, um, or if you're just driving 10 minutes, um, your your whole mindset is is different. Like if you're going on a five-hour drive someplace, like what you do, like what you pack in the car, what you plan for your stops, what you do before you even get in the car, is different than if you're just driving 10 minutes someplace. Or another way I think about it is I'm a runner. And I've explained this to a few people this way using the runner one, I probably should stop. Um, but I'm gonna try it again because then people have come up to me like, oh, you're a runner, and like, ask my times. Like, I'm not a real runner, like I have a pair of running shoes and I like to run, but I've no I've never been competitive, never will be, um, and don't care to ever talk about times with anybody. But um is if you're going out for call it a five-mile run versus a half mile run, every decision you make is gonna be different, or if it's a hundred-yard dash versus you know something longer. So to me, when you come in for the long run, it's like I'm I'm not afraid to I don't to spend too much time on anything because this is all just investment of getting to know people, uh, making sure we have uh stuff where the structures that we want in place, taking care of the resources, the stewardship of like, I want to make decisions that my future self is gonna thank me for, you know, like that we're taking care of the of us for the for the long run. Um one kind of way I think about that a lot and and share with teams I I've led and lead is you know, we need to, as school leaders, hold three three horizons in our minds at all times. Uh we the community deserves that. First one is what do the kids in front of us need today? Um, and that's a commitment I have here as I transition in is because I'm new guy, new guy, uh no staff member, no kindergartner, no fifth grader, or whatever should have a different kindergarten experience because I'm new. We need to make sure it is absolutely excellent. So we need to be continuing to attend to what do kids need today? Second horizon is what is the district need from us five years from now? So as we're making decisions, what's gonna put us in a really good, stable position five years from now? And then the third horizon is what is the employment community, what is our broader community, the employers or larger ecosystem gonna expect of our graduates 20 years from now? Like what are the skills that that is gonna lead us to a to a better tomorrow that way? And use those three horizons and try to hold all three at once to make better decisions.

SPEAKER_00 17:03

You come from a family of educators. How is your upbringing help shape who you are and a life working in education? Does it feel like destiny almost?

SPEAKER_01 17:15

Nah, not actually. Um, I was I I I do feel like I was pretty much raised in a school. Uh everyone around me is is teachers and uh continues to continues to be that way in a lot of our family. And you know, and my dad was you know coach of a couple sports, and so you just end up and that's what you do on Friday nights, and it was a lot of fun. Um and I was surrounded by people who you know realize that like teaching matters, schools matter, our community cares for its young people, as I kind of alluded to earlier. Like that that matters, like that's that's our future. But at the same time, I I didn't always have the greatest K-12 experience. And it was a little like, I'm I know that's what my family's done, but I'm never gonna do that. I I can't wait to get out of this. Um and all of that kind of shapes how I approach it. It does feel like a responsibility um and a calling. And you know, I've I've been at this about 20 years, and I can't think of a better career and a more meaningful career than to contribute to our future through education.

SPEAKER_00 18:14

Yeah, so it's let's dive into the coaching piece. We've heard you enjoy coaching sports, isn't that true? It's mostly true. In all your free time. Um what parallels can you draw from coaching that you could maybe bring into being a superintendent?

SPEAKER_01 18:34

Yeah, yeah. I I'm in all our coaches. I think that they are some of our best teachers and best educators, and um, I think they put in put in so much work and time and and do so much good for young people. And the coaching I do now is I coach Teddy, my oldest second grade basketball team this winter, and then I'll coach Rory, our middle child or my daughter's uh soccer team this this summer. But so this is not high-level stuff. But the the parallels are are definitely there. I I like this question because whether it's coaching, teaching, or leadership, I mean, I think some of your core pieces are still there of um high expectations is something that I really believe in. And I really believe that when we set the bar high and when we provide the right supports, there's nothing our kids and students can't do. Uh, you know, they're they're really, you know, when I was high school principal, I would joke with people, but I was serious of there's when I if you give a a group of committed high school kids some direction and some resources, they really are pretty much capable of what I was. Like they they can do a whole lot. So I think high expectations are really important. Um, you know, and like I said, in coaching, teaching, and and in leadership, you're you're you need to develop a team. You know, pay attention to team dynamics and relationships matter. Um, good feedback uh is a big part of coaching, is a big part of leadership and teaching, I think. Um clear expectations for people, high expectations with clarity and good feedback for support and knowing it knowing everybody's story. Uh, I think that everybody likes it uh when you know a little bit about them and when you're sincere about that. And when you see a team that really gels together where they know each other and they have high expectations for each other and they have collective accountability, that's really the continuous improvement journey. And um, you know, if I had to, you know, describe myself as something would actually be as a teacher, um, even even now, as that that's how I kind of view the world. Um, and that's kind of how I approach there's not a day that I don't think about what I learned as a teacher uh that goes by in my in my job. And all those have a lot of parallels.

