The Stronger Podcast

Proving Schools Can Get Better at Scale: Doubling Teacher Planning Time and Leading on Equity with Catherine Suitor

Catherine Suitor has spent two decades proving that schools can get better at scale, and she has the data to back it up.  As Executive Director of the Alliance College-Ready Public Schools Foundation, Catherine has helped Alliance grow into one of the largest and most successful nonprofit charter networks in the country, serving 13,000 scholars across 26 schools in Los Angeles. When Alliance opened in 2004, LAUSD was graduating 49% of its students. Alliance has graduated nearly 100% from the start, and LAUSD's rate is now 82%. In this episode of The Stronger Podcast, Mike Montoya sits down with Catherine Suitor to talk about what it takes to build schools that meet kids where they actually are, not where the system assumes they should be. Catherine breaks down Alliance's schedule redesign pilot, which has doubled teacher planning time without cutting scholar instruction, and explains why teacher retention and scholar outcomes both went up. She also shares why Alliance has taken a deliberate pro-Black stance inside a 90% Latino network, and how the foundation is approaching AI as a tool to support educators rather than replace them. On fundraising, Catherine is clear: people basically want to do good, and the job is to give them the chance. Her line on serving students: equity is not equality, and people show up to the door with different needs. Tune in to hear why Catherine believes the original promise of charters was never to take over public education, but to prove what was possible and bring everyone else along. Chapters: 🎙️ 00:57 Want a podcast just like this one? Check out www.podcastsmatter.com [http://www.podcastsmatter.com] 🌅 01:23 Meet Catherine Suitor: Alliance Foundation Executive Director and lifelong California fundraiser 🎒 01:48 From parochial school to The Breakfast Club: growing up across every kind of K-12 🌎 09:42 Why a history major was the best preparation for the work she does today ✊🏽 12:22 Central American solidarity in the eighties and the roots of her advocacy career 💬 15:13 Learning to fundraise on the job: press releases, phone banks, and the first ask 📚 21:11 Find support for your impact-driven book at www.booksthatmatter.org [http://www.booksthatmatter.org] 🤝 22:10 Why fundraising is matchmaking, and what makes a great donor visit ⚖️ 25:39 Going pro-Black inside a 90 percent Latino network: what Alliance learned from its scholars 🏫 30:25 The original promise of charters: prove what works and bring everyone along 📊 33:01 Defensive advocacy and proactive advocacy: how Alliance is sharing what it knows 🌟 40:10 If you are a leader or changemaker, check out www.geniusdiscovery.org [http://www.geniusdiscovery.org] 🚪 42:21 Closing a school the right way: a year of community engagement and an LAUSD board member's request ⏱️ 45:36 Doubling teacher planning time: the schedule redesign that is keeping educators in the profession 🤖 46:26 AI as a tool for educators, with multilingual and special ed scholars at the center 🧭 49:23 What younger leaders should take from the cycles she has seen across forty years of social change 🎧 57:51 Find more podcasts that matter at www.podcaststhatmatter.org [http://www.podcaststhatmatter.org] Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherine-suitor-70218613/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherine-suitor-70218613/] Alliance Foundation: https://laalliancefoundation.org/ [https://laalliancefoundation.org/] ERS case study on Alliance's schedule redesign: https://www.erstrategies.org/tap/alliance-teacher-schedules/ [https://www.erstrategies.org/tap/alliance-teacher-schedules/] Connect with Catherine Suitor on LinkedIn or explore the Alliance Foundation's work to learn more about what it takes to build and sustain great public schools at scale.   Connect with Mike: www.linkedin.com/in/mmsc [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmsc/] Stronger Consulting: strongerconsulting.com [https://strongerconsulting.com/] Publish a Book That Matters:  booksthatmatter.org [http://booksthatmatter.org/] Start a Podcast That Matters:  podcastsmatter.com [https://podcastsmatter.com/] Go from Expert to Thought Leader: geniusdiscovery.org [http://geniusdiscovery.org/]  For more great podcasts like this one, visit https://podcaststhatmatter.org [https://podcaststhatmatter.org/] Stay strong.

