The Long Run w/Superintendent Michael Giles, Jr.

In this special Season 3 finale of Leadership Laps, Superintendent Michael Giles, Jr. returns to close out where he began - as our very first guest in Episode 1 and now our 30th guest. When we last spoke a year and a half ago in 'The Starting Line,' Mr. Giles was 18 months into the superintendency. Now, wrapping up year three and having just received a five-year contract extension from the Board of Education, he reflects on the journey so far and the road ahead. From launching Destination APS as our strategic plan to celebrating schools achieving Performance rating for the first time in over a decade, from opening new schools to passing a historic bond, Mr. Giles discusses what leadership lessons have emerged, how his approach has evolved, and where he sees APS in five years. As we complete year one of our five-year strategic plan and board goals, this conversation looks back at progress made and forward to the long run still ahead.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:06

There's something powerful about the journey of leadership, the daily steps, the long-term vision, and everything we learn along the way. Welcome to Leadership Labs, where we explore these journeys with the incredible leaders of Aurora Public Schools. In each episode, we hear from those who are helping guide our district toward Destination APS, sharing their stories, their challenges, and the lessons they've learned along the way. Today, we're closing out season three with a very special guest, someone who was also our very first guest on the very first episode of Leadership Labs a year and a half ago. Our superintendent, Mr. Michael Giles Jr., is back. In episode one, Superintendent Giles was one and a half years into the superintendency here in APS. And now as we record episode 30, closing out season three, he's wrapping up year three and recently received a five-year contact contract extension from our Board of Education. We've come many miles together and yet still have a long run ahead of us. And so we're going to reflect on the journey so far and look toward what's next. Superintendent, welcome back to Leadership Labs. Hey, thanks for having me. Happy to be here. Thank you. It is fitting that you were our first guest and now our 30th guest, and you and I were just reflecting about even the studio setup, it is a little bit different uh today than it was uh about a year and a half ago. We're in the same space, which is my office, but um, of course, as you all uh uh know, I didn't know what I was doing as a podcaster a year and a half ago. So we had the chair set up against the window, and the lighting was off, and we didn't have a great camera. It was super blurry. Uh, and so we we've we've come a long way um as uh as a podcast. But we'll love to hear from you. Um you know, what's it like to reflect on the last year and a half since we last sat down?

SPEAKER_02 2:05

Sure. First thing I want to start with giving you your kudos. Um, it's funny as you tell the story about us sitting over here by the window and the lighting might have been off and you know, the whole thing. But what you did and what you're doing now is emblematic of what we do as uh educators in the system. You know, you had an innovative idea. You took a risk to step out and do something in a manner of trying to celebrate and elevate the leadership across the district. And so when I think about where you started and then where we are now, how the high quality of production that you've been able to push out into the system, I hear from folks within the system and without the system all the time that they just love seeing these videos. So I just want to highlight that. Say kudos to you for taking a risk, doing something innovative and learning through the process and improving it.

SPEAKER_00 2:52

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 2:52

Um, so you know, I think that also speaks to just some of the things that um I feel we've experienced over the last year and a half since I was first here. Um, the first thing that I'll point to is I feel there's been a great culture shift, a real huge culture shift. I don't know if you remember when you were a principal and you talk about walking through the building and what does it feel like, or even when you visit schools now, before you even get in the classroom, just what does it feel like? What's the energy, right? What's happening? Yeah. Um, and you can tell if it's a good place to be or if it's, you know, maybe has some opportunities for some work and growth. But what I'm feeling right now and what people are telling me that they're feeling about APS is a very positive vibe, a positive energy. People excited to be here. Yeah. And it's not to say that this is la la land. Of course, this is this is complex work that we do. That's right. But people want to be here. They're excited about the potential of the future, they're excited about the direction we're moving in, and that feels extremely good. And of course, there are a lot of other technical things that we've done since the last time, but I just really want to highlight the fact that there's a great positive energy that is palpable. Um, and people are taking notice of it. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 4:00

Um, you recently received a five-year contract extension uh from the Board of Education, and uh just curious to hear what does that vote of confidence mean to you? And more importantly, why does a mutual commitment of that length matter?

