The Authority Podcast — Expert Insights and Fresh Ideas for Education Leaders

Dr. Kimberly Nix Berens is a scientist-educator, Founder of Fit Learning, and author of Blind Spots: Why students fail and the science that can save them. 

In this episode, Kimberly and Ross talk about:

• “Blind Spots” connote a lack of malintent, but we have to know they exist and make an effort to see them. 
• The beliefs and traditions that shape education in the US create blind spots
• 60% of students graduate below proficiency. But what does this statistic mean?
• Examples of blind spots in action
• How Behavioral Science Supports Effective Teaching
• How parents and educators can advocate for their children

Learn more about the book Blind Spots at www.drkimberlyberens.com. Find it at bookshop.org, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. Learn about Fit Learning at www.fitlearning.com. 

Subscribe to The Authority to get more deep-dive interviews with education authors. It’s available wherever you get your podcasts: https://authoritypodcast.net/subscribe 

Visit https://bepodcast.network to learn more about the Be Podcast Network for educators.

About today’s guest

Kimberly Nix Berens, Ph.D., is a scientist-educator and Founder of Fit Learning. She co-created a powerful system of instruction based in behavioral science and the Technology of Teaching, which has transformed the learning abilities of thousands of children worldwide, including those who are struggling, average, gifted, or learning disabled. For more than 20 years, her system of instruction has produced one year’s worth of academic growth in only 40 hours of training. Her learning programs effectively target such essential areas as early learning skills, basic classroom readiness, phonemic awareness, reading fluency, comprehension, inferential language, basic and advanced mathematics, logical problem solving, grammar, and expressive writing. From her early beginnings in a broom closet at the University of Nevada – Reno, Dr. Berens has helped grow Fit Learning to an organization with more than 30 locations worldwide. 

About the host

Ross Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Twitter @RossBRomano or LinkedIn

Are you a professional looking for insights to reach the next level, find a fulfilling new career, or achieve peak performance? You may be a candidate for performance coaching. Schedule an introductory chat with Ross here. 

Learn more about today's sponsor, Playworks:

We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.

If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. 

These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. 

Welcome to Best of The Authority! Thanks to wonderful listeners like you, this Be Podcast Network original series is growing and growing and still going strong. In case you haven’t been with us since the beginning, the “Best Of” is designed to catch you up on some of the best and most popular episodes you may have missed. We’ll republish a previous episode of the show on Thursdays this fall and winter for those who haven’t heard it before — or those who want to revisit.

This episode features a conversation with Principal Baruti Kafele, one of the nation's most popular education speakers and author of seven best-selling books. The discussion centers on The Equity & Social Justice Education 50.

Topics include:

•  Equity vs. Equality — the strategy vs. the goal and why it matters
•  Does my presence positively alter the trajectory of my students?
•  The personal nature of this work and this book. How Principal Kafele learned to share his story to the benefit of his students.
•  How do I ensure that no student is invisible in my classroom?
•  Becoming credible to your students
•  “I want my readers to be comfortable with being uncomfortable and uncomfortable with being comfortable.”
•  The Big 3: Individuality, Identity, and Voice. Why these are non-negotiables in every classroom.

The Equity & Social Justice Education 50 is available at ascd.org and Amazon. Find it here: https://bit.ly/3YwY2Z5

Subscribe to The Authority to get more deep-dive interviews with education authors. It’s available wherever you get your podcasts: https://authoritypodcast.net/subscribe

Visit https://bepodcast.network to learn more about the Be Podcast Network for educators.

About our guest

One of the most sought-after school leadership and classroom equity presenters in America, Principal Kafele is impacting America’s schools! He has delivered over 2500 conference and program keynotes, professional development workshops, parenting seminars and student assemblies over his 35 years of public speaking. An expert in the area of “attitude transformation,” Principal Kafele is the leading authority on providing effective classroom and school leadership strategies toward closing what he coined, the "Attitude Gap.” He has authored twelve books, including seven ASCD best-sellers. Follow Principal Kafele online:

•  https://principalkafele.com/
•  Twitter: https://twitter.com/principalkafele
•  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/principalkafele/

About the host

Ross Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Twitter @RossBRomano or LinkedIn.

Are you a professional looking for insights to reach the next level, find a fulfilling new career, or achieve peak performance? You may be a candidate for performance coaching. Schedule an introductory chat with Ross here. 

Learn more about today's sponsor, Playworks:

We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.

If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. 

These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. 

