Transformative Principal

I'm excited to announce my Book Study. Get more info and join me here.

In this episode of Transformative Principal, host Jethro Jones interviews Erik Francis, an expert in educational leadership and the creator of Maverik Education AI. Francis discusses the role of AI in education, emphasizing the importance of authenticity and critical thinking. Key points include:

• 
  AI's Limitations: ChatGPT and other AI tools can sometimes produce inaccurate information due to the nature of their sourcing and synthesis processes.
• Depth of Knowledge (DOK):  Francis highlights the need for students to deeply understand their learning, moving beyond surface-level comprehension. He outlines how different levels of DOK correspond to various question types (e.g., "whether" questions indicate DOK 1, while "how" questions indicate DOK 2).
• AI as a Tool, Not a Replacement: Francis argues that AI should be used as a stimulus for learning, not a source of definitive answers. It can offer suggestions, but educators and students must ultimately use their own judgment and critical thinking skills.
• The Importance of Authenticity: Francis believes that the future of AI in education lies in authenticity. Educators and students should "be the brain" and use AI as a tool to enhance, rather than replace, their own thinking and decision-making processes.

• Misinterpretation about DOK and 
• We don’t know the source that chatGPT Is using. 
• OpenAI synthesizing all those hits in Google that gives back information that is not accurate. 
• How deeply do students have to comprehend their learning?
• You can’t just rely on a calculator. 
• The technology doesn’t make things less complex, it makes it easier to do that work.
• There are people who are going to say, “It’s good enough.” 
• Circle the verbs and underline the standards. 
• Assessing on skills and stuff (old way)  vs context (new way) 
• Whether - DOK 1
• How - DOK 2
• Supports - DOK 3
• Two or more - DOK 4
• “Worksheets don’t grow dendrites” - Marcia Tate
• Created this to help teachers expand their instructional talent. 
• AI is a stimulus, not a source. 
• Suggestions, not decisions. 
• Teaching is not just a science, it’s an art. 
• Rogers’ diffusion of innovation. 
• How do we know that our AI stuff is actually good? 
• The Future of AI is authenticity. 
• “Be the brain and make the impact.” 

About Erik Francis:

Erik Francis specializes in providing guidance, support and training to academic leaders and classroom teachers on how to develop rigorous learning environments and deliver engaging educational experiences that engage and encourage students to demonstrate different levels of thinking and understand and use their Depth of Knowledge (DOK) through inquiry and by questioning with good questions. He created Maverik Education AI.

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. 

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.

I'm excited to announce my Book Study. Get more info and join me here.

Dr. David Lipman joins Jethro to talk about critical aspects of health optimization and its impact on our well-being in a modern world filled with physical and environmental stressors. Dr. Lipman discusses how everyday stress activates our fight-or-flight response, depleting energy at a cellular level and affecting our health. He advocates for grounding practices like walking barefoot on natural surfaces, deep breathing techniques like the Wim Hof method, and the importance of proper nutrition. 

Dr. Lipman also emphasizes removing obstacles at the spinal level to improve nervous system function, a topic aligned with his expertise as a chiropractic physician. Listeners will gain insights on how simple changes, such as hydration with salt, can initiate transformative health improvements. Through his conversation, Dr. Lipman challenges common misconceptions about work-life balance and stresses the importance of making proactive health investments to thrive in both personal and professional life.

Learn how to optimize your health and make small, impactful changes, and discover how Dr. Lipman's bio-optimization methods can help you lead a healthier, more balanced life.

• Stress is activating our sympathetic nervous system, fight or flight. 
• Losing energy at the cell level - 
• Modern world that we live in has many attacks against us. 
• All that the modern world is hurting us with. 
• Shoes and socks off, bare feet on the grass and dirt.
• Getting enough oxygen
• Wymhoff deep breathing. 
• Bio-optimization center
• Removing obstacles at the spinal level in how our nervous system is treating our whole system
• Nutrition is important as well. 
• Gym class vs. teaching kids to play sports
• President’s council on physical fitness
• Remediation before basic training
• Does everyone need to take the same 
• Invest in the incline of our health
• The more we strive for the easy life…
• Growth requires stress and challenge
• We’re either growing or we are degenerating
• How to be a transformative principal? Choose the one thing to do to to make things better, maybe drinking water with a little salt.
• Connect with David Lipman

About Dr. David Lipman

Dr. David Lipman owns Physical Evidence Chiropractic and is a seasoned chiropractic physician who has successfully treated thousands of patients. With a deep personal commitment to bio-optimization, Dr. Lipman has achieved extraordinary levels of strength, endurance, and overall health well into his 60s. His mission is to share the knowledge and processes that have profoundly benefited his own life, helping others to achieve optimal health and wellness.

