We tell our kids to be creative, but do we really know what that means—or how to cultivate it? Doreen Lorenzo, former President of frog design and now Assistant Dean at UT Austin's School of Design and Creative Technologies, has spent decades helping Fortune 100 companies innovate and is now transforming how we educate the next generation. Through her podcast "Creativity is the Job of the Future," she's exploring a crucial thesis: in an uncertain, AI-driven world, creative thinking isn't just nice to have—it's the essential skill. Today, Doreen shares what she's learned from design legends, ultramarathon runners, and unconventional creatives about how creativity actually works, why schools often kill it, and most importantly, how parents can nurture it at home.Why This Matters→ Creativity isn't what we think it is—and that's the problem. Most parents equate creativity with arts and crafts,  rather than with the ability to tackle challenges, find unexpected solutions, and adapt to rapid change. If we're nurturing the wrong thing, we're not preparing our kids for the future they'll actually face.→ Traditional education is systematically killing creativity—even as it becomes more essential. Schools reward conformity, right answers, and standardized thinking precisely when the world needs divergent thinking, experimentation, and the courage to fail. Unless parents actively counterbalance this, kids lose their natural creative capacity by the time they hit middle school.→ AI makes creativity more valuable, not less. As AI handles more routine cognitive work, the uniquely human ability to ask new questions, make unexpected connections, and imagine possibilities becomes the differentiator. Kids who can't think creatively won't just struggle to find jobs—they'll struggle to find meaning and agency in a rapidly changing world.

In this episode, Barb talks with leadership expert Casey Watts about why clarity—not effort—is often what’s missing when initiatives stall or staff buy-in fades. Casey shares how her Clarity Cycle Framework helps leaders align expectations, transfer ownership, and create follow-through without adding more to their plates. They explore how unclear roles fuel overwhelm, why resistance is often a clarity issue, and how “painting done” leads to stronger leadership and better results. This episode is a must-listen for principals who want more alignment, less frustration, and a clearer focus in their leadership.Find Casey on her website catchingupwithcasey.com or LinkedIn.

Ego is NOT your advantage. It's costing your organization millions and endangering your team.This episode is a deep dive into the true cost of ego-driven leadership, revealing why the refusal to admit a mistake leads to financial disasters, systemic failures, and crippling burnout. We make the case that Humility is the most powerful, undervalued asset in modern leadership.We investigate:The Budget Drain: How ego prevents you from correcting costly, bad ideas.The Safety Risk: How a defensive leader creates a "silent floor," putting lives at risk.The Burnout Trap: How striving for 'perfection' fuels Imposter Syndrome and emotional exhaustion.Learn how to trade the stress of being right for the power of being resilient.This investigation leads perfectly into J. Alexander’s highly anticipated book, The Humility Advantage. J. provides the roadmap for integrating emotional intelligence into daily decision-making, showing you exactly how to dismantle the ego trap and build teams defined by psychological safety and continuous growth.Pre-order The Humility Advantage now to transform vulnerability from a threat to your greatest strategic asset.

In this Every Book Counts webinar, host Erin Bailey welcomes Dr. Jill Pentimonti, Associate Research Professor at the University of Notre Dame and Executive Director of Research Advancement, to explore shared book reading as one of the most powerful tools for building young children's language, vocabulary, and comprehension skills. Dr. Pentimonti explains the essential building blocks of early reading success—word recognition and language comprehension—and how shared book reading uniquely supports pre-reading skills including print knowledge, phonological awareness, and oral language development. She emphasizes that reading is not a simple process but requires building neural pathways through deliberate practice and instruction, and that decades of research confirm shared book reading's significant impact on children's literacy outcomes when done interactively.The session provides practical, evidence-based strategies for making shared reading more intentional and engaging, including asking open-ended questions, building vocabulary with child-friendly definitions, pointing out initial sounds and letters, and having conversations before, during, and after reading. Dr. Pentimonti stresses the importance of reading a balanced diet of both narrative books (which build story structure and comprehension strategies) and information books (which introduce technical vocabulary, content knowledge, and text features like tables of contents and indexes). She demonstrates these strategies through a live read-aloud of "A Den for Bay Bay," showing how even a simple information book with few words can spark rich conversations about letters, vocabulary, and real-world knowledge. The webinar concludes with resources from Reading is Fundamental to help educators and families implement these high-impact strategies in their daily reading routines.About Dr. Jill Pentimonti: Dr. Jill Pentimonti is an Associate Research Professor in the Institute for Educational Initiatives and the Executive Director of Research Advancement in the Office of the Vice President for Research at the University of Notre Dame, where she also leads the Early Learning Foundations (ELF) Lab. Her work focuses on language, literacy, and learning in the preschool and early elementary years. Dr. Pentimonti’s research centers on supporting young children’s language and literacy development, particularly for those at risk for reading difficulties. She has led multiple large-scale, federally funded studies examining classroom practices, instructional supports, and interventions that foster children’s early learning. Her work has also advanced the use of innovative tools and methods—including AI-powered assessments—to better understand and improve early learning experiences for children, families, and teachers.

In this episode, Priten talks with Joe Carver, Associate Head of School at The Meadow School. Joe shares his unconventional journey from debate coach to technology director to school leadership. He discusses his philosophy of values-driven technology integration—one that involves all stakeholders, resists both hasty adoption and knee-jerk resistance, and centers the teacher-student relationship. He explores how schools can thoughtfully embrace AI and educational technology by using core values as a North Star, building cultures of innovation through targeted adoption, and preparing educators to stay conversant with emerging tools. Joe emphasizes the importance of reverse-engineering what students miss in digital-first communities and advocates for data-informed, iterative decision-making that protects what matters most while navigating what's coming.Key Takeaways:Schools shouldn't rush to adopt every new technology. Taking time for thoughtful due diligence and involving all stakeholders (teachers, division directors, student support services) leads to better outcomes than being the first to implement.Technology decisions should trace back to institutional core values. If a tool can't be connected to values like inquiry or community, it's a hard no.Implement a three-tier approach: no access for youngest students, guided access for middle grades, and unfettered access for upper school. Educators must remain conversant in emerging technologies even if they choose not to adopt them. You can't effectively guide students away from tools you don't understand.Today's students are building digital communities without the face-to-face foundation previous generations had. Schools must explicitly teach digital norms and social skills that used to develop naturally through in-person interaction.About:JOSEPH CARVER is the Associate Head of School at The Meadows School, a Prek-12 independent school in Summerlin, Nevada and the Head of School Elect for the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Previously, Joseph served as the Chief Innovation Officer at The Meadows and the Director of Technology at Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart.A sought-after speaker and panelist on technology, he has presented at a series of national conferences, including  ATLIS, NDCA, FCIS, and FETC, on topics ranging from social media in schools to ongoing education for non-instructional staff. Joseph has worked alongside the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning. His focus is on a data-driven, mind and brain education approach to decision-making in all aspects of school life.  Additionally, he is a certified Situational Leadership facilitator and a graduate of both the ATLIS Leadership Institute and the Center for Humane Technology’s Foundations of Humane Technology program. Joseph is also the founder and host of “At the Meadow”, a popular podcast focused on Innovation in independent schools.Joe’s experience as instructional faculty, coach, and administrator at Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart has profoundly impacted his “mission-informed” approach to technology integration in schools. Joe currently oversees Technology and Innovation, Advancement, Communications, Athletics, and Admissions at The Meadows School. Joe was unanimously selected as a recipient of the 2025 ATLIS PIllar Award, recognizing his many contributions and long-standing service to and leadership within the independent school educational technology community.