Michael Levin-Epstein - Podcast Details

Shows

Education Excellence AI’s Evolving Role in Education with Chelsea LopezIn this episode, Michael chats with Chelsea Lopez, Director of Education Advancement at The Social Institute. Together, they discuss common misconceptions about AI in education; how administrator and educator perceptions about AI have evolved over the past few years; how The Social Institute is empowering school communities with AI literacy through engaging lessons for students, PD courses for educators, and resources for families. Music by Ruwin from Pixabay.

2025-05-2031 min

Education Excellence Connecting Home and School with PowerSchool (Part IV of PowerSchool Series)In the fourth and final installment of our series with PowerSchool, Michael chats with Jesse Roy, Director of Education Strategy at PowerSchool, and Steven Anderson, Director of Solutions Engineering at PowerSchool. Together, they discuss PowerSchool’s 2024 Education Focus Report, focusing on the report’s findings related to the connection between school and home. From there, they talk about solving issues with communication and engagement; overcoming real barriers to chronic absenteeism; the intersection of social media and education; PowerSchool’s all-in-one MyPowerHub solution, which is helping to close myriad gaps in the school-home connection; and much more. To downlo...

2024-12-1038 min

Education Excellence The Modern Education Workforce with PowerSchool (Part III of PowerSchool Series)In this episode, Michael chats with Richard Fernandez, Director of Executive Engagement at PowerSchool, supporting the company’s solutions in Texas, and Jeff Pelzel, Director of Education Engagement at PowerSchool, supporting the company’s solutions in California and other West Coast states. Together, they discuss PowerSchool’s 2024 Education Focus Report, focusing on the report’s modern education workforce component. From there, they talk about key aspects of classroom instructional models, advocating change through engagement with administrators, overcoming challenges in attracting the next generation of educators, success stories about driving positive change in education, and much more. To download...

2024-11-0133 min

Education Excellence Bold Leadership and Data with PowerSchool (Part II of PowerSchool Series)In this episode, Michael chats with Dr. Richard Hughes, Education Innovation Advisor at PowerSchool, and Tracy McCown, Director of Solution Engineering, Data, Analytics, and AI at PowerSchool. Together, they discuss PowerSchool’s 2024 Education Focus Report, focusing on the report’s leadership and data component. From there, they talk about the need for bold leadership in education, how data-driven insights and decision-making lead to successful solutions, tips for K–12 leaders on demonstrating strong leadership in their school communities, and much more. To download PowerSchool’s 2024 Education Focus Report, visit www.powerschool.com/edtech-focus-report-2024. This episode and the enti...

2024-10-2830 min

Education Excellence Student-Driven Personalized Learning with PowerSchool (Part I of PowerSchool Series)In this episode, Michael chats with Ryan Imbriale, Vice President and Head of Worldwide Education at PowerSchool, and Chris Cirillo, Group Vice President of Product Management at PowerSchool. Together, they discuss PowerSchool’s 2024 Education Focus Report, focusing on the report’s student-driven personalized learning pillar. From there, they talk about how newer technologies can support personalized learning efforts, why schools should be embracing new technologies such as generative AI, how schools can forge an attainable and successful path forward with personalized learning, and much more. To download PowerSchool’s 2024 Education Focus Report, visit www.powerschool.com/edtech-focus-report-2024.

2024-10-2138 min

Education Excellence The Intersection of Education, Skills Training, and Workforce Development with Mark HedstromIn this episode, Michael chats with Mark Hedstrom, Co-Executive Director of the Skilled Careers Coalition. Together, they discuss the inspiration behind the Skilled Careers Coalition’s goals and mission, how Mark is fostering meaningful partnerships in the education space, a social media campaign aimed at helping to connect students with trade careers, how students are becoming directly involved with the organization’s initiatives, and much more. This episode is sponsored by the Skilled Careers Coalition, skilledcareers.org. Music by Ruwin from Pixabay

2024-10-0130 min

Education Excellence Bridging the Gap Between Social and School with Laura TierneyIn this episode, Michael chats with Laura Tierney, Founder and CEO of The Social Institute. Together, they discuss what led Laura to create The Social Institute, how the organization bridges the gap between students and educators and parents, the company’s gamified peer-to-peer #WinAtSocial learning platform, how the platform is helping schools improve school culture and the student experience, and much more. Music by Ruwin from Pixabay

2024-07-3142 min

Education Excellence Next-Level Robotics for Education with Hal SpeedIn this episode, Michael chats with Hal Speed, Head of North America for Robotical. Together, they discuss Hal’s background and what brought him to Robotical; advancements with the company’s flagship product, Marty the Robot; the evolution of AI and machine learning in education; getting out ahead of challenges with employability in an increasingly digital world; the future of robotics in education; and much more. Learn more at robotical.io. Music by Ruwin from Pixabay

