Podcasts about education elements

Welcome back to TrackPoint Talks—your single source for the latest tech trends affecting the education industry.  On today's episode, Lenovo's Casey Sutton talks with Shelby McIntosh, Senior Vice President of Education Elements, a Scholarus Learning Company, about how K-12 school districts can use strategic planning to stay ahead of the curve. You don't want to miss these insights on keeping students engaged, empowering educators, and using innovative technology to accelerate the future of education. Press play now for the full story.

Anthony Kim began his career in education by helping higher education institutions with technology projects and data. He is the Founder and CLO of Education Elements. He believes that learning environments and school designs need to be open and flexible so that teachers, the true designers of learning, can successfully create the best possible learning conditions for students.

This edWeb podcast is sponsored by Education Elements, a Scholarus Learning Company.The edLeader Panel recording can be accessed here.Effective school improvement creates a shared sense of enthusiasm and efficacy toward common goals and has life-changing impacts on students. Yet, too often, we find ourselves trapped inside the belief that we are working on school improvement when very little has changed year over year.Join our exceptional panel of district and state leaders in discussing their journeys with effective school improvement. We discuss proven school improvement frameworks, and explore the need for strong instructional support, coaching, and leadership to make effective school improvement a reality.This edWeb podcast is of interest to K-12 teachers and school and district leaders.Education Elements Educators who are committed to improving student outcomes through personalized learning solutions.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.

This edWeb podcast is sponsored by Education Elements, a Scholarus Learning Company.The edLeader Panel recording can be accessed here.Effective leaders have a lasting impact on implementation. They know how to create opportunities for change, opportunities for collaboration, and how to measure progress to fuel success.In this dWeb podcast, we meet two strong leaders and hear how they used the Art of Implementing Well to fuel success in their districts. We dive into the three principles of the Art of Implementing Well: Mindset, Collaboration, and Resilient Systems.Join Anthony Kim as he discusses implementing initiatives and change with Superintendent Amy Creeden of Enlarged City School District of Middletown in New York and Superintendent Dr. Rick Robins of Canyons School District in Utah. We end our discussion with an aspirational vision for education and what we need to do well to get there.This dWeb podcast is of interest to K-12 school and district leaders and librarians.Education Elements Educators who are committed to improving student outcomes through personalized learning solutions.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.

Anthony Kim is a Corwin Press bestselling author, with publications including The New Team Habits, The New School Rules, and The Personalized Learning Playbook. His writing ranges from topics including the future of work, leadership and team motivation, improving the way we work, and innovation in systems-based approaches to organizations and school design. Anthony believes that how we work is the key determinant to the success of any organization.In addition to his writing, Anthony is the founder and Chief Learning Officer of Education Elements, a Scholarus Learning company. Anthony is a trusted partner to districts and educators nationwide and has been the founder of several companies.Join us for this conversation about looking at schools as organizations for learning, creating systems that drive efficient and effective change in schools, and getting comfortable with moving forward without having all the answers.IN THIS EPISODE, WE DISCUSS: How Anthony began his work in the education field by building tools to track students' online behavior and engagement. Why implementation is the key to a products' outcomes. What schools can learn from the organization of movie productions in order to create change more efficiently. Getting comfortable moving forward without knowing everything. The use of AI and its effect on personal relationships. What organizational shifts are necessary to create large scale change in how schools operate. Why we need less reinvention and more evolution in the school system. RESOURCES AND LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Connect with Anthony on LinkedIn. Get your copy of The NEW School Rules: 6 Vital Practices for Thriving and Responsive Schools. Learn more about Rebel Educator, explore our professional development opportunities for educators and students, and check out our project library. Visit us at UP Academy to learn more about our personalized and inclusive learning environment. Connect with Tanya and UP Academy on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram and learn more about her journey here. Check out my book Rebel Educator: Create Classrooms Where Impact and Imagination Meet: amzn.to/3AcwlfFEnjoying the show? Leave us a rating and review and help more people find us!bit.ly/RebelEducatorApplePodcastsWe'd love it if you could take a few minutes to fill out this survey to let us know how we can bring you the best possible content: forms.gle/JcKHf9DHTZnYUmQr6 Interested in being on the Rebel Educator podcast? Fill out this form and we'll reach out to you if we think you'd be a great fit for an upcoming episode. https://forms.gle/CZJXLQDdevPh22ZN7Want to learn more about opening your own UP Academy? Check out the Rebel Educator Accelerator:www.rebeleducator.com/courses/the-acceleratorMORE ABOUT THE REBEL EDUCATOR PODCAST:In each episode of the Rebel Educator podcast, I deconstruct world-class educators, students, and thought leaders in education to extract the tactics, tools, and routines that you can use as teachers and parents. Join me as we discuss how to shift the classroom, the learning environment, the mindset, and the pedagogy, to resist tradition, reignite wonder, and re-imagine the future of education.This podcast is dedicated to all of the educators who work thankless hours to make our next generation the best it can be.  It was designed to begin conversations on how we can redesign education for the future of work and the success of our students.  It is meant for teachers, students, administrators, homeschoolers and anyone who interacts with and teaches youth.  We're so grateful to our sponsor AI Coach by Edthena. AI Coach enables your teachers to go through coaching cycles based on their own needs. The virtual coach guides teachers to reflect on their teaching, set a goal, and create an action plan… all based on gathering classroom evidence. It gives support between PD days  and other coaching cycles.Get a free trial for your teachers here.

Welcome to season three of Education Suspended! We kick off the season with Justin Toomer. Justin dives into the role curriculum should play in opening doors and uncovering new content. He highlights the reality that the better school experience students have, the more likely they are to consider becoming educators. And, Justin reminds us to use data in a way that doesn't just tell the story that has already been written for so many of our students. Justin Toomer is a Senior Consultant at Education Elements. He is driven by the science of learning, the art of teaching, and pushing others to think differently. He was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, and is a first-generation college graduate from Williams College. Based upon the transformational impact his experience afforded him, Justin entered the field of education with an intention to increase the opportunities for all students to access a quality and equitable education. He brings his student-centered approaches, understanding of equitable school systems, and relationship-driven mindset to the educational settings he's in partnership with around the country. Intro song: Poet's Row, Young Bones