With so much debate over higher education in recent years, it’s time to redefine its value, take advantage of emerging technologies, and ultimately deliver a better experience to more learners. Today’s episode focuses on moving higher ed from scarcity to abundance. 

Our guest, Michael D. Smith, is J. Erik Jonsson Professor of Information Technology and Marketing at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College of Public Policy and Management. Smith is the author of The Abundant University: Remaking Higher Education for a Digital World, published by MIT Press. 

Michael and Ross talk about:

• The problems with higher education in the US — along with the case for its continued importance
• The ethical and economic imperatives to increase access
• A new proposed model for the digital age
• What about the professors? What happens to campus life? 
• Do colleges and universities communicate a strong value proposition?
• Blind spots in the higher ed community

Find The Abundant University here: https://bit.ly/47ElkkQ 

Subscribe to The Authority to get more deep-dive interviews with education authors. It’s available wherever you get your podcasts. 

Visit https://bepodcast.network to learn more about the Be Podcast Network for educators.

About today’s guest

Michael D. Smith is J. Erik Jonsson Professor of Information Technology and Marketing at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College of Public Policy and Management. Smith is the author of The Abundant University: Remaking Higher Education for a Digital World (MIT Press, 2023), and co-author of the book Streaming, Sharing, Stealing: Big Data and the Future of Entertainment (MIT Press, 2016).

About the host

Ross Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Twitter @RossBRomano or LinkedIn

Are you a professional looking for insights to reach the next level, find a fulfilling new career, or achieve peak performance? You may be a candidate for performance coaching. Schedule an introductory chat with Ross here. 

Learn more about today's sponsor, Playworks:

We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.

If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. 

These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. 

In this episode, we discuss innovations with the exciting potential to shape an all-new future of education. 

My guests are Nolan Bushnell — the “father of electronic gaming” who has founded 20+ companies, including Atari and Chuck E. Cheese’s — and Dr. Leah Hanes, CEO of the Two Bit Circus Foundation.

Nolan and Leah are currently working together on the gamified education company ExoDexa and have co-authored the book Shaping the Future of Education: The ExoDexa Manifesto, an Amazon best seller. 

Topics we cover:

• How Nolan got interested in tackling education
• Steve Jobs: “What if you’re in a room and everybody thinks you’re wrong, but you think you’re right and you’ve thought more deeply about it than anybody?”
• The biggest solvable problems Leah and Nolan are focusing on
• The vision and goals of the school of the future
• What it really means to be designed around students first
• Artificial intelligence (AI) and why we should embrace it
• Entrepreneurship in the classroom
• “Competing” with video games vs. leaning into their organic ability to support learning
• Challenges and opportunities of using video games in the classroom
• “Games should be easy to learn but difficult to master.” Are schools focusing on mastery?
• What are the critics saying?
• The St. Crispin’s Day Speech and the “band of brothers”

Shaping the Future of Education is available on Amazon. Learn more at https://www.exodexa.com. 

Subscribe to The Authority to get more deep-dive interviews with education authors. It’s available wherever you get your podcasts. 

Visit https://bepodcast.network to learn more about the Be Podcast Network.

About today’s guests

In 1972, Nolan Bushnell created an industry when he founded Atari and gave the world Pong, the first blockbuster video game. Today his design credo―that games should be “easy to learn and difficult to master”―is inspiring a new generation of developers. A prolific entrepreneur, Bushnell has started more than 20 companies, including Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza Time Theater; Catalyst Technologies, the first Silicon Valley incubator; and Etak, the first in-car navigation system. Bushnell was the first and only person ever to hire Steve Jobs, which he details in his 2013 book, Finding the Next Steve Jobs.

He is chairman of ExoDexa, a gamified education company; CKO of Moxy, a “play to earn” game and token platform; and an advisor to companies in the gaming and eSports spaces. He was named one of “50 People Who Changed America” by Newsweek. A biopic about Bushnell, tentatively titled “Atari,” was acquired by Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company and is in pre-production.

Leah Hanes, PhD, is CEO of the Two Bit Circus Foundation (2BCF). During her tenure, 2BCF has developed a strong voice in the current STEAM education discourse. Bringing potent creative play allies like T4T.org, STEAM Carnival, Imagination.org, and LA Makerspace under the 2BCF big top helped increase both reach and impact in education.

Prior to joining 2BCF, Dr. Hanes held a variety of positions focused on children and education. Most recently, she taught courses on adult developmental theory and ethics at Antioch University Los Angeles. Her PhD included a study of ethical decision-making and gender at Antioch University’s Graduate School of Leadership and Change. 