SPEAKER_02 4:19

Yeah. I would say, first of all, it's very humbling. Um, and you may know the the the data better than I do, but I think currently, or at least over the past couple of years, lifespan of superintendent is about 1.5, 1.6, something like that, less than two years. Um, and so to have a school board agree to um a five-year contract really is humbling. It means that they are uh recognizing the work that we're doing. Um, they believe in the vision moving forward, um, that they want to invest in and commit to uh keeping me in this role to see us deliver on that promise or carry out the vision that has been painted for our school and community. Um what it also says is that the community believes, you know, what we're doing because the board is representative, they are representatives of the community. And if the community was not behind the work that we're doing, if they didn't believe in it, the board would definitely hear about it and they wouldn't, you know, agree to a contract extension or such. So um it means a lot to me. The other piece is I believe in finishing what I started and the fact that the board has agreed to a five-year commitment because I think it's gonna take that time for us to get, you know, um to achieve those goals we've set out. I want to be here to finish that work. I want to be here to be a part of that work. And right now, you know, I'm I'm optimistic, not optimistic. I know that I have a contract that says I can be here to see that work through.

SPEAKER_01 5:43

Yes. Yeah, it is wild too to think about, you know, when you started three years ago since then, we've had two board elections. You know, in the next five years we'll have another, you know, two board elections. No. Um, and so yeah, I I agree. I think it it is uh uh um uh a testament to the the board's vision and them uh also being in tune and and uh with the progress we're making as a district. Um you know, we're we're improving and and trending improvement and most of our uh board goals and guardrails and you know and meeting and exceeding uh a lot of the targets that they they set out. So yeah, good good good work.

SPEAKER_02 6:32

I'm so proud. And you said it earlier, and I say this all the time, is we have a ways to go, but we also have to stop and reflect on where we've come so far. And we've we've we've done some really good work.

SPEAKER_01 6:41

That's right. What was the the student who who wrote you the the the letter about the braille? He said uh keep up the good work, good job and keep up the work. Keep up the good work, right? Yeah. Um cool. Well, hey, let's talk a little bit um uh just you know in reflection of the journey. When we talked in episode one, you'd been here in APS for about a year and a half, and now you're wrapping up year three. And just curious of any you know leadership gems of you know how how your thinking has evolved um over that time.

SPEAKER_02 7:20

Yeah, um, you know, I I feel like I've learned so much, or I've uh to use your word, evolved quite a bit in a short amount of time. You know, when you come into a role like this, I didn't know what I was doing. I I thought I had an idea of what I was supposed to be doing when a superintendent does on a daily basis, but I've learned so much over time that there's some things that I thought I should do and I'm not doing at all. And there's some things that I didn't realize that I would be doing as a superintendent, and I am. But here's what I would tell you. What I've I think I've grown to learn is to trust the folks that you hire, trust the folks that are um doing the work out in the field. My job is to create that vision and then share that, hopefully clearly articulate that, and then find out what is it that you, as folks that are in the field with your hands on the ground doing the work, what do you need to succeed? And I have to be a listener, I have to be a thinker, I have to um be really thoughtful in hearing what those needs are, and then how can I make decisions that allow those needs to be met so you can be your most successful self in your particular role? So I'm constantly trying to think at that level. What does the system need? What does leadership need? What do principals need? What do teachers need? And um, then what's my role in trying to meet those needs as much as possible? How do I create the culture for them to feel successful and to be successful? Um, so that's where I try to focus a lot of my time when it comes to leadership. If I were to identify some leadership characteristics that I feel that I'm trying to strengthen, is definitely listening uh more critically, um, asking for clarity and asking, am I being clear too? Because you know, as leaders, oftentimes we'll say something, we think we're saying it as clearly as possible. And people process things in different ways. And if I don't ask, Am I being clear? Does that make sense? Do you understand? You might walk away from a conversation with a completely different uh perspective or perception of what it is that I'm trying to communicate. So that's something in my leadership that I'm trying to constantly do is seek clarity and give clarity. Um I think the other piece is constantly just forcing myself too to stay at a very big picture broad level because it's easy to get caught up. When I came in, I wanted to know so much about the district and I wanted to know who's doing what and how they do it and why they do it. There's no way as a superintendent that I could survive at that level, and nor should I, honestly. That's what that's what folks in different roles are for. Yeah. My job is to stay, you know, at the high level, survey the landscape, find out what the needs are, um, and operate from there. So I I feel like I've gotten better in that regard. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 9:54

Yeah. Um, when we talked last, you also you had shared, we we were coming off of the the November elections of uh 2024. So we just passed the Colorado's largest bond, and that that was your proudest moment at that time. As you think back on the last 18 months, is there something else that kind of stands out to you as a new proudest moment?

