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At Hendy Avenue Consulting, our daily work centers on strengthening schools, empowering educators, and supporting systems so that every student can thrive. Beyond our professional roles as strategists and coaches, we all return home each day to our own families. This dual perspective keeps our work deeply personal, grounded, and human.

Across our team, our students are starting a new year at every step of the PK-12 span: from welcoming a new baby and guiding curious Pre-K learners, to Hendy kids in Kindergarten and 2nd grade, to middle elementary (3rd and 4th), to middle schoolers in 6th and 7th grades, and to the oldest Hendy kid starting high school. As a new school year unfolds, we find ourselves reflecting on what we hope each milestone brings for our own children—not just academically, but socially, emotionally, and personally.

Across every grade level, we hope our children learn how to learn. We want them to develop the critical thinking skills necessary to navigate a complex world with curiosity and confidence. Equal to academic growth is our hope for character and connection. We want our kids to practice quiet kindness—the kind that expects no audience or praise. We hope they build meaningful friendships, discover how to be a good friend in return, and understand that sharing is about exchanging ideas and perspectives, not merely passing crayons or pencils across a desk. Ultimately, we hope to see them cultivate self-directed learning and genuine independence, taking pride in the journey of becoming who they are.

These hopes remind us why we do the work we do at Hendy Avenue Consulting. When we partner with leaders to design high-quality instruction and supportive school systems, we are keeping every child’s potential at the heart of our work.

To all the educators, leaders, students, and families stepping into this new school year: we wish you a year filled with discovery, growth, resilience, and joy.

As leaders gear up for a new school year, we caught up with Erica Murphy, the facilitator of our CAO Cohort. In this interview, Erica shares her reflections on 5 years of CAO cohort facilitation, and what leaders should consider as they launch a new school year.

Erica, we are about to launch the 6th CAO cohort! It’s hard to believe. What do you love most about facilitating this cohort and being in the room with these academic leaders year after year? 

When I worked in one system I learned deeply one approach to leading the instructional side of a system. As the facilitator of the CAO cohort, I get to peer inside 6-10 different organizations and learn from their brilliance. We all do similar work and it’s infinitely helpful to see how different creative minds approach similar challenges. I always learn so much.

Looking back at where CAOs were focused in Year 1 of our cohort versus now, what are the most pressing, complex challenges you’re hearing from academic leaders right now as they step into this school year? 

Lately, many school leaders seem to be focused around 3 key things: 

1. Improving math achievement, at scale across their system
2. AI – how do we teach students responsible AI literacy when we are learning and things are constantly changing? Is this the right place to focus our limited resources? 
3. Developing systems and teams that focus on people development and outlast the direct impact of CAOs.

I really enjoy learning from our CAOs about how they are approaching these priorities, and bringing my own experience with our clients to the conversation. 

One of the greatest benefits of this cohort is cross-pollination across different systems. What is one area where you’re most excited to see these CAOs problem-solve and learn from one another this year?

Strategic Thinking. It permeates everything a CAO does and underpins any good initiative or focus. At the end of the day, the specific focus that a CAO takes doesn’t actually matter if they are not approaching the work strategically.

What is the single most important mindset or piece of advice you find yourself reinforcing with CAOs as they step into a brand-new school year? 

Be intentional. Prioritize and focus on what matters most. And lead with clarity. 

Thanks so much Erica! We can’t wait to hear how the CAO cohort learns and grows together this year. Interested in learning more about Hendy’s cohort programs? Contact Jess at jessicawilson@hendyavenue.com.

For school system leaders, the “summer break” is a bit of a misnomer. While the hallways may be quieter, the mental load of leadership does not disappear. Despite leaders not “taking the summer off,” this season does offer a vital opportunity to step off the treadmill of daily operations and engage in the deep work of restoration and personal strategy.

Effective leaders use the summer months as a strategic bridge—connecting the lessons of the past school year with a proactive vision for the one to come. They do their future selves a favor and use the change in tempo to set up systems to help them be effective for when the pace steps up.

Prioritize Restoration and Rejuvenation

Before diving into plans, systems or schedules, the first priority for any leader should be rest. You cannot lead your students and staff effectively from a place of burnout. Restoration is not a luxury; it is a professional commitment to your staff and students. Here are some ways we’ve seen leaders create space for rest during the summer months:

• Set clear “off-campus” times where you are unreachable for non-emergencies.
• Use this time to read, travel, or engage in hobbies.
• By taking your own rest seriously, you give your team permission to do the same, which is essential for long-term sustainability.