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. 

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.

I'm excited to announce my Book Study. Get more info and join me here.

This episode with Eric Sheninger and Nicki Slaugh discusses their book "Personalize: Meeting the Needs of All Learners" and their insights on transformative education practices, particularly at Quest Academy.

• Quest Academy's approach emphasizes student engagement and personalized learning. They prioritize retaining teachers and students by fostering a culture of choice, voice, and evidence-based practices.
• The school has implemented innovative strategies such as Mastery Minutes and a tracker system to monitor student progress and provide personalized support.
• Traditional grading structures like points, extra credit, and percentages have been removed in favor of a proficiency-based system. Students are assessed on their ability to demonstrate mastery of essential skills and knowledge.
• Big shifts in education require big moves, and Quest Academy embraces this philosophy. They encourage educators to find their own "right way" and avoid rigid adherence to any single "best practice."

About Nicki Slaugh

Nicki Slaugh stands out as a trailblazer in the field of educational transformation. Through her efforts, she has established a school culture dedicated to customizing learning experiences for individual students, cultivating a positive atmosphere,highlighting the importance of STEM education, and purposefully integrating technology to unleash each student’s potential. As a secondary principal, Nicki’s forward-thinking leadership has transformed a conventionally structured school into one that advocates for personalized, competency-based learning, attracting nationwide attention.

Nicki’s focus has been creating proficiency scales, developing rubrics, self-paced pathways, incorporating technology as a resource, and giving teachers and students voice and choice in the classroom.

Nicki is a Google-certified innovator who is certified in MagicSchoolAI. Notable achievements include creating a Mastery Tracker  for students and enhancing student progress in competency-based learning environments. 

Additionally, Nicki has presented her work at numerous local and national conferences teaching educators and leaders. Nicki championed innovative practices and received the Teacher of the Year Award, Model School Award, and was part of the reason her school accomplished being one of the first STEM-designated schools in Utah.  

Nicki has served as the Ogden/Weber Partners in Education Chair for three years, where she facilitated collaborative efforts to enhance educational opportunities for students.

Nicki Slaugh’s education legacy spans over two decades, starting as a classroom teacher from kindergarten to third grade. She also served as an instructional technology and curriculum coach for grades K-9. Nicki currently serves as a secondary principal, fueled by a passionate commitment to cultivating a love of learning within her school and is an educational consultant for Aspire Change EDU working with schools around the country. 

About Eric Sheninger

Eric works with schools throughout the world, helping educators meet and exceed their potential to improve outcomes for learners. He is the founder and CEO of Aspire Change EDU, a collaborative consultancy designed to provide personalized support to all educational systems. Prior to this, he was a teacher and the award-winning Principal at New Milford High School. Under his leadership, his school became a globally recognized model for innovative practices. Eric oversaw the successful implementation of several sustainable change initiatives that radically transformed the learning culture at his school while increasing achievement.His work focuses on innovative and practical ways educators can transform teaching, learning, and leadership.  Through his work with thousands of schools, Eric has emerged as an innovative leader, best-selling author, and sought-after speaker. His main focus is using research, evidence-based practices, and artificial intelligence (AI) to empower learners and educators.

• How Eric and Nicki came together to write this book: Personalize: Meeting the Needs of All Learners  
• Eric Sheninger’s first appearance on Transformative Principal.
• The power of Quest Academy
• Retain teachers, retain students - how to keep kids there. 
• Free public school
• Teenagers weren’t engaged. 
• PD time every Friday
• Mastery Minutes
• Beginning of day, tracker system. 
• Choice, voice, tracker data. 
• Curating evidence. 
• Culture 
• Self-pacing route vs. choice boards. 
• Removed points, extra credit, percentages, 
• Emerging, developing, mastering, extending
• Prove-its aligned to proficiency scales.
• Big shifts require big moves. 
• At Quest, we want you to be proficient
• When you remove the traditional structures, you have to add
• The right way is your way, there is no best practice. 
• Performance reviews, students meet with teachers one-on-one. 
• Impersonal approaches to focusing on the “who”
• How can we do it effectively, and what does it look like? 
• Evidence of effective vs. ineffective practices. 
• Practice, practice, practice, prove. 
• Maximizing the time we have with our students.
• How to be a transformative principal? 
• Eric: Show people the value of what you are doing
• Nicki: Get rid of the energy vampires

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. 