Belonging Is Not a Side Issue: The Charter School Coalition That Can Still Say "Diversity" with Sonia Park

Charter school leader Sonia Park spent her childhood as one of the only kids of color in suburban Philadelphia schools, then watched her own son experience the same othering thirty years later in New York City. She runs the Diverse Charter Schools Coalition because belonging is not a side issue. It is the thing that determines whether kids can thrive. In this episode of The Stronger Podcast, Mike Montoya sits down with Sonia, Executive Director of the Diverse Charter Schools Coalition, to talk about why intentionally diverse public schools matter and what it takes to keep building them in a moment when the word "diversity" itself is under federal fire. Sonia traces her own arc: clean carpets and isolation in the suburbs, older buildings and belonging in the city, two years in Korea that taught her what freedom actually feels like to take for granted, and a winding path through Edison Schools, the New York City DOE under Dennis Walcott, and the U.S. Department of Education under Secretary John King. She is candid about the moment she realized her son was experiencing the same marginalization she had, and what that anger turned into. DCSC now represents 106 networks and over 280 schools across 26 states and Washington, D.C. Sonia explains why the coalition can say things its member schools no longer can, and why running by herself every day is how she leads. Listen in for a conversation about belonging and the leadership practice of forgiving yourself when you are not perfect. Chapters: 🎙️ 00:53 Want a podcast just like this one? Check out www.podcastsmatter.com [http://www.podcastsmatter.com] 👋 01:32 Meet Sonia Park: from Philadelphia kid to leading 280 charter schools 🏘️ 02:21 Clean carpets versus older buildings: what each kind of school taught her about belonging 🌏 05:55 Two years in Korea: tear gas, cab drivers, and what freedom really means 📰 19:48 An Edison newspaper ad and a charter school career started by accident 🏛️ 23:18 From Manhattan Charter Schools to Secretary John King's Department of Education 📚 26:54 Find support for writing your impact-driven book at www.booksthatmatter.org [http://www.booksthatmatter.org] 💼 28:30 There was no path: how Sonia weighed each career pivot 🤝 33:31 Inside DCSC: how 106 networks build belonging together 🛡️ 36:42 The coalition that can say what its member schools no longer can 🌟 39:18 If you are a leader or changemaker looking for support, check out www.geniusdiscovery.org [http://www.geniusdiscovery.org] 🏃 43:36 Running alone every day and the leadership practice of forgiving yourself 🎧 53:35 Find more podcasts that matter at www.podcaststhatmatter.org [http://www.podcaststhatmatter.org] Links: Connect with Sonia C. Park: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonia-c-park/] Diverse Charter Schools Coalition: https://diversecharters.org/ [https://diversecharters.org/] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/diverse-charter-schools-coalition/] Reach out to Sonia to learn more about the Diverse Charter Schools Coalition's work supporting 106 networks and over 280 intentionally diverse public charter schools across 26 states and Washington, D.C. Connect with Mike: www.linkedin.com/in/mmsc [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmsc/] Stronger Consulting: strongerconsulting.com [https://strongerconsulting.com/] Publish a Book That Matters:  booksthatmatter.org [http://booksthatmatter.org/] Start a Podcast That Matters:  podcastsmatter.com [https://podcastsmatter.com/] Go from Expert to Thought Leader: geniusdiscovery.org [http://geniusdiscovery.org/]  For more great podcasts like this one, visit https://podcaststhatmatter.org [https://podcaststhatmatter.org/] Stay strong.

Vision Is Not Enough: How a CEO and COO Scale a National Nonprofit Together - with Vincent Marigna and Alex Serna

