The Leadership Mistake That Makes Great Teachers Feel Like Employees ft. Dr. LaTonya Goffney | Transformational Educators Ep. 38

Title I school leaders who want to turn around their lowest-performing campuses get a concrete look at how Dr. LaTonya Goffney scaled belief-driven reform across all 67,000 students in Aldine ISD.

The failure mode she targets is the habit of separating personal story from professional strategy, treating them as two unrelated things. Goffney connects her childhood in poverty, raised by grandparents who never passed fifth grade, directly to the non-negotiable conviction powering her turnaround work. She built demonstration schools on the district's lowest-performing campuses and used brutal honesty about current outcomes alongside a clear vision to prove what was possible before asking anyone else to follow.

Dr. Goffney details two paired mechanics behind Aldine ISD's turnaround. First, she selected the district's lowest-performing campuses as demonstration school sites, generating real results before asking the broader system to follow. Second, she treats the tension between casting a clear vision and being brutally honest about current data as a deliberate leadership tool, not a liability to manage. She also shares a personal moment about her son's experience inside public education, tying her role as a parent directly to the high-stakes decisions she makes as superintendent of a 67,000-student, all-Title-I district.

The episode surfaces a sequencing question that matters for any leader inside a high-poverty system: which campus do you transform first, and who needs to witness those results before you ask for wider buy-in? Goffney's approach treats that first proof point as a credibility vehicle, not a pilot. The episode also presses on what leaders lose when they keep personal story separate from professional strategy. For Goffney, the conviction that made turnaround work possible traces back directly to the teachers who changed her own trajectory, and that connection is what the demonstration school model is built on.

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Transcript

Coming up...

Dr. Matthew Flippen 0:32

Hello, Dr. Matthew Flippin here. Today we're revisiting one of my favorite conversations on transformational educators. My talk with Dr. Latonya Goffney, Superintendent of Aldean ISD in Houston, Texas, and the incoming president of the American Association of School Administrators. This one stuck with me. Latanya grew up in poverty, raised by her grandparents who never got past a fifth-grade education. And she talks about how a handful of teachers who believed in her changed the entire trajectory of her life. That story alone is worth a listen. But what really gets me is how she scaled that belief across an entire district. 67,000 children, all of them in Title I schools. She talks about casting a vision, being brutally honest about where we are today, and proving what's possible by building demonstration schools that turned around some of the lowest performing campuses. We also get into a really personal moment about her son and what public education meant for him. Watch, and if it resonates, please like, share, and subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next. We'll be back soon with a brand new conversation. Thanks for being here.

Dr. LaTonya Goffney 1:48

The thing that I had to do was connect them to more than just a job and the paycheck, but the opportunity to make a difference. That is Dr.

Dr. Matthew Flippen 1:55

Latonya Goffney, superintendent of Aldine ISD in Houston, Texas, and one of the most respected voices in public education today. She believes that real transformation begins when people are connected to purpose, not positions.

Dr. LaTonya Goffney 2:09

You can set a baseline where are we today? This is where we are.

Dr. Matthew Flippen 2:17

Where are we? By naming where the system truly is, she creates alignment, trust, and a foundation people can rally around at scale. We needed some proof points.

Dr. LaTonya Goffney 2:27

We've got to demonstrate what's possible, again, for black brown and send into poverty. So people are able to see that our kids can do that.

Dr. Matthew Flippen 2:33

Her leadership shows how visible proof turns belief into momentum and how demonstrating success changes what entire communities think is possible. By the end of this conversation, you'll learn how to communicate a clear vision, unify stakeholders across a large system, and turn purpose into sustained action that drives results. I'm Dr. Matthew Flippin, and this is Transformational Educators.

How education changed the trajectory of Dr. LaTonya Goffney's life

Dr. Matthew Flippen 2:57

This idea about communicating a unifying vision, leading with purpose, and inspiring others to believe what they can accomplish. I know that links back to your own personal story. And I've loved for you to just touch on that just for a second about what difference that made for you as a young teenager.

