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Voices for Excellence

Dr. Michael T Conner

Welcome to Voices for Excellence, hosted by Dr. Michael Conners, where we explore the dynamic world of education, leadership, and innovation. This podcast offers in-depth conversations with thought leaders, educators, and industry experts, providing listeners with actionable insights and strategies to drive excellence in their fields.

Season 3 continues our journey with a focus on cutting-edge topics like diversity in education, equality and inclusion, the impact of AI in the classroom, and transformative leadership strategies. Each episode is designed to inspire educators, leaders, and professionals committed to fostering positive change and achieving outstanding results.

Across all seasons, Voices for Excellence delves into:

Innovative educational practices and strategies
Leadership development and personal growth
Diversity and inclusion in the educational landscape
The role of technology and AI in modern learning environments

Join us for thought-provoking discussions and gain valuable perspectives on how to excel in today’s rapidly evolving world. Whether you’re an educator, a leader, or simply passionate about making a difference, this podcast provides the tools and inspiration you need to elevate your impact.

Subscribe to Voices for Excellence and stay at the forefront of educational and leadership excellence!

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S4 · E135
Monday · 1 hr
Teachers as life coaches in the AC-Stage of education with Dr. Erika Twani
What if students spent less of the school day waiting for directions and more of it learning how to direct themselves? Erika Twani wants educators to ask that question. Her own calculation puts a student’s time in school at 16,800 hours. The more important question, she says, is what students are doing with those hours. In this episode of Voices for Excellence, Dr. Michael Conner welcomes Erika Twani, CEO of the Learning One to One Foundation, TEDx speaker, and author of Becoming Einstein’s Teacher and The Einstein Mindset, to explore what student agency can look like in practice. A visit to a rural school, where teachers had invested in the agency of a blind student, helped shape the work she would go on to build: the Relational Learning Framework. For leaders looking to give students more ownership of their learning, this conversation offers a place to start. What you’ll learn in this episode: How six steps and four levels of autonomy can help students take greater ownership of their learning Why Twani says meaningful change starts in classrooms rather than waiting for policy What a Michael Phelps story from the 2008 Olympics reveals about teachers as life coaches What educators need to understand about AI and the changing job market Listen for a practical vision of student agency. Stay for Twani’s poem “What If,” her answer to Conner’s signature song question, and a reminder to keep your love of learning. Connect with Erika Twani: et@erikatwani.com | learning1to1.org | erikatwani.com
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S4 · E134
October 5 · 42 min
Three Cs for leadership: credibility, competence, convincing with Dr. L. Oliver Robinson
What does it take to lead with conviction when fear, politics, and constant change are shaping education? In this episode of Voices for Excellence, Dr. Michael Conner sits down with veteran superintendent, executive coach, and founder of 2EDUK8, LLC, Dr. L. Oliver Robinson. Drawing on more than two decades as a superintendent, Dr. Robinson shares a practical philosophy for building stronger leaders, more coherent systems, and better outcomes for every student. Together, they explore how education leaders can identify their North Star, turn challenges into opportunities, and avoid making decisions from a place of fear. Dr. Robinson also explains why successful systems depend on conviction, thoughtful leadership, and the courage to act with purpose, even when the path forward is difficult. The conversation also examines representation in education, the responsibility to create opportunities for every child, and the role AI can play as a “co-intelligence” tool. Rather than using technology simply to produce more, Dr. Robinson challenges leaders to use it to improve quality, strengthen decision-making, and prepare their organizations for what comes next. In this episode, you’ll discover: How to systematize success across an organization Why every leader needs a clearly defined North Star The three qualities Dr. Robinson believes effective leaders must cultivate How representation can strengthen students’ sense of possibility Why AI should help educators create better work—not just more work What decades of leadership taught him about culture, conviction, and change Dr. Robinson leaves listeners with three essential words for the future of educational leadership: credibility, competence, and convincing.
