The purpose of the Drexel School Leadership Council (DSLC) is to foster in-depth conversations of various educational topics driving education today, while exploring how to transform schools to be agile in understanding the challenges and opportunities in the future. The goal is to foster collaboration between K-12 school leaders from urban, suburban, and rural districts which will create a rich dialogue for sharing ideas, resources, and developing skills to navigate complexities facing educational leaders today and into the future.

All sessions are held from 9:00 am - 12:00 noon ET.

Dates for 2023-2024 Academic Year:

• September 19, 2023
• October 17, 2023
• November 14, 2023 - moved one week earlier due to Thanksgiving
• December 12, 2023 (NEW)
• January 23, 2024 – moved a week later due to MLK Day
• February 27, 2024 – moved a week later due to President’s Day weekend
• March 19, 2024
• April 16, 2024
• May 21, 2024

DSLC is moderated by Dr. John M. Gould and Dr. Michael G. Kozak. Guest speakers will be featured for different sessions.

Register for DSLC

About the moderators

Dr. John M. Gould has more than 47 years of in-depth experience in the field of education, in which he specialized in issues surrounding systemic change, leadership development, curriculum innovation, and the effective implementation of new technologies in learning environments. His studies and work in these areas are a natural outgrowth of his advanced degrees in education, including both an MS from Duquesne University and PhD from the University of Pittsburgh. For the past 10 years, he has served as Clinical Professor at Drexel University and helped co-design the EdD program in Educational Leadership and Change. Dr. Gould is grounded in “systems thinking,” “Theory U,” design thinking and has a strong commitment to the concept of “learning organizations.” The essential question he asks all to consider is: given the rapid changes in social media, medicine, nanotechnology, the environment, and globalization, how do we cope with the need to innovate and design new learning environs for creating a sustainable future for our children?

Dr. Michael G. Kozak has over 30 years in the field of education as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, curriculum supervisor and superintendent of schools. Highlights from his years in education include developing and implementing a major school restructuring, change management resulting in the consolidation of four separate school districts into one regional school district, appearing before state senate and assembly educational committees to successfully lobby for increased school state aid, improving student academic performance, fostering positive learning climates and cultures, integrating technology throughout the curriculum, and improving student learning in a lower socio-economic urban setting through major academic initiatives, including data-driven instruction, guided reading, instructional coaches in reading and math and enhanced professional development for teachers. Dr. Kozak utilizes a framework of systems thinking, innovative and creative approaches to instruction and leadership, learning organizations and leading change. His challenge to emerging leaders is to help design a learning environment to meet the needs of learners and organizations disrupted by changes in education, organizations, governance, work environments, and yet-to-be-determined careers.