Dr. LaTonya Goffney 3:17

You know, education changed a whole trajectory of my life. I was born into poverty. My mom was 15 years old when she gave birth to me, and I never knew my father. I ended up being saved from a life of lots of abuse, every kind of abuse that you can imagine. In fifth grade, I moved in with my grandmother. And my grandmother, we call I call her big mama. She worked as a housekeeper for a local white family. And my grandpa, he mote lawns and collected cans and did dumpster diving. When I moved in with my grandparents, though, it truly changed my life because when I went to school, I got to focus on school. And I was very blessed with the best teachers. And I was raised in the country, Cold Spring, Texas, population of 697. And while I may have been poor, I had access to the best teachers. And they saw something in me that I didn't even recognize because in my family, there's lots of poverty. There weren't a lot of hopes, dreams, and aspirations for anything different. My grandmother had a fifth-grade education. My grandpa had a third grade education. And my grandpa would say, Tanya, if you can read, you can go anywhere. And that stuck with me. So when I went to school, I put my past behind me and all of the challenges and even my present behind me as far as having limitations as far as poverty. And I dove into school like my life depended on it. Because my grandpa said, if you can read, you can go anywhere. And I stated earlier, it was teachers that truly saw something in me and changed the whole trajectory of my life. And that is a gift that I don't take for granted. I'm truly thankful to God for giving me great teachers and giving me opportunity to be able to live the life, which, again, my parents, my grandparents didn't know how to put it into words, hopes, dreams, and aspirations. But I recognize that I am living my ancestors' dreams. And it was education that made it possible.

Dr. Matthew Flippen 5:12

So beautiful. Such a beautiful story. And I can only imagine as the children in the district you serve now and in others that you've been in that have similar backgrounds and hardships they're facing. You are an example of when you put your energy in the right place in education, and you've got mentors and educators around you supporting you and cheering for you. Your past doesn't define you. That's absolutely true. And I think that statement is not only true about individual children, but it's also true about school systems and communities as well.

Casting a vision at her first principalship

Dr. Matthew Flippen 5:46

So let's fast forward to your first principalship. Tell us a little bit about what were the expectations like when you arrived, and then what was the vision that you cast to move that?

Dr. LaTonya Goffney 6:00

I look back at my hometown and I get emotional because it was sweet in so many ways. Everybody got along. We were helpers one to another, and it was just a sweet, sweet community. And so I remember, again, being a first-generation college student, I was getting to live my dream to be a teacher, a professional. And so that was really exciting for me. And then to get the opportunity to be a principal, I never even imagined it. It wasn't on my vision board. But when I got the opportunity, what I realized is to whom much is given, much is required. It's something my grandmother would always emphasize. And so I recognized that it got my the expectations were much bigger than the classroom in which I'd had positive impact and was grateful for that success. And I remember interviewing with the superintendent, assuring him that I was going to work hard. Didn't know what that work was going to look like. Because, you know, you truly walk in my faith. And so, long story short, and I'll be honest and transparent, I'd only taught for three years. I'd only been an AP for two years. And I just had opportunity because I was at a small town and had a huge opportunity. And so, long story short, when I went into the intermediate campus, I'll never forget, um, there was no book that really told you what to do. When you start teaching, you had uh Fred Jones Tools for teaching, you have Harry Wong's, but there's no book for your first principalship. And, you know, we have Todd Whitaker and others that have done some amazing work and your work as well. But back then there wasn't a book. But I knew that with the accountability of the campus, it was rated unacceptable and had been rated unacceptable for a couple of years. It had lost 22 staff members out of 34. It was a campus that was full of possibility, but lacked the hope and the belief that things could be any different because of the historical underperformance. And so, long story short, like I said, I didn't have a book to read, but the one thing I've always been blessed with is to know the power of people and what you began with. And my grandmother would say that where there's unity, there is strength. And so I had to unify the people who were remaining around the fact that things could be better and that we could provide a better learning experience for our students. And so I just remember meeting with the team leaders at the time, and they talked about how the morale was low. They talked about how discipline was up, they talked about all these different things that were challenges back then. And I remember how we talked about how we were going to change it, you know, so casting a vision of what's possible. And again, I use a lot of quotes from my grandmother, and they'll they'll probably resonate with you. But, you know, without a vision, the people perish. We have to have a vision and a collective vision that we can work towards. And I also remember, because you, I know I'm not on this for this, but I established it at the beginning, we were trying to come up with some common language, a common framework for how we're going to engage and work with people. And I was so excited that my first principalship was also during the time when our district adopted Capturing Kids' Hearts. The irony of that. Your father. So, long story short, we had our social contracts on the wall. We had all of these different things. We'd all gone through the training, and it was training to truly change how I saw myself as a leader and how we engage people and provide different tools and resources for addressing behavior that may be off, spending the summer, spending the time getting people trained up, building trust, casting a vision for our parents, for our teachers. And it's day one. And so it's showtime. It's showtime. And I'll never forget, we like had every wall scrubbed, had removed dirty carpet, had the teacher's lounge shining. Like when the kids walked in, we make sure it felt different from anything that they had experienced for the last couple of years. So the teachers felt it, the students felt it, and then we were able to work towards manifesting that vision of a better educational experience for the kids we served.