2024-07-1732 min

Education Excellence Evolving Solutions for the Classroom with Lisa FlintIn this episode, Michael chats with Lisa Flint, Director of Sales at OtterBusiness. Together, they discuss Otter’s Achiever and Defender series, how the company is evolving to serve the edtech space and beyond, an innovative new Otter product, and much more. Music by Ruwin from Pixabay

2024-06-2716 min

Education Excellence VR, AR, and Immersive Classroom Tech with Glenn CollinsIn this episode, Michael chats with Glenn Collins, Founder and Chief Revenue Officer at Umety. Together, they discuss Umety’s history and background, the value of virtual and augmented reality in education, the company’s innovations for K–12 education, how schools are utilizing technology in the classroom today, and much more. Catch Glenn and Umety at ISTE Live in Denver, June 23–26. Music by Ruwin from Pixabay

2024-06-2131 min

Education Excellence A Strategic Approach to Edtech Innovation with Emily CookIn this episode, Michael chats with Emily Cook, Vice President of Educational Services at Bluum. Together, they discuss Bluum’s mission and how that drives impact in education, the company’s strategic approach to education technology, edtech trends—including funding, AI, and esports—and much more. Catch Emily and Bluum at ISTE Live in Denver, June 23–26. Music by Ruwin from Pixabay

2024-06-2025 min

Education Excellence From Classroom to White House: Evolution of Sustainability in Denver with LeeAnn KittleNew Education Excellence host Michael Levin-Epstein chats with LeeAnn Kittle, Executive Director of Sustainability for Denver Public Schools. Together, they discuss LeeAnn’s path to her current role, how she is driving innovation in sustainability at DPS, contributors—and barriers—to success in climate action in the district, how other districts can go about forging their own paths toward sustainability success, and much more. Music by Ruwin from Pixabay

2024-04-0935 min

Rural Matters Country Views with Zachary Michael JackMichelle chats with Zachary Michael Jack, the author of a superb book, called Country Views, which deals with his choice to remain in rural Iowa and reflects his personal views and historical data on agrarianism and rural life,. Jack, who has written columns for many of the nation’s best-circulated newspapers, including USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, and San Francisco Chronicle, as well as The Daily Yonder, describes some the vexing issues facing rural communities, i

2020-12-0134 min

Rural Matters Rural Higher Education: Challenges & Opportunities — Part IV with Matt Dunne, Leslie Daugherty, and David TandbergIn this final episode of our four-part series, Rural Higher Education: Challenges & Opportunities, Michelle chats with three experts about innovative programs in rural higher education: Matt Dunne, founder and executive director of the Center On Rural Innovation; David Tandberg, senior vice president for policy research and strategic initiatives at the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO); and Leslie Daugherty, an education designer at the Education Design Lab. The Lab’s focus is

2020-11-2146 min

Rural Matters Rural Higher Education: Challenges & Opportunities — Part III with Alyssa Ratledge, Deborah Santiago, Edward Smith-Lewis, and Noel HarmonIn the third of our four-part series, Rural Higher Education: Challenges & Opportu-nities, Michelle chats with four experts about rural diversity, both perceptions and reality; challenges and opportunities involving diverse students in the rural higher education space; and the innovative initiatives colleges and rural communities are developing to deal with these challenges and opportunities: Alyssa Ratledge, a postsecondary education researcher at MDRC, a nonpartisan, nonprofit policy re-search firm; Debor

2020-11-1657 min

Rural Matters Rural Higher Education: Challenges & Opportunities — Part II with Danielle Vetter, Stephanie Hyre, Corley Dennison, and Paul DaughertyIn the second of our four-part series, Rural Higher Education: Challenges & Opportunities, Michelle chats with four inviduals committed to improving education in West Viriginia: Danielle Vetter, Senior Progrm Officer at Ascendium; Stephanie Hyre, Senior Program Officer of The Greater Kanawha Valley Founda-tion; Corley Dennison, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and the West Virginia Council for Commu-nity and Technical College Education; and Paul D

2020-11-0348 min

Rural Matters Rural Higher Education: Challenges & Opportunities — Part IIn the first of our four-part series, Rural Higher Education: Challenges & Opportunities, Michelle chats with Alyssa Ratledge. a postsecondary education re-searcher at MDRC; Dr. Jan Miller, Dean of the College of Education and the Direc-tor of Online Programs at the University of West Alabama (UWA); and Joe Thiel, Director of Academic Policy and Research for the Montana University System. There’s a big gap between urban and rural students in higher education, Ratledge notes, with

