The Making Schools Work Podcast

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What if students could receive meaningful feedback on their writing while they're still working — instead of waiting days or weeks for a grade?

In this episode of the Making Schools Work Podcast, hosts Daniel Rock and Leslie Eaves talk with Skye Reynolds, literacy master teacher with Richland Parish Schools in Louisiana, and Nancy Johnson, professional learning coach with HMH, about how AI can help teachers strengthen writing instruction.

Drawing on their experiences with HMH's Writable platform, Skye and Nancy share how educators are using AI to provide immediate feedback, encourage revision and reflection, support peer review and identify students who need additional help.

They also discuss the challenges of introducing AI into writing instruction, including the risks of overrelying on automated feedback and the importance of keeping teachers' expertise and relationships with students at the center of the process.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why timely feedback can make a bigger difference than comments students receive after an assignment is graded
• How AI can support proven writing practices without doing the thinking for students
• Ways teachers can use AI to differentiate instruction and respond to student learning data
• What Richland Parish has learned about reviewing AI-generated feedback and maintaining teacher oversight
• How instructional coaches and school leaders can introduce AI through hands-on professional learning

Whether you're an English teacher, instructional coach or school leader, this conversation offers practical ideas for using AI to help students become stronger, more independent writers.

The Southern Regional Education Board is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with states and schools to improve education at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education and the workforce. 

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How do you move AI professional learning beyond a one-time workshop and make it meaningful for educators across an entire state?

Cliff Sullivan, AI coordinator for the West Virginia Department of Education, joins Daniel Rock and Leslie Eaves to share how West Virginia is building a statewide approach to AI literacy, teacher development and classroom innovation.

At the center of the effort is PAINT (Pedagogical AI for New Teaching), a professional learning model that encourages educators to learn by doing. Rather than focusing on a single AI platform, the initiative helps teachers develop practical skills, create classroom-ready resources and collaborate on solutions to real educational challenges.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How to scale AI professional learning: West Virginia's train-the-trainer approach uses regional specialists and local AI Mountaineers to bring support to schools across the state.
• Why professional learning should be hands-on: Teachers work together to explore AI, develop prompts and create resources they can use in their own classrooms.
• How educators can progress from AI literacy to problem-solving: A three-tier system moves teachers from foundational knowledge to classroom applications and schoolwide solutions.
• Why screen value matters more than screen time: AI can help educators create more engaging, hands-on learning experiences without requiring students to spend more time on devices.
• How to keep learning at the center of AI use: Cliff shares an example of using AI to challenge students to defend historical conclusions with primary-source evidence rather than simply accepting generated answers.

Leslie also connects West Virginia's work to SREB's AI Professional Learning Framework, highlighting the importance of building awareness, encouraging exploration, supporting application and developing AI fluency through ongoing practice.

Whether you're a teacher beginning to explore AI or a school leader responsible for professional learning, this conversation offers practical ideas for moving beyond training sessions and building lasting capacity.

The takeaway: Successful AI professional learning isn't about introducing more tools. It's about helping educators develop the knowledge, confidence and judgment to use technology in ways that strengthen teaching and learning.

The Southern Regional Education Board is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with states and schools to improve education at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education and the workforce. 

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AI is already changing education. But how can schools embrace its possibilities without losing sight of what matters most — student learning?

In this episode of the Making Schools Work podcast, SREB's Daniel Rock and Leslie Eaves talk with Amos Fodchuk, founder of Advanced Learning Partnerships, about what it takes to bring AI into schools thoughtfully and sustainably.

Drawing on his work with schools and districts across the United States and Canada, Amos explains why successful AI implementation isn't about getting everyone to use the latest tools. It's about helping educators and leaders make better decisions about when, why and how to use technology.

The conversation explores Virginia's statewide approach to AI professional learning, the importance of starting with school and district leadership, and how educators can use AI to strengthen instruction without sacrificing professional judgment.

You'll hear how schools and educators can:

• Lead meaningful change: Build AI literacy among school and district leaders before expecting teachers to transform their practices.
• Put teaching before technology: Focus on proven instructional strategies instead of training educators on tools that may quickly change.
• Make professional learning stick: Combine flexible virtual courses with collaboration, coaching and job-embedded support.
• Use AI to improve instruction: Save planning time, strengthen formative assessment and create more opportunities for deeper learning.
• Find the right balance: Recognize when technology supports learning — and when it becomes a distraction.
• Rethink assessment: Design assignments that reveal what students truly know and can do instead of relying on tasks AI can easily complete.
• Start small: Find trusted colleagues, identify a meaningful instructional goal and take the next step toward using AI with purpose.