Scaling a 48-year-old national nonprofit takes more than vision. It takes a CEO and COO who trust each other enough to move fast in ambiguity. In this episode of The Stronger Podcast, Mike Montoya sits down with Vincent Marigna and Alex Serna, the CEO and COO of Breakthrough Collaborative, a national organization that serves more than 11,000 middle school through college students each summer and exposes 1,100 college-aged future teachers to the rigors and joys of the classroom. Both men are first-generation college graduates. Vincent came to teaching through Teach for America after a tough first six months in the classroom that he survived by calling his grandmother on the way to school. Alex was on his way into the military with a 2.1 GPA when he found out he would be a father at 17. Higher education changed both of their lives, and now they are running the organization that does that work for tens of thousands of young people every year. The heart of the conversation is how they actually run it together. Vincent makes his thinking visible the way his first CEO once did for him, putting half-formed ideas on the table early so Alex can take them from there. Alex executes while the picture is still forming and tells Vince when something is broken before being asked. They have a high tolerance for ambiguity and enough trust built through consistent action that they can move at the speed the work requires. Tune in to hear how two leaders are scaling opportunity for the next generation of students by first investing in the partnership at the top. Chapters: 🎙️ 00:27 Want a podcast just like this one? Check out www.podcastsmatter.com [http://www.podcastsmatter.com] 🌱 01:11 Meet Vincent Marigna and Alex Serna of Breakthrough Collaborative 🎲 03:22 Alex went from a 2.1 GPA to seeing education as the thing that could change his life 🧭 05:32 Being open to possibility beats having a perfect plan 🤝 11:11 How a CEO and a COO actually share the load 📚 16:44 Find support for writing your impact-driven book at www.booksthatmatter.org [http://www.booksthatmatter.org] 🌫️ 17:52 Shape ambiguity at the speed the work requires 🧱 24:18 How Vincent builds trust: do what you say you will do, consistently ✨ 29:34 What kids see when the CEO walks into the room 🌟 32:57 Go from expert to thought leader at www.geniusdiscovery.org [http://www.geniusdiscovery.org] 🚀 34:06 Growth with intentionality and the year ahead 💡 39:29 Make your thinking visible: the rhythm of a strong partnership 🎧 44:00 Find more podcasts that matter at www.podcaststhatmatter.org [http://www.podcaststhatmatter.org] Links: Connect with Vincent Marigna: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincent-marigna/] Connect with Alex Serna: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexserna1/] Breakthrough Collaborative: https://breakthroughcollaborative.org/ [https://breakthroughcollaborative.org/] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/breakthrough-collaborative/] Reach out to Vincent and Alex to learn more about Breakthrough Collaborative's work scaling educational opportunity for middle school through college students and developing the next generation of teachers across its national affiliate network.  Connect with Mike: www.linkedin.com/in/mmsc [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmsc/] Stronger Consulting: strongerconsulting.com [https://strongerconsulting.com/] Publish a Book That Matters:  booksthatmatter.org [http://booksthatmatter.org/] Start a Podcast That Matters:  podcastsmatter.com [https://podcastsmatter.com/] Go from Expert to Thought Leader: geniusdiscovery.org [http://geniusdiscovery.org/]  For more great podcasts like this one, visit https://podcaststhatmatter.org [https://podcaststhatmatter.org/] Stay strong.

Succession Is A Verb: Why Building Leaders Who Outlast You Is The Real CEO Job - With Marcia Aaron

Marcia Aaron leads Charter School Growth Fund's investments across Texas, Arizona, Idaho, and Utah, and before that, she spent thirteen years building KIPP SoCal Public Schools from two schools to twenty-two as its founding CEO. In this episode of The Stronger Podcast, Mike Montoya sits down with Marcia for a conversation about the three things she is most passionate about, and why each one connects to the others. Marcia started talking to her board about succession seven years before she left KIPP SoCal. The plan was not an emergency document. It was a real assessment of the team, where it was strong, where it needed to grow, and the development plan for every individual on it. Her successor, Angela, started as a school leader and moved up through director of academics, CAO, and CEO. At CSGF, succession is now a milestone in every grant agreement, and the message Marcia is taking to the field is direct: succession is a verb. Mike and Marcia also dig into why math has fallen behind, especially in schools serving low-income students. After COVID, schools poured energy into reading and let math facts and fluency slip. The result, in Texas, is portfolios sitting ten to fifteen points below pre-COVID proficiency. The fix is not new math. It is the boring work of direct instruction, automaticity, and Algebra one as the gateway to college and economic mobility. The third thread is rural education. Half of Idaho's students are rural, and the lowest-performing schools in the state are rural. Marcia talks about traditional brick-and-mortar charters opening in towns of 6,500, online schools in the top 25 statewide, and micro schools partnering with D1 sports programs to reach kids who would otherwise lose access. Tune in to hear why succession is the most overlooked responsibility in leadership and why building something strong in the moment is not enough if it does not last after you leave.   Chapters: 🎙️ 00:27 Want a podcast just like this one? Check out www.podcastsmatter.com [http://www.podcastsmatter.com] ⛰️ 01:51 From Wall Street to charter schools: Marcia Aaron's path to Park City and CSGF 🏫 04:56 Building KIPP SoCal from 2 schools to 22, and the alumni who came through it 📐 10:13 What COVID did to math, and why Algebra I is still the gateway to college 🌾 16:38 Rural education in Idaho: brick-and-mortar charters, online schools, and micro-schools in towns of 6,500 🌟 20:56 If you are a leader or changemaker looking for support, check out www.geniusdiscovery.org [http://www.geniusdiscovery.org] 🔁 23:32 Seven years of succession planning: succession is a verb 📚 32:20 Find support for writing your impact-driven book at www.booksthatmatter.org [http://www.booksthatmatter.org] 🤲 36:22 Education leaders need to lock arms instead of getting peeled off one by one 📊 40:58 Stop grading charter schools on a curve: the case for measuring against the highest bar 📞 45:23 Aging better starts with putting the phone down and investing in social connection 🎧 49:00 Find more podcasts that matter at www.podcaststhatmatter.org [http://www.podcaststhatmatter.org] Links: LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/marcia-aaron1231 [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcia-aaron1231/] Charter School Growth Fund: chartergrowthfund.org [https://chartergrowthfund.org] Connect with Marcia on LinkedIn to follow her work, and visit Charter School Growth Fund to learn more about how CSGF is investing in charter networks across Texas, Arizona, Idaho, and Utah.   Connect with Mike: www.linkedin.com/in/mmsc [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmsc/] Stronger Consulting: strongerconsulting.com [https://strongerconsulting.com/] Publish a Book That Matters:  booksthatmatter.org [http://booksthatmatter.org/] Start a Podcast That Matters:  podcastsmatter.com [https://podcastsmatter.com/] Go from Expert to Thought Leader: geniusdiscovery.org [http://geniusdiscovery.org/]  For more great podcasts like this one, visit https://podcaststhatmatter.org [https://podcaststhatmatter.org/] Stay strong.

