It's dawning on the education community that general artificial intelligence will have a major impact on education and the world at large. What are the big questions school leaders will need to ask and answer to ensure their schools and students are ready to thrive in the age of GAI?

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Keith R. Krueger is CEO of the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), nonprofit professional association organization that serves as the voice of K-12 EdTech leaders in North America.  CoSN’s mission is empowering educational leaders to leverage technology to realize engaging learning environments.

He was selected by Ed Tech magazine for it’s 2021 K-12 IT influencers.  In 2016 Technology & Learning selected him as one of the “big 10” most influential people in ed tech, and the Center for Digital Education identified him as a Top 30 Technologist/Transformer/Trailblazer.  In 2008 he was selected by eSchool News as one of ten people who have had a profound impact on educational technology over the last decade.  In 2016 he received a Special Recognition award from the Council of Great City Schools.

Uncertain times require school leaders to cultivate a set of essential qualities and skills, among them, adaptability and flexibility. Our guest shares the mindset and behaviors that enable administrators to strengthen these skills in themselves and their staff.

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Dr. M. Ann Levett has served as Superintendent of Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools since June 2017. She has enjoyed serving as an educator at all levels, K-12, beginning as a speech and language pathologist through the role of Superintendent. Dr. Levett has also served at the higher education level, including positions as faculty and administrator. She is an avid advocate for children and equity.

Many students and teachers are close enough to see the end of the current school year, but school leaders are already thinking about how to graduate more students next year.  This discussion takes a practical and research-based look at expanding pathways to graduation for all students.

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Robert Balfanz is a research professor at the Center for Social Organization of Schools, Johns Hopkins University School of Education, and director of the Everyone Graduates Center. His work focuses on translating research findings into effective school improvement strategies and educational reforms. He publishes, conducts research, and organizes technical assistance efforts on secondary school reform, improving high school graduation and college readiness rates, early warning systems, chronic absenteeism, social-emotional learning, and instructional improvements in high-poverty schools. Currently he is leading a Cross-State High School Redesign Network with five states and 70 high schools, the GRAD Partnership a collaborative effort of non-profits and school districts to scale the use of high quality student success (on-track) systems and the National Partnership for Student Success Support Hub, part of a public-private partnership with the US Department of Education and AmeriCorps to bring additional evidence based student supports (mentors, tutors, success coaches, post-secondary advisors and wrap around supports) into the schools and communities most impacted by the Pandemic. His work was featured in PBS Frontline’s The Education of Omarina and been awarded the Alliance For Excellent Education’s Everyone a Graduate Award and the National Forum’s to Accelerate Middle Grade Reform Joan Lipsitzs Lifetime Achievement award. In 2013 the Obama White House recognized him as a Champion for Change for African American education and he has served as an Education Fellow for the G.W. Bush Institute.

Jennifer Bell-Ellwanger is the President and CEO of the Data Quality Campaign, a nonprofit policy and advocacy organization leading the effort to change the role of data to ensure that data works for everyone navigating their education and workforce journeys. Prior to DQC, Jenn worked at every level of education—from the kindergarten classroom to district leadership in New York and Baltimore, and most recently, at the US Department of Education, first as director of the Policy and Program Studies Services and later as Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy.

Resource:

Polling resource cobranded with AASA: https://dataqualitycampaign.org/resource/data-helps-superintendents-make-decisions/
Recent op-ed by Jenn in The 74, that mentions the poll results: https://www.the74million.org/article/poll-hs-students-need-good-data-to-plan-their-futures-heres-how-to-help/

Today’s kids are fundamentally different on many levels. Their self-concept is different, their view of the future is different and what is required to reach and teach them is different. Join us as we explore how some school leaders are adapting to the changing needs of today’s students.

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Gregg Behr, executive director of The Grable Foundation, is a father and children’s advocate. For nearly 15 years, he has helped lead Remake Learning—a network of educators, scientists, artists, and makers he founded in Pittsburgh (USA)—to international renown. Remake Learning has turned heads everywhere from Forbes to the World Economic Forum for its efforts to ignite children’s curiosity, encourage creativity, and foster justice and belonging in schools, libraries, museums, and more. He is the co-author of When You Wonder, You’re Learning: Mister Rogers’ Enduring Lessons for Raising Creative, Curious, Caring Kids.

We talked with the Deputy Secretary of Education, who oversees pre-k – 12 policy and programs, about the best ways to engage students in the wake of the pandemic. 'We have the funding; we have the need; we know what works.'

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Cindy Marten is the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. Ann educator for over thirty years, she has extensive experience across the education ecosystem including as a teacher, principal, and as superintendent of San Diego Unified School District. In her role as Deputy Secretary, she oversees pre-k – 12 policy and programs and serves as the Department’s Chief Operating Officer.

