Build Momentum for Education · 2025-04-24 · 41 min
In this episode of Build Momentum, we are joined by Dr. James Lane, Chief Executive Officer of PDK International, a nonprofit that supports those who work in public education, and its community-based movement Educators Rising. He has served at the federal, state, and local levels: in the U.S. Department of Education as Acting Assistant Secretary and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; as Superintendent of Public Instruction in Virginia; and as Superintendent of three Virginia school divisions in Chesterfield County, Goochland County, and Middlesex County. Dr. Lane is also a former school principal and band director. Some Questions We Ask: Tell us more about your career at all levels of K-12 education and now as a leader at PDK? (01:22) What is the most rewarding aspect of your career? (05:01) What insights from your time in the Department of Education surprised you - and were there any misconceptions about the superintendency that you experienced while working as a policymaker? (08:02) What are your thoughts about the 2023 RAND study, and do you have similar perspectives as other superintendents?
S05E15 - Balancing Two Districts and One Mission: A Journey Through Leadership and Change | Dr. Matthew Montgomery, Superintendent64 / 100
S05E14 - Leading with Heart: A Superintendent’s Story of Building Trust and Leading with Transparency | Heidi Sipe, Superintendent, Umatilla School District
S05E12 - Leading with Vision and Vulnerability: What Schools Really Need | Dr. Buddy Berry, Eminence Independent Schools
S05E11 - A Lesson in Humble Leadership | Dr. Matthew Hicks, Northeastern Wayne Schools Indiana
S05E10 - The Superintendent Lab | Dr. Rachel White, University of Texas at Austin