In this episode, Jethro Jones interviews Dr. Layne Dillard, an educational leader with over 27 years of experience in transforming schools and empowering leaders. Dr. Dillard shares insights on achieving 100% reading proficiency among third graders, the importance of teaching at grade level, and strategies for effective school improvement.

• Cast a vision, shoot for the moon, maybe you’ll hit the stars
• With 37% special education students. 
• We realized we just changed lives. 
• First state report card was an F. 
• Looking at our “Why” 
• Going to have to do things that are hard for adults and right for kids. 
• Tier 1 at grade level. 
• How can we expect them to be proficient if they never see that content?
• Every year they don’t see grade level, they’re even further behind. 
• Fill in gaps from last year, then you never get to current year. 
• Look at data like blood work, not personal. 
• Data can feel like we’re blaming people. 
• Data can be used as a weapon. 
• True differentiation is…
• Intentional grouping of students. 
• Teaching a skill. 
• Knowing your data. 
• Your data is like skeleton. 
• Nobody is a queen bee. 
• How to be a transformative principal? Get a clipboard and go down the halls and look for everything in your building going right. 

Dr. Layne Dillard
Transformative Educator | School Turnaround Strategist | Creator of the LEAD Framework

Dr. Layne Dillard (X, LinkedIn, Web Site) has dedicated over 27 years to transforming schools and empowering leaders to create environments where students thrive. With 18 years of experience as a principal, she led a high-poverty school from an "F" to a "B" on the state report card, earning recognition as a CLAS Banner School and a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. Under her leadership, all 3rd graders at her school achieved 100% proficiency in reading on state assessments.

Layne’s extensive career spans every level of education, from Pre-K to high school seniors. She has also served as the principal of an alternative school, where she worked to ensure that even the most at-risk students could succeed.

Her journey inspired the creation of the LEAD Framework—a student-centered, research-backed approach designed to help schools make meaningful, sustainable progress. Currently serving as an Educational Administrator in the Office of School Improvement with the Alabama State Department of Education, she specializes in data-driven strategies, leadership development, and building positive school cultures.

Layne is a passionate speaker who loves motivating districts, schools, and educators to be the absolute best they can be every single day—because students deserve nothing less. Her mission is to help principals turn challenges into opportunities and imagine the possibilities for their schools and students.

Layne earned her B.S. in Secondary Education and an M.A. in Educational Leadership and Administration at the University of North Alabama. She earned a Doctor of Education in Learning Organizations and Strategic Change from Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee

In this podcast episode, Joel Lavin and Jethro Jones discuss transition services for students with disabilities as they mature out of the K-12 schooling program. We talk about combining CTE and Transition Services to make sure students are prepared for life, independence, self determination, communication, and living on their own. See Joel’s previous interview on Transformative Principal episodes 258 and 259.

• Education and Training, Employment, Independence, self determination and communication, planning for your future.
• Transition Vision Project. Including General Ed and CTE programs.
• Visioning process. The pathway process. North Star, positive and possible, enroll, stronger
• Why is CTE and Transition services so important for working together? Career Technical Education.
• Sometimes kids needing services in their IEP gets in the way of their opportunities to have more work experiences. 
• CTE: FutureBuild
• Unified Sports and other unified programs - if you don’t have this in your school, make it happen!
• Ryan- started in the pandemic as a freshman in charter school struggled, moved to the alternative school still struggled, finally moved to a program in one of our high schools focused on transition, still included in regular classes though it was regional, began to thrive in the setting, had an opportunity to access a centralized program called future build.Student continues to thrive as a senior. Is now a keynote speaker for the Oregon Statewide Transition Conference in March 2024.
• Transition Services take a lot of teamwork! 
• How to be a transformative principal? All staff need to be on board with inclusive practices.

About Joel Lavin

Joel is in his 15th year as an administrator and 25th year as a public educator. He is currently an equity and inclusion administrator for high schools in Eugene School District 4J. His job is focused on removing barriers for students in high school through age 21 who experience disabilities and autism. Joel has worked with students prekindergarten through age 21 in his career. He started teaching as a middle school science teacher and branched out to administration in 2009.