Nothing Goes to Waste Unless You Decide It Does: Cradle to Career Work, Coalition Building, and Spartanburg's Long Game with Keisha Gray

Keisha Gray sits down with Mike Montoya to make the case that cross sector collaboration is not a value statement, it is a muscle communities build out of necessity. And that operational excellence is how missions actually survive.  In this episode of The Stronger Podcast, Mike Montoya sits down with Keisha Gray, Chief Operations Officer at the Spartanburg Academic Movement. SAM is a cradle to career organization working to create long term opportunity and economic mobility across Spartanburg County, South Carolina.  Keisha argues that Spartanburg is the twelfth fastest growing county in the country for a reason, and it is not the one most economic development stories tell. It is a former mill town that learned to collaborate when the economy collapsed underneath it. That muscle, built under pressure, is what a cradle to career strategy actually runs on.  She and Mike make a parallel case about careers. Keisha has led HR for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, run philanthropy at the Mary Black Foundation, and spent years inside regional newsrooms. She does not believe any of it was off topic. Nothing goes to waste unless you decide it does.  They get into Dr. Jack Shonkoff's new place based research at Harvard and why the environments children grow up in matter as much as the relationships around them. Mike closes with a reminder of his own: relationships are the engine and operational excellence is how you sustain the mission.   Tune in to hear why Keisha keeps a photo of a child she has never met on her office wall.    Chapters: 🎧 00:56 Want a podcast just like this one? Check out www.podcastsmatter.com [http://www.podcastsmatter.com]  👧 01:26 The photo on Keisha's wall: who this work is really for  🤝 05:48 Why cross sector collaboration is hard  🏭 07:15 Stone soup and a mill town that learned to collaborate  📰 10:14 Growing up in Columbia and getting into HR  🏈 13:40 The Buccaneers, the Mary Black Foundation, and the call home  🧩 18:35 From ten to forty employees  ✍️ 28:02 Find support for your impact-driven book at www.booksthatmatter.org [http://www.booksthatmatter.org]  🧠 31:04 Dr. Jack Shonkoff: it matters where a child grows up  🤲 35:46 Raj Chetty, Hope VI, and what a neighborhood does to a life  💬 40:36 The spontaneous moments are where real connection happens  🌟 45:53 If you are a leader or changemaker, check out www.geniusdiscovery.org [http://www.geniusdiscovery.org]  🕯️ 49:12 Relationships are the engine  🎙️ 49:35 Find more podcasts that matter at www.podcastsmatter.org [http://www.podcastsmatter.org]  Links: Website: https://learnwithsam.org [https://learnwithsam.org]  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keisha-gray-8268514 [https://www.linkedin.com/in/keisha-gray-8268514]  Spartanburg Academic Movement on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/spartanburg-academic-movement [https://www.linkedin.com/company/spartanburg-academic-movement]  If you want to see what cradle to career work actually looks like on the ground, follow Keisha and the Spartanburg Academic Movement.  Connect with Mike: www.linkedin.com/in/mmsc [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmsc/] Stronger Consulting: strongerconsulting.com [https://strongerconsulting.com/] Publish a Book That Matters:  booksthatmatter.org [http://booksthatmatter.org/] Start a Podcast That Matters:  podcastsmatter.com [https://podcastsmatter.com/] Go from Expert to Thought Leader: geniusdiscovery.org [http://geniusdiscovery.org/]  For more great podcasts like this one, visit https://podcaststhatmatter.org [https://podcaststhatmatter.org/] Stay strong.