Guiding A Campus From Hurting To Thriving | Transformational Educators Ep. 5

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:
00:03:38. “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.”

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Transcript

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Today on the podcast Rose Pearson. Rose is a superintendent of Carrizo Springs Consolidated ISD, where she returned to lead in her hometown after building a career of service and transformation in education. Earlier in her journey, she was principal of Goodnight Middle School in San Marcos, where she inherited a punitive culture and high suspension rates. There, she led a powerful shift toward supportive interventions, student engagement and teacher led leadership. Today, we'll explore how she transformed that campus into a national Avid demonstration school in just three years. Why empowering teachers sustains long term change and the role of nomination in helping others step into leadership. By the end of this episode, you'll walk away with strategies to build trust, empower your team, and create lasting transformation on any campus. Let's get into the conversation. so today I am honored to have Rose Pierson from Carrizo Springs, superintendent of Carrizo Springs. And you've just been named, superintend there, too. This is your second year. We'll start in, like, my second year. Okay. Fantastic. So we're welcoming her to Transformational Educators Podcast, where we're going to hear a transformational experience she had guiding a campus that was hurting to thriving. So, Rose, you and I just met, but I know at least you are good at basketball. And, and I think it's neat to hear that you grew up in Carrizo Springs. I think you said graduated high school from San Marcos Yeah. and then worked there, for a while. The rest of my career was in San Marcus. Okay. And now you've gone back home as superintendent. Your first superintendency. My first. Okay. Fantastic. Fantastic. Well, we want to talk about, this campus that you lead as a principal. Can you tell us what? Tell us about the campus. Was it in San Marcos? Yes. It was a good night. Middle school, six through eighth grade. We had about a thousand students. Okay. And it was, there had not really been a focus on instruction. And, I had the unique opportunity of starting my principalship with a new superintendent. the same year. And he had a very strong vision for instruction. Okay. And that was good for me. Now, you had gone from an instructional coach into principalship, I think. Were you an instructional coach on that campus? No I wasn't, I was at the district level. Okay. assessed in many campuses. Okay. All right. So when you arrived at this, middle school, Yes. right. What was it like? What was the culture like? What was performance like at that time? Yeah. So the culture was really punitive toward student behavior. It was very much. There wasn't a lot of response. As far as putting in a supportive plan for students, it was more punitive, like just straight to in-school suspension. Our numbers were really, pretty sky high with out of school suspensions and school suspensions, placement at the alternative education, really placement. And so we knew that was a concern because when students are not in the classroom, then they're missing really seems harder to learn. And so having to shift that culture was, you something we needed to do in order to be able to focus on, on student outcomes. Okay. So when you think about a punitive culture, if you were just coaching me, right, and you said, hey, you're punitive culture, here's how you shift that, what would you what are the steps? I would go through that because that seems pretty dramatic to change. It is. It's a lot of voice. I think I knew I was onto something when I first became the principal. And I met individually with teachers. And that's really important when you're coming on to a new campus and you're, and you're trying to build relationships, take the time to meet with everyone and just listen, you know, have some key questions about like, what's working, what's not working, what needs immediate attention. You know what just needs attention. But, you know, if we're not gonna be able to shift it right away because some of those things take a little longer. Yes. And through those conversations, I came to know very quickly that there was several teachers that felt that they needed to do some RTI response to intervention, but they felt like their hands had been tied, that they were not allowed, that they had been directed to just remove students, you know, not okay, try to work with them. So once I had enough of that information and I knew that, you know, we were heading in the right direction with this, then we started having conversations, in our leadership team meeting and, just establishing some steps on beginning basic changes they could do in their classroom, like moving a student seating. Okay, we sure exit them out of the room Yes, you know, know, making phone calls and having a conference with the family, you know, things like right there are you know, was all about relationships, and it's and a it's about getting teacher voice. It's really important to get to your voice, especially, you know, in a, in a middle school junior high Sure. you know. So yes, absolutely. So were you able to do that before school started or or did you get the position and go right in the kids able to do it before school started. Okay. Yeah I think that's really important to have the summer to do some relationship building and assessment. It sounds like you were listening and learning at the same time. And, and then out of those conversations, start to build a, build a plan. So in the first couple of months, what started to change did, we had teachers that were sharing some of the strategies that were working. We also had the the privilege of starting Avid, which is meant via independent as student determination. And so we really worked as a team to keep everything on the same plate for teachers. So we're trying to create a positive school culture, which here. part of Avid because part of it is also, recognizing