Better Together with Derek Cantrell

Derek Cantrell, principal of Allegheny High School in Virginia, shares how he led the consolidation of two rival high schools after 40+ years of failed merger attempts. As the final principal of Covington High School, Derek navigated the emotional journey of closing one school while building excitement for a unified future.

Key insights:

• The power of intentionality — Communication roadmaps, mingle sessions, scavenger hunts, and family tours helped staff and students from both schools build relationships before day one
• Blending traditions thoughtfully — The new school kept Allegheny's name but adopted Covington's mascot (Cougars), merged school colors, and created fresh branding so everyone felt ownership
• Put people first — Derek credits listening to concerns, valuing input on staffing and room selections, and involving stakeholders at every step as the keys to successful culture-building
• Small wins create momentum — From staff eating lunch together voluntarily to scoring a touchdown on the first kickoff of the first football game, celebrating wins built community pride

Derek's new book "Better Together" provides a leadership playbook for school consolidation, culture transformation, and recognition systems like their Breakfast Club of Champions program.

Links:
LinkedIn: Derek Cantrell
Book: Better Together: Building One School, One Culture, and One Community
Better Together Podcast

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We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.

If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. 

These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation.

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IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

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