This episode is a special episode from UDL-Con, powered by CAST. CAST just released the Guidelines for (Universal Design for Learning) UDL 3.0, which you can find here. If you don't know what UDL is, it's a way to make learning accessible for everyone! You can check out more about the webinars here.

Enjoy this special episode.

In this special episode recorded live at the  UDL-Con: International Conference, host Jethro Jones interviews Shelley Berman, Chair of the Board at CAST, about the transformative nature of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). They explore how UDL shifts the educational focus from fixing students to fixing the educational system itself, emphasizing the importance of creating responsive and empowering learning environments.

00:00 Introduction to UDL Con and Shelley Berman

01:36 The Life-Changing Impact of UDL

13:30 Shifting Perspectives from Students to Systems

08:15 The Importance of Knowing the Students

12:47 Creating Empowering Learning Environments

16:48 Making Meaning in Education

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.

• Teaching distance before COVID
• English as a foreign language virtually and in person. 
• How COVID remote learning laid the groundwork for virtual wellness
• Student Wellness for the internet
• Developing a personal relationship with AI that is based on curiosity and skepticism. 
• Mindful adoption of technology
• AI as a spectrum
• Where AI brings out YOU!
• It’s not about how you USE this tech, it’s about how it augments you personally. 
• What are the things AI can help you with and what are you already doing? 
• How to be a transformative principal? Bring intention to your digital environments and interactions.  

About Seth Fleischauer

Seth is the president of Banyan Global Learning, which he founded in 2008 after teaching elementary school via NYC Teaching Fellows. With Banyan, Seth helps schools leverage technology for teacher and student wellness, including with AI Literacy PD for teachers and live virtual programs for students. Seth's programs have reached more than 10,000 students on three continents and touched the lives of teachers globally. He is a frequent presenter at elite edtech conferences and the host of two podcasts: "Make It Mindful: An Education Podcast" and "Why Distance Learning?"

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.

This episode is a special episode from UDL-Con, powered by CAST. CAST just released the Guidelines for (Universal Design for Learning) UDL 3.0, which you can find here. If you don't know what UDL is, it's a way to make learning accessible for everyone! You can check out more about the webinars here.

Enjoy this special episode.

In this episode Jethro Jones interviews Lindsay Jones, CEO of CAST, during the UDL-Con: International Conference. They discuss the importance of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), the significance of in-person collaboration, and CAST's mission for the future.

00:00 Introduction to the UDL Conference

01:11 The Impact of UDL and the Conference Experience

02:16 Future Directions for CAST and UDL Guidelines 3.0

03:49 The Three Main Focuses: Lead, Inspire, Convene

07:23 Real-World Applications and Stories of UDL

09:51 The Importance of In-Person Attendance at the Conference

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.

This episode is a special episode from UDL-Con, powered by CAST. CAST just released the Guidelines for (Universal Design for Learning) UDL 3.0, which you can find here. If you don't know what UDL is, it's a way to make learning accessible for everyone! You can check out more about the webinars here.

Enjoy this special episode.

In this episode of Transformative Principal, host Jethro Jones interviews Andratesha Fritzgerald live at the UDL-Con: International Conference. They discuss the concept of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and its significance in making learning accessible to all students. Fritzgerald discusses the Instructional Practice Interrogation protocol, explaining how it helps educators identify and address barriers in teaching strategies. The conversation also touches on the importance of community in UDL and how traditional practices can be interrogated and adapted for better learning outcomes.

Get in touch with Andratesha: [email protected]

00:00 Introduction to UDL and CAST UDL Con

01:08 Interview with Andratesha Fritzgerald

01:45 Instructional Practice Interrogation Protocol

02:44 Identifying and Addressing Harm in Education

04:42 Setting Up Community for UDL

08:16 Learning Objectives in Inquiry-Based Learning

07:18 Power of Community in Learning

14:58 Closing and Connecting with Andratesha

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.

