Kali shares a little about her background, family, moving from Florida to California for a new job, and being a 1st Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo (2:00)
Kali traces the highlights of her career path, from starting her first teaching job two weeks after she graduated from the Florida Institute of Technology (at a school she attended) to where she is today, with many twists and turns in between! (3:23)
Director of Education Technology? What’s that? (17:09)
Kali’s motivations for moving from teaching to school administration (20:43)
If you’re struggling with working on a master’s degree while teaching full time and raising a family, you’re not alone. And you can pull it off, just as Kali did. (22:49)
How those struggles and all that hard work will pay off and make you a great admin (27:42)
Kali has had so many memorable moments it’s impossible to name just one as the best (30:04)
Some of the things that make being a school leader such a wonderful career (36:06)
The best leadership advice Kali has ever received is short and sweet (37:56)
Respecting and relating to all kinds of people is a skill admins will flounder without (38:42)
Three of Kali’s favorite books for school leaders (39:15)
Kali’s tips for school leaders on working with their students (40:59)
Her recommendations for school administrators on working with the teachers you serve (44:19)
If Kali had a time machine, here’s the advice she would go back and give her younger self when she was just starting out in school administration (47:47)
Books mentioned in this episode
The Falconer: What We Wish We Had Learned in School by Grant Lichtman
Program or Be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age by Douglas Rushkoff
Never Send a Human to Do a Machine’s Job: Correcting the Top 5 EdTech Mistakes by Yong Zhao, Gaoming Zhang, Jing Lei, and Wei Qiu
Connect with Kali Baird
kbaird(at)sandomenico.org
About EducatorsLead:
Educators Lead is a podcast created to help launch educators into the next level of leadership. This show is for you if you are an assistant principal, principal, superintendent, teacher or someone who hope to be a school leader one day. Educators Lead offers inspiration and practical advice to help you lead more effectively. Jay Willis interviews school leaders 3-days a week to discuss the point these educators made the decision to move into school leadership, challenges along the journey, and stories that made it all worthwhile. Educators Lead is a great resource for any educator looking to make a greater impact.
Educate. Inspire. Lead.
Very practical and clear advice for every level of interaction in the school environment. I enjoyed it
Kali is an outstanding educator and person… Thank you for sharing this… Absolutely amazing and wonderful words!!!
Go for it! Great advice, as well as believing in oneself. Kali knows how to connect with people in a way that makes them open to hearing her insights. Doing a masters, while working full time, while raising a middle schooler and doing a great job in all of them is an inspiration!
Great Job.