Episode 115 | HOPE-Fueled Leadership: Phone-Free Schools & Student Wellness with Dr. Kyle Thompson

speaker-0: Welcome to another episode of the Lead with Hope Podcast, where we explore what it means to lead with hope. I'm your host, Brandy Kelly, and each week we're here to help you lead with greater purpose, resilience, and confidence. My hope is that every episode leaves you encouraged, equipped, and inspired to become the kind of leader who creates meaningful change, one conversation, one decision, and one relationship at a time. Today I am excited to welcome my friend Kyle Thompson. He's the superintendent of the Regional Office of Education number eleven. Kyle leads with authenticity, humility, and a deep commitment to serving schools, educators, students, and the communities throughout his region. And recently I've had the pleasure of working alongside Kyle and his team through a disc training. And I have to tell you, these people are the kind of group that makes facilitation a lot of fun. I know you're going to enjoy hearing not only about Kyle's leadership journey, but also about his insights of some of the most important topics in education today, including the transition to phone-free schools.

DISC Promotion: Want to strengthen communication, improve collaboration, and help your team lead with greater self-awareness? I'd love to partner with your school or district to deliver a disk assessment, debrief, and training designed specifically for educators. Understand how different communication styles impact relationships, reduce conflict, and build stronger collaboration, recognize individual strengths and leadership potential, and create healthier, more productive teams while improving trust, engagement, and workplace culture. Each participant receives a personalized disk report followed by an interactive debrief. This helps them understand what the results mean and more importantly how they apply those results in their daily work. We then build on the insights through engaging professional development focused on communication, teamwork, leadership, and creating a culture where everyone can thrive. This experience is customized to meet the unique needs of your team. If you're ready to invest in your people, let's start the conversation. You can visit sparkhopeedu.com or email me at bkelly at sparkhopeedu.com to learn more about bringing disk training to your school or district. Together, we'll build stronger leaders, stronger teams, and stronger schools.

speaker-0: So Kyle, I wanna welcome you to the Lead With Hope podcast.

speaker-1: Thanks for having me. I'm excited.

speaker-0: we've talked several times virtually and in person at this point, and I have learned that one of the things that bring you joy in this life is running. So can you tell us a little bit about how you got involved with running and why that brings you joy?

speaker-1: Sure. always happy to talk about running. Yeah. Everybody knows that by now. I I I f I didn't start running until after both of my kids were born. Actually, it was really the the month my son was born is when I kind of just said, Hey, I'm gonna go for a run. and so I did a lot of just running by myself for about ten years off and on, and and as my kids you know got older, like five, six years old, like we started doing five Ks, community five Ks together across the region. It was a fun way to be out and be visible and support causes and and and stay active. And and that that turned into eventually the kids started catching me in terms of speed. And so I just I thought, well, I'm just gonna start running longer. They won't wanna run this long. And and and then a a local a fr a good friend of mine, a local principal, I I I know that I knew that he ran really, really long, like hundred milers, ultramarathons. And that intrigued me. And I I like the idea of of pushing myself and and and pushing physically and mentally to to see what my limits are, to see what the human limits are and and and also see what the human potential i is. And and so so I started right around my fortieth birthday. I ran my first marathon a month before I turned forty, and I ran my first ultra marathon a month after I turned forty in the middle of winter, and it was overnight. And I I remember finishing that. And thinking to myself, that wasn't so bad. I could run longer. And so so that's what I've been doing ever since. I've got a a a a a small group of friends here in in our county that we'll meet up and we'll go on group runs just for fun overnight. we'll do a lot of 10 p.m. to six a.m. runs, you know, every once in a while and and and just work in training runs, you know, whether it's four to six a.m. doing 10 miles around Lake Charleston or you know, anytime we can get together with a group. it it's it's great, even if it's one person. it beats running alone. and running became one of the things, if not the only thing, that could get me and get my mind off of anything else, like work or daily not that I'm a stressed person at all, but but just i it it could get me to stop thinking so much about being here or doing work or what I had to do next or or something along those lines. So when I'm out there running I'm Sometimes people ask what I'm thinking about and usually the answer is nothing. And I love it. And so it's just it's just a lot of fun.

