Dr. Karen Dudek Brannan spent 14 years as a school speech-language pathologist (SLP) while working on her doctorate in special education and Director of Special Education credential. In 2015, she launched a business focused on helping IEP teams design services that support language, literacy, and executive functioning, as well as helping all team members be better leaders. She brings a valuable perspective from both the service-provider and leadership ends of special education.

Dr. Karen is also the host of De Facto Leaders on the Be Podcast Network. The show is designed for teachers, aspiring school leaders, and pediatric therapists who want to gain new strategies for success in their sessions and classrooms, and become more effective leaders. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or visit Karen's website to find the link to your preferred podcast app. 

Summary:

In today’s episode we dive into the world of executive functioning.  Dr. Dudek-Brannan explains what effective work should look like beyond the traditional model of students working on skill deficiencies in isolation with a counselor or therapist.  She describes how a team can focus on building these skills in students and what practice in the classroom includes.

Best way for listeners to reach out to Karen:

1. https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/

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

Learn more about today's sponsors, Playworks, IXL Renaissance Learning:

We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.

If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. 

These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. 

We’re also thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. 

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Today’s episode is sponsored by Renaissance Learning. Renaissance helps schools accelerate learning with solutions that make it easier to assess progress, personalize support, and help every student succeed. Visit Renaissance Learning to learn more.