Education Evolution

Thanksgiving is here and, unfortunately, it looks very different from years past. 2020 has been a year of uncertainty, filled with political unrest, mass unemployment, and a global pandemic. At times, it feels impossible to find the bright side to all of this darkness.

 

But as a Jesuit priest said, “It is not joy that makes us grateful, but gratitude that makes us joyful.” We can foster gratitude and joy in our daily lives even during such uncertain times. In this episode, I’ve outlined four ways to do this, so that we can all be forces of positive change within our spheres of influence.

Jump Through the Conversation

• [3:18] Practice Gratitude
• [4:38] Take Responsibility
• [6:18] Share More
• [6:52] Listen Fully and Seek to Understand
• [8:27] My Magic Wand: Strive to be Forces for Good and Positive Change

Links and Resources:

• Brene Brown on Joy and Gratitude
• Acknowledging Native Land is a Step Against Indigenous Erasure
• How NOT to Teach Thanksgiving
• The Neuroscience of Gratitude and How It Affects Anxiety and Grief
• Unlocking Gratitude & Maximizing Creativity | Steven Kotler on Peak Performance During COVID-19
• Brene Brown’s Unlocking Us podcast
• The Michelle Obama Podcast
• Jan Phillips’ books, art, classes, and podcast
• CNN’s The Good Stuff Saturday good news
• Email Maureen
• Facebook: Follow Education Evolution
• Twitter: Follow Education Evolution
• LinkedIn: Follow Education Evolution
• Maureen’s book: Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids

• Micro-school feature on Good Morning America
• The Micro-School Coalition
• Facebook: The Micro-School Coalition
• LEADPrep
• More episodes at EducationEvolution.org

Learning in the 21st century is so much different than what it used to be, for students, educators, and even families. As an educator, you may find it more difficult than ever before to connect with your students. We know that different kids learn differently, so what can be done to support this?

 

One good thing going on in the world right now is that there are lots of creative options available in education so that we can make learning work for all kids.

 

Lori Moore from Kids Connected joins me on the podcast to discuss how we can make this happen and how we can encourage online engagement from students during virtual schooling. Lori provides tips and tools that both educators and parents can use to help support both the student and family during these times. She knows that the education children receive must focus on the whole student in order for them to thrive.

About Lori Moore:

Lori Moore has 17 years experience in public education and is shifting to become the education director of Kids Connected. Lori has experience in public schools, virtual learning, and homeschooling, and is excited to create an educational experience that supports the whole family. She is developing a program with Kids Connected that focuses on the whole student and gives them lifelong success.

 

You can learn more about Lori and Kids Connected by visiting their website, reading their blog, and following them on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Jump Through the Conversation:

• [2:35] Kids Connected field trips and homeschool classes
• [6:42] Lori’s “why:” I saw what I wanted to change in education
• [7:52] Parent tips for student engagement
• [12:55] Teacher tips for student engagement
• [17:52] Lori’s Magic Wand x 3: 
• • That all students experience learning in a setting that allows them to thrive
  • That all students are able to connect with their teachers
  • That all teachers continue to seek ongoing professional development to connect with students
• [20:02] Maureen’s reflection on the three parts of Lori’s magic wand wish

Links and Resources:

• Kids Connected
• Read the Kids Connected blog
• Connecting with Students Online by Jennifer Serravallo
• Common Sense 
• Kathleen Morris’ Primary Tech
• Jethro’s Mastermind
• Danny’s Mastermind
• Micro-School Leaders Mastermind
• Email Maureen
• Facebook: Follow Education Evolution
• Twitter: Follow Education Evolution
• LinkedIn: Follow Education Evolution
• Maureen’s book: Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids

• Micro-school feature on Good Morning America
• The Micro-School Coalition
• Facebook: The Micro-School Coalition
• LEADPrep
• More episodes of the Education Evolution Podcast

With so much hate and division in our world, thoughts of how schools can provide love and belonging have been weighing down on me these past several months. Feelings of safety, love, and belonging are essential needs every human needs in order to live their best, most fulfilled lives. When it comes to these three needs, schools can have such an amazing impact in improving the lives of our students.

But how are children’s needs of love and belonging being met in our schools? And what can we do to make our schools a safe place where students feel loved, valued, and welcome?

This week I go over a few simple steps we as educators can take to confront our own biases and ensure our schools are places of love and inclusion. Schools are the biggest influence on our children outside of the home, so we must be willing to make the necessary changes to make them safe places where students feel seen, heard, and valued.