Daniel, Leslie and Amos also share personal examples of how their own children use AI to study, solve problems and learn in ways that work for them — while considering the risks of taking shortcuts.

The big takeaway? Schools don't need to scale AI use. They need to scale the ability to make good decisions about AI. When educators lead with learning goals instead of technology, AI can become a tool for creating more meaningful experiences for students.

Resources

• Advanced Learning Partnerships: https://alplearn.com
• Multiple Choice, a documentary about rethinking student learning in Winchester, Virginia, from What School Could Be (mentioned in the episode).

The Southern Regional Education Board is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with states and schools to improve education at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education and the workforce. 

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AI is changing quickly. Your school’s professional learning probably needs to change with it.

But that doesn’t mean teachers need another one-time workshop, a hundred-slide presentation or a “point-and-click” training that checks a box without changing what happens in classrooms.

In this episode of the Making Schools Work podcast, SREB’s Daniel Rock talks with Leslie Eaves, SREB director of project-based learning, about a new framework for designing meaningful professional learning around artificial intelligence. Drawing on the work of SREB’s Commission on AI in Education, interviews with educators and years of experience designing professional learning, Leslie explains how schools and districts can help educators build their AI knowledge gradually — and turn that knowledge into thoughtful classroom practice. 

You'll hear how schools and districts can:

• Build educators' AI knowledge over time instead of relying on one-and-done training
• Design AI professional learning around how adults actually learn
• Establish expectations for ethical and responsible AI use
• Connect AI learning to the skills students will need for college, careers and the changing workplace
• Give teachers time during professional learning to experiment, create and solve real problems from their classrooms
• Differentiate support for educators with different levels of AI experience
• Use coaching and professional learning communities to move new ideas from workshops into practice 

The conversation also tackles one of the biggest questions facing educators right now: When should students use AI — and when shouldn't they? Leslie explains why there isn't one answer for every classroom and why schools need to give educators space to make thoughtful decisions based on students, subjects and learning goals. 

Because when it comes to AI, professional learning isn't about teaching everyone to use the newest tool. It's about helping educators develop the knowledge and judgment to decide which tools belong in teaching and learning in the first place.

Resources

You can find "Considerations for Designing AI Professional Learning for Educators," the document discussed in this episode, on our website at https://www.sreb.org/post/considerations-designing-ai-professional-learning-educators.

The Southern Regional Education Board is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with states and schools to improve education at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education and the workforce. 

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Instructional coaching works best when it is grounded in trust, curiosity and real classroom practice.

In this summer highlight episode, Ashley Shaw looks back at three coaching-focused conversations from the first two seasons of the Making Schools Work podcast. Together, these clips explore how coaches can move beyond labels, listen more deeply, build teacher ownership and use reflection to help teachers make small changes that lead to stronger learning.

You’ll hear from Becca Silver, Kanisa Williams, Jason Adair and Jen Zelina as they discuss what coaches need to know about resistance, role clarity, teacher support, microteaching and meaningful reflection.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

•  Why coaches should stop thinking in terms of “resistant teachers” and start thinking about teachers experiencing resistance 
•  How listening helps coaches understand what teachers actually need 
•  Why coaching has to feel supportive, not punitive 
•  How districts and schools can protect the coaching role so coaches can focus on instruction 
•  What it means to move teachers from buy-in to ownership 
•  How microteaching and reflection can help teachers make small, high-impact instructional changes 

Practical Takeaways

Good coaching is not about fixing teachers, catching mistakes or forcing compliance. It is about helping teachers feel supported enough to reflect honestly, think deeply and make meaningful changes in their practice.

Across these conversations, one theme comes through clearly: coaching is most powerful when it is human and evidence-based. Coaches need to listen for what is underneath resistance, approach teachers from a place of potential, protect time for meaningful coaching and ground reflection in what students actually did and learned.

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Subscribe to the Making Schools Work podcast wherever you listen, and follow along this summer as we revisit some of the most practical ideas from our first two seasons.

The Southern Regional Education Board is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with states and schools to improve education at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education and the workforce. 

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Strong school leadership is not just about having the right plan. It is about making the work clear, actionable and human for everyone in the building.

In this summer highlight episode, Ashley Shaw looks back at six powerful conversations from the first two seasons of the Making Schools Work podcast. Each clip explores a different communication move leaders can use to build focus, strengthen trust, support teacher growth and create shared ownership across a school.

