Getting Smart Podcast Transformation Journey: Lake City Area Schools with Tim Hejnal and Meghan Utech
May 8, 2026
Meghan Utech, an education leader building standards- and competency-based and adventure learning programs. Tim Hejnal, a district leader rethinking system design toward community-grounded competency and adventure learning. They discuss Lake City’s adventure learning roots and a K–12 continuum. They explain why the district chose deep system change, how they supported staff through shifts, and how community priorities shaped investments.
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Visit To Clarify Not Copy
- Visiting exemplars with clarity helps you return clarifying your own system instead of copying others.
- Rebecca Middles emphasizes visiting to pressure test coherence so teams 'clarify' their beliefs and design rather than imitate models.
Local Roots Guide School Identity
- Tim Hejnal rooted the district in local identity like Christmas trees and the lake to honor community strengths.
- He used a personal story about trimming Christmas trees to connect community history to school culture.
Choose Forward, Not Backward
- Post-pandemic leaders can either revert to comfort or run toward a better vision; Lake City chose the latter.
- Tim framed the choice explicitly and committed to running toward great rather than returning to old norms.