• Vital in an education setting to experience what life is like without a phone
• How you develop character through whether you’re using a phone or not. 
• How to help teachers not be phone police.
• Support throughout the whole process
• Common complaints about schools
• Resetting expectations about structures
• School taking a constructive approach to support student growth and development
• How to do a rollout. 
• Classroom vs. School phone free spaces. 
• Tier 1 support worked better, but needs more communication.
• Accompanied by a strong and clear policy and then following through. 
• More and more students are open to the idea of being phone free. 
• Kids are aware that being connected all the time may not be beneficial.
• Yes, you can teach, but they need to actually do. 
• Clarity and community buy-in. 

Graham Dugoni is the founder and CEO of Yondr. Since starting the company in 2014,

he has been a leading voice in the emerging conversation about the effects of phones

on society and mental health. Graham coined the terms “phone-free spaces” and

“phone-free schools.” He is the product designer of the Yondr pouch and the Home

Tray. His mission-driven mindset keeps the company focused on meaningful ways to

help educators, artists, and organizations worldwide create distraction-free

environments where focus and creativity can flourish without technology. Graham is a

former professional soccer player and a graduate of Duke University.

Please add questions that we would ask here, and you can add anything that you would like to add as well. 

• How did you come up with the idea?
• How did you convert this idea into a business?
• How many schools/students use Yondr, and in how many countries?
• Was there any particular moment which stood out to you early on,  when it became very clear that phone-free spaces would become incredibly important in the future?
• Tell us about the different spaces that Yondr makes phone-free.
• Why do you think phone-free schools are important?
• What do you say to people who say that banning phones in schools does not teach young people how to become responsible digital citizens?
• Yondr is a program and not a product. Why is this an important distinction, and can you explain how this works?
• What do students say about Yondr?

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.

• Giving UDL away for free
• Building products through grants
• People think UDL is static, but it isn’t. 
• Identity is important. 
• UDL is human centric, not student centric.
• How UDL invites students to take ownership of their learning experiences. 
• Do you feel behind? 
• “What if I could have gone through school feeling unencumbered?” 
• Expert Learners vs. executive functioning
• Bounded autonomy. 
• Assumptions about student learning. 
• Joy Zabala - You can’t boil the ocean
• UDL Con is an Experience
• AI, Accessibility, 
• UDL Guidelines 3.0
• UDL Con - where the guidelines will be released. 
• CAST.org - check out the projects and resources. 
• How to be a transformative principal? Ghostwalks - walk with nobody there in your school. What is being said by what is on the walls and in the classroom. 

About Bryan Dean

Bryan Dean is CAST's Innovation Specialist. Bryan has been working with hard-to-reach students with emotional impairments, conduct disorder, behavioral difficulties, and low interest for more than 20 years. Bryan has experience designing professional learning around learner experience design, specially-designed instruction, Universal Design for Learning, new teacher induction, Design Thinking, deep learning, and strategies for students in emotional dysregulation. In addition to the designing of professional learning, he has designed virtual learning environments, worked on longitudinal system implementation and design, designed organizational culture and climate/culture change models, and developed a unique UDL coaching system based on appreciative and ontological coaching matrices.

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.

• ShouldStorm - Culture of perfectionism and criticism
• We as parents want to do what is best for our kids, but we are bombarded by everyone telling us what we should and should not do. 
• Finding the “right” answer.
• Defining “expert”
• How the ShouldStorm impacts our kids
• We like to blame social media, but it really comes from what we talk about in our communities. 
• What matters is not the college but the student.
• If you play someone else’s game, you will always lose, if you’re playing your own game, you can’t lose. 
• Sigh, See, Start: transitions you from the anxiety of the ShouldStorm, to connection with your kids. 
• The sigh is a built-in mechanism in our bodies, breathe out long and slow - sends a message to our body that we are OK. 
• Vagus nerve turns on prefrontal cortex. 
• See - moment of mindfulness - see your child. Noticing, not doing. 
• Start - run an experiment about how to help the situation. 
• Built on a faith that is scientifically grounded, you (and your kids) are more capable than you think (and than the world will tell you are). 
• Emphasizing repair

Alison Escalante, M.D., is a pediatrician, speaker, and author of Sigh, See, Start: How to Be the Parent Your Child Needs in a World That Won’t Stop Pushing. In a perfectionistic parenting culture that tells you that you are never enough no matter how much you do for your kids, this unique approach empowers you with a simple parenting technique to gain confidence, remain grounded, and connect positively with your children.

