(AUDIO) Courage, Systems, and Conviction: A Lesson in Vulnerability with Supt. Michael Hayden with Supt. Michael Hayden

This week on An Imperfect Leader, we sit down with Superintendent Michael Hayden of the Clyde-Savannah Central School District for a deeply moving conversation on leadership, literacy, and human-centered courage.

Here are two key takeaways from this powerful conversation:

Michael shares how middle school serves as a crucial pivot point. Rather than leaving literacy to chance, Michael applied systems thinking across the district:

• Protecting Instructional Coaching: Even during state aid cutbacks, the district prioritized non-evaluative instructional/literacy coaches across all content areas.
• Master Scheduling for Collaboration: Restructuring schedules to guarantee dedicated joint planning time for teachers.
• Community-Wide Connections: Expanding literacy beyond school walls by partnering with local pediatrician offices, hospital maternity wards, and regional bookstores to get books directly into hands and homes.

In our after action review, Michael reflects on one of the most gut-wrenching moments of his administrative career: canceling a football season during a playoff run for a state championship.

• Prioritizing People Over Celebration: Despite intense backlash and public pressure, Michael stood firm in placing student well-being above athletic achievement.
• Confronting Adult Trauma: Michael openly shares how this crisis impacted him personally and a realization that school leaders must address adult mental health and trauma support so educators can show up fully for students.

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An Imperfect Leader is sponsored by IXL. Boost learning with a platform proven to deliver results. IXL gives educators a complete K–12 curriculum and personalized learning plans that adapt to every student.

Trusted by over 1 million teachers and 96 of the top 100 school districts, IXL helps schools outperform on state tests, and helps teachers focus on what matters most.

IXL: Powerful data. Personalized learning. Real progress.

Discover what IXL can do for your school at IXL.com/imperfect

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Learn more about The Mosaic Classroom Project.

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Think differently. Think in systems. Reach out to The Waters Center for Systems Thinking to learn more about how systems thinking capacity building can strengthen your team and organization.

Homepage: www.waterscenterst.org

Thinking Tools Studio: https://thinkingtoolsstudio.waterscenterst.org

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An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action is supported by ILAA, LLC, a firm dedicated to supporting aspiring, new, and established leaders. For more information, please find them at imperfectleader.com.

Music for An Imperfect Leader was written and arranged by Ian Varley.

Sam Falbo created our artwork, a wood-print inspired daruma doll butterfly.