“I was working 10-hour days and struggling to keep my head above water. Most nights I left the office late with a good deal of work still sitting on my desk undone. I was in a career ‘death spiral’ and knew I couldn’t continue this way.”

Kevin Andert is the Chief of Technical Education and Operations at the St. Louis County Special School District (SSD) in Town & Country, Missouri. SSD is a county-wide provider of special education, and career and technical education (CTE) to 25,000 students in the St. Louis County metropolitan area, and is the largest specialized education provider in the state. The district equips and empowers students of all learning abilities to excel by focusing on each student’s unique needs.

CHALLENGE: THE TRIPLE-THREAT – LOW ATTENDANCE, LEARNING LOSS AND STAFF TURNOVER

In 2022, SSD’s CTE student and staff attendance numbers were extremely concerning. From 2019 to 2022, the number of students identified as chronically absent nearly doubled. In 2022, the district’s CTE teacher attendance was down 7-10% in every building, every day. The program became increasingly reliant on substitutes to provide technical instruction in areas in which they were not content experts. 

The situation led to across the board achievement gaps. At the end of 2022, math, reading, and college and career readiness scores all showed significant decline. By January 2023, 6% weren’t meeting the district’s graduation requirements and had to return to their home high schools to finish. According to several key measures, students’ social/emotional well-being had also plummeted. 

Kevin admitted that during this high-pressure period, “I was not providing enough intentional coaching and support to staff who needed it.” As a result, Kevin’s team struggled to address the situation and several members chose to leave the team entirely.

Then, in the 2023-24 school year, SSD’s Superintendent, Chief of HR and Chief Financial Officer positions all turned over. In the process, Kevin ended up supervising the district’s Finance and Operations departments, while continuing to serve as Chief of Technical Education.

“I was working 10-hour days and struggling to keep my head above water,” said Kevin. “Most nights I left the office late with a good deal of work still sitting on my desk undone. I was in a career ‘death spiral’ and knew I couldn’t continue this way.”

MINDSET SHIFT:  UNBURDEN TO GET A BIRD’S EYE VIEW

The Breakthrough Coach School Leadership Program dramatically altered Kevin’s perspective about his role. “Sitting in the program, I had an ‘aha’ moment! I realized that I had been taking on way more than I needed to. My instinct to act as a district-wide ‘first responder,’ running around with my hands in every pot, attempting to solve every problem, was futile. I was causing my own demise.” Kevin finally understood that his job was to maintain a birds-eye view of the system, to identify problems before they became crises, and to bring the right people together to solve them, “with me as a resource for coaching and support as necessary,” said Kevin.

SOLUTIONS: LET GO AND LET OTHERS “DO”

Kevin’s insights prompted him to revamp his daily routines and habits to address his challenges:

• He stopped keeping lengthy to-do lists and instead started delegating key projects to individual staff members,“some of whom were far better than me at accomplishing certain tasks,” he noted.
• He dedicated time every week to coach each one of his team members in how to handle the projects he had assigned to them. 
• He started meeting daily with his secretary, Frenchi, to proactively plan out his weeks, delegate administrative tasks, inform her about his top priorities, and align their out-going communication. 
• He handed over his calendar to Frenchi, empowered her as his gatekeeper, and allowed her to schedule all of his office work, appointments, meetings and coaching sessions. 
• He reconfigured his office space from a traditional bureaucratic set-up to a simple conference room with sufficient space for him and his team to meet, talk, strategize and move quickly into action.

OUTCOMES: IMPROVEMENT ALL AROUND

Since embarking on the Breakthrough Coach School Leadership Program, Kevin and SSD’s CTE program have experienced significant positive results. 

• Kevin has gone from working 50-55 hours a week to a comfortable 40-45-hour work week.
• He now provides 10-15 hours of routine and specific coaching for his team members every week.
• None of his team members have required any formal improvement tools or plans in the last year. 
• For the first time ever, Kevin completed all his mid-year evaluations one month ahead of schedule.
• The CTE program’s average daily attendance rate has risen to 92%.
• The number of CTE students SSD has had to return to their home high schools after one semester has dropped by 50%. 

CONCLUSION:

Kevin’s transformation is a testament to the power of executive-level delegation, coaching, and time management. By shifting from a reactive to a proactive leadership style, Kevin reclaimed work-life balance for himself, while also stabilizing and strengthening his team’s and his students’ results. Kevin’s story proves that sustainable success begins when leaders unburden themselves and empower others to lead.