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S4 · E133
September 21 · 1 hr 5 min
Why AI bans fail the students who need access most with Dr Jeanene Stettner-Dutt
What if preparing students for the future means changing not only the tools in the classroom, but the way education thinks about leadership, learning, and change? Dr Jeanene Stettner-Dutt joins Dr Michael Conner for a timely conversation about leading schools through uncertainty without losing sight of the people at their centre. With experience spanning the classroom, principalship, curriculum leadership, and the superintendency, Jeanene brings a practitioner’s perspective to the pressures facing education, from the rise of AI to the changing expectations of Generation Alpha. This is a conversation for leaders who know that simply keeping an organisation functioning is no longer enough. Jeanene challenges educators to think more intentionally, design learning that feels relevant, and create cultures capable of adapting before change becomes a crisis. If you are asking how schools can embrace progress responsibly while continuing to put students first, this episode offers a grounded and hopeful place to begin.
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S4 · E132
September 7 · 1 hr 6 min
Tornado, Pandemic, Boardroom: Crisis Leadership in Education with Dr. Donna Wright
Why do women make up most of the education workforce, yet remain dramatically underrepresented in the superintendent’s chair? In this episode of Voices for Excellence, Dr. Michael T. Conner welcomes Dr. Donna Wright, 2020 Tennessee Superintendent of the Year and Lead Superintendent for the AASA National Women’s Leadership Consortium, for a candid conversation about crisis leadership, sponsorship, and the structural barriers shaping who gets to lead school systems. Drawing on more than 40 years in education, Dr. Wright shares what it took to guide Wilson County Schools through an F3 tornado that destroyed two campuses, and then through the COVID shutdown just two weeks later. Her experience reveals a model of leadership grounded in presence, courage, adaptability, and trust. The conversation also confronts a persistent imbalance: women represent 76% of teachers and 54% of principals, but only 27% of superintendents. Dr. Wright challenges the familiar explanations of pipeline, promotion, and persistence, arguing that they are symptoms of a deeper system that keeps women present without propelling them forward. Together, Dr. Conner and Dr. Wright explore why sponsorship matters, how leaders are “tapped” for advancement, and what ethical, inventive leadership will require as education moves toward AC2035. Tune in for a powerful discussion about leading through crisis, changing the architecture of opportunity, and creating a future in which talent, not access to the right networks, determines who gets to lead.
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S4 · E131
August 24 · 41 min
Partner for capacity, not programs: Dr. Melissa Sadorf's four rules for rural districts.
What does it look like when rural education leads, not waits? Dr. Michael Conner welcomes Dr. Melissa Sadorf, executive director of the National Rural Education Association (NREA), the oldest national education organization in the country, founded in 1907. In her first year leading NREA, Dr. Sadorf is rolling out the organisation's first-ever five-year strategic plan, and reframing what rural schools are truly capable of. In this conversation, you'll hear why the rural superintendent's many roles aren't a weakness, but a structural advantage. Dr. Sadorf shares four approaches for building lasting capacity without new money, explains how competitive federal AI grants quietly manufacture the very gap they claim to solve, and lays out what a formula-based fix could look like. She also introduces NREA's National Rural Principal Fellowship, preparing up to 30 leaders beginning at this year's NFARE conference.
