Special Education, Explicit Instruction, and the Power of Literacy — with Dr. Lalita Karpen About This Episode In this episode of Better Teaching: Only Stuff That Works, Gene Tavernetti talks with Dr. Lalita Karpen about special education, specially designed instruction, literacy, and the responsibility schools have to provide effective instruction for every student. Dr. Karpen shares her path from leaving high school to earning a doctorate, and explains why she sees literacy as a human right. The conversation then examines how specially designed instruction differs from accommodations, how it should build on strong Tier 1 instruction, and what teachers and school leaders can do to support students with disabilities. What You’ll Learn Why literacy and education can change the trajectory of families and generations. What specially designed instruction means under special education law. How SDI should connect content, methodology, and delivery to individual student needs. Why teacher preparation and instructional leadership must better support special education. How mentoring, lesson planning, immediate feedback, and progress monitoring help teachers serve students well. What co-teaching, school choice, and student-loan forgiveness mean for students with disabilities. Chapters 00:00 — Welcome to Better Teaching 01:28 — Dr. Karpen’s journey and the power of literacy 08:10 — Education as a human right 15:45 — What specially designed instruction means 26:20 — Preparing and mentoring special education teachers 37:35 — Applying SDI to individual student needs 48:10 — Instructional leadership, co-teaching, and school support 57:20 — Teacher preparation, school choice, and student debt 63:10 — Closing thoughts Resources Dr. Lalita Karpen on LinkedIn — Connect with Dr. Karpen and follow her education work. Dr. Lalita Karpen on X — Follow Dr. Karpen’s updates and resources. Council for Exceptional Children — The professional organization referenced in the conversation.

Does a story from the past need to be true to make it meaningful?  Listen to learn about Christian Pass and the story of the 'missing harp' and see if you find it worthwhile despite the fact that we do not know if the story was true.  

Few people have influenced the implementation of Universal Design for Learning as deeply as Dr. George Van Horn. In this episode, George shares the story of how a commitment to learner variability, educator collaboration, and systems-level change helped shape one of the nation's most recognized examples of sustained UDL implementation.  From leadership lessons to practical insights, this conversation explores what happens when schools intentionally design for all learners and how that work can continue long after the original champions have stepped away.  Transcript Resources: A Long, Strange Trip: Honoring George Van Horn’s Lasting Impact on UDL and Inclusive Learning  Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation

Are you spending your days putting out fires instead of leading instruction? The problem might not be your time management, it might be your systems. In this episode of The Principal's Handbook, I'm sharing how clear, simple systems can reduce interruptions, prevent recurring problems, and free up your time for instructional leadership. You'll learn how to identify where your school needs better systems and why keeping them simple and sustainable is the key to making them work. Plus, I'll introduce my new mini-course, Transform Your Time, designed to help principals create systems, delegate with confidence, and prioritize what matters most. Because the goal isn't to do more. It's to spend more time doing the work that matters. Get my mini-course, Transform Your Time, for only $27!

About This Episode Dr. Erin Bailey talks with Dr. Geoffrey D. Borman, Alice Wiley Snell Endowed Professor at Arizona State University, about what happens when children have sustained access to books they can choose, enjoy, and take home. Borman shares the research behind a five-year randomized trial in high-poverty elementary schools and explains how book access can support reading practice, motivation, and achievement. The conversation connects evidence to action for schools, families, nonprofits, and policymakers. They discuss summer learning loss, the importance of choice and relevance, the role of a home library, why multi-year book distribution matters, and what researchers still need to learn about the literacy experiences that happen after books go home. What You’ll Learn Why access to books can help interrupt reading loss during out-of-school months. How reading volume, choice, and personal relevance can reinforce motivation and literacy growth. What a five-year randomized trial found when students received books over multiple years. Why sustained, scalable book distribution can complement more intensive interventions. What schools, literacy organizations, and policymakers should consider when designing book-access programs. Chapters 0:00 — Reading Inspires introduction 0:42 — Dr. Geoffrey Borman and the case for book access 1:45 — From summer learning loss to literacy research 6:04 — Access, ownership, choice, and reading achievement 12:49 — Why study book ownership with a randomized trial? 20:26 — The five-year book-distribution intervention 23:13 — Achievement gains and a scalable intervention 27:20 — What happens when books go home? 31:34 — Replication, language, and future research 33:23 — Turning research into literacy action 35:13 — What does reading inspire for Dr. Borman? 36:53 — Closing Resources Bernie’s Book Bank: Findings From a Randomized Controlled Trial — Background on the randomized trial and literacy impact discussed in this episode. Geoffrey D. Borman on LinkedIn — Connect with Dr. Borman and learn more about his work.