John Mihalyo is not a cook, and he’ll be the first to tell you. But when he set out to recreate the pizza from his hometown shop in Weirton, West Virginia, for his own family, his first try ended with a borrowed recipe, the broiler, and the smoke alarm going off. In this solo episode, John shares how a guy with no kitchen skills got to the point where his kids now pick Dad’s pizza over takeout, and what that journey teaches us about leading a Catholic school. Every school leader has a fire alarm moment. The budget comes back upside down, the enrollment number comes in short, the big event doesn’t bring in what you hoped, or a teacher you love isn’t coming back. John talks about why copying another school’s recipe rarely works, why walking back into the kitchen after a setback takes a little courage, and three questions to ask when things go wrong: What worked? What didn’t? Who knows something I don’t? He also speaks to the many principals, advancement directors, and pastors who were never handed the recipe for the job they’re doing now. If you’ve ever been tempted to throw your hands up and say “we’re never doing that again,” this episode is for you. Grab a piece of paper, think about your most recent fire alarm moment, and make one small adjustment. A little more water. A little more flour. Work with John: elementaryadvancement.com Contact John: elementaryadvancement.com

How Do We Know Students Are Actually Learning? The Authority Companion Episode How do we know students are actually learning, rather than simply completing assignments, following directions, or producing the right answers? Lindsey and Tasha continue their conversation, inspired by Lori Cohen and The Science of Lesson Planning, exploring what happens when educators design lessons around evidence of student understanding. Together, they discuss practical ways teachers can make thinking visible, how school leaders can encourage reflection without introducing another overwhelming initiative, and why protecting human judgment matters as AI becomes more common in classrooms. In this episode, we discuss: Why compliance, engagement, and completed assignments are not necessarily evidence of learning How hinge questions help teachers see what students understand and determine what should happen next Why educators need to plan their response to student understanding, not just plan the learning activity How instructional practices can become automatic when teachers lose sight of why they use them Why leaders can encourage deeper professional thinking by asking curious, open-ended questions rather than prescribing solutions How psychological safety gives both teachers and students permission to take risks, make mistakes, and grow Why Lori's lesson-planning framework may look different for new teachers, veteran teachers, and educators working with prescribed curricula How instructional systems can emerge from effective practices rather than being imposed before schools understand what works Why AI has exposed existing questions about critical thinking, student ownership, and evidence of learning How teachers can use AI as a thinking partner without outsourcing professional judgment Why meaningful relevance can come from helping students understand how today's learning connects to tomorrow's work How leaders can introduce instructional improvements through small, collaborative experiments before scaling them across a school Lindsey and Tasha leave educators with a practical invitation: identify one moment in an upcoming lesson when you need to know whether students truly understand, design a question that reveals their thinking, and decide what you will do with the answer. About this companion episode Companion episodes of The Authority give Lindsey Cannon and Natasha Nurse an opportunity to continue conversations inspired by authors and experts, examining how ideas translate into everyday decisions in schools. In this conversation, they build on Lori Cohen's work by exploring the relationship between evidence of learning, instructional decision-making, teacher support, and purposeful use of AI. The focus is on making small, intentional changes that help both educators and students think more deeply. Connect with Lori Cohen and Explore Her Resources Lori Cohen Consulting: https://www.loricohenconsulting.com/ The Science of Lesson Planning (official publisher): https://conference.ascd.org/books/the-science-of-lesson-planning?variant=126012 Free Transformative Lesson Planner App: https://scienceoflessonplanning.app/ Explore Lori's books: https://www.loricohenconsulting.com/bookslist Connect with Lori on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lori-cohen-9a447224/