2020-10-2042 min

Rural Matters Rural Assembly Everywhere with Whitney Coe, Kathleen Sebelius, Benya Kraus, and Norma Flores LopezMichelle chats with Whitney Kimball Coe, director of National Programs at the Center for Rural Strategies and the leader of the Rural Assembly, about the upcoming Rural Assembly Everywhere Festival, and with three presenters at this landmark event including, Kathleen Sebelius, former HHS Secretary, Benya Kraus, co-founder of Lead for America and Executive Director of Lead for Minnesota, and Norma Flores Lopez, chair of the Child Labor Coalition’s Domestic Issues Committee and an activist with Justice for

2020-10-141h 02

Education Excellence Deploying Technology to Integrate Learning, Monitoring, & Safety with Impero Software CEO Justin ReillyKris chats with Justin Reilly, CEO of Impero Software, a company that that integrates data about what students are doing on various devices from a several perspectives: what students are actually learning; tools for teachers to monitor that learning; and tools to ensure device safety. The software enables teachers to capture exactly what students are learning in real time as well as how much time students are taking on certain tasks and whether they are making expected progress or need additional help. The bottom line in the classroom is the creation of a powerful tool for teachers as well a...

2020-09-2329 min

Rural Matters Moving to the “Middle of Nowhere” with Matthew HoaglandMichelle chats with Matthew Hoagland, the author of “Think Small: A Millennial’s Guide to Building a Meaningful Life in Rural America.” Hoagland describes how he had set his sights on leading a trendy urban life in Ashville, NC but decidedly to “move to the middle of nowhere,” (Yanceyville, NC), where he works as the Planning Department Director for the Caswell County Planning Department. The book serves as a how-to-guide for millennials on building a meaningful life in rural

2020-09-1832 min

Rural Matters Angel Flight East’s Rural and Rare Reach Initiative with Jessica AmesMichelle chats with Jessica Ames, Programs & Events Coordinator at. Angel Flight East, which provides free flights for individuals who need medical treatment far from home, with a footprint in 14 states. The flights are totally paid for by the pilots themselves, Ames says. The passengers do not have to pay for the flights, whether they need five flights a year or dozens of flights. According to Ames, pilots enjoy this volunteer experience because it pairs their passion for flying with being ab

2020-09-1229 min

Rural Matters The Duke Endowment’s Summer Literacy Initiative with Helen Chen, Sharon Locklear, and David ReevesIn this final episode of our three-part series, Faith-Based Programs and Their Im-pact on Rural Communities, which we're doing in collaboration with and supported by The Duke Endowment, Michelle chats with three experts about efforts rural churches are making to narrow the academic achievement gap and improve literacy rates for students in rural North Carolina: Dr. Helen Chen, consultant and research-er, Sharon Locklear, Director of the Sandy Plains United Methodist Church Sum-mer Literacy Program in Pembro

2020-08-1132 min

Rural Matters Filling Gaps during COVID-19 with Heather Kilbourne, Nicole Johnson, and Michelle OsborneThis is the second episode in a new series called Faith-Based Programs and Their Impact on Rural Communities, which we’re doing in collaboration with and supported by The Duke Endowment. This private philanthropic organization serves North Carolina and South Carolina in four distinct grantmaking areas: health care, child & family well-being, higher education, and rural United Methodist churches. Michelle chats with Heather Kilbourne, Program Manager of the Faith in Rural Communities Initiative at the Nort

2020-07-2934 min

Rural Matters The Duke Endowment’s Faith-Based Programs (Part I): Impact of ChurchesThis is the first episode in a new series, called Faith-Based Programs & Their Impact on Rural Communities, which we’re doing in collaboration with and supported by The Duke Endowment, a private philanthropic organization that serves North Carolina and South Carolina in four distinct grantmaking areas: health care, child & family well-being, higher education, and rural United Methodist churches. Michelle chats with Robb Webb, Director of The Duke Endowment’s Rural Church program area, and with Kristen R

2020-07-2134 min

Rural Matters Strengthening Small Town Businesses with Kara LawsMichelle chats with Kara Laws, co-owner and CEO of Small Town Hub, a compa-ny that helps small, rural cities and their businesses strengthen and support their local economies. Small Town Hubs works with rural businesses directly with online and other marketing; consulting with the cities themselves about not re-lying only on tourism, for example; and with local chambers of commerce. The Internet changed marketing for rural businesses to emphasize into more con-sumer-driven enterprises and also figuri

2020-07-1625 min

Education Excellence Reopening Schools with James Palcik of Flinn Scientific with James Palcik of Flinn ScientificKris chats with James Palcik, Director of Education, Safety, and Compliance at Flinn Scientific, about the challenges facing science educators during this pandemic. Palcik discusses the development of Flinn’s new Professional Learning Series, which include webinars offering guidance on the safe reopening of brick-and-mortar school facilities; OSHA guidance courses; and its Lab Safety 101 and 102 sessions, which have been previously deployed to assist thousands of science teachers. Palcik also discusses the recent launch of its Elementary and Science Stem Education Program, which is designed to increase safety awareness across North America — an initiative that has proven to be exceptionally popu...