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S4 · E130
August 10 · 31 min
Raising Kids Who Guide AI, with Dr. Antoinette Gutierrez
Most leaders are trained in strategy, systems, and skills. Almost none are taught to deal with themselves first. In this episode of Voices for Excellence, Dr. Michael Conner is joined by Dr. Antoinette Gutierrez, educational leader, consultant, author, and founder of the CALSA Coachella Valley chapter, for a deeply personal and deeply practical conversation about what it means to lead from a place of wholeness. Dr. Gutierrez's new book, Healing for Leadership: How Emotionally Intelligent Leaders Build Safe, Resilient Teams, makes the case that real leadership begins with the interior work most of us are never taught to do. She has spent her career at the intersection of emotional intelligence, equity, and school leadership, and she brings that depth to every moment of this conversation. What unfolds is not a call for softer leadership. It is a call for harder leadership, the kind that demands enough self-awareness to hold steady space for others, enough courage to hold the line with love, and enough honesty to ask the questions most leaders avoid. Dr. Conner and Dr. Gutierrez also turn their attention to the generation coming up behind us: Generation Alpha and Generation Beta, the first true AI natives, and the most volatile generation on record for mental health. What does healing leadership look like when the students we are serving are growing up in a world we barely understand?
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S4 · E129
July 27 · 1 hr
Making AI a core language, not an elective with Dr. Rick Fernandez
Every so often, a conversation cuts through the noise and gets to the heart of what education leadership demands right now. This is one of those conversations. In this episode, Dr. Michael T. Conner is joined by Dr. Rick Fernandez, former superintendent, former high school principal, Chief Growth Officer at BlueKit Software, and co-host of the Boyz of EdTech podcast, for a powerful discussion on leadership, data, competition, and the future of learning. Dr. Fernandez brings a grounded, unfiltered perspective on the realities facing school districts today. From the pressure of school choice and vouchers to the blind spots hidden inside district data, he challenges leaders to think more honestly about what their systems know, what they assume, and what families are really asking for. This is not a surface-level conversation about trends. It is a call for sharper thinking, stronger systems, and a deeper commitment to preparing students for a future already being reshaped by artificial intelligence. Dr. Conner and Dr. Fernandez move with urgency, humor, and candor through the kinds of questions education leaders cannot afford to avoid. If you are a superintendent, principal, district leader, educator, or anyone invested in the future of public education, this episode will push your thinking and leave you with plenty to sit with. Dr. Fernandez’s challenge for the next generation comes down to three words: curiosity, consistency, and entrepreneurship.
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S4 · E128
July 13 · 53 min
Mastery Over Method: How Richmond County Redesigned Grading for the AI Era
What does it really take to build a school system ready for the future? In this episode of Voices for Excellence, Dr. Michael Conner welcomes Dr. Tommy Welch, Deputy Superintendent of School Improvement and Strategic Initiatives for Richmond County School System, for an energising conversation about continuous improvement, artificial intelligence, and the leadership required to serve every learner well. This is not a story about chasing the next trend. It is about a district choosing to think differently about growth, mastery, opportunity, and readiness. Richmond County is reimagining how data is used, how grading reflects learning, how AI belongs inside instruction, and how schools can create stronger pathways through STEM, CTAE, and dual enrollment. At the centre of the conversation is a powerful idea: continuous improvement is not a programme. It is a mindset. And in a district marked by both wealth and poverty, that mindset matters. Tune in to hear how Richmond County is building the systems, culture, and courage to prepare students not just for graduation, but for the world ahead.