Last month I talked about the TBD framework for making career decisions, and as I teased at the end of that episode, I was evaluating a current opportunity for myself. Today, I'm going to walk you through my thought process using the TBD framework. First, a little review, because maybe you don't listen to every single episode! Gasp! TBD stands for Tribe, Brand, and Domain. I learned about it because a friend shared this article on LinkedIn with me called "[[Tribe, Brand, Domain (TBD)–How to Think about Building Career]] (link) It is written by David Boyce. This strategy is effective in evaluating where you currently are in your career, and can also be used to evaluate a specific position. The tribe part refers to the people that you are working with. Who are you surrounded by. I had a job just after I graduated high school, and I did not like the people that I was around. The owner seemed super shady, I never trusted my paychecks. My coworkers were very negative and vulgar. I knew that I didn't want to be around them long term. In this new position I am looking at currently, I thought, who will be there? Who are the people that I'll work closely with. Thankfully, I've known this company for almost 6 years and I have had many interactions so I could feel reasonably confident that I would be surrounded by great people. In fact, if I had to identify the people that I would want to work with, several of them would already be employed at this company. You know that's a good sign right? I know people who have left this company, and I have seen how there is still respect for them. They weren't tossed to the wind when they left. Articles and videos by these people are still up, still promoted and still relevant. In thinking of the kind of people that I want to be around, these seems like my tribe. Honestly, the hardest part of being out on my own for the last two years is that I haven't really had a tribe. Well, it's just been very small! I've been very fortunate to work with great districts and great principals, but those have not been working side-by-side with people on the same things. And, I've been extremely fortunate to work with Dr. Courtney Orr on some specific projects the last few months as well. I realized that one thing that was lacking in my current solopreneur efforts was a tribe. I'm part of a coaching program, so I have some peers, but they're all working on their own stuff, and I've really missed working collaboratively on specific projects. Brand The next piece is Brand. It's not just name brand recognition. It is really about do they align with my own personal brand. In the article, David Boyce asks if you would be excited to talk about this company at holiday parties and over the weekend hanging out with your friends. Are you excited to say that you work for this company? Well, the exciting part for this company is that I have been consistently positive in talking about them for the last several years. I've referred many people to them for resources and support. Furthermore, I have also seen how this company works first hand. I worked with them when I was up in Fairbanks, Alaska. I know their value, their work ethic, and their contribution. All of those things align with my brand. In fact, when I was talking with someone about this the other day, I said, “I can't think of a company more aligned with who I am that isn't my own company!” Honestly, when I left the principalship two years ago, I was pretty certain that I wouldn't work for anybody besides myself ever again. But then, I found this TBD framework, and thought about things a little more strategically. Part of this brand piece is what kind of impact it enables. As you probably know, I want to impact the lives of 100 Million kids in the next 10 years. That's a big task. I want to make a bigger impact than I currently am making. Could I make a bigger impact with a company that is already making a big impact? I think so. Another part of my brand is that I want to learn constantly. I have gaps in my capabilities, and I want to improve them. I've thought long and hard about how to improve them. I could spend more time and energy learning academically and through coaches, or I can work with someone and learn by doing. Which of those aligns with my personal brand? I've learned just about everything I know by doing. This podcast is a perfect example of that. I have learned so much by doing this that it is crazy. Ironically, this podcast is also an example of learning by seeking mentors and coaching as well. The interviews that I have done have always been about finding a solution to a problem that I or one of my clients was having. Basically, I felt that I could go either way: more private coaching or working with someone else. Either way, I could still make growth happen, which is exactly what I want. Domain That leads into the third part of the framework: Domain. What do I want to get good at? I want to get better at thinking strategically at a high level. I want to get better at looking at district level solutions, not just school level. This company really only operates at the district level. Furthermore, I want to know how a larger-than-me small business operates. This is not a one-man shop, but it is a lot bigger than I am on my own. What I would like to see is greater opportunity in understanding how to make things work at a bigger scale. It's one thing for me to serve schools by myself, with no or little support. It's another thing to serve districts with tens of thousands of students with a team behind you. I've been doing well in my entrepreneurial journey. I've been able to support my family, but I'm learning more and more that I don't really want it to be just me. I want a team. I want a tribe. As I always do, I'm going to look back at this later and think how quaint I sound. But that's just what happens when you grow! Before I get to my final decision, I want to share something that I am sponsoring: The Equity Awards. Transformative Principal is proud to sponsor the inaugural Excellence in Equity Awards, presented by the American Consortium for Equity in Education. This award program, designed to spotlight and celebrate high-impact work across K–12 education, features 27 different award categories covering all angles of equity – 10 categories for educators and support staff from every role in our schools, and 17 categories for companies and nonprofits.  Educators of all roles and backgrounds –including school and district leaders, technology leadership, teachers, mental health professionals, librarians and media specialists, and more – can self-nominate or nominate a colleague. All companies and nonprofits – including publishers and authors – can submit nominations as well. You can find all the information at ace-ed.org/awards. Get your nominations in before June 30! EdElements As you have probably guessed by now, this new position fills all the criteria using TBD. Naturally, I used other criteria as well. It's remote, so I don't have to move again. The compensation is fair, benefits are good and there is room for growth. Perhaps most importantly for me right now is the idea of making a bigger impact by working with whole districts. I love my work with principals who are in my mastermind, but as I have just completed spending a year with a district in Wisconsin, I can see how much more powerful it is to work with a whole system and support them in making those changes. The services they provide are in line with what I want to be talking about in education, as well. Their flagship service is personalized learning, which I absolutely love! They also do surveys (effectively), strategic planning, responsive leadership (which is almost as good as Transformative Leadership), teacher retention, data culture, and more. And, obviously, because I am a man of faith, I prayed and pondered to see if this was the right move for me. It is. For sure. I'm excited to announce today that I am the newest partner at Education Elements. You can learn more about what they do at edelements.com. Overview of Services Provided by EdElements! One of the things that I am most excited about with EdElements is that they are doing so much good in education. I want to dive in a bit deeper to some of the things they do, so that you can call me up and say, “Jethro, let's do more of this!” Personalized Learning If you've been listening to this podcast for any amount of time, you know that I believe that personalizing learning for our kids is the best way to educate. My flavor of Personalized Learning is student driven learning, but EdElements has been doing this work for years, and they do great work. I worked with them on this in Fairbanks as a principal and they made a huge mindset shift accessible to teachers who had been teaching for decades. I'm really excited about this part of this new adventure. In my mind, so many things that we are really grappling with in education can be solved by Personalized Learning. Teacher shortages, trauma, SEL, equity, and so many more things can really be gathered up into a Personalized Learning approach. Think about it, if we are personalizing learning for our students, we naturally bring so many of these other areas into it for them. For example, in the district I am working with in Wisconsin, one of the teachers said that a particular student was overwhelmed by the choices she had and just wanted to be told what to do. The teacher commented how she had had no idea before that this girl was struggling with anxiety. The way school was set up didn't decrease her anxiety, but it didn't open a door to address it. The beauty is that now this teacher knows, knows the signs, and can help this student and others in the future. Strategic Planning Another area that I am really excited about is strategic planning. Usually, with strategic planning, we know that as “put all this work into something, then put it on the shelf to never look at again.” In rare instances, a few select “inner circle members” may know what the strategic plan is for the district, but nobody else knows why we are doing all this stuff! With Education Elements, they do things a bit differently. First, it's not a template that the district just follows. Each school district's plan is as unique as that school district. It has to be, right? Otherwise, what is the point of being just another cookie cutter school district!? So, there are several different approaches: - Did your school enrollment go down because of the pandemic? - Did your school enrollment go up because of the pandemic? - Is there a new superintendent or school board and we now have different priorities? - Do you want to have more innovation in your district, but don't know how to capture that? One school board really wanted innovation in their district, but they didn't know what that looked like. But they wanted to feel like they were innovative. By doing a strategic plan, they were able to define what innovation looked like and make some positive steps in the right direction. Community Surveys One of my mastermind clients recently complained a survey that her school district administered with an outside company. One of the anonymous questions was, “Do you trust your principal?” Of course, she got some responses that indicated she wasn't trusted. But she didn't know how to deal with those responses, because they were anonymous and the question was so broad, there was really no way to explain what trust meant in that situation. Education Elements does surveys differently. There's a way to ask questions to get at what people really think about something. An anonymous, “do you trust your principal” leaves way too many things out there in the ether. So, these surveys are, as with everything else at EdElements, focused on the specific needs of that district, not just pulling from a random question bank, or worse, the same questions for every single district, even if they don't apply. Responsive Leadership Another service that EdElements provides is responsive leadership. Of course, this is an area where I am really excited to contribute. As Todd Whitaker says, “When the principal coughs, the school gets a cold!” The same goes for the district level leadership as well. As I've said hundreds of times on this podcast, leadership is lonely. It's tough. Leaders need support. Especially in education, where we are great teachers and maybe not so great at being managers, leaders, visionaries, or inspirers. But leaders have to be all those things and more. There are other areas where Education Elements works, like data culture, teacher retention, custom curriculum, and more. I'm excited to start this new journey. If you're listening to this, and you would like to work with me, you can reach out to me at my new work email address, jethro@edelements.com. I hope I can help you make a HUGE impact on your students' lives! Sponsors Transformative Principal Mastermind Lead a school everyone can be proud of. Being a principal is tough work. You're pulled in all kinds of directions. You never have the time to do the work that really matters. Join me as I help school leaders find the time to do the work they became principals to do. I help you stop putting out fires and start leading. Learn more at https://transformativeprincipal.com Just Right Reader Just Right Reader Decodables are a great way to help your students learn how to read, with research-based strategies that are proven to be effective. Each grade level has over 100 books. Send books home in packs of ten, with video lessons accessible via QR codes on each book, with lessons in Spanish and English. Learn more at https://justrightreader.com