students efforts. And so like positive Yes, absolutely. And so it wasn't far off our reach to say, hey, we're starting these new initiatives and these are some of the things we're going to do. Yeah. Was it hard to get buy in for avid? Was that was that your idea? So our superintendent brought it in, okay the district, and all campuses were going to participate. And it was not hard to get us to jump right on board because, we actually had, some students who were really very high achieving students, but they really struggled at home. okay. like what you would consider like a school dependent school dependent students. Okay. And, we found out really quickly that, some of our students didn't believe that they could go to college. Okay, some of our students didn't feel like they could afford to go to college. And so the teachers, you know, we knew we needed to do something about that, like, not under our watch. Our students not going to believe that they have that right. That's right. And so, through conversations, and knowing that avid would be our vehicle to accomplish those goals, everybody jumped on pretty quickly. That's fantastic. I know the leader that with for avid has a as a program leader is important. So you must have picked a really good one. Yeah. So Hey, is today's conversation resonating with you? You know, the educators we feature on this podcast all have one thing in common. They're committed to growth, not just for their students, but for themselves. At Graceland University, we've built programs and partnerships that support that kind of growth. Servant leadership and school transformation for educators who want to make a lasting difference. If you're curious about what that could look like for you. Scan the QR code or check out the link in the show notes. Let's get back to the conversation. So as you started to implement that, the punitive nature of the culture shifted. It sounds like pretty pretty quickly. And so then what was the other was there any other strategies you implemented? Have it as well, really strong focus on instruction and reviewing data that had not existed before, just previous administration. It really wasn't about, it was more about compliance okay. Instead of student engagement. So we really started talking about like, what is, student engagement Like, why you know, feel like. And, we created our Avid committee, and that was teacher leaders and all of the department heads Sure. and grade level. So it really was a cultural shift to, professional learning for teachers. Fantastic. And so they grew, kids grew, performance started to improve. How fast did you see changes start to happen at the student performance level? started seeing we started seeing it pretty quickly because, we started avid, and within three years we became a national Avid demonstration school, which is kind of unheard of. You know, it happened very, very well. So. Yeah. that is fantastic. And that demonstration school means student performance, not just behavior. Yeah. Right? I don't know the factors specifically. You have to. Yeah. So you have to be accredited through implementing, change. They come in, they monitor that. You know, you've created student leadership, you know, teacher leadership Okay. And so, some of the things that we did very intentionally was we moved all of our committees and our faculty meetings. Everything was teacher led. And so, like our family engagement, there not administrators. So if you think of a traditional, a lot of times it'll be teachers maybe, and there's administrator and they're all kind of looking at the administrator because like, what are we going to do? Sure shifted that complete culture that every everything was shared by teachers. Now why did you budgeted by teachers. know, how did you think to do that? Had you experienced that. So, during arts. So this is second year. So first year you learn, like you said, you listen and you learn a lot. And true story at the end of that year. While we had moved the needle, Sam, I knew that there was more work Okay. Sure. And I sat there with my leadership team of my principal assistant principals. And I said, you know, I don't I think we did it all wrong. And they're like, what are you talking about? Roads? And I say, we need to move. We need to move. The committees, the professional learning, we need to move all of it to the teachers. And so that summer, we had our, leadership retreat, which is our department heads. Okay. come over and and we, put charts all around the room, and it had all of our big rocks. You know, that we do like family Yes. discipline, you know, professional learning. And then we just had conversations kind of like a Swot, strength, weaknesses, Yes. Course, you know, and threats and said, what what's working for us and what's not working for us. And kind of let them come to their realization. And, at that time they had questions like, you know, are you really going to trust us for the decision making process if we bring forth this idea, can we really run with it? And so we talked about the guardrails at the parameters, like everybody has a budget. So stay within your budget. You know, check the calendar. I still need to approve the calendar, you know as a principal. So we once we work through those questions then they became believers of, okay, we really do have some authority or an antonym to make decisions. They, they went way beyond what I ever would have imagined, Wow. Well, I and I, and I actually, as a superintendent now, it's the same way I coach my principals, turn it over to the teachers, because they're going to make it so much better through their lens, through it. And they did. They excelled. They created family engagement nights that we, I just never sure if they had ideas that surpassed any of what my expectations That's so awesome, Rose. You know, so one of the things that we see about transformational leaders, and we use that term with the expectation that it's sustained, that the leader can leave and the transformation is sustained. And it sounds sustained. and it has the same. Yeah. And that incredible Makes me makes my heart Yes. Yeah. Can you tell me about a story about one