This important and engaging episode features Joan Kelly, founder and CEO of Abound Parenting, and MaryKate DeSantis, who highlight the critical role of oral language and vocabulary—not just decoding—in long-term reading success. Drawing on Kelly’s research at Harvard, they explain how the Abound app equips families with tools like reading check-ins, daily conversation prompts, vocabulary practice, and curated book lists to strengthen language development at home and build stronger school-family connections.

The episode also spotlights BookR Class, a digital reading platform for English learners ages 4–14 that offers 1,200+ animated books and interactive games to build comprehension and vocabulary. Together, Abound Parenting and BookR provide practical, research-based tools for supporting children’s reading growth.

Resources:

Learn More about BOOKR Class and their digital library for classroom use. BOOKR Class is an award-winning, teacher-favorite digital reading platform that harnesses the power of stories to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) effectively. Specially created for students ages 4–14, including those with learning difficulties such as ADHD and dyslexia, BOOKR Class provides personalized language learning experiences driven by advanced AI technology.

Learn more about Abound Parenting and access the Abound Parenting app. 

Reach out to Joan Kelly here.

See the overview here.

Wanna dive into the super compelling reading research.  Here you go!:

More great stuff:

Explore SchoolDay's Career Academy and visit our blog.

In this episode, we sit down with Danielle Malfara, Coordinator of College and Career Counseling for the School District of Osceola County, Florida. With a background that spans K–12 education and higher ed, Danielle brings a deep passion for helping students answer the powerful questions: “Who am I?”, "What matters to me?" and “What am I capable of?” She shares her mission to close opportunity gaps and help students build meaningful post-secondary pathways.

Danielle discusses why Osceola County and the state of Florida chose Xello as their go-to college and career readiness platform, highlighting the tool’s ease of use and its broad appeal among educators, students, and families. She also brings the conversation to life with inspiring student success stories—real examples of how personalized exploration and planning can change lives.

Whether you're an educator, administrator, or advocate for student futures, this episode is full of practical insights and hopeful takeaways.

Resources: 

Xello is the only career development program built with the entire district community in mind. Xello provides every student of all pathways the freedom to create meaningful future plans, while giving educators the resources they need to help students.

With a carefully designed, student-centered experience, Xello meets accessibility standards and offers age-appropriate career development for every student K-12. Xello creates effective educator workflows so you can spend less time checking boxes and more time helping students.

Request more information here.

Blog: Strengths-Based College and Career Exploration Strategies for K-12 Educators

Download the Xello printable assessment package

More great stuff:

Explore SchoolDay's Career Academy and visit our blog.

What if education empowered students not just to learn about the world’s problems—but to solve them?

In this inspiring episode, we dive into the Solutionary Framework developed by the Institute for Humane Education. Learn how this powerful, action-oriented approach is transforming classrooms by equipping students with the critical thinking, compassion, and systems analysis they need to become changemakers.

Our guests, Katie Coppens & Marcela Villan, unpack how educators can use the framework to guide students in identifying real-world problems, investigating root causes, and designing innovative, ethical, and sustainable solutions that benefit people, animals, and the planet.

Whether you're a teacher, leader, or lifelong learner, this episode offers a fresh perspective on what education can—and should—look like in a world that needs more Solutionaries.

Learn more about the Institute for Humane Education

Learn about IHE's Micro-credential course for teachers

Learn more about the award-winning Solutionary Framework

Bring the Solutionary Program to Your School - 2018 video

Student Reflections on Solutionary Projects (Then & Now)

Katie Coppens 14-day plan for the Environmental Action Project

More great stuff:

Explore SchoolDay's Career Academy and visit our blog.

Today's guest, Dr. Maggie Broderick is a creative and experienced educator with over 20 years of expertise in higher education and K-12 settings. Currently an Associate Professor and Dissertation Chair in the Department of Teacher Education, she is a leader in curriculum development and passionate about fostering social-emotional learning (SEL) in students.

In this episode we explore how to go beyond box-checking with our SEL programs, to a truly relational and effective approach.

Resources:

Unlock zero-prep, high-impact learning with Heroes Made, an SEL and literacy platform. Over 210 lessons, mood tracker, and customizable avatars so that students are the heroes of their own SEL journey. 