• Joel has two children, who are each about 3 years apart. They are currently in high school and college.
• His hobbies include camping with his family, gardening, running, cooking 
and martial arts.

His passions include: inclusive education, transition services, restorative justice, bilingual education and educational equity. He has been a facilitator for the CFEE Collaborative for 15 years, Coaching for Equity in Education Collaborative.

In this episode, Jethro Jones interviews Dr. Sandy Breece, founder and superintendent of Telesis Center for Learning Incorporated. They discuss Dr. Breece's journey starting a school before the concept of charter schools existed, her commitment to small class sizes and individualized instruction, and her advice for those looking to start their own schools today. They also delve into the power of community and the importance of having a clear vision.

• Charter schools didn’t start until 1994, when the school was three years old. 
• The community needed choice. 
• Small class sizes.
• Individualization for everyone. 
• Advice for starting your own school. 
• Don’t wait, just do it! 
• Find community
• Ignore the naysayers. 
• Reach out to community members individually. 
• Power of Community book
• Advice for funding schools. 
• How to be a transformative principal - Call Sandy. 

About Dr. Sandy Breece:
Dr. Sandy Breece is the Founder and Superintendent of Telesis Center for Learning, Inc. founded in 1991 in Lake Havasu City, AZ which includes two tuition free public charter schools: Telesis Preparatory Academy for grades 9-12 and Telesis Preparatory for grades K-8 which she oversees and operates the non-profit corporation Telesis Center for Learning, Inc. with a staff of 48 and student enrollment of 350. Dr. Breece holds an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. Dr. Breece also has her BS and MS degrees in Elementary Education with an Early Childhood endorsement and a double minor in Psychology and Zoology from Arizona State University. She has many years of experience as a teacher and administrator in K-12 education as first an elementary teacher with a focus on reading and Early Childhood Education and then school founder and director of a private and public school, ultimately becoming a certified principal and then certified superintendent all in Lake Havasu City, AZ where she has lived for 58 years. Telesis Preparatory Academy (grades 9-12) and Telesis Preparatory (grades K-8) are both accredited schools by Cognia Accreditation. Both schools have received A and B letter grades from the State of Arizona consistently each year. Dr. Breece added Paw Prints Preschool to the Telesis Center for Learning, Inc. complex in 2019, a tuition-based preschool program for 3 and 4-year-olds.

She most recently founded School Founders Academy to mentor others passionate about starting a school after publishing an anthology book titled “Power of Community” last March which became a #1 International Bestseller. Her chapter “From Vision to Reality: Navigating the Challenges of Starting a School” tells of some of the many challenges and how she solved them. Dr. Breece often does speaking engagements on educational topics which are listed on her speaker sheet on the School Founders Academy’s website. 

For more information visit schoolfounders.academy and like and follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn. 

In this episode,  Jethro Jones interviews Meira Koponen, a learning designer at Kahoot. They discuss the importance of game-based learning, the integration of AI to enhance classroom experiences, and innovative approaches to make learning more inclusive and engaging. Meira shares her experiences from Finland, her passion for education, and some exciting new features of Kahoot that support both teachers and students.

Meira Koponen is a Pedagogy and Didactics Manager (Learning Designer) at Kahoot!

See previous interviews about education in Finland with Pirjo Suhonen: Episode 183, and Episode 184

• What a learning designer at Kahoot! does. 
• Testing with teachers.
• Things must be designed in such a way that teachers can create
• AI Creator in Kahoot!
• On being the last place all the time.
• Team, classroom collaborative
• Playing at your own speed and level.
• Self-paced, different goal, 
• Being part of a community
• Kahootopia - Learning portfolio
• Learning doesn’t happen without effort.
• We put a lot of emphasis on Academic skills.
• We need to focus also on other skills. 
• Organic vs. Mechanistic skills
• Learning line upon line, little by little. 
• Fail often, that’s how you learn. 