speaker-0: And it's a good reminder leadership isn't just about what happens at school or in the office. It's also about how you're taking care of yourself because you have to take care of yourself so you can show up to serve others as the best version of who God created you to be.

speaker-1: You got it. Yeah. And and I I attribute the the running, especially the long distance running, so many things happen during that that you have to troubleshoot and and solve and and so it it makes it it's made it the last couple of years. If something tough or challenging has ever come my way at work, like it's made me better equipped to handle it and to lead through it. I'm and and and anyone here will tell you in my office will tell you I'm just I'm I'm much calmer now w in in the face of w where I used to maybe get frazzled or or you know you know b panicked or whatever, but just much calmer, cool and and just and running has definitely been been the reason for that. and so yeah, it's it's it's running has is preparing me for life and and it's preparing me for leadership and it's it's equipping me to be a better leader for sure.

speaker-0: We're both Ds with the the disc profile. So I have to ask you, what's the longest distance you've ever run?

speaker-1: Yeah. I have four one hundred mile belt buckles for completing those and the longest one I think was a hundred and six miles. And that was a thirty five hour run and thirty hours of that was in a hard rain and it involved two overnights of no sleep. I think I was up for probably over forty eight hours because it started in the evening and then yeah, so it was just so that was that was it, and that was in September of twenty twenty three. So

speaker-0: That that is impressive, Kyle. But I don't know. I might be a little bit like some of my listeners, running and fun, just I'm not I'm not real sure.

speaker-1: You know what? I'll tell anybody. Yeah, it doesn't it doesn't have to be everybody's thing, but I I think movement should be a part of everybody's thing. And so if you can just if you can walk ten thousand steps a day, just go walk. Like go walk. We'll we'll just find some way to move. If biking's your thing, go bike. working out, whatever. just find some way to move, keep moving, get in steps. Yeah.

speaker-0: completely agree with you there. It's a habit that we need to invest in to show up as the best version of ourselves. So Kyle, we're gonna segue away from that a little bit. And I want you to tell the listeners a little bit more about yourself. I gave a brief intro, but what else do they need to know about Kyle Thompson?

speaker-1: my. so this is my I'm just I just starting my fourteenth year here in the office, Regional Office of Education, eleven in Charleston. And I'm the regional superintendent of seven seven counties, twenty-five school districts. so it's the largest, and the map is behind me here. it's the largest geographic regional office in the state of Illinois. it's over thirty six hundred square miles. I I work with twenty five great school districts. There are small rural school districts. and again, this is my fourteenth year doing that. Prior to that, I I taught and coached for five years in Windsor. and I love that. Still consider it my second home of sorts. and and I thought I was just going to teach forever. That's all I kind of wanted to do. And then I I fell into a leadership track. and and I went back to school. I took my first graduate school class, grad school class at Eastern Illinois University, the month my daughter was born, and I was in school for six years straight. two year program at Eastern, another two year program at Eastern, and then two years, my final two years at Indiana State. And so so that's kind of what's led me to be where I am now. And I have a wife and two children and we're a pretty active family in our community and and and with the the kids are all in several athletics and extracurriculars and and we do a lot of divide and conquering and and a lot of eating dinner at either three thirty or nine thirty. you know, especially during the school year. but we're just trying to maximize our time together and and my my kids are gonna be a freshman and sophomore this year in high school, so it it it goes by fast, but we've we have maximized our time and we we like to travel quite a bit as a family. And so that's just it's just a little bit about me.

speaker-0: Yeah, thanks for sharing that. And you know, you brought up the the fact that you have two children and and I agree, it goes fast. The time goes fast and they grow up so quickly, especially when you look back. My kids are both grown. one of the things I wanted to talk to you about today, we just received news that the governor signed a law banning cell phones in our schools. during the instructional time. So I'm curious, and if you would, if you don't mind, share a little bit about how you feel about that, not only as a regional soup, but also as a dad.

