Leadership and Agency with Tom Rooney
CompetencyWorks Blog
Aurora’s Communications Director Chiara Wegener sat down with Tom Rooney, former Superintendent of Lindsay Unified School District in California, and current chair of the Aurora Institute Board, to reflect on his time leading the district in its shift to learner-centered education and on leadership lessons learned over his career.
CW: Looking back at the years you’ve been leading Lindsay Unified School District, what stands out for you as the big, monumental moments?
TR: The whole system in Lindsay was built on a community-driven strategic design. One of the big monumental moments in my time at Lindsay was around 2007-2008, when we brought community members together and asked them, ‘what is our vision for what we want to be in the future’ and ‘what is the description of a Lindsay graduate?’ Those conversations were the foundation for everything we did from that moment on in Lindsay to advance a learner-centered system.
Another moment that comes to mind is work that we did early on in Lindsay around values – our community presented us with 10 core values that were expanded upon to create the Lindsay Leader Core Values Rubrics which became the basis of what it meant to be a Lindsay Leader. These rubrics were foundational in shifting the adult mindset to be truly learner-centered. We used the core values rubrics in individual and team reflections, and for team accountability. It was a truly powerful shift.
Additionally, the technology transformation that happened in Lindsay was really critical to our shifts – in 2013 we were able to put a device in the hands of every learner and by 2016 we fully implemented the community Wi-Fi project which connected every Lindsay learner and family to the Internet for free. It’s obviously not all about the technology, but this was a key move to ensure equity of access, and transformed what was possible for learning.
We also instituted a couple of key initiatives as part of our shift to a learner-centered system: Lindsay Leads and a pipeline and residency program. Lindsay Leads is the consulting branch of the district, made up of learners, staff, family members and board members that serve as advocates and consultants to outside networks – enabling us to have a lot more ambassadors sharing the Lindsay story and lessons learned on our transformation journey. Our pipeline and residency program focuses on putting Lindsay graduates through college on a forgivable loan to build our educator pipeline. Something I am really proud of is that of the last 100 educators hired in the district, about 80 were Lindsay kids. The power of this program has been monumental for us, and has really made a difference in allowing our workforce to build deep relationships with learners who share similar backgrounds and lived experiences.
CW: How do you think the field of education innovation has changed over the past 20 years? Where have you seen progress and where do you think there’s still room to grow?
TR: There’s obviously been a lot of change on the tech front, with advancements around access and tools – but there’s also been a shift in the adult mindset of leveraging and using technology. I’ve also seen substantial progress in career pathways over the past two decades – there is definitely a shift in thinking beyond just college for everyone. Particularly at the high school level, you see learners getting real life experiences in potential careers. Learners are figuring out how to advocate for themselves, set their own goals, and monitor progress.
There’s also still lots of room where we need to grow – and I think learner agency is one of those places. True learner agency means adults really entrusting the learners, and teaching learners to advocate for themselves and navigate their own learning. Another area of growth would be honoring and listening to learner voice. I think this one can be hard to move, because we know that young people aren’t going to hold back – they’re going to say things that require the system to change. And that’s hard for adults to hear and honor!
CW: What topics in the K-12 learner-centered education transformation space do you think aren’t getting enough attention right now?
TR: Definitely learner-agency, as we’ve discussed! But I also think that school board development is a critical lever in shifting to a learner-centered system. I’m excited to see more conversation happening around undoing the Carnegie Unit, and moving to making learning more about competence – but this has been a hurdle in this work for years.
CW: What are some of the biggest hangups to advancing this type of work?
TR: We need to have the right leadership on board to create the conditions for innovation to happen. We need leaders to have the mindset that anything is possible for learners, and to genuinely believe in learners and staff. We can’t be focused on protecting the status quo and making excuses for why we don’t do things – leaders have the power to set things in motion for this work. There really needs to be a deep investment in leadership – because so many leaders end up overwhelmed by compliance, which makes systems change work all the more challenging.
CW: What roles do you see for CompetencyWorks and Aurora moving forward in this work?
TR: I see a role for Aurora and CompetencyWorks to really elevate the need for more focus on learner agency and leadership, and advocating at the state level and with the philanthropic community to advance learner-centered education. The piece around leadership for learner-centered systems is key – none of this work is possible without investing in the leadership that will ultimately advance this work.
Aurora plays a key role in elevating innovative practices and providing resources around this work – this is a key piece of the work that must continue. Additionally, Aurora can provide counsel to states on removing compliance items that aren’t about learning that are holding up transformation.
CW: What messages do you want to share with our network as you move into this next stage of your life?
TR: Leadership matters at every level of an organization or system. In a district – this means the bus driver, the secretary, the teacher, the principal, and literally everyone in the system knows the role they play in driving change at the systems level, and can speak to how their work is transformative. When we create the conditions for everyone to become leaders in their role, people become highly empowered, engage in the work of removing barriers to success, and become strong advocates for learners.
I also think it’s important to remember that despite the distractions that we have going on in our world and political climate right now, those in the field of education have a responsibility for the learners in our care. We have a responsibility to not be distracted. We are tasked with creating the conditions for all learners to reach the highest levels of academic success and personal excellence, which is such a worthy responsibility to embrace.