Vital Insight™ – Designed after years of research and testing by Drs. Phil Esbrandt and Bruce Hayes

As educators, superintendents and now education consultants, Drs. Phil Esbrandt and Bruce Hayes recognize that even the best strategic plans will not fully succeed if the systems that power them are broken. They dedicated their work to finding the solution

After determining that the Clinical Practice Model is the most effective change management tool in any industry, they were determined to apply the model to education. Diagnosing and addressing problems in the seventeen Interactive Performance Systems (IPS), Vital Insight™ is able to prescribe specific treatment for individualized solutions. Research has shown that a district’s IPS must be in good working order for improvement plans to be fully successful.

Drs. Esbrandt and Hayes realize district and school leaders understand the importance of collecting and analyzing Interactive Performance System data. Once collected, analysis and interpretation of that data is cumbersome and extremely time consuming. As a result, most districts ignore the IPS and instead focus on previous years summative data. Utilizing student outcomes to determine and implement strategic plans leaves a critical data gap and results in the frustrating fact that less than 15% of all school improvement goals are fully achieved. Armed with proof that the Clinical Practice Model not only works (districts that implement it continue to realize improvement for years), Drs. Esbrandt and Hayes decided to digitize the process. Using Vital Insight™ education leaders can, in just days, validate what works within and among their IPS as well as identify and address the core problems with underperforming systems.

Dr. Phil Esbrandt, Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Phil Esbrandt serves as President and CEO of LeadershipEnergies, LLC (LE). Dr. Esbrandt has served as a teacher, high school principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent in five different school districts in the mid-Atlantic region; and has worked with community groups in many states to open and support charter schools. As a leader of and consultant to underperforming schools, he has guided performance turnarounds and has established a reputation for preparing future district and school leaders.

While superintendent, he delivered quality improvement training programs to administrators and teachers working alongside several major corporate partners and government agencies. After receiving his doctorate from Temple University, Dr. Esbrandt taught in the master and doctoral degree programs to prepare teachers, principals and superintendents for leadership responsibilities in high accountability environments.

Dr. Esbrandt leads his company in customizing the training of teachers and administrators, tailoring designs for improvement plans and accelerating adult and student learning through clinical practice concepts, protocols and diagnostic instruments to make continuous performance improvements a reality. In an era of impatience for high student achievement, clinical practice provides leaders with the guidance to produce better results in a short time-period.

Dr. Bruce Hayes, Chief Client Officer

Dr. Bruce Hayes has been involved in the study and application of educational reform strategies on five continents. Trained initially as an historical researcher, he obtained his undergraduate degree at Union College. He received his Masters from Colgate University, and his Doctorate from the Graduate School of Education of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Hayes began his career as a teacher, coach and administrator in public schools in Fairfield County, CT. He served, subsequently, for twenty years as the Superintendent of Schools for two public school districts. As superintendent, he was instrumental in reorganizing every aspect of the programs, facilities and organizations of each district involving hundreds of staff, students and residents from each community.

Dr. Hayes concurrently served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania, and at Arcadia University where he received the prestigious award as the student selected outstanding professor. He has also served as a consultant to urban, rural, and suburban school districts specializing in school performance improvement and leadership training. As a principal at LeadershipEnergies, he supported the improvement of regular public and charter schools.