edWebcasts

Presented by Lauren LaMont, Educational Consultant, Heart & Hustle Consulting; Leslie Johnson, Instructional Coach, New York City Public Schools (NY); and Keri Hubbard, Chief of Program, National Summer School Institute (NSSI)

This edWeb podcast is sponsored by The National Summer School Initiative (NSSI).

The edLeader Panel recording can be accessed here.

January is an important—and often overlooked—moment in the school year. With state testing just months away, many leaders double down on interventions, tutoring, and Tier 2 supports. But the truth is simple: no amount of intervention can compensate for weak Tier 1 instruction.

This edWeb podcast brings together school and district leaders to explore how to reset, refocus, and elevate Tier 1 instruction from January to test season. We dive into the high-leverage moves leaders can make now to strengthen core instruction, tighten standards-aligned practice, maximize teacher skill, and ensure every student gets daily access to grade-level content that moves achievement.

Leaders leave with practical strategies they can implement—and the confidence that they can still meaningfully shift outcomes before spring. 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.

A conversation hosted by Lisa Schmucki, Founder and CEO of edWeb.net, with Dr. Baron Davis, Former Superintendent and Founder of the Noegenesis Group, and Dr. Jerri Kemble, National Academic Advisor and Evangelist for ClassLink.

This podcast is hosted by edWeb.net.

The webinar recording can be accessed here.

How do busy educators find time to write books on top of everything else they are doing? Dr. Baron Davis and Dr. Jerri Kemble are innovative ed leaders who’ve managed to do that, publishing very creative and inspiring books filled with wisdom and life lessons! In this edWebinar, Lisa Schmucki, Founder and CEO of edWeb, invites educators to join a conversation with Baron and Jerri to kick off the New Year!

Baron’s book, Nana’s World-Famous Red Velvet Cake, is a children’s book about love, family traditions, and life lessons passed down through generations. The story follows a young boy named Miles who spends Saturday mornings baking with his beloved Nana. One special Saturday, they make Nana’s signature red velvet cake, a treasured family recipe. As they bake, Nana teaches Miles not only about ingredients and steps but also imparts meaningful life lessons on patience, preparation, order, attention to detail, overcoming obstacles, kindness, generosity, and most importantly, love. As an adult, Miles recreates the tradition with his own children, sharing Nana’s enduring wisdom.

Buy Nana’s World-Famous Red Velvet Cake here. 

 Jerri’s book, The Badass Firefly: Lead with Light, Live with Grit, and Shine with Style and Grace, weaves together stories, sketch notes, and sparks of wisdom with original illustrations that remind us of a simple truth: leadership isn’t about titles, perfection, or volume—it’s about showing up with authenticity, courage, and heart. With humor, vulnerability, and her signature doodle art, Jerri shares lessons from classrooms, boardrooms, and life itself. This is not a manual, it’s a mirror, a window, and a spark. Whether you are leading a team, a classroom, a family, or simply yourself through the next chapter of life, Jerri’s words will inspire you to glow brighter, grow braver, and embrace your own kind of badassery.

Buy The Badass Firefly Effect here.

This edWeb podcast can be enjoyed by all educators! Join us for a Happy New Year edWeb podcast.

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

Presented by Dr. Bryan Duffie, Superintendent, Alma School District (AR); Dr. Deborah Kerr, Superintendent, St. Francis Public School District (WI); Dr. Michael Lubelfeld, Superintendent, North Shore School District 112 (IL); and Pete Just, AI Project Director, CoSN
Moderated by Ann McMullan, Project Director, CoSN/AASA EmpowerED Superintendents Initiative, CoSN (Consortium for School Networking)

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

The edLeader Panel recording can be accessed here.

There is no question that artificial intelligence (AI) continues to be a source of intrigue and new learning for multiple facets of society. School systems are no exception. In its various forms, AI can sometimes be an effective help, but it can sometimes also be a hindrance to the goals and functions of educators. However, there is no doubt that AI will have a place in the world of the future. And since the role of every educator is to prepare each student to thrive in their future, AI is a critical part of leading and teaching in schools today.