particular person that really touches you there and just what experience they went through As far as the teachers. Yeah, a teacher, a student parent. It was a true story too. And, only tell two stories. Yeah. This is this is an incredible true story because she's still there and still making such a tremendous impact. And her name is Dana Linebacker. She was a sixth grade teacher when I got there as a principal. And she was doing such incredible work in her classroom. Everything that you want to see, small group instructions, high student engagement, you know, working with them on behaviors, you know, sure. putting that response, to intervention. And I said to her, I said, Dana, I really want you to share this with the staff I want. And, you know, we were trying to transform our faculty meetings to be more professional learning opportunities. And if we could send in an email that was in our faculty meeting, we wanted it where it was an opportunity for teachers to learn. And she said, you know, Miss Person, I just don't want to do that. I don't feel comfortable doing that. And I was like, why? She's like, because I feel like I'm going to have a target on my back. And I was like, what are you talking about? And she said, I'm afraid that if I tell, you know what, we're what I'm doing here, other teachers are going to be like you now. You're going to make us have to work harder, you know? So it was really changing that culture, right, to honing your craft and that professional learning for teachers. Well, long story short, she became a leader in our added, teacher leadership And now, so many years later, she is, works at the district level and supports all the entire district with Avid and other instructional Oh wow. Okay. So from going from that teacher who was just not sure and didn't have the sure now being a leader in the district as a as a coordinator overseeing instructional work. I mean, I think it talks to what the power is Oh, with student voice. I mean, teacher voice. so true. You are so, so beautiful, Rose. Thank you for sharing that. You know, it speaks to a real core element of what we believe, which is that we talk about the power of nomination in someone's life, casting a vision or speaking a positive word about what they can become or the influence that they can grow that they may never have thought about. But oftentimes fear is keeping them in the position that they are. But we can share confidence with other people. It's a really interesting thing that, that if I'm confident and believe you can, then you'll absorb some of that and say, okay, well, I can try. I absolutely believe that. Yeah. And you've seen it work through my entire career. You know, 26 years in and I've had the same people I have. The last is I have many, many mentors who have seen that in myself. You know, early on as a teacher, I can recall, Doctor Altman, that is, who was at the district level saying to me, as a as a teacher leader like Rose, you're going to make a difference. You're going to be a great leader. And yes, like, hey, what does that look like? Yes. Yeah. It's a yeah, it's a beautiful thing. And to think that you're now getting to do this in Carrizo Springs, your hometown and the impact that I have on the community, I know you're in the middle of transforming it to what it can become. And. Yeah. So I just yeah, really want to support support you there. So thanks. Really thanks for sharing these very specific things. I mean, addressing the the punitive nature of the culture is real specific. The way you built relationships. Avid was a great way to have an outside. Thankfully, the superintendent brought that so you didn't have to take any shots for implementing it. You know, correct. you know that. So that was that was super helpful. But then really to lean on these leaders and even involving them in your in your strategic planning in the way that you did and, and you know, a lot of times people talk about listening. But when we when we really listen and we learn, we use that to learn. And then we take that and we implement elements of it. It builds such credibility with our teams and that they trust that. Well, I can share another idea because that first one was heard and over time, you know, those ideas come and, you know, things we could never think of are we built that culture and we would we would say we're going to have a go. And it was safe. It was safe. Yes. it wasn't that anybody was going to be in trouble. We were we're going to have a go, especially when we're implementing a new strategy, is campus wide. And so it was it was very well Yes. it's all out. You're exactly right. It's all about the listening and the relationships. And I still get the text messages from Dana and Okay. The other leaders. Just sharing the good news that's going on there that's so important. And especially they just got us. So I said I was there when they got, not when we got the avid, demonstration school, but you have to reapply every three years, I believe it is, okay to go through the process again to sustain it. And so they just did that. And on the day I got a text message Oh, wow. Rose, I wanted you to know and thank you for like, taking us on this Yes. Yeah. And that's really what it's all about. I mean, I feel that my job as a leader is to grow other leaders, and if I'm not doing that, then I don't think I'm doing my job. That's right, that's right. Well, your job is going to be harder if you're trying to do it all. But that shared. Yeah. Responsibility and leadership is such a great, such a great model to sustain. So yeah congratulations. Yeah I wish you the best. Thank you so much for being on this with me today. And pleasure to meet meet you for sure. But all right, thank you you. If today's conversation gave you fresh insight or inspired you to lead with purpose, please follow the show and tell a friend. It helps us reach more educators who want to make a difference. For more stories, resources, and tools to support your leadership journey, visit Graceland Edu. Until next time, keep leading with courage and care. If you want to keep learning about transformational strategies and education, click the next video.