Education Excellence

Kristina chats with Erin Cawley, program manager at Carnegie Mellon’s CS Academy, which has developed a novel, world-class, online, interactive high school computer science curriculum free for all to use. The program is designed to provide the resources necessary to empower teachers in instruction on computer sciences. CS Academy wants to instill a passion in students for computer science, rather than simply consuming new technology, Cawley says. Students are programming in Python and instruction is targeted toward ninth grades who have already taken Algebra 1, but the CS Academy is building out additional courses as well. There are several levels of instruction available from CS Academy that educators and students can take advantage by simply signing up for an account, with no other strings attached (it’s free). There also is professional development training and a support tab on the website available for teachers to get quick answers to their questions, she adds. This episode was sponsored by TESOL, www.tes

Kristina chats with Susan Liebesman, owner of Barbizon Chique. Barbizon specializes in developing life skills in children, teenagers and adults and provides development advice in the fields of modeling, acting, and singing. Susan also owns B2B Management, a boutique management company that manages corporate clients as well as top models, actors and artists, including Cover Girl Christina and movie star Regine Nehy. Liebesman discusses the importance of self-confidence and how Barbizon helps foster this extremely important characteristic in students. It’s also very important, she notes, for students to have a positive, balanced life to achieve their personal happiness. Barbizon’s curriculum includes looking at the whole person and honestly discussing body issues. Liebesman also notes that the entertainment industry can be dicey for parents and young kids unless parents do their due diligence to check out the bona fides of those offering opportunities for their children. This episode was sponsored by TESOL, www

Kristina chats with John Melville, director of biology at Vernier Software & Technology, which develops creative ways to teach and learn STEM using hands-on science, about data collection technology. Melville notes that data collection keeps students’ attention, (there’s more reality to it than writing on a chalkboard). In addition, he says, students, particularly biology students, perform much better on tests with hands-on lab experiments and reports, instead of with simulations. Also, using tools like adaptation goggles is an excellent way of learning about the neurological system, according to Melville. Finally, hands-on physiology experiments and analysis can intrigue non-science oriented students. This episode was sponsored by Vernier Software & Technology, http://www.vernier.com. 

Kristina chats with eight members of the NASSP (National Association of Secondary School Principals) Digital Principals of the Year Advisory Board about digital technology and innovation at their schools. The principals cite a variety of apps, programs, and tech tools, including Headspace; Instagram; Mood Meter; Flipgrid; Leaving Anchors of Appreciation; CANVAS; Twitter; and Google Suites. This is a quick but extremely informative episode. Give it a listen.

Kristina chats with Houston Kraft, co-founder of Character Strong, an organization that provides curriculum and trainings that transform the way schools teach the Whole Child. That approach, Kraft explains, includes social-emotional learning, character education, and equipping educators with practical tools to create a compassionate culture. Character Strong has worked with more than 1000 schools globally, he notes. The average family spends about 30 minutes a day connecting with their children, he adds, while school personnel are interacting with those children six hours a day, Kraft points out. Empathy has dropped 40 percent among college students, which should be a wake-up call for educators, he adds. That character trait, he says, as well as that of perseverance, are among the foundational pieces that students should possess, which are just as important as academic knowledge. “We’re in an epidemic of anxiety and loneliness,” Kraft asserts, and depression is on the rise as well. The function of education i

Kristina chats with Helene Becker, director of English Learner Education in the Norwalk, CN, Public Schools, who has taught ESL to all ages in Connecticut, New York, and Hawaii. When students come from a different country or culture or speak another language at home, it’s always a challenge to learn English, Becker notes. However, many K-12 students come from countries in Central America and have faced trauma and violence in their home countries and have enormous additional challenges. Other challenges: many of the students are over age and behind grade level; have to work; and are undocumented. Overlaying these challenges is the current national debate about immigrants in general. Many of the teachers involved in English language learning need additional training, according to Becker. Becker was part of the TESOL International Association writing team that wrote the TESOL Press best-seller The 6 Principles for Exemplary Teaching of English Learners. Among the principles: Know Your Learners, Create Conditions

Kristina chats with Jessica Baghian, Assistant Superintendent with the Louisiana Department of Education (LADOE) and Mike Nesterak, Vice President of Research and Development at NWEA and Senior Director of NWEA’s Product Innovation Center about Louisiana’s assessment pilot. Baghian leads assessment, accountability, and improvement for the LADOE and oversees improvement efforts of early childhood networks, local enrollment systems, and the CLASS quality rating system. Nesterak’s areas of expertise are reporting of data, early childhood assessments, and the use of technology in assessment. NWEA has been awarded a $1 million, two-year grant from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to support NWEA’s work with the Louisiana Department of Education on the state's innovative assessment pilot. The funding will be used to conceptualize, develop, and evaluate a pilot that utilizes curriculum content so that, regardless of their socioeconomic background, students have common background knowledge ensuring a more equ