speaker-1: Yeah, so it's a topic I've been pretty passionate about for several years now. neither of my children have cell phones. they might be the only two students in their high school that don't have a cell phone and and and my daughter's getting ready to be a sophomore. she's fifteen and a half and my son is gonna be freshman. He's he's a couple years younger and he he cares less about it. but you know, my daughter understands the reason she doesn't have a cellphone and And it's based on, you know, what we know. And and you know, it's kinda one of those things when we know more, we we when we know better, we do better. We're we're supposed to do better. and we know so much more about phones and screens than we knew when the smartphone came out in two thousand seven or eight. and then we knew ten ten years ago when all the schools were rushing to go one to one. so much more research, so much more evidence has come out on pros and cons to all these screens and all these phones. And we're we're starting to learn, we have learned, that they're not great. they're not great for for especially for our young kids, our young children. And you know, I've been really passionate the last couple of years about phone-free schools, sixth through twelfth grade, no phones. That'll improve our academics, that'll reduce discipline, that'll improve our mental health. and so so that's been a a a passion of mine. more recently I'm starting I've become more passionate about the birth to five age group, about how much screen time they're getting. And then you talk about kindergarten readiness. Yeah. And and and we've seen a huge shift in what our kindergartners are coming to us as as a result of their early upbringing with screens. being read to less, coloring less, drawing less. and and and so when we w when we have kindergarten teachers telling us they don't know how to grip a a a a color crown or they can't figure out how to use and turn up a glue stick or they can't communicate or problem solve or regulate their emotions, all they know how to do is this.

speaker-0: Yeah.

speaker-1: And and that's that that's super sad because then schools, you know, schools sometimes are often criticized for for, you know what we're doing w in schools with students. Right. But we also we don't we don't get from birth. You know, we get at five and they come to us and we have to do the best we can with how and when they're coming to us. And so that's what that's what we try to do. As far as the legislation goes, the phone free schools, Illinois, Illinois became the I think fortieth give or take state to ban phones in schools and thirty of those states are bell to bell full day bans and that's what Illinois is. I've really been trying to champion schools to get out ahead of it, and to to take ownership and to to to be proactive i in their communities to to do what's right before the government tells us we have to. And and I have four four of my districts did that and have done that. And and and those that have done it the longest, two of have have had great success. now we have a year where everybody now has to. and so a a year to p plan and prepare for that. so it'll be interesting to see how every school district prepares to handle that. I I again I wanted to I wanted to be proactive. I wanted schools to be proactive. We've seen a lot of districts or around the state and around the nation be proactive. but but the bans, the f the phone bans are here. There are forty states out of fifty have have banned cell phones. And so Illinois is now just another state that has done that. but again, a lot of that goes to just the amount of time students are on the phones, the distractions and what what we now know. And so you're starting to see legislators do that. And some schools now they they have a they're they're able to say, well, this wasn't to upset parents or to peace students who don't want, you know, to want to have their phone. Well, well it's the law. Now we have to do it. They don't have to they don't they they can they can put that, you know, the the government can serve as a shield for them for for coming up with that. And so they have that law to protect them to an extent. but but like I said, I remain most proud of the districts who had the fortitude to have the tough conversations with their school boards and their communities and and pass that. And again, many of those in Illinois have done so. I actually wish it would have been I I'm a big local control person. I I wanted everybody to have the local authority to do that. But it's where we are now. and we're gonna have a year to prepare for all of our schools to be phone free from bell to bell.

speaker-0: I I was talking to a high school student during my time as superintendent, and she reported to me that she probably spent ten to twelve hours a day on some form of technology. And I asked her, I said, Does your mental health seem to get better or worse as you spend more time on your device? And she said, It's absolutely worse. And I said, well, then why don't you limit that time? Why don't you do something about it? She said, I don't have anything else to do. I don't have the willpower. I don't have the motivation. And that's where it starts. And I was in your office yesterday, and I was working with a group of principals, and I noticed that you guys are taking a step forward to help equip people with a book study called The Anxious Generation, which is a wonderful book that I highly recommend. with that book study, Kyle, who is that for? Who would you encourage to sign up for that book study?