In this edWeb podcast, three leading-edge superintendents are joined in conversation with CoSN’s AI Project Director. Together, they share what they have each come to learn about AI over the past few years. They describe effective processes and policies for using AI appropriately for teaching and learning, as well as for multiple other school leadership functions. An overview of CoSN’s free AI resources with links to access them is shared.

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

View all of the recent EmpowerED Superintendent edLeader Panels.

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

This edWeb podcast is presented by ERDI.

The edLeader Panel recording can be accessed here.

Every educator’s number one wish is for more time in the day. Time management and prioritization are crucial skills for education leaders. The goal of this fourth edWeb podcast of Trailblazing Leadership Week is to introduce a simple, customizable, and scalable approach designed to help K–12 educators reclaim time, reduce burnout, and focus more deeply on priorities that drive student outcomes.

Topics covered:

• The panelists tell the story of why a simple system for organization, time management, and prioritization came to be a focus—and why it is now more important than ever
• Listeners examine concrete examples of how educators collect, sort, and scrub their daily inputs; manage their email and calendars using tools they already have; and implement simple morning and evening routines that build long-term efficiency
• The panelists highlight how the method adapts to the daily realities of different roles—from teachers juggling planning, grading, and communication to district leaders coordinating multi-campus initiatives

Listeners learn:

• A research-informed understanding of why time management is now a core leadership competency
• Practical routines they can implement the very next day to save one to two hours, reduce stress, and improve responsiveness
• A clearer sense of how to align daily work with organizational priorities and student-centered goals
• Strategies that build leader sustainability, improve retention, and increase time spent on instructional leadership
• A method that is simple, repeatable, and adaptable at scale for teams, schools, or entire districts

The session demonstrates a cognitive, sustainable way to organize and manage your workload more effectively based on The Executive Edge Method (EEM). This edWeb podcast is of interest to any PreK-12 education leader and any educator who wants to improve their time management and organization.

This edWeb podcast is part of Trailblazing Leadership Week.

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

This edWeb podcast is presented by ERDI.

The edLeader Panel recording can be accessed here.

Across the country, leaders are searching for practical ways to move beyond isolated initiatives and build systems that actually change teaching and learning. In the third edWeb podcast of Trailblazing Leadership Week, Nancy Brightwell (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools) and Mark Estrada (Lockhart Independent School District) share how they rethought leadership, professional learning, and support structures to drive real gains for students.

Nancy unpacks how Charlotte-Mecklenburg aligned high-quality teachers, high-quality curricula, and accountable practice through a clear theory of change. Listeners see how Charlotte-Mecklenburg defined roles for specialists and master teachers, created Crown Academy to better prepare new teachers, and built monitoring systems that connect central office, principals, and classrooms in a continuous learning cycle.

Mark shares how Lockhart ISD’s “A Way, Not The Way” approach and 4Bs/6 Levers framework led to a districtwide shared leadership model. He highlights the Lever Leader role, talent identification and development systems, and the 70–20–10 approach to coaching and on-the-job learning that is building a sustainable leadership bench.

You leave with concrete ideas for redefining leadership roles, designing job-embedded support, and building people-centered systems that improve outcomes for students without burning out your best educators. This edWeb podcast is of interest to PreK-12 school leaders, district leaders, and education technology leaders.

This edWeb podcast is part of Trailblazing Leadership Week.

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.

The latest research reveals a stark reality. Only one-third of fourth graders are reading at or above proficiency. While educators work tirelessly to address this crisis, the most underutilized resource in literacy development is often right at home: parents and caregivers.