About the host

Ross Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Twitter @RossBRomano or LinkedIn.

Are you a professional looking for insights to reach the next level, find a fulfilling new career, or achieve peak performance? You may be a candidate for performance coaching. Schedule an introductory chat here. 

Learn more about today's sponsor, Playworks:

We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.

If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. 

These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. 

Patrice Bain is a veteran K–12 educator, speaker, and author. 

As a finalist for Illinois Teacher of the Year and a Fulbright Scholar in Europe, she has been featured in national and international podcasts, webinars, presentations, and popular press, including NOVA and Scientific American.

Patrice is co-author of Powerful Teaching and author of A Parent’s Guide to Powerful Teaching, which reinforces the “Teaching Triangle'' of student, parent, and teacher collaboration.

In this episode, Patrice and Ross talk about:

• The traditional state of the Teaching Triangle
• How kids learn
• Why it’s important for parents to know how kids learn
• The “power tools”: retrieval, spacing, interleaving, and feedback-driven metacognition
• Daniel Willingham: “Children are more alike than different in terms of how they think and learn.”
• What are some of the other critical things for educators to communicate to parents?
• How educators can become better at creating parent engagement
• Book recommendation: Initium by Emma Turner

A Parent’s Guide to Powerful Teaching is published by John Catt Educational. Learn more at https://www.patricebain.com. 

Subscribe to The Authority to get more deep-dive interviews with education authors. It’s available wherever you get your podcasts. 

Visit https://bepodcast.network to learn more about the Be Podcast Network for educators.

About today’s guest

Patrice M. Bain, Ed.S., is a veteran K–12 educator, speaker, and author. As a finalist for Illinois Teacher of the Year and a Fulbright Scholar in Europe, she has been featured in national and international podcasts, webinars, presentations, and popular press, including NOVA and Scientific American. In addition to Powerful Teaching, she also co-authored an essential practice guide for educators: Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning, in collaboration with the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). Bain’s latest book A Parent’s Guide to Powerful Teaching reinforces the “Teaching Triangle'' of student, parent, and teacher collaboration. Patrice was one of two U.S. teachers on the working task group: Neuromyths vs. Neurotruths, sponsored by (IES) and the National Commission of Educational Research (NCER). In addition, she was a contributor to the United Nation’s UNESCO ISEE (International Science and Evidence-based Education) Assessment, outlining the vision for world education by 2030. 

Connect with Patrice at https://www.patricebain.com and @patricebain1. 

About the host

Ross Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Twitter @RossBRomano or LinkedIn

Learn more about today's sponsor, Playworks:

We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.

If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. 

These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. 

Welcome to Best of The Authority! Thanks to wonderful listeners like you, this Be Podcast Network original series is growing and growing and still going strong. In case you haven’t been with us since the beginning, the “Best Of” is designed to catch you up on some of the best and most popular episodes you may have missed. We’ll republish a previous episode of the show on Thursdays this fall for those who haven’t heard it before — or those who want to revisit.

In this episode, Ross speaks with international best-selling author and business leader Mark Miller. At the time of the interview, Mark was Vice President of High Performance Leadership for Chick-Fil-A. He first started at the company as an hourly team member in 1977 and has served in numerous roles along the way. He recently retired from the company and co-founded Lead Every Day.

Culture Rules: The Leader's Guide to Creating the Ultimate Competitive Advantage is Mark’s 11th book. The book became a Wall Street Journal best seller. Mark currently has over one million books in print in more than twenty-five languages.

Ross and Mark discussed:

• 71% of U.S. leaders believe culture is their #1 most powerful tool to drive performance, but enhancing culture ranks low on their priority list — why the gap?
• First move: decide and declare what you're trying to create. Culture needs to be explicit.
• Leaders animate culture — this is the big idea of the book
• The 3 Culture Rules: Aspire, Amplify, Adapt
• What does culture mean to your customers?
• Adapt, not react — how to adapt and what the current in-person vs. remote debate tells us.
• Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wanted to shift the company from being “know-it-alls” to “learn-it-alls” — what did Mark learn while working on the book?
• The “magic circle” of game design and how it explains culture.
• What Mark learned about innovation and purpose.
• Measuring culture

Culture Rules is available here: https://www.leadeveryday.com

Subscribe to The Authority to get more deep-dive interviews with education authors. It’s available wherever you get your podcasts. Visit https://bepodcast.network to learn more about the Be Podcast Network for educators.