speaker-1: That's a book study that we've offered a couple of times now. And it's just a book that I'm so supportive of. I've got just a stack of over there on my shelf that I'll loan out or give away to to anybody who is interested in the topic and and improving their livelihood through the reduction of screens and phones. but that's that's open to any educator in our region. And I would encourage anybody, educator or not, to if you're a parent, read that book. read the book. They've got an anxious generation for kids. And and my kids have a copy. they're they're reading it and and they're understanding more. We just we know so much more now. And and you know going back to the the the the students in the screens, you know, when you're when I'm walking through a high school and I see students in the back of a room crowded around one phone watching videos or short films or, you know, we We've lost it it's okay to be bored. And and I tell my kids that like you need to know how to handle being bored and not having anything to do. And it's just it's tough now. And you see it with adults too. You see it with grandmothers. You see it with people who are just constantly obsessed with always being on it. and I haven't been a great model in my life or in my my ch for my children. I I I in fact I would say that's probably been probably one of the things I've been the worst at is putting the phone away at the times I need to put the phone away. But you know, I've s I've I've sent text in car while driving and guilty, you know, and and and it's it's I'm not proud of it. But it it's it's designed. Phones and screens and apps, they are designed to get us addicted. They are designed to keep us on it. you know, you're starting to see some of these these big corporations be sued for this now. And every single time they're they're they're guilty and they know it. And and you hear of all the big tech people who who don't give their kids screens and phones because they know how bad it is. But it's it's it's their moneymaker and they're protecting their bottom line and and by what they're doing. And and so just we know so much more. And and so really my office is now this year going to take a a position of trying to educate our our public on it. not to tell anybody they're they're they're they're they're bad because they've given their kid a phone. Like, no, everybody's parenting the best they can, the best they know how But just to educate our our parents, our school districts, our educators, all citizens, educate kids. we we're we have a a big project coming and and an initiative and and we're gonna start writing more about it, speaking more about it, talking more about it, and being a little more aggressive this year with educating our public on hey, let's let's bring back childhood unplugged. Let's let's You know, let's let's reduce let's not give our ten year old a phone for her birthday. Let's let's let's keep her off of social media at thirteen. Like this is all stuff now that we know is bad. And I think you know, somebody who spoke here a couple of years ago, they said NMK, NMK syndrome. Everybody has all not my kid, not my kid, not my kid won't be doing anything wrong on a phone and We we know time and time again that they're even there they get anxious just knowing they have a phone and they can't access it. Or it's just that, you know, so I I I think w like I'm excited about what we're getting ready to do and and what we've done and and I'm proud of the of the role our office has played in in in the initiative statewide lately and we're gonna keep doing that until we want everybody to realize it. We want we want we want people to start changing change you know, we we talk about the pendulum all the time. We want to start seeing it shift to where less and less kids are getting phones at nine, ten, eleven years old, middle schoolers, you know, on social media. I mean, it's just crazy knowing what we know and reading what we read. And and if I can keep going for a second, just just this week the United States Surgeon General put out a warning on the harms of screen time and how bad it is. And and And if you're thinking, well, that's partisan, well, three years ago the US Surgeon General under a previous administration put out a warning on the harms of social media and the the harms of of of a digital childhood. And so it's it's crossed partisan line. This is one thing that all the Democrats and all the Republicans seem to agree on. And and and both surgeon generals, you know, are the they they agree people agree this month's cover of The Atlantic magazine. talks about how the the the age of reading is over and how we're gonna become a a postliterate society who doesn't know how to read for more than ten seconds and whose attention can't you know we're we we can't keep our attention and we can't focus and it talks about how scary that is and if we if we can't you know can't read complex text can't focus long enough to read more than a paragraph or a sentence and and just it it just it's it was a little alarming to read. So it's just it's it's everywhere. It's it's this topic and and so I just I want everybody to be aware of it and to know about it and to learn learn better and do better. Yep.

speaker-0: And I'm I'm so excited to see that you're championing this cause because I am very passionate about it as well. My children got cell phones, you know, they're they're both grown now. They got cell phones in high school. And you know, looking back on that, they didn't have all the pressures around social media Things have changed drastically. In just the last 10 to 15 years. But we have to do better. And awareness is the first step. We can either be part of the solution or part of the problem. And so let's take the steps that we need to take to bring awareness, to educate the public, teachers, administrators, and take ownership around this because if we are part of the solution, I believe that we can bring about some pretty significant change. in a very short amount of time. If COVID taught us nothing else, it's that we don't have to take decades for change to happen. We can have pretty significant change in a short amount of time. So thank you for for championing this cause. I'm super excited to see where this takes us.