Jump Through the Conversation:

• [1:07] Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
• [3:27] How do schools meet foundational needs of students
• [5:32] My challenge to schools
• [6:35] Be a voice of love and inclusion
• [9:57] A need we can address
• [11:47] My challenge to educators

Links and Resources

• Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
• No Place for Hate
• Loren’s Episode
• Email Maureen
• Facebook: Follow Education Evolution
• Twitter: Follow Education Evolution
• LinkedIn: Follow Education Evolution
• Maureen’s book: Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids
• Micro-school feature on Good Morning America
• The Micro-School Coalition
• Facebook: The Micro-School Coalition
• LEADPrep

When evaluating the success of our students, what we’re really evaluating is the failures of our approach. Students who don’t feel valued and engaged won’t succeed and as educational leaders we are responsible for creating an environment our students can thrive in.

It’s not about changing who we are serving, it’s about changing how we are serving them. 

Loren Demeroutis, of Big Picture Learning, joins us on Education Evolution today to discuss how we can take a more student-centered learning approach in order to drive higher interest and engagement within our educational environments. By creating a student-centered learning environment, we close the achievement gap and create spaces where students feel safe, heard, valued, and engaged.

About Loren Demeroutis:

Loren Demeroutis is an experienced administrator, educator, and the director of Big Picture Learning, a system of schools that work hard to engage students and make learning authentic. He has a passion for interest-based learning that he uses in his mission to sustainably undo systems of oppression. To learn more about the work of Loren and BPL, visit their website and be sure to follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You can also find Loren on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Jump Through the Conversation

• [2:00] Big Picture Learning Vision
• [3:18] BPL is leading on shifting from doing learning to...to for...to with our learners
• [9:44 ] BPL students are seen and valued. Sound familiar?
• [15:17] Schools building “wonder and awe”
• [16:19] Activism by school working together for change as a “meshwork”
• [19:56 ] Relationships are really love in action
• [23:13] Loren’s Magic Wand: Give the wand to a young person and trust!
• [25:45] Love is the opposite of of hate 

Links and Resources:

• Micro-School Coalition
• Big Picture Learning
• Confronting unconscious biases or stereotypes
• Love = boldly challenging racism
• Email Maureen
• Schedule free 15-minute consultation with Maureen
• Facebook: Follow Education Evolution
• Twitter: Follow Education Evolution
• LinkedIn: Follow Education Evolution
• Maureen’s book: Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids
• Maureen on Good Morning America
• For this episode and more, EducationEvolution.org
•  

When evaluating the success of our students, what we’re really evaluating is the failures of our approach. Students who don’t feel valued and engaged won’t succeed and as educational leaders we are responsible for creating an environment our students can thrive in.

It’s not about changing who we are serving, it’s about changing how we are serving them.

Loren Demeroutis, of Big Picture Learning, joins us on Education Evolution today to discuss how we can take a more student-centered learning approach in order to drive higher interest and engagement within our educational environments. By creating a student-centered learning environment, we close the achievement gap and create spaces where students feel safe, heard, valued, and engaged.

About Loren Demeroutis:
Loren Demeroutis is an experienced administrator, educator, and the director of Big Picture Learning, a system of schools that work hard to engage students and make learning authentic. He has a passion for interest-based learning that he uses in his mission to sustainably undo systems of oppression. To learn more about the work of Loren and BPL, visit their website and be sure to follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You can also find Loren on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Jump Through the Conversation

[2:00] Big Picture Learning Vision
[3:18] BPL is leading on shifting from doing learning to…to for…to with our learners
[9:44 ] BPL students are seen and valued. Sound familiar?
[15:17] Schools building “wonder and awe”
[16:19] Activism by school working together for change as a “meshwork”
[19:56 ] Relationships are really love in action
[23:13] Loren’s Magic Wand: Give the wand to a young person and trust!
[25:45] Love is the opposite of hate
Links and Resources: https://educationevolution.org/30

Education Evolution
https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/education-evolution/

Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/30-creating-student-centered-learning-spaces-with-loren-demeroutis

When you think about your own school, who is it designed for? What priorities are clear to your team and your families? It is so easy to get caught up in the test scores and assignments that we forget the true focus of our educational spheres: the students.

Our focus has to be ensuring they thrive and feel supported.

Jethro Jones joins us today to discuss how principals are integral in setting the culture of their schools and creating student-driven learning environments. He reminds us that we have the power to transform our schools to ensure we are serving the students. We also discuss communication vs. compliance, and how that can be the difference in making a student feel valued.

Listen in to feel empowered and inspired to take ownership of your schools and transform them into the thriving student-driven learning environments they can be.

About Jethro Jones
Jethro Jones is a leader, speaker, and problem solver that helps school leaders find success for their students and teachers. He hosts the Transformative Principal podcast and is also the author of SchoolX, a book that goes into detail on how to create a transformative school experience. He believes that we need more empathy in our learning spaces and works with ACSD to encourage student-driven learning environments. To learn more about Jethro, visit his website or follow him on Facebook and Instagram.

