Welcome back to another episode of Productive Disruption! 

In this episode, Gabby Dionisio, Copywriter at Rhodes Branding, sits down with Shakaka Perry, a Re-Engagement Coordinator for Communities in Schools of Charlotte Mecklenburg. In this conversation, they discuss how crucial Shakaka's role is for her assigned school, what it takes to build strong relationships with students, and how COVID has impacted absenteeism. 

Marie Russell is the Director of Communications, Family Engagement & Outreach & Turlock Unified School District in California, and was named the 2021-2022 Communicator of the Year by CalSPRA - the California state chapter of the National School Public Relations Association. Trinette Marquis is the Executive Director of CalSPRA, and serves as an instructor for the CalSPRA Academy courses.  Marie and Trinette join host Molly McGowan Gorsuch to talk about the September "attendance awareness” campaign in Turlock USD that Marie developed – using the strategy she learned from Trinette through a CalSPRA course.

Connect with Molly: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mollymcgowangorsuch?miniProfileUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_miniProfile%3AACoAAAv-_PIB31LlaRKdyTt-1_VW7rzB1YJ9dXo&lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_search_srp_all%3BP511Pt60TjyXza7tqzmiIw%3D%3D

Connect with Marie: https://twitter.com/fmarierussell?s=20&t=bsNrsp7V0OaMWWO2u-CMwQ

Connect with Trinette: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trinettemarquis/ 

This week, we are joined by Brian White. Brian is the President of the American Association of School Personnel & Executive Director of HR & Operations for Auburn-Washburn USA 437. As our team heads to the AASPA conference next week, we're talking about all things recruitment, retention, and HR best practices. 

Connect with Dan Wyar  & Brian White 

Learn more about Rhodes Branding 

Molly McGowan Gorsuch, Director of Client Engagement at Rhodes Branding, sat down with Dr. Dan Domenech, Executive Director of the American Association of School Administrators.

Dan spent 27 of his 36 years in public education as a superintendent. He also served on the U.S. Department of Education's National Assessment Governing Board, the advisory board for the Department of Defense schools, the board of directors for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, the Education Policy Institute, and several other national and international education organizations.

Connect with Molly

Connect with Dan 

Dan Wyar, VP of Operations at Rhodes Branding, sat down with Mike Smith of The Bay to talk about his initiatives and programs to empower teens in his area. 

Watch the full interview on YouTube

Read our blog

Follow us on Instagram 

Brett Roer currently serves as Outlier.org’s High School Strategic Partnerships Lead after 16 years of empowering high school students in Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx. His mission has been to equip high school students with the foundational academic skills needed to graduate from their best-fit colleges and feel both academically and financially supported along the way.

Outlier.org works with high schools to build best-in-class, online dual-enrollment programs for students. Starting their junior year in high school, students with Outlier.org certificates can build a track record of academic success, explore new subjects, and earn transferable college credits from the University of Pittsburgh, a top 60 nationally ranked school.

Outlier courses are developed in partnership with instructors from schools like Yale, Harvard, and MIT, and at a cost of only $400 per course, we’re on a mission to expand access to high-quality education and reduce student debt.

Connect with Gabby Dionisio from Rhodes Branding. 

Batsheva Fankel is a former teacher and administrator turned podcast host, educational consultant, author, and entrepreneur. She received her bachelor's degree from NYU and her Masters of Arts in Teaching from The American Jewish University. Currently, she is the host of Overthrowing Education, an edgy yet entertaining show that addresses the revolutionary changes that are happening to create more meaningful education. Batsheva is the author of The Jewish Educator's Companion and creator of The Lenses of Questioning kit. 

To connect with Batsheva on LinkedIn, click here. 

To view her website, click here. 

To connect with Gabby on LinkedIn, click here. 

For more than 10 years, the Trane Technologies BTU Crew initiative has brought STEM learning to life in classrooms across the U.S. The initiative teaches students the concepts of energy efficiency and sustainability using their own school building as an educational tool. Designed for easy integration into current science programs, it helps students grow analytical skills with hands-on learning through interactive digital tools, empowering them with new skills and teaching them to become stewards of energy conservation in their communities. Trane's Educator in Residence, Dan Whisler, spent more than 30 years in the classroom as a science teacher and now leads the BTU Crew initiative. He joined Productive Disruption to talk about the project and the growth in STEM programs nationwide.

Van Robotics develops social robots that teach skills-based lessons while collecting data about individual users and leveraging machine learning techniques to develop smart, social robot tutors. Their robots offer a plug-and-play, widely accessible solution for schools, after-school programs, and parents with students struggling in core subjects. Van Robotics CEO Laura Boccanfuso joined Productive Disruption to chat about the ABii robot and how her company is helping students make impressive gains in the classroom.

Daisy Christodoulou is the Director of Education at No More Marking.  In 2019 she was recognized in the New Year's Honors List with the Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to education. Daisy has also authored three books: Teachers vs Tech?: The case for an ed tech revolution, Making Good Progress? The future of Assessment for Learning, and Seven Myths about Education. Daisy joined Rhodes Branding's Productive Disruption to talk about worldwide trends in education and her work at No More Marking around comparative judgment.