Date & Time: Tuesday, August 20th at 2 pm ET

Schools and districts are under increasing pressure to align education with practical skill development, ensuring students are equipped for the workforce. This webinar will delve into innovative strategies for integrating STEM and Career Technical Education (CTE), arming students with foundational skills for a variety of careers—from technical roles to engineering positions.

A panel of experts will explore how to leverage school facilities and data as educational tools, and share insights from Hardin County Schools, where district leaders have implemented experiential learning opportunities and certification programs in their schools.

Topics will include:

• New approaches to integrate STEM and CTE learning through certifications
• How to implement experiential learning opportunities and certification programs in schools for little or no cost
• How to build a career readiness program that equips students for high-demand fields

Presenters

Roger Tadajewski, Executive Director, National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3)

Ben Sego, Board Member, Hardin County Schools (Ky.), Former NASA contractor

Michael Hines, Education Leader, Trane by Trane Technologies

Register Now

Sponsored by

The post From Classroom to Career: How Certifications Enable Practical STEM Learning and CTE Readiness appeared first on District Administration.

The mystery is explained in the latest episode of District Administration‘s Talking Out of School podcast by Lindsay E. Jones, one of the leading voices on the Universal Design for Learning, also known as UDL. Jones, the CEO of CAST and a District Administration Top 100 influencer in education, works with school leaders, teachers and researchers to design learner-centered and inclusive education systems, anchored in UDL.

“Universal Design for Learning is an evidence-based framework that educators, curriculum developers—any type of learning experience designer—can use to help them reach all of the brains that they’re trying to reach,” Jones tells the Talking Out of School team.

Superintendent turnover: Hiring slowed but did not stop before the 4th

UDL is perhaps as relevant as ever as educators seek to individualize rigorous instruction for an ever more diverse population of students. “We have a history of segregating students, either for disabilities or race or other reasons,” Jones explains. “And what Universal Design for Learning does is provide an evidence-based way to acknowledge what neuroscience tells us, which is that every brain is as different as a fingerprint.”

Jones and her team at CAST are now focusing more closely on integrating UDL into career and technical education programs. A few key CTE areas are bio-manufacturing, teaching math and science with drones and “rural, outdoor education.”

CAST also assists districts with procuring accessible edtech and works with edtech vendors to certify products based on UDL principles. Resources for these, and many other topics, can be found on CAST’s website.

“Universal Design for Learning is a way that educators and school districts can prepare and design intentionally for all of the students coming into their rooms,” she concludes.

Listen to the podcast below, or on Apple, Podbean or Spotify.

The post Universal Design for Learning: Why it’s so powerful appeared first on District Administration.

Date & Time: Wednesday, August 7th at 2 pm ET

AI-driven edtech has the potential to revolutionize K-12 education. In this insightful roundtable discussion, a leading superintendent will share how their district is successfully integrating AI and the positive impact it’s having in their schools. 

Also on the panel will be thought leaders from Owl Ventures, Amira Learning and Istation, who will discuss the recent merger of these innovative edtech providers, and how future AI-powered technologies will impact K-12 teaching and learning.  

Presenters

Rich Watson, CRO, Istation 

Mark Angel, CEO, Amira Learning 

Amit Patel, Managing Director, Owl Ventures 

Register Now

Sponsored by

The post Harnessing AI: Merging Innovation with Strategy for District-Wide Impact appeared first on District Administration.

Date & Time: Thursday, July 18th at 2 pm ET

Join us for an insightful webinar where innovative district leaders share their strategies for integrating AI (artificial intelligence) into education practices and strategies this fall. Engage in this dynamic discussion with superintendents who are at the forefront of using AI to transform education. Hear how district guidelines have been established and staff are being trained in AI literacy across the country.

Discover how personalized learning, AI-driven chatbots, and smart assessment tools are revolutionizing teaching and learning, making tasks more efficient, and bringing joy back to the classroom, while improving communication.

Learn about AI’s role in improving student engagement and attendance, and how it helps recruit and retain tech-savvy staff. What can you expect for this fall with AI enhancements in school districts? Come find out!

Presenters

Dr. Sabba Quidwai, CEO, Designing Schools

Dr. Matthew Friedman, Superintendent of Schools Quakertown Community School District

Dr. Michael Nagler, Superintendent of Mineola UFSD, COSN Superintendent of the Year, Author

Jennifer Womble (Moderator), Conference Chair, Future of Education Technology Conference 

Register Now

Sponsored by

The post Transforming Education: How District Leaders are Incorporating AI This Fall appeared first on District Administration.

Date & Time: Thursday, August 15th at 2 pm ET

The education sector stands on the brink of a significant transformation—moving from an era dominated by paper to one powered by digital solutions. This shift promises not only to revolutionize the way we manage documents but also to redefine the operational efficiency within our schools and school systems.  

In this webinar, the CTO of the School District of Manatee County will discuss how his school system transformed its own document management system through an innovative strategic blueprint, a mobile mass scanning fleet, and a close partnership between district leadership and school site staff.  

If the transition from paper to digital document management feels overwhelming and confusing for you and your team, this webinar is not to be missed. 

Presenters

Scott A. Hansen, Chief Technology Officer, School District of Manatee County 

Marshall Simmonds, Vice President, Scribbles Software 

Scott Francis, Technology Evangelist, PFU America, a Ricoh Group company 

Watch Now

Sponsored by

The post Making the Switch: Digital Transformation in K-12 Records Management appeared first on District Administration.

Date & Time: Thursday, August 1st at 2 pm ET

AI-powered edtech has the potential to help educators address many long-standing challenges, but there are some important keys to consider before making decisions about which tools to implement in a school or district.

