Innovating Education

What does it really mean to unlearn in education? In this special Thanksgiving episode, we pause for reflection—and reimagination—with Kwame Sarfo Mensa, a veteran educator, global consultant, and author of Learning to Relearn. As founder of Identity Talk Consulting and host of the Identity Talk for Educators Live podcast, Kwame is helping educators across the world interrogate bias, reframe school culture, and humanize learning through equity-centered practice.

This episode dives deep into the mindset and methods behind culturally affirming teaching. From personal stories of navigating race, disability, and belonging, to frameworks for self-assessment, intersectional empathy, and critical unlearning—Kwame offers real talk and real strategies. Whether you're a teacher, school leader, or policymaker, you’ll walk away with actionable insights on how to model inclusive leadership, build student trust, and reimagine education as a collective, humanizing practice.

📚 Featured in this episode:

Connect with Kwame:

Proudly supported by the Solvea Learning Group, whose commitment to advancing education makes conversations like this possible. If today’s episode sparked ideas or helped reframe your thinking, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a colleague.

Steven Bollar—aka Stand Tall Steve—joins the Innovating Education Podcast to talk about school culture, decision making and the leadership lessons that no one wants to talk about. Steve’s worn every hat: teacher, principal, superintendent, author and national keynote speaker. In this episode, he breaks down why so many school improvement efforts fail—because they’re chasing perfection instead of progress.

We dive deep on the five levels of decision-making, how to lead with transparency after mistakes, and why leaders need to stop overcomplicating school culture. Steve’s new book, Just Do This, is front and center. He explains how it's built for educators who don’t have time for theory and just need something that works.

This one’s packed with smart insights, practical frameworks, and advice for anyone trying to lead well in complex systems.

In this episode, we cover:

The five levels of decision-making every leader should know

How to avoid “initiative fatigue” and lead with clarity

Why culture work isn’t about rewards—it’s about repetition

How to use “reduce, not eliminate” as a realistic leadership strategy

A sneak peek into Steve’s new book Just Do This—and how it’s helping school leaders take action

🔗 Connect with Steve Bollar:

Visit: www.standtallsteve.com

Email: [email protected]

Explore his podcast: The School Climate and Culture Show with Megan Diede

Learn about the Just Do This Boost Camp: a 3-day leadership experience hosted in partnership with Innovative School Summit (details on his site).

This episode of the Innovating Education Podcast is a deep dive into a topic most people overlook: grammar. Dr. Riley Williams sits down with Bob Safran—known to many as "The Grammar Guy"—a pioneer in grammar instruction with over fifty years of experience. Bob has built his career around one mission: reestablishing grammar's critical role in literacy.

We unpack how the 1985 NCTE resolution sidelined grammar, and why that mistake continues to hault our literacy efforts. Bob’s journey from public school teacher to textbook editor, career school CEO, and founder of EGUMPP—a fully online English Grammar, Usage, Mechanics, and Punctuation Program.

Bob breaks down how grammar isn't just rules; it's the key to unlocking comprehension, precision, and clear communication—from the SAT to workplace writing and beyond. He walks us through how EGUMPP—solvable in just 30–40 hours—unpacks language into manageable, self‑graded modules and one‑page “cheat‑sheet summaries” that make sentence mastery accessible to everyone. Whether you lead a school, teach writing, or just believe in the foundations of literacy, this episode will reenergize your appreciation for grammar.

** What You’ll Take Away:**

Why grammar deserves a comeback—not as rote drill, but as the building block of clarity

How EGUMPP breaks grammar into four self‑paced modules (Grammar, Usage, Mechanics, Punctuation)—complete with videos, automatic feedback, and certification

Insight into how grammar, pronunciation, and structure boost reading comprehension and professional communication

Where to Connect:

In this episode, Dr. Riley Williams sits down with Eleni Soler—founder of Eleni’s Edge, educator, systems strategist, and certified coach—to dive deep into what it really takes to prepare students for an unpredictable world. Drawing on her journey through business, K–12 teaching, higher ed, and organizational coaching, Eleni unpacks what an entrepreneurial mindset looks like in practice—and why it’s not just for future CEOs.

From inquiry-based learning to AI-powered ideation, Eleni makes the case for classrooms that prioritize student agency, curiosity, and risk-taking over rote memorization. She shares how teachers can redesign their roles without burning out, how leaders can foster psychological safety while still holding high expectations, and why thinking differently about failure is the first step toward real innovation.

Eleni also breaks down how coaching practices can transform the classroom, how to teach math through story, and how to use Gen AI without losing critical thinking. It’s a masterclass in systems-thinking, culture-building, and reimagining what school can be.

If you're an educator, leader, or school designer trying to make real change without burning it all down—this one's for you.