Aligned with Common Core Standards English Language Arts standards, and CASEL standards, Heroes Made measures impact via Hero Journals for daily emotional tracking and Periodic Assessments to identify and enhance areas of student growth.

Sign up for a TWO-MONTH FREE Trial using the "request trial form"

Heroe's Made CASEL Alignment

Heroe's Made Common Core English Language Arts Alignment

Dr. Broderick

Find Maggie Broderick's writing and research HERE

Connect to Maggie Broderick on LinkedIn

BLOG: Social Emotional Learning: Embracing Empathy and Connection

WEBINAR: You've Earned an A+ Celebrating the "A" in the Acronym LGBTQIAA++: Allyship at its FInest 

More great stuff:

Explore SchoolDay's Career Academy and visit our blog.

Current research indicates that adolescents lose interest in STEM learning by the age of 15 at a concerning rate - particularly girls from underserved communities.

UScellular is partnering with the YWCA on a national level to find out why, and address this gap. Based on the research findings from behavioral psychologist, Dr. Richard Rende, they are implementing a STEM empowerment initiative through YWCA's existing TechGYRLS program. In this episode we hear all about this exciting new program from Dr. Rende, and UScellular Senior Director of Service Engineering, Dr. Lori Dawson.

Resources:

Connect to our episode sponsor, Marchup !

Marchup advances college & career readiness with AI-powered personalized counseling, resume building, curated jobs, and resources that help students lead initiatives—all within a supportive, student-centered community

Marchup enhances student achievement and college admissions success, reduces counselor workload, and fosters an engaged alumni network. This network provides students with valuable advice and connections while supporting schools in fundraising and community engagement.

Read about how UScellular Drives Creation of Unique Research-Based STEM Program to Tackle Declining Interest Among Youth

Read Dr Rende's research findings - Reversing Declining STEM Interest in Underrepresented Youth

Connect to Dr. Lori Dawson, Senior Director of Servie Engineering at UScellular

More great stuff:

Explore SchoolDay's Career Academy and visit our blog.

Dr. Akilah WIllery is a dynamic educator, entrepreneur, and digital transformation expert. She empowers education and business leaders to thrive through innovative eLearning solutions and automation strategies.

In this episode we focus on the specific benefits, cautions, guidelines, and opportunities afforded by video resources in classroom settings.

Dr. Willery's ability to bridge the gap between technology and pedagogy has earned her recognition as a leading

Resources:

Today’s episode is brought to you by Boclips Classroom, a library of over 1.7 million ad-free, curated, curriculum-aligned videos. Access engaging content from over 650 trusted media brands and teacher-loved educational creators, like TED, Amoeba Sisters, Fuseschool, PBS and Crash Course. Teachers save time with our powerful navigation tools to quickly search and filter by subject, grade, and language proficiency level to find the right content for learning objectives. Browse and share videos from safe, ad free, and trusted sources. Sign up for a free account today at  boclips.com/classroom.

Connect with Dr. Akilah Willery through her webiste at http://upskillservices.site. Dr. Willery provides career coaching for veteran educators.

Listen to Akilah Willery at  "The Melanated Midlife"  podcast 

More great stuff:

Explore SchoolDay's Career Academy and visit our blog.

Veteran English teacher Carrie Shevlin couldn't wait to tell the EdCuration listeners about how Scribo from Literatu has given her students loads of confidence with their writing, greatly improved their outcomes, and made both her planning and grading quicker, easier and much more personalized. 

While AI can never take the place of a teacher, Carrie says Scribo gives both her and her students a huge boost toward stronger, skillful writing. 

Resources:

Scribo by Literatu is designed to improve student writing skills by providing real-time feedback, personalized insights, and actionable strategies. It helps students improve their writing proficiency while offering educators valuable data to tailor instruction.

As part of the SchoolDay Collection, Scribo is available for a free pilot without requiring or collecting PII student data.

More Information:

Scribo News and Views

Product Sample

About Scribo's Writing improvement platform

Saving teachers time across disciplines at Woodland Hills School District

Motivating students to care about writing at New Waverly High School in Texas

Inclusion Statement

Product Impact Report

More great stuff:

Explore SchoolDay's Career Academy and visit our blog.

