Getting Smart Podcast

How Do We Thrive and Rehumanize School for Kids and Adults? | Stephanie Malia Krauss

Stephanie Malia Krauss returns to the Getting Smart Podcast for a conversation with Tom Vander Ark about her new book, How We Thrive: Caring for Kids and Ourselves in a Changing World. Together they explore why so many adults and young people feel overwhelmed and depleted—and what it looks like to "rehumanize" school and home by protecting the essentials that help humans thrive. The discussion walks through body, mind, heart, and spirit essentials—from food, sleep, movement, and nervous system regulation to play, wonder, flow, connection, belonging, and contribution—offering practical, research-backed insights for educators, leaders, and parents navigating modern life. Outline (00:00) Introduction (02:02) The Journey Through Three Books (11:30) Body Essentials: Food, Sleep & Movement (21:38) Mind Essentials: Play, Wonder & Flow (29:32) Heart Essentials: Connection, Love & Belonging (35:18) Spirit Essentials: Celebration & Contribution Links Watch the full video here Read the full blog here  How We Thrive LinkedIn  

How Can We Design Learning Spaces That Transform Education? | Kevin Stoller

Learning doesn't happen "in rows," and Kevin Stoller has seen firsthand how the right environment can change everything. In this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Mason Pashia talks with Stoller—author of Creating Better Learning Environments and host of the Better Learning podcast—about designing learner-centered spaces that support movement, choice, collaboration, and community connection. They explore why the term "classroom" can limit our thinking, how districts can better align facilities with instructional vision through a "learning space integrator," and what microschools, team-teaching models, and even museums and hospitality design can teach us about the future of learning spaces in an AI-enabled world. Outline (00:12) Introduction to Learning Spaces (05:09) The Power of Intentional Design (11:26) The Learning Space Integrator Role (18:59) Transforming Existing Spaces (26:30) Inspiration from Beyond the Classroom (30:12) AI, Flexibility, and the Future Links Watch the full video here Read the full blog here LinkedIn Kay Twelve  

What Happens When Students Bring a Portrait of a Graduate to Life? | NEAAAT Students

In this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, host Victoria Andrews sits down with student leaders from Northeast Academy for Aerospace and Advanced Technology (NEAT) to explore what happens when a Portrait of a Graduate becomes more than a poster on the wall. Kaylyn Rosado, Connor Mawhiney, and Anna Montero share how student voice shaped their school's learning model—from a student ambassador program and community interviews to classroom practices that build collaboration, empathy, and confidence. The conversation also highlights NEAT's flexible STEM-focused pathways (including aviation, biotech, robotics, coding, and advanced manufacturing), dual enrollment opportunities, and a clear message for school designers everywhere: involve students early, often, and authentically—because agency changes everything. Outline (00:00) Introduction & Student Introductions (04:06) Student Ambassadors & Community Engagement (09:54) Pathways & Career Exploration (16:55) Personal Growth & Student Development (20:44) Advice for School Leaders Links Read the full blog here Watch the full video here Northeast Academy for Aerospace and Advanced Technologies  

Catching Up: School Choice, AI & Humanity, and Bottom-Up Innovation

In this episode of Catching Up, Nate McClennen and Mason Pashia explore what's changing in education—and what should change next—through the lenses of infrastructure, accountability, and emerging technology. They discuss a "smart city" view of transportation and connectivity, unpack new research on how parents respond to grades vs. standardized test data, and examine a Florida study on how school choice competition impacts performance. The conversation then shifts to the Future of Tech and Work, including AI agents and the incentive structures shaping major AI companies—ending with a clear call to invest in "relational infrastructure" so that human connection, trust, and agency grow alongside AI. Outline (00:00) Welcome & Overview (03:23) Infrastructure & Mexico City (08:36) AI Agents & Moltbook (13:37) Parents, Grades & Testing (18:28) School Choice Study (38:26) Bottom-Up Innovation Framework (47:08) What's That Song? Links Watch the full video here Interpreting Performance: Evidence on Signal Weighting in Human Capital Investment In These Districts, Students Get an English Credit for On-the-Job Internships What actually determines AI's impact on humanity? Incentives, value networks, and the forces shaping AI's future. The CHOICE We Make: The Critically Human Skills That Define Our Future Welcome to the Era of Relational Intelligence Can't Get There from Here: A Framework for the Start, Spread, and Scale of Bottom-Up Innovation in Education Low-Earning Degrees Will Soon Lose Access to Federal Loans—Is Yours on the List

How Do You Build a Team That Builds, Instead of Building It All Yourself? | Kelly Coffin

In this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, host Rebecca Midles talks with Kelly Coffin, superintendent in Farmington Hills, Michigan, about what it really means to "go slow to go fast" in district transformation. Coffin shares how leaders can build trust and capacity through co-design with educators closest to students, stay connected through daily visibility and listening routines, and "test the system" for readiness without defaulting to top-down control. The conversation centers on authentic leadership—grounded in clarity of vision, coherence, and the courage to be vulnerable in public—so teams don't just implement change, they own it. Outline (00:00) Introduction (04:08) Leadership Evolution (08:35) Daily Leadership in Action (15:15) Building Trust and Capacity (17:18) Advice for New Leaders (28:26) The Bravest Leadership Links Watch the full video here Read the full blog here LinkedIn Farmington Public Schools