SEEing to Lead

Dr. Dan Kreiness was kind enough to have me as a guest on his Leader of Learning podcast! We had a great conversation about supporting, engaging, and empowering those you lead!

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. 

Learn more about Renaissance:

As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Dr. Brandon Beck is an educator, speaker, coach, and author of "Unlocking Unlimited Potential: Understanding the Infinite Power Within to Guide Any Student Toward Success." He is also the host of the "Unlocking Unlimited Potential Stories Show," a live show and podcast where he interviews inspiring people sharing their inspiring stories. Brandon is a National Board Certified teacher and also holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership.

He is also a college professor, consultant, Results Coach, an editor and reviewer for AASA Journal of Scholarship & Practice,  a regular keynote speaker at state, regional, and national conferences. Brandon is also a professional soccer coach and instructor for the United States Soccer Federation.

Key Takeaways:

• Educators who work with the students often know those students real well or better than anyone else.
• When innovating or coming up with new ideas the mindset of "if there's a will there's a way" is essential.
• We need to acknowledge the teachers who continue to be positive in the face of negativity.
• We need to put weight on conversations instead of the numbers generated by evaluations.
• You become embraced by your community when you clearly embrace them.
• Student centered and service based learning has the biggest ripple effect through society.

Stay in Touch:

Twitter: @BrandonBeckEDU

Website: https://brandonbeckedu.com/

Book: Unlocking Unlimited Potential

Peaches the Poodle

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. 

Learn more about Renaissance:

As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Krista Leh is the Founder / Lead Professional Learning Designer & Facilitator at Resonance Educational Consulting where she is passionate about Helping educators create sustainable, scalable SEL systems. She was an ASCD Emerging leader in 2012 and has definitely fulfilled that title. She currently co-hosts the SEL in EDU podcast that is sponsored by PA ASCD.

Key Takeaways:

• One of the biggest misconceptions about SEL is that it's all about relationships.
• There are 5 central competencies to SEL.
• There are interpersonal and intra personal competencies.
• SEL is comprised of who you are and what you do everyday.
• The 3 main factors needed to create a sustainable SEL system are cultural, structural, and behavioral.
• You can see, feel, and hear when people feel as if they authentically accepted and honored for who they are as a person.
• We can't always clearly see what is happening when we are in the middle of an event.
• Leaders need to realize their responsibility to stand for those they serve.

Stay in Touch:

Twitter: @Resonance_Ed

Web: https://www.resonanceed.com/

SELinEDU Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/2gEh999Scirvr9ZWbKGuup?si=f3c70801895943db

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. 

Learn more about Renaissance:

As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Kecia McDonald currently serves as a Complex Area Resource Teacher for English Learners in Kailua Kona, West Hawai'i. She is certified K-12 in Health and has been a Teen Health teacher, a Curriculum Coordinator, Test Coordinator, Title I Coordinator and substitute teacher. She is a 2020-2022 Hawai'i State Teacher Fellow and a 2022 NEA Foundation Global Learning Fellow. Kecia is the public school proud mother of two young men and a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. She loves to travel and has moved 26 times. You can find her on Twitter @mcdonald_kecia or follow her travels on IG @what_hi_see

Key Takeaways:

• You will be a better teacher and administrator when you realize and enact education being about relationships and interacting with other human beings.
• Nobody will innovate or take risks until a community that is safe has been built.
• Teaching is professional yet at the same time deeply personal. It's a holistic profession.
• Building relationships creates a community. Building report creates an institution. We all want to work in communities.
• The light bulb moment is the click moment when it comes to building relationships.
• It's important that you pause and take time to let people know that you see, hear, and know them.
• Leaders need to model relationship building for their teachers.
• It's important to help teachers start improving by focusing on their strengths and building from there.
• Schools should be joyful places of learning.

Stay In Touch:

Twitter @mcdonald_kecia

IG @what_hi_see

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. 

Learn more about Renaissance:

As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Daphne McMenemy is an educator, author and speaker.  Her first book, Gracie, is based on her personal experiences in the classroom. Gracie is a young girl whose learning is brought to life when her teacher introduces her to coding and a new way of thinking. As a child and young adult, Daphne was focused on becoming an educator with purpose, to improve the lives of her students and make an impact on their educational journey. As an educator for the past 17 years, she has created opportunity for children in her classroom to explore learning in innovative ways. Using STEM to engage children as young as kindergarten age in discovering learning through coding, she develops numeracy, literacy and computational thinking skills through creative exploration. Her experience in the classroom has proven to support even the most hesitant learners in building confidence in their abilities and engaging in the learning process.  Daphne is committed to building relationships, meeting students where they are, appreciating each individual, and finding opportunity to engage and motivate students in creative, innovative ways. Her newest venture allows her an extensive creative outlet as Managing Director of Code Breaker Inc.

Key Takeaways:

• We have to adjust our expectations if we are going to empower students and teachers.
• Empowerment comes from letting go of control, building trust, and creating responsibility.
• Students will become leaders if given the opportunity.
• Empower others by saying we have a problem, how are we going to fix it. Then let them take responsibility.
• It’s important to lead by example and then support people to reach your expectation.
• We need to meet those we lead where they are at the current moment.
• Everyone has a right to be in an environment that treats them as a leader and then meets them where they are instead of meeting the current leaders where they are.