This episode features practical insights from Marck Abraham, Natasha Brown, Bethany Wilson, Baruti Kafele, Tony Johnson and Thomas Murray.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to:

•  Clarify your school’s focus so your team can repeat it and act on it 
•  Talk about data in ways that help students build ownership and pride 
•  Move from “I work” to “we work” by inviting others into the work 
•  Make teacher feedback feel like a growth conversation, not a gotcha 
•  Lead across different generations, values and motivations 
•  Communicate carefully enough to protect trust when the pressure is on 

Featured clips from:

Creating a School Culture of Love: Data & Accountability With Marck Abraham
Featuring Dr. Marck Abraham

Underdog Leadership: Driving Growth in High-Need Schools With Natasha Brown
Featuring Dr. Natasha Brown

The High-Growth Blueprint: 5 Years of Level 5 Excellence
Featuring Dr. Bethany Wilson

The Art of the Feedback Conversation: Part 2 With Principal Baruti Kafele
Featuring Principal Baruti Kafele

The Language of Motivation: Bridging Generations and AI in the Classroom
Featuring Dr. Tony Johnson

The Curse of Knowledge: Communication Science for School Leaders With Thomas Murray
Featuring Thomas Murray

Listen for these practical takeaways:

Leadership communication is bigger than emails, announcements and staff meetings. It shows up in the way leaders explain priorities, talk about data, invite teachers into the work, give feedback, understand different motivations and respond when trust is on the line.

Strong leaders do not just communicate more. They communicate with clarity, purpose and care.

Subscribe and follow

Subscribe to the Making Schools Work podcast wherever you listen, and follow along this summer as we revisit some of the most practical ideas from our first two seasons.

The Southern Regional Education Board is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with states and schools to improve education at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education and the workforce. 

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Career readiness can sound like a big, abstract goal — something that belongs in a strategic plan, a district initiative or a career fair once a year.

But helping students connect school to life after graduation can happen in practical, everyday ways.

In this summer highlight episode, Ashley Shaw looks back at five powerful moments from the first two seasons of the Making Schools Work podcast. These clips offer practical ways educators can help students understand why school matters, what skills they are building and how those skills connect to college, careers, military service, technical training and life beyond graduation.

You’ll hear from Mark Perna, Nicole Cobb, Marty Sugerik, leaders from Richland High School and the team from PENCIL in Nashville as they share strategies schools and teachers can use right away.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to:

•  Reframe school as a way for students to build options, not just earn grades 
•  Help students recognize the career skills inside everyday classroom tasks 
•  Ask students to investigate how academic skills show up in real careers 
•  Create concrete next-step plans for students before they graduate 
•  Build community partnerships around real student and school needs 

Featured clips from:

• The GPA Myth: Reframing Education as a Solution, Not a Problem
  •  Featuring Mark Perna
• The Human Side of Career Readiness With Nicole Cobb
  •  Featuring Dr. Nicole Cobb
• Designing Meaningful Projects: Making Project-Based Learning Work in the Classroom
  •  Featuring Marty Sugerik
• Pacesetter Spotlight: Richland High School’s AP Program and Career Connectedness
  •  Featuring leaders from Richland High School
• Featured Speaker Spotlight: Creating Community Programs With PENCIL
  •  Featuring Elena Kate and Bob Kucher

Listen for these practical takeaways:

Career readiness does not have to live outside the regular school day. It can start with a single sentence that explains why students are practicing a skill. It can become stronger when students research how that skill appears in careers they care about. It can become more concrete when schools help students identify possible next steps, financial plans and real people they can talk to before committing to a path.

And it becomes much more powerful when schools build partnerships that are connected to what students actually need to experience, practice and understand.

Subscribe and follow

Subscribe to the Making Schools Work podcast wherever you listen, and follow along this summer as we revisit some of the most practical ideas from our first two seasons.

The Southern Regional Education Board is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with states and schools to improve education at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education and the workforce. 

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Artificial intelligence is already changing how educators plan, teach and support students — but using AI well does not mean handing over the thinking.

In this summer highlight episode of the Making Schools Work podcast, SREB's Ashley Shaw revisits six practical AI lessons from the first two seasons of the show. Featuring clips from conversations with Daniel Rock and Leslie Eaves, this episode explores how educators can use AI as a planning assistant, time-saver, brainstorming partner and student support tool without letting it replace teacher expertise or student learning.

You’ll hear why strong prompts matter, how AI can help teachers protect time for the work that requires human judgment, and why assignment design matters more than ever. The episode also looks at how AI can support personalized learning, help students get unstuck and prepare them to use emerging technology ethically and effectively.