After bouncing between two very different demographics in Georgia and Washington State, veteran English teacher, Julia Cafaro, was determined to find strategies, resources and texts that brought success and excitement for her students regardless of district or demographic. 

Along her journey a few resources have truly stood out. In this episode she shares how the The Alexandria Learning Ecosystem for Educators, or ALEE, made her job so much easier while also increasing engagement and outcomes for her students - particularly in their writing.

Resources: 

ALEE for Middle School is available at EdCuration.com. The ALEE instructional tool provides teachers with everything they need to teach a book effectively, all in one place.

Teachers use ALEE to create standards-aligned novel units, plan rigorous and differentiated lessons, find relevant paired texts, and develop content expertise.

To inquire about a free pilot opportunity reach out to [email protected] or click the "schedule a demo" button here. 

More great stuff:

Explore SchoolDay's Career Academy and visit our blog.

Amy Ely, Director of STEM at Detroit Catholic Central High School, announces the opening of the George & Mary Turek Hall of Science - state-of-the-art 57,000 sq ft STEM Center.

Learn about the cutting-edge facilities including a large-scale observatory, robotics labs, and an advanced greenhouse for sustainability projects. She captivating descriptions include full-motion flight simulators and immersive theaters that can stream astronomical data. 

Amy emphasizes the importance of future readiness and project-based learning. highlighting the importance of collaboration and adaptation in education.

Her vision is to prepare students not only for current STEM careers but also for those that will emerge in the future, embodying her belief that education should be both forward-thinking and deeply connected to real-world applications.

RESOURCES: 

Learn about SchoolDay, a zero-trust ecosystem orchestration platform that exchanges any data with any EdTech product, eliminates the need to share student PII, and is easy to implement for schools and vendors.

SchoolDay empowers schools govern the exchange of student, staff, and parent PII data with SaaS vendors, approve and publish apps to a district or school branded on-demand AppStore, and delegate to school staff and teachers the ability to activate apps within their groups.

Learn more about Detroit Catholic Central High School

See the George and Mary Turek Hall of Science

Take a video tour here 

Hear more on The STEM podcast

Learn Why Fewer Young Men are Choosing to Pursue College Degrees (From PBS)

More great stuff:

Explore SchoolDay's Career Academy and visit our blog.

The late Sir Ken Robinson once quipped that many of us feel like, "Math is a party to which we have not been invited."

Today's guest, Peter Coe, wants to make sure those invitations get delivered. As the ​​Founder and Lead K-12 Mathematics Consultant at Coe Learning, LLC, Peter works to make sure students not only get invited to the party, but that once they arrive it's party worth staying for.

Peter works with schools, districts, and organizations on the equitable mindsets, technical skills, resources, and infrastructure required to provide rich, engaging mathematical learning experiences for K-12 students. 

A mathematician by training, he has taught in both district and charter schools, and served as a mentor teacher, department chair, and instructional coach.

He is a recipient of the Math for America's Master Teacher and School Leader fellowships. 

​Peter helped lead the development of the EngageNY mathematics curriculum, as well as realignment of the state assessment program in mathematics. He also helped found and served as Chief Academic Officer of UnboundEd, leading the development of the Standards Institute mathematics pathway and advising numerous organizations and school districts on K-12 mathematics strategy.

Peter has been a speaker at the NCTM and NCSM National Conferences, SXSWEdu, Learning Forward, and other national conventions.

Today he shares advice to districts in how to shift both their practices and resources to raise engagement and achievement in math classrooms. 

Resources: 

Episode sponsor, Mathseeds is an award winning early math program designed to help build students' confidence and enthusiasm for math in the early years.

The engaging program combines highly structured lessons with fun motivational elements, ensuring key concepts are learned in depth.

Mathseeds is trusted by teachers for its curriculum alignment to state standards and proven effectiveness, earning ESSA Level II evidence certification.

Inquire HERE about a pilot opportunity

Want to partner with Peter Coe to build a world where all students are included in the math party? Go to coelearning.org

Learn more about Peter Coe

Work with Peter Coe

Connect with Peter Coe on LinkedIn

Explore all of Peter's resources

Read Peter's Blog

More great stuff:

Explore SchoolDay's Career Academy and visit our blog.