This edWeb podcast equips PreK through elementary educators and administrators with evidence-based, strengths-based strategies to transform parents into confident, effective reading partners. When families understand HOW reading happens and receive practical tools aligned with classroom instruction, the impact on student literacy can be transformative. Listeners learn to:

• Connect family engagement to each pillar of the Science of Reading
• Orient parents around foundational skills, including phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension
• Identify strengths-based entry points that honor what families already bring to literacy learning
• Support parents in building children’s attention, focus, and reading readiness
• Scaffold home reading routines by connecting families with books, literacy resources, and doable activities that can become home reading habits
• Partner with families around learning goals in ways that leverage a family’s unique insights and funds of knowledge

Walk away with actionable frameworks, dozens of activity ideas, and ready-made resources to share with families! Together, we can create a powerful home-school partnership that accelerates reading success for every child. This edWeb podcast is of interest to PreK-5 teachers, librarians, 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 presented by ERDI.

The edLeader Panel recording can be accessed here.

The power of belonging within a school community is well documented. It fuels academic achievement, enhances student behavior, and supports student mental health and wellness. Yet despite widespread efforts, student reports of belonging continue to decline, leaving educators and leaders grappling with a complex and urgent challenge.

In the second edWeb podcast of Trailblazing Leadership Week, Doug Bolton, Ph.D., author of Untethered: Creating Connected Families, Schools, and Communities to Raise a Resilient Generation, explores the systemic barriers that undermine belonging and offers clear, actionable strategies that school leaders can implement immediately to foster authentic belonging among students and staff.

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

This edWeb podcast is part of Trailblazing Leadership Week.

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

This edWeb podcast is sponsored by CAST.

The edLeader Panel recording can be accessed here.

Let’s talk to promising practices, policies, and guidelines that state and school district leaders can implement around the use of generative AI and accessibility. Administrators must ensure that AI functionality is accessible to all students to align with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 508. Likewise, school districts must ensure compliance with federal and state education privacy laws. Yet many AI-enabled solutions are built for consumers, not education.

This edWeb podcast reviews resources from the CoSN/CAST AI & Accessibility in Education: 2024 Blaschke Report and approve AI functionality as it relates to accessibility. Likewise, the panelists discuss what policies and guidance school districts should provide around AI and Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) to ensure the privacy of student data.

This edWeb podcast is of interest to K-12 teachers, librarians, 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 Heinemann.

The edLeader Panel recording can be accessed here.

In this edWeb podcast, scholars Carol Jago, Lorna Simmons, and Dr. JT Torres engage in a dynamic and timely conversation exploring how foundational literacy skills, strategic fluency development, and deep comprehension work in harmony to empower confident, lifelong readers. Listeners gain actionable classroom strategies and insights from diverse educator perspectives to support literacy growth across all grade levels.

Join us as they:

• Address some of the most critical questions facing reading teachers today
• Consider and discuss recent literacy research and statistics
• Explore what success looks like for readers of all abilities—and how rigor can fuel joy in the process

This edWeb podcast is of interest to PreK-12 teachers, reading and curriculum specialists, multilingual learner administrators, school leaders, and district leaders.

Enjoy a complimentary ebook, Establishing Effective Instruction: A Comprehensive Approach to Literacy. It offers practical, research-based strategies to strengthen literacy instruction, align tools for impact, and help every student become a confident reader and writer.

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

This edWeb podcast is presented by ERDI.

The edLeader Panel recording can be accessed here.

Districts across the country are being asked to raise student achievement with complex needs, tight resources, and growing scrutiny. Greenville County Schools (SC) and San Antonio Independent School District (TX) have both seen significant systemwide gains in test scores by focusing on coherent, system-level transformation rather than isolated initiatives.

In the first edWeb podcast of Trailblazing Leadership Week, you hear directly from school and district leaders who are doing the work every day. Together, they unpack how their districts aligned vision, instructional expectations, and support systems so every school moved in the same direction.

Leaders share how they:

• Organized central office and school teams around a common instructional vision
• Used data and high-quality instructional materials to drive classroom practice
• Built principal and teacher capacity while protecting time for what matters most
• Maintained focus on equity and access for all student groups
• Built school culture that focuses on high expectations and student-centered decision making

Listeners leave with practical moves, hard-earned lessons, and questions to bring back to their own leadership teams. This edWeb podcast is of interest to K-12 school leaders, district leaders, and education technology leaders.

This edWeb podcast is part of Trailblazing Leadership Week.

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