Where I Stand: What If We Listened Differently?
By Curtis Campogni, Candidate for Pinellas County School Board (District 3 – At-Large)
Over the last 15 years or so, I've learned something incredibly important about leadership:
"Listening is important. But what happens after we listen matters even more."
Throughout this campaign, I've talked a lot about listening to students, families, teachers, and the people who make our schools work every day.
But I've been thinking about something.
What does real listening actually look like?
Is it how you communicate at a meeting? Visiting a school? Responding to an email? Giving someone three minutes behind a microphone?
Those things are important, and I want to acknowledge that many of our current School Board members already make themselves accessible.
But I believe there's a difference between being accessible, listening, and truly understanding.
To me, empathetic listening means making an intentional effort to understand someone's experience, especially when it's different from your own.
It means recognizing that you might not have the full picture. That your assumptions might be wrong. And that sometimes the people closest to a problem have perspectives that no presentation or report can fully capture.
Does that mean agreeing with everyone?
Of course not.
Does it mean abandoning data or making decisions based on whoever speaks the loudest?
Absolutely not.
It means being willing to listen, challenge your assumptions, and let what you learn shape how you think.
There's a saying I've always appreciated:
"People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."
And I believe there's a lot of truth in that, particularly when you're making decisions that affect other people's children, families, and livelihoods.
Over the past few weeks, I've shared several ideas for making that kind of listening a more consistent part of School Board leadership.
People didn't just encourage me. They offered suggestions, shared personal experiences, raised concerns, and identified things I hadn't fully considered.
So I want to share three ideas I heard from the community and where my thinking stands today.
1. Conversations in the Park: Meeting People Where They Are
This idea started completely by accident.
Recently, I met several parents to drop off campaign signs. What was supposed to be a quick stop turned into an awesome conversation.
The kids played together on the playground. We had the dog with us. And the adults just talked.
About schools. Our community. Our families. Life in general.
No agenda. No podium. No formal presentations.
And it got me thinking: Why can't we create more opportunities like that?
So I proposed something I'm calling Curtis Conversations in the Park.
If elected, I'd like to visit parks throughout North, Mid, and South Pinellas County and invite residents to join me for informal conversations.
Bring your kids. Bring your dog. Ask questions. Share concerns. Offer ideas. Or just come meet your School Board representative.
What I heard from the community
Residents suggested locations throughout the county, including Fred Howard Park, Wall Springs Park, Philippe Park, R.E. Olds Park, Weaver Park, Walsingham Park, Eagle Lake Park, Largo Central Park, and James Ernst Park in Kenneth City, among others.
One resident said she'd love to attend. Another shared that she was disappointed she'd missed an earlier opportunity to meet me in Tarpon Springs.
That comment reminded me that accessibility isn't just about being willing to meet with people. It's also about making sure people know when and where those opportunities exist.
We can create all the opportunities in the world, but if residents don't know about them, what have we accomplished?
Where I stand now
I made a public commitment in the comments, and I'll repeat it here:
If elected, I will make Conversations in the Park happen.
Screenshot that. Hold me accountable.
I want to rotate locations across the county, communicate them in advance, and create opportunities for families who might never attend a traditional School Board meeting.
These conversations won't replace formal public input or official Board meetings.
And I will not be speaking on behalf of the entire board.
But I believe there's value in meeting people in environments where they're already comfortable, and I look forward to this idea coming to fruition.
2. Empathy Days: Experiencing Our Schools, Not Just Visiting Them
I imagine one response to this proposal might be, "We already visit schools."
And that's great. School visits matter.
But I believe there's a difference between visiting a school and experiencing a school.
Here's the idea:
What if School Board members spent one half-day each month working alongside school employees or shadowing students?
Not just touring a cafeteria, but helping serve lunch.
Not just walking through a classroom, but spending meaningful time alongside a teacher.
Not just reviewing student surveys, but experiencing part of a school day from a student's perspective.
I call the concept Empathy Days.
There's some research that informed my thinking. A 2017 study, Empathetic Design: A Sustainable Approach to School Change, examined the experiences of 36 school leaders who shadowed students.
It's a small qualitative study, not proof that this proposal would improve School Board decisions. But it provides an interesting foundation for exploring the value of firsthand experiences.
What I heard from the community
This discussion generated some of the most detailed feedback I've received.
Several educators encouraged Board members to spend more time experiencing what actually happens inside classrooms.
But others challenged me to go further.
One resident suggested that Board members shouldn't just shadow employees. They should actually participate in the work, whether that's assisting with cafeteria duty, helping in the front office, or supporting classroom activities.