Kristina chats with Annie Slease, Director of Advocacy and Education at National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Delaware, where she is responsible for programming, outreach, and advocacy for the statewide agency. Slease notes that the stigma of mental illness is the result of the lack of pertinent information. Early intervention is critical to dealing with mental illness in students and young adults, she explains. What percentage of people who develop mental illness do so by age 24? 75 percent. Social and emotional learning is extremely important in this area, she notes. Slease says that there’s nothing wrong with directly asking a person whether they are thinking of suicide. In fact, she explains, you may be saving a young person’s life. NAMI Delaware, the podcast’s newest marketing partner, offers education programs, support groups, and awareness events at no cost and provides advocacy on behalf of individuals and their families as well as helps shape legislative policies to support those affected by men

Kristina chats with Michael McLaughlin, superintendent of the San Leandro Unified School District in California since 2013 and Mike Teng, CEO and co-founder of Swing Education, a tech-enabled marketplace that connects substitute teachers with schools in need.  McLaughlin talks about rebuilding the infrastructure of the school district, including the introduction of new technology and the concept of aggressively competing against other schools, including charter schools. McLaughlin discusses the implementation and benchmarking of three-year strategic plans, and the importance of celebrating successes, including those involving student achievement, school safety, and re-branding of the district. The teacher shortage is definitely real in California, says McLaughlin and is magnified in the East Bay, where his district is located. It’s difficult financially for both permanent and substitute teachers to live there, so the district invited substitute teachers to attend its professional development meetings and also

Kristina chats with April Gower, Chief Operating Officer for CHADD, Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Gower has worked in the ADHD area for the past five years focusing not only on supporting parents with children with ADHD, but educators as well. CHADD has a variety of valuable resources to support educators, parents, and students who are dealing with ADHD, including a Teacher-to-Teacher program, tip sheets, video clips, and a helpline. Gower notes that not everyone has access to evidence-based strategies that work in this area, and that’s where CHADD comes in. ADHD is serious business, both Kristina and April note, which is made more difficult by the stigma that unfortunately is still attached to the disorder. It is important when dealing with the disorder, which manifests itself in a variety of ways, including impulsivity, forgetfulness, restlessness, and disorganization and not being able to do class and homework assignments as quickly as others, that we emphasize t

Kristina chats with Rhonda Lauer, president and CEO of Foundations, Inc., about the importance of “heart” and passion in educational leadership. (Before Kristina came along, Rhonda was the youngest school principal ever in Philadelphia.) When you take care of the hearts and happiness of your school leaders, it translates into improved student achievement, Lauer says. Everyone collects data, Lauer notes, but the key question is what leaders do with that data. It’s also critical to model and customize your coaching of school leaders, she points out. Another important concept: After-School Programs, which reinforce what students need, such as literacy and grade-level reading. Leaders learn how to align their after-school programs to what their students are learning in the regular school day. Running a “learning” organization, Lauer learns from a multitude of sources, including her parents, children, and grandchildren; the people she works with; other educators; and by observing what’s happening at schools in the

Kristina chats with Jolene Levin, a director at NorvaNivel, an education company founded in Australia in 2010, and Troy Moore, head of Mariners Christian School in Orange County, CA, about the importance of matching classroom design to today’s and tomorrow’s pedagogy, especially in these times of increasing inclusion and meeting the needs of the “whole” student. Levin explains that “form follows function” when it comes to classroom design. Moore notes that NorvaNivel’s furniture, which might be viewed as a bit radical, matched the needs of his teachers to be ready for the next generation of students. Levin notes that the color schemes chosen by the schools should be specific to the vision of the school. For that reason, she says, NorvaNivel customizes, rather than deploying a cookie-cutter approach. In addition, Moore says, students and teachers are ready today to move away from the standard rows of chairs into a more decentralized approach toward classroom design. The bottom line, according to Levin, is that

Kristina chats with Stacie Freeman, co-executive director at Bright Light Volunteers and associate professor of sociology at Bethel University in Tennessee about global citizenship. Bright Light Volunteers is dedicated to fostering the common humanity in the global setting and how individual students and others truly can make a difference in the world. When Freeman began offering global learning to first-generation college students almost a decade ago through the global studies department, the goal was to enable these students to take responsibility for what is happening in the world, in part, by offering volunteer opportunities through Bright Light Volunteers, which partners with nonprofit institutions far and wide, including in Costa Rico, Thailand, and Cuba. Recently, Freeman notes, Bright Light Volunteers is beginning to measure the achievement of high school participants and found that 100 percent have graduated from high school and 100 percent have attended college. The college retention rate for global

