Webinar: Getting the Most Out of Limited Resources

Patrick Ward is the superintendent of Willoughby-Eastlake School District in Ohio. Before accepting the position, he served as the Director of Curriculum for Mayfield City Schools—bringing more than two decades of experience in education to the position from all levels, including classroom teacher and principal.

Dr. Ward has a bachelor’s degree in education from John Carroll University, two masters’ of science degrees in education from Walden University and Ursuline College and a doctorate in K-12 leadership from Walden.

Kirk Shrum has been serving as superintendent of Visalia Unified School District since May 16, 2022. Prior to his role at VUSD, he was the chief school leadership officer for Henry County Schools in McDonough, Georgia. Mr. Shrum draws open years of school-based experience—from elementary school teacher to assistant principal to principal.

Mr. Shrum earned a Master of Arts degree in Instructional Leadership from Tennessee Technological University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Matt Kennard is the CEO of BetterLesson. He is the former CFO & Head of Operations for LearnZillion, a K-12 digital core curriculum provider based in Washington, DC. During his tenure at LearnZillion, Matt oversaw the company’s expansion in Math, ELA, and Science curricular offerings through meaningful partnerships with leading OER curriculum providers, including Illustrative Mathematics and EL Education.

Matt has deep experience in finance, strategy, and technology. He has also served in FP&A, capital management, and strategic FP&A roles for Rackspace, Inc. and the TJX Companies. Matt received his B.A. from Yale University before studying Accounting and Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He currently resides in San Antonio, Texas.