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 ind...

I'm excited to announce my Book Study. Get more info and join me here.

In this episode, Mike Duncan, president and CEO of Battelle for Kids, explores the concept of a portrait of a graduate and its importance in shaping education. He discusses the need to include all voices in creating a portrait that reflects the competencies most important to students' success.

Duncan emphasizes the value of inquiry-based learning, self-direction, and creating products that have an impact beyond the classroom. He also highlights the importance of leveraging the talent within schools to build capacity and co-create the design process.

The episode also touches on the importance of psychological safety in creating an environment where students and educators feel comfortable taking risks and failing. Duncan shares his insights on how to be a transformative principal and the resources available to support principals in their leadership journey, such as the EdLeader21 network and the Future Cast report.

This episode provides valuable insights into the role of a portrait of a graduate in shaping education and the essential qualities of transformative principals.

• Locally developed, globally positioned
• Including all voices in creating a portrait of a graduate
• What competencies are most important in a portrait of a graduate? 
• Being good people and a good citizen. 
• Put their perspectives on the table, and let people do their 
• 5-7 most powerful. 
• Portrait is the very beginning of that journey. 
• Inquiry based learning, self-direction, products that have impact beyond the classroom
• Portrait of a graduate as a catalyst. 
• Knowing vs. doing curriculum
• Learning expo - 
• Leveraging the talent in our schools already to build capacity on 
• Cocreating the process of designing 
• It’s about time, you need coaching, support, and help in doing it efficiently
• How to be a transformative principal? Create Psychological safety to create and fail.
• Bill Daggett Episode
• EdLeader
• Future Cast

About Mike Duncan

Mike Duncan is the president and CEO of the national nonprofit Battelle for Kids. Prior to his role, he was one of the longest-serving superintendents in the state of Georgia, having been the superintendent at Pike County Schools since 2005. Before arriving in Pike, he was a high school principal, high school and middle school assistant principal, and a middle school teacher. Mike earned a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Georgia in 2004. He has been a member of EdLeader21, the national network of Battelle for Kids, for over a decade and previously served as the network’s advisory vice chair.

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. 

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.

I'm excited to announce my Book Study. Get more info and join me here.

In this episode, David Schipper, director of the Strategic Learning Clinic, discusses the challenges that students face in reaching their full potential. He highlights the prevalence of SAD (Stubborn Adult Disorder) as a major obstacle and emphasizes the need to address the soft bigotry of low expectations. Schipper argues that learning to read is the number one civil rights issue of our time and stresses the importance of testing all children by age 1 to identify those who may need additional support. He recommends high-impact tutoring and emphasizes the need to put the right emphasis on the right syllable when teaching reading. Schipper also discusses the role of transformative principals in identifying students who are struggling and provides practical tips for educators.

• The #1 obstacle to helping students become the best they can be - SAD
• Huge resistance to many ideas. 
• Sold a story that if students would just memorize all the words.
• Soft bigotry of low expectations
• Test all kids by age 1. 
• It’s a total mystery why students struggle. 
• High-Impact Tutoring
• Put the right emphasis on the right syllable. 
• Learning to read is the number 1 civil rights issue of our time. 
• If teachers are taught how to teach, they’ll be more effective. 
• How to be a transformative principal? Test the phonological processing skills of students. Note who is struggling.  

About David Schipper

David Schipper is the director of Strategic Learning Clinic, a position he has held since 2013. David obtained a B.A. in English Literature from Concordia University in 1998 as well as a B.Ed. in Secondary Education (English and History) from McGill University in 2002. After some work as a local teacher in Montreal, David founded 2Torial Educational Centre in 2007. Aside from his ability to put both parents and students at ease, David uses his clinic's fairly unique approach to help get to the root of students' learning challenges and propose the most suitable remediation to resolve these weaknesses. As a father of two children, David knows how to relate to the concerns of parents and as an experienced educator, thoroughly understands the struggles of students. His passion and dedication to teaching and learning is second to none.

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. 

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.

I'm excited to announce my Book Study. Get more info and join me here.

In this podcast interview, Julie Ulstrup discusses the concept of the "Zone of Brilliance," where individuals can create a vision and achieve their dreams. She emphasizes the importance of having a definite chief aim and aligning one's actions, time, and money with that aim. Ulstrup highlights the common problem of educators providing a lot of value but not being compensated fairly for it.

