This edWeb podcast is part of a series of WebBriefs hosted by The Alliance of Former Chief State School Officers.

The meeting recording can be accessed here.

As we reflect on the nation’s journey and look ahead to the next 250 years, this WebBrief, hosted by the Alliance of Former Chief State School Officers, explores the vital role educators play in sustaining a healthy democracy. Dr. Jem Spectar, constitutional law expert and President of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, shares insights on how strengthening civic education can equip students with the knowledge, skills, and disposition needed for active citizenship.

Listeners learn key strategies for integrating civic learning with civic action in classrooms to foster critical thinking, reduce polarization, and prepare students to contribute positively to their communities and country.

Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.

This edWeb podcast is sponsored by Bloomz, Inc.

The webinar recording can be accessed here.

Reach every family—no translations needed. Learn how to engage multilingual families using immersive, tech-friendly tools.

Engaging all families isn’t just a goal—it’s a necessity. In this edWeb podcast, educators learn practical strategies to connect with families across language, cultural, and technology divides. Discover how to create a truly inclusive communication experience that supports multilingual households, builds trust, and ensures no family is left behind—no matter what language they speak or device they use.

Through valuable strategies and real-world solutions, the session builds awareness, showcases the critical nature of inclusive communication, and helps educators and school leaders who are seeking better ways to connect with their communities. You learn about immersive translation into over 250 languages, which ensures equity and leaves no parent behind. This edWeb podcast is of interest to PreK-12 school leaders, district leaders, and education technology leaders.

Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.

This edWeb podcast is sponsored by OxEd & Assessment.

The edLeader Panel recording can be accessed here.

Strong reading comprehension starts long before a child even opens their first book. Decades of research into the Science of Reading show that building strong oral language skills in early education forms the foundation for reading success. Yet in many districts, oral language remains under-recognized in literacy plans, despite its direct impact on students’ literacy skills, academic achievement, and long-term outcomes.

In this edWeb podcast, you hear from both a researcher and a district leader. Together, they unpack the latest findings on how oral language drives reading progress, why gaps in these skills can quietly undermine even the strongest phonics and literacy initiatives, and how schools and districts can close those gaps at scale.

We also introduce the Reading is Language Model, developed by Dr. Charles Hulme and Dr. Maggie Snowling. Building on, but going beyond, the Simple View of Reading, this model challenges the idea that language and reading are separate developmental processes. Instead, it emphasizes that reading and oral language are inseparable, and that strengthening language early is essential to securing literacy and reading comprehension later.

You also hear a real-world example from a district that prioritized oral language across its elementary schools and saw measurable improvements faster than expected. This edWeb podcast is of interest to PreK-3 literacy coordinators, special education coordinators, school leaders, and elementary district leaders.

Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.

This edWeb podcast is sponsored by ParentPowered.

The edLeader Panel recording can be accessed here.

Research shows that when families are engaged, students thrive. Strong family engagement is a must, but it can feel daunting and complex. Where do you start? In this edWeb podcast, Rebecca Honig and Françoise Lartigue from ParentPowered explore 10 powerful things you can do to ensure strong partnerships with families.

From strategies that build trust and mitigate parental anxiety to strengths-based ways you can partner with parents around student learning, they cover highly doable actions you can take to break down barriers and ensure that you’re reaching and engaging ALL families. They also share numerous tools and resources that you can immediately use in your work with families.

Listeners leave with:

• Ways to build trust and mitigate parental anxiety
• Strategies to ensure clear, strengths-based communication with families
• Ways to break down barriers to participation
• Steps to scaffold family engagement
• Pathways to partner with ALL families around student learning
• Concrete tools and resources to use with families

This edWeb podcast is of interest to PreK-12 teachers, school leaders, district leaders, education technology leaders, and family liaisons.

Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.

This edWeb podcast is sponsored by Edmentum.

The edLeader Panel recording can be accessed here.

Education leaders at the federal, state, district, and building levels are setting new priorities for career-connected learning (CCL), a more expansive model of traditional career and technical education (CTE) that emphasizes career readiness for all learners and the importance of ensuring students graduate high school ready for college and career, not just one or the other.

Last year, states nationwide approved more than 150 policies focused on boosting these programs, including new investment in workplace learning opportunities and updated high school diploma requirements. And this doesn’t apply only to high school―career exploration beginning in middle school provides students with the opportunity to discover interests sooner, go deeper into their learning pathways, and graduate with a clear vision of their postsecondary objectives.

In this edWeb podcast, listeners hear perspectives from career-connected learning experts with decades of experience implementing and running successful programs in schools and districts around the U.S. You learn about:

• The elements of a comprehensive approach to career-connected learning, and why this model is foundational to academic engagement and postsecondary success for today’s students
• The steps district, state, and national leaders are taking to drive innovation in CCL and implement enhanced programs
• The elements of effective districtwide programs that support students along the journey from exploration to employability and how to apply them in your district
• The high-impact outcomes―including outstanding attendance, impressive college entrance exam scores, and a graduating class full of students meeting the “College and Career Ready” designation―achieved at the Career Academies of Decatur, a dedicated CTE high school in Decatur, AL

This edWeb podcast is of interest to middle and high school district leaders and school leaders.

Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.

This edWeb podcast is presented by CoSN and AASA and sponsored by ClassLink.

The edLeader Panel recording can be accessed here.

CoSN’s 2025 Driving K-12 Innovation report is the collaborative result of an international advisory board of over 130 education and technology experts. Together, they produced the report that identifies the most important Hurdles (challenges), Accelerators (mega-trends), and Tech Enablers (tools) that currently impact K-12 technology innovation.

In this two-part edWeb podcast series, three leading superintendents who served on the Driving K-12 Innovation Advisory Board share the process behind the development of the 2025 report and how they each address the Hurdles, Accelerators, and Tech Enablers within their own school systems.

In part one of the series, the superintendent panel is joined by the Project Director for CoSN’s Driving K-12 Innovation initiative and EdTech Innovation Committee. Together, they take a deep dive into the current Hurdles and Accelerators identified in the report. Part two focuses on Technology Enablers.

This edWeb podcast is of high value to K-12 educators in both leadership and classroom roles. The broader school community also benefits as the panel explores the trends, challenges, and technologies defining the future of learning.

Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.

This edWeb podcast is sponsored by Hazel Health.

The edLeader Panel recording can be accessed here.

In schools facing rising mental health needs, telehealth expands the continuum of supports—increasing access to foster earlier intervention—without overburdening staff. Hazel Health’s national panel features district leaders who implement telehealth as an evidence-based strategy to meet the needs of every student while driving improvement in key domains of student success, like attendance and behavior.

Join this edWeb podcast to discover how integrating mental health care keeps students in class and engaged and learn how effective funding strategies sustain programs in budgets. Listeners:

• Explore how telehealth integrates with MTSS and existing systems
• Learn more about the impact on attendance and behavior
• Hear firsthand experience with implementation and funding strategies

This edWeb podcast is of interest to K-12 district leaders and education technology leaders.

Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.

This edWeb podcast is sponsored by Sadlier.

The webinar recording can be accessed here.

This edWeb podcast helps educators intentionally develop students’ capacity to think and act like mathematicians, beyond mastering content alone. Being a mathematical thinker and doer requires complex proficiencies such as reasoning, problem solving, communicating, modeling, strategic decision making, and using precise mathematical language. These practices are essential for deep understanding and long-term success.

In this session, we:

• Unpack the connections between the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for Mathematical Practice and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Process Standards
• Examine the research that supports teaching these proficiencies as central to effective math instruction
• Explore how Progress in Mathematics (Grades K–5) translates these practices into clear, actionable instructional strategies

Educators gain insights into how to shift math instruction from rote procedures to meaningful problem solving and discourse. The edWeb podcast also highlights classroom strategies and resources that support diverse learners in building strong mathematical habits of mind.

Listen to this session for practical takeaways you can apply immediately, a deeper understanding of mathematical practices, and tools to enhance engagement and achievement for all students. This edWeb podcast is of interest to K-5 teachers, school leaders, district leaders, education technology leaders, and curriculum and instruction directors and coordinators.

Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.

This podcast is hosted by edWeb.net.

The webinar recording can be accessed here.

Webinars have become one of the most popular marketing channels for solution providers. Hosting thought leadership and professional learning webinars is a great way for a company at any stage, particularly in these challenging times, to engage with educators for brand recognition, lead generation, content marketing, market insights, and nurturing relationships with education experts and leaders.

Listen to an edWeb podcast with Lisa Schmucki, founder and CEO of edWeb.net, and Jerri Kemble, National Academic Advisor and Evangelist for ClassLink. Lisa shares lessons learned from over 15 years as the founder who launched professional learning webinars as a major media marketing channel. Lisa and Jerri provide tips for getting the best results from webinar marketing, especially with school leaders and administrators. They also show how ClassLink works in partnership with AASA, CoSN, and edWeb to host a series of “EmpowerED Superintendents” webinars for superintendents and education leaders.

This edWeb podcast is of interest to education companies and associations that want to strengthen their webinar marketing efforts for success.

Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.

This edWeb podcast is sponsored by Branching Minds.

The edLeader Panel recording can be accessed here.

Do your MTSS teams spend more time talking about problems than solving them? Are the right people even at the table? This edLeader Panel helps you structure your MTSS teams, clarify roles and responsibilities, and run focused meetings that lead to real outcomes.

We walk through how to organize your team’s work for impact, including:

• How to build MTSS teams at the district, campus, grade level/department, and student level
• Team roles and responsibilities
• MTSS meeting agenda templates for each type of meeting
• Tips and resources to streamline collaboration and accountability

Make 2025–2026 the year your MTSS teams get things done. Bring your team—we bring the resources! This edWeb podcast is of interest to K-12 school and district leaders.

Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.