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 Power of Story: Shaping Public Perception of Public Education
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Over the past several episodes, we’ve sat down with educational leaders from across Southern Illinois to explore the challenges, the wins, the complexities, and the importance of a strong public education landscape across our region.
Today’s conversation brings us to the close of this series—and fittingly, it centers on the thread that runs beneath every episode we’ve shared together: the power of story.
Over the course of these conversations, we’ve talked about mental health, special education, recruiting and retaining educators, rural schools, leadership under pressure, and the fragile, essential work of trust. And underneath all of it—whether we named it or not—was story. The stories schools tell. The stories communities believe. And the stories that go untold when no one takes responsibility for sharing them.
Every community holds a narrative about its schools. Some of it is shaped by lived experience. Some by rumor. Some by a single moment that grows legs and runs. And some by the quiet, extraordinary work happening every day behind classroom doors that most people never see.
When schools don’t tell their stories, something else fills that space—and it’s rarely generous, complete, or fair. But when schools tell their stories thoughtfully, consistently, and with integrity, something powerful happens. Communities begin to see themselves reflected back. Trust grows. Misinformation loses oxygen. And the human side of public education comes back into focus.
In this final episode, I’m joined by Matthew Hickam, Regional Superintendent of ROE 30; Kris Mason, Superintendent of Giant City School District; and Landon Summers, Superintendent of Century Unit District—leaders who understand that storytelling isn’t a public relations tactic. It’s stewardship. It’s how schools help communities understand what’s really happening, why it matters, and who it’s for.
We talk about filling the vacuum before negativity does. About reaching the eighty percent of taxpayers who don’t have children in the schools but still care deeply about them. About why lived experience often carries more weight than data alone. And about how telling the right stories, at the right time, can strengthen morale, retention, and public trust.
So, as we bring this series to a close, let’s take a look at why story matters—how it shapes perception—and what happens when schools reclaim their own narrative.