speaker-1: Yep, yep. I'm I'm I I'm excited too. And and I think if we can just give, you know, to to play on words here, if we can just give hope to the parents of young children who are starting to see their classmates and their their peers get phones to the kids, if we can just give them the hope that like, hey, I can hold out because I know it's the right thing to do. And I don't care what everybody else is doing, and then and then maybe that'll become contagious to where it's like, you know what, when the kids start saying, Hey mom, my classmates are starting to get phones, the parents can say We're not going to, you know, because it's not what's best for you. And and that's that's where I've found myself as a parent the last several years.

speaker-0: Yeah.

speaker-1: I I my daughter had classmates getting cell phones so so young. And I just remember cringing and thinking, What in the world? And so but I've I've just I've dug in and and and to the point now where my daughter understands it and is almost supportive of like she she I think she's thankful deep down. she'll never say it, but I think deep down I think she's okay. So so anyway, we'll see what happens. Yeah.

speaker-0: Well, when she grows up, she will tell you everything that you did right and everything that you did wrong because that is the season of life I'm in these days. And my children are very forthcoming in the things that I did right, but they also tell me the things that I did wrong. So it's it's a humbling experience, but it it's also bringing about awareness and allowing us to have conversations about how they should p parent their fa their children.

speaker-1: Yeah. I I look forward to that feedback.

speaker-0: Yeah. Yes. So Kyle, one of the themes of this podcast is that our greatest challenges, and we've been talking about some of the challenges we face as parents, but our greatest challenges often become our greatest teachers. So when you look back so far on your life, is there an adversity that has had an impact on your life or your leadership?

speaker-1: You know, great question. I I don't I haven't gone I I I feel bad saying this to an extent, but I haven't had any adversity that's been like where I've had like I don't have a sick child. I haven't battled real tough family loss adversity. but so a lot of the adversity that I've battled I've I've I've brought on myself, right? and put myself in positions to face adversity. Whether it is, you know, you know, being a teacher and and and my wife's pregnant with our first with my daughter, and I'm and thinking, I'm gonna go back to school and and then going back to school for the first six years of her life and the first four years of my son's life, and just how hard it was to finish writing a dissertation and to come into the office on Saturday mornings or or Saturday for twelve hours or Whatever it took. I just I I remember just wanting to get that done so bad, so fast, because I knew that the world was going on outside of me and I didn't want to miss it. and it was hard and and you get the feedback that you need to tweak this or tweak that and and so it it's it it sounds bad saying like that, you know, some of my adversities my you know, going through a doctoral program, but like it it just that that was that was tough. And then and then right after I finished I had to run for office and somebody was running against me. And that was that was that was adversity again that I I signed up for, but then it started impacting people around me. It started impacting my family. my children were small. Are we gonna have to move, Dad? Like things like that, you know. my staff at the time, and again, this has been a long time ago now, but that type of adversity It it does, you know, it does you you learn from it. You you you lead differently because of it, you hopefully improve as a person when you go through some of those tough things. But and then the running stuff is is adversity that I'm I'm I'm I've brought on myself and that that, you know, I I try to create that adversity so that I am prepared for when the real, real adversity comes. and and so that's that's just what I've tried to do, but but you know, and I know it's gonna come for me. I know it's it because it it it gets all of us. And so who knows when? Who knows if I'll have to battle cancer or my wife will or you know, or something happens to one of my children or their family or just, you know, like we just we don't know what it's gonna be. We know who does, but we don't we don't we don't get any inside track and so so just for when when it comes, like I'd like to think I'm gonna be as prepared as possible right to to face that and and And that's largely because of my faith and and my family and my friends and and my my my people that surround me. so I think when it does come I'll I'll be okay. And in the meantime, for for those going through adversity, I just I just try to be there, you know, just as I would ask people to be for me. So so that's kind of my my thoughts and my experiences with that.

speaker-0: I've said this many times. We don't get to choose what adversity we face in this life, but we do get to choose what it produces within us. We have to be intentional about the people that we surround ourselves with because we need people to make us better. We need people who are going to inspire us and encourage us and to just help us be the best version of ourselves, whether we're going through that season of adversity or not.