SPEAKER_00 20:37

Yeah. I'm imagining and giving feedback to you know, a five-year-old on the on the soccer field, and and yeah, they take that.

SPEAKER_01 20:47

It's pretty hilarious. Uh there's a time, yeah. So I have eight, six, and one-year-old, and uh Tara'll joke like sometimes I'll sit, you know, basically tell the kids, like, you gotta sort this out. And she's like, that sounds like a principle, you know, parenting. Yeah, this is for you guys to figure out. This isn't my problem. Um, so yeah, it's a little bit different, but yeah, it's there's still similarities. Dynamics are so that yeah, it's just fun to be with the kids. One of my favorite parts about coaching them is once you're there, there's nothing else you can be doing, which is kind of freeing. You know, it's not like you you got a bunch of parents that you're watching out for their kids, and so you better not be on your phone and doing that other stuff. So it's kind of nice. I'm like, sorry, I can't do anything else right now. I'm coaching soccer.

SPEAKER_00 21:31

Tell us about your family a little bit. You asked, so do you have three kids married?

SPEAKER_01 21:35

Yeah. Uh yeah. So my favorite and most important job is is that. Uh Tara is being Tara's my wife, and um we have Teddy's eight-year-old, and we have two daughters, Rory, who's six, and Maisie, who's one. Um, yeah, being Tara's husband and their dad is my is my favorite job. Um, and definitely the one that'll last the longest, right? And be the most important uh when we look back. At all everything, but uh they're awesome. Um one of my best mentors or you know, closest mentors is actually Tara's grandpa. And um he he had meant so much to our family. He uh he passed away about six years ago from cancers too soon, but he owned a couple businesses and stuff, and um one of the things I always remember him talking about when he ran his businesses and would tell all of us, the grandkids and everyone who would listen, is um you know, you lead with your family first, fun second, and work third. And don't always do that, but um try to on good days, and I do, and I've got uh my closet, I have one of his old shirts, you know, next to my dress shirts. And I don't I don't look at it every day, but the days I do I have a a better day than when I don't as is kind of that reminder. And um I do think you know that that crosses into the workplace. I think you know it's a different kind of family, but we can create a family here too, you know. Uh and when we treat each other that way and we have care for each other that way, that this isn't a transaction. This is something that we're building for a long time um together and really tending to um just a better way of being. And hilarious story about him was he was uh I think hilarious. He was one of those guys everyone wanted to be around big energy, and which isn't always me. Um, but when he had cancer, he his he was known for giving everybody hugs, you know, big hugs, which definitely is not me. Um and he uh so we gave him his daughters gave him these bracelets that said hugs heal and blue his favorite color. And so he was supposed to give them to people, you know, instead of spreading the germs and his treatment and whatever. But he would always go up to people, give them, give it to them, and say it hugs heal, and then give them a big hug. And uh just to give you an idea of who he was. But yeah, we have a um family's a big part and big part of me and has has been and and always will be.

SPEAKER_00 23:59

You guys um I understand you live close by. What are you most looking forward to as a family of immersing yourself in the creator? Why is that a community?