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S4 · E127
June 29 · 58 min
Interoperability, AI Sobriety, and the Data Warehouse with Daniel Crook
Daniel Crook, founder of School Harbor and co-founder of AEG Systems, joins Dr. Michael Conner for a direct, infrastructure-first conversation about what K–12 districts are getting wrong about AI adoption. Daniel has spent years working inside the systems that districts rely on to manage data, make decisions, and integrate technology at scale. His assessment is clear: the AI problem in education isn't a platform problem, it's a foundation problem. Too many districts are evaluating AI tools before they've built the data infrastructure that would allow those tools to function effectively. In this episode, Daniel walks through why the data warehouse is the non-negotiable starting point, what interoperability actually requires in practice, not in theory, and the three criteria every district leader should apply before selecting or expanding any AI platform. He also introduces the concept of AI sobriety: an implementation philosophy that grounds strategy in the technology's current capabilities rather than its projected future state. The conversation also touches on the Netflix analogy for understanding where edtech sits in the broader AI development cycle, and why the districts building administrative intelligence now will have a significant structural advantage over those still chasing student-facing tool count. A grounded, no-hype episode for superintendents, CTOs, instructional technology leads, and anyone responsible for AI strategy in K–12 education. Episode 127 | Voices for Excellence
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S4 · E126
June 15 · 48 min
Coding Is the New Cursive: Why Every Kid Needs It (And It's Not About Software Engineering) | Stewart Brown
Today's kindergartners will retire in 2082, but are we preparing them for that world or ours? In this episode, Dr. Michael Conner sits down with Stewart Brown, Director of Partnerships at Code4Kids, to challenge the "21st century" trap that's already widening the gap for Generation Alpha and Beta. Stewart and Michael dig into why coding is becoming as essential as cursive, a fundamental literacy every student needs, not just a technical skill for future developers. They explore how cross-curricular computer science can bridge math, science, arts, and social studies, and why the education system urgently needs to move beyond outdated frameworks and embrace what Stewart calls 22nd-century thinking. The conversation unpacks why understanding technology matters far more than becoming a software engineer, and how Code for Kids is already reshaping what digital literacy looks like in practice, through connective, curriculum-integrated education that gives students real agency in a technology-saturated world. Stewart Brown is a multiple founder of international EdTech companies and a trusted voice in AI literacy in education. Code for Kids, launched in 2018, integrates coding, robotics, digital literacy, and STEAM across the curriculum. This is essential listening for educators, administrators, and parents asking the question that matters most: how do we truly prepare students for their future? Subscribe to Voices for Excellence for conversations that challenge education's status quo.
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S4 · E125
June 1 · 44 min
Emotional Intelligence Isn't Soft, It's the Durable Skill Driving Academic Success | Dr Donna Housman
Stop managing behavior. Start changing it. Dr. Mike Conner sits down with Dr. Donna Housman, CEO and founder of Housman Learning, to explore the paradigm shift reshaping early childhood education: why emotional intelligence isn't a soft skill, it's the durable, sustainable driver of academic achievement and lasting behavioral change. Key Topics: The evolution of emotional intelligence from "soft skill" to critical educational driver ECSEL (Emotional, Cognitive, and Social Early Learning): The evidence-based program closing the preparation gap Why self-regulation, not funding, is the real differentiator in high-risk populations The achievement gap is a symptom; the preparation gap (birth to kindergarten) is the disease How early childhood emotional competence prevents the "troubled teen" crisis before it starts Teacher satisfaction, retention, and the post-COVID educational landscape Dr. Housman brings 30 years of clinical psychology expertise and longitudinal research proving that developing emotional intelligence starting as early as 3 months old transforms children's trajectories, and challenges the entire education sector to rethink what "preparation" really means. Subscribe for deep conversations on education, human development, and the research-backed practices that create lasting change.
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S4 · E124
May 18 · 53 min
The Circles of Genius We're Wasting: Why Lived Experience Matters More Than Motivation with Shokry Elady
Organizations love to say they’ve “given people the tools to succeed”, so why do the same individuals and teams keep being labeled as the problem? In this episode, host Dr. Michael Conner talks with Dr. Shokry Eldaly (Teachers College, Columbia University) about what’s really missing: structures that make efficacy possible. Shokry breaks down why motivation isn’t the primary barrier, how rigid systems discount lived experience, and what it looks like to build collective impact without blaming individuals. In this conversation: Why “lack of motivation” is often a convenient story How structures shape outcomes more than individual effort Lived experience as essential data for change Hope as a practical strategy for collective impact Subscribe to Voices for Excellence for conversations that challenge how we lead, learn, and grow together.
