There is still a long way to go in the district before the school experience is truly transformed for every student, but we indisputably made progress. This past May, a group of district leaders revisited some of our guiding documents, including The New Normal, the Quality Work Protocol and descriptors, and the Performance Outcomes. We also looked closely at school defense rubrics to see how they compared to the expectations outlined in those original documents. It was refreshing to again focus on the bigger vision for the kind of learning experiences we wanted for our students.

When our district team proposed that we create our own digital vehicle for students to store and demonstrate artifacts of their learning, the superintendent and I reluctantly agreed, knowing that time was not on our side. But amazingly, the school year started and each student had a digital Backpack of Success Skills inside their Google Drive. Our newly formed Digital Innovation team was leading the way, creating lots of excitement within and even outside the district. Suddenly, JCPS, the troubled district that had been somewhat of a mystery across the state, was front and center. It seemed–to us at least–that everyone was watching, and more than a few wanted to join us. It was a new day in the Jefferson County Public Schools!

There is real beauty in being a little bit naïve. I had just accepted a position as the Chief Academic Officer for the 100,000-student Jefferson County Public Schools, and the newly appointed interim superintendent had no district-level administrative experience despite working and teaching in the district for more than 20 years. He had been principal of two different high schools–arguably one of the most difficult jobs in existence–but he had no experience leading an entire district, not to mention one of the largest districts in the country, complete with a powerful teacher’s union and a 7-member board.

Several years ago, I had the opportunity to serve as superintendent in a Kentucky district of about 1800 students. There, with a forward-thinking school board who recognized the need for a very different kind of school experience, we began to explore.