“Think Tanks” became popular in the 1960s, and even more so in the 1980s as a way for experts to research and develop ideas for policy and change. But if we spend all our time thinking instead of taking action, what good are we doing?   This week on the podcast, Don Soifer and Ashley Campbell of Nevada Action for School Options are sharing how their Action Tank is actually doing the work.   What if we focused on meeting each individual students' needs, instead of trying to fit kids into a prescribed system? Building partnerships is the way to do this affordably and Nevada Action has figured out how to do just that.   Everyone is working so hard to support families and kids, and it shouldn't have to cost families financially to give their kids what they need. Listen in to hear how one organization is doing it right and finding ways to impact even more families.   About Don Soifer: Don Soifer is President of Nevada Action for School Options, a nonpartisan “action tank” he founded in 2017 to support the growth of diverse choices of rich, high-quality and personalized educational opportunities for all students.   Prior to moving to Nevada, he served as Executive Vice President of the Lexington Institute, a nonpartisan think tank in Arlington, VA that he cofounded in 1998. Soifer directed the institute's education and other domestic-policy research programs. He also created and ran the Lexington Education Leadership Award Fellowship, the nation's first national fellowship for school district leaders supporting personalized learning with technical partners Education Elements.   Soifer has built a record as one of the nation's most accomplished charter school authorizers. He served an unprecedented three mayor-appointed, Council-confirmed terms on the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board beginning in 2008. He was widely regarded as a driving force transforming one of the nation's most successful charter authorizers as it instituted systems for prioritizing quality for the 120+ schools overseen, via a new national model accountability framework, equity, transparency and responsible authorizing.  He subsequently served as a board member on the Nevada State Public Charter School Authority, appointed by the State Board of Education, from 2019-2021, during which time he played an instrumental role driving the agency's focus on quality schools and equitable opportunity.   He has been a fellow with the Aspen-Pahara Institute Education Fellowship since 2018. Soifer has also served as a strategy consultant for companies, including Fortune 100 companies, across multiple economic sectors. Soifer's research has been published and discussed in many of the nation's most influential news publications and policy journals, and cited by policy decisionmakers at all levels of government, including the U.S. Supreme Court. He has testified before the U.S. Congress on several occasions, in official hearings of various federal and state agencies and legislatures, and has appeared regularly on television and radio programs around the country. About Ashley Campbell: Ashley Campbell is Chief of Staff at Nevada Action for School Options. Before coming to Nevada Action for School Options, Ashley was the Assistant Director for The Pinecrest Foundation and the Community Coordinator for Pinecrest Academy, Horizon Campus. Ashley oversaw many initiatives, including teacher initiatives geared towards teacher retention and addressing the teacher shortage. In addition, Ashley worked in project development, raising funds for underserved students and student scholarships. As Community Coordinator, Ashley was responsible for implementing many programs at Pinecrest Horizon, such as annual block parties and family nights. She was instrumental in increasing enrollment by 7% in 2019.   Before joining Pinecrest, Ashley worked in the independent film market as both an actress and producer. Producing films gave Ashley experience in leading multiple teams, as well as overseeing projects with a variety of budgets. Working as an actress provided Ashley the opportunity to learn from industry professionals, such as Matt Damon and Elijah Wood.   Ashley is committed to improving education in Nevada, and firmly believes that the best way to do that is to ensure that educational opportunities not only exist, but thrive. Jump in the Conversation: [1:36] - Being an action tank [3:08] - Making partnership micro-schooling work [6:26] - How it compares to public schools - how it looked different [9:16] - Goal of building strong ecosystems of independent micro-schools [11:10] - How funding works  [12:48] - The role of Nevada Action  [14:38] - Relationships between technical partner and host partner are important [15:30] - Be creative about getting dollars into education [17:57] - Employers can improve system - employer-sponsored partnership [18:31] - Teachers crave family buy-in and involvement [20:01] - Kids have given up on school - able to deal with sit? [20:57] - Fundamental shift  families were working so hard and struggling that they started rethinking relationships with institution [22:36] - There are people who want to help you [23:35] - Fundamental relationships really matter [25:15] - Turbo Time [28:29] - Biggest thing people need to know about student-driven learning [32:58] - Ashley's Magic Wand [33:37] - Don's Magic Wand [33:14] - Maureen's Takeaways   Links & Resources  Nevada Action for Schools Empower: What Happens When Students Own Their Learning by John Spencer and AJ Juliani A Time to Build: From Family and Community to Congress and the Campus, How Recommitting to Our Institutions Can Revive the American Dream by Yuval Levin EdActive Summit Email Maureen Maureen's TEDx: Changing My Mind to Change Our Schools The Education Evolution Facebook: Follow Education Evolution Twitter: Follow Education Evolution LinkedIn: Follow Education Evolution EdActive Collective Maureen's book: Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids Micro-school feature on Good Morning America The Micro-School Coalition Facebook: The Micro-School Coalition LEADPrep

