Dr. Andalib Khelghati

Passionate Educational Leader Committed to Equity

― How to Connect With Me

I love to learn and connect with thought partners in pursuit of a collective vision for organizational excellence and improved systems.

Do you feel that we have a shared mission? Are you an educator, city or district leader, or just a parent who cares about their children?

Please reach out! I am excited to share ideas and learn more about your unique challenges and successes. Here are some ways to get in touch with me.

― Career Highlights

New District-Wide Discipline Policy

While serving as Assistant Superintendent of Schools and District 65 Leader of Human Resources, I spearheaded the development and implementation of a new district-wide discipline policy aligned with District 65's Racial Equity policy.

The Process

• Reviewed data on current practices and outcomes in district as well as national research on exemplary discipline policies.

• Engaged stakeholders and held townhalls to elicit feedback

• Collaborated with teachers, parents, and school leaders to revise and update student handbook and associated policies.

Key Outcomes

• New disciplinary policy promoting a vision of equity and inclusivity, reducing disproportionate rate of suspension for black students in relation to white students

• Accelerated usage of clearly outlined suspension alternatives across the district

• District-wide training on restorative practice framework, helping change the culture for how families and staff members deal with conflict and challenges

Systems of Learning for Principals to Redesign the District Intervention Program

As Assistant Superintendent of District 65, I worked closely with the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction to institute a system of learning for principals and redesign our district intervention program. 

The Process

• I worked closely with the curriculum development team and research team to analyze the current strengths of the intervention program and measured outcomes.

• While working across departments to assess and evaluate the program, I instituted systems of learning for principals.  We created a leadership professional learning community where principals engaged in learning together about school priorities.  I believe having adults engage in their own continuous learning is the best tool to drive school and student outcomes forward.

• Collaborating with the principals and other district departments, we recognized that there was a disconnect between the intervention process, the principal's initiatives for school outcomes, and the academic coaches in each building.

Key Outcomes

• We were able to bolster the intervention program across the district to include both reading and math interventions, connecting the program's success to the goals of the school principal, and more meaningful support from academic coaches.

• We rebuilt the academic coaching program, redistributing coaches across the district so that every building has an academic coach.

• We helped the academic coaches provide projects and coaching cycles that were directly tied to student outcomes in the school building.

District-Wide Safety & Crisis Training for Teachers and Employees

Starting in 2017, I was the incident commander for the district, responsible for all crisis situations and preventative safety planning.

The Process

• I organized a district wide training where every staff member participated in an ALICE model learning experience with police department.

• As a result of a deep partnership with the teachers union, we were able to gain consensus on what this day would look like and execute it without any glitches.

Key Outcomes

• All of our school leaders, educators, and staff members were able to experience a crisis emergency drill and participate in a safety experience.

• All of our staff members were trained on the ALICE model.

Redesign of School Improvement Planning Process

While serving as Assistant Superintendent of Schools and District 65 Leader of Human Resources, I led school leaders and in support of the school board's mission in strengthening our process for school engagement in setting effective student performance and school climate goals.

The Process

• Trained principals, providing tools and resources to assist them in the improvement planning process.

• Instituted a cycle of inquiry model including data review, root cause analysis, goal setting, development of strategies and an action plan, implementation, and careful monitoring and reflection on implementation and results.

• Ongoing monitoring and support provided to principals throughout the year

Key Outcomes

• School leaders improved their capacity to lead school planning and improve school climate and student outcomes.

• School leaders paid greater attention to root cause impacting student performance beyond single points of analysis

Strategic, Relationship-Driven Solution to a Human Resources Crisis

In addition to Assistant Superintendent of Schools,  I was appointed District 65's Leader of Human Resources in 2021.  We had been suffering from a staffing crisis, only averaging to fill 50% of teacher absence requests with substitute teachers (going back even to pre-COVID years).  To reiterate that point - we were only able to find teacher substitutes about half of the time.

It was a topic of every internal district-level meeting,  union meeting,  and school board meeting.  We did what many districts do, which is put together an emergency district sub team, but it didn’t get to the heart of the problem. 

I knew our teachers could not support themselves and their families if we were not able to adequately staff them in their absence.

The Process

1. We made the decision to bring the “substitute teacher” staffing in-house, instead of being outsourced.

2. We recruited and built a dynamic team with new managers and specialist roles to lead the new effort.  Our coordinators emphasize relationships, attention to detail, and follow-through. 

3. We made an intentional decision as a district to better understand, appreciate, and honor the role and value of teacher substitutes.  The first step was renaming these “teacher subs” to now be referred to as “guest educators.”

4. We invested in professional learning for our guest educators.  All of our guest educators were invited to participate in our district-wide professional development for teachers.

