How do you transform a hurting campus into a national model of success, without losing your soul as a leader?

In this episode of Transformational Educators, host Matthew Flippen sits down with Rose Pearson, Superintendent of Carrizo Springs CISD, to unpack her remarkable journey of school transformation. As a first-year principal at Goodnight Middle School, Rose inherited a punitive culture with high suspension rates and disengaged staff. Within three years, she led the school to become a national AVID demonstration campus. This story isn’t just about programs, it’s about trust, voice, and leadership that starts with listening. If you’re ready to shift your school culture from compliance to connection, this conversation is your blueprint.

Key Takeaways:
• How Rose tackled a punitive campus culture through teacher voice
• The surprising power of listening before leading
• Strategies that helped reduce suspensions and improve student engagement
• Why professional learning must be teacher-led to stick
• How AVID transformed not just students—but staff beliefs
• What it looks like to trust teachers with real leadership
• The role of nomination in building new leaders
• Why sustainable change requires shared ownership
• The impact of teacher-led family engagement
• What one story of belief can do for someone’s leadership journey

Best Moments:
00:00:44 . “The culture was really punitive toward student behavior.”
00:03:38 . “When I met individually with teachers, I knew I was onto something.”
00:05:10 . “It’s really important to have the summer to do relationship building.”
00:06:12 . “Some of our students didn’t believe they could go to college.”
00:08:39 . “Within three years, we became a national AVID demonstration school.”
00:10:06 . “We moved all of our committees to be teacher-led.”
00:12:01 . “She said, ‘If I share what I’m doing, I’ll have a target on my back.’”
00:13:19 . “Now she leads AVID across the district. That’s the power of teacher voice.”
00:14:13 . “You can share confidence with people. If I believe you can, you start to believe it too.”
00:16:28 . “They just re-earned their AVID demo school status—and they texted me to say thank you.”

Transformational Educators | School Leadership Stories

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