Dr. Matthew Flippen 10:04

Outstanding. So fast forward, I know you were there two, three years, is that right?

Dr. LaTonya Goffney 10:08

Yes, literally. We were improving academic outcomes, but more important, improving the belief that our kids could do the work and could perform the way we wanted them to perform.

Dr. Matthew Flippen 10:20

And so you saw the results of that in a relatively short period of time. Yes, sir, we did.

How leadership skills transfer from a small campus to a 67,000-student district

Dr. Matthew Flippen 10:24

So now let's talk about how that applies to Aldean, right? I can't remember the exact what Aldean was going through when you arrived as superintendent. But were there some parallels between those two experiences?

Dr. LaTonya Goffney 10:36

One thing that I say all the time is that leadership matters. I share with my mentees and others that your leadership as a campus principal, like leadership is a transferable skill. There were absolutely some of the same things. I remember in 2018 when I arrived in Alden, you're going through the interview process and looked at the data. And of course, there were some challenges when we look at the community that I get to serve. That's nearly 100% black, brown, and students of poverty, 100% Title I schools. We're located in the north side of Houston inner city. And so there are lots of challenges. And when I was coming in, we saw the data, the literacy data, and all of the academic data, but also going through some financial challenges. So in addition to academic challenges, there was a deficit budget and had released like 300 employees, and we opening six campuses. So lots of challenges. And so because of the announcement about leaders leaving, there was low morale, there was fractured trust. And you could just tell that this district that used to be a shining example of what was possible for black, brown, and students in poverty had dim, had gone awry.

Dr. Matthew Flippen 11:48

Hey educators, I hope you're enjoying this conversation. At Graceland University, we believe real change in education starts with compassionate leadership and practical support. That's why we share stories like this. If something in today's episode spoke to you, maybe about your purpose, your next step, or how you can make a bigger impact, I invite you to explore how Graceland walks alongside educators through degree programs and strategic partnerships. Scan the QR code on screen or follow the link in the show notes to learn more. Now let's get back to the episode.

Dr. LaTonya Goffney 12:25

Oh, amped up a hundredfold. You know, my campus at Cold Spring was 401 students and came here and it was 67,000 students. And so it was a huge aha. But again, leadership is a transferable skill.

Dr. Matthew Flippen 12:40

You know, low performance can become part of your identity. You don't even realize that you've set low expectations for yourself or those around you because it's just the way it is. So I can imagine as you're facing those challenges when you first arrive in Alden and you're thinking, wow, we've got to raise expectations, but we've got a lot of things that we've got to address.

How do you get an entire district to believe in a new vision?

Dr. Matthew Flippen 12:59

Walk me through kind of how you gathered stakeholders to capture this vision that I know you had. You walked in there with a vision. How'd you get everyone else on board?

Dr. LaTonya Goffney 13:11

Oh gosh, it did not happen in one meeting, but the one thing I know for sure is you have to lead with hope. And I've heard colleagues, and it's probably been written as a popular quote, that hope is not a strategy. What I can tell you as someone who lived without hope and growing up in poverty, the opposite of hope is despair. When you have despair, you have low expectations, you don't even know what's even possible. And you don't even know that you're living in this deficit kind of mindset. Long story short, it became about we had to connect our employees. When you think about the district where I serve now, 100% Title I, as I stated, our employees, our teachers, they were working really hard, and most of them, like nearly 100% of our employees, especially our teachers, drive into Alden. So they go to their personal children go to school in the suburbs. And then our auxiliary employees, about 50% of them live, but the majority of our 9,000 employees don't live in the Alden area. The thing that I had to do was connect them to more than just a job and the paycheck, but the opportunity to make a difference. So literally, I asked them about their hopes and dreams and aspirations for their own children. So what are your hopes, dreams, and aspirations for your own children? Because their children don't go to school in Aldean for the most part. And so when they thought about what they wanted for their own children, and then I connected that to what 67,000 black, brown students of poverty in our district deserve. Don't they deserve exactly what you want for your own children? So if you wouldn't accept this for your own children, we're not gonna accept it for the children that we're getting paid to serve. And so we have to have a belief, not in lip service, that all kids can learn. We got to believe that they can absolutely learn and that we have the power, that we have the ability to ensure that they're learning. And so that took a huge push and a mind shift with principals who had to understand and know their data. When I went into Cold Spring Intermediate, my first principalship, I had to set a baseline. And that's the same thing I did here in Aldi and every campus that I've served in between or district I've served. You can set a baseline. Where are we today? This is where we are. Because you can't lead with what you think, what you may have heard, and you can't lead with how you feel. Where are we? And then you got to think about what where should we be, or what would you want us to be if it were your kids? And then how do we get that?