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S4 · E123
May 4 · 47 min
Keeping People at the Center of AI Integration with Matthew Berkshire
Schools aren't just content delivery systems, they're the places where belonging happens, and that matters more in the age of AI than it did before. Matthew Berkshire, Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Greenville Central School District in New York, built something unusual: a school improvement process that used AI to strengthen the human trust network, not replace it. When Greenville adopted the Agile Evolutionary Group platform, the Diagnostic revealed hidden patterns in pacing, intervention, and assessment that educators had felt but couldn't name. The real work started after, sitting together, reviewing insights against lived experience, and making decisions as a learning organization. In this conversation with Dr. Michael T. Conner, Berkshire walks through what intentional AI integration looks like: starting with people who already trust each other, designing conditions for learning rather than supervising instruction, and keeping professional judgment and collective efficacy at the center. He talks about pandemic lessons, how the AEG platform fit into an already-strong school improvement process, the challenge of keeping dynamic collaboration alive across 6-12 departmental alignment meetings, and why, even with AI, the educators make the final call. What You'll Learn How to integrate AI tools without removing people from the process What the AC-Stage means for instructional leadership Why the Diagnostic is a beginning, not an ending How to design conditions for learning across a whole district The difference between technology that supports and technology that replaces This episode is essential listening for instructional leaders, superintendents, and anyone building the conditions for continuous improvement in a learning organization. And on that note, onward and upward.
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S4 · E122
April 20 · 51 min
When the Superintendent Becomes the Chief Advocate, Everything Shifts
The superintendent isn't a budget manager, they're the chief advocate for all children. Dr. Michael J. Barnes rebuilt Mayfield City Schools around this principle, and the results speak for themselves. The superintendent is the chief advocate for all children in their community. Nobody else can say that, not the mayor, not the school board, not the superintendent of the next district over. But somewhere along the way, superintendents drifted from the instructional chair into operations and politics. Dr. Michael J. Barnes reversed that drift entirely. At Mayfield City Schools (Ohio), Barnes built a four-track personalized learning model that blew up the time/learning equation. Traditional, Cross-Curricular, Self-Paced, and The Option. When students got agency over their learning design, attendance skyrocketed, not because of better discipline policies, but because students were actually designing their own learning. Time stopped being the constant. Learning became it. In this conversation with Dr. Conner, Barnes walks the AC-Stage reframe: what does instructional leadership look like when the industrial model is obsolete? What's the role of the superintendent in an Innovation Core? Why do design thinking, engineering, and entrepreneurship matter as much as math? How do you navigate the VUCA landscape of state politics without abandoning your moral imperative? What You'll Learn The superintendent's real job: chief advocate for all children How to flip the time/learning variable, when learning is constant, time becomes flexible The four-track personalized learning model and why student agency drives attendance Why instructional leadership means staying in the learning chair, not the politics chair The Creative Staircase framework for systemic innovation How to navigate the VUCA landscape in state politics without compromising your vision This conversation is essential for any superintendent or central office leader in the AC-Stage of education. Dr. Conner and Dr. Barnes dig into the frameworks that move the dial from excellence as an aspiration to excellence as a system. And on that note, onward and upward.