2020-07-0830 min

Rural Matters Economic & Community Development (Part IV) with Matt Dunne and Anna JohnsonIn Part IV of our four-part series on rural economic and community development, produced in collaboration with and supported by the Thomas USAF Group, Michelle chats with Matt Dunne, Founder and Executive Director of the Center on Rural Innovation and Anna Johnson, who has led the agricultural policy portfolio at the Center for Rural Affairs for almost four years. Dunne discusses how the Center on Rural Innovation’s Action Tank enables rural communities and entrepreneurs to create digital economy ecosyste

2020-06-3040 min

Rural Matters Economic & Community Development (Part III) with Bette Brand, Mark Lee, and Thomas KimseyIn Part III of this four-part series on rural economic and community development, produced in collaboration with and supported by the Thomas USAF Group, Michelle welcomes back Thomas Kimsey, president and CEO of the Thomas USAF Group, and also chats with Bette Brand, Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development at the Department of Agriculture since February 20, and with Mark Lee, Chief Executive Officer and President of Rhino Health Inc., the first United States manufacturer of nitrile rub

2020-06-2938 min

Rural Matters 2020 Elections (Part II) with Dee Davis, Jonathan Rodden, and Pakou HaugIn the final segment of our four-part series on rural poverty and the 2020 elections, developed in collaboration with and underwritten by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Michelle chats with Dee Davis, founder and president of the Center for Rural Strategies; Jonathan Rodden, professor of political science at Stanford University, and author of Why Cities Lose: The Deep Roots of the Urban-Rural Political Divide; and Pakou Hang, a trainer at Vote Run Lead, about the upcoming elections. People vote on the

2020-06-2642 min

Rural Matters 2020 Election Issues (Part I) with Nathan Ohle and Kate CasslingIn Part III of our four-part series developed in collaboration with and underwritten by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which deals with rural poverty and key issues in the 2020 elections, Michelle chats with Nathan Ohle, CEO of the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP), a national network of non-profits focused on water access, economic development, and capacity building for rural communities and Kate Cassling, a Director with the Bipartisan Policy Center Action, where she works on health care

2020-06-1939 min

Rural Matters Rural Poverty (Part II) with Lanora Johnson, Jasmine Simington, and Meg DuffyThis riveting episode is the second in our four-part series on rural poverty and issues impacting the 2020 elections presented this month in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Michelle chats with several graduate students at the University of Michigan who worked with the university’s Poverty Solutions program and saw first-hand, on the ground, what poverty looks like in rural America: Lanora Johnson, whose research focuses on gender inequality and rural poverty in Central Appalachia; J

2020-06-1237 min

Rural Matters Rural Poverty with Kathryn Edin and Luke ShaeferThis episode is the first of our timely four-part series on rural poverty and issues impacting the 2020 elections presented this month in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Michelle chats with Kathryn Edin and Luke Shaefer of the University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions, an interdisciplinary initiative that seeks to partner communities and policymakers to find new ways to prevent and alleviate poverty. Edin and Shaefer are authors of the landmark book, $2 a Day: The Art of Living on

2020-06-1044 min

Rural Matters Telehealth with Brian Doerr, Carrie Zbierski, and Andra SmithMichelle chats with Brian Doerr, Senior Vice President of Information Technology and Security, and Privacy Officer for Community Hospital Corporation of Plano, Texas; Carrie Zbierski, Chief Nursing Officer at North Texas Medical Center; and Andra Smith, Director of Practice Management at North Texas Medical Center about the evolving telemedicine presence in rural America and its capability to de-liver specialty health services. Before the pandemic, Doerr notes, rural areas ac-cesses telemedicine in a limit

2020-06-0237 min

Rural Matters HHS’s Rural Priorities with Eric HarganMichelle chats with Eric Hargan, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). As Deputy Secretary, Hargan is HSS’s Chief Operating Officer, responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations and management of the department in addition to leading policy and strategy development. In Part II of our special series on Rural Economic and Community Development, produced in collaboration with and supported by Thomas USAF, Hargan discusses four important rural health priorities for the

2020-05-2628 min

Rural Matters Rural Economic Assistance during COVID-19 with Thomas KimseyMichelle talks about economic development, access to capital, and assistance to rural businesses during the COVID era, with Thomas Kimsey, president and CEO of Thomas USAF Group. This episode is the first of a four-part series, called Rural Economic and Community Development, which Rural Matters is producing in cooperation with and support from Thomas USAF. With almost three decades of SBA and USDA lending experience, Kinsey has established his nationwide industry footprint and has closed a multitude of loa