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.

Dr. Joshua Barnett is an educational thought leader who has spent his career working to improve the effectiveness of teacher leaders. In an interview, he discussed how teacher leaders can establish trust, develop deep instructional knowledge, and build credibility with their colleagues. He also shared his thoughts on why the teaching profession is challenged with recruitment and turnover and how teacher leaders can be a key solution to helping principals manage the teaching situation. Barnett emphasized the importance of getting it right, rather than being right, and reminded us that localized solutions are often the most effective.

• Bringing professional learning to effective teacher leaders. 
• Supported over 300,000 educators and 3.5 million students
• How teacher leadership matters. 
• Engage with and serve as the bridge between the leadership team and the rest of the school
• Provide instructional support - 
• Collaboration with other teachers
• Coaching other adults
• Instructional feedback
• 1. Establish trust
• 2. Deep instructional knowledge
  • Identify the needs of other adults
• 3. Credibility
  • Ownership of their learning
  • How do we help them take ownership of their learning
  • What is the expectation that teachers have by going?
  • Autonomy, capacity, and support
  • Teacher leader as conduit from national/regional training. 
  • The only learning that is valued is the “approved” learning. 
  • System-wide approach to help teacher leaders take on an approach
  • Why is our profession challenged with recruitment and turnover. 
  • Committed to building educator effectiveness. 
  • Practical conversations - teacher leaders are a key solution to helping principals manage the teaching situation. 
• Get it right, rather than being right. 
• Reminded vs. instructed.
• Localized solutions.
• How the role of the principal plays into this paradigm. 
• District-based certification model
• How to be a transformative principal? Key strategy is to rely on teacher leaders for success. Giving them the time to go through the building and have a conversation. 

Dr. Joshua Barnett is NIET's chief executive officer, responsible for overseeing all of the organization's operations including service delivery, research and evaluation, professional learning and learning technology development, policy and communications, financial operations, and higher education partnerships. He is also the author of Unleashing Teacher Leadership: A Toolkit for Ensuring Effective Instruction in Every Classroom 

Previously, Josh served as president and chief operating officer for NIET, where he supported NIET partnerships with strategic oversight of research, NIET's higher education innovation, and service delivery. He was also the principal leader and investigator for NIET's successful federal projects. He has been with NIET since January 2013 when he joined as the organization's senior vice president of research and evaluation. In that role, he led NIET's research agenda and production of evidentiary support for all initiatives and grant programs. He also directed all external evaluation projects and research services.

Josh's research work throughout his career has explored how to improve educator quality in all schools for all students by addressing two related issues: examining how teachers and principals are evaluated and how resources are distributed to and used within schools.

Before joining NIET, Josh worked as an assistant professor of education policy and evaluation at Arizona State University, a visiting scholar at Massey University in New Zealand and a research associate in the Office for Education Policy at the University of Arkansas.

Josh has taught courses in research methods, school finance, evaluation, and educational psychology; worked as an evaluator for nearly three dozen federal and state grants; served as an evaluator for the U.S. Institute of Education Sciences; and worked with local, state and national government agencies and organizations on projects aimed at improving educator effectiveness.

He is author of Unleashing Teacher Leadership: A Toolkit for Ensuring Effective Instruction in Every Classroom and has been published in a variety of outlets, including Review of Educational Research, Teachers College Record, Educational Leadership, New Zealand Education Review, and Issues in Teacher Education. He is also co-author of A Straightforward Guide to Teacher Merit Pay: Encouraging and Rewarding Schoolwide Improvement and Learning on the Job: How Evaluation Systems Can Support Teacher Growth.

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.

In this informative interview, Jennifer Jennings, a school communication specialist, discusses the crucial role of effective communication in schools. She emphasizes the significance of building trust and engaging parents and the community through transparent and informative communication. Jennings provides practical strategies to help schools develop an overall communication plan, showcase their positive aspects, and avoid overwhelming their audience with excessive information. She also shares successful examples of schools that have implemented effective communication strategies, such as utilizing visual displays, digital signage, and a variety of communication channels.