If you prefer to listen to my conversation with Regie Routman instead of watching it, here it is. We explored this question related to my new book, Leading Like a C.O.A.C.H., available through Corwin now (30% off through March). What people are saying about Leading Like a C.O.A.C.H.Matt Renwick is the principal we all wish we had and the one we all want to be. His ideas about walking alongside teachers to grow them in the same ways we want them to grow students are just-right advice. He brings the research on trust and collective efficacy to life through concrete ways to operationalize rituals and routines of observation, goal setting, and planning with teachers.Samantha BennettLearning Design Specialist, Instructional Coach and Education ConsultantMatt Renwick makes a compelling case for deeper inquiry and more thoughtful engagement around teacher practice. Full of rich, compelling examples from Matt’s real-world experience, this book will help readers reconnect with their purpose as instructional leaders. Highly recommended.Justin BaederDirector of The Principal Center, Author of Now We’re Talking!Matt Renwick offers readers a rich, practical how-to book supported by current research. This book should be within easy arm’s reach of school administrators wishing to increase their skills of performing their major responsibility: increasing student learning.”Arthur L. Costa and Robert J. GarmstonProfessors Emeriti, California State University, Sacramento, Co-Authors of Cognitive CoachingMatt Renwick reminds us of a key element of our shared professional leadership work: we can’t do it alone. He keeps us focused on the value of coaching tools and the pillars he references to keep instruction at the center of the work of educational leaders. This book draws on an extensive research base as well as Matt Renwick’s own professional experience to provide an accessible entry point for school leaders as they consider what it means to lead like a coach.Jason DrysdaleAssistant Superintendent, River East Transcona Winnipeg, Manitoba, CanadaResearch is clear: Principals can have a tremendous impact on student success by focusing on job #1: ensuring every student benefits from great teaching in every classroom. Drawing upon his vast experience as a successful leader, Matt Renwick provides compelling insights, practical tools, and real-life examples for how to effect real change in schools. Leading Like a C.O.A.C.H. is a must-read playbook for any principal seeking to improve student outcomes—not by forcing change from outside in, but rather by unleashing it from the inside out through trust, compassion, optimism, and an unrelenting focus on excellence.Bryan GoodwinPresident & CEO, McREL International, Author of Building a Curious SchoolRenwick unpacks conversations by describing what he said in a coaching situation and then sharing his reasoning for why he chose the actions he took. This book is not just for people who are in the positional role of leader; it is for anyone who wants to develop their leadership capabilities.Bena KallickCo-Director, Institute for Habits of Mind, Co-author of Students at the CenterThis is exactly the book educators need to build trust while navigating the tensions in today’s school systems. Leading Like a C.O.A.C.H. will provide you with strategies that humanize leadership and bring joy to the work. This is an excellent book to read with your school teams to build the leadership pipeline essential to sustaining organizational excellence and a positive culture.Anthony KimFounder and CEO, Education Elements, Co-author of The NEW School RulesAn inspirational guide for school leaders, this text provokes discussion and reflection among leaders who see themselves as as co-leaders in school communities. School vision becomes a reality when school leaders coach school faculties in a collaborative and collegial way in order to create a comprehensive and cohesive learning environment for students. An excellent book that is accessible to all principals.Allyson MatczukEarly Literacy Consultant and Reading Recovery Trainer at Manitoba, Education and TrainingLeading Like a C.O.A.C.H. provides a framework that engenders trust and fortifies commitment to instructional excellence. Matt Renwick helps readers envision and rethink roles and routines. Most of all, his strategies, stories, and practical approach take the burden of trying to be an 'exert of everything' off of principals' shoulders. If you want your school to be a place where teachers and students want to be, this book is for you!Cris TovaniEnglish teacher, literacy consultant, Author of Why Do I Have to Read This? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit readbyexample.substack.com

In this episode, Dr. Amy and Dr. Joi have a no-holds-barred conversation about teacher retention.  We discuss the increase in teachers retiring or leaving the profession altogether, further impacting the crisis levels of teacher shortages across the nation.  In Part 1 of this 3-part series on teacher retention, we use the Ultimate Guide to Teacher Retention by Education Elements and a survey by the National Education Association to guide our conversation about the reasons teachers leave the classroom. 

In this episode of Edtech Insiders, we speak with Amy Amner Jenkins, Head of Schools at Outschool.Previously, Amy was the Chief Operating Officer of Education Elements, an associate partner at NewSchools Venture Fund, a co-founder of an after school program that combines soccer and literacy, and a teacher with Teach for America. Amy holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.In this conversation, Amy and I chat about how Outschool became one of the fastest growing edtech companies during the pandemic, how teachers are using their teaching skills to create side hustles or even full time jobs teaching online, and how Outschool is beginning to work directly within schools to expand learning opportunities.ResourcesAmy recommends:Following school district leaders on Twitter Feedspot Weekly as an aggregator of edtech newsStart with the Why by Simon Sinek

In schools, the logistics of how our teams work together are just as important as what we work together to do. In this super practical episode, organizational development expert Anthony Kim shares better habits for school leadership teams to adopt. Anthony is the CEO of Education Elements and the author of The New Team Habits and The New School Rules. 

The origin story of Canyons School District — a school system created in 2007 by a vote of the people — is as familiar, by now, as our track record in prioritizing college- and career-readiness, student achievement, innovation, community engagement, customer service and fiscal accountability. It’s time to start writing the next chapter. In a bid to keep student achievement and innovation at the forefront of its mission and vision, the Canyons Board of Education has hired the consulting firm Education Elements to assist the Board and Administration with creating and implementing a new strategic plan to carry us forward into the next decade. What is a strategic plan, and why is it important? In this episode of Connect Canyons we explore these questions, and more, with Shelby McIntosh from Education Elements. Source

In this episode of Illuminate Higher Education, podcast host Kiran Kodithala (CEO of N2N Services) welcomes a new guest: David Blake, Founder of Degreed. David and Kiran continue the discussion about determining the value of a college degree, and David reviews how his company Degreed is making it easier for employers to evaluate skills for non-traditional educational paths. Both Kiran and David are self-professed lifelong learners. The problem is, currently only certain types of learning milestones are taken into consideration by employers, notably a four-year college degree. When companies eliminate job candidates based on this requirement, they are missing out on an unknown amount of talent. Meanwhile, countless skilled individuals who lack a college degree are losing years of increased salary, even if their skills and abilities exceed what their current job calls for, because they don’t meet this requirement. It is within this context that David shares Degreed’s mission and goals. David believes that schools and employers often weigh learning inputs more heavily than learning outputs. Degreed seeks to change that by rewarding demonstrated mastery of certain skills, rather than simply rewarding someone for completing a class. Listen now to hear how David began his journey in education technology, what Degreed has to offer both individual learners and employers, and why it’s so important to earn “credit” for self-guided lifelong learning that takes place outside of the classroom but doesn’t fit the mold for traditional educational background. Discover more about Degreed by visiting their website and following on LinkedIn or @degreed on Twitter. You can also connect with guest David Blake on LinkedIn and follow @davidblake on Twitter. Don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.   See you in the next episode.

In this episode of Illuminate Higher Education, podcast host Kiran Kodithala (CEO of N2N Services) welcomes a new guest: David Blake, Founder of Degreed. David and Kiran continue the discussion about determining the value of a college degree, and David reviews how his company Degreed is making it easier for employers to evaluate skills for non-traditional educational paths. Both Kiran and David are self-professed lifelong learners. The problem is, currently only certain types of learning milestones are taken into consideration by employers, notably a four-year college degree. When companies eliminate job candidates based on this requirement, they are missing out on an unknown amount of talent. Meanwhile, countless skilled individuals who lack a college degree are losing years of increased salary, even if their skills and abilities exceed what their current job calls for, because they don’t meet this requirement. It is within this context that David shares Degreed’s mission and goals. David believes that schools and employers often weigh learning inputs more heavily than learning outputs. Degreed seeks to change that by rewarding demonstrated mastery of certain skills, rather than simply rewarding someone for completing a class. Listen now to hear how David began his journey in education technology, what Degreed has to offer both individual learners and employers, and why it’s so important to earn “credit” for self-guided lifelong learning that takes place outside of the classroom but doesn’t fit the mold for traditional educational background. Discover more about Degreed by visiting their website and following on LinkedIn or @degreed on Twitter. You can also connect with guest David Blake on LinkedIn and follow @davidblake on Twitter. Don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.   See you in the next episode.