2020-05-2437 min

Rural Matters 100% Community & A Must-Attend May 27 Event, with Matt ProbstMichelle chats with Matt Probst, PA-C, the medical director of El Centro Family Health serving northern New Mexico, which was featured in the documentary, The Providers, and who is currently serving as the 100% Community San Miguel County community organizer. Matt read 100% Community and took on the mission with his community to help put an end to childhood trauma. What resulted was a playbook for a pandemic. 100% Community San Miguel was already organized and mobilized so Matt and the community were able t

2020-05-1939 min

Rural Matters College Access Issues with Mara TiekenMichelle chats with Mara Tieken, associate professor of education at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, whose research focuses on racial and educational equity in rural schools and communities. Her landmark book, Why Rural Schools Matters, examines how rural schools define and sustain their surrounding communities. Tieken, a former host of Rural Matters, is working on two studies, one supported by the Spencer Foundation, which explores the college experiences of rural, first-generation students, and the othe

2020-05-0436 min

Rural Matters Rural Health during the Pandemic with NRHA’s Alan MorganMichelle chats with Alan Morgan, CEO of the National Rural Health Association, about the impact of COVID-19 on rural health. The pandemic has been cited as the reason that several hospitals have closed recently. The common denominator in hospital closures prior to the pandemic is the fact that they are attempting to treat patients that are uninsured or underinsured, Morgan explains. One-third of the nation’s 2,000 rural hospitals are community hospitals, and count on local support to be able to recruitmen

2020-04-2434 min

Rural Matters Rural Education Today with Allen PrattMichelle chats with Dr. Allen Pratt, executive director of the National Rural Education Association, about how rural schools are responding to the pandemic on a variety of fronts, including the establishment of food programs for students in rural areas through delivery and pickup locations where contact is limited.as much as possible. As far as remote learning is concerned, both NREA and school districts have established e-learning programs, utilizing Zoom and other technology, and have coordinated deliver

2020-04-1429 min

Education Excellence Reach Out and Read with Brian GallagherThe CEO of Reach Out and Read, Brian Gallagher, discusses their innovative program which provides books to children by partnering with pediatricians—giving children a new book at each well-child checkup from birth to age five. Reach Out and Read provides life-long benefits: engaging families, supporting parent-child bonding, brain development, and literacy skills. They often focus on low-income communities—leveling the playing field by preparing all children for formal education. Pediatricians who take part in the program have embraced it as an essential component of a child’s healthcare. This episode is sponsored by Vernier, https://www.vernier.com/training; O...

2020-03-2530 min

Rural Matters Interviews from NRHA’s Policy SummitMichelle interview three key participants at the National Rural Health Association’s Annual Policy Summit in February in Washington, D.C.: Maggie Elehwany, NRHA’s Vice President for Government Affairs and Policy; Michael Topchik, National Leader for the Chartis Center for Rural Health; and Lisa Davis, Director at the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health.

2020-03-2430 min

Rural Matters Rural Suicides with Carrie Henning-SmithMichelle chats with Carrie Henning-Smith, Deputy Director of the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center and an Assistant Professor in the Division of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota School of Public Health. Henning-Smith has led multiple research projects at the Rural Health Research Center, on a wide range of topics including the social determinants of health, access to and quality of care, aging and long-term care, and mental health and suicide prevention. She was a 201

2020-03-1338 min

Education Excellence Hands-On Learning with Mike LavelleYou’re definitely going to want to listen to this episode with Mike Lavelle, CEO of Flinn Scientific, clearly a change agent in the education space. “We absolutely believe fully in the role that hands-on learning plays in the educational process,” says Lavelle. Flinn Scientific listens to and solicits continuous feedback from educators to better understand their daily challenges and to create world-class lessons and products that are exciting, engaging, and reinforcing, he explains. Technology, he adds, has always been Flinn Scientifics’ centerpiece and the company uses technology in a variety of ways to more fully engage students. This episode i...

2020-03-1130 min

Rural Matters Berea College’s Partners for Education with Dreama GentryMichelle chats with Dreama Gentry, who for the last two decades has led Berea College’s educational outreach into Appalachian Kentucky as the executive director of Partners for Education, which has an annual budget of more than $40 million. Gentry designs and implements projects that build on four core strategies: engaging families; lifting educational aspirations (including an upcoming Rural College Access and Success Summit; building academic skills; and connecting college and career. By leveraging fund

2020-03-0634 min

Rural Matters Rural Transportation & Mobility with Valerie LeflerMichelle chats with Valerie Lefler, the executive director of Feonix, and a recognized interna-tional expert in rural transportation and mobility service. In the last 18 months, Feonix has launched programs in five states, developing relationship with notable partners, including the National Aging and Disability Transportation Center, Easterseals, AARP’s Office of Driver Safety; and the Michigan Department of Transportation. Lefler is very familiar with rural is-sues having grown up on a large dairy farm

