This episode is the second in a series spotlighting leaders and educators in positive outlier schools in our latest study! 

In this episode, NYKids Assistant Director Aaron Leo had the privilege of sitting down with members of Crown Point Central School including:  

• Superintendent Tara Celotti;  

• Director of Pupil Personnel Services Michelle Dedrick; 

• English teacher Rachael Charron; and  

• Senior student Raegan Thomas 

The episode focuses on the challenges of teaching and learning after the global pandemic as well as various practices and programs educators at Crown Point have utilized to support students. Some of the topics we explore include:  

• The major challenges that students and educators are facing after the COVID-19 pandemic 

• What educators are doing to address these challenges 

• Some of the promising social-emotional learning programs being used in New York State 

• The importance of building peer relationships  

In this podcast, NYKids Director Kristen C. Wilcox and Assistant Director Aaron Leo welcomed members of New York State Education Department Allison Armour-Garb and Nicole Lennon. Armour-Garb and Lennon both serve as leaders for NYSED's Performance-Based Learning and Assessment Networks (or PLAN) Pilot program.  

What is the PLAN Pilot program? 

Twenty-three schools across the state are taking part in the “pilot” to implement performance-based learning and assessment (PBLA). As Armour-Garb explains in the podcast, 

“Performance-based approaches are designed to incorporate real world problems and tasks and give students opportunities to apply and develop their knowledge and skills in settings that resemble real-life situations” 

NYKids has been lending a hand in researching the initial implementation phase of the program, with School of Education Associate Professor Kathryn Schiller at the helm as principal investigator, and SOE graduate and Associate Professor at the Sage Colleges Francesca Durand as co-investigator.  

In this episode, we discuss the “why” and related policy shifts related to PBLA and explore how PBLA implementation is being approached with technical assistance providers, university researchers, an array of advisory groups, and NYSED professionals working in collaboration with each other. As a preview to our episode, we cover the following topics:  

• What is PBLA and how is it similar or different from other approaches to learning and assessment?  

• How did the PLAN Pilot program develop? 

• What are the successes and challenges in making transformational shifts in learning and assessment so far? 

• What is the future of PBLA in New York State? 

Our guests shared a number of resources in the podcast and for convenience please see some of those links below:  

General background information 

Webinars 

National Models and Trends 

This spring we are rolling out a series of episodes in which the NYKids team converses with principals of positive outlier schools that participated in our latest study! The first of these episodes features a discussion with LaFayette Jr.-Sr. High School principal, Jason P. Ryan. 

In this episode, NYKids Assistant Director Aaron Leo chats with Principal Ryan about all things Artificial Intelligence (AI) and catches up on the latest news at LaFayette. Some questions we explore are:  

• How is AI impacting high school students?  

• What are educators doing to address these impacts?  

• How can AI be used by youth responsibly and appropriately?  

In our second episode, NYKids Research Assistants Jessie Tobin and Paul Guay talk with Dr. Deborah Schussler, professor in the Department of Educational Policy and Leadership at the University of Albany, SUNY about mindfulness and how it’s application can improve the well-being of teachers and students. 

Dr. Schussler’s research in the field of mindfulness focuses on the impact of mindfulness-based interventions on the wellbeing of educators and students. We had a blast discussing emerging research and future directions for mindfulness interventions in P-12 education.  

This episode also features an Audio Abstract! Just like the abstract of an academic paper, this brief version of our podcast gives you a concise summary of an episode—helping you decide if it’s relevant to your work and interests. Find the 10-minute audio abstract alongside the full 50-minute interview and choose whichever version fits your schedule. 

A sneak peek of the topics covered and key takeaways:  

• What is Mindfulness and what are some common misconceptions of it? 

• What does current research say about the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in schools?  

• What does mindfulness and mindfulness-based practice look like in education systems? 

• Should my school adopt a mindfulness-based program? What should I consider when evaluating programs? 

• BONUS guided mindfulness exercise! 

In our first episode, NYKids Assistant Director, Aaron Leo, talks with Dave Little from the Rural Schools Association (RSA). The conversation covers all things rural including the unique challenges facing rural schools, new policies and programs aimed at improving the educational experiences of rural students, and the important work being done at the RSA.