Where does resistance come from and how do you overcome it?

Dr. Matthew Flippen 15:44

Those kinds of plans always face resistance. So going back to Cold Spring Intermediate, where did the biggest source of resistance come from? And how did you win that over?

Dr. LaTonya Goffney 15:56

You know, I believe initially the the biggest resistance came from teachers who thought that it was too hard or too much, or our kids couldn't do it. And just totally impacted by their belief that our kids just can't do this. I remember having a conversation with a teacher, and she was like, these kids. And that wasn't a conversation that went well. And Cold Spring and demographics were totally different. But because we're in rural Cold Spring, Texas, as I stated earlier, population of 697, these aren't big city kids. I mean everybody has their own context, but there was a limitation based off the fact that these were just good country kids. And they can't do this. I remember we switched math programs and it was a pretty rigorous math program, and this is too hard. That was a tough one, but I'm telling you, the challenge, and you have your own kids as well. The one way that I've always been able to get people to think differently or see differently is to share, well, what would you want for your own child? And typically that gets them to thinking. Well, I will want my own child to have access to this rigorous instruction so it's prepare them to have success in life, to push them. So we are able to kind of get through some of that by just asking, what would you want for your own child? And how can we make sure that this child gets the education that they deserve? We've got to push. And I know there's some deficits, but we gotta push and support. We gotta have those high expectations and support.

Why the principal is the single most important factor in school transformation

Dr. Matthew Flippen 17:30

That's so true. One of the quotes my father said to me probably daily, the whole time I was growing up, which is if you think you can or you think you can't, you're right. And you know, that's such an important message because we do get to choose. And of course, there's lots of research that talks about self-fulfilling prophecy and expectations and all of that. So apply that to them when you go from Cold Springs Intermediate to Aldean. I would imagine there there was that also the same.

Dr. LaTonya Goffney 17:57

It was absolutely the same.

Dr. Matthew Flippen 17:59

And so that our These kids that hurt that hurts me so much when somebody says these kids. I'm like, first of all, they're our kids.

Dr. LaTonya Goffney 18:07

Listen, and one thing straight day one with the leadership team and teachers and everyone, we talk about what we believe in Aldeen. I did it in when I was, I became superintendent in Cold Spring, I became superintendent in Lufkin before getting to Aldean. And so between everything that I learned as a first-time, first year principal in Cold Spring to superintendent in Aldean, there's probably about 15 years. Some things never change. And I think that people, you have to have some proof points for belief. And so when you're surrounded by mediocrity or surrounded where nobody is doing it, and the ones who are doing it at the choice schools, there are that's because though those kids can do it, but these kids can't. And so we needed some proof points. And so while I'm I'm casting the vision with the whole staff in Aldean, so new superintendent, so I'm casting the vision. And you have to lead a little differently when you have a complex system. I needed more proof points. At that point, we didn't have a single A-rated elementary school, and most of our A and B schools were all the choice schools that people choice into. Well, if you can choice in, that means you would probably have some parents with a high expectations, or you have you're just your go-getter anyway, and then you you have permission to do innovation.

Dr. Matthew Flippen 19:25

I would tell that evidence is and that's not what I want. I need evidence to say we're gonna raise expectations.

Dr. LaTonya Goffney 19:32

Right, exactly. And so I told the team, my internal team, we've got to demonstrate what's possible again for black, brown assistants of poverty. We need some proof points quick. We did turnaround at campuses, and guess what? The number one, the pillar that we had in our turnaround plan, and I believe in it, is an exceptional principle. It's gotta be an exceptional principle. I'll never forget I was interviewing for a superintendent here in Alding, and I actually said it too when I interviewed it in Love Kennedy. So if board members are listening, they'll remember as part of my response. I asked, would you rather have one amazing principal and a high performing principal and 30 ineffective teachers? Or would you rather have one ineffective principal and 30 high-performing teachers? And I we started some conversations around that. And it's my belief, and again, your audience may not believe, you may not even support what I'm about to say, but I would rather have one impactful, high-performing principal and 30 mediocre teachers. Because what I know for sure is that one high-impact, high-performing principal is going to raise the level of their teaching. But if you have an ineffective principal, your high-performing teachers could potentially, their motivation could be diminished.