In this episode, we explore:

• How the SPICE framework can help educators write better AI prompts
• Why AI should support teacher expertise, not replace it
• How AI can save time on lower-value tasks so teachers can focus on feedback, relationships and student growth
• Why assignments may need to change if AI can complete them without student thinking
• How teachers’ knowledge of their students remains essential in an AI-supported classroom
• How AI can help personalize support for students in the moment
• Why students need to learn ethical AI use, not just efficient AI use

The big takeaway: AI is not the teacher, the student, the assignment or the thinking. It is a tool. Used thoughtfully, it can help educators plan, personalize and support learning. But it still needs human judgment, strong guardrails and students who are actively doing the work of learning.

Subscribe to Making Schools Work for more summer highlight episodes as we revisit some of the best conversations from our first two seasons and get ready for season three.

The Southern Regional Education Board is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with states and schools to improve education at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education and the workforce. 

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As another incredible season comes to a close, hosts Daniel Rock and Erin Anderson Williams sit down for a candid look at the major themes, tensions and breakthrough moments shaping our classrooms today. 

In this wrap-up episode, the team dives deep into how schools are redefining student data, shifting the conversation around classroom engagement and navigating the rapidly evolving world of AI in education. From powerful school success stories to personal reflections, this episode is packed with honest, practical insights to carry into the summer and preparation for the upcoming school year. 

Key Takeaways From This Episode

• Data as an Informant, Not an Enemy: Hear how pacesetter principals are moving away from data meetings rooted in "blame, shame and anxiety" and instead empowering students to completely own and monitor their own academic growth. 
• Compliance vs. Investment: Why true classroom engagement is much deeper than students simply sitting quietly or complying with instructions. The hosts break down how to spark genuine student curiosity and long-term investment in learning. 
• The Calculator Analogy for AI: Does AI rot your brain? Erin and Daniel share a refreshing perspective, framing AI literacy not as a shortcut, but as a foundational tool that handles initial calculations so students can focus on deeper, high-level critical thinking. 
• The Power of Transferable Skills: At the core of all school improvement is teaching kids how to think actively, analyze perspectives and master metacognition—skills that prepare them for workforce pipelines and for life. 

Resources & Links Mentioned

• Join Us This Summer: Explore the specialized tracks, learning communities, and immersive tours featured in this episode at sreb.org/conference.
• Connect with SREB: Learn more about our school improvement frameworks and coaching support at sreb.org/school-improvement.

The Southern Regional Education Board is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with states and schools to improve education at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education and the workforce. 

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Student engagement is at an all-time low, while student anxiety and behavioral challenges are at an all-time high. How do we turn the tide? Mark Perna, a public speaker, best-selling author and founder of TFS Results, joins Daniel Rock and Chris Bailey to offer a game-changing framework: competitive advantage. 

By moving beyond a singular focus on high academic grades, Perna outlines how schools can blend robust academics with technical competencies and professional life skills to get every student—from the 4.0 high-flyer to the struggling 1.5 student—fully locked into their learning journey.

Key Takeaways

• The Three Pillars of Competitive Advantage: Discover the modern definition of a well-rounded education: robust academic knowledge, technical competencies and professional life skills working in perfect concert.
• The Solution vs. The Problem: Why straight-A students inherently view education as their solution, while lower-achieving students see it as their problem—and how to bridge that massive engagement gap.
• The 2.5 C-Student Paradigm: The eye-opening statistical reality of why close to 100% of major business leaders and CEOs would eagerly hire a 2.5 GPA student who possesses exceptional professional life skills over a high-achieving student without them.
• Overtly Teaching Professional Skills: SREB’s Chris Bailey shares insight from aerospace giant Boeing on why workers are never fired for a lack of hard technical skills, but rather for a lack of professional skills.
• The AI Tripwire in Workforce Funnels: A critical warning for business and school leaders regarding the fourth industrial revolution and how the blind elimination of entry-level jobs via AI is destroying the talent funnel.
• Skills-First Hiring: Navigating the rapid global shift away from degree-based hiring frameworks toward a skills-first employment ecosystem.

Resources Mentioned

• Answering Why: Answering Why: Unleashing Passion, Purpose and Performance in Younger Generations by Mark Perna.
• The Perna Syndicate: Host of the global education and workforce development podcast.
• Mark Perna's Official Website: markcperna.com.

The Southern Regional Education Board is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with states and schools to improve education at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education and the workforce. 

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