speaker-1: Yeah. and it's just that's at home and that's where you work and you know, you've met my team here and and we've had some fun together and and we we have that fun every day and and you have people that also you need people to hold you accountable. even even when you're in charge. And that's that's that's great to have and and so you and when you go home you need people to keep you humble even though you're in charge, you know, and so it's I I I I Feel like I have plenty of that in my life and I'm grateful for it. but but yeah, who you who you live with and who you work with, you know, you talk about how many what percent of your life you spend at work or in the office and and and it's a lot and you just you wanna be around the best people when you're doing that and and as you've seen, I feel like I am and I feel like I've got it I've got it made and and I'm so grateful for that. So yeah.

speaker-0: when I came there to work with principals on the presenters table there was a picture of you and even though your name is Kyle, it was labeled Dan. Can you tell us a little bit more about that, Kyle?

speaker-1: Well, in our training with you, we we we took our disc personality test and I was I was a unique result in my office. I was the only D in my office and then and in our training we watched a video and it had the personalities of four people in a in an office setting playing in a sandbox. And the gentleman of the video, his name was Dan. And so when I was out of the office at a conference last week, They they took a picture of mine and they said, Hello, my name is Dan. And everybody just gets the biggest kick out of me having Dan's personality 'cause he was a hoo that sandbox. He was fun to play with. And he just wanted to oversee things and he just wanted results and it was very accurate and and so I get a little grief sometimes because of that personality and work style, but it's also made me who I am and and it's also gotten me to where I am and it'll also allow me to stay where I am and and I'm grateful for that. And I'm very self aware as is as you've learned and as most know. so I don't hide that or disagree or say that's not true. I'm I welcome Dan and I just try to be the best the best Dan I can be.

speaker-0: It was so much fun. And and and you're absolutely right. The the ladies in your office, they definitely got a kick out of those videos and the similarities that they could draw between Dan and you. And Dan was, he was all about results. And that's the way that God wired you. I'm also a D. That's the way God wired me. And being aware of that That's going to help us to become the best version of ourselves. when I think about that though, I also think about the role that faith has played in both of our lives. And one of the things that we have in common is we both really value the chapter in the Bible of Romans 8. my life verse is Romans eight, twenty-eight. All things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called in accordance to his purpose. Is there a scripture in Romans that really speaks to you?

speaker-1: Yeah, eight twenty-eight is is is very important to me. Romans eight, I I I got really into that. I read a book about it, twenty twenty. It was during COVID. and then I led a book study at our church. It was it the book the entire book was around Romans chapter eight. And so I like, you know, Romans eight thirty seven. We are more than conqueror conquerors. you'll you'll see that. And but but it's just It's it's my favorite chapter of the Bible. It's it's the one that's had the most influence on my life and in my faith. And you know, I I I have that, you know, it's on my office door, Romans eight twenty eight over there and and it's just so yeah, I I'm in a unique position where I can put my faith out there mm quite a bit. And I don't hesitate to do that. you know, they're you know, it's it's it's just it's it's part of who I am and and I and I'm a I'm a values person, I'm a values driven person and you know, and that's that's that's served me well and and again I've I'm grateful to be able to do that. So and yeah, and that that is what kind of connected us and that's I'm also grateful for that. So that's that's worked out okay. Yep.

speaker-0: Now the age in hope stands for habits, Kyle. And I believe that small daily actions create extraordinary results and extraordinary leaders over time. So when you think about habits, whether it's in your faith or in your day to day living, whatever it may be, what habit would you encourage the listeners to maybe implement in their life that has really served you well in yours?

