The Square Pizza podcast focuses on the intersection of education, innovation, and diversity. We host and interview leaders doing incredible work around the country to ensure all students have access to an equitable education. The Square Pizza podcast is hosted by SchermCo, a social-impact implementation firm that offers strategic implementation and project management services to schools and education-focused organizations across the country.

“Remain in a learning stance and be aware of your bias” Denise Watts

Welcome back to another episode of the #squarepizzapod – a podcast about making the good things about school – even better.

Today’s episode is from our interview with Denise Watts. Denise has been a teacher, Principal, and also an Executive Director of Project LIFT, a $55M school turnaround initiative. She now works at the University of Virginia Darden/Curry Partnership for Leaders in Education where she advises school districts across the country.
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In this episode, we covered:
– Why she’s on TikTok
– Growing up in rural North Carolina
– Her advice to educators on how to navigate COVID
– Lessons learned from leading Project LIFT – a $55M school turnaround initiative in Charlotte, NC
– Advice she’d give to others leading change across the country
– How race and gender have played a factor in her career

Also – this is the first episode we recorded on Zoom and you can check out the video at our Youtube page – @SchermCo

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We hope you’ll give this a listen, leave us your thoughts, and share it with a friend.