During DHP West Coast, you will choose one breakout session to attend. Breakout sessions will begin on Tuesday, March 9 at 12:15 p.m. PT. Explore the breakout session topics below.

Making the Most Difficult Decisions Well: Sustaining Trust and Managing Layoff Decisions

John Laughlin | Associate Superintendent, Human Resource Services 
Mandy Corbin | Assistant Superintendent, Special Education and Behavioral Health Services
Sonoma County Office of Education, CA

Description: Leaders know they need to lead through difficult decisions. In this session, leaders from the Sonoma County Office of Education will highlight a few steps that may be helpful as you plan, prepare staff and sustain trust as difficult decisions are implemented. 

Defining Measures and Routines That Matter to Ensure Safety With a Daily Dashboard

Michael Waer | Operations Director
Estacada School District, OR

Description: During the pandemic, safety has been a primary concern. Maximizing workforce collaboration and efficiency helped many districts tackle these challenges. 
 

• What processes did your organization create to monitor safety operations?
• In what ways do you optimize cross-departmental leadership to solve problems as you tackle emerging challenges?

Building Culture Through Intentional Processes

Sergio Mendoza | Superintendent
Burton School District, CA

Description: In this interactive session, you will hear how a focus on two simple strategies builds culture. Moreover, you'll learn how organizational impact grows when these two strategies become leader always behaviors. See how huddles and rounding became leader always actions in the Burton School District and how they could have similar high impact in your organization. 

Engaging All Voices to Own Our Values

Tim Hire | County Superintendent of Schools
Shelah Feldstein | Improvement Advisor, Mid-State Collaborative Director
Tulare County Office of Education, CA

Description: Values guide our daily efforts by making shared commitments visible. In this session, Tulare County Office of Education leaders will highlight the structures — and a few key processes — used to scaffold input and engage all staff as leaders to build their capacity to improve a large organization. 

Navigating the Important During the Urgent: Taking the Leap to Align Our System to Improve Our Impact

Ed Manansala | County Superintendent of Schools
Kathleen Guerrero | Director III, First Five Director
El Dorado County Office of Education, CA

Description: How do you make the decision to start the improvement journey during a pandemic? Supporting leader capacity is key to systemic alignment. In this session, El Dorado County Office of Education leaders will share why they decided to start building capacity now and what has helped as they navigate the urgent. 

Engaging Cabinet in Leadership Development to Build Processes Around Improvement

Ken Richardson | Superintendent
David Douglas School District,OR

Description: When leaders go first in demonstrating what right looks like and develop behaviors and processes to build systems around improvement, they set the cadence and structure for aligning priorities and overcoming barriers.

• Why is it important to press pause and give senior leadership an opportunity to develop behaviors and processes that provide districts and organizations space for thoughtful leadership?
• What does it mean to your organization to say “leaders go first,” and what ways do you create forums for senior leadership development?