Kristina chats with Joseph Jones, director of assessment and accountability in the New Castle (DE) County Vocational and Technical District, and T.J. Vari, assistant superintendent of secondary schools and district operations Appoquinimink School District, the fastest growing school district in Delaware. Jones and Vari are authors of the new book, Candid and Compassion Feedback, published by Routledge. Many educators are trapped in a “circle of nice,” Jones says, by not being direct enough, which applies to both teachers and administrators. Candor is being direct, he explains but does mean educators should ever be disrespectful or rude. Districts, administrators, and teachers are often isolated, Vari notes, making it even more important to be transparent and to actively address problems by taking action. Education is not a zero sum game, says Vari. The bottom line: For educators to be truly compassionate, they need to be act with quality candor, according to Jones and Vari. This episode was sponsored by Routl

Kristina chats with Luvelle Brown, superintendent of the Ithaca (NY) Independent School District and author of Culture of Love. Love is more than an emotion, Brown says, but rather is embedded in action that administrators and teachers can take to better educate their students.  It’s important to have structured, intentional education with students, he says. Reflection informs that structured education, and therefore, must be intentional as well. Conflict is always present in education but the choice of whether we attempt to combat it — and how we deal with it — is up to us. Brown is involved in multiple projects in the community and teaches at a local college, so he gave up trying to achieve an abstract notion of work-family balance, but he chooses priorities of the moment, whether it’s spending time with his kids or dealing with work issues. This episode was sponsored by Peer Forward, www.peerforward.com, and Curriculum Associates, curriculumassociates.com.  

At the AASA meeting in Los Angeles, in the midst of Valentine’s Day, Kristina interviews school superintendents and other educational leaders asking one transcendent question: What’s love got do with education? In this brief special episode, find out what these leaders have to say about why love and happiness are vitally important as a practical concept in education today.

Kristina talks with Keith Frome, the co-founder and CEO of PeerForward and Gary Linnen, Managing Director for Program Innovation and Operations, about the history and mission of PeerForward, which in its original incarnation (College Summit) was founded on the principle that the most influential person to a 17-year-old was another 17-year-old. The guests discussed the Youth Activation Summit, which PeerForward produced last summer along with Facebook. The summit, in which school districts from all across the country participated, was designed to help schools solve a wide assortment of issues, including grading policies and bullying, which could be solved through the power of positive peer influence, support, and guidance. In one case, it resulted in a lively discussion of possible solutions to a high school bullying problem, which ultimately resulted in a mayor implementing a “kindness” day around what happened at the summit. PeerForward also is now involved in the peer influence for vulnerable college studen

Kristina chats with Michelle Fleming, principal at Lake Park Elementary School in the Palm Beach School District in Florida, the 10th largest school district in the country, although the Lake Park Elementary School (which Burt Reynolds attended) is relatively small.  The school is 98 percent minority, including with 33 percent of the student body being Haitian Creole, she notes. The school has implemented iReady to overcome its literacy proficiency of only 25 percent. Now, the school is off of the state’s list of low-performing schools. According to Fleming, the iReady books and the data produced by iReady, a product of Curriculum Associates, have been a game-changer for the school. In need of funds to purchase iReady, Fleming engaged in a GoFundMe campaign — very successfully. In a Title I school, “you’re your own marketing agent,” Fleming notes. iReady really pushes students and has a wide range of offerings, she adds. This episode was sponsored by NWEA, www.nwea.org, Better Lesson, https://betterlesson.com

In Special Episode #1, Kristina chats with Sen. Tom Carper from Delaware about repurposing the GM plant in Delaware for STEM education, the importance of happiness, and why emphasizing potential in education is paramount. Sen. Carper also describes why charter schools and public school choice are important concepts. He explains why putting together a consortium of science companies, including DuPont, to develop a STEM high school called the Charter School of Delaware, which is now one of the top 10 public schools in the country, is one of the proudest moments of his career. Carper also talks about how being a Principal for a Day is a very rewarding experience for him. And you definitely want to hear Sen. Carper’s story about the rewards of mentoring.

Kristina chats with Rick Jetter, co-author of the book, Let Them Speak!, and co-founder of Pushing Boundaries about student voice, one of the “new,” “cool” terms in education. Student voice isn’t really “new,” and shouldn’t be viewed as just a “cool” buzzword, he notes. Really, Jetter says, student voice is about partnerships with students and asking them what they think about lessons, programs, or initiatives. Jetter has been collecting student narratives for years, and these narratives have become a pathway for really hearing student voices. When shared with boards of education, for example, it can lead to real-world changes in education policy, such as with anti-bullying programs. Pendergast in Arizona had created a true student discourse, and it’s making a real difference, he says. Educators work with staff all the time, so why don’t we also bring in students when making decisions, he asks, adding that such inclusion “is not treason.” The bottom line, he says, is that student voice activates happiness, wh