5. We increased the compensation rate for our guest educators.

Key Outcomes

• Increased the average of our teacher fill rate across the board, hitting 91% in the spring of 2023

• As of April 2023, 10 guest educators have been hired into full time positions for the district

• More and more teachers can confidently take the time off that they need - so they can be the best version of themselves for their students

Zoom Payday Customer Service Line for Employees to Retain Top Talent

When I started as Human Resources leader in 2021, I recognized an opportunity to support our HR and Finance Departments.  Just like every district in the country, we were struggling with decreased enrollment and a staffing shortage since the pandemic.

The Process

1. I engaged in a year-long staffing planning process to identify inefficiencies and efficiencies.  Working in careful collaboration with the union and other departments, we were able to identify which teacher positions we could close or re-assign without hurting students in the classroom.

2. I worked closely with the Registration departments to review enrollment numbers and find the greatest needs for teacher support.  We were nimble and able to always keep classrooms a priority.

3. I began to establish and discuss core values that could be recognized and applied across all of our departments.  For example, what the value of collaboration looks like and feels like between departments.

4. I established a Payday Zoom customer service line, where any of the 1,700 staff members could call in and get their problems solved quickly.  I sat in a Zoom room every 2 weeks with a member of the Payroll and HR team and a Benefits team member so staff members could get immediate access to the person they needed to help.

Key Outcomes

• We were able to keep close to 100% staffing in our all of our schools throughout the district.

• We reduced the number of calls and issues on Payday from 40-50 people every 2 weeks in September to 15 now in the spring of 2023.  By providing a more efficient, less bureaucratic customer-service solution for our employees, we put ourselves in a better position to retain top talent moving into the 2023-2024 school year.

Renewal of a Mentoring and Breakfast Program

While serving as principal at Dewey Elementary School, I fostered a relationship with the Buffet Center for Global Studies at Northwestern University bolster our program for students who qualify for free and reduced lunch.

The Process

• Evaluated original program and capacity, started with 1-2 parent volunteers for about 15 students before the start of school

• Worked with Northwestern to increase number of volunteers and introduce a new model with before school tutoring

Key Outcomes

• Program evolved into a dynamic, new organization titled Books and Breakfast, led by a management board of Northwestern University students

• In just 6 years, program grew from serving just one school to 16 schools across district 65.

• 1000's of students receiving homework support and encouragement in preparation for the school day showed improvement in their school performance

― Awards & Honors

-University of Massachusetts Senior Service Award

-Phi Betta Kappa

-Co-founder - Books and Breakfast Non-Profit Organization 501c3

-Founding board member of childhood-centered psychology center

-Father of two thriving children

― Work experience

District Leader & Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources

Evanston/Skokie School District 65  / July 2017 - Present

Evanston, Illinois

Appointed Assistant Superintendent of Schools in 2017, I was named District 65 Department's Human Resources leader in 2021 supporting 1,500 employees and 7,000 children.

Principal

Evanston/Skokie School District 65  / July 2011 - June 2017

Evanston, Illinois

Directed operations at a K-5 school with 550 students and 45 faculty members

Assistant Principal

Evanston/Skokie School District 65  / July 2006 - June 2011

Evanston, Illinois

Teacher & Literacy Coach

Chicago Public Schools  / Sept 2000 - June 2006

― Education

University of Illinois Chicago

Doctor of Education (EdD), Urban Education and Leadership / 2010-2017

Columbia University

Master of Arts (MA), Education / 1999-2000

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Bachelor of Arts, Social Thought and Political Economy / 2007

― Suni Kartha, Former School Board President

When I first met Andalib, I was immediately impressed by his thoughtful demeanor, his capacity for listening to others, and most importantly, his dedication to students and their overall well-being. I could see the authentic relationships he had with students, staff, and families, and as I spent more time on the board, I saw that he was well-respected by our curriculum team for his strong instructional leadership abilities.

― Jim McHolland, Principal Chute Middle School

Andalib is creative, reliable, and is well respected by his colleagues. We have collaborated often with regards to curriculum and when working with children, families, and teaching staff! He has been exceptional in each role: He is firm, consistent, and sensitive to needs as well as professional in his approach. People respond to Andalib enthusiastically, and have always sought him out for guidance and advice.

Insights:

― Podcast: Teach Better Podcast

Check out Andalib's interview with Dr. Efrain Martinez on the Teach Better podcast. You can find the direct link on the TeachBetter.com website here.

― In the news: The daily Northwestern

D65 expands teacher residency program and introduces teacher apprenticeship program to strengthen community impact

Dr. Khelghati, "The vision of this work really stems from the District 65 education board and its journey around really prioritizing the need for recruiting and bringing in more educators of color."

― In the news: The daily Northwestern

D65 board talks emergency preparedness procedures

Dr. Khelghati, "Not every incident will require the districtwide approach, but in the event of an emergency that requires coordination between departments or with the Evanston Police Department, the administrative team will step in."