Stay in Touch:

Twitter: @McMenemyTweets

daphnemcmenemy.com

codebreakeredu.com

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. 

Learn more about Renaissance:

As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Jaime Donally is a passionate technology enthusiast. She began her career as a math teacher and later moved into Instructional Technology. Her desire to build relationships has brought about opportunities to collaborate with students and educators around the world. She provides staff development and training on immersive technology as an edtech consultant. Her latest adventures include the launch of Global Maker Day and the #ARVRinEDU community, events and presentations. She works as an author and speaker to provide practical use of augmented and virtual reality in the classroom.

Key Takeaways:

• Ongoing training and continuous support is essential for any type of technology integration.
• Adoption of any new technology has to start with the end goal in mind.
• Immersive Tech can be extremely helpful for students with learning disabilities.
• Immersive Tech opens up opportunities that aren't bound by location, restricted by budgets, or limited because of your mobility.
• If innovations are too disruptive they won't thrive.
• Stay away from buying technology that only serves one use.
• The key is to empower your students to show you what is possible with new technology.

Stay Connected:

Twitter: @JaimeDonally

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. 

Learn more about Renaissance:

As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

As a Digital Learning Coach in Walpole, Massachusetts, Jed Stefanowicz provides job-embedded professional development and instructional coaching for academic technology. Through conferences, workshops, and coaching, Jed aims to engage and build staff/student digital learning capacity, keeping the focus on practice over product. As a 25 year elementary educator, speaker, blogger, and current Massachusetts Teach Plus Policy Fellow, Jed shares his passion for effective tech integration to transform teaching and learning, creating engaging and equitable digital learning environments and experiences that activate, innovate, and motivate digital learning. He is the Author of Take AIM at Digital Learning: Activate, Innovate, Motivate.

Key Takeaways:

• It's important to take an empathic approach if you are to support all teachers.
• Building diverse teams is essential to successfully innovating in your school.
• Learning is the intersection of 3 things and that is what creates activation: meaningful, measurable, and memorable.
• It's important to prioritize experiences, showcase moments, and highlight events to memorialize student learning.
• The new four Cs are compassion, connection, culture, and climate. These build motivation and student agency.
• Drop the D when talking about shared and distributed leadership. Those should not be destinations but instead processes. For example share the leadership, distribute the leadership
• If kids don't care that's not their problem, it's the teacher's problem. If teachers don't care, that's not the teacher's problem that's the leader's problem.

Get In Touch:

Twitter: @Stefanowicz135

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. 

Learn more about Renaissance:

As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Stephanie Howell is the CEO of Gold EDU, a founder of Global GEG, and the EdTech Lead for Pickerington Local Schools. She is key to the embedding and implementation of EdTech tools across her schools and organizations. She has a masters in Curriculum and Instruction.

Key Takeaways:

• You have to teach using your own style and not the person's next door.
• We have to take time to get to know people and what drives them if we are to support them.
• "Gripe Jams" are super important for solving problems and building relationships.
• It is key to have multiple mentors
• Teachers can help students take ownership of their learning by creating small communities.
• You have to build relationships with teachers by being involved and speaking positivity in their life.
• Find a way to combat imposter syndrome.

Get in Touch:

@MrsHowell24

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. 

Learn more about Renaissance:

As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

JaVonda Tucker is currently an assistant principal with Dinwiddie County Public Schools. Prior to becoming an assistant principal, JaVonda was a special education teacher at the school where she currently works. Along with holding a master’s degree in education administration, she also holds a master’s degree in criminal justice. JaVonda is also the proud mother of a 12 year old son.

Key Takeaways:

• S.E.L. Needs to look different for all people
• You cannot effectively implement social emotional learning for students and staff without knowing them as individuals
• You need to know and understand yourself before being able to know and understand what others need
• Try turning the tables with teachers as a way to pull them from their present state of mind
• Journaling is a great way to practice reflection
• Be visible to know your students and staff
• Don’t be afraid to tell your story. There is always someone that needs to hear it.
• Do not lead from your office.
• Listen to lead better.

Contact:

Twitter: @JaVondaTucker

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. 

Learn more about Renaissance:

As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

An educator with over twenty years of experience, Debbie Tannenbaum works each and every day to “transform” learning using technology. During her time in education, she has served  both as a classroom teacher in various grades and as an elementary technology coach. Outside of the classroom, Debbie promotes using technology tools to amplify student learning in her work as an educational technology consultant, author, blogger and speaker. You can connect with Debbie at TannenbaumTech.com.

Key Takeaways:

• TRANSFORM as an acronym for how to evolve into a better educator and leader.
• You have to overcome the uncertainty of being connected if you want to improve.
• Start simple with activities such as "tweet and eat" when introducing new tools strategies for technology.
• Pay attention to the difference between having time and allowing time.
• Make sure you are modeling the expectations that you are setting forth.
• We can't engage others unless we ourselves are engaged first.
• Getting people to offer their voice is all about culture and relationships.
• Show teachers they can do things by modeling and get them connected for other models.

Connect:

Twitter: @TannenbaumTech

Instagram: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tannenbaumtech/

LinkedIn: @TannenbaumTech

Website: https://www.tannenbaumtech.com/

Book: 

TRANSFORM: Techy Notes to Make Learning Sticky 

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. 

Learn more about Renaissance:

As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.