SPEAKER_01 24:09

Yeah, those particularly Teddy and Rory. Maisie, you know, she'll get dragged around more uh eventually here, but they I think they enjoy coming to stuff with me. Uh so I think the community will just get used to me having a couple, couple partners and I hope they come up and just say hi and just you know, we we want to do that, and that's a I think that's a big part of this job um is is is connecting with folks in that way. So I hope they they feel comfortable doing that. We've got a few community events on our on our radar already this this spring. We've got the Twin Cities Asian Fair in May here. Um we've got we did the um uh got concerts and games you know planned here, and you know, for the record's favorite restaurant is the grocer's table. So might be able to find her or all of us there. Kids are a coin flip on whether they behave well enough there. I was gonna say you're you're brave taking uh three kids at that age out to a restaurant. They're kind of a funny story with that too. Shortly after um shortly after I got the job, um, Chase and I were gonna get our families together to go out to dinner. And he asked, he's like, You pick, you got the younger kids, they're probably more picky. I said, Well, they they really like groceries table. And he kind of was like, Really? My kids like chose culvers. Uh thankfully we didn't choose their chase talked us into the Muni because of how they're our kids were uh uh we love them. They were they were very lovable that night. Uh I think I think they could tell Tara and I were a little nervous, and so they're feeding nothing. Yeah, they made sure they were they showed their fru full personality.

SPEAKER_00 25:44

Yeah. Yeah, I think anyone listening with young kids, it's like, yeah, going to a restaurant is not the same experience if then if you do not have your young children with you. No, no, it's fun, fun nonetheless. What was your favorite teacher growing up and what impact did they have?

SPEAKER_01 26:03

Yeah. Spanish teacher in high school, uh, Senior Peel. He was uh, you know, he made class fun, but the biggest part is I talked briefly about high expectations, is like it was like, we I you all are gonna learn Spanish. Like you're gonna be able to pass this class and do this, and like you're gonna believe you can do this. And he just never had a doubt in his mind. And he did the stuff that made it fun and all that. And I don't remember all the specifics there. I just remember how confident he was. Y'all are gonna learn. We're gonna learn together. And I have been able to, he's still teaching, and I have been able to connect with him throughout my career a couple of times just to say, hey, thanks for believing in me, and thanks for seeing that.

SPEAKER_00 26:40

Did he ever test you on your on your Spanish to make sure you're still uh he'll talk to me a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 26:47

I I can talk a tiny bit still, but um, not too bad. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:52

Um one thing we heard in your interview is you start every day in a school building. Um why?

SPEAKER_01 26:59

Yeah. Well, a couple of reasons. One, it's the part of the day you usually have the most control over. So if you can, if your goal is to get out and about, I find it just practically best to do in the in the morning. Kind of same with a lot of other morning routines. If you don't get to it in the morning, you might not might not get to it. Um, another is you know, every job I've had is is being present in schools where you know we're actually doing the teaching and learning has been my favorite part. And uh kind of final reason would be is it's a great perspective to start your day with. I think it's it's very easy. We are running large organizations with you know thousands of customers and employees and big budgets and all these things. Um and we're uh still a school and like we're educating children and uh when you it's easy because everything's so busy. I mean, we have so many meetings and polls and community and all this, it's it's very easy to let your whole day, week, month get filled up with meaningful stuff, like definitely stuff that needs to happen. Um it's very easy to lose sight of what are we ultimately doing uh and why are we here? Why do we get into this? And I think I just think it provides a better perspective for me going in going in today's. And so yeah, it's uh it's a it's an energizing way to start the day too. How can you tell when you're at a school like the school's thriving today? Yeah, yeah, you do get a feel for schools, don't you? Pretty pretty quickly. Um I think when uh when adults are out and about, students are greeted by name. Um, I also look at how kids are treating each other. Same with classrooms, you know. I love to see the adult-student relationship. I also love you know, really watch for are the students cla collaborating. Is there a strong relationship kind of peer-to-peer? Uh for the older grades when kids are moving purposely to class and when the bell rings, or whatever the indicator is for the start of class, the kids are in class and engaged. And when you know there's a a warmth to it, you know, if you're not somebody who's there every day, but you're not, you know, greeted as an outsider or anything like that, you can kind of pick up on and um and then you always look at it through the lens of is this a spot where I'd want my kid to be, or somebody that I really care about? Is this a spot for them?

