Top Takeaways Elk Grove Unified superintendent David Reilly inherits a growing school district. Reilly, a former band member, prioritizes listening and collaboration in his leadership style. Reilly visits special education classrooms to assess school culture. Elk Grove Unified School District’s new superintendent, David Reilly, has inherited one of the few school districts in California that is still growing. Although that makes balancing the district’s budget a little easier, the need to build schools and recruit staff in a district of more than 64,000 students can be challenging. But Reilly, who was once in the Bay Area punk band Twain and quotes jazz great Miles Davis, is the epitome of cool. He recently sat down with EdSource to talk about his new position. “One of the things I got when I was studying music, but I applied to active listening and my career here was advice from Miles Davis: ‘It’s not the notes you play, it’s about the notes you don’t play.’ ” This advice has served Reilly well over his decade as the associate director of human resources at Elk Grove Unified, where he was the district’s chief negotiator in its contract talks with its unions. He also led the Special Education and Student Support and Health Services departments. “When you’re working with people and collaborating, it’s not what you say, it’s how you listen and what you choose to say,” Reilly said. Elk Grove Unified, the state’s fourth-largest school district, serves students in Elk Grove, as well as parts…