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S4 · E121
April 6 · 54 min
From Creative Minds to Future Ready Centers: Rob Dickson Reimagines K-12
What happens when a public school district builds a micro school inside itself, and doesn't apologize for it? Rob Dickson is the CIO of Wichita Public Schools (USD 259), and he's not waiting for permission to innovate. Creative Minds, a K-6 vertical classroom where kindergartners learn alongside sixth graders. Future Ready Centers that look like businesses, not classrooms, where students earn certifications in advanced manufacturing and cybersecurity. An iterative, agile approach to systems change that treats failure as feedback, not failure. Dickson's work bridges the operational and instructional sides of AI adoption, from changing app approval processes to training teachers on generative AI within weeks of ChatGPT's release. He argues that adaptability is the highest form of intelligence, and that schools must prepare students not for certainty, but for curiosity in the face of constant change. What You'll Learn: The three learning stages: K-5 learning by doing, 6-8 skill discovery, 9-12 skill development Social fitness - how Generation Alpha navigates networks of billions, not 15 Why AI replaces tasks, not jobs - and what that means for curriculum design How Wichita's Future Ready Centers and Creative Minds micro school operate Arizona State's six levels of problem solving - and why academia lives in the first three Humanity, Agency, Audacity: Rob's three words for being 2035-ready
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S4 · E120
March 23 · 42 min
National AI Literacy Day with Erin Mote: Why Doing Something Beats Doing Nothing
What if AI isn't trying to fit into your classroom — but to rebuild it entirely? Erin Mote, CEO and founder of InnovateEDU, explores what it means to navigate an arrival technology, one that doesn't fit into existing systems but fundamentally reorders them. Erin leads national and international work on AI literacy, including National AI Literacy Day (March 27th), and she's not here to hype or fear-monger. She's a scout: someone managing both the promise and the peril. What You'll Learn: The difference between arrival technologies (AI, electricity, internet) and adoption technologies (crypto, VR) Why AI literacy is as critical in English and science as it is in computer science Real examples of AI reducing bias, optimizing bus routes, and screening for dyslexia How National AI Literacy Day (March 27) is calling in parents, students, and communities Why "do something" is the only response that matters Erin's two-word challenge: Do something Her song choice: Happy (balancing promise and peril)
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S4 · E119
March 12 · 57 min
Julia Fallon on Infrastructure, Not Programs: Redesigning Around AI
Can Your AI Guidance Actually Guide — Or Does It Just Add Cognitive Load? Thirty-five states have issued AI guidance for schools. But how many of those documents reduce workload instead of compounding it? How many build judgment muscles instead of issuing checkbox mandates? And how many actually get used in real classrooms? Julia Fallon, Executive Director of SETDA, has spent 25 years working with state education technology leaders to design systems that prioritize coherence over compliance. In this conversation, she reveals why effective guidance must anchor values in context, design for agency, and trust educators by default, or it will live on a shelf, ignored. What You'll Learn: Why AI is infrastructure, not a program, and what that means for funding and strategy The three divides from the 2024 National Ed Tech Plan: access, design, and use How No Child Left Behind's compliance trap offers lessons for AI adoption today Why reducing cognitive load is the design principle most guidance ignores What DJing on Twitch teaches about learning publicly and modeling transparency The three-word challenge: Coherence. Agency. Trust. Julia also shares her leadership signature song — "The Music Sounds Better with You" by Stardust — and why collective rhythm, not solo performance, defines systems-level change.
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S4 · E118
February 23 · 46 min
People Before Programs: Servant Leadership, Trust, and Ethical AI with Dr. Rachel Edoho-Eket
What does leadership look like when education is evolving faster than ever? In this powerful episode of Voices for Excellence, Dr. Michael Conner welcomes Dr. Rachel Edoho-Eket — President of the Maryland Association of Elementary School Principals, nationally recognised keynote speaker, and two-time bestselling author. Together, they explore: • Why people must come before programs • How relational intelligence strengthens teacher retention • Building trust as the foundation for school transformation • Ethical AI integration and protecting student privacy • Preparing Generation Alpha and Beta for a radically different workforce Dr. Edoho-Eket shares practical leadership insights grounded in service, high expectations, and culture-building. She challenges leaders to think beyond policy and focus on recommendations, adaptability, and human-centred innovation. The conversation closes with three anchoring principles for educational leadership today: hope, service, and love. If you are a principal, superintendent, educator, or system leader navigating change, this episode offers clarity and direction. Listen now and join the conversation.
