As one of the contributors to the book, Fearless Coaching, I will provide two-day training and Community of Practice meetings during two upcoming events in Sacramento, California. The events are designed for deep implementation of Fearless Coaching principles and to help attendees build their coaching skills.

When I think about my trip to Singapore in April to educate and speak at this year's World EduLead Congress, I'm reminded that I was able to fulfill one of my professional goals; namely, to have a greater influence in the world.

The learning crisis we are experiencing post-pandemic has increased our country’s need for effective, dynamic leadership to solve complex challenges that demand adaptability, resilience, and a deep understanding of teams and organizations.

Students may be back, but they continue to carry the heavy burden of academic gaps and stunted social-emotional development. Schools are using ESSER funding to offset the learning and mental health disruptions that occurred. But no one seems to be asking the crucial questions.

When we get the conditions right—everyone in the system wins. Students along the full continuum of learning get to engage with ambitious content, supported by real-time differentiated instruction, and teachers have the right data to take actionable next steps.

Parents are rightly concerned about their children’s learning loss post-pandemic. Teachers are too. But the misapplication of special education cannot be the solution.

When did ‘equity’ become such a dirty word? It’s time to bring equity back to its real meaning! Equity means fair. Is it fair when an education system isn’t inclusive of all learners? Is it fair when our school improvement process doesn’t demand high expectations for every student, regardless of circumstances? I think not.

Creating inside out change is dependent upon identifying the “root of the root” causes and strategically developing and organizing conditions. The most powerful way to improve outcomes for students is when the adults who are immersed in the policy and practice of education systems collaborate, always placing students at its core.

Districts and schools have been called upon to minimize learning loss, address disruptive and challenging behaviors, and improve the social-emotional dimensions of school climate and culture. Here’s what is needed to begin radical improvement.

Federal and state accountability systems have historically been praised by some and criticized by others. But one thing that state education agencies and local school districts around the nation agreed upon was how the pandemic exposed the inequities of the current accountability system.

How can we challenge low expectations and have the hard conversations necessary to promote social justice in education? I joined the Change Agents in K12 Podcast to discuss my personal and professional journey that has led me to push for change at the local, state, and national level, as well as to write a children’s book to help advance the conversation.

States across the country have legislatively mandated Social-Emotional Learning as a way of combating society’s ills rather than through the lens of equity. Such a reactionary view runs the risk of failure without first addressing the most critical feature of the movement: the adult.