In this episode, live at ISTE, Jethro D. Jones talks with Kip Glazer, principal at Mountain View High School, about her book "Ready to Lead with AI: A Practical Guide for School Leaders." They dive into the emotional weight of school leadership — managing competing stakeholder demands, setting boundaries, and navigating disagreement while staying grounded in research and shared purpose. Kip explains why she actively shares positive stories from her school on social media to counter media narratives that skew toward the sensational, and discusses the post-pandemic emotional toll on educators and parents alike. She closes with a reminder that leadership is about listening, building empathy, and trusting that small, consistent connection has real impact.

Ross talks with returning guest Mitch Weathers and Dr. Sarah Oberle about their new book, Executive Functions for Every K–3 Classroom: Promoting Self-Regulation for a Strong Start, published by Corwin. The conversation explores how core executive functions — working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility — develop in young children and how K–3 teachers can reduce cognitive load through intentional routines, environment design, and instruction that helps students self-regulate and succeed. In this episode, we discuss: What led from the first book (Grades 3–12) to a K–3 edition, and why primary teachers were asking for it The three core executive functions: working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility — and what they look like in early elementary classrooms How working memory capacity and cognitive load affect young students' ability to attend, follow directions, and learn The "Betty and the Bats" example — unpacking the hidden cognitive demands of a seemingly simple first-grade writing task How to reduce extraneous cognitive load through visual environment, acoustic environment, and purposeful classroom routines Why a noisy classroom isn't always a productive classroom — and how to make noise purposeful Building students' self-awareness of their own attention and self-regulation How understanding executive functions becomes an intuitive lens for teachers — not another thing on their plate Making the case for resistant educators: why every teacher, not just specialists, should understand executive functions The unique role of primary teachers in laying the cognitive foundation for all future learning Get the book, Executive Functions for Every K–3 Classroom, from Corwin or at https://organizedbinder.com/books Learn more about Organized Binder: https://organizedbinder.com Listen to Ross's previous episode with Mitch, Executive Functions for Every Classroom: https://authoritypodcast.net/episodes/executive-functions-for-every-classroom-with-mitch-weathers About today's guests Mitch Weathers is a teacher and founder of Organized Binder, Inc. He became an exceptional educator because he once struggled as a student. Recognizing the importance of laying a foundation for learning, he created Organized Binder — a research-backed system that empowers teachers to explicitly teach executive functioning skills without sacrificing instructional time. Mitch is the author of Executive Functions for Every Classroom: Creating Safe and Predictable Learning Environments (Grades 3–12) and co-author of Executive Functions for Every K–3 Classroom: Promoting Self-Regulation for a Strong Start, both published by Corwin. Together with the Organized Binder team, he works with K–12 schools and colleges in the US and internationally. Connect with Mitch at organizedbinder.com or on LinkedIn. Dr. Sarah Oberle is an educator, author, speaker, and professional learning designer with 18 years of experience as a primary classroom teacher. She holds a doctorate in educational leadership with a specialization in cognitive science. Her work centers on helping educators understand how learning happens and how that understanding shapes daily instructional decisions. Sarah designs and facilitates evidence-informed professional learning for teachers and school leaders, both in person and virtually. She works with national and international organizations to ensure professional learning is research-informed, practical, and responsive to the realities of teaching. Her work focuses on attention, memory, and executive functions, with an emphasis on pedagogy rather than programs. Connect with Sarah at sarahoberle.com or on LinkedIn. About the host Ross Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K–12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Bluesky or LinkedIn.

Recruiters Dan Yu and John Lovig share their tips for a layoff first-aid kit: the cheap, fast stuff you do in the first stretch when you find yourself out of a job. If you still have 30 minutes on the laptop, export contacts from Outlook or Google Takeout, file for unemployment on day one because it takes two or three weeks to kick in, and get your head right, because a layoff is usually a nameless sweep and negativity will taint every conversation after that. Dan's pro tip is an out-of-office on the work mailbox with your personal email. Then text five to ten force multipliers with a specific ask, post on LinkedIn without bitterness so people know the role and what you bring, grab an accountability buddy if someone else got cut, check the health and visa clocks, turn on the green Open to Work banner, and run two searches at once: posted jobs, and companies that have not posted yet. Timestamps [00:02:20] Export contacts while you still have login [00:04:00] Get your head right before the spiral [00:05:10] File for unemployment on day one [00:08:50] Out-of-office with your personal email [00:09:50] Text force multipliers, friends before family [00:15:00] Dan's 330-person alumni happy hour [00:16:40] LinkedIn post that tells people how to help [00:20:30] Accountability buddy from the same round [00:23:30] Benefits clock, visa clock, Open to Work [00:25:20] Posted jobs vs companies with no posting yet Co-hosts Aaron Makelky — LinkedIn Dan Yu — LinkedIn John Lovig — LinkedIn Links FutureProof You FutureProof You on LinkedIn

Schools are constantly being asked to improve, innovate, and respond to new challenges. But what happens when the people closest to those challenges don't feel safe admitting that something isn't working? David Cicero talks with Jal Mehta of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Max Yurkofsky of Radford University, authors of A Chance to Solve Their Own Problems, about what actually happens when schools try to solve problems from within. They explore why trust and psychological safety are essential to meaningful improvement, what leaders can do to protect space for experimentation, and why the technical tools of continuous improvement only work when the human conditions are there too.

History teacher Jon Kendrick has led twelve international trips with high school students, from Rome to New Zealand. He joins the show to talk about how he built a safe, affordable travel program and why walking where history happened changes kids for good. Show notes Jon Kendrick still remembers standing in St. Peter's Square as a teenager, watching Pope John Paul II carry the cross on Good Friday. That moment planted a bug in him that never went away, and fifteen years later, as a history and government teacher, he's passed it on to hundreds of his own students. In this episode, Jon talks about the travel program he's built from scratch, twelve trips and counting to places like Italy, China, Dubai, Australia, and soon Scotland and Ireland. We cover the questions every school leader has before saying yes to something like this: keeping kids safe far from home, what it costs and how families make it work, and a couple of stories that stuck with us, including watching the pope up close and a passport that went missing in one country and turned up before dinner. If you've ever wondered whether a program like this could work at your school, this one's worth the listen. Topics covered What sparked Jon's own love of travel. Building the program and where the group has been. Safety and how EF Tours keeps large groups protected. The lost passport story. Making trips affordable on a monthly plan. Culture shock moments abroad. Running trips through the school versus independently. Chaperone ratios and packing advice. Guest bio Jon Kendrick teaches AP US History, AP Government and Politics, and Government Politics Honors at Cornerstone Classical in Jacksonville, Florida. For fifteen years he's led international travel programs for high schoolers, from Italy and China to Australia and New Zealand. Reach him at Jkendrick@cornerstoneclassical.org. Footer Subscribe to the Catholic School Leaders Podcast wherever you listen, and share this one with a colleague if it gave you something to think about. Got a topic for the show? Reach out at john@elementaryadvancement.com.