New York City was one of the first school districts to block ChatGPT in its schools. The district reversed that decision, and now, schools in and around New York City are leaning into generative with ambitious plans. We joined the Summer of AI series by sitting down with a Brooklyn superintendent in a discussion on how he prioritizes what matters most as generative AI accelerates in education.

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Exploring new opportunities with AI in education | Microsoft EDU

Michael Prayor started his career as a special education teacher and spent time as an assistant principal before becoming the principal of a Brooklyn High School.

He was named the Superintendent of Brooklyn South in 2014. Michael has also dedicated his time to engaging with families and parent leaders, serving as the Superintendent liaison to the Citywide Council on High Schools.

Schools are more normal this year, but there are still scenarios where virtual learning solves problems that have routinely disrupted traditional classrooms. In this episode, we discuss four common situations where maintaining the virtual option can strengthen any school’s ability to serve all students.

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Stephen Taylor is the Director of Digital Learning and Teaching Services at Onlsow County Schools in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Taylor is a graduate of East Carolina University. He brings a wealth of experience to the position, having served OCS as a middle school teacher and a digital learning and teaching facilitator. For the past five years, Taylor has been the OCS digital learning and teaching coordinator.

Illinois’s largest elementary school district has an exceptionally positive school culture and the receipts to prove it. In this episode, we talk with the superintendent about the step-by-step process they used to build theirs, based on the Happiness Advantage. Stanford University researchers placed this school district in the top two percent of all schools in America in student growth.

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As the superintendent of the largest elementary school district in Illinois since 2013, Andy DuRoss prioritizes investing in people as the key to ensuring the academic success and social-emotional well-being of the more than 15,000 students and 2,000 employees of School District 54. DuRoss believes a positive culture is another key to the success of students and staff. In 2017, he brought the positive psychology principles outlined by Harvard Researcher Shawn Achor to District 54. This training demonstrates how happiness and optimism fuels performance and leads to success. When he talks about student success, he is not just speaking about academic success but social and emotional success as well. DuRoss is committed to the happiness of his students and employees.

Under DuRoss’ leadership the positive culture in District 54 continues to thrive and student achievement continues to grow. Stanford University researchers found District 54 to be in the top 2% of all schools in America in student growth, stating that District 54 students achieved six years of growth in five years. Money Magazine ranked Schaumburg the 9th best place to live in America, with education being a major factor.

In this episode, we look under the hood to see how school chief information officers and chief academic officers work together to manage the "four buckets" of responsibilities required to achieve educational goals.

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Dean Folkers is the Director of Education Data and Technology at the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). CCSSO is a nonpartisan, nationwide, nonprofit organization of public officials who head departments of elementary and secondary education in the states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity, the Bureau of Indian Education, and the five U.S. extra-state jurisdictions.

In this episode, we talk with the Director of Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University about the challenges of managing ESSER funds spending requests from various internal and external stakeholders, setting priorities for ESSER funds investments, and ensuring the best results based on your school’s long-term objectives.

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Marguerite Roza, Ph.D., is Director of the Edunomics Lab and Research Professor at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, where she leads the Certificate in Education Finance program. Edunomics Lab is a Georgetown University research center dedicated to exploring and modeling complex education finance decisions to inform education policy and practice. The end goal is the betterment of education, writ large. Established in 2012, the center is nationally recognized as a leader in the field of education finance.

In this episode, we check in with the Chief Information Officer at the department of education in a state that has successfully gone from ranking among the lowest in academic performance to one of the fastest growing.  Our guest shares some of the practical strategies behind the transformation and the biggest concerns that still keep him up at night.

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Microsoft-Equitable-Education-post-pandemic-Whitepaper2021.pdf (azureedge.net)

John Kraman is the Chief Information Officer at the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE). For the past decade, John has served in senior leadership roles in three state education agencies (SEAs) – in Oklahoma, New Mexico and now Mississippi – working to align data and data systems with the agency strategic policy and reform goals. In the decade prior to his time in SEAs, he served are the research director of multiple national education policy programs, including the American Diploma Project and the Common Core State Standards Initiative. John is currently leading the $200+ million MSConnects program at the MDE, rapidly establishing a statewide digital learning program to support teaching, learning, and innovation.

School leaders charged with increasing equitable education in their schools are well-positioned to glean invaluable insights from disrupted education systems around the world. Join us as we talk with a global education leader who shares insights from his work in 145 countries.

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Robert Jenkins is the global director of education for UNICEF. Robert joined the organization in 1995. He brings over 20 years of experience in international development and humanitarian programming in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Prior to his current appointment, Mr. Jenkins served as the UNICEF Deputy Director, Division of Policy and Strategy in UNICEF Headquarters from 2009-2014. Mr. Jenkins earned a Doctor of Education Degree from the University of Bath and a Master’s Degree from the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom.

This episode is part of a series on the exceptionally creative and resourceful ways educators around the world are teaching during the pandemic and getting students back on track.

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Education Reimagined: Remote to Hybrid Learning

Alain Pascua is a proud product of public elementary education, having studied in Gerona North Central School in Tarlac. Raised by academicians, both his parents were public school teachers, who spent all their working years teaching in various public schools until their retirement. He then went to Mary Help of Christians Seminary in Binmaley, Pangasinan, where he studied classic secondary education. He has served the government in different capacities — as Executive Assistant in the Employees Compensation Commission, as Assistant Secretary of the National Anti-Poverty Commission or NAPC, and as Chief Political Affairs Officer of Senator Ping Lacson.

Upon the recommendation of Secretary Briones, then newly appointed head of DepEd – President Rodrigo Roa Duterte appointed him Undersecretary of the Department of Education, where he now supervises three major services with 8 divisions, one bureau with 3 divisions, and three other major divisions. These offices are: the Administrative Service with the Asset Management, Cash, Records and general Services Divisions under it; the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service; the Information and Communications Technology Service with the Solutions Development, Technology Infrastructure, and User Support Divisions and the newly created Educational Technology Unit, under it; the Bureau of Learner Support Services with the School Health, School Sports, and Youth Formation Divisions under it; the Education Facilities Division, the Baguio Teachers Camp, and the Central Security and Safety Office in its operational aspect.

When the COVID-19 pandemic engulfed the nation and the whole world, he and the entire Administration Strand—in cooperation and coordination with other offices outside his strand—were able to handle the DepEd Task Force Covid-19, the DepEd Commons, DepEd TV, DepEd Radio, DepEd TV Facebook, DepEd TV YouTube Channel and the DepEd Learning Management System, among others. These undertakings earned DepEd the citation Policymaker EdTech Champion. Unknown to DepEd, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) nominated it to the prestigious EdTech-centered non-government organization that is focused on the sustainable and evidence-driven role of technology in advancing quality education. In addition, DepEd TV was one of the Honorable Mentions under the Crisis and Conflict Response category at the same awards event.

'This school year is actually a primary opportunity for learning,' says Jody Spiro, director of education leadership at the Wallace Foundation. In this episode, she explains why and walks us through the new mindset required to effectively lead schools this school term.

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Education Reimagined: Remote to Hybrid Learning