"Diversity just means that there is something different. Diversity could be embracing skin color; it could also be in diversity of thought - just having different perspectives and opinions... Equity is more about structure, who has power, whose voice is at the table, or not, and diversity is really just thinking about who's there."

-Jalen Brown

Jalen Brown is a classmate of mine from college who has quickly climbed the administrative ladder in the education system with hopes of improving equity and SEL for all students. He is currently a principal in one district and a member of the school board in another. We talk about what the school board actually does, how he is introducing SEL in elementary education and what the difference between diversity and equity really is.

You can find him on Instagram @ibleedblue2

03:40 - The process of running for the school board

09:00 - What are the roles of the school board members and the school board as a whole?

11:30 - How politics look from different positions

19:45 - What is equity vs diversity?

21: 50 - Introducing SEL in elementary education

25:45 - How to better identify SEL learning and excellence through All-Access Learning

"People confuse a student's current performance level with their potential. Those are not the same things."

- Jonathan Plucker

Dr. Jonathan Plucker is not afraid to share information. He talks to me about the importance of interpreting data, looking at good data and bad data, how we're using the information we gather in education to improve our schools. He talks about the importance of nurturing students' potential, and bridging excellence gaps in education. He even asks me about my journey through education at the end of the interview!

You can find Jonathan on Twitter @jonathanplucker and on the Bright Now! podcast

01:45 - An overview of Jonathan's podcast and his favorite episode

05:35 - Data is important: we all need to learn to interpret it, differentiate between the good and the bad, and stop being scared of it

11:00 - You may find things you're not looking for when you look at data

13:20 - What's the difference between performance and potential, and what factors affect them?

19:05 - Use your privileges and blessings to improve what you can for those who come after you

21:15 - Barriers to students' development

27:30 - What are excellence gaps and how are we working to close them?

34:00 - My journey through education

"There's power in perseverance; there's power in patience; there's power in being still within the storm. Stick in there. You're stronger than you actually know."

- Karen Vassell

Karen Vassell is the Director of Early Childhood Programs for Sumter School District in Sumter, SC. Her early career included being a guidance counselor, where she discovered how strong she was. She was inspired to improve the education system for the students, faculty, and community, and has been focusing on early childhood development. We discuss the positive effects on early childhood SEL on entire communities, implications of generational gaps between educators and students, and how success starts before the child is even born.

You can find Karen on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter - and in all the schools in Sumter School District.

01:10 - Success starts in the womb

03:30 - How text messages are helping parents expand their children's learning

06:28 - Shifting from an administration position at the school level vs the district level

08:30 - Finding inner strength by being a school counselor and helping children

10:33 - Understanding generation gaps in education

13:00 - SEL in early childhood development

17:30 - How are we improving education?

20:00 - Karen's goal of implementing a universal Pre-K

"I am a lifetime learner."

-Dr. Saundra Carr

Dr. Saundra Carr is the Program Coordinator for the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education. I had the honor of being Dr. Carr's very first podcast, and this episode she talks with me about being a lifetime learner, helping others achieve higher education and the importance of communication.

https://www.che.sc.gov/

01:25 - The Commission on Higher Education and the Academic Common Market

03:25 - Dr. Carr's journey through education

07:15 - How to find programs and services to continue your education

10:25 - Personality assessments can help you

12:05 - Effective communication is essential

14:55 - Leadership inspiration

"[I]t might well be said that one’s education is not complete

without a study of comparative religion or the history of

religion and its relationship to the advancement of civilization"

- Supreme Court Justice Tom C. Clark

Dr. Tim Hall is the Director of Academics at Thales Academy and the founder of Religion Matters, a consulting company that provides services on how to teach about religion in school. He noticed while teaching history that including lessons about religion helps gives students a deeper understanding of whom they're learning about while also breaking down cultural barriers between each other. You can find him at https://religion-matters.com/ and https://classicaledmatters.com/.

02:10 - A distinction between teaching about religion and not for religion

06:20 - Teaching about religion provides a deeper understanding of history

10:00 - An education that includes an understanding of religion helps develop the whole child

13:15 - You can learn a lot from your students

18:10 - How classical education differs from traditional education

Erick Pryor started his college career wanting to be a chemical engineer, but he started on a new path once he noticed some fellow students struggling with math. Now he helps his district understand the importance of SEL in schools and how it impacts the way his students learn.

02:25 - Developing a good school community

05:00 - Helping new teachers have a great start

08:20 - The correlation between SEL and student behavior

12:00 - Connecting with your students will allow you to teach them best

15:05 - The way you deliver your message counts

17:40 - The value of being present in education

19:20 - Look at the social history of a student to see what is impacting behavior

Greg Acuna wanted to change the world, starting when he was just 8 years old. After moving to India and having a daughter of his own, he was inspired to create the game Acting Kindly @School, which teaches students to work together by performing random acts of kindness. His goal in creating this game is to change school violence and bullying into cooperation and friendship. You can order Acting Kindly @School on Amazon and learn more about it at planetearthlings.org.

01:35 - How Greg went from Chicago to Southern California to India

05:00 - Cooperation and collaboration could change the world: Greg's game to help children learn kindness

11:55 - What the playtest of Acting Kindly @School taught Greg and how students have enjoyed playing it

21:05 - SEL curriculum is vital to curb bullying and school violence

22:00 - Learn to love learning

Listen now:

iTunes:

Spotify:

Order your copy of Every Decision Counts at tregammage.com

"There are teachers who are gifted to teach students who struggle. They may never have the highest scores in their building... You can't base the incentive based on how my students perform because if I've agreed to teach the students that nobody else will teach I'll never show you on paper that they're the highest students in the building, but I can show you that they're beating their own record, that they're increasing their own strategies, that they're using their own ability to grow within their own selves."

- Dr. Bryan Chris Reese

EP 130 Chapter 8: What's Growing In Your Garden by Tre' Gammage

EP 129 Flashback: Released Expectations with Josephine Lee by Tre' Gammage