speaker-1: Yeah, that's a great question. So my and and my family tell you this too, my wife especially, my morning routine is is has been the exact same for my entire adult life. and and that is, you know, it's it's how I wake up, it's what I do when I wake up, it's how I get ready, it's how I get in the office. And I always like to get in the office before everyone else. And and I always call it my power hour, but I can spend sixty to ninety minutes in here alone and I can get more done than I'll get done the entire rest of the day in that time because I can just be laser focused. I can be with just me, with my thoughts, I can work on what I want. And then in my position, once the doors open, people show up, you know, then then I I am ready and prepared to serve whoever I need to serve, however I need to serve. or or work with, you know, someone on this project, then bounce to someone on this project, and then talk to somebody about this task and then meet with this person or, you know, so then I can go about my day, which I don't always know how it's gonna go, but I always know how the first hour or two after I wake up are gonna go and how my first sixty to ninety minutes here in the office are gonna go. And and that's a routine that it it really controls the day. And then the last several years or so being outside and getting outside as often as possible to run or to walk. and and again, I don't always run. Sometimes it is just a walk, but just you know, whether it's with my wife or whether it's just by myself, just to just to clear my head and just to get some steps in and just to to to keep healthy. I just encourage everybody to move as much as they can throughout the day. and so Th that those are just some of the routines, but just my morning routine and getting in here and having that time to to to get done what I need to get done or what I want to get done is is is a huge routine for me in my life.

speaker-0: So just having that power hour every day. Yeah. Yeah. Getting to work early. And, you know, as as Dan showed us in the sandbox, if you get there early, you can leave early too, right?

speaker-1: Dan has to leave before the everybody else in his office and

speaker-0: That's okay.

speaker-1: they the they know. The only reason I'm leaving is if I've got a pickup or a drop off of a kid who can't drive. My daughter's so close to getting her license and I can't wait. And they're good. They're gonna see me here late every day when she

speaker-0: Yeah.

speaker-1: but until then just you know, people you know, they've gotta be places and and s and they're they're close to me and the school's down the road and our home is nearby and so A lot of times that's that falls, that duty falls to me. And it has their entire life. I mean, or it you know, to it to an extent. you know, when they were I mean, for a long time my wife took them and picked them up from school and things of that nature and she takes care of her end of it for sure. but like I said, a lot of times it's divine conquer, so it's usually just one of them I'm having to get to and from somewhere. And so that's but yeah, sometimes dad has to has to leave for the closing. But yeah, he's always here early working, that's for sure.

speaker-0: And you know, that's another thing I want to point out since I have met you, that family first mentality, that family first culture that you have really fostered in your office, it shows because we joke about that, but We are people outside of our work life and it shows that you're investing in your people by doing things like helping them develop self-awareness, helping them develop awareness and communication skills for working with each other. There's a number of ways that I've learned that you've invested in the people in not only your office but also your region. So I think that is also something that comes from your values, it comes from your mindset, and it comes from who you are.

speaker-1: Yeah, I I think they all know I care about them more than just results. And and Dan is all about results and I think I think deep down though, I think everybody here knows like I mean I care about them, I care about their families, I know their families, I know their kids, I know some of have long drives to get here and and there's always like there's always a level of flexibility that we'll have here for for you know, there's the moms out here not wanting to miss their kids first of this or the classroom party, or there's you know, and and that really comes my predecessor in this role, when I was a young dad, she made sure she was like, Don't ever miss anything for your kids. It was just like great, 'cause I'm not. And you know, it's funny, this is my fourteenth year here and I've never once looked for another job, applied for another job. Like that's very rare. And that kinda i is is a result of just kind of the the the culture we have here and it's a familial culture with with each other, but also you know, I don't want anybody out there missing something important that their kids because when my kids were little I didn't miss anything I didn't want to miss and and so sometimes I wanted to miss no, I'm just but but just generally speaking, I I I do I care about them, I care about their families. They all know that. It's we don't have to talk about it, they just know. And and then so yeah, just You know, and and they they all they always work it out. in terms of we're always covered here and and we'll always sacrifice for each other or stay late or come early or whatever we need to do for one another. And that's important. that'll keep people and it'll keep people happy and it'll keep people working hard and and and and and and they'll take pride in the work they do, you know, knowing that they you know, they're supported on on a personal level as well. And so

speaker-0: Thank you.

speaker-1: So that's that's important. And they've had to all support me. Again, five my kids have something, like I'm not gonna miss it. my kids are almost they're almost done. I'm almost done. And then then you know, like I said, the all the staff out here with younger ones they'll I'll be able to support them too. So yeah.

speaker-0: Absolutely. And that's what it's all about. at the core of leadership, it's about loving the people that you serve and building that kind of culture.