🔗 Resources:

Learn more about Eleni’s coaching, speaking, and consulting: elenisedge.com

Book Eleni for workshops or keynotes: Email her at [email protected]

🧠 Also mentioned:

The Courage to Teach by Parker Palmer

The concept of “VUCA” (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity)

How to use silence as a thinking tool in the classroom

Three paradoxes to structure creative classrooms without chaos

Marc Williams is a global speaker, educator, and the co-founder of Speaker Skills Academy, where he helps people—from first graders to Fortune 500 leaders—overcome fear and master the art of communication. He’s also the creator of the acclaimed Rules of Engagement, a ten-part framework that’s reshaping how we teach public speaking across schools and organizations.

In this episode of the Innovating Education Podcast, we go deep on why traditional public speaking classes don’t work, and what to do instead. Marc talks candidly about the culture of fear in classrooms, the trap of performative speaking, and how gamification, storytelling, and mindset work can radically transform how people show up and speak with confidence.

We also talk about why storytelling should replace speech rubrics, how to build your “communication muscles,” and what it really means to shift from grading speeches to growing communicators.

Check out Marc’s work at: https://www.speakerskillsacademy.com

🎧 Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with fellow educators, coaches, and leaders.

If you’ve ever cried in your car after school—or stayed up late perfecting a lesson plan—this conversation is for you.

Dr. Jen Rafferty gets real about the emotional toll of teaching and the hidden culture that rewards overextension. We explore why burnout isn’t a personal failure, but a systems issue—and how neuroscience, emotional regulation, and identity work can help teachers reclaim their energy and purpose.

Whether you’re an educator trying to stay afloat or a school leader committed to meaningful professional development, Jen offers practical, research-based strategies to support staff well-being—from the inside out.

✅ Tools you can use tomorrow.

Get connected:

Subscribe for more interviews that change how we think, lead, and teach.

Ruthe Farmer is a force of nature in the fight for tech equity. She served in the Obama White House as the Senior Policy Advisor for Tech Inclusion, helped launch the national CSforAll movement, and created programs that have brought thousands of girls and underrepresented students into computer science. Today, she's the founder of the https://www.lastmile-ed.org/

📲 Follow Ruthe Farmer:

💬 Know an educator or policymaker who needs to hear this? Share it.

David Woodward is the founder and president of Forefront Education, a platform helping schools harness real-time classroom data to drive meaningful instructional change. He’s also the author of Universal Screeners for Number Sense, and a nationally recognized expert on standards-based assessment and data-driven instruction.

In this episode, we go deep on why classroom assessments—not interim tests, not state exams—are the most powerful tool educators have to actually improve learning. David talks candidly about the systemic misalignment between instruction and assessment, the rise of adaptive testing, and how districts can reclaim teacher time and drive outcomes by focusing on the data that actually matters.

We also talk formative assessment (spoiler: it’s not a product), why most benchmarks miss the mark, and what it’s going to take to shift the culture around data in schools.

Check out David Woodward’s work at: https://www.forefront.education.com 

Follow David on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwoodward

🎧 Subscribe, leave a review, and share this one with the educators and leaders in your network.

Justin Pickens is a teacher, coach, speaker, and father on a mission to change school culture from the inside out.

Our conversation goes deep on what it really takes to thrive in a school system that often leaves teachers burned out and students unseen. Justin shares what saved him, what still fuels him, and why he believes joyful, intentional educators are the greatest generational change agents we’ve got.

You’ll hear:

Why “remember your why” isn’t enough—and what to do when that no longer motivates you

How to pre‑decide your mindset before the day begins

What strong school culture really looks like (spoiler: it starts with remembering people’s names)

The reason storytelling—not statistics—is what actually builds trust and connection

One question every school leader should ask their students

How small actions from teachers led him out of generational trauma and into purpose

This one’s part pep talk, part mindset reset. If you’re feeling stretched thin or unsure if the work still matters—Justin’s clarity, heart, and humor will hit home.

Interested in bringing that spark to your next event? Reach Justin Pickens directly:

Email: [email protected] 

Website / Booking page: justinpickens.com

You can also connect via LinkedIn—he’s most active there

In this episode of the Innovating Education Podcast, Dr. Riley Williams sits down with Nick Farrenkopf, founder and CEO of Wibly, to explore how knowledge trees—interactive visual maps of interconnected concepts—are transforming the way students learn math. Drawing from his background in both private tutoring and machine learning, Nick shares how Wibly bridges cognitive science and edtech to reduce cognitive overload, support neurodiverse learners, and make abstract math more concrete. Whether you're a classroom educator, instructional leader, or system innovator, this conversation offers practical insight into how we can make math more engaging, more intuitive, and more human.

🔗 Learn more and join the waitlist at wibly.co