In this episode we are talking with Crystal Xu and Purvi Patel, co-authors of Capture the Opportunity: Steps to Redesign School-Level Systems for Equity. Crystal is a Design Principal with Education Elements and partners with educators to maximize student learning through innovative approaches. As a former teacher, school leader and district leader, her passion is around rethinking the ecosystem within…Read more

For our last episode of the season, we talk to Gabby Hewitt, mom of two and a former history and government teacher, about how to talk to (young) kids about the elections. She shares what she's learned about focusing on values over political identity and helping children question the tendency to put everything into neat categories (aka schema theory). When we develop critical thinking skills, we learn there are not just two sides in history and politics: there are many, many sides. Feminist CrushesThe movie Cuties and the quote by the writer and director, Maimouna Doucoure: “This film is my own story. All my life, I have juggled two cultures: Senegalese and French. As a result, people often ask me about the oppression of women in more traditional societies. And I always ask: But isn't the objectification of women's bodies in Western Europe and the United States another kind of oppression? When girls feel so judged at such a young age, how much freedom will they ever truly have in life?” I just think it is a really important film for feminist moms to watch. Read this https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/cuties-director-maimouna-doucoure-why-i-made-the-film/2020/09/15/7e0ee406-f78b-11ea-a275-1a2c2d36e1f1_story.html (Article about Cuties by Maimona Doucoure)) https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/team/coaches-roster/callie-brownson (Callie Brownson), a coach for the Cleveland Browns; https://www.washingtonfootball.com/team/coaches-roster/jennifer-king (Jennifer King), a coach for the Washington Football Team, and https://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-official-sarah-thomas-reflects-on-being-first-woman-to-officiate-play-396004 (Sarah Thomas), NFL official. They made https://www.washingtonfootball.com/news/washington-football-daily-9-29-jennifer-king-callie-brownson-and-sarah-thomas-ma (history) on September 29th at the NFL game between the Cleveland Browns and the Washington Football Team because it was the first time there were women coaches on both sidelines and a woman officiating a football game all at the same time. The women of the http://drchibornfree.com/paat_fellowship_2020/ (Parent Advocacy Action Team) (#PAATdown202) in Washington DC who are raising awareness around the need to include families of children with disabilities in decisions around school reopening and distance learning. Check out and help support them by signing their petition https://www.change.org/p/dc-mayor-muriel-bowser-demand-more-parent-engagement-in-the-reopening-of-dc-schools-now-62daa8d8-6032-497a-bbcd-8322ce610e47?cs_tk=AjiKtAAiL2OWF3eGe18AAXicyyvNyQEABF8BvOWZIx9luJA7_VQWBtZ_c4U%3Dandutm_campaign=b65dd09b9f5946a78c64ec5ae5435c29andutm_content=initial_v0_1_1andutm_medium=emailandutm_source=petition_signer_receiptandutm_term=cs (here). Resources:Scene On Radio podcast http://www.sceneonradio.org/tag/season-4/ (Season 4: The Land that Never Was): “What will it take to make the United States a more fully-functioning democracy, and how can we, as citizens, bring about that change?” https://www.instagram.com/glennondoyle/?hl=en (Glennon Doyle Melton) https://www.npr.org/2020/08/04/898574852/its-more-than-racism-isabel-wilkerson-explains-america-s-caste-system (Caste) by Isabel Wilkerson https://www.parentingispolitical.org/ (Parenting is Political Podcast) Mentions:https://www.edelements.com/ (Education Elements) https://www.etsu.edu/teaching/resources/more_resources/schema.php (Schema Theory) About Gabby HewittGabby Hewitt is a mom of two boys (ages 5 and 3) and an Associate Partner at Education Elements, a national consulting firm. She leads work with small and large school districts across the country to impact student success, create more equitable student experiences, and build responsive organizations. She is also a content creator and certified facilitator for The NEW School Rules and The NEW Team Habits, a framework and step-by-step guide to build and implement more responsive teams and districts. Gabby has been a classroom teacher,

Episode 9: Crystal Xu and Purvi Patel Coach Districts on Designing Systems for Equity   In Episode 9 of TASA's Inspiring Leaders Podcast, we talk with Purvi Patel and Crystal Xu. Their paper, “Capture the Opportunity: Steps to Redesign School-Level Systems for Equity," was released as part three of Education Elements' Returning, Reimagining, Revamping series on reopening schools. Patel and Xu look at some of the overlooked opportunities that the return to schools present in the arena of social equity. By designing with equity in mind, schools can address the systemic racism and bias that affect all students, and finally make the lasting changes that schools have pursued for decades. This episode is sponsored by Education Elements.   Capture the Opportunity: Steps to Redesign School-Level Systems for Equity   Follow Purvi and Crystal on Twitter: Purvi Patel = @Purvip4 Crystal Xu= @EE_CrystalX

Anthony Kim, a successful serial entrepreneur, provides tips on how to use MVPs to test your marketing hypothesis.PEOPLEGuest: Anthony Kim, Founder & CEO, Education ElementsHost: Anil Hemrajani, Founder of Startup SidekickTAKEAWAYSMarketing is transferability of your message. It’s about how you make your message land, memorably. Is it something that is bold enough that people remember (e.g. Just Do It, Think Different)?Use MVPs in marketing to quickly test concepts (e.g. user acquisition)Your messaging should be unique, to cut through the noise.Manage your time wisely. Set aside time to reflect and be mindful of what you’re doing (e.g. similar to Agile Sprint retroactive); ensure you’re pivoting in the right direction.TIMELINE01:35 Overview of Anthony’s company, Education Elements02:35 What is marketing?03:45 How Education Elements has pivoted during the pandemic (e.g. no conferences, no in person meetings)05:35 How Education Elements has adjusted their messaging and delivery06:55 Training employees how to be on camera, cadence, background08:06 How the messaging has changed. Easy test: is it unique/bold enough?09:19 Using MVPs in marketing to quickly test concepts (e.g. user acquisition)11:45 What’s working and what’s not14:05 An example of MVP: video interviews. 15:23 Takeaways (see above)

The modern American public school system has never encountered anything like COVID-19... or has it? Within the last 15 years, we have seen schools closed for extended periods due to hurricanes, wildfires, and flooding that forced communities and authorities to partner in finding ways to serve students and families. In this episode, Dr. David Hardy, VP of People & Culture at Education Elements and a former superintendent, wonders how looking closer at analogous situations might help schools and districts return stronger, and more equitably, than ever before.

Listen in as our co-hosts have a conversation with Eva Mejia, the Chief Program and Strategy Officer at Big Picture Learning, and Zelia Gonzales, a recent graduate of the Met Sacramento and a current Cornell University student. Our conversation uncovers some of the power of Big Picture for young people like Zelia, how BP students students are known, given opportunities to connect learning to their interests, and set on a future trajectory that is unique and bountiful. Plugs include Big Bang Summer Fest, Books With Brothers, Rebel Ventures Network, The Body Is Not An Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor, Education Elements, and Atomic Habits by James Clear. Music by Ketsa.

