SchoolStory by ROE #30
SchoolStory is a ten-episode podcast series brought to you by Matthew Hickam, Regional Superintendent of ROE #30. The project is the audio companion piece to SchoolStory Magazine, and is intended to create greater awareness of our schools in the public mind and to start important conversations with and between members of our communities. SchoolStory is produced by Journey12, whose mission is to create greater connection between local schools and the communities they serve. In this series, we explore the role public schools play—not just in educating children, but in holding our communities together.
Recorded across Southern Illinois and hosted by Craig Williams, these conversations bring together superintendents, regional leaders, educators, and partners who are doing the quiet, complicated work of leading schools in a time of change. This is not a podcast about slogans or silver bullets. It’s about proximity. Stewardship. Dignity. And the deeply human decisions that shape what school feels like for students, families, and communities long before the data ever catches up.
Across the series, we explore why small schools still matter in an era of consolidation, how collaboration strengthens—not weakens—local identity, and what it really means to prepare students for a workforce that no longer fits a single narrative. We talk candidly about the future of teaching, the evolving convergence of trades and technology, and the invisible labor schools carry as hubs of care, connection, and continuity.
You’ll hear honest conversations about equity and access as lived experiences, not abstractions. About leading amid public pushback without losing integrity. About mental health as essential to learning. About special education as a promise, not a program. And throughout it all, we return to a central truth: when schools don’t tell their stories, something else fills that space—and it’s rarely complete or fair.
SchoolStory exists to share the important discussions local district leaders are having with one another—openly, thoughtfully, and across district lines—so communities can better understand what’s happening inside their schools, why it matters, and who it’s for. These are conversations rooted in Southern Illinois, but the questions they raise—about trust, belonging, leadership, and the future of public education—resonate far beyond any one region.
At its heart, SchoolStory is an act of stewardship. A belief that schools are not just institutions, but human systems. And that telling their stories—carefully, consistently, and with integrity—is essential to the health of the communities they serve.
We hope you’ll enjoy hearing from this group of hardworking leaders — all of whom are our Southern Illinois neighbors — from across the Region.
SchoolStory by ROE #30
The State of the Small School & Why Size Still Matters
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Today’s conversation feels like a recognition many of us already understand but don’t always value.
In an era where bigger is often equated with better, where consolidation is framed as efficiency, and where schools are increasingly discussed in terms of scale rather than soul, we’re pausing to ask a more human question: What do small schools still do better than anyone else — and why does that matter so deeply right now?
This episode isn’t about nostalgia. It’s about proximity.
It’s about knowing families by name, responding before a crisis becomes visible, and understanding that schools are often the last truly connective tissue holding rural communities together.
You’ll hear from leaders who live this work every day — people who understand that small schools aren’t “limited versions” of larger systems, but distinct ecosystems with their own strengths, responsibilities, and quiet superpowers.
So let’s take a closer look at why size still matters — and what we risk losing if we forget that schools are, first and foremost, human institutions.