The CharterNess that is Coming to Public Education: A CharterFolk Chat With Incoming KIPP DC CEO Shannon Hodge

Good day, CharterFolk.

Today we are releasing another CharterFolk Chat I consider a particularly fun one – time with Shannon Hodge, the incoming CEO at KIPP DC.

One of the special privileges I’ve had since leaving CCSA is the chance to work with and get to know amazing leaders like Shannon. I met Shannon when she became the first CEO of the DC Charter School Alliance …

… and I have been able to stay in contact with her over the years as she has made her transition to now leading KIPP DC.

I can say without reservation that Shannon is among the most compelling leaders I’ve come across in my days in CharterLand, and I am delighted that she made time to chat with me as she makes her latest leadership transition.

You can find our conversation on YouTube.

It’s also available on our website with a transcript.

You can find it at Spotify here, or at Apple Podcast here.

An archive of all past CharterFolk Chats is available here.

We covered a lot of ground in our hour together, including:

  • Shannon’s unique background, including her own education as well as the broad range of work experiences she has had while attempting to improve public education.
  • The unique perspectives she brings to KIPP DC given the different kinds of organizations she has had the opportunity to lead.
  • What she has learned about leadership transitions and how that affects her thinking coming into the KIPP DC position, especially as it relates to following in the footsteps of someone widely recognized as a legendary leader.
  • How one handles the fishbowl challenges of leading such a highly visible organization as KIPP DC.
  • How academic performance has changed at KIPP DC and what thoughts Shannon has about academic performance going forward as a key definer of KIPP DC’s identity.
  • How the future of public education in DC, and by extension everywhere, will see CharterNess proliferate across all forms of public schools.
  • How Shannon encourages KIPPFolk to stay focused on student well-being during a period of unprecedented partisanship.
  • What charter school association leadership could focus on to achieve even higher levels of partnership from large CMOs.
  • How important history telling is to the success of our movement, and how Shannon recommends we take on that challenge.
  • What Shannon has learned about the best way to engage newcomers to our movement such that they might become CharterFolk.

As ever, Shannon did a great job of handling my insufferability with great grace and good humor, and she helped me emerge with an even deeper understanding of the issues our movement faces. I hope you will take as much from the conversation as I did. A final thank you to Shannon for a great conversation.

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