• Public Benefit Corporations
• Benefit of school leaders
• School is nestled within a community
• Being authentic in who they are so they can show up authentically. 
• Things happen for a reason. 
• Breaking inappropriate rules
• Truth vs. truth
• Theory of Development Bronfenbrenner, U. (1977). Toward an experimental ecology of human development. American Psychologist, 32(7), 513–531. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.32.7.513
• How to be a transformative principal? Be yourself

About Marcela Andrés
Marcela Andrés, a visionary leader in education and the President and CEO of designEDengagement, PBC. Marcela has dedicated her career to creating culturally responsive strategies that foster strong relationships between educators, families, and communities. She’s also the author of Purposeful Educator Connections: Five Principles to Strengthen Relationships with Students, a transformative guide that offers practical strategies to help educators deepen their connections with students and drive meaningful change in the classroom.

Marcela’s work is focused on empowering educators to go beyond compliance and embrace the power of relationships as a foundation for student success. Her book highlights key principles that allow educators to create high-quality learning environments, foster meaningful interactions, and partner with key stakeholders to support students in fulfilling their life’s purpose.

In today’s conversation, we’ll dive into Marcela’s approach to transforming the educational experience and explore how Purposeful Educator Connections can serve as a blueprint for educators looking to strengthen their relationships with students and make a lasting impact.

Kevin would bring a deep passion and eagerness to discuss the impact of our latest project, the docuseries "What We Show Them" with the goal to engage your audience in a vital conversation about the future of learning, inspiring positive change in education through the power of media.

• DO I feel safe in this school? 
• Sign - All visitors need to report to main office
• Safety is the basic issue of a school. 
• Docuseries: What we Show Them
• Second Class Foundation - Improve the stories about education through the use of media. 
• Start with the problem
• Good stories - Bring in the community 
• Entertainment matters
• Fragmentation of schools is happening at an accelerated rate.
• Social interactions
• How did the vote turn out? 

About Kevin Stoller:

The Better Learning Podcast is hosted by Kevin Stoller, CEO of Kay-Twelve and author of Creating Better Learning Environments. The podcast is also associated with other organizations that are focused on improving education including the Education Leaders’ Organization (ELO) and the Second Class Foundation

• The Power of ICU - focuses on giving kids what they need when they need it. 
• Bringing it all back to Tier 1. 
• ICU Menu
• Changing language - how can I help you, what can I do for you? 
• Lifeguards - 7 Lifeguards
• ICU time (Advisory/WIN/RTI time)
• 9 departments - every subject is involved and every subject matters. 
• 35 minute window - walk around helping students. Love beeps. 
• About 75 students per teacher. 10 or so might be heavy hitters 
• Teacher designed, for teachers by teachers. ICU Database. Parent communication. 
• Healthy grading - learning target that’s easy to identify for everyone involved.
• Tied to a learning standard. 
• Humans not heroes.
• This isn’t equitable when some teachers don’t have students. 
• Blitzes - getting additional support from the Tier 1 teacher. 
• Math access - Partial Teacher 550 hours in the school year. 
• Menu of support
• Depth of Knowledge - Maverik Education AI
• Safety is the cost of doing business, not the number 1 priority. 
• 100% completion rate of essential assignments.
• Blitz day - 90 minutes for ICU at the end of the day. 
• No homework school.
• Key Stats: 
• A/B Honor roll fall 2022: 248 students
• Fall 2023: 376
• Spring 2024: 439 kids
• ODRs reduced by 34%
• 70 Fs (75% decrease)
• 99% completion rate. 
• How to be a Transformative Principal? Servant Leadership - Serve your people better. 

About Garett Cook

Garett Cook has dedicated 15 years of his life to education, with nine of those years as a principal. His journey in education has taken him to various states, including Kansas, Missouri, and Texas, where he has left a lasting impact as an educator. Cook's core value is to be a positive influence on all individuals he interacts with, serving others through his actions. He strives to live out his faith in God through his daily walk, aiming to inspire and uplift those around him. Cook's passion for education and his unwavering commitment to serving others have made him a respected and valued leader in the field. See his previous interview here on Transformative Principal.

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.

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.

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