In this 20-minute DA Ed Talk, an AI and K-12 researcher will share some best practices to evaluate AI tools for their safety, recommendations for education leaders to guide discussions about the responsible use of AI, and provide a downloadable checklist of key considerations and questions to ask as you explore the potential of new AI technologies. 

Presenter

Leigh Hall, Ph.D., Director of Research, Merlyn Mind

Register Now

Sponsored by

The post Key Considerations for Evaluating AI Edtech Tools appeared first on District Administration.

“It’s remarkable to see the trends and the patterns that are uniform regardless of where you are geographically, regardless of the demographics of your community,” Cutler says. “There are a lot of parallels.”

Interventions is one of Paper’s specialties and artificial intelligence now plays a bigger role in personalization. Not long ago, Cutler points out, many districts were scrambling to ban AI. “Now the pendulum has swung to the other end and they’re saying how do we use [AI] to be as efficient as possible,” he says.

AI is beginning to transform instruction by allowing teachers to further personalize instruction based on each student’s interests and analyze assessment results more insightfully.

“It’s one thing to assign a quiz that’s been generated by AI but now if you can analyze the results and recommend interventions and what the next steps are for each student, you’re doing a lot of the hard work that’s time-consuming for a teacher,” he continues. “You’re letting teachers do what they’re best at, which is teaching. There’s going to be a lot more of that coming.”

Near the end of our interview, Cutler also touches on what surprised him in the Leadership Voices series, including just how much education has—or hasn’t—changed since the pandemic. “It’s four years later and school looks the same in a lot of cases as it did in 2019,” he noted. “A lot of the problems are the same problems we were dealing with. We haven’t transformed the way schools operate the way a lot of these superintendents thought we would.”

You can listen to this episode at any time on Apple, Spotify, Podbean or down below.

The post Talking out of School Podcast: What’s top of mind for 15 superintendents appeared first on District Administration.

Date & Time: Wednesday, July 17th at 2 pm ET

Research has shown the benefits of social and emotional learning (SEL) include improved academic achievement, better emotional well-being, and long-term student success. But how can teachers incorporate SEL in an already crowded school day?

The science classroom can provide some surprising ways to teach students social and emotional skills across grades K-12.

In this 20-minute Ed Talk, an educator and professional learning consultant will share four strategies for integrating SEL into science instruction, helping students at any grade level to develop both academically and emotionally.

Topics will include:

• The five core SEL competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making
• Using hands-on science activities that require collaboration and problem-solving to build SEL skills
• Leveraging tools and research from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) to enhance SEL initiatives
• Adopting science standards that promote science and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, and crosscutting concepts to foster soft skills development

Presenter

Hoover Herrera, National Science Consultant, Carolina Science

Register Now

Sponsored by

The post Integrating SEL Into K-12 Science Instruction appeared first on District Administration.

If you’re a superintendent or administrator trying to tackle public relations, this week’s guests on District Administration’s “Talking Out of School” podcast are here to help. Lynette White is the district and community relations coordinator at the Banning Unified School District and Renae Bryant is the director of plurilingual services at Anaheim Union High School District.

These California educators host “The Ed Branding Podcast” and co-wrote The Ed Branding Book: How to Build Educational Leadership with Social Influence and their areas of expertise are becoming crucial skills for K12 leaders to master—considering challenges such as declining enrollment and politicization. But, White warns, don’t try to tell your story with “make-it-free” marketing.

It takes an intentional strategy to define your brand and engage your community on social media, she says. “There are a lot of negative things that are always out there about public education,” White continues. “It’s important for us to share the amazing things our teachers and our students are doing in classrooms every day.”

It’s not just superintendents—or their public information and communications officers—who need to tell their district’s story. Leaders must encourage teachers, school board members, community members and other stakeholders to get involved in K12 branding and marketing on their various channels. Bryant, for example, has recently been busy promoting her district’s extensive dual-language programs and parent involvement in Anaheim Union’s community schools.

It’s not a given that communities know what happening inside public schools. “We make a lot of assumptions in education: ‘Oh, they know this, oh they know what,'” she attests. “We’re in a state now with public education where we need to be very explicit about the very good work we do and how we are helping scholars, staff and families and community on a daily basis.”

Superintendents and their teams should shy not away from using social media, particularly LinkedIn and Instagram. “It’s a space in education that we have to be in,” she explains. “My advice is to make that feed positive. … it’s hard to get mad at the teacher who’s posting amazing things that are going on in their classroom and is purely focused on what they’re ding for their students.”

Listen to the podcast below, or on Apple, Podbean or Spotify.

The post K12 branding and marketing: Why they’re more important than ever appeared first on District Administration.

There’s still work to be done surrounding digital access, explains InnovateEDU cofounder and CEO Erin Mote in this episode of the “Talking Out of School Podcast.” She says inequities still exist outside classroom walls.

“I still see kids in the middle of Brooklyn doing their homework in a Taco Bell parking lot so they can get access to WiFi,” says Mote, who was recently named one of DA’s Top 100 Influencers in education.

It’s far too early to pat ourselves on the back and say “mission accomplished,” she adds. However, there are several ways educators can begin pioneering initiatives to close the digital access divide in their own schools.

She also speaks about what educators are saying about artificial intelligence and the importance of upskilling teachers so that they can use these tools to supplement their instruction without letting innovative technologies replace educators.

Learn more by listening to the podcast below, or on Apple, Podbean or Spotify.

The post ‘Talking Out of School Podcast’: Closing the digital access divide appeared first on District Administration.