Better Learning Podcast

Innovative Leadership in Education with Dr. Sarah Stone

Jeff Kubiak sits down with Dr. Sara Stone, Superintendent of Albany Unified School District in California’s East Bay, to discuss what it takes to lead meaningful change while building trust with a school community. With 32 years in education, Sara reflects on her journey from classroom teacher to superintendent and the lessons she has learned about leadership, collaboration, and putting students first. The conversation explores Albany Unified’s $63.8 million Measure L bond, which passed with 72% voter approval, and how the district is approaching facility upgrades, wildfire resilience,...

The Role of Community Engagement in School Redesign with Dr. Robert Hunt

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What Community Members Get Wrong About School Construction with Dr. George Hummer

Better Learning Podcast

Kevin Stoller sits down with Dr. George Hummer, Superintendent of Frederick County Public Schools, to explore his journey from special education aide to school district leader, and the district's ongoing effort to build its fourth high school. Dr. Hummer shares how his mother's career as a special education teacher and his own experience working with students with disabilities shaped his empathy-driven leadership style. The conversation dives deep into the mechanics of planning new school construction — including the critical difference between "design capacity" and "program capacity," how...

Leading Districts with Emotional Intelligence with Dr. Adam Swinyard

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Dr. Adam Swinyard, Superintendent of Spokane Public Schools and 2023 Washington Superintendent of the Year, joins the Jeff Kubiak to discuss leading one of Washington's largest districts through a rapidly shifting information and mental health landscape. Adam shares how Spokane centers everything on relationships, why transparency and "doors and windows" communication have replaced the old top-down model, and how the district's Engage in Real Life initiative and revised cell phone policy are tackling the youth mental health crisis. He also reflects candidly on lessons learned since becoming...

Reshaping How We View School Campuses with Dr. Sharon Bradley

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Dr. Sharon Bradley, founder of Bradley Site Design and a landscape architect with four decades of experience, joins Matt Rogers to explore how school campuses can become powerful teaching tools rather than just backdrops. Sharon shares how her childhood in the English countryside shaped her belief in "environment as teacher," and explains her curriculum integration model — mapping specific lesson units directly onto campus features like whisper walls, bioretention gardens, and stormwater "raindrop journeys." She also discusses how early collaboration between landscape architects, building...

Making Career Education Visible with Mark Shephard

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Mark Shepard, K-12 Advisor at BVH Architecture, joins Carla Cummins to share his unusual path from industrial tech teacher to school superintendent to architectural firm advisor. Drawing on his experience leading a transformative CTE center project in Fremont, Nebraska, Mark discusses how listening to local industry and students — not just assumptions from educators — reshaped a district's approach to career and technical education. He dives into the design choices that put CTE on display rather than hidden away, the partnerships with local businesses that created real jobs for students,...

Facilities Leadership in a Fast-Growing District with Matt Wark

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Matt Wark, Chief Facilities Officer for Forsyth County Schools, joins Katie Jubenville to share his unconventional path from a struggling student written off by his own guidance counselor to leading facilities for one of Georgia's fastest-growing, top-performing school districts. Matt discusses how his personal journey through teaching, administration, and district leadership shapes his "houses, not buildings" philosophy of facilities management, and dives into how Forsyth balances explosive growth with maintenance, community trust, and cost. He also shares his perspective as president of the...

Making Every Dollar Count with Jennifer Gibb

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In this episode, Jeff Kubiak talks with Jennifer Gibb, Vice President of Business Development at Van Pelt Construction Services, about turning school bond measures into real buildings. With 20+ years spanning district facilities leadership, bond program management, and consulting, Jen shares how districts navigate tight budgets, layered funding sources, and community skepticism to deliver modern learning environments. The conversation dives into strategic bond planning, the real story behind fast-tracked construction after a razor-thin bond vote, balancing capital projects against general fund...

Turning Campuses into Learning Tools with Orin Williams

Better Learning Podcast

Jeff Kubiak sits down with Orin Williams, Assistant Superintendent of Facilities, Planning, and Development at Riverside Unified School District, to unpack a 33-year career in school facilities planning. Orin traces his path from architecture school at Cal Poly Pomona through private practice into public education facilities, sharing how his design background shapes his advocacy for thoughtful, human-centered school environments. The conversation covers turning aging campuses into cohesive learning spaces, building community trust around bond projects, balancing tight budgets against big...