SPEAKER_00 29:13

Yeah, we were out shooting a video and we're we're out on the playground and it's chaos, right? It's an elementary school playground, but you know, the kids were hugging and yell, you know, you know, yelling and chasing, and like it was just like I took a step back and it's like this is like the most beautiful chaos like you can have, right? Because they're they're just so happy, like it's the purest form of happiness, kids on a playground. Absolutely. Your dissertation, so um you're going back. We're going back, yeah. So um, we understand you have your you have your PhD.

SPEAKER_01 29:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:49

Your dissertation was on perceived student voice.

SPEAKER_01 29:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:53

So how do you plan to ensure why is that a student voice as I heard?

SPEAKER_01 29:58

Yeah. I think student voice is really important. Uh kind of the shorthand version of that is there's a few things I think we can do that are more impactful for a young person than to make them, you know, believe and show them that their ideas matter, you know, whatever the topic is. And I think that's that's really important. Uh there's a my career we've done that in a lot of different ways, where there was this teacher, administrator of when I taught middle school social studies, I would get essential questions that would drive the unit and we would write the essential questions together. And you know, there's a there's a boundary there, right? Because we still need to teach all the standards. So it's not just, hey kids, go learn whatever you want to learn. It's well, let's work on these questions together and and work on our questioning skills. So it's kind of been a through line, you know, throughout my career and just a belief of mine. Um, and I think there's a lot of great ways to do it. Um, and it kind of needs to match what you're trying to do. And sometimes that's through pretty straightforward ways like surveys or something like that. Um, I like focus groups, talking to kids about stuff. I think the most impactful is when you're kind of living it day to day, when people can tell when they're around you, uh that they're particularly students that actually want to, like I said, want to hear their ideas. And you're not, it's not a grand student voice initiative, but it's, hey, how'd that go for you? How was your season? How was that lesson? What do you think of this? And and they come to you with ideas. Um, I think that's probably strategy one. Um, strategy two is you can hardwire it in a little bit of any major initiative, you know, maybe you're reworking where the cafeteria is or you're adopting a new math curriculum, or use those as two examples. Um, that you're asking the question of what role is can student voice play in this? And I think sometimes we look at that of like student voice means we know we get pulled to one extreme or the other, like either students are involved or or they're making the decisions. And like most things, I think there's a lot of middle ground there. It's like, no, there's like the math curriculum. We're experts are still going to make those decisions, but let's ask the question and during that year or two year or three-year process, whatever it is, make sure we have student voice somehow included in this. And that could be through the surveys, focus groups, observations, interviews, or um crowdsource ideas. That's been one of my favorite student voice strategies is hey, we've got this problem. Um, that could be a parking problem at a at a high school or something. You know, we've we've got this congestion problem. For two weeks, I'm gonna have this website open, submit your ideas. And the students often, because they experience our school in different ways than we do as adults, they can they have a different lens, you know. It's not better or worse, it's just a different perspective. And I think it's probably also an ownership piece too, then if they're if they feel like they're involved, right? Like then they're gonna avoid it. Absolutely. Yeah, I think that's that's the second piece. That's their unique lens, the ownership piece. And then I think we're also just we're teaching our students, um, kind of teaching them how to lead to that you don't just do things to people, that you work with people, and hopefully they're learning some leadership skills uh through that and modeling that. And that's my goal always is you know, I I won't, you know, with student voice, there's not going to be a this, this, this, this needs to happen. But in stuff I'm directly involved in, I'll ask that question is how do we have student voice in? And then for leaders across the system and other educators and people across, you can they can ask themselves that too for what they're doing.

SPEAKER_00 33:19

Yeah, that's great. Yeah, it reminds me we did an episode with uh Wise at a cafe, is in a um a lot of the buildings will do uh uh school uh a school choice day or student choice day for the meal. And uh they always talk about the uh the orange chicken's always the the favorite go-to for for students. So there you go, you have to get out and try the orange chicken. Actually did this week.

SPEAKER_01 33:43

Okay, one for one for Y Zeta Cafes. It was great. Uh Chase and I, and it's Chase said it was the first time he had it, usually just gets the cheeseburgers. Um, but we uh we had the orange chicken, it was very good.

SPEAKER_00 33:56

There you go. Okay, so uh Wiseta has a reputation for excellence. Obviously, it's in the tagline excellence for each and every student. How do you balance maintaining those high standards while also being innovative and willing to take some risk?