Another proposed that Board members and administrators substitute teach periodically.
One parent suggested participating in lunch duty, car circles, bus routines, and school events to better understand how a school community operates.
Another teacher shared that previous Board members spent time in her classroom and followed up afterward on curriculum, testing, and student progress.
But not all the feedback was about doing more.
A retired educator shared how visits from groups carrying clipboards disrupted her classroom and left students wondering whether they'd done something wrong.
Another commenter emphasized that visits should be low-stakes and shouldn't become opportunities to punish employees for problems they reveal.
Where I stand now
The feedback has helped me refine this proposal.
I believe in the idea of monthly Empathy Days, but I would want the experience to be meaningful, minimally disruptive, and developed with input from the people participating.
That could mean helping with appropriate school operations, observing classroom routines, or spending time alongside staff members in different roles.
But perhaps most importantly, it should include follow-up.
What did we learn? What surprised us? What assumptions were challenged? Are there questions we should be asking differently?
I don't believe spending a few hours alongside a teacher makes someone an expert in education. But could it help a Board member ask better questions when making decisions about teachers and students?
If so, I think that's worth exploring.
3. Rotating School Board Meetings: Bringing Government Closer to the Community
Pinellas County is a big county.
We have families in Tarpon Springs, Clearwater, Largo, St. Petersburg, and communities throughout the county, each with different experiences and challenges.
Yet our regular School Board meetings are held in the same location.
So I asked a question:
What if we rotated some School Board meetings between North, Mid, and South Pinellas County?
Could that improve accessibility? Encourage participation? Give us opportunities to better understand issues affecting different parts of the county?
What I heard from the community
Many residents expressed support, but several comments added important considerations.
One resident suggested offering transportation from a central location, perhaps using a school bus.
Another pointed out that holding meetings during the teacher workday makes participation difficult for educators.
A different resident expressed frustration that parents can speak at the Board during meetings but generally cannot engage in back-and-forth discussion with Board members.
One parent shared their skepticism about whether district leadership would genuinely welcome greater community engagement.
Whether or not everyone agrees with those assessments, they raise an important issue.
Moving a meeting to a different building doesn't automatically make people feel heard.
Where I stand now
I believe rotating some meetings is worth exploring.
But the community feedback reminded me that location is only one part of accessibility.
We also have to consider meeting times, transportation, and the requirements that govern official Board meetings.
And there's an important difference between formal Board business and opportunities for two-way conversation.
Florida's public-meeting requirements and established Board procedures would still apply, and changing the location wouldn't automatically change the format of public comment.
Perhaps that's where another idea I've shared, separate from the three proposals in this blog, is modernizing the concept of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Fireside Chats.
Beginning in 1933, FDR used radio to explain complicated government decisions in language everyday Americans could understand. Nearly 100 years later, why couldn't we modernize that approach with short, regular livestreams explaining School Board decisions, answering community questions, and making local government easier to understand?
Regardless, before proposing a formal change, I'd want to understand whether Pinellas has tried similar approaches and what logistical challenges they encountered.
That way, the goal isn't simply moving a meeting, but making participation more accessible and meaningful.
Listening Has to Lead Somewhere
Here's what I keep coming back to.
I could visit every park in Pinellas County, spend countless hours in classrooms, and attend meetings in every corner of the county.
But if none of those experiences changes the questions I ask, challenges my assumptions, or informs my decisions, then what's the point?
That's why I believe listening must also include accountability.
When people raise concerns, they deserve to know we considered them.
When feedback changes a recommendation, we should explain what changed and why.
And when a decision doesn't reflect what some community members wanted, we should still be willing to explain the reasoning behind it.
Not every concern will result in a policy change. Not every suggestion will be practical. And often different groups will have competing needs.
That's part of leadership.
But I believe we can be more creative about connecting community experiences to the decisions being made on their behalf.
And I want to acknowledge something else.
These ideas aren't mine alone anymore. Residents have helped shape them through their feedback. Educators have shared firsthand experiences. Parents have identified barriers. Others have challenged me to think through the practical details.
Even if I lose this election, I genuinely hope our current School Board members will consider these ideas, improve them, make them their own, and put them into practice.
Because at the end of the day, this was never supposed to be about who gets credit.
It's about better serving our students, families, educators, and community.
And that's where I stand.
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of Curtis Campogni, Candidate for Pinellas County School Board, District 3 (At-Large), and do not represent the official position of any organization or governing body.
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