Anthony Kim is a Corwin Press bestselling author, with publications including The New Team Habits, The New School Rules, and The Personalized Learning Playbook. His writing ranges the topics of the future of work, leadership and team motivation, improving the way we work, and innovation in systems-based approaches to organizations and school design. Anthony believes that how we work is the key determinant to the success of any organization. In addition to his writing, Anthony is the founder and CEO of Education Elements, a trusted partner and consultant to over 1,000 schools nationwide. Anthony has been the founder of several companies across multiple industries, including online education, ecommerce, and concerts and events. Anthony began his career in education by helping higher education institutions with technology projects and data.  Shortly thereafter he moved into K-12 education with an emphasis in online learning with a company he founded, Provost Systems. Hebuilt virtual schools that included SIS, CMS and a portals for administrators, teachers, students and parents to use on a daily basis. Their success was quickly realized and were purchased by Edison Schools in 2008.  After two years of serving Edison Schools as EVP of Online and assisting in the launch of Provost Academy he left to begin Education Elements in 2010. Little did he know that his architecture degree and experience would play such a critical role in shaping his approach to education.  He believes that learning environments and school designs need to be open and flexible so that teachers, the true designers of learning, can successfully create the best possible learning conditions for students. Education has always been a part of him.  As a young boy raised by a single mom, he never forgot the value his mother placed on education and how it shapes the person you become in the future.   Show Highlights Establish habits of participation with the Check In Strategy Create an authentic interview by using a Crisis Improv  How a well intended letter can change the trajectory of your life The pitfalls of sassy emails.  Sound more human and less formulaic.  What long term deposits look like in establishing partnerships   Power in words, Anthony shares his motivational mantra You can't out swim the ocean. Streamline the work and put the least amount of effort for the most amount of progress. “While I don't teach students, I think my purpose has always been to teach adults and bring ideas from all industries to help us make a better education system.”  -Anthony Kim   Full Transcript Anthony Kim Transcript   Anthony’s Resources & Contact Info: The NEW Team Habits:  The NEW School Rules: Personalized Learning Playbook: Education Elements anthonx.us  Twitter LinkedIn   Looking for more? Read The Better Leaders Better Schools Roadmap Join “The Mastermind” Read the latest on the blog     Show Sponsors ORGANIZED BINDER Organized Binder is an evidence-based RTI2 Tier 1 universal level solution Focuses on improving executive functioning and noncognitive skills Is in direct alignment with the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework Is an integral component for ensuring Least Restrictive Environments (LRE) You can learn more and improve your student’s success at https://organizedbinder.com/   TEACHFX School leaders know that productive student talk drives student learning, but the average teacher talks 75% of class time! TeachFX is changing that with a "Fitbit for teachers" that automatically measures student engagement and gives teachers feedback about what they could do differently.  Learn more about the TeachFX app and get a special 20% discount for your school or district by visiting teachfx.com/blbs.   Copyright © 2020 Twelve Practices LLC

Mr. Howard Behar's career in business spans over 50 years, all in consumer oriented businesses covering several industries. He retired from Starbucks Coffee after 21 years where he led both the domestic business, as President of North America, and was the founding President of Starbucks International. During his tenure, he participated in the growth of the company from 28 stores to over 15,000 stores spanning five continents. He served on the Starbucks Board of Directors for 12 years before retiring.Mr. Behar now serves on several boards, including iD Tech, Education Elements and the advisory board of Anthos Capital. His non-profit commitments are to the University of Washington Foundation, UW Business School mentoring program and as a Trustee for The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation. Mr. Behar is committed to the development and education of our future leaders and has been a longtime advocate of the Servant Leadership Model.He has also authored two books on leadership titled It's Not About the Coffee and The Magic Cup.http://howardbehar.com/

Episode 3: Meeting Needs in Vulnerable Populations, Pt 2 Episode 3 of TASA's Inspiring Leaders Podcast is Part 2 of our series on vulnerable populations. In it, we explore how increased economic vulnerability and the stress of the pandemic affects students and adults. We start with the second half of our conversation with Ruby Payne, legendary education thought leader and best-selling author. Then we learn about the effects the pandemic is having on child abuse reporting from Lindsey Jordan, research and strategy senior manager, Children's Advocacy Centers of Texas. We also hear from Wes Cunningham with Frisco ISD on how the district's outreach and virtual counseling is helping students in crisis. Finally, we talk with Shelby McIntosh, managing partner at Education Elements, about the organization's work in trauma-informed leadership.

In this episode, we’re speaking with Keara Mascareñz.  Keara is a co-author of The NEW Team Habits: A Guide to the New School Rules, a book based on her work with hundreds of schools and districts about how to achieve school goals through teamwork and innovation. Keara is the creator of the New School Rules toolkit, works with Education Elements as…Read more

Get the book, The New Team Habits: A Guide to the New School RulesFollow Keara on Twitter @kearamas Listen to Anthony Kim discuss The New School Rules on Principal Center RadioAbout Keara MascareñazKeara Mascareñaz is the Managing Partner for Organizational Design at Education Elements. She focuses on organizational design and how to build and scale a culture of innovation in large systems. Keara leads work in change management, leadership development, school design, and strategic planning. Keara is the toolkit creator for The NEW School Rules: 6 Practices for Thriving and Responsive Schools.

Keara Mascareñaz Managing Partner, Organizational Design at Education Elements. She helps schools and districts focuses build and scale a culture of innovation through leadership development, team habits, and human-centered organizational design. Learning, meeting, projects How do you create the environment of psychological safety? the team that is more effective would be making less mistakes. more comfort to talk about mistakes Amy Edmondson TED talk I didn’t say “I don’t know what I’m doing!“ It can feel high stakes, even though it is not. Two types of leaders: one best ideas should strive - leaders are smarter and make fewer mistakes. Interrogating archetypes. Two books: Multipliers with Liz Wiseman As soon as a speaker starts speaking, everyone stops talking. Here’s my interview with Liz Wiseman. Talking about Failure is crucial for Growth Noticing it is the first step to change. It’s hard to make big shifts. What foundation have I laid and signal have I given to my team about this? “I’ve had good ideas before that haven’t worked out!” So much deference made to people in power and authority. Habit of talking about mistakes. The more people in power can model talking about mistakes the more you can model and give more power to your people. How to be a transformative principal? Next time you’re in front of your staff think about 1. Learning challenge, vulnerability, asking for advice.  

Keara Mascarenaz joined us for an explosive jaunt through innovation in education. We visited destinations such as: personalized paths for students, differentiated teaching, strong relationships vs. screen time, student ownership and choice, self-management, competency-based education, collaboration, social-emotional learning, building trust, inclusion and the value of diverse voices, making clear decisions, the right “size” of change to target, and operating systems for schools. Yes - all of that within 25 minutes. So, buckle your seat belt and hold on. The top is down, the sun is shining, and we’re going to break the innovation speed limit with Keara Mascarenaz at the wheel. Quotes: 06:45 “Strong schools are really clear on their ‘why’ - why are they bringing in a particular program or initiative?”19:30 “There are 3 ways that change can happen in an organization: individual change, team change, and organization/eco-system change. We try to shift the focus to the individual and team levels to get some early wins that can catch like wildfire across the organization.”23:35 “(Good leadership includes considering) how can you narrate for your team and connect the dots between past and current decisions?” 27:30 “In education, I am most excited about the current tremendous emphasis on empowering students to be agents of change.”Here are some resources mentioned in our discussion:The New School Rules - https://www.newschoolrules.com/The New Team Habits (Pre-publication contact) - https://us.corwin.com/en-us/nam/the-new-team-habits/book268366Alexis Gonzales-Black, Holacracy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFY9ZtdtiS8Delivering Happiness, Tony Hsieh - https://www.deliveringhappiness.com/5 Ingredients to Create a Culture of Innovation in Your District - https://www.edelements.com/blog/5-ingredients-to-create-a-culture-of-innovation-in-your-districtWhere to learn more about the guest:Education Elements - https://www.edelements.comTwitter - @kearamascarenazBlog - https://thekikibrief.wordpress.com/Keara on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/keara-m/Where to learn more about Enrollhand:Website: www.enrollhand.comOur webinar: https://webinar-replay.enrollhand.comOur free Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolgrowth/

