In this episode, Kevin Stoller chats with Dr. Aspasia Angelou, a superintendent in Arizona. She highlights her role as a superintendent and the various initiatives she is leading in her school district.

Dr. Angelou shares her background, growing up with Greek immigrant parents, and discusses how her early experiences shaped her drive to pursue education. She talks about her journey navigating educational challenges with limited family support.

She also elaborates on the unique challenges of leading a unified school district without a high school and the legislative and logistical hurdles she faced in Arizona. She explains how she tackled these issues, including passing bonds for school funding and creating new high school facilities.

Dr. Angelou discusses her approach to integrating innovative programs in her district, such as coding for young students, diverse extracurriculars like archery and agriculture, and designing a new high school from scratch with community input.

Takeaways:

• There is always a way if you are determined enough.
• It's important to find a balance between honoring tradition and looking for innovation.
• It is critical for kids to understand technology, but it is also important that they have social experiences and play-based learning early.

About Dr. Angelou:

Dr. Aspasia Angelou is the daughter of immigrant parents and a native of Seattle, Washington, where she graduated from the University of Washington. She moved to Texas as an educator and teacher trainer in advanced placement, and then to Oklahoma as a school administrator for 8 years.

Dr. Angelou served the students, teachers, and community of Tulsa Public Schools as director of high school design in 2019, leading 4 schools through a redesign project. She is passionate about creating equitable learning environments, opportunities, and outcomes for all students.

Her entire career has been committed to serving in Title I urban schools. She was named Oklahoma High School Principal of the Year in 2017 for the academic gains made by her students during her tenure in Oklahoma City. Despite challenges, they made great gains are recognized as a Model Professional Learning Community School by Solution Tree.

Connect with Dr. Angelou:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-aspasia-angelou-25667099/

X: https://x.com/aspasiaangelou

Nadaburg USD #81:

Website: https://www.nadaburgsd.org/leadership

Episode 215 of the Better Learning Podcast

Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com.

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/

Want to be a Guest Speaker? Request on our website