Hello everyone! Coming right off of the holiday, we head into a fantastic discussion with the Vice President of Avid Center all about deep learning and remembering the WHY behind our practices. I have come into contact with Avid teachers a few times in my career, and I'm always delighted by their practices and work they do with young people. I'm also, as listeners of the show know, wary of anything that is pushed or seen as a "program." Programs are often where good ideas go to die in public education. So why is Avid different than any other professional development? Is it their beliefs? Approach? Research? All of the above? I asked Dr. Kepp why good ideas and practices, such as the ones found in Avid, get turned into check boxes (programs) in many schools, and I loved her response. Not only do it give me a new perspective, but it also verified that Dr. Kepp's work, and the work of Avid as a whole, are doing great things for education. Dr. Lynn Kepp is the Vice President, Executive Communications and Project Management Office at AVID Center where she works closely with the CEO, COO, and Executive Team to enhance and improve internal communication, ensure accurate and timely Board communication and support special projects. She oversees the AVID Project Management Office that implements project management best practices for the benefit of the organization in a way that encourages collaboration, standardization, and overall improvement in project results across the organization. This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and their professional book, The Power of Teaching Vulnerably: How Risk-Taking Transforms Student Engagement by David Rockower. In The Power of Teaching Vulnerably, David Rockower illustrates the transformational impact on student learning that results when teachers lean into their own discomfort and share personal stories, write with their students, and navigate difficult classroom conversations. David unpacks three dimensions of what it means to teach with vulnerability (personal, relational, and dialogic), shows what each of these dimensions look like in the classroom, and offers action steps to get started. Learn more about how to transform student engagement in your classroom. Visit Heinemann.com to download a sample from The Power of Teaching Vulnerably.