Reflect on the Year that has Passed

Summer provides the space needed to look at the previous year objectively. While reflection on the year that has passed and planning for the future year begins much earlier than the summer, the quiet of the summer months provides a chance for reflection focused on the leader’s own personal systems. 

Consider these questions for your reflection:

• What were the 1–2 biggest successes in my leadership this year?
• What were the most significant challenges or areas where my leadership could have been stronger?
• What personal systems worked well in my leadership this year? What are ways I could improve?

Personal Effectiveness: Setting Your Own Routines

Most system leaders know that planning for a successful school year launch begins long before summer hits. And, the slower pace of summer provides time to affirm the personal systems you will use to maintain balance and focus given your broader strategy. This includes creating schedules; routines; templates; and other systems that will help you balance the work when staff and students return in the fall. 

For example, using the summer months to create your personal schedule can help you protect the sacred time you need to drive instructional improvement. A leader’s schedule should protect “sacred” times for:

• Teacher Observations and Support: Proactively blocking time before the year starts.
• Intellectual Preparation (IP) Time: Ensuring you are as prepared as the teachers you support.
• One-on-One Check-ins: Establishing a regular cadence for direct reports.
• Strategic White Space: Time reserved for response to data and troubleshooting.

By balancing restoration with personal strategy, you ensure that when the doors open in the fall, you aren’t just starting another year—you are leading a more effective, energized, and focused school. Our work coaching school system leaders often focuses on this balance of ensuring a strong strategy for your school with being able to execute on that strategy given strong personal systems. Are you interested in learning more about how we can support you with this balance? Reach out to Jess.

Erica with her daughters Hadley, Maggie and Tessa, and her husband Tim.

Get to know our team! This month, Jess will be sharing an interview with each of the Hendy team members to help you get to know us better. Click here to read her interview with Jeremy Abarno, and here to read her interview with Rachel Modica-Russell. Next up, Erica Murphy! Erica joined Hendy in fall of 2020, and has led work in both talent and academics, including our work with KIPP Texas and Vista College Prep. Erica is also the fantastic facilitator of our Chief Academic Officer Cohort, and works closely with AI for Equity to support their work to bring school systems leaders together, codifies best practice, and disseminates learning broadly to leverage AI to drive more equitable outcomes for students. Read on to get to know Erica.

You’ve worked on a variety of projects during your time at Hendy. What is one project that has been particularly interesting to you?

I’ve found our work with Urban Community School super impactful. It’s been meaningful because it’s been a multi-year effort with the same group of leaders to refine systems and structures that allow for collaboration and supportive teacher coaching and feedback. It’s a team that is really focused on growth and development, and we’ve been able to support their work to align with common systems, schedules and curriculum to move the school forward. It’s been great to see how their work has evolved over time. The impact of having high quality curriculum and strong practices in internalization, looking at student data, and responding to that data has already made a difference for kids. This year we are moving into supporting tier 2 instruction, which is very exciting. 

You and I get to work on UCS together, which I love. Your trips to Cleveland are always a highlight for me – it’s fun to see you IRL every once in a while. What is one accomplishment during your time at Hendy that makes you proud?

I am very proud of the Hendy Instructional Excellence Rubric. I believe it’s a strong document that outlines an essential vision for teaching and learning. I learned a ton in the process of creating the rubric. I worked with high performing organizations to identify what they care about, and got to draw from research and thinking of smart people about what makes good teaching work. It was exciting to distill that learning in a way that names good teaching and learning clearly, and helps leaders develop good teaching. I’m proud of what we created.

It’s been so gratifying to get such positive feedback on the rubric; you should be very proud of that work! What’s your favorite part about working with the Hendy team and our clients?

The team is collaborative, fun, smart, and experienced. They are always willing to help with feedback, input, resources, and ideas to make work better. It’s fun to have the flexibility of a consultant job, while having the benefit of a strong team. In terms of our clients –  before I came to Hendy I worked at one organization for almost a decade. I was engrossed in the culture and our own systems and ways of doing things. In my work with clients, I love having the opportunity to get a birds eye view of all the different structures, approaches, ways of work that there are across systems sizes and types. It gives me so much more insight into how to do this work well in all the ways people can approach and solve problems. 

What might people not know about you?

My favorite things to do are read, run, and play poker. 