She suggests that educators can increase their income by understanding their zone of brilliance, changing their mindset about compensation, and becoming more aware of their transferable skills. Ulstrup also challenges the idea put forth by Simon Sinek that one should start with "why" when setting goals, arguing that teachers should focus on their zone of brilliance and act accordingly.

• Zone of Brilliance - We help everyone else create a vision and achieve their dreams. 
• Every achievement is a result of a definite chief aim
• How you see yourself, how others see you, how you spend your time, how you spend your money.
• We say we value something, but we do something else. 
• It looks like doing nothing. 
• Impact, influence, increase and income. 
• We know it is our zone of brilliance when we feel it inside. 
• How to change your mindset about compensation.
• Common and chronic problem that educators provide a lot of value and don’t get paid enough for it. 
• Increase is three dimensional - who are we becoming. 
• How we serve on the earth is how we can define ourselves. 
• How much did the US pay out for all the Olympic gold, silver and bronze medals? 
• Teachers do have a lot of transferable skills. 
• Act in your zone of brilliance 
• Simon Sinek was wrong - Don’t start with why
• Teachers have skills that can work well in other settings. 
• Teachers have always been in sales. 
• Mindset, human-centered part of being an entrepreneur. 
• Five minutes and use the quote by Sarah Blankely “The biggest risk is not taking a risk” - Journal about that for two minutes. “I serve and I deserve” and what does that mean?
• Venn to Zen. 

About Julie Ulstrup

Meet Julie Ulstrup, the visionary CEO of Women's Brilliance Collective and transformational personal and business strategist for experienced educators seeking their next chapter. With more than two decades of counseling expertise and a track record of incredible  business growth, Julie is the catalyst educators trust to turn their expertise into purpose and passion driven new opportunities.

A two-time international leadership award winner and top 1% entrepreneur, Julie's unique blend of business acumen and deep understanding of human potential  guides  educators to create a vision for their careers so they  increase their impact, income and influence.

Julie's superpower? Helping you discover yours. She combines razor-sharp strategy with heartfelt empathy, empowering you to:

• Leverage your skills, knowledge, expertise and wisdom in innovative ways

• Cultivate authentic leadership that inspires across sectors

• Align your passion with purpose-driven opportunities

• Make meaningful contributions in exciting new fields

As a sought-after speaker and trusted mentor, Julie's insights have transformed lives at universities, schools, and prominent events worldwide. Her message is clear: Your passion and purpose is the key to unlocking a future filled with increased influence, income, and impact.

Julie's mission is to create a ripple effect of positive change by guiding educators like you to thrive in your next chapter. Whether you're eyeing leadership roles, consultancy, or entrepreneurship, she'll help you navigate the path with confidence and purpose.

Ready to write the most exciting chapter of your career? Connect with Julie and the Women's Brilliance Collective today. Together, we’re creating a world where  the rest of your  life truly becomes the best of your life.

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. 

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.

I'm excited to announce my Book Study. Get more info and join me here.

On June 10, 2024, Passion Driven Leadership celebrated two schools in the Orange Township School District with the designation of being Passion Driven Schools. (see links below)

PDL - Orange Recap June 2024.mp4

Passion Driven Schools - Dr. Fitzhugh Interview .mov

This means that they have decided to make Intentional Self-Care a priority for the adults in schools and completed our two-year process.

• Previous interview with Tyrone here.
• We work in a system that is broken by design. 
• Accountable vs. Responsible
• We work at the point of exhaustion
• EAP, too little too late. 
• Starts with leadership. 
• Process has six frames, SEL, instructional,  teacher, parent involvement, school review
• Data driven vs. data informed
• Dashboard for SEL
• Wellness & culture & climate surveys that teachers take on a regular basis. 
• The value of the psychometric analysis is that it helps people see themselves and who their teammates are. 
• Teachers came to work happier and more productive, fewer sick days, ownership.
• Students are more relaxed because of the impact of the teacher attitudes and perspectives. 
• Passion Driven Schools for adults. 
• Parent involvement - helping parents understand their kids better. 
• Passion-Driven Leadership web site.  