Jump Through the Conversation
[2:01] Question: Who IS school designed for?
[3:18] What are the measures of success for schools?
[5:28] Taking ownership of your school
[7:13] Strategies to use
[14:55] Having more empathy and understanding to avoid conflicts
[28:05] Jethro’s Magic Wand: Everyone should be able to understand the intentions of others.

Links and Resources:
Micro-School Coalition
Transformative Mastermind
SchoolX by Jethro Jones
Email Maureen
Schedule free 15-minute consultation with Maureen
Facebook: Follow Education Evolution
Twitter: Follow Education Evolution
LinkedIn: Follow Education Evolution
Maureen’s book: Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids
Maureen on Good Morning America
For show notes, links and more: https://educationevolution.com/29

Education Evolution
https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/education-evolution/

Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/29-how-principals-can-create-student-driven-learning-environments-with-jethro-jones

Many educational leaders have amazing goals for their learning spaces, but don’t know how to reach them effectively. How can we truly maximize our impact as leaders?

Today we are joined by Danny Bauer, who teaches us that as leaders, we can always level up. By creating a growth mindset-centered community, our leadership can flourish, and we can bring our vision to life in the educational space. He inspires us to push ourselves and become better, step by step.

Listen in as we talk about how we can become better, experience true leadership development, and use our influence as powerful forces of good in our learning communities. As Danny explains, “Everybody wins when a leader gets better.”

About Danny Bauer:
Danny Bauer is an educational leader who coaches other leaders to their best via classes, the Better Leaders Better Schools podcast, consulting, informational blogs, and more. His mission is to help school leaders take ownership of their leadership development, gain clarity, and find solutions to their biggest challenges.

Danny pushes the envelope on excellence in school leadership as an experienced school leader and an insatiable lifelong learner himself. You can learn more about Danny and his coaching on his website or follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

Jump Through the Conversation
[2:06] Danny’s candid “Mirror Moment”
[5:59] Using vision to be inspired and create a filter
[9:38] Social media is NOT our community for deep growth
[11:15] Danny’s Mastermind Group
[24:43] How to be a part of dismantling systemic racism
[29:25] Danny’s Magic Wand: Get rid of schools! Dream big–get expansive and creative!

Links and Resources:

Micro-School Coalition
Personal Best by Atul Gawande
The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande
Dr. Sheldon Eakins
Dr. Tracey A Benson
How to be Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi
Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday
Overcoming Bias by Tiffany Jana and Matthew Freeman
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
Email Maureen
Schedule free 15-minute consultation with Maureen
Facebook: Follow Education Evolution
Twitter: Follow Education Evolution
LinkedIn: Follow Education Evolution
Maureen’s book: Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids
Maureen on Good Morning America
Latest episodes: https://educationevolution.org


Education Evolution
https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/education-evolution/

Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/28-encouraging-leadership-development-with-danny-bauer

Opening a micro-school is no easy task; it’s a business with all the cogs and parts involved in any business. There’s funding to think about, location, support staff and teachers. But there’s a shortcut available, especially for those with a relationship to an existing school or business.

This is actually how I opened my first micro-school, a school-within-a-school, in a large Washington State high school. The facility, money, teachers, students, and other resources were already there. I just needed to reconfigure the learning model to fit my group of learners.

This episode of the Education Evolution podcast includes examples of how you might take a shortcut when opening your own micro-school, why you might want to open a micro-school, and what you should do first (or next).

And to get started on your own, grab a copy of my book or book a call with me. I have firsthand knowledge and experience in starting and running successful micro-schools across the globe.

Jump Through the Conversation
[4:05] Why have a school-within-a-school?
[7:01] Why it is important to get smaller and more personalized
[10:11] Five steps to take
[12:29] My Magic Wand: Be the Change

Links and Resources:
Episode 22: Mission-Driven Pivot to a Micro-School
Episode 23: A Place for Colorful Mismatched Learners to Thrive
Sign up for the self-paced course, Build Your Micro-School
Visit the Micro-School Coalition
Schedule a free 15-minute consultation with Maureen
Maureen’s book: Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids
Email Maureen
Facebook: Follow Education Evolution
Twitter: Follow Education Evolution
LinkedIn: Follow Education Evolution
Maureen on Good Morning America

Show notes, links and more episodes – https://educationevolution.org

Education Evolution
https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/education-evolution/

Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/27-micro-school-shortcut-schools-and-business-pivot-and-open-a-micro-school

In the shadow of COVID, the current face of education has brought a new set of challenges into the (virtual) classroom. It can be difficult to know how to overcome these barriers and create the best environment for both educators and students.

