R = Rajasi Agarwal

K = Kirk Koennecke

This transcript has been lightly edited for grammar and clarity.

R: Welcome Chaps to the Featherduster’s interview podcast! I’m your host, Rajasi Agarwal, and today I have an exciting guest: Eanes ISD’s new superintendent, Mr. Kirk Koennecke. Mr. Koennecke, thank you so much for joining me today. How are you doing?

K: Great, Rajasi. 

R: So, before we start, I’m going to give listeners a brief background on you. So Chaps, Mr. Koennecke has more than 30 years of experience in education at every level, most recently as a superintendent of the Indian Hill Exempted Village School District in Ohio. Today, we’ll get to know more about him and his thoughts on leading the district so far. So Mr. Koennecke, how has the adjustment been from EVSD to Eanes?

K: Indian Hill was an amazing school district and living in Cincinnati, Ohio was a great experience. I was there for seven years and it’s largely regarded as the best public school [district] in Ohio. And I say that humbly because I got to leave there and come someplace better. So now I’m at the best public school in the state of Texas, in one of the top in the nation. And to have that opportunity professionally was something I just couldn’t pass up. And so my wife and my family and I are so excited to be here in Austin. And I just can’t wait to get to know more about Westlake Nation and everything going on in this district.

R: Well, thank you for being here. Glad to have you. What’s felt familiar so far in Eanes, and what’s been totally new? 

K: What feels familiar at a high performing school district is seeing so many students engaged in so many activities. When I walked into this high school, for example, for the first time, really it felt more like a college campus. I mean, people are moving and doing, and I love learners as doers – seeing leadership, being led by students with adults facilitating and guiding. And there are so many opportunities here for students to do that just like what you’re doing right now. 

So that felt really good and really familiar because I’m a recovering high school principal. I was a high school principal for 14 years and I love the life of a high school. And then I also got to see the ‘littles’ when I went to visit the elementary schools. And seeing how the community comes together here and treats everybody as one, is really special. And I think when great kids and families come together with great teachers, cool things happen. And I’ve met some amazing teachers in the last two weeks. 

R: So, so far, it’s been less than two weeks, actually, since you’ve taken office. What have these two weeks mostly composed of for you? 

K: A lot of meet and greets, a lot of visiting the buildings, getting into classrooms to see what students and teachers are doing together. Really having fun in the morning, greeting people at arrival and getting to put faces with names. So as I meet students, I’m really trying to just get to figure out what their day looks like and that helps me understand the lay of the land, right? 

R: So, moving into kind of what it means to be superintendent: students know that you are the district’s new superintendent, but not everyone knows what that actually means. So whether at your last district or here, how would you usually explain your job to a student? 

K: It’s a great question. My job is to develop other leaders. So whether it’s students or adults, my role, – if I truly embrace my role – it’s about teaching leadership skills to others and helping them develop their leadership so that they can be successful. I need to be a resource and a provider and supporter of everything going on in the buildings in the district. And our district office needs to do that. 

But really specifically, I mean, how do we coach and mentor and train other people to make sure that they are as strong as they can be in whatever role they have so that they’re successful? 

R: And what do you think that looks like – training other leaders? What are some of the skills you hope to teach? How would you go about that? 

K: I think coaching and mentoring and training are different, and everybody needs a different dose of those things at different times. And by coaching, I mean more like performance coaching, not athletic coaching. But training is really about educating people about a skill they don’t have, and then they need time to practice it and grow strong with it. So in education, we do that just like you might do that if you were in a band or a choir, or on a sports team. And I think mentors are people who provide people with a chance to become the best versions of themselves by listening and asking really good questions. And I think performance coaches do the same thing, but really to try to maximize productivity. 

And when I’m working with other administrators like principals or teacher leaders, that’s really what we’re trying to do so that then, they can impact students. And I hope to get to work with the student council and the leaders here at the high school so we can do some of that fun too.

R: So I think that really aligns with Eanes’s reputation as a very high-achieving, successful, ambitious student body. So do you think that culture has more upsides than downsides? Because some have described it as kind of a burnout culture here. 

K: You know, I don’t believe in burnout. I believe in pivoting. And I think when people put their time, talent, and energy into things they’re passionate about, then you get the culture that you build after you build it. So if people think that Eanes and Westlake Nation, Westlake High School, is one of the most high performing places in the country, that’s wonderful. We have to protect and sustain that, but we have to do it in a relevant way. 

So what is relevant to students today? What do they need to do to be successful in their futures? That’s what we need to focus on and that helps keep people passionate. 

I grew up in the ‘70s and ‘80s. There was a one hit wonder, Irene Cara, and she had a song [with the lyrics] ‘take your passion and make it happen.’ I’m a big believer in that. I think we need to find what people are passionate about and then help them become successful around that. And school is a great way to explore that.