Inside Rock Hill's $336M Vision for Safer, Smarter Schools with Andrew Jones

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In this episode, Matt Rogers sits down with Andrew Jones, Executive Director for Safety and Emergency Management at Rock Hill School District (South Carolina), to explore how safety and design intersect in modern school construction. Andrew shares his winding path from youth ministry to law enforcement, teaching, and school administration before landing in his current role. The conversation dives deep into the district's new Sunset Park Elementary School project — a $336 million, 10-year facilities initiative — covering CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design), hardwired...

More Episodes

Matt Rogers sits down with Dr. Robert Hunt, Superintendent of Upper Arlington Schools, to explore his experience leading major school facility projects and the district’s current $273 million bond initiative for two new middle schools and an early childhood building. Dr. Hunt shares lessons from 16 years as a superintendent, including renovating a 100-year-old historic building in Chagrin Falls, navigating a major facilities referendum in Illinois, and now leading Upper Arlington through a process built around extensive community engagement. The conversation dives into how the district assessed both the physical and educational adequacy of its existing buildings, evaluated 18 different options, and created more than 8,500 community touchpoints through building teams, task forces, town halls, surveys, and direct conversations. Dr. Hunt also discusses designing spaces that can adapt to the future, learning from districts that have already gone through the process, and one of his biggest lessons from an earlier project: even the best-designed space can fall short if staff aren’t prepared to use it.

Takeaways:

Community engagement should shape the solution — Upper Arlington evaluated 18 different options and brought staff, students, and community members into the process rather than starting with a predetermined answer.
Design for the future, not just today — School buildings can last 50–70 years, so flexibility needs to be built in to accommodate changes in teaching and learning.
You can only move at the speed of trust — Lasting change requires time, support, and trust. People need to understand why a new approach matters before they can fully embrace it.
Learn from those who have done it before — Visiting other districts and talking directly with teachers and students can reveal both the benefits and unintended consequences of design decisions.
A new space only works if people are ready for it — Dr. Hunt reflects on a past project where he focused heavily on construction but not enough on preparing staff to use the new environment effectively.

About Dr. Robert Hunt:

Ohio native Robert Hunt, Ph.D., is proud to serve this community as the superintendent of the Upper Arlington Schools. Dr. Hunt joined the district in July 2023 after spending much of his career in high-achieving school districts in Ohio and Illinois. Prior to Upper Arlington, he was the superintendent in Barrington 220 Community Unit School District, northwest of Chicago. Previously, he served as the superintendent of Chagrin Falls Exempted Village School District in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, for nine years. During that time, he was named Ohio Superintendent of the Year by the AASA (American Association of School Administrators) in October 2020.

Prior to becoming a superintendent, Dr. Hunt served Chagrin Falls Schools in a variety of roles, including assistant superintendent, principal, and assistant principal at the high school. In 2007, he was named the Ohio Principal of the Year by NASSP (National Association of Secondary School Administrators). His career began as a middle school English teacher and athletic director, then eventually assistant principal, in Kenston Local School District in Ohio.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Kent State University, a master’s degree in educational administration from Ursuline College, and a Ph.D. in educational administration from Kent State University.

Dr. Hunt and his family are excited to be Golden Bears. He lives in Upper Arlington with his wife, Shannon, and their two school-age children, Emerson and Hawken. They also have two older children, Ashton and Braden. Dr. Hunt believes that a successful public school is a reflection of the expectations of the community. With that in mind, he believes he has a responsibility to take the time to listen and learn from all stakeholders of the Upper Arlington Schools and then focus on how to continuously improve.

Episode 355 of the Better Learning Podcast
For more information on our partners:
Association for Learning Environments (A4LE) - https://www.a4le.org/
Education Leaders' Organization - https://www.ed-leaders.org/
Second Class Foundation - https://secondclassfoundation.org/
EDmarket - https://www.edmarket.org/
Catapult @ Penn GSE - https://catapult.gse.upenn.edu/

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