18. School Leadership and Student Agency with Dr. Whitney Hegseth

In this episode of the Builders of a Better World podcast, Ashlieya sits down with educator, researcher, and author Dr. Whitney Hegseth to explore how school leaders can build environments where students feel capable, respected, and supported.

Drawing from her book, Just Talk to Us Normally: A Leader’s Guide to Organizing Schools That Elevate Students, Dr. Hegseth shares lessons from her research in Montessori and International Baccalaureate elementary schools in the United States and Canada. Together, they discuss how leaders shape school culture; why student agency, independence, and belonging matter; and how instructional systems can either expand or limit what students believe they can do.

They also explore the extraordinary demands placed on educators, the role schools often play as part of the social safety net, and how leaders can use local decision-making to create more humane, effective learning environments.

In this conversation, you’ll hear about:

• School leadership, school culture, and student agency
• Montessori and International Baccalaureate approaches to learning
• How children develop independence, confidence, and resilience
• Why leaders’ decisions about systems and support structures matter
• Respectful communication with children and the importance of treating young people as capable
• The pressures facing teachers, schools, and families in the United States
• How intentional leadership can help create better schools—and a better world

Dr. Hegseth’s work offers a meaningful reminder for educators, parents, youth leaders, and anyone responsible for creating learning environments: children are not problems to be managed. They are people with insight, capability, and enormous potential.

Listen in, share this episode with an educator or leader in your life, and join us in building a better world—one intentional learning environment at a time.

Get your own copy of Just Talk to Us Normally: A Leader's Guide to Organizing Schools That Elevate Students by Dr. Whitney Hegseth on Amazon.