2020-03-0533 min

Rural Matters Tennessee’s Game-Changing CAPS Initiative with Sheila Boyington and Bradley JacksonMichelle chats with Sheila Boyington, President and CEO of Thinking Media and the founder of Learning Blade and Bradley Jackson, President and CEO of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the Tennessee Manufacturers Association, about the Career Awareness and Preparation Systems (CAPS) initiative, an innovative program in Tennessee that addresses “brain drain” issues by working with local businesses in educating students about available jobs in the state. Too often Boyington notes, we push s

2020-02-2928 min

Education Excellence Social-Emotional Learning with Jessica SliwerskiKristina talks with Jessica Siiwerski, CEO of Open Up Resource (OUR) about the importance of social-emotional learning (SEL); how SEL can be improved and how it affect the curriculum; and the tools and resources that OUR provides administrators and educators to deal with SEL issues. Jessica’s work in K–12 education was profiled in The Wall Street Journal and Steven Brill’s book, Class Warfare: Inside the Fight to Fix America’s Schools. She also participated in the documentary film, The Lottery. The episode was sponsored by InnovateK12, innovatek12.org/services; Vernier, vernier.com/training; and Open U...

2020-02-2741 min

Education Excellence Computational Thinking with Heather Sherwood and Vernier Workshops with David CarterHeather Sherwood from the Educational Development Center, talks about her important work on Building CT Readiness: A Framework for Integrating Computational Thinking Across Subjects in High-Poverty Elementary Schools, an NSF-funded project investigating and refining a set of resources designed to help elementary schools clarify their definitions of CT and CT integration, to articulate their vision and plans for CT implementation, and to monitor the effectiveness of teacher professional development in CT instruction. Kristina and Heather translate and talk to this technical language which, in the end, boils down to the fact that students now must learn how to succeed...

2020-02-1438 min

Rural Matters A Healthier We with Phil PolakoffIn this episode, Michelle focuses on the work and point-of-view of Phil Polakoff, M.D. He is the Founder and CEO of A Healthier WE and a consulting professor, Stanford University School of Medicine and affiliated scholar, Stanford University Bill Lane Center for the American West. Dr. Polakoff and Michelle talk in-depth on the pitfalls and problems od engaging and inciting action or systematic change in rural America. As part of a solution, Dr. Polakoff and A Healthier We developed an organization pr

2020-02-0530 min

Education Excellence Engaging Teachers through Crowd-Sourcing with Eric Schneider and Robb Virgin.Kristina talks with Eric Schnieder, President and Co-Founder of InnovateK12, a platform built to include teacher and school staff involvement in identifying solutions and cultivating ideas for school improvement. Joining the conversation is Robb Virgin, a principal at Eden Prairie High School who uses InnovateK12 in his school. Listen to how he applies InnovateK12 to increase collaboration among students and staff as he strives to bring 21st leadership in everyday education. This episode is sponsored by InnovateK12. Learn more at InnovateK12.org.

2020-01-3035 min

Education Excellence The Impact of Professional Mentors on Children with Terri Sorenson, CEO Friends of the ChildrenKristina talks with the innovative and inspirational Friends of the Children CEO Terri Sorenson. The model of this national non-profit seeks to break the cycle of generational poverty by pairing salaried mentors (called a Friend) who stays with each children for 12+ years, no matter what. Listeners can learn about the record-breaking fundraising efforts, national campaign expansion five to 21 locations in just seven years, and quadrupling the number of children served. She has also diversified funding streams, growing the network-wide operating budget from just $7.5 million in 2012 to $33 million in 2019. The impact is growth and increased funding, but most importantly, a tremendous impact...

2020-01-2826 min

Rural Matters The Benefits of Rural Broadband with Pam BeckerIn this first episode of the 2020, Michelle talks about broadband with Foundation for Rural Service (FRS) Executive Director Pam Becker. FRS is a division of NTCA, the Rural Broadband Association. Through grant funding, FRS provides eye-opening and enlightening programs for youth, veterans and policy makers to increase awareness of the importance of having broadband accessibility. These programs help increase jobs, tele-health capabilities and consumer online transactions. Listeners will also hear about t

2020-01-2435 min

Rural Matters Special Episode #1, Part 2: Women Leading Faith MovementsThis special episode (Part 2) continues a panel discussion at the first-ever Rural Women’s Summit, presented by the National Rural Assembly, which was moderated by Michelle. The discussion was focused on Women Leading Interfaith Movements in Rural America. The panelists included Rev. Dr. Robin Dease from the United Methodist Church, in the Hartsville, South Carolina Conference; Rev. Jen Bailey from Faith Matters/People’s Supper; and Okolo Rashid from the International Museum of Muslim Cultures.