SPEAKER_01 34:14

Yeah, I actually don't see those two as in competition. I I get there there can be a tension there, but um, I think you know, when you have when you're these high performing organizations, school systems or any other organization, I think one of the first things that's really important is to figure out what makes us high performing and what is that that's really important that we need to protect. When you have a high performing organization, which is different from like a startup or a turnaround, you know, it's a different leadership skill set is if you when you make like small changes, you know, without full context, you can cause pretty big harm, you know. Like the imagery I use in my head is uh like picture like a speedboat or something, like you don't have to move the wheel much to make a big change. And so when you've got these high horsepowered, you know, organizations like Zeta, uh, you gotta have full context before you just start moving moving stuff around. Um, so kind of job one is how do what makes us excellent? What are what is really important here, and how do we protect that? And that doesn't mean every single thing, but what what's what's core to core to our identity and core to our brand and experience? And we all know, and I think this is how places become excellent, is we all know we always could do a little bit better. Um, and that that really is the continuous improvement journey of it's not a 180, it's not a wholesale thing. It's it's but there's always room on the edges to say, how might that get a little bit better? And and I think at the core of that is a community and all of our recognition of okay, how we got here was doing that. You know, we we we become an excellent organization by saying, I hope we're gonna be excellent, um, or we're excellent. It became through steady, you know, disciplined innovation, vision, execution that continuously adds value. And that's something I think really Wiseetta's uh an exemplar of across the country, um, of they uh you know, you can call it whatever you want, innovation, transformation, whatever. I I like continuous improvement, you know, kind of as the best. I think Wiseetta is a really good example of we just get a little bit better. We just keep getting a little bit better, and that just continues to add value. And that's that's my intention is to just say, here's where we're at. We're really gonna protect on this, and we're gonna be on a continuous improvement journey. Um and that and we're gonna do that together as a community.

SPEAKER_00 36:40

So we're you were hired in early March, we're now into May, so you more or less a couple months since you know you were you were named the new guy. Um what so since you've um since you've been selected for this role, what does you know listening and learning look like or has it looked like um not only since you've been hired, but then as you officially you know start full time in July?

SPEAKER_01 37:12

Yeah, I'm doing everything I can to be as just connecting with as many people as possible. So um met with all of our school board members individually. Um vent my eventual direct reports is our um strategy leadership team, which is our executive directors and directors and um lead principals, like 23 or something like that total. Um, meeting making sure I have one-on-one connection with all them by the end of the school year. Um, you know, we did the CT showcase and board meetings and uh went to a mayor forum for you know area mayors uh uh a couple weeks ago. Uh a lot of events like that where it's just you know slowly, you know, being present with people, trying to build familiarity, um, trying with the goal of hopefully by July 1 that I'm old news. Uh that yeah, he's just he's been here a while. I thought he was I thought he was already here. And this is all while still doing your your job at yeah, we're running a little thin right now, but it's I'm so engaged and so excited about this that it doesn't it doesn't feel um it's just it's really energizing because I'm I'm so excited and grateful for for the opportunity. July 1, you know, I hope or I know we'll have a very similar feeling. You know, maybe we should circle back to get to the specifics of what'll happen in those those first official hundred days, but um that I my intention for the community is to feel whenever you get me, whether it's in a board meeting, at a football game, concert, um, or just at the grocery store, like yes, at the top, um, that's the same, Rob. That you're you're not gonna see a different one pre-July 1 or after July 1, that there's clarity in what he's about, he's trying to connect, and there's a whole lot of care for making sure that we're doing the very best we can for each and every student.

SPEAKER_00 39:04

What have you learned so far that has either surprised you or maybe affirmed some things for you?

SPEAKER_01 39:12

Um people will say yes. You know, if I ask them to meet, if I ask them to help with something, there's there's uh that's not a surprise, but maybe an affirmation. But they've just been like, yeah, we we want to help, we love what's going on here, we want you to be successful. Uh that warmth that I described from the community, that both the district and the larger community has been been awesome.

SPEAKER_00 39:35

What was it like? So as you're you know, you you're you're you're hired, and from that point we were like a month out from the referendum. W what was it like to kind of be named into this role, and then you this referendum comes and you're it kind of can go one of two ways, right? So what was that like to come in and and be a part of that and now looking forward to some of the opportunities that come with that?

