I’ve had the honor of working with Brad Bizzell for over twenty years.  We were principal colleagues together in Montgomery County, Virginia and later worked together in the Educational Leadership Program at Radford University preparing school leaders. I was grateful for this opportunity to sit down and learn about his Changemaker Journey using the “Homegrown Solutions for a Patchwork World” framework as our guide.   I continue to learn so much from him about how to lead with your heart, as well as your mind, and how to bring out the best in people of all ages and stages of life.  You will, too!  Read, watch and listen! 



































HOMEGROWN BRAD
Brad grew up in North Carolina, the youngest of four children. His father was a teacher and school administrator and his mother was a homemaker.
“Education was something that was always highly valued in my family. Even though my grandparents did not have a lot of education, they valued education a great deal. Both my mom and my dad were the first in their families to go to college.”
Brad recalls three stories from his origins that have had a big impact on who he has become as an educator and leader.
The first is a story about his dad. In 1949, at the age of 14 and in the ninth grade, Brad’s father was ridiculed by his teacher in front of the class. He walked out of the school that day and never returned. Happily, though, he later worked to earn his GED (General Education Diploma) and joined the Army to serve in World War II before returning to go to college to become a teacher and, eventually, a high school principal. In fact, Brad’s dad served as the principal of the high school Brad attended.
The second story is about how Brad experienced difficulties as a middle schooler with a “speech impediment”. A wise teacher and coach noticed him struggling and asked him to manage the middle school basketball team. This was a turning point for Brad because it was in this context that he found a place to belong and begin to associate with the “cool kids”.
“Now, nearly 50 years later, I look back on junior high as my best K-12 years and, I owe that to Mr. Trogdon, a teacher who saw something that needed to be fixed and he fixed it.”
Brad grew to adulthood and got a business degree, but discovered he was pretty miserable in the business world until he recognized his true calling to be a teacher. After completing the requirements of a teaching license, he began teaching in the business department of a nearby high school. His third story begins during that time.
Here is that story in Brad’s own words:
“The last story is about a young man named Robert. Robert was one of my high school students. Robert had a pretty tough upbringing, struggled in school, struggled at home, lived with his dad, but basically was raising himself. Mom was kind of in and out of the picture occasionally…His junior year, he decided to go out for football and had never played football before but had some natural physical talent and went out and made the team.
Several weeks into the year, his mom called him and said, ‘I’m going to be coming to town and I’d love to spend the afternoon with you.’ So, he goes to his coach and says, ‘My mom’s coming in town, I’m going to spend the afternoon with her. I might be a little bit late to practice.’. And the coach said, ‘If you’re going to be late to practice, just turn in your gear.’