In Conversation with Al Lewis
Before Dr. Al Lewis officially started as superintendent in Glassboro, New Jersey, two community members publicly protested his appointment.
After they spoke, Lewis walked over, introduced himself, and invited them to meet with him after he had started. In his public account of the later meeting, Lewis says he listened to their concerns before sharing his own background, district context, and performance data.
That sequence shows one part of communication immediately: listening can happen before the answer is finished. Lewis's wider public work adds two other parts to the same picture. Visible actions can carry a message people can see. Participation gives people a way into the communication process.
Chris: When you approached the two people who had protested your appointment, what were you trying to understand before you responded?
Al: I wanted them to know that I would be a superintendent for everyone, not just those who agreed with me or my appointment. In our later meeting, they talked about student performance, trust in leadership, and whether I was the right fit for the district. My role in that moment was to listen fully before I tried to explain anything. After I heard them, I shared my background and some of the work I had done in similar settings. I also shared data that showed a fuller picture of Glassboro's performance and challenges. They walked out of the meeting as allies and partners in the work ahead.
A difficult conversation can depend on one person's willingness to listen. For listening to become part of daily communication, people need repeatable places where they can speak. Someone also needs responsibility for hearing and considering what they say.
In 2016, communication researcher Jim Macnamara published Organizational listening: Addressing a major gap in public relations theory and practice. His research examines the gap between the two-way communication many institutions say they value and the listening capacity they actually build. He uses the term organizational listening for the structures and practices that allow a group to hear, interpret, consider, and respond to people.
Lewis's public record gives concrete K-12 examples. In Glassboro, he describes time spent listening in schools, offices, classrooms, in 1:1 conversation with community members, and at civic events. In Weymouth Township, he wrote about an open-door policy where staff could raise ideas and concerns, including views that went against established norms or popular sentiment. He also describes staff participation in professional learning and a district-wide committee that rewrote the mission and vision.
Chris: What makes listening part of how an organization communicates every day?
Al: Listening becomes part of daily communication when people have regular ways to reach you and when you keep making time to hear them. In Glassboro, I have spent time in and out of our schools listening to our community's strengths, areas to grow, and hope for a brighter future. In Weymouth Township, I used an open-door policy and encouraged staff to raise ideas and concerns, including views that went against established norms or popular sentiment. Those practices gave listening a regular place in the communication work and ushered in a new era for the district. I use leadership rounding and regular presence in schools and classrooms to maintain a deep understanding of our Bulldogs' daily experiences.
Listening gives people a path into communication. Visibility gives them something concrete to see.
Lewis's September 2026 AASA article describes fractured relationships involving Glassboro Public Schools, Rowan University, and borough government. The publicly available excerpt then gives one specific opening-day example involving the district and borough. Lewis invited the mayor to join the board president, principals, and himself in greeting families and students at all four schools.
Chip and Dan Heath use concreteness in Made to Stick to describe ideas people can picture. In Lewis's opening-day example, unity had a concrete form: families could see public officials and school officials standing together.
Chris: What did you want families to understand when they saw the district and borough represented together?
Al: I wanted families to see a district and borough working together in service of children and families. I had heard repeated comments that the district, university, and borough offices felt disconnected. Greeting families together gave that unity a visible form on the first day of school. People could see the district and borough showing up together. The response from parents has been uniformly positive of our district's new direction.
Visible communication can also happen in ordinary moments.
In a 2024 K12 Digest article about Weymouth, Lewis describes how the district used social media to keep parents and the community more deeply informed on all the great work going on in the district. Posts showed student achievements, gave glimpses into school days, carried reminders, and invited families and community members to share their own experiences. He gives a snow-day example. Lewis posted a family photo and invited people to share their own snow-day pictures. He reports that roughly half the district contributed content to the original post.
The example shows two things at once. The school shared an ordinary moment, and families could add their own.
Chris: What did Weymouth Township's community-focused social media teach you about helping people see everyday school life?
Al: At Weymouth Township, our social channels carried student achievements, glimpses of school days, reminders, and invitations for families and community members to share their own experiences. The snow-day post was a simple example. I shared a family photo and asked other people to share theirs. That kind of communication gave people a view into everyday school life and a way to contribute something from their own lives too. It also humanizes the leadership. More important than my title is my identity as a father and husband.
Participation shows up elsewhere in Lewis's Weymouth Township record.
He describes an open-door policy for staff. A district-wide committee rewrote the mission and vision. He rebuilt the Home and School Association after it had become inactive during the pandemic. His article also describes community members and local officials taking part in school events.
These activities share one communication feature. People had defined places to contribute their ideas, time, or experience alongside the information they received.
Chris: What role did participation play in the communication work in Weymouth Township?
Al: Participation gave people real places to contribute. Staff could raise ideas and concerns through the open-door policy. A district-wide committee helped rewrite our mission and vision, which helped refocus our work under a people-centered theme. We rebuilt the Home and School Association, and community members took part in school events and activities. Those practices made participation part of the communication work itself.
Across these examples, Lewis's public record keeps returning to three practical parts of communication. People need somewhere to respond. They need to be able to see what is happening. They need real places where they can take part.
Chris: When communication feels distant, what would you look at first?
Al: I would start by going out to the people themselves and asking the tough questions to figure out where the breakdown is occurring. Where can they respond or ask questions? What can they see happening? Where can they take part in the work? In my work, that has included direct conversations, time in schools and classrooms, open-door access, visible partnerships, social posts that show everyday life, and shared planning. The exact practice can change. I would want people to have a clear way to connect with the work.
Before Lewis's first day in Glassboro, criticism of his appointment was already public. His first documented action was to approach the people who raised it and invite a conversation. His later public record shows the same attention to listening alongside visible partnership, everyday storytelling, and participation.
Those examples widen the communication picture. Finished messages still matter. So do the places where people can respond, the actions they can see, and the ways they can participate.
For one communication effort already underway, ask three questions:
- Where can people respond?
- What can they see happening?
- Where can they take part?
Clear answers to those questions show whether the communication includes a real path for people to respond, see what is happening, and take part.