As school leaders, we’ve all heard and talked a lot about self-care and ways to approach it in the wake of the pandemic. In this discussion, we explore a few overlooked practices, including the need to disconnect to reconnect.

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Brian Creasman, Ed.D. is currently superintendent of Fleming County Schools in Kentucky and is the 2020 Kentucky Superintendent of the Year. He is a published book author including his recent book, Prioritizing Health and Wellbeing, and he has served as an assistant superintendent, a high school and middle school principal and assistant principal, and an instructional technologist and classroom teacher. He is also a graduate of the AASA national superintendent certification program.

School districts in all 50 states and 36 countries have adopted a new concept — a community-created Portrait of a Graduate. Listen in to learn why school leaders embrace this powerful model and how it unifies educators, teachers, and parents behind a workable plan for educating all students.

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Dr. Karen Garza has led the recent transformation of Battelle for Kids, including the emphasis on realizing the power and promise of 21st-century learning for every student, the increasing adoption of Portraits of a Graduate by school systems across the country, and the additions of EdLeader21 and the Partnership for 21 st Century Learning (P21) into the Battelle for Kids family. Karen has dedicated her life to bettering educational opportunities for all students. She began her career as a kindergarten teacher before embarking on an administrative and advocacy path that included positions as government relations director, curriculum director, deputy superintendent, chief academic officer, and eventually becoming the first female superintendent at both Lubbock Independent School District (30,000+ students) and Fairfax County Public Schools (188,000 students).

The world outside of our school districts is changing more rapidly than the thinking, practices, and culture inside of our classrooms. In this episode, we spotlight a few trends that impact what school leaders will need to successfully navigate tomorrow.

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Bill Daggett is the founder of both the Successful Practices Network and the International Center for Leadership in Education. He recently co-chaired the AASA LEARNING 2025: National Commission for Student-Centered, Equity-Focused, Future-Driven Education and is now leading the National Demonstration Network for AASA.

Dr. Daggett, who is the author of 26 books, is recognized worldwide for his proven ability to move preK-12 education systems towards more rigorous and relevant skills and knowledge for all students. For 30 years, he has crisscrossed our nation, as well as the industrialized world, to lead school reform efforts to effectively prepare students for their future.

While an avid supporter of public education, he also challenges all of us to be more focused on our children’s future than on maintaining the schools of our youth. His insights and leadership have caused nearly every major education association in the country, hundreds of school districts, numerous political and business leaders, publishers, and others to seek out his advice and guidance.

Dr. Daggett began his career as a teacher, local administrator, and then director with the New York State Education Department. He spends much of his time providing leadership and guidance to the National Dropout Prevention Center and the Career and Technical Education Technical Assistance Center, which are part of the Successful Practices Network.

In this episode, the U.S. Secretary of Education offers an empathetic, specific, and inspiring vision for school leaders and teachers at every level of large school systems and very small ones.

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Dr. Miguel A. Cardona was sworn in as the 12th Secretary of Education on March 2nd, 2021. Secretary Cardona previously served as the Commissioner of Education in Connecticut, a position he held after being appointed by Governor Ned Lamont in August 2019. In this position, he faced the unprecedented challenge of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and led the safe school reopening efforts in Connecticut. To do so, Secretary Cardona and his Department provided school districts with the balance of guidance, local autonomy, and oversight needed to ensure equitable and meaningful educational opportunities for students while also prioritizing public health mitigation measures. Secretary Cardona and the State of Connecticut focused on equity by arranging for student access to technology to support remote learning, helping the state become the first in the nation to provide learning devices to fulfill the identified need for all students. Recognizing the increased importance of providing resources for the social-emotional health of students and staff, Secretary Cardona and his team collaborated with the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and other stakeholders to provide free social and emotional learning courses.

We begin the new year with a segment on women in leadership and the challenges they still face getting a seat at the table with C-level executives. Our guest has climbed the organizational ladder and offers a glimpse of the personal and professional challenges many women must navigate to stay at the table once they secure a seat.

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Lauren Lawson-Zilai is an external communications executive for Goodwill Industries International, North America’s leader in workforce training and development, job placement, and other support services for people looking for employment or career advancement. As spokesperson for Goodwill®, she has been quoted frequently in the media including, the Associated Press, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Forbes, MarketWatch Radio, The New York Times, The NonProfit Times, PEOPLE, PR News and USA TODAY. Lawson-Zilai has spent the majority of her career using marketing and communications to drive social change and impact and elevate the brand awareness of mission-driven nonprofit organizations in both a for-profit and pro bono capacity. Lawson-Zilai invests time to share best practices and lessons learned as a speaker, moderator or panelist at various venues from corporations, professional associations, nonprofit organizations and universities including, Capitol Communicator, IABC, Microsoft, the National Digital Roundtable, PR Summit, PR News, PRSA, Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR), University of Maryland, George Mason University and George Washington University, to name a few.