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S4 · E117
February 19 · 1 hr 2 min
Authentic Leadership in Education: Dr. Paul Miller on Transforming Trauma into Triumph
What if unlocking educational excellence meant embracing both our past traumas and the resilience we’ve built through them? In this compelling episode of Voices for Excellence, Dr. Michael Conner welcomes Dr. Paul Miller, an influential educator and author, as part of our Black Excellence series during Black History Month. With a visionary approach that bridges the past and future of learning, Dr. Miller's leadership and literary works challenge conventional narratives and inspire transformative change. Dr. Miller is currently the Chief Academic Officer at Exceptional, overseeing 27 (soon to be 29) charter schools in Rochester, New York. His dedication to educational equity, especially for Black and brown students, is reflected in his best-selling books and his mission-driven approach to school leadership. But it’s the personal stories, as much as the professional insights, that make his voice such a crucial addition to modern educational discourse. This episode dives into the heart of systems transformation, using Dr. Miller’s books, such as From Gutter to Greatness and The Good Me and the Hood Me, as lenses for understanding how authentic leadership and self-awareness can redefine educational outcomes. Dr. Miller unpacks the necessity of addressing personal and professional wounds to foster school environments where every student can thrive. What You’ll Learn: Embracing Vulnerability: Understand how acknowledging personal struggles can lead to authentic and effective leadership. Transforming Mindsets: Explore strategies for collective teacher efficacy to create meaningful change in student outcomes. Redefining Resilience: Learn how the dualities within students, such as 'the good me and the hood me,' can be strengths rather than deficiencies. Systemic Change through Storytelling: Discover how storytelling and lived experiences can inform educational practices and policies. The Power of Purpose-Driven Leadership: See how connecting personal pain to a larger purpose can drive educational excellence. This conversation is not just about reforming schools, it’s about reshaping the cultural narratives that drive educational systems. Dr. Miller’s insights beckon us to reimagine the future of education with a renewed commitment to authenticity, empathy, and courage. Subscribe and share to continue driving the future of education for all.
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S4 · E116
February 16 · 55 min
AI, Empowerment, and the End of Average: Mike Yates Rewrites the Learning Playbook
How do we build the future of learning with—and not against—the forces of innovation transforming society? In this visionary episode of Voices for Excellence, Dr. Michael Conner sits down with Mike Yates—education disruptor, creative strategist, and a national leader shaping the future of teaching through AI and learner-centered design. From leading AI innovation at Teach For America's Reinvention Lab to helping launch Alpha, one of the most talked-about school models in the country, Mike brings a rare combination of tech fluency, classroom insight, and a relentless push for equity-driven excellence. Grounding the conversation in what students truly need—schools they love, learning that matters, and life-readiness that empowers—Mike shares raw truths and bold strategies for unlocking student potential through agency, design, and affirmation. He also offers a candid look into his personal why: a student who once hated school but now champions joyful, rigorous, and radically different models of learning. Together, Dr. Conner and Mike explore how AI must be used not as a substitute for teachers, but as a tool to unleash their genius—and how reengineering teacher preparation, redefining mastery, and resisting fossilized systems are no longer optional if we want all students to thrive. What you’ll learn in this episode: Bold Reimagination: How Alpha Schools deliver world-class outcomes in just two hours a day—and the deeper design thinking behind their success AI for Equity: Teach For America’s radical redefinition of teacher training to prepare future-ready educators with powerful AI tools Unlearning as Leadership: How dismantling traditional pedagogies opens space for excellence, authenticity, and cultural alignment in classrooms Design Over Directives: Why the designers of tomorrow—not just instructors—will define the future of learning Power of the Pivot: Why students need real-world, high-stakes learning models—and how systems can start small but think big Tech as Amplifier: How generative and agentic AI can elevate human connection, not replace it—if leveraged with empathy and precision Mike’s work reminds us: the systems we build today decide who gets to lead tomorrow. This episode is a must-listen for education leaders ready to rise to the moment and build a future where every learner thrives. Through frameworks, lived experience, and actionable design strategies, this conversation advances Dr. Conner’s mission to architect equitable, innovative, and high-performing ecosystems for all. Subscribe and share to continue driving the future of education for all.
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