SPEAKER_02 10:18

I think I don't know if I can capture a moment. What I'm most proud of is the way that we're operating now as a system. I think we're be being very innovative in our approaches to meeting students' needs and giving students multiple opportunities. So when I think about the development of new pathways into college and career, outside of the box thinking, the the spoken hub model, right? Yep. Um when I think about the work that uh you and and the rest of the team led around Bell schedules, because we identify some inequities and the Bell schedule allows us to have um create equitable experiences for our students. Um saved us a lot of money too. Um but but the the more important piece is that it uh you know creates some equitable experiences that we'll be able to be able to provide our students. That I think about the health science high school that we're gonna be building. I think about the dual language school that we're um opening. So a lot of creative thinking that we're bringing to life because I think people are feeling um encouraged and motivated to think differently about how we how we serve our students. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 11:25

Um is there anything that has surprised you uh in the last 18 months? Or what surprised you the most?

SPEAKER_02 11:33

Uh I I continue to be surprised, and I shouldn't be. I don't know why. But I think I shared this with you before. How political, um, number one, how political, how politicized education has been become right now. But then number two, how political my role is. Um I'm in a place where I think I've learned to embrace that now, but every day I learn something new about who I need to know, who I need to be in communication with, who's making decisions over here and there, and and and what's the um motivation behind certain decisions. Um so I think every day that's what I'm probably hit in the face with. It's just the politics behind this role. Yes. Politics as usual. As usual.

SPEAKER_01 12:16

That's right. Um as you sort of reflect again on those last 18 months. Is there who are the people who who have supported you through this stretch of the of the long run?

SPEAKER_02 12:28

Yeah. I'm gonna start with my leadership team. I really, really appreciate the the um camaraderie and the professionalism and the family that I feel like we not only have built, but will continue to solidify. Um, I feel like I can lean on my leadership team. And I think anybody in any leadership uh position knows how important that is to have people that you can trust, people that'll hold you accountable, people you can talk to, right? So I'll start with that and then um then I'll go outside of kind of the system here. Obviously, my family. My wife, a beautiful wife, takes care of me. She gives me the space that I need. She's always two steps ahead of me to make sure, you know, that I'm I'm good to come to work and do what I have to do. My parents also, um, and my my daughters are very supportive. Uh, they hold me up. And then lastly, that I have some, what I like to call um prayer wars. I have a lot of prayer warriors out in the community. Okay. Some of them who tell me all the time I'm praying for you, and then some of them who maybe haven't said it, but I know that they are. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:29

Good. Um, well, let's talk about some significant milestones uh over the last 18 months. So one of the things we did since we last spoke was launch Destination APS as our uh strategic plan. What does it meant uh to you to have our new strategic plan guiding our work and you know your your your vision?

SPEAKER_02 13:51

Yeah, yeah. So uh there are a number of things that I I want to speak to. The first one is just the process of developing the the strategic plan and then even the phases of implementation. The cross-divisional, cross-departmental, departmental collaboration that has occurred has been extremely impressive, amazing to me, right? People have been coming together once a month, sometimes more than that, working in pods and coming together as large groups, um, doing research, analyzing data, talking about strategic uh inputs into the system and how we're gonna roll things out. It's just a beautiful thing to see people from diverse areas of the district working together to bring this to life. So the process piece is um I'm very proud of. The other piece is that I hear directly from principals, I hear from teachers also now, whether they like it or not, I don't know. But sometimes what what they do appreciate is clarity. They know what the focus is. Yes. They know what um they need to invest their time, their energy on through each phase of the strategic plan. Um, whereas, you know, if if it wasn't carried out well, people are wondering, you know, what's the priority? What are we focusing on? What do I invest my time and energy on? But I'm hearing more and more alignment, I'm hearing more and more clarity is how the system is perceiving this plan. So that feels really good. And then the last thing I would say is that, you know, you come into a place, and I'm trying to paint this, what I consider to be a beautiful vision of how we want to serve our students and our community. And um, even as confident as I was at that time and am that we were gonna get there, you know, you have doubt sometimes around, okay, how are we gonna really get there? And now to see the actual implementation, the steps coming into place, and people feeling good about the uh strategies that we've chosen, that kind of uh relieves me of that any any doubt that may have crept in my mind to say, okay, how are we gonna actually get there? Because I know we have a path way forward.