Today, Andrew Marotta joins us on the Education Evolution podcast to give insight into how he’s able to hold this balance in his own life. Despite being a husband, father, principal, author, professional speaker, and more, Andrew maintains a positive energy and focus that has led to his success in the educational system. He reminds us of the grace we must extend to each other during this difficult time and gives us a call to do our best and believe in ourselves.

Listen in now to hear his advice on creating a positive impact for students, keeping up morale, and creating relationships to help students thrive no matter the situation.

About Andrew Marotta
Andrew Marotta is an energetic and enthusiastic leader who has put his positive imprint on his beloved Port Jervis High School, in Port Jervis, NY. He has led the transformation of PJHS, helping to raise the graduation rate from a low 60% to mid and upper 80%.

With the release of his first book, “The Principal: Surviving and Thriving,” Andrew is expanding his impact on the education leadership community. Husband, father, principal, former Division One College Basketball Official, professional speaker and developer, and now author, Andrew balances his busy lifestyle and shares with you the tips, tricks, procedures, and methods he uses to make it work.

Learn more through his blog and listen in on his podcast. You can also follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

Jump Through the Conversation:
[2:09] Treat your school like a restaurant
[6:53] Now is the time to release routines and try new things
[8:22] Do your best, be kind, and have empathy
[10:58] Be fully present and focus on the “big rocks” first
[16:16] Dr. Rob Gilbert’s success hotline
[18:38] Andrew’s Magic Wand: We MUST believe in ourselves and that we can have an impact
[22:49] Rita Pierson’s Ted Talk: Every Kid Needs a Champion on “Kids can’t learn from teachers they don’t like.”
[24:20] Maureen unpacking Andrew’s gems

Being human
Shining our light and making an impact

Links and Resources:
Andrew Marotta’s The Principal: Surviving and Thriving
Education Leadership and Beyond Blog
Education Leadership and Beyond Podcast
Stephen Covey’s Big Rocks First video
Dr. Rob Gilbert’s Success Hotline: can subscribe or call 973-743-4690. (Success Hotline, started in 1992, is the world’s longest running inspirational telephone hotline. Daily 3-minute inspirations.)
Rita Pierson’s Ted Talk: Every Kid Needs a Champion
Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Marianne Williamson’s Our Deepest Fear poem
Email Maureen
Facebook: Follow Education Evolution
Twitter: Follow Education Evolution
LinkedIn: Follow Education Evolution
Maureen’s book: Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids
Micro-school feature on Good Morning America
The Micro-School Coalition
Facebook: The Micro-School Coalition
LEADPrep


Education Evolution
https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/education-evolution/

Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/26-surviving-and-thriving-in-education-with-andrew-marotta

As educators, we know that children don’t learn in silos. Right now, parents are learning this, too. They’re seeing their kids struggle, not only with accessing the information but with processing it as well. It’s spotlighting the fact that we need to educate the whole child and that academics is just a portion of who the child is.

That’s why today’s conversation with Kr. Karen Wilson is so important. As a clinical neuropsychologist, Karen evaluates children and informs parents about neurodevelopmental and social-emotional issues and helps connect them with professionals who can help children succeed.

In our conversation, we discuss why parents put off having their children evaluated, how the pandemic has exacerbated some of the difficulties children are having and what parents should do once they have a diagnosis.

Karen also talks about her mission to support parents and children even further through her ChildNEXUS online platform. And if you want more from this conversation and Karen, she has a podcast of her own launching soon!

About Karen Wilson
Dr. Karen Wilson is a Clinical Neuropsychologist, Director of West LA Neuropsychology, and an Assistant Clinical Professor (Voluntary) in the Medical Psychology Assessment Center at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Behavior at UCLA. She is also the Founder of ChildNEXUS.com, a web platform that provides information to parents who have children or adolescents struggling with neurodevelopmental or social-emotional issues, and connects them with professionals who provide services.

Dr. Karen Wilson has shared her expertise in a broad range of media outlets: television, radio, podcasts, print, and online. She is a sought after speaker and has been invited to address a multitude of audiences including parenting groups, educators, and professionals attending national conferences. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

Jump Through the Conversation

[6:28] Why parents delay getting neuropsych evaluation
[8:30] How parents (and kids) feel and react after an evaluation
[9:36] Impact of chronic stress in kids
[12:30] Impact of loneliness and social media with this generation
[14:23] Karen talks about her ChildNEXUS online platform
[18:30] Karen’s Magic Wand: We’re evaluating kids the moment we see them struggle and find a variety of ways to support them–all kids
[19:53] Unpacking the conversation
Links and Resources:
https://educationevolution.org/25



Education Evolution
https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/education-evolution/

Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/25-looking-at-how-kids-are-wired-with-dr-karen-wilson