How School Leaders Can Navigate The Culture Wars And Build Community Trust
Tue Jan 27 2026
During the first year of President Trump's latest term in the White House, much of his admiinistration's focus been national in scope, especially on its push to dismantle or eradicate entirely the U.S. Dept. of Education. What, however, is happening at the local level? In this episode, we look at the extent to which political pressures on local school districts have continued, and, more importantly, how school leaders can successfully traverse them. This will be especially important during this election year when school board election battles will take center stage at a local level. Host Louis Freedberg interviews two prominent education leaders who offer their guidance based on years of experience in the education trenches. Carl Cohn is the esteemed former superintendent of the Long Beach and San Diego Unified School Districts, and co-chair of the Collaborative for Political Leadership in the Superintendency. Wesley Smith is superintendent of the Newport-Mesa School District in California's Orange County, and former head of the Association of California School Administrators.
Sign up here so we can keep you posted on future podcasts on how education leaders are responding to the mounting threats against public schools In the United States.
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During the first year of President Trump's latest term in the White House, much of his admiinistration's focus been national in scope, especially on its push to dismantle or eradicate entirely the U.S. Dept. of Education. What, however, is happening at the local level? In this episode, we look at the extent to which political pressures on local school districts have continued, and, more importantly, how school leaders can successfully traverse them. This will be especially important during this election year when school board election battles will take center stage at a local level. Host Louis Freedberg interviews two prominent education leaders who offer their guidance based on years of experience in the education trenches. Carl Cohn is the esteemed former superintendent of the Long Beach and San Diego Unified School Districts, and co-chair of the Collaborative for Political Leadership in the Superintendency. Wesley Smith is superintendent of the Newport-Mesa School District in California's Orange County, and former head of the Association of California School Administrators. Sign up here so we can keep you posted on future podcasts on how education leaders are responding to the mounting threats against public schools In the United States.