speaker-1: No no question. I've told you before and I'm glad you've been a here to my office a few times and have to meet everyone and see how we how we do business and how we conduct our our day to day and and I think it's great you've been able to see that and experience that. But you know, I I I I genuinely believe and I told you this, like I think the people I'm here with now are the people I'm gonna be here with for a really long time. And I think we all know that. We we we talk about it sometimes and just so grateful for that. And yeah, it's it's it's it's a good place to be.

speaker-0: It absolutely is. Now, Kyle, one of the questions I ask all of my guests, it's the last question, is what is giving you hope right now?

speaker-1: man. there's a lot. you know, I was thinking about hope and and and the thought that this question might come and yeah I I I think of two one movie and one T V show about hope and and you know and the Shaw Shank Redemption when Andy Dufres you know, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things and no good thing ever dies. And and he's saying that in response to Red, who's got a jaded view and no hope, you know. And and and then the other one is Ted Lasso. the the episode titled It's the Hope That Kills and that's kind of a saying, you know, over where he is relocated to in England and Ted disproves that by saying it's actually, you know, the lack of hope is i giving up is way worse than than being optimistic. And I I think as far as where I'm seeing it, it's I mean it it's it's it's everywhere. It's in it's in it's in our people, our educators working hard. all the time to to serve kids and and our you know it's in it's in our churches that are that are growing and vibrant and more people are starting to come back to church and then you know at home like I'm I just I see hope in in my kids and and their futures and and they're getting to that age where they're you're starting to see like the type of adult they're gonna be and I just that gives me that fills me with hope as well. So my hope is pretty broad. I see it I see it daily. I see it here in the office, I see it out in the region, in my schools, in our communities, and and you know, I'm I'm I'm full of hope for a better future, a better tomorrow, and that that we'll continue to to be able to, continue doing our good works that that we've been called to do. And and so that's that's it for hope.

speaker-0: And I see the the believe poster behind you. it's about that power of belief, and and like I mentioned before, I I had the good fortune to work with over a dozen principals yesterday. And that's really what gives me hope. I mean, they are coming back, getting ready for school, they're investing. in themselves and in their teams before the kids ever come back to school. And they do that all summer long. And I think about several of them that shared the adversity they're currently going through. And so as we think about opening our school this August and all of the things that are going to come our way, the good, the bad, and the ugly, just remember that we can always choose hope. We can always choose to be kind and we never know what somebody else is going through. So be sure to foster that power of belief and that power of hope and and kindness in our schools and and in our regions because we need it now more than ever.

speaker-1: Yeah, yeah. You got to work with such a great group yesterday. And we're where God has placed us to be and we're all equipped to to serve and lead and and and in our roles and and provide that hope and and be hopeful for for those that that we are serving and and the work that we are doing. So

speaker-0: Well, this has been an amazing conversation. I think we could probably talk for hours, Kyle, but I know there are more things that we both have to do today. So I just want to thank you for the incredible work that you're doing to support the students, the staff, the school communities across your region. Now, if somebody wanted to get in touch with you, how would they do that?

speaker-1: Yeah, just I'm pretty easy to get in touch with. Just call the office, send me an email. I'm I'm on some social medias, you're welcome to look there too. But I'm always pretty available and and you know, I I mean that that's it. I'm I'm here. They can call my cell anytime, day or night. And and most people know that. the people in our region know that and and and so so yeah, I'm always here for anybody who'd like to to chat about anything. So

speaker-0: I would encourage you if you're listening today, get in touch with Kyle if you have any questions. And I'm gonna drop in the show notes the the link to sign up to the book study, The Anxious Generation. It's a great one, great book to read. It's gonna be a great book study to attend, and you can do that by following the link in the show notes.

speaker-1: If it fills up, we'll offer it again. it'll be it just it will we'll continue to offer that as long as it fills and it's filled every time. So

speaker-0: thank you for joining us for another episode of the Lead with Hope Podcast. If today's conversation encouraged you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with another leader who could use a little hope. Remember, leadership isn't about having all the answers. It's about showing up every day with hope, purpose, and the courage to make a difference. Until next time, keep leading with hope.