last but not least at all we have brian davis from holland public schools superintendent we're so glad that you could come and you really got into the to the time thing here you are dressed and ready for action ready for action you know how in public schools has been a long supporter of t time and would lead a rogers plan in the first tulips many many years ago it's a tradition that we carry on in this way for us to give back to our community it's awesome we even have a descendant of light a rogers in the tulip time office nowadays as an intern we do absolutely  that is so cool and we are so glad for what how in public schools has done over the years to prepare the citizenry were for life and we did what being a superintendent that's not you know an easy jab how many years have you been in education total my twenty second year so do you sir is teacher to principal to superintendent sure i started as a teacher and then i became a elementary principal but i became the assistant superintendent here in holland and then i became the superintendents my thirteenth y holland total wow and what is yours is superintendent number five ok wow there's been a lot of action in the last five years so i'm every level not just be not just in how i'm public schools but the whole world of education and did you ever anticipate when you graduated from college with an education degree that you would be in this position and tackling the kinds of challenges that are in education today you know i to answer that question honestly i did not i wanted to be a teacher and i began there and thought that's where i was going to stay and with each passing opportunity i saw the opportunity to impact the system from a greater scale so i actually left the classroom to become a counselor a counselor become a principal and all on the way just being able to see you know there's a lot of reform that need to be made in public education for us to preserve the foundation of who and what it is and it's increasingly challenging today when we look at the political landscape and look at the economic landscape and we combine that with what does it mean to be a global citizen today and all the things that are impacting schools and education what does it mean not to be just an honor roll student in high school but what does it mean to be an honor roll student on the international scale and that's a change i think we've seen happen across the board so we not only have global competition in the world of business but we are on a global scale in preparing students for life sure if students aren't college capable and career ready and have some sense of global interactions and international citizenship we are going to be able to retain our presence as a national power from an economic import and export standpoint and i think it's very easy for us to just to consider what we will be in the service industry well that's not going to be where we need to be we need to be developing patents we need to be having engineers that can develop new ways to solve medical things and nuclear things and everything that contributes to who we are as a country we have to make sure that we're keeping science and math and technology at the forefront while at the same time preserving things like the arts and all those things that contribute to an overall well rounded whole developed child and in the twenty first century skills are built in there we want people that can be good problem solvers and be able to work on projects teams and good communicators that used to be you could sit at your own desk complete your own assignment move on get your in the class and do well that's only one part of the equation now you have to be able do that with a variety of people not just in your home town but across the globe you really have to feel that responsibility on a bigger scale and you still have to be you have to learn about technology to write in working with other people it's not going to be an isolated world that it's on li technology focused no not just technology focus certainly you know technology can really supplement enhance what we're doing the classroom we've launched one to one technology in our school district at the secondary level we have i pads we're going to be introducing chrome books this coming school year our math books and all kinds of different pieces learning is no longer contain just to those four classroom walls knowledge is actually free now learning is actually free and it's available to all of us if we had that digital connection and part of that is making sure that we develop digital citizens to our students need to understand that just because everything we read on the internet is really true and how do we use those resources effectively and how do we make sure that we're not getting ourselves into trouble too absolutely so as you look back over these last five years what would you say has been the most rewarding part of being a superintendent the most rewarding part is not calling snow days although that often gets you the most attention it's the part that i absolutely hate the most i would definitely say the most rewarding part has been working with the community to revitalize our infrastructure that we have in terms of our facilities being able to devise design flexible twenty first century learning environments for our kids to be recognized by the a p college board this year to make their honor roll to be recognized by us news and world report for excellence that's taking place at home in high school and really to see the community coming together and the support and how in public schools we're really an urban school district that's nestled here in a suburban community and to see that kind of support come around us and contribute to our work that's been the most rewarding because we can't do it by ourself yeah that is really awesome that you've you were recognized as superintendent of the year was that last year that was in two thousand and eleven now has a good that's great and i think so much of that was the way you approached the problems with a positive attitude and i remember at a council meeting you mentioned something about if and if not now then when and if map asked then who and how we need to face what our responsibility with facilities and the future of our community and growing the heart of the city to be global competitors right it is you know and just to echo what governor snyder said yesterday we can sometimes we see the recession turn around and we see the economy turn around think that everything is ok we wake up in the morning we go back to work as as things were the day before we have to keep ourselves reminded that it's not like it was before things have changed and you have to be part of that change and embrace that change and to recognize the status quo is no longer our friend if you have that thought process you are going to get left behind in some way shape or form in this and schools it's our responsibility with the kids even though we only have them eight percent of their life a kid from zero to eighteen they're only in school eight percent of their life we have an awesome responsibility to work within the make sure that we're preparing students that will carry on traditions like to have time the recognize a value of community they may go away and come back and visit early may go away and come back and live but we need to instill in them all those things on the academics to community to stewardship to be able to give back and serve their communities really you know to the time is not an empty party there is  value in this activity and when we were at the governor's luncheon yesterday with over nine hundred people in all different segments of the community coming together to eat together you know there isn't the how you often solve world problems with detente is have a meal together and we don't come around it's not a problem we're solving we're just enjoying that celebration and i think so often that community is what helps us overcome the competition and would you say that's somewhat helpful with the different superintendents and all the different systems going here that we do come together for a party yeah absolutely we have to celebrate what's right to oftentimes we focus on what's broken or what's not working and you have to be able to say what is working right now that we can build upon we don't always have to throw the baby out with the bathwater there are some things that are trying sure that we know work or some things just need to be tweaked and some things quite frankly do need to be thrown out but let's start with what's right and what's working and to be able to celebrate that way barriers come down competition becomes less and we really can work collaboratively together that spirit of preserving what is great in the homes the one area in two of times one of those yeah well some is just so heartwarming i would think for the community to be able to meet the superintendents in the area and to know that each of you went into education to care about the child to make a difference in the life of each child however they're created and to that changes over time over the decades it's different types of needs that the children have different types of needs the families have different types of families and all the time still thinking how do we grow this child to his or her best potential and  to take that to the principal level and then to the superintendent level it still all goes back to that relationship between that child and teacher everything we ever needed to know we learn in kindergarten right and so for all of our listeners out there you learn how to  there but hey that is wonderful and i was so glad that you're here and so into it with your cast room and everything and we just appreciate your leadership in the in the community brian and in what you've done for how in public schools over these five years and all the years before that to help us face unique challenges and still not get you know overwhelmed with them and to try to solve problems in the come together and we appreciate your leadership with bringing superintendents together and working with the o away totally for fifty would be great yeah great well thank you brian and we're so glad to have had this opportunity with all the superintendents of the public schools in the area and we're thankful that they are making such a difference in the lives of children