SPEAKER_01 15:50

Absolutely. I mean, I was just at a few network meetings yesterday morning, and you know, we're talking about Big Rock three, you know, around culture and positive behavior intervention supports. And I think our system actually is now becoming a lot more accustomed to having alignment and coherence across, and like you said, that clarity on, you know, what are the priorities, what are we focused on, you know, what are what are our big rocks?

SPEAKER_02 16:20

And you know, to that point too, that uh, you know, I'm big on culture. And for me, that's a what I've observed is that's a big culture shift for Aurora Public Schools, uh, a district that has previously had a lot of autonomy. Yeah. And I'm not against autonomy at all. I mean, I think, you know, I'd I I love, I have always loved to be able to work in spaces where I can put my job's flair and flavor on the work I do. I also appreciate knowing what direction it is I'm supposed to be going. And I think that's the piece that we're trying to give the system. Yes. Um, and and it's coming together. Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 16:53

Yeah, um, we've also seen remarkable school improvements, uh, both in your time as superintendent, and again, just in the last 18 months, we have a lot more schools this year that you know move to a performance rating, and some for the first time in years, some in over a decade. What does that progress tell you about where we are and where we're headed?

SPEAKER_02 17:16

It tells me a couple of things. It tells me that we are doing the right work. It also affirms what I've already known is that our kids are brilliant. And our kids can and and and want to achieve, right? But it's incumbent upon us to create the structures, provide the resources and the opportunity. And so the the um the growth that we've seen this far is just evidence of what we know is capable, um, our kids capable of and what's possible. Um yeah, I don't I don't know if I need to even expand upon that.

SPEAKER_01 17:47

That's yeah. And you know, we we do have a goal of every school in AP being a performance-rated school, but also that our district is uh uh earns a performance rating. And I remember 9.4, absolutely. You you texted me and saying, hey, what does 9.4 mean to you? And uh I probably gave you 20 different examples, and uh um that's how far away we are as a district uh from achieving our first uh performance rating as a district. So we are uh on our way there and uh we're gonna get there. I don't doubt that at all. We're also about to open Escuela Bilingue de Ti Benavides, our first dual language school, and of course Col Creek P8, which when we spoke last, we knew it was coming, but we hadn't even broken ground on it when we last spoke. And how do you know these new schools fit into your your vision for APS?

SPEAKER_02 18:46

Well, I'll tell you the dual language school, I kind of alluded to that earlier. I it's long overdue. Yeah. When I think about the multiple uh multiple languages that are spoken in our schools and in our community, um and if we say we honor that diversity, then why would we not have a learning environment that truly uplifts that, right? It gives students an opportunity to thrive in multiple different languages. So I'm just so excited that we're starting there, and I hope that becomes a um a proof of concept of you know for something else that we can do uh down the road.

SPEAKER_01 19:17

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 19:18

And then Cole Creek, in addition to some of the other PH that are coming, I mean, we just have a need. When I think about that east side of the core uh corridor of the uh district, you know, it's growing and more of our more and more students are um are coming out on that area of the district. So we have to provide great learning spaces and then not only just to build a school, but when I think about the design of the school and how it's very intentional and specific so that kids get the uh they you know they can learn in the greatest, most optimal environment. That excites me too. The other thing, we just made a promise to our community. When we asked them to support us in a billion-dollar bond, we that we were promising them something. And to see shovels go in the ground and us start to erect those buildings, that means we're delivering on the promise that we gave them.

SPEAKER_01 20:00

Absolutely. You know, it's wild to me too. Um again, like even thinking of where we were 18 months ago, where we are today, we we've got two year zero principals that are you know on deck right now with uh Kristen in the Health Science High School, and of course Eric with the um the Foundry P8. And you know, I I think we've broken ground um on the health science. I think we have. I know we have some fences up. I don't know if we have to start digging yet. Um and uh yeah, it's just it it takes time, but also it it moves quickly. Yeah. You turn around and you've got a whole new school community up and going. Um yeah. What is uh what's one leadership lesson uh you know from the last either one and a half years or even just from you know your time here that you'd wish you'd known earlier um in your superintendency?

SPEAKER_02 21:03

I I'm gonna shift that just a little bit. I think what I'm growing more confident in that I wish I had been in my earlier stage of leadership, even my first year as a superintendent, is um being comfortable showing up authentically. You know, um oftentimes we'll put on a mask because we we believe we're supposed to show up a certain way for people to see us as intelligent, capable, uh whatever the case might be. Or we're afraid that if we show a true self, somebody's gonna place judgment on that, and you know, maybe it discredits um our our our abilities. And I've gotten to a place, and maybe it's like my mother always said when she turned 50, she just I don't care what they think, right? I don't think I'm that far, but where I am is that I am who I am, and I and it's enough and it's okay. And what I hope, not only for myself, is that when I show up. That way, I'm modeling for other people that who you are is more than enough, and you don't have to put on a mask to step into any kind of role, any leadership role, or anything. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 22:09

So um, I want to talk a little bit about how you maintain momentum and energy when leading a district of this size uh through sustained improvement. And you know, I I um even just remembering, you know, the first episode 18 months ago, you were recently, you know, back on your uh help journey, getting the dots, you know, stacking up. Yeah. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:38

I'm still doing that. So if I were to offer that to anybody else, is you have to take care of yourself. You can't take care of yourself, there's no way you can be your most effective self for others, right? And I I kind of let that slide in my first year. Not kind of I did let that slide in my first year. Um, but to your point, I found my way back into exercise, trying to eat better, I don't eat as well as I would like to on most occasions, but I I do pretty well. Yeah, um and then trying to get rest too. Yeah, you know, because we in in our roles, we could stay up all night through the night working. Yes, but I found that I need to sleep. When I get some sleep, I wake up a better person, I can think more clearly, and so on and so forth. So those things that I need to do to take care of myself, um, I've committed to. And I feel like a different leader now. That sustains me. Yeah. The other thing that I would just offer, and this is probably more technical in leadership, and you made me proud, and and Chrissy made me proud uh a week or so ago. I think it was during our retreat, and we were trying to identify um the leadership practices that we were gonna focus on. And I believe you said it and Christy said it again, that I think we're supposed to identify like five, and we identify six or something. And you alluded to we need to whittle these down to be more clear and focused, right? And I don't know if you even remember that. But one of the things that I've tried to do and I think I've gotten better about is narrowing the focus. Yeah. And I know in a system this large, sometimes people don't feel that way, but I am constantly trying to be conscious of we can't do everything, we can't be great at everything. So we have to narrow what it is we're focused on. Um, and what that does for me personally, getting back to your question, it alleviates some anxiety and that feeling of being overwhelmed because I'm focused on everything when I can't. But what's most important? What are the priorities? And let's stick with them. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:32

Thank you for that. Um as we wrap up year one over five-year strategic plan, and you know, as we begin monitoring the new goals that the board of ed uh has set for the next five years, you know, where do you hope to see APS five years from now?

SPEAKER_02 24:52

Five years from now, I don't I I don't hope I expect that we will have achieved the goals that the board has set. And I know they're very, very ambitious, and I feel that we can we can accomplish them. I really do. So that's the short answer. That's where I expect to see APS. But what I also see expect to see is APS on the front um edge of kind of leading education in our state. Now, I would I'd love to dream even bigger, and sometimes I do, say around the nation, and I think there are opportunities for that. But I definitely in five years, I want people to say when they think about Colorado education, yes, they're talking about Aurora Public Schools and the way that we've designed these experiences for our students, what they get, and then the outcomes for them.

SPEAKER_01 25:37

Yes, absolutely. I mean, and and I think uh folks here in Aurora are beginning to see how those things are taking shape, whether it's you know our plan to meet the goals, and they're really ambitious, right? We need to double the percentage of you know kinder through second graders who are you know reading at uh uh grade level. Um, you know, we uh are looking to do a a a double digit increase in the percentage of students graduating on time. And um, you know, I think we'll hit that one much sooner than that.

SPEAKER_02 26:09

I agree with you. I'd I we'll see what next year looks like, actually, right? Yeah, so yeah, but go ahead and you know I'm a betting man.

SPEAKER_00 26:14

I I I uh I'll I'll take that bet too.

SPEAKER_01 26:18

Um and uh yeah, and I I you know we we're setting the as Christy says, you know, with destination APS and strap plan, even in the next just couple of years, setting some of the tracks when we talk about the spoken hubs and the pathways and all of the neat learning opportunities that are coming for our students is gonna be yeah, we're we're uh we're here and we're coming.

