In this episode, Priten speaks with Chuck Parish, an English teacher at a private Christian school in El Paso, about what it looks like to build an AI elective from scratch inside a community that is still deciding whether to be afraid of the technology or learn it. Chuck's path runs through pastoral ministry, teaching at the bachelor's level in Papua New Guinea, and a year of sixth grade before landing in high school English. The conversation moves between the practical questions he is sorting out for his fall semester and the deeper one he keeps returning to: whether schools are forming the kind of judgment students need to use powerful tools well, or whether they are only writing policies.Key Takeaways:Policy can legislate behavior but it cannot form character. Chuck argues that a clean ban or a strict acceptable-use document is the easy move, and the wrong one. Without a foundation underneath it, students will either ignore the rule or comply for the wrong reasons. The school's one-sentence AI policy treats the question as plagiarism, which misses most of what the technology actually changes.A Christian worldview has to address AI the same way it addresses every new tool. The Bible does not name AI any more than it names calculators or television, so the work is in applying an existing foundation to a new technology. Chuck wants students to be able to reason from that foundation themselves rather than relying on him to legislate each case, especially because they will leave the school and lose the legislator.Writing instruction was already in trouble before AI arrived. Texting has shifted how students communicate so far that sixth graders submitting "OMG" and "TY" in their papers is no longer surprising. AI does not start the decline in written reasoning; it accelerates a slide that started with the way students already talk to each other. Chuck plans to use handwritten baseline essays to anchor what each student can actually do without help.Demonstrating the tool in class is more honest than hiding it. Chuck plans to put ChatGPT on the classroom screen, show how fast it can produce an essay, walk through prompting, and surface the hallucinations and fabricated citations directly. The argument to students is that cutting and pasting cheats them out of the learning, and that integrity has to be taught, not assumed.The AI conversation has to include companions and cyberbullying, not just essays. Chuck wants the elective to cover Replika-style companions and image-manipulation tools alongside academic use, because those are the parts students are already encountering outside class. Putting head in the sand, especially in a Christian school context, leaves students to form a worldview about these tools on their own and usually badly.

Recess is often thought of as an “extra” activity in the school day. Sometimes it’s even taken away from students as a punishment. In this episode recorded for De Facto Leaders, host Dr. Karen Dudek-Brannan talks to Elizabeth Cushing, CEO of Playworks, to understand why recess is actually an integral part of the school day. In fact, it can help students feel connected and reduce chronic absenteeism. The conversation covers:Simple ways educators can set expectations and rules to create structure and a sense of safety around recessHow to use play as a reset and a preventative measure, instead of something that’s taken away from kids as a punishmentHow training kids as peer coaches can help decrease disruptive behaviors and help kids discover their own leadership potentialLearn more about Playworks on their website at: https://www.playworks.org/Resources mentioned in this interview include:Comprehensive Game Guide that Outlines Games Across Grade Levels: https://www.playworks.org/indiana/game-guide/The sister website for Playworks with tools for assessing the health of your school’s recess: https://www.recesslab.org/

Nathaniel Provencio has worked in the public education field since 2001 as a classroom teacher, building administrator and associate superintendent. He is a speaker, school leadership coach, and author of Community Connections and Your PLC at Work®: A Guide to Engaging Families.We talk about:Why parent and family engagement are important to schools, and how it relates to PLCsHow the concepts of a PLC apply to family engagementIs connecting with families just code for more work for already overworked teachers? Engaging families who traditionally have barriers to engagementThe biggest ‘community connection fail’ Nathaniel has seen a school try, and how to do it betterGet Community Connections and Your PLC at Work from Solution Tree. Learn more about Nathaniel at his website provenprincipalllc.com About today’s guestNathaniel Provencio has worked in the public education field since 2001 as a classroom teacher, building administrator and associate superintendent . In 2010, he became the principal of Minnieville Elementary in Prince William County, Virginia. Under his leadership, Minnieville Elementary was recognized as a Virginia Distinguished Title 1 School, became a National Model Professional Learning Community and was the winner of the 2019 Richard DuFour PLC Award.Mr. Provencio has been honored as the 2017 Prince William County principal of the year, the 2017 Washington Post Principal of the Year and the 2019 Virginia National Distinguished Principal of the Year.Mr. Provencio is the author of Community Connections and Your PLC at Work, which focuses on how schools can utilize the professional learning community framework to enhance family and community engagement.Mr. Provencio graduated from the University of North Alabama in 2001 with a degree in education and has a master’s degree in education administration from George Mason University in which he was recognized as one of 50 all-time George Mason University Alumni.About the hostRoss 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 I also host Sideline Sessions, a podcast for coaches and parents of student-athletes. The show features conversations with coaches and performance experts in the NFL, NBA, NCAA, Olympics, and more. Listen here: https://bit.ly/3Rp0QGt 

Recess is often thought of as an “extra” activity in the school day. Sometimes it’s even taken away from students as a punishment. In this episode recorded for De Facto Leaders, host Dr. Karen Dudek-Brannan talks to Elizabeth Cushing, CEO of Playworks, to understand why recess is actually an integral part of the school day. In fact, it can help students feel connected and reduce chronic absenteeism. The conversation covers:Simple ways educators can set expectations and rules to create structure and a sense of safety around recessHow to use play as a reset and a preventative measure, instead of something that’s taken away from kids as a punishmentHow training kids as peer coaches can help decrease disruptive behaviors and help kids discover their own leadership potentialLearn more about Playworks on their website at: https://www.playworks.org/Resources mentioned in this interview include:Comprehensive Game Guide that Outlines Games Across Grade Levels: https://www.playworks.org/indiana/game-guide/The sister website for Playworks with tools for assessing the health of your school’s recess: https://www.recesslab.org/

This episode is a part of a special series of interviews conducted at the INCH360 Cybersecurity Conference in Spokane, Washington. Visit their website to learn more about INCH360 and their mission. Host Jethro D. Jones interviews Andy Jones, Director of Technology Services at ESD 101, about supporting school districts with IT and cybersecurity. Andy shares how his team makes cybersecurity solutions affordable for schools, the importance of digital safety education, and the evolving role of AI in education. The conversation highlights practical strategies for protecting schools and families, and the need to balance technology with human expertise.