About our guest

Mark Miller is a business leader, best-selling author, and communicator. Mark started his Chick-fil-A career working as an hourly team member in 1977 and rose through the ranks to become Vice President of High Performance Leadership.

He began writing almost twenty years ago, and with over one million books in print in more than twenty-five languages, Mark’s global impact continues to grow. In addition to his writing, Mark enjoys encouraging and equipping leaders. Over the years, he’s traveled to dozens of countries teaching for numerous international organizations.

Married to Donna, his high school sweetheart of forty years, they have two sons, Justin and David, a daughter-in-law Lindsay, and three amazing grandchildren Addie, Logan, and Finn. Connect with Mark:

 ●      https://www.linkedin.com/in/highperformanceleaders/

 ●      https://twitter.com/MarkMillerLeads

About the host

Ross Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a consulting and coaching firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Twitter @RossBRomano or LinkedIn.

Are you a professional looking for insights to reach the next level, find a fulfilling new career, or achieve peak performance? You may be a candidate for performance coaching. Schedule an introductory chat here. 

Learn more about today's sponsor, Playworks:

We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.

If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. 

These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. 

Mandy Froehlich is an experienced Director of Innovation and Technology, technology integrator, and teacher. She’s the author of a number of books, including Reignite the Flames, published by EduMatch.

Mandy and Ross talk about:

●      Finding our passion and purpose for learning among the embers

●      What makes educators predisposed to burnout?

●      Giving ourselves forgiveness for the burnout

●      What trauma (secondary traumatic stress) and demoralization look like in schools

●      How administrators can contribute to engagement and re-engagement

●      Proactive culture-building

●      Overlooked types of self-care

Find Reignite the Flames and Mandy’s other books at https://www.mandyfroehlich.com and https://www.edumatch.org 

Subscribe to The Authority to get more deep-dive interviews with education authors. It’s available wherever you get your podcasts. 

Visit https://bepodcast.network to learn more about the Be Podcast Network for educators.

About today’s guest

Mandy Froehlich passionately encourages educators to create innovative change in their classrooms. An experienced Director of Innovation and Technology, technology integrator, and teacher, she has experience at many levels of the organizational structure. Her interest lies in reinvigorating and re-engaging teachers back into their profession, as well as what’s needed to support teachers in their pursuit of innovative and divergent thinking and teaching. She consults internationally with school districts and post-secondary institutions in the effective use of technology to support great teaching, mental health support for educators, and how to create organizational change. Her first book, The Fire Within: Lessons from defeat that have ignited a passion for learning, and discusses mental health awareness for teachers. Her second book, Divergent EDU, is based on an organizational structure she developed to support teachers in innovative and divergent thinking. Her third book, based on educator engagement and mental health, is titled Reignite the Flames which has a recently released companion guide/workbook titled The Educator’s Matchbook.

Learn more about her work: www.mandyfroehlich.com, https://twitter.com/froehlichm 

About the host

Ross Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Twitter @RossBRomano or LinkedIn

Learn more about today's sponsor, Playworks:

We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.

If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. 

These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. 

Ekuwah Mends Moses is an award-winning educator, international keynote speaker, and author/illustrator of two nonfiction picture books.

She joined the show to discuss My Name is an Address, her debut children’s book. It was an Amazon #1 new release and is featured in the School Library Journal.

Ekuwah and Ross talk about:

• “My Name is an Address” — what it means
• The meaning of Identity and Legacy
• “I didn't see myself in the classroom or the stories I read as a child.”
• What difference does it make for reading and literacy when content is representative?
• Bringing discussions about heritage and culture to the classroom

My Name is an Address is published by EduMatch. My Name is an Address is published by EduMatch. Find it on Amazon, edumatch.org and www.ekuwah.com. 

Subscribe to The Authority to get more deep-dive interviews with education authors. It’s available wherever you get your podcasts. 

Visit https://bepodcast.network to learn more about the Be Podcast Network for educators.

About today’s guest

Ekuwah Mends Moses is an award-winning educator, published author/illustrator of two nonfiction picture books, and an international keynote speaker. My Name is an Address is her debut children’s book, and it was an Amazon #1 new release and is featured in the School Library Journal. 

Currently, Ekuwah is a specialist who teaches K-5 Engineering to approximately 750 students. Ekuwah is the 2023 Educator of the Year at D.L. "Dusty" Dickens Elementary School and received the 2023 City of North Las Vegas Mayor’s Innovative Teaching Award. During her 22 years of teaching in the Clark County School District, she previously worked as a Performance Zone Instructional Coach, K-5 Literacy Specialist, Learning Strategist, and an elementary classroom teacher. Ekuwah just celebrated her 25th wedding anniversary, and she values quality time with her husband and two teenagers.