SPEAKER_02 26:43

Here's something, you know, I something I want to acknowledge, and and especially because this is a podcast, it could be easy for people to perceive us as being overly optimistic and you know, um yeah and just high energy trying to sell a vision. Right. And that's okay. That's my job, that's your job in leadership. We're supposed to inspire the vision, right? Yeah, but what I also offer to you is that we have evidence of success already in a short time, which tells me we're doing the right work, we're on the right path. We just have to make the right teaks or tweaks and implementation um to get us there. Absolutely, you know. What excites you the most about the the road ahead? There's so many things. I I just I get excited about the potentials, the potential and the opportunity that we're creating for our students because we don't even know what the jobs gonna be, what jobs will be available in the next so many years. We don't know what university is gonna look like, but whatever it is, I think that um I'm excited that we're gonna prepare our students for that. Yeah, right. They'll be able to walk away from us and go into whatever pathway they choose to with the skills, knowledge, the aptitude, all of that. Um, and that does excite me. I'm also excited about the buzz that's going around our district right now, which tells me that we have great potential to actually be that destination district or the district that everybody in the state looks to. Yeah, you know what I mean? Um that excites me. Um, and then just being a part of the work because the work, I said this a little bit earlier, the work is hard, but it's so satisfying. It's gratifying when you see the outcomes.

SPEAKER_00 28:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:19

So I've been excited about that.

SPEAKER_01 28:21

Yes. You know, I always have to ask, what's been playing in your most recent uh played songs list? So you know what?

SPEAKER_02 28:30

AZ just gave us a teaser, man. He just, but he only did you he didn't drop the whole album. I just checked last night. It's only two tracks from his new album. So I've been playing that over and over, and I'm fiending for the whole uh album to drop.

SPEAKER_00 28:43

You know what's funny about that?

SPEAKER_01 28:44

Eric Cohen yesterday, our principal at uh Harmony Ridge, who's gonna be over at Colt Creek. I mean, not Colt Creek at Foundry. He he asked me, he said, Hey, I've been having this conversation with some folks, and who would you say is uh like a top underrated artist? And I said, Oh, easy, A Z. And uh uh yeah, and I think yeah, he's he's he's been buzzing lately. Yes, but you know, 30 years ago dropped uh the best feature ever, and since then, you know, 10 uh solo albums in between, and he's not in the conversation enough.

SPEAKER_02 29:24

He's not in the conversation, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 29:26

You never surprise me with uh with your good taste in uh music.

SPEAKER_01 29:31

So um all right, uh our lightning round question for you. What one message you'd want every APS employee to hear as we move into this next chapter of Destination APS?

SPEAKER_02 29:48

That you are seen, you are valued, and those aren't just part of talking points. I mean, that that's real. I you know we see the effort that you that you put in every single day for kids, uh, for the community, and there are things that go unseen that I know that you do for our kids in our community. Um, and we want you to be able to thrive just as much as we want our students to thrive. So I think that's what I would offer.

SPEAKER_01 30:13

Amazing, superintendent. Thank you for coming back to Leadership Labs and for closing out season three with us from the starting line, which is the first episode, to the long run, which is our 30th episode. Uh, we've covered a lot of ground together, uh, from new schools, of course, the historic bond passage, destination APS, schools achieving performance ratings, our portrait of a graduate work, you know, our plans for CTE. And of course, as you mentioned earlier, our community has affirmed their belief in where you're leading us. And uh we're not to the finish line yet, but we can see it ahead and we're continuing to move forward. So uh to our listeners, I thank you for joining us for all 30 episodes across three seasons of Leadership Labs. We've explored the journeys of principals, district leaders, instructional directors, students, and so many others who are helping guide us toward destination APS. We're gonna take a summer break and we'll return for season four in August. And until then, keep running your race with Superintendent Giles.

SPEAKER_02 31:21

And I know this is off script, but I'm gonna take a point of privilege, man. I just again I just have to elevate you and your effort at this and many other things, but this has put a spotlight on the leadership in our district. And people are calling, people are checking in, and it's all because of your vision um and and your desire to do that. Thank you so much. I appreciate that. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 31:43

We'll see y'all next year. All right. Thank you.