2019-12-031h 04

Rural Matters Future of Rural Communities with Tom Morris, Allen Pratt, and Whitney CoeIn this final segment of our four-part, in-depth series. “Rural Communities: Conquering Challenges, Optimizing Opportunities,” produced in association with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Michelle talks to three major thought leaders about pressing challenges and the future of living in rural America: Tom Morris, the Associate Administrator for Rural Health Policy in HHS’s Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), who oversees the work of the Office of Rural Health Policy; Dr. Allen Pr

2019-11-2543 min

Education Excellence Preventing School Violence & Bullying with Staci SmithKris chats with Staci Smith, co-founder of FightSong?, a social emotional reporting app designed to prevent school violence by connecting students with their school counselors. Smith and her father James, a programmer who founded EdTech company Twotrees both experienced severe bullying in school and received inadequate support from school staff. They developed the FightSong! app to make sure other students don’t fall through the cracks without support. FightSong! is currently active in 15 schools across the country, mostly at charter and private schools. Through checks and balances within the app, administrators can review the status of conversations and interactions ta...

2019-11-2028 min

Rural Matters Special Episode #1, Part1: Women Leading Faith MovementsThis special episode (Part 1) involves a panel discussion at the first-ever Rural Women's Summit, presented by the National Rural Assembly, which was moderated by Michelle. The discussion was focused on Women Leading Interfaith Movements in Rural America. The panelists include Rev. Dr. Robin Dease from the United Methodist Church in Hartsville, South Carolina Conference; Rev, Jen Bailey from Faith Matters/People's Supper; and Okolo Rashid from the International Museum of Muslim Cultures. Mental health issues are extremely important in rural communities, according to Dease, and it's interfaith dialogues that are often essential in dealing with...

2019-11-1341 min

Rural Matters Rural Business with Janet Topolsky, Ines Polonius & David EricksonIn this third of our four-part series. “Rural Communities: Conquering Challenges, Optimizing Opportunities,” produced in association with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Michelle discusses rural economics and business with Janet Topolsky, who directs the Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group, specializing in connecting low-wealth rural and urban places and populations to regional economic development; Ines Polonius. CEO of Communities Unlimited, Inc., a CDFI and community economic development organization in the rural South; and David Erickson, senior vice president and head of Outreach and Education at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Polonius works with leadership teams in rura...

2019-11-1250 min

Education Excellence Digital Education with Justin Reilly and Dennis GonzalesKris chats with Justin Reilly, the new CEO of Impero Software, who was hired to lead the company in its next phase of growth, and Dennis Gonzales, technology director for the Ulysses Unified School District 214 in Kansas, who has 18 years of experience in the classroom teaching business apps/communications technology. Impero is dedicated to student well-being and has established monitoring devices that capture valuable safety information for educators, such as to support bullying prevention and to help determine whether a student is at risk. Impero’s software also has the capability of keeping track of student academic success, notes Re...

2019-11-0132 min

Rural Matters Housing & Health Care in Rural America with Nancy Dickey and David LipsetzIn this second in our four-part series, Rural Communities: Conquering Challenges, Optimizing Opportunities, in partnership with and supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Michelle chats with Nancy Dickey and David Lipsetz. Dickey spent almost a dozen years as president of the Texas A&M Health Science Center and vice chancellor for health affairs for The Texas A&M University System and currently serves in several academic and administrative roles at the College of Medicine and as executive direct

2019-10-2840 min

Education Excellence Innovating Computer Science Curricula with Erin CawleyKristina 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 lev...

2019-10-1133 min

Rural Matters Rural Communities: Conquering Challenges, Optimizing Opportunities: Part IIn this kickoff to Rural Matters’ first in-depth, four-part series, Rural Communities: Conquering Challenges, Optimizing Opportunities, Michelle and three guests take a deep dive on what it’s like — and what it could be like in the future — to live in Rural America, exploring the recent findings of a survey conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Harvard University School of Public Health. The three guests are Dr. Robert J. Blendon, Richard L. Menschel Professor and Senior Associate Dean for Policy Translation and Leadership Development at the Harvard School of Public Health who serves as co-director of the Robert W...

2019-10-0447 min

Rural Matters Rural Loans with Thomas KimseyMichelle chats with Thomas Kimsey, president & CEO of Thomas USAF Group, LLC. Kimsey manages and oversees more than $100 million in loan origination and underwriting annually. Big bank lenders often do not play in the rural space, Kimsey notes, so this is where the USDA Rural Development Loan Program, and its Community Facility Program, come in, through its direct and guaranteed loans. Last year, this program loaned almost $3 billion to provide and rebuild rural infrastructure. Thomas USAF has participated in many Community Facility projects, such as medical offices at a rural hospital in Nevada and a 10-bed geri-psych facility in...

2019-09-2035 min

Education Excellence Developing Life Skills with Susan LiebesmanKristina 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 ha...