Dr. Matthew Flippen 20:52

You know, when they do the exit surveys about why people are leaving education, then they talk about culture as their number one. Well, who sets culture? The campus leader. So we really should say campus leadership is the number one reason that teachers leave. And so I 100% support one effective leader. First of all, if he's effective, those teachers aren't gonna stay mediocre for long.

Dr. LaTonya Goffney 21:14

They're not. They're not. Listen, they're gonna be excited and they're gonna be inspired, and they're gonna, you know, and we have a leadership definition in Aldi that we said, we launched our strategic plan and we went and also launched a leadership definition and talked about. And every single leader, we want to make sure that we're connecting and we want to make sure that we're inspiring, and of course, we want to have impact. And so part of that connecting is building those relationships. You've got to be visible and literally you've got to do the hard work. If you're not a people person, you've got to love people, you know, because education is a people business. If you want people to do more, they're willing to do more for people who appreciate them, who they have a relationship with, who they feel a deep connection with. And so those are the kind of principles that we look for for our transformation.

Dr. Matthew Flippen 22:00

Oh true. I mean, I don't even like calling administration administration. I think that is boldly sets the wrong expectation because that because we're leading people. So

How demonstration schools proved what was possible for students of poverty

Dr. Matthew Flippen 22:09

you were looking for some proof points, you needed some early, and you found the leader.

Dr. LaTonya Goffney 22:14

We found the leaders, and so we took two campuses and they came what was called Ace Demonstration Schools, and we call it demonstrating what's possible. And within a year, they were out. These were the lowest performing schools in the district, the lowest elementary, not just in the district, it was some of the lowest performing in the state of Texas. And so We launch what's called accelerated campus excellence. And one of the pillars is the campus leadership. And of course, we get high-performing teachers as well. And uh we extend the school day and did some other things. And so those campuses, A and B campuses. So people were able to see that our kids can do that. They can see what's possible. And you did that without firing all the children. Without firing. No, we didn't change the children. You know, I had a superintendent, he said this is the truth. Sometimes, you know, people think that our parents are sending us, you know, they're just sending that they're sending us the very best that they have. That's the children. So we couldn't find the children, couldn't find the teachers, couldn't find the but we were able to be strategic about the principal and the team that's on the campus.

Dr. Matthew Flippen 23:16

Well, I've had the opportunity to visit with probably 10 or 15 of your campus principals just on the last couple of years. And first of all, they love you. And what I've also noticed that they have a similar profile in that they really deeply care about people and they have high expectations. There's also a little bit, I would say, of a freedom to innovate that they know where the guardrails are and they're enthusiastic about what's possible. I know that comes straight from you. You've got so much confidence it's spilling over, filling up their cup.

Dr. LaTonya Goffney 23:49

No, you know what? I think it's just sharing the fact that we can't have any excuses about what's possible. We can't, to your point earlier, we can't blame the kids for so many schools, districts, even maybe even policymakers. We blame the kids. Uh, or we blame the demographics, or we blame, I mean, we have some kids who are born into, you know, they're not anywhere in the ballpark, nowhere near third base, second base, first base. And, you know, I was one of those kids as well. So I take it, I say this with absolute understanding of some of the challenges where our kids come to school with. However, how they come to us is no excuse for how they lead us. And so we've got to have the belief in the fact that every kid is deserves a great education. And that great education includes pushing them to achieve at high levels. And so that's one thing that we talk about. And you alluded to the fact that we can't have excuses for the kids that we serve. If you're gonna teach in Aldean, if you're gonna lead in Aldean, then you have to have that type of mentality and that belief in what's possible with a great

What public education meant for Dr. Goffney's son

Dr. LaTonya Goffney 24:52

education.

Dr. Matthew Flippen 24:53

Yes. I know for you that also extends to children with special challenges. I think I've even seen a video of you dancing on stage at the graduation with young men.