SPEAKER_01 40:01

Yeah. What a dream, right? I mean, I couldn't be in a more grateful for that situation. Uh I felt a little guilty for those. There was probably five weeks in between being named and the actual referendum. I saw all you how hard all you all were working to get that fast, and I kept kind of asking, like, is there something I can do? You know, don't do it for me. I don't need to get in the way, but I want to do my share here. So uh felt the that felt a little odd not to be contributing um like I like like I usually would would be. But um I knew, you know, in that time period and the time period you know during application and interview and stuff like that, regardless of the outcome, this is gonna be a big part of my work. Um because of the outcome, the work just got a lot more exciting and fun. Um, but if it wasn't, though those needs weren't gonna go away. You know, we still have growing enrollment, we still have other facility needs um so that we needed to address. So I'm glad we're in how do we do this and implement this well. We've got the resources versus you know, kind of problem-solving scramble mode. So one of the many things I'm grateful to Chase for, um, you know, he he's been just amazing through this transition. I need to make sure we we mentioned that of a lot of knowledge he's sharing, time he's sharing, you know, connections he's making that um we'll never be able to thank him enough for.

SPEAKER_00 41:21

You mentioned that enrollment growth. Um at some point I heard you say enrollment growth is a sign of a great district. Yeah. How do we ensure that as we grow? Why is that a growth? And it's a it's growing and growing and growing that we kind of maintain that, I guess, small school feel or we don't lose that individual student experience.

SPEAKER_01 41:44

Yeah. And growth is a sign of a great district. I mean, families move into this area largely because of the school and the reputation, and then not just reputation, but the actual experience that students are having. So kudos to everybody who's who's made that happen. And that is that's why we're in the position we're in to need to build more schools. That's that's not the metro norm uh right now or the nationwide norm. So it is a sign of a of a great experience. And growth is only an asset, really, if quality scales with it. You know, I'd say that's true probably for any organization. If you can go from two stores to 10 stores, but the user experience isn't as good as it was when you were two, that's that's not sustainable and that's not what you want to do. So um something thankfully that we've got going for us here is we've been growing and we have sustained that. So we've got great people, great structures in place that we can build on. My job is not to come in and reinvent those. My job is to learn those, see where uh the newer context or the context of the next several years might require tweaks, but it's building on top of that. It's not re-rebuilding. So we're used to growth, we're you we're used to that. Uh and I think at the at the core of that is uh knowing each student. And you know, for the individual student, so it you know, you you you picture a a student that you know for them it it it it really doesn't matter and and it shouldn't if they're in a district or a school of 200 or 2,000 or 20,000. Like we need to know that child and have them have a great experience. And then the next and the next. And that's what that each, you know, and and you talk about each and every, like that's what it means to me is when somebody when a student goes to our new elementary, that's their world. You know, it could be one elementary in the district or the tenth. For them and that family, we just need to make sure we really know them, know their talk about their their strengths, their struggles, their sparks, and their supports is just an easy way to remember it of just knowing their story, what makes them tick. And quality comes with that. This is the ultimate uh relationship based business is education. And if we can keep those relationships center, that'd be great. Uh no matter how many kids we have.

SPEAKER_00 43:58

Yeah, and you're in a real week Heard um it was brought up several times the career and technical education pieces that as part of the referendum, there's this new addition to the high school that'll focus on uh the CT piece. Given your experience, like what are you most excited about in terms of what the addition of that space and expansion could look like?