I love to imagine you in a casino wheeling and dealing. Working in education can be difficult – what keeps you going?

Growth: seeing the growth of people I work with, and my own growth. I relish getting to work to increase student outcomes, and celebrate with our clients when we do. It’s exciting to see an increase in alignment towards an organizational vision. I just deeply believe in consistent support and feedback. I think people are happy when they’re growing, and I’m happy when I’m growing. This job gives me the opportunity to support others to grow as I grow.

Thank you, Erica, for sharing more of yourself with me! See you soon in Cleveland 🙂

Rachel with daughter Simone, son Quincy, and wife Alice!

Get to know our team! This month, Jess will be sharing an interview with each of the Hendy team members to help you get to know us better. Click here to read Jess’s interview with Jeremy Abarno. Next up, our newest team member Rachel Modica-Russell! Rachel joined the team in May 2023 after serving as Managing Director of Talent at Explore Schools. Rachel was also a member of Hendy’s first Chief Talent Officer cohort. Read on to get to know Rachel.

You’ve worked with many clients in your two years at Hendy. What is one project you’ve found most interesting? 

I don’t get the sense that what you’re looking for is me to respond with an, “ALL of them!” but that’s genuinely how I feel 🙂. In my two years with the Hendy team, I’ve supported work across performance evaluation practices, AI learning, skill-building, and compensation strategies. One project that particularly resonated with me was helping PAVE Academy in Brooklyn develop a compensation philosophy that would both capture their current approach and guide future efforts to compensate staff equitably and competitively.

What made this work special was the PAVE team’s thoughtfulness and their unwavering belief that students should be at the center of all decision-making. They deeply understand the critical role excellent educators and staff play in fulfilling their mission. This project aligned with what I’ve built my career around—creating the organizational infrastructure that attracts, retains, and enables staff to thrive while doing incredibly demanding work. Helping PAVE weave their organizational values into their compensation practices was so meaningful, and I’m grateful to have supported them at this pivotal point in their journey.

Your work supporting PAVE to incorporate their organizational values into their compensation practices is a great example of how the work that our clients do reflects what they deeply care about. You’ve accomplished a lot with your clients; what is one accomplishment you are most proud of?

One accomplishment I’m particularly proud of is how I’ve helped organizations translate their values into tangible policies and practices. At Hendy, I’ve worked with several clients to build systems that don’t just look good on paper but actually create environments where talented practitioners want to grow in and stay over time. 

What makes this meaningful is seeing the ripple effects—when an organization implements more equitable compensation practices or creates more effective evaluation systems, it directly impacts staff retention and satisfaction, which ultimately benefits students. Though the impact isn’t always immediately measurable, the feedback from clients about how our work has transformed their approach to talent management confirms we’re moving in the right direction. Building these bridges between organizational values and day-to-day practices is where I find the most pride in my work.

What’s your favorite part about working with the Hendy team and our clients?

It is such a privilege working alongside such talented educators, leaders, and strategists in our field. I take great comfort and pride in the fact that our team and clients are aligned around a shared mission to improve educational outcomes and opportunities for students.

What I treasure most about the Hendy team is the authentic way we show up for each other. Check-ins with Hendy teammates are this beautiful combination of celebrating personal and professional milestones, supporting one another through challenges, and providing consultative services to each other—we pack a lot into our weekly hour together! The blend of expertise, humor, and genuine care creates an environment where the work feels meaningful and sustainable, even when facing complex challenges in education.

Rachel, you are such a critical part of our team culture – you bring such joy to those weekly meetings! What might people not know about you?

Silly: I am not a boardgame person, at ALL. Am I playful? Yes! Do I love to connect with people? Yes! Will I willingly opt into rules and parameters as part of my free time? Never.

Editor’s note: Jess loves boardgames and so had to promise Rachel not to incorporate games into our next team retreat.

More sincere: I was the first kid in my immediate family to graduate from a four-year college. Since then, I’ve had the joy of cheerleading a sibling and both of my parents as they continue their respective educational journeys. Education has always been incredibly important to my family; we read and wrote often, debated endlessly, and were given lots of space to explore, play, and question as kids. It’s been profoundly moving to watch my parents reactivate their own educational pursuits after long careers and years of prioritizing our well-being and opportunities. Their journey reinforces my belief in education as a lifelong pursuit that can transform at any stage.

It’s so important to take inspiration from those around us, especially in challenging times. Work in education right now is difficult – what keeps you going?

My kids, your kids, all kids. Now more than ever, I feel compelled to address the hard questions related to staffing and sustaining schools. What drives me daily is the vision of schools filled with compassionate, prepared, and well-resourced adults who create spaces where all students can thrive, learn, and be academically challenged.

When the work gets particularly difficult, I remind myself that every policy we help craft, every leader we coach, or system we refine ultimately creates better conditions for students. The educational inequities in our system aren’t inevitable—they’re the result of choices, and I believe deeply in our ability to make different, better choices that create more equitable outcomes for students. That possibility is what keeps me going, even on the toughest days.

Thank you, Rachel, for sharing more about you and your work! Our team and clients are grateful for the commitment and joy you bring to our work every day. 

Jeremy with his sweet family: Marlon, Lucia, Eve, and Vivian

Anyone who has worked with Hendy knows how fantastic our team is. This month, Jess will be sharing an interview each each of the Hendy team members to help you get to know us better. First up, Jeremy Abarno! Jeremy joined Hendy in 2019 and serves as a pivotal support for clients at Chicago Public Schools, Hebrew Public Schools, and more. Read on to get to know Jeremy.

You make such an impact on our clients and the students they serve. What is one interesting project you’ve worked on in your time at Hendy?

I’ve had the great fortune to work on so many great projects at Hendy. A recent example that I found very interesting was working with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Office of Educator Effectiveness to design training for chiefs and deputy chiefs in their role as principal supervisors. CPS launched a new school leader evaluation program 3 years ago. Through great collaborative efforts between departments they have dedicated time and resources to sharing best practices and elevating evaluation practices. The opportunity to work with the Office of Educator Effectiveness to design workshops that aim to ensure that evaluation is not just fair, calibrated and accurate but also oriented towards the growth of school leaders has been challenging and very fulfilling. 

It’s been so awesome to see the focus be on growth for school leaders, and your work supporting a system like CPS means hundreds of thousands of kids will benefit. What is one accomplishment from your time at Hendy that you are most proud of?

I have a passion for conceptual math instruction and helping school leaders and teachers understand the capacity of all students to engage in high level mathematics. Through my work at Hendy Avenue, I’ve had the chance to coach school leaders in mathematics instructional leadership at multiple schools. Some of the schools that I’ve worked with over the past years have made double digit gains in math proficiency, and have built a culture of intellectual engagement for teachers and for students. Kids are grappling with big ideas and meaningful applications of what they’re learning. It’s pretty exciting to think about how these students will apply their learning in the future. 

I know our clients really appreciate your thoughtful and compassionate coaching style as you work with math teachers and leaders. It shows in student results! What’s your favorite part about working with the Hendy team and our clients?

The camaraderie that comes from working on something very challenging but with a common goal and mutual respect. It’s pretty cool to work with folks who are both committed to confronting deep injustices and take the problem very seriously but at the same time don’t take themselves too seriously. Hendy team members and Hendy’s partners are committed to ensuring all kids are successful but they also find great joy in doing difficult work and in each other. 

What might people not know about you?

I struggled mightily in math in middle and high school. Really. At some point in pre-algebra my teachers stopped making connections to life and I couldn’t see it and I began to struggle – it had no meaning to me. I did what I could to get by. Then, in my first teaching job (shout out River East Elementary in East Harlem) I was sent to Math in the City at City College. There I was reintroduced to algebra as more than just abstract structures but as a tool to simplify and solve problems. The light bulb turned back on and I haven’t stopped thinking about how to help others make sense of math since. 

Thanks for sharing this! As someone who has helped me to support my middle schooler with math, I find your story so inspiring. Working in education and supporting leaders – especially right now – can be difficult. What keeps you going?

My wife and kids. My beautiful-in-all-senses-of-the-word wife of 21 years Eve loves and supports me unconditionally but expects me to be getting better all the time and I LOVE IT. My 19 year old Marlon and I share a love of math, Spanish, music, food, cycling, and ridiculous humor – he cracks me up. My daughter Lucia and I share the gift/curse of feeling things deeply – she’s so empathetic and caring but if you mistreat others, watch your back – she is a fierce advocate. And my youngest Vivian has taught me more than anyone else, even without language she sends a clear message every day that everyone deserves to be seen, loved, and joyously appreciated. I am so lucky.

Thank you Jeremy! The Hendy team, and our clients, are lucky to have YOU in our corner.