Dr. LaTonya Goffney 25:07

Yes, that was hard because my firstborn son was born with chromosome deletion, 1p36. And so in every district that I served in, he was perhaps the lowest performing kid in the district, for sure. When I was in Cold Spring and we had 1,700 kids, he was the lowest performing, severe and profound special needs, couldn't sit up, couldn't use the restroom, couldn't do anything nonverbal, all the things. He was profoundly disabled. When I went to Lutkin, 8,600 kids, same thing. He was perhaps the lowest performing kid. And even when we came to Alding, I thought we would see more kids who looked like him. And there were only a few, and but he was still perhaps one of the lowest performing kids. But what I love about education and love about leaders, whether it was my special needs child or my GT child, they both got great educations. And so I ended up losing my son in 2019. He died from some respiratory complications. The best part of remembering him was remembering the fact that he had great educators his entire career, and that even though I was serving in his very visible role as superintendent, I was able to see firsthand the quality of education for some of our most neediest children that we serve in public education. So I have a great deal of respect and admiration for special education, special educators all across our state and country. And what you saw, my son didn't get to graduate because again, he was scheduled to graduate in 2019. He could speak, and my child was non-verbal. And so Jordan, he was an honorary superintendent ambassador. Anytime I visited Eisenhower High School, he would greet me. And he had, like I said, he was a little bit more verbal. And he wanted to come take a picture at the end of graduation. And his mom asked if he could come out on stage. So I brought him back on stage again. And he just started playing the dirty dancing. I've had the time of my life, and I never felt this way before. I couldn't remember the exact name of the song. But long story short, I'm in tears. And we're dancing, and he was dancing, and I'm remembering my son, but he doesn't know it. But my point, and thank you for allowing me a moment to kind of capture this that I've never talked about. But that's the beauty of public school. That's the beauty of what's possible when you have great leaders who hire great teachers, is that you can take a child with most needs who are profoundly disabled, all the way up to the most gifted children that we have. Some of our kids with autism, some of our kids who are just amazingly gifted. And as educators, we get an opportunity to make sure they get the best education they deserve so they can graduate and just have choices and opportunities in life.

Dr. Matthew Flippen 27:46

Yes, so true. It is one of these beautiful gifts that education, the teachers and schools have to serve families that a lot of times are struggling because of challenges their children face. And challenges your children face can be a huge spectrum. But, you know, there is this idea that my child is known and loved and encouraged to be the best version of themselves that allows someone to feel valued and supported and encouraged. You know, when we're together on a journey, it doesn't seem as hard, but we've had a great time talking about vision. And, you know, and this concept of casting a vision, having eye expectations, having a strategic plan to find those points to celebrate and prove, proof points, I think is what you call them, really is a great example. And I think not only can we do that at the district level, but at the campus level and just continue to say, hey, no excuses. Let's work on this together. Our all children, what you want for your own children, you should want for all children, sir. Those are just incredible. I'd love for people to continue to follow you. I know you are now have now been named the president of the American Association of School Administrators. And the fact that I got an hour with you today.

Dr. LaTonya Goffney 29:05

So I'm president-elect now, I'll be president in July. So I have a five year months of elect. Oh, okay.

Dr. Matthew Flippen 29:11

You have six months to warm up. Yeah, that's fantastic. Well, and I love that because your example of leadership is one that I hope people really do follow along. I mean, it's such a gift to be an administrator in your campus because they get to see you up close and personal. I know it takes a lot of energy for you to go outside the district and speak and all the things you're involved with, but I just will continue to pray that God gives you the strength to continue to persevere. I know it's not all great, and I'm sure you've still got some adversaries, you know, trying to uh criticize the wonderful work that you and your team are doing. So if our listeners want to follow along with you, what's the best way to do that?

Dr. LaTonya Goffney 29:57

Well, I love X. So I'm on X, DR Goffney, and so that's perhaps the best way. I'm on the other social media outlets, but X and LinkedIn. I'm doing a little bit more of LinkedIn, trying to migrate over from X to LinkedIn because there's a lot more opportunities to engage and thought leadership. X used to have a lot more when, you know, that's how I started. I love following my, you know, your dad and other great thought leaders. And then it they change the algorithm. And so that's not what I see. And so I'm thinking I'm migrating to LinkedIn. So that's the long version of I'm on X LinkedIn. And I love learning from those who are doing the work and gets excited about leadership in this moment for such a time as this.

Dr. Matthew Flippen 30:39

That's true. And I know at some point I hope that you will write more than one book about your journey, because I know it would be an encouragement as well. So if you found today's episode valuable, which I sure did, please share it with a colleague who would benefit. Follow the podcast so you never miss an episode. And until next time, keep leading with purpose and transforming schools into places where everyone thrives. 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.