SPEAKER_01 44:21

Yeah. Yeah, a couple of thoughts. When I was at that CT showcase uh at the end of April, and I was familiar with that event, but oh my gosh, that even blew me away. That was amazing. Um I saw like little the robots, like oh my gosh. And then like every every I mean, not every, but so many different career paths were there. And there's a college in Georgia that I've always been interested in, never been to, but I've read about them in Fast Company, and they're there. And I'm like, I didn't know you had a Minnesota presence. And they're like, we don't. We flew up last night um to do this. It was it was incredible. So great, great experience there. So we're in a great spot with CTE already. CT is so exciting because it's it's at the it's at the nexus of academic excellence, career readiness, workforce development. Like parents, students, teachers, employers can all kind of see themselves in in it. And the world is you know showing us like, hey, we got to do better here, you know, collectively. So when you get a better chance to build this facility, it's gonna provide us good entry points to have conversations about that, that we don't have to create. It's like we've got this opportunity, let's do this right with this in mind, not retrofitting something, but really what is the what is industry demanding from us, what does our community need from us right now? Kind of that 20-year horizon that I talked about earlier. And that gets at the core of curriculum instruction, which is, you know, kind of my my passion in education and gets to the teaching and learning experience. And uh I think that authentic learning is one that comes to mind, meaningful learning, you know, something those sort of related terms, but something in that ballpark is but when kids can do the use the resources, tasks, purpose, and audience that a professional in that field does. So podcaster, uh, carpenter, historian, mathematician, whatever it might be. But when they're using those resource tasks, purpose, and audience, then they're doing really meaningful work. And I think when we think of our own school experiences, those are the moments that are sticky. Um, I don't often interview people or talk with people and they don't and say, talk to me about you know a moment that stuck with you or a moment that you learned a lot. Generally, not multiple choice tests like that is top of the list. Um, those folks usually are can do those because they've had stickier moments. It's not an either or, but we're gonna have a real opportunity here to to continue to build on what, like I said, what's already in place is amazing, and just to continue to define Wizetta as a as a destination for excellence.

SPEAKER_00 46:48

Yeah, we've done a few episodes on CTE specifically and and just what some of the students were doing. Like we had a couple students on, one was doing an internship with NASA, the other was getting real-world nursing experience, and then you know, in another episode, we were talking to a a a mentor in the program that was you know was made graphics for like Netflix or Pixar, and so just like the the wide-ranging opportunities, it was it just it continues to blow me away.

SPEAKER_01 47:21

Yeah, the partnerships that to have really authentic experiences and really meaningful experiences for students, we need it takes a community partnership, and we have so many great ones in place here. I think with this new facility, having people be able to enter in and out of the high school better and have that just be swifter and be forefront, and you know, we have so many people with so many different backgrounds here and expertise, and that can create such great uh learning experiences for students that really can that they'll carry with them.

SPEAKER_00 47:52

Well, and to hear we heard those partners talk about how much it meant for them too. Like, not they were talking about like, yes, it's it's this is an amazing benefit and opportunity to students, but the partners talked about how impactful it was for them as that and then they could go back to their workplace, and it was just a really cool, like that it was it felt more of like a relationship than just a true mentoring thing, but it was cool. Yeah, okay. We're new lightning rounds, so maybe through all the tough questions. Um best book you've read recently, besides maybe a children's one, like the bear snores on or something. Um the first 90 days.

SPEAKER_01 48:33

Fitting. Fitting, yes. I've read it a couple times at different stops in my career, and each time it served me well, and it has a little different lens, and uh I liked it again this round. Right. Uh favorite school lunch. Well, orange chicken and one recency. Yeah, recency bias. Toss up orange chicken or like a nacho bowl. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 48:54

Uh favorite subject in school?

SPEAKER_01 48:57

Uh US history or US government. That's what I taught the most of.

SPEAKER_00 49:02

Uh favorite thing to do on the playground?

SPEAKER_01 49:05

Uh swings.

SPEAKER_00 49:06

Swings. Um, do you have any secret talents?

SPEAKER_01 49:11

No. Not even close.

SPEAKER_00 49:15

Barely even have hobbies.

SPEAKER_01 49:17

No, there's no talents.

SPEAKER_00 49:19

Uh running, but not professionally. Right. Um, okay. What's one thing you want every uh member of the community or staff to know about you on day one?

SPEAKER_01 49:32

And I'm all in. I'm completely invested in this, and that I want them and this community to get what they deserve, which is an excellent experience.

SPEAKER_00 49:42

He is Dr. Rob Virgin. You can call him Rob, you can call him New Guy, you can call him whatever you want, but um prefers Rob. Thank you for joining us, and uh, we look forward to having you on again soon.

SPEAKER_01 49:55

This is a ton of fun. I hope I hope I can come back.