Our guest today is Anthony Kim, Founder and CEO of Education Elements. Anthony built virtual schools before anyone had heard of such a thing. He has worked with over 1000 schools and school districts on projects ranging from the adoption of personalized learning to project management and leadership capacity. Anthony works with a focus on seeking to achieve better student outcomes, higher student engagement, and increased teacher satisfaction. He is the co-author of The New School Rules, and co-author of The New Team Habits: a Guide to The New School Rules.In this episode, we talk about the patterns he sees after so many school visits, how educators can work better together, what changes he expects to see in education, and much more. This episode is jam-packed with tips from Anthony’s experience, so listen in. Here’s Anthony.Quotes: 3:10 “What is missing the most is (a consideration of) how anyone coming to visit the school experiences it within the first 5 - 10 minutes they are there.” 6:38 “In many of our day-to-day experiences, we expect a greater level of personalization, real-time interaction, and real-time feedback.”17:20 “As you get more data, can you make course corrections that help you get to the goal?”20:38 “We have to make the shift in the minds of the leaders of schools; if you want to become a learning organization, you have to embrace mistakes as a part of the process.”34:50 “How we deliver content and engage students matters a lot, and part of our job is to draw in those students so that they want to learn; that’s where personalized learning can come in.”Here are some resources mentioned in our discussion:Design39Campus http://design39campus.com/The Lean Startup by Eric Reis http://theleanstartup.com/Timeless Learning: How Imagination, Observation, and Zero-Based Thinking Change Schools by Pam Moran https://www.amazon.com/Timeless-Learning-Imagination-Observation-Zero-Based/dp/1119461693Farnam Street: My Interview with Adam Robinson https://fs.blog/adam-robinson-pt1/Where to learn more about Anthony Kim:Education Elements https://www.edelements.com/anthony-kimTwitter - @EdElements or @anthonxAnthony on Linkedin linkedin.com/in/anthonykimWhere to learn more about Enrollhand:Website: www.enrollhand.comOur webinar: https://webinar-replay.enrollhand.comOur free Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolgrowth/

In this episode, we welcome Andrea Geotchius, Senior Design Principal on the Design and Implementation Team at Education Elements, an organization working with schools and districts to best meet the needs of all learners. During the second half of 2018, Andrea wrote a series of blog posts for Education Elements on the eight competencies that make for strong, innovative leaders.…Read more

In this episode, we had a conversation with Megan Huneck. Megan is a Design Principal on the Design & Implementation team at Education Elements, collaborating with district and school leaders to develop and implement personalized learning. Prior to joining the Education Elements team, Megan taught in Arlington Virginia Public Schools. While teaching, Megan was chosen to be a member of…Read more

Interview Notes, Resources, & LinksCommunicating Personalized Learning to Families and Stakeholders: Terminology, Tools and Tips for Success: A guide to creating informative conversations and preventing miscommunication about personalized learningCommunications Planning for Innovation in Education: A how-to guide with real-world district examples and toolsBlended & Personalized Learning at Work: A collection of free resources, strategies, and examples of personalized learning in actionFollow The Learning Accelerator on Twitter @LearningAccelFollow Education Elements on Twitter @edelementsAbout Kira KeaneKira Keane is a partner at The Learning Accelerator, where she helps school districts figure out how to integrate technology to personalize learning.About Amy JenkinsAmy Jenkins is Chief Operating Officer of Education Elements, where she helps school districts transform learning by moving to more student-centered practices. 

The New School Rules with Anthony Kim Transformative Principal 244 Social Media: We talk about failing forward, but we never set up the conditions for failure. Anthony Kim is the founder and CEO of Education Elements, a consulting company that helps districts meet the needs of their students. He is also the coauthor of “The New School Rules: 6 Vital Practices for Thriving and Responsive Schools“ Focusing learning for adults on what your school specifically needs. Where the experiments came from. We talk about failing forward, but we never set up the conditions for failure. From “failing forward” to “safe enough to try”. It’s obvious when you see that things didn’t. Doing things how we have been doing them really facilitates First milestone - classes in school buildings, then factory model. Comparing currency to education. Starting private schools What you know, what you anticipate. If you’re bringing it up Meeting Agenda - Could be chaotic. Jethro’s Blog Post about WeWork’s ]http://www.jethrojones.com/blog/2018/5/17/an-elementary-school-just-acquired-a-startup Articulate what game you’re playing rather than arguing over it. People often don’t know how to construct the problem of practice. Brainstorming vs. decision making. People aren’t trained to work in ambiguous environments. leaders live in ambiguity. Teachers live in How to be a transformative principal? Internal monthly experiments in our company, nothing to do with our work, but trying to understand people’s habits. Meditation example. Finding something that will get people to take action.  

How good are schools at learning? Can they get better? As a culture, we worry a lot about student learning. But students don’t learn in a vacuum: Most are part of organizations (namely schools) that involve adults who also are engaged in learning, both individually and collectively. So what could help them learn? Here’s the one of the biggest quiet buzzwords in education: Networks. They can happen in any community—among educators, among schools or districts themselves and, of course, among students. And so emphasizing learning networks nudges educators to think about learning in different ways. Three recent books explore the power of learning networks. This past spring, EdSurge caught up with the authors at the Personalized Learning Summit sponsored by Education Elements. Ed Elements CEO Anthony Kim, who works with hundreds of educations throughout the US, wrote “The New School Rules: 6 Vital Practices for Thriving and Responsive Schools” with Alexis Gonzales-Black. As Kim worked with school leaders, he realized that what typically drives success or failure of efforts to improve school is not the educational approach but instead “the culture of our schools, organizational structures, and methods of communication and decision making.” He consequently identified what he sees as six “domains of school organization” and explores how schools can learn from one another in these areas. Lydia Dobyns, CEO of New Tech Network along with co-author and long-time education pundit, Tom Vander Ark, believe deeply that school systems need to learn collectively. In “Better Together: How to Leverage School Networks for Smarter Personalized and Project Based Learning,” they write: “Networks offer the best path to avoid every school attempting to reinvent the wheel.” Dobyns’ experience, both as an executive in the private sector and now as head of the New Tech Network, which involves about 200 schools across the US, takes readers through a tour of how schools can work together in both formal and informal networks to better support student learning. Julia Freeland Fisher, who directs education research at the Clayton Christensen Institute, similarly believes in the power of learning from peers but her focus is on students themselves. In “Who You Know: Unlocking Innovation that Expand Students’ Networks,” she writes about how students build their own networks of relationships. “Whom you know turns out to matter across all sorts of industries and institutions,” she writes. But by design, schools have wound up “limit[ing] their students’ access to people beyond their embroyic community.” This isn’t just about giving students access to social networks. Instead its about how educators can purposefully help students create relationships inside of schools that will widen their opportunities when they go beyond the school walls.

I am so excited for today's interview with two guests. Today we are speaking with Anthony Kim (@Anthonx), the founder and CEO of Education Elements, as well as Alexis Gonzales-Black (@Gonza2ax), a former guest on the podcast and speaker at Responsive Conference. We are here today to talk about their new book, The New School Rules: 6 Vital Practices for Thriving and Responsive Schools. I had a blast conducting this interview and sitting down with them, and I hope you enjoy as much as I did!   Show Notes 1:30 How Anthony and Alexis met 4:30 Holacracy at Education Elements 7:00 Check ins and check outs 9:00 Balancing tensions 12:15 Assumptions versus known facts 14:15 Alexis' background in education 15:30 Recruitment and retention 17:45 Inefficient processes in education 24:00 Team of teams autonomy 27:15 Tailor Responsive concepts to fit your personal teams 30:00 Sharing information transparently 32:30 School structures have not revolutionized enough 36:00 The New School Rules book structure 38:00 Planning and predicting 42:15 How to make change with mini experiments 45:15 Creating better work conditions for teachers 49:30 Safe enough to try 52:30 Contact Alexis and Anthony: Website: The New School Rules Amazon: The New School Rules - If you like the book, please leave a review! Linkedin: Alexis and Anthony Twitter: Alexis, Anthony, The New School Rules Anthony's Website: Education Elements Alexis' Website: Thoughtful Org

In our latest episode, host Brian LeTendre welcomes Anthony Kim to the show to discuss his new book The New School Rules: 6 Vital Practices for Thriving and Responsive Schools. Anthony and Brian discuss how schools and districts must change from an organizational standpoint in order to have a truly successful personalized learning model.Anthony is a nationally recognized leader in education technology, school design, and personalized learning. He is the founder and CEO of Education Elements, through which he helps schools and districts change the way they think about teaching and learning. He has spoken nationally on personalized learning and has been featured in numerous publications and outlets, including EdSurge, District Administrator, and more. He's also the author of The Personalized Learning Playbook.Topics Covered:0:45 - Intro3:30 - Ed Elements and Origin of The New School Rules8:00 - Breaking Old Habits 11:45 Crucial Learning Networks14:00 - The 6 New School Rules22:45 - Defining Work and Roles28:00 - Where to Start: Using the New School Rules32:00 - Where to Find Out MoreTo learn more about Anthony's work, you can follow him on Twitter (@anthonx) and visit the Education Elements website (www.educationelements.com). You can get more information on The New School Rules at www.newschoolrules.com.Thanks for listening to the podcast! Please leave us a review on iTunes, Google Play, Spreaker or wherever you are listening to the show. Subscribe to get future episodes as soon as they are released!

In our latest episode, host Brian LeTendre welcomes Anthony Kim to the show to discuss his new book The New School Rules: 6 Vital Practices for Thriving and Responsive Schools. Anthony and Brian discuss how schools and districts must change from an organizational standpoint in order to have a truly successful personalized learning model.Anthony is a nationally recognized leader in education technology, school design, and personalized learning. He is the founder and CEO of Education Elements, through which he helps schools and districts change the way they think about teaching and learning. He has spoken nationally on personalized learning and has been featured in numerous publications and outlets, including EdSurge, District Administrator, and more. He's also the author of The Personalized Learning Playbook.Topics Covered:0:45 - Intro3:30 - Ed Elements and Origin of The New School Rules8:00 - Breaking Old Habits 11:45 Crucial Learning Networks14:00 - The 6 New School Rules22:45 - Defining Work and Roles28:00 - Where to Start: Using the New School Rules32:00 - Where to Find Out MoreTo learn more about Anthony's work, you can follow him on Twitter (@anthonx) and visit the Education Elements website (www.educationelements.com). You can get more information on The New School Rules at www.newschoolrules.com.Thanks for listening to the podcast! Please leave us a review on iTunes, Google Play, Spreaker or wherever you are listening to the show. Subscribe to get future episodes as soon as they are released!

Interview Notes, Resources, & LinksGet the book, The NEW School Rules: 6 Vital Practices for Thriving and Responsive SchoolsVisit the Education Elements WebsiteVisit The New School Rules Official WebsiteFollow Anthony Kim on Twitter @anthonxAbout Anthony KimAnthony Kim is a nationally recognized leader in education technology, school design, and personalized learning. He is the CEO and founder of Education Elements.

Jerry Snow is a District Administrator and former high school and middle school principal. piedmont.k12.al.us contact information is there. jsnow@piedmont.k12.al.us Part of a 1:1 initiative over 9 years ago. Many awards and recognitions. Trying to show kids that even though they are a small system, they can still do great things. NGLC planning grant Mastery based learning. Sometimes in a class you can only go as fast as your lowest student. Worked with Education Elements. “Embolden Piedmont” NWEA MAP into digital platforms to create ILPs (individual learning plans). Fill in gaps to build on those skills, rather than adapt around them. You’re curating the knowledge rather than giving the students everything. The myth of average - there is no average. If you’re teaching to the average, you’re teaching to nobody. Where a teacher will fall back into the old groove. You need to be honest and up front with them. We modify every year. Can’t go in with an iron fist. We want to make things better for the kids. Troubleshoot to help them do better. It’s a lot of pride, even though it is harder and more tiring. Making sure the information is a high enough DOK level. Harder for everyone, teachers and students alike. Took stuff from everyone and make it our own. Click here to try out my new chatbot Are you feeling like you are always behind at school? Do you feel like you need about 2 more hours each day to accomplish everything? Here’s how I help principals work manageable hours: Create your ideal week, so that you can leave work at work and enjoy your life! Join my group coaching program Please take a moment to rate this podcast in iTunes or on Stitcher.  Please follow me on Twitter: @jethrojones for the host and @TrnFrmPrincipal for the show. Buy Communication Cards Show notes on TransformativePrincipal.com Download Paperless Principal.   Web Site Transformative Principal on Stitcher Refer A Principal Best Tools for Busy Administrators Survey  

  Scott Johns is a former high school CTE teacher, and now works for Education Elements, former educators and administrators who are passionate about education. Student Reflection and Ownership Students need to understand their role in their learning. The power of setting goals. Self-directed learning. Small structured choices. Integrated Digital Content Computers/tablets/screen time is not all this is. Lily pad, too much on one corner causes you to drop. Integrated digital content allows personalized learning to scale. Digital tools can increase ability to perform at higher levels. Newsela.com and achieve3000 How to not meet just the needs of the middle. How to meet the needs of the high and low. How to be a transformative Principal? Design thinking process. Empathy. Get students’ input. Are you feeling like you are always behind at school? Do you feel like you need about 2 more hours each day to accomplish everything? Here’s how I help principals work manageable hours: Create your ideal week, so that you can leave work at work and enjoy your life! Join my group coaching program Please take a moment to rate this podcast in iTunes or on Stitcher.  Please follow me on Twitter: @jethrojones for the host and @TrnFrmPrincipal for the show. Buy Communication Cards Show notes on TransformativePrincipal.com Download Paperless Principal.   Web Site Transformative Principal on Stitcher Refer A Principal Best Tools for Busy Administrators Survey

Scott Johns is a former high school CTE teacher, and now works for Education Elements, former educators and administrators who are passionate about education. What education elements does. Personalized learning - what is it? Core Four Targeted Instruction - break down whole group instruction into smaller groups of students. Dynamic and purposeful groups of students. After 7–8 students in a group, results taper off. Challenges of targeted instruction. Presence of small groups does not necessarily equal targeted instruction. Data Driven Decisions - Data should inform instruction in the classroom. Allow teachers AND students to reflect on and work with the data. The problem with the question, “Why did you give me this grade?” Tight feedback loops. Standards-based grading. Can help with the process, but not the only way to do it. Are you feeling like you are always behind at school? Do you feel like you need about 2 more hours each day to accomplish everything? Here’s how I help principals work manageable hours: Create your ideal week, so that you can leave work at work and enjoy your life! Join my group coaching program Please take a moment to rate this podcast in iTunes or on Stitcher.  Please follow me on Twitter: @jethrojones for the host and @TrnFrmPrincipal for the show. Buy Communication Cards Show notes on TransformativePrincipal.com Download Paperless Principal.   Web Site Transformative Principal on Stitcher Refer A Principal Best Tools for Busy Administrators Survey  

The Modern Software Podcast crew discusses the tech story behind the Panama Papers, the continued cloud momentum, and the rise of the bots at Facebook's F8 conference. Plus learn how one EdTech company leverages technology to enable personalized learning in school districts around the country.