Please add your bio here: 

Dr. Tyrone D. Burton is an author, speaker, and Founder of Passion Driven Leadership. With over 40 years’ experience in education Dr. Burton is recognized and sought after as a proven leader in education.  He has served as a Distinguished Principal, mentoring other Principals in his proud state of Louisiana. He has worked as a School Turnaround Specialist, successfully helping, and supporting Principals turn around schools in Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Cayman Island and Connecticut. He has served as an adjunct professor teaching aspiring principals to lead. He has been featured on notable podcast such as, Courtney Bowden, The Transformative Principal and Leading Lane hosted by award winning Principal Adam Lane. He is a regular featured speaker at Alabama`s MEGA Conference. He has authored two books, More Than a Notion, A Journey in Educational Leadership in the Age of Accountability and The Reframing of American Education, A Framework for Understanding American Education Post COVID-19. Both books are used at the University level to train educational leaders. His company Passion Driven Leadership was awarded a New Schools Venture Fund Grant, which he used to pilot his program to help educators lead lives filled with “Intentional Self-Care”! He has helped hundreds of educators to restore and revitalize their emotional health and wellbeing. His vision to create a community of educators who become emotionally literate and emotionally Intelligent through the development of human capital. His mission is to help educators realize and recognize that “Intentional Self-Care” is not selfish!

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. 

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.

I'm excited to announce my Book Study. Get more info and join me here.

Welcome to our National Literacy Month series of podcasts, presented in partnership between the Be Podcast Network and Reading Is Fundamental (RIF).

In this episode of Transformative Principal, Jodi Rubin, Senior Vice President of Marketing & Partnerships at Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), discusses the "Rally to Read 100" initiative. Launched in response to declining reading frequency and motivation among children, this initiative aims to encourage children to read 100 books by the end of March. Anyone can participate, and there are incentives for schools and individuals, including book giveaways and social media contests. RIF provides various resources to support the initiative, such as videos, activity sheets, and purposeful questions for each book. Rubin emphasizes the importance of early reading experiences, reading aloud, and community involvement in fostering a love of reading in children. She also highlights the "RIF Literacy Central" website, which offers over 30,000 resources for educators and families.

• Rally to Read 100
• Frequency and motivation of reading was way down
• 100,000,000th 
• B&N storytime pick and Random House partnerships
• Read 100 books by the end of the month of March. 
• Anyone can participate
• Why community is so important! 
• Competition in individual groups. 
• Motivation - giving away 10,000 books. 
• 100 schools to win 100 books. 
• Social media contests
• Every month 2 new videos will appear for the month’s theme (community, nature, changemakers, and more).
• Packets, coloring sheets, and more activities for students to do and use. 
• 12 titles for read-alouds - Maxine Gets a Job and Built to Last, for example.
• Purposeful questions for each book they read. 
• The power of early reading experiences.
• Importance of reading aloud. 
• Enter to get your classroom sets. 
• Celebratory event live at Union Square in NY. 
• RIF Literacy Central - over 30,000 resources

Please add your bio here: 

Jodi Rubin is a marketing strategy and project management leader with more than 25 years of experience in the areas of strategic marketing, brand management, partnership marketing, communications, and strategy development. Jodi currently serves as RIF’s Senior Vice President Marketing & Partnerships and is responsible for the organization’s marketing strategy, communications, and partnership marketing to drive awareness and engagement with the RIF brand and its programs.

Prior to RIF, Jodi was with Discovery Communications serving in a variety of strategic marketing roles in Domestic Distribution and Discovery Education. Jodi oversaw international educational marketing initiatives, new content provider partner efforts, and worked with Discovery’s various networks to bring key initiatives to teachers and students with unique educational content and resources to inspire and engage students.

Jodi also held prior positions at Comsat International, W.B Doner Advertising, and Booz Allen & Hamilton.

Jodi holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan.

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. 

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.

I'm excited to announce my Book Study. Get more info and join me here.

Dr. Daris McInnis joins Jethro to explore the complex nature of the reading process and the pivotal role that parents play in building literacy foundations at home. Dr. McInnis emphasizes the expertise that parents bring to the table, urging schools to honor and tap into that knowledge. He challenges the assumptions that parents inherently have everything they need to support their child's learning or that lack of engagement signals disinterest. Instead, he advocates for creating meaningful partnerships with parents, giving them a seat at the table, and understanding the pressures they face, such as time constraints. 

Throughout the discussion, Dr. McInnis highlights the value of programs like Reading is Fundamental (RIF) and literacy nights, which provide families with tools and strategies to support their children's learning. He also encourages educators to rethink their roles as learners themselves, emphasizing the importance of linguistic expression and understanding students as cosmopolitan intellectuals. 