2019-09-1630 min

Education Excellence Data Collection Technology with John MelvilleKristina 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 stud...

2019-09-0932 min

Rural Matters Lessons from Life in Rural America Symposium with Katrina BadgerMichelle chats with Katrina Badger, program officer with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, about the work of the foundation to build a culture of health and her particular focus on creating the community conditions that foster improved health. Badger discusses a poll that was released at the recent Life in Rural America symposium, which was a collaboration among the Foundation, NPR, and Harvard, that focused on rural issues. Just organizing the event was a learning experience, Badger notes. One of the takeaways of the symposium, she says, was that Rural America is not a monolithic space but a diverse...

2019-09-0937 min

Rural Matters The Rural-Urban Divide with Jonathan RoddenMichelle chats with Jonathan Rodden, professor of political science and senior fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Rodden is also the founder and director of the Spatial Social Science Lab and author of a new book, Why Cities Lose: The Deep Roots of the Urban-Rural Political Divide. Geography matters in the United States, Rodden says, because we’re divided into electoral districts, which can be a good thing but has a downside in being a major determinant in who wins an election. The rural vote will be critical in the 2020 election, but economics will not be the only...

2019-08-2638 min

Education Excellence NASSP Digital Principals of the YearKristina 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.

2019-08-2213 min

Education Excellence Character Education with Houston KraftKristina 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...

2019-08-1743 min

Education Excellence Teaching English as Second Language with Helene BeckerKristina 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 th...

2019-08-0128 min

Education Excellence Louisiana’s Assessment Pilot with Jessica Baghian and Mike NesterakKristina 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 sup...

2019-07-2630 min

Education Excellence Mental Health Issues with Annie SleaseKristina 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...

2019-06-2034 min

Education Excellence Substitute Teachers & Strategic Planning with Michael McLaughlin and Mike TengKristina 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 C...

2019-06-1438 min

Education Excellence Dealing with ADHD with April GowerKristina 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, bo...

2019-06-0627 min

Education Excellence Leadership Development with Rhonda LauerKristina 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 litera...

2019-05-1626 min

Rural Matters “The Providers” with Laura Green and Anna Moot-LevinMichelle chats with the Laura Green and Anna Moot-Levin, award-winning filmmakers of the new feature documentary, The Providers, which recently aired on PBS, about the challenges and opportunities in health care in rural America. The filmmakers spent almost three years in rural New Mexico building long-term relationships with those in the film. It’s clear from the film that the profiled health care professionals provided life-saving services to patients in rural America. According to Green and Moot-Levin, the documentary is now being used by rural organizations to help recruit health care professionals. The film has great potential to influence and...

2019-05-1340 min

Education Excellence Classroom Design with Jolene Levin and Troy MooreKristina 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...

2019-05-1330 min

Education Excellence Global Citizenship with Stacie FreemanKristina 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...

2019-04-2530 min

Education Excellence Candor in Education with Joseph Jones and T.J. VariKristina 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...

2019-04-1524 min

Education Excellence Intentional Education & Culture of Love with Luvelle BrownKristina 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 project...

2019-03-3026 min

Education Excellence Special Episode AASA Meeting: What’s Love Got to Do with It?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.

2019-03-1906 min

Education Excellence Peer Influence with Keith Frome and Gary LinnenKristina 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...

2019-03-0431 min

Education Excellence Assessment & Instruction with Michelle FlemingKristina 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 Ass...

2019-02-0830 min

Education Excellence Special Episode with Sen. Tom CarperIn 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...

2019-02-0113 min

Education Excellence Student Voice with Rick JetterKristina 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 i...

2019-01-2528 min

Education Excellence Leading Schools in Disruptive Times with Dwight CarterIn this inaugural episode, host Kristina MacBury chats with Dwight Carter, a former high school principal in Central Ohio and NASSP Digital Principal of the Year. Carter, a co-author of several books on education, is currently an Effectiveness Coach for Dynamix. Carter describes his education excellence mission as doing something every day to positively impact students. In his book, Leading Schools in Disruptive Times, he explains the positivity comes from CAT (Cope, Adjust, and Transform). Carter discusses how he reacted to racist graffiti at his school—being visible and providing reassurance to his staff and students. Carter talks about Dy...

2019-01-1840 min

Rural Matters Michael Adcock & Telehealth in Rural MississippiMara chats with Michael Adcock, executive director of the Center for Telehealth at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) about using technology to connect patients and providers in rural areas. The Center has been providing telehealth services for 15 years and is one of the two Telehealth Centers of Excellence in the United States. Starting with providing emergency services, moving on to mental health, the program now offers more than 35 medical specialty services in more than 200 sites across the state. The Center is focusing on offering more telehealth services in the school settings, Adcock notes, which is a win-win...

2018-08-0933 min