Learn more at www.ekuwah.com or on social media:

• Twitter : @ekuwah
• Instagram: @ekuwah_m
• Facebook: Ekuwah Mends Moses, Author

About the host

Ross Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Twitter @RossBRomano or LinkedIn

Learn more about today's sponsor, Playworks:

We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.

If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. 

These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. 

Welcome to Best of The Authority! Thanks to wonderful listeners like you, this Be Podcast Network original series is growing and growing and still going strong. In case you haven’t been with us since the beginning, the “Best Of” is designed to catch you up on some of the best and most popular episodes you may have missed. We’ll republish a previous episode of the show on Thursdays this fall for those who haven’t heard it before — or those who want to revisit.

In this episode, Ross speaks with Kate Eberle Walker, CEO of teletherapy solution provider Presence.

Kate is an education industry leader with 20+ years of experience in leading, managing, advising, acquiring and investing in education companies. Her book is The Good Boss: Nine Ways Every Manager Can Support Women at Work, published by BenBella Books.

Kate and Ross discuss:

•  Stories about successful women often start with a story about a good boss. We hear Kate’s story.
•  Important negative lessons Kate learned from previous bosses.
•  The “9 Rules of the Good Boss.”
•  Why it’s powerful to get a woman’s name right and use it.
•  Being authentic and being someone employees can relate to.
•  Why it’s important to “watch the clock” to be mindful of the demands on female employees.
•  Rule 9: Tell Her That You See Her Potential, including how this relates to the situation in schools. 
•  How do you start to turn things around if you haven’t fostered this type of culture?
•  If someone can read only one chapter of the book, which should it be?

The Good Boss is available here: https://www.kateeberlewalker.com/the-good-boss/

Subscribe to The Authority to get more deep-dive interviews with education authors. It’s available wherever you get your podcasts. Find them all at https://authoritypodcast.net. Visit https://bepodcast.network to learn more about the Be Podcast Network for educators.

About today’s guest

Kate Eberle Walker is an education industry leader, author, and working mom with more than 20 years of experience leading high-profile education companies. Among other roles, she was previously CEO of The Princeton Review and since 2019 has been CEO of Presence, where she leads a majority female staff. Presence is a leading provider of teletherapy solutions for children with diverse needs.

Follow Kate on Twitter @eberlewalker or connect on LinkedIn. You can visit her website here: https://www.kateeberlewalker.com

About the host
Ross Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies LLC, a consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Twitter @RossBRomano

Learn more about today's sponsor, Playworks:

We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.

If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. 

These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. 

Katie P. Desiderio is a Wiley DiSC partner and Partner in Learning at Proximal Development, LLC, her consulting company. She is also Associate Professor of Management at Moravian University’s School of Business and Economics. Michael G. Frino is also a Wiley DiSC partner and oversees Human Capital Development for a Fortune 500 MedTech company. He also leads DE&I program management and leadership development. 

Their book, The Beekeeper; Pollinating Your Organization for Transformative Growth, is a Wall Street Journal best-seller.

In this episode, Ross, Katie, and Michael discuss the book. The conversation touches on the following topics and more:

• The book is a leadership fable. How did the authors decide to write in this style?
• The research process for determining their leadership lessons
• The heart of learning and growth
• What is the art of learning to be proximal?
• “Be Nourished”
• How teams respond to leadership lessons
• How this approach helps with problem-solving and overcoming challenges
• What it means to be a “Be Keeper”

The Beekeeper is published by Wiley. Find it on Amazon and https://leadershipfables.com 

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Visit https://bepodcast.network to learn more about the Be Podcast Network for educators.

About today’s guests

Katie P. Desiderio is a Professor of Management and tenured faculty member at Moravian University, as well as Principal Partner in Learning of Proximal Development, LLC, an authorized DiSC partner, specializing in leadership development and the advancement of performance through learning.

Michael G. Frino has over 20 years of professional experience working for Fortune 500 companies in sales, leadership, and organizational development across the payroll/human resources, pharmaceutical, and med-tech industries. Michael finds his flow state today from helping organizations transform their culture with a focus on the growth and development of human beings. 

Connect with them on Twitter/X @leadersfables

About the host

Ross Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Twitter @RossBRomano or LinkedIn

Learn more about today's sponsor, Playworks:

We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.

If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. 

These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation.