Hendy’s CAO Cohort: An Interview with Facilitator Erica Murphy

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.