• Why communication with the community is so important. 
• How schools can communicate more effectively. 
• Schools need to have an overall communication plan. 
• Consistent message
• Consistent branding
• Showcase your school in the best light possible. 
• Don’t bombard people. 
• having visual displays has increased attendance at clubs, sport games, and events. Cannon Falls.
• Digital signage is a great way to expand on a school’s safety plan: see Necedah Schools in Wisconsin.
• New Prague in Minnesota
• AppleTV as a PBIS Motivator
• If it’s not easy, people aren’t going to do it. 
• Start in a small, manageable way. 
• Set up your system so you can delegate properly. 
• Make it part of your weekly routine so it is used consistently and routinely. 
• Involve people who are excited about it. 
• How to be a transformative principal? Find one person who loves graphic design and get them involved in creating content. 
• Connect with Jennifer Jennings

About Jennifer Jennings

Jennifer Jennings is a seasoned growth marketing manager with over a year of experience at Rise Vision, the leading digital signage software for K-12 schools. With a keen understanding of the education landscape, Jennifer is passionate about leveraging technology to enhance school communication, safety measures, and the overall school atmosphere.

Throughout her tenure at Rise Vision, Jennifer has worked closely with schools to understand their unique challenges and develop customized solutions. Her expertise lies in identifying communication gaps, creating positive school cultures, and implementing strategies to increase building security. Jennifer is known for her ability to translate complex technical concepts into accessible and actionable insights for school administrators and educators.

As a thought leader in the edtech industry, Jennifer is frequently sought out as a speaker at conferences and events. Her insights on the intersection of technology and education have been featured in various publications and media outlets. Jennifer's dedication to improving the learning environment for students and educators alike has made her a valuable asset to Rise Vision and the education community at large.

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.

Welcome to Transformative Principal. Today, we are joined by Dr. Kenny Rodrequez, Superintendent of Grandview C-4 School District in Missouri. With over two decades of educational leadership experience, Dr. Rodrequez has been a pivotal figure in driving innovative strategies to enhance school culture and student success. His dedication to fostering an inclusive and dynamic learning environment makes him an ideal guest as we explore the transformative potential of AI in building district culture. 

Why using specific AI Agents is valuable for our work. 

• How to engage with staff differently
• 600 staff members
• Lebra is an engagement tool. 
• Automatically creates a prompt for me
• Because it knows our vision and plans, it incorporates those things into what we do. 
• Between the work anniversaries and birthdays, it’s communicating 10-15 people per day.
• Understanding what we are focused on in our district.
• Being able to build relationships and culture through small simple acts. 
• There’s just not enough time in the day.
• How using Lebra is improving the culture. 
• Feedback from staff receiving AI messages
• Leveraging technology to make you successful.
• How to be a transformative principal? Stop and take a breath. Improve one connection every day. 

About Kenny Rodrequez

Dr. Kenny Rodrequez became Superintendent of the Grandview C-4 School District in July 2016.

Before serving as Superintendent, Dr. Rodrequez served for two years as the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction in the Grandview C-4 School District. His responsibilities included the direction and overall delivery of K-12 curriculum programs, the developing, implementing, and evaluation of educational services for the district, and providing leadership for all Elementary and Secondary schools. 

Dr. Rodrequez has served in several capacities throughout his career. He was a music educator for 8 years in two different states, including being a band director, percussion instructor, and district music resource teacher.

Dr. Rodrequez moved into school administration more than 10 years ago and has held site level positions of assistant principal and principal before moving into district-level positions of director and assistant superintendent.

He was selected to create and implement the first Early College High School program in Tulsa through a partnership with Tulsa Community College. He directed the Tulsa Innovative School network, which served 1,200 plus students in grades K-12, and served as a lead examiner for the Oklahoma Quality Award Foundation, based upon the Baldrige process.

In both Oklahoma and Missouri, he has done extensive work on the implementation of new teacher evaluation systems in an effort to raise academic achievement and build collaborative relationships between teachers and administrators.

Dr. Rodrequez has a Bachelors degree from Oklahoma State University in Music Education, a Master of Science degree from Oklahoma State University in School Leadership, and completed his Doctorate degree from Baker University in School Administration.

He has been happily married for more than 25 years to his wife Tracie. They have two wonderful children, Izzy and Jackson.

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.