About This Episode What makes a family engagement initiative become part of everyday practice instead of one more thing for schools and families to manage? Dr. Elisabeth O’Bryon of Family Engagement Lab and Carolin Purser of the Center for Literacy and Learning (CLL) explore what it takes to make change stick. They discuss why resources need routines, how family support differs across subjects like literacy and math, and what their partnership is teaching them about connecting family engagement more directly to instruction. The conversation also explores the challenge of scaling this work across schools and districts without losing the relationships and local ownership that make it effective in the first place. Chapters 0:00 — Welcome: Elisabeth O’Bryon and Carolin Purser 0:51 — Why good resources don’t change practice on their own 3:08 — What’s missing when a strong resource fails to take hold 4:35 — Supporting families without overwhelming them 6:53 — Does family support look different in literacy and math? 14:14 — What separates initiatives that stick from the ones that fade 16:28 — Connecting family engagement to instruction: the CLL and Family Engagement Lab partnership 20:32 — The challenges of statewide reach 25:16 — Scaling the work without losing local ownership 27:07 — Wrap-up Resources Family Engagement Lab — Elisabeth O’Bryon’s organization, which helps schools make families partners in student learning. The Center for Literacy & Learning — Carolin Purser’s organization in Louisiana. Louisiana Statewide Family Engagement Center — The statewide family engagement work CLL leads, discussed in this episode. Implementation Series, Part 1: The Missing Instructional Layer — Where the series starts. Implementation Series, Part 2: Why Good Ideas Fail Quietly in Schools — Why promising initiatives lose momentum. Implementation Series, Part 3: What Happens to Family Engagement When Instructional Practice Changes? — Elisabeth O’Bryon and Rayna Flye on bringing families along when math instruction changes.

Virginia Quinn-Mooney — Better Teaching: Only Stuff That Works About This Episode In this episode of Better Teaching: Only Stuff That Works, Gene Tavernetti talks with first-grade teacher and literacy advocate Virginia Quinn-Mooney about the Science of Reading, teacher learning, and the work of bringing research-backed instruction into classrooms. Virginia shares how the launch of Sold a Story helped prompt the Science of Reading Virtual Happy Hour, a community that connected teachers with influential literacy advocates and created space for honest professional learning. The conversation explores classroom practice, teacher collaboration, advocacy, and the tension between evidence-informed instruction and the systems that resist meaningful change. Virginia and Gene return to a practical hope: teachers can model effective instruction every day and help more students experience the teaching they deserve. What You’ll Learn How Sold a Story helped teachers begin reexamining literacy instruction. Why teacher communities and honest conversation matter for professional learning. What Virginia learned from hosting the Science of Reading Virtual Happy Hour. How classroom modeling and research-backed practice can influence students directly. Why implementation depends on leadership, accountability, and follow-through. How educators can keep working for better instruction even when systems move slowly. Chapters 00:00 — Welcome to Better Teaching 01:05 — Introducing Virginia Quinn-Mooney 05:00 — The impact of Sold a Story 10:30 — Building the Science of Reading Virtual Happy Hour 17:00 — Teacher learning, advocacy, and community 25:00 — Bringing research-backed practice into classrooms 34:00 — What effective modeling looks like every day 43:00 — Systems, implementation, and the challenge of change 52:00 — Hope, persistence, and doing better for students 57:00 — Closing thoughts Resources Sold a Story Gene Tavernetti and TESS Consulting Group Added/created/modified by Codex on 2026.11.04 00:00 on ombee.

About This Episode Dr. Erin Bailey talks with Benjamin Strouse, award-winning children’s author and co-founder of GZM Shows, about the power of immersive audio storytelling to engage young people and open pathways into reading, writing, and deeper learning. Strouse shares how his work in books, serialized audio drama, and educational storytelling brings complex stories to life for children and families. They discuss the creative and educational possibilities of audio fiction, the role of curiosity and imagination in literacy, and how stories can give educators meaningful ways to engage students in literary analysis, critical thinking, and creative expression. The episode also explores how listening to a great story can become a gateway to reading. What You’ll Learn How immersive audio fiction can engage tweens, teens, and families. Why original storytelling can support literary analysis and critical thinking. How listening experiences can lead young people toward reading and writing. What makes serialized stories compelling across classrooms and communities. Ways educators can use high-quality storytelling to deepen literacy engagement. Chapters 0:00 — Reading Inspires introduction 0:42 — Meet Benjamin Strouse 4:00 — From children’s books to immersive audio 10:00 — Building serialized stories for young listeners 18:00 — Storytelling, imagination, and literacy 26:00 — Bringing audio fiction into classrooms 34:00 — What reading inspires 38:59 — Closing Resources Benjamin Strouse — Award-winning children’s author and co-founder of GZM Shows. Hey, Boy — Strouse’s picture book, recognized by The New York Times and Kirkus Reviews. GZM Shows — Immersive audio fiction and educational storytelling for tweens, teens, and families.