Tune in to discover how schools can better engage families in the literacy process and how transformative leadership begins with meaningful, student-centered conversations.

• Reading process is complex. Starts at home
• At home start understanding the literacy foundations
• Parents have expertise, and we need to acknowledge it. 
• Parents' knowledge of how their students’ everyday life impacts learning.
• Schools should honor and seek that expertise out. 
• Schools don’t honor parent expertise because they don’t have expertise
• Grandma’s statistics
• Assumption: Parents have everything they need to support student learning (in the way we do it). 
• Assumption: People have time. 
• Uninvolved or don’t care is not what silence always means
• Giving them a seat at the table.
• What do they need from the school district? 
• RIF is a great resource
• Literacy nights - valuable for many reason 
• Strategies and tools for parents. 
• Linguistic expression
• How do we rethink about ourselves as learners as well. 
• How to be a transformative principal? Identify a student that a teacher is struggling to reach, then go into the classroom, and have a conversation with that student. Frame them as the cosmopolitan intellectuals they are. 

Please add your bio here: 

Dr. Daris McInnis is an assistant professor of literacy in the College of Education and Social Work at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. His research interests include family literacy, reading research, critical literacy, family-school partnerships, and early childhood education. Daris holds a doctorate in Reading/Writing/Literacy from the University of Pennsylvania, serves on multiple advisory boards with Reading is Fundamental, previously taught early elementary grades in Washington, D.C., and currently volunteers as a reading specialist in New Castle County, Delaware. He is also a Pat Tillman Scholar, and an Army veteran who served five years on active duty as an Ordnance Logistics Officer.

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. 

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.

I'm excited to announce my Book Study. Get more info and join me here.

Welcome to our National Literacy Month series of podcasts, presented in partnership between the Be Podcast Network and Reading Is Fundamental (RIF).

• How schools have turned off millions of kids from loving reading. 
• “We escaped a train wreck because of my son”
• Balanced Literacy 3-cueing. 
• Explicit and systematic way to sound out words. 
• Kenneth Goodman - founder of whole language, which is what balanced literacy is based on. 
• Observational study on how children learn to read. 
• National Reading Panel - convened by congress in late 1990s. 
• Emily Hanford - Sold a Story Podcast
• Why don’t we have computers teaching our kids to read. 
• Kids just press buttons.
• Teaching a child to read is remarkably easy
• Teaching a child who has been taught incorrectly to read is not easy. 
• Samuel Orton - Orton Gillingham method of teaching reading. 
• Is it the child, or is it us? 
• Phonemic awareness is not an inheritable trait, it’s a skill that can be taught. 
• Do you teach or let the child discover on their own? Teach the basic skills
• Steps To Reading

About Irene Daria

Today, Irene Daria is a cognitive developmental psychologist and reading tutor to the stars, including the children of Kate Winslet, Tom Brady and Cate Blanchett. Her new book, I Didn’t Believe Him, takes you behind-the-scenes to witness exactly how schools across the country are failing to teach students how to read. At the time of the story she shares in I Didn’t Believe Him, Daria was a graduate student and "just" a mom thrilled that her son had been accepted to one of the most esteemed schools in Manhattan. Sure that he was on the path to a venerable education, she did not listen when her 5-year-old told her that he-like millions of other children-was not being taught how to read in school.

An entire, very painful school year passed before Eric got her to realize he was right. Follow along as Daria begins a perplexing but ultimately empowering journey to save his academic life. She finds herself pitted against well-intentioned teachers and administrators she would have loved to trust if only they weren't so misinformed. The more Daria tries to get the school to see that it-like tens of thousands of other schools across the country is teaching reading all wrong, the more the school insists there is something wrong with her child and not with its teaching.

Although I Didn't Believe Him is about a disturbing topic, it is a joy to read. Its pages overflow with the tenderness and love a mother has for her child and the trust a child has that his mother will make everything right. In addition to sharing her personal story, Daria takes you behind closed doors at a top-rated school to witness how flawed teaching methods are causing millions of kids to struggle with reading. You will see how a child's struggles in school affect the entire family. In an entertaining who-dun-it way, you will learn about the horrifying history of reading instruction in our country and the absurd way reading is currently being taught in many schools.

In the end, simply by going on this life-altering journey with Daria and her son, you will learn how to teach a child to read and will be empowered to set any child on the path to becoming a proficient reader.

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