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Designing the Forward District
From Learning Counsel Report Podcast · Hosted by LeiLani Cauthen
Episode summary
In this episode of Learning Counsel Report Podcast: What does it take to move a school district forward when AI is changing the nature of work, families have more choices, teachers are overloaded, and students need more than the traditional definition of academic success? Dr. Rick Surrency, Superintendent of Putnam County School District in Florida, knows something about systemic change.
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Original publisher description
What does it take to move a school district forward when AI is changing the nature of work, families have more choices, teachers are overloaded, and students need more than the traditional definition of academic success? Dr. Rick Surrency, Superintendent of Putnam County School District in Florida, knows something about systemic change. During his tenure, the district's graduation rate rose from 54.9% in 2015 to 96.6% in 2025, driven by higher expectations, early-warning systems and a deliberate approach to improvement. In "Designing a Forward District," LeiLani Cauthen and Dr. Surrency push the conversation beyond "future ready." They explore teacher capacity, AI, defined autonomy, school choice, human intelligence, creativity, and a bigger question: If AI is already here, what should districts be designing for now? Their conversation ultimately lands on something more ambitious than adapting schools to technology: creating schools that recognize and develop more of what it means to be human.