The Education Concierge

Making Differentiation Doable: Simple Strategies for Every Classroom a Solor Podcast Episode with Shanimarie Ogilive

Are all your students doing the same assignments and activities during your lesson? Well, it's time to differentiate! You might think that having all your students do the same activities and assignments during a lesson is easier. Still, once you listen to this episode on differentiation, you will realize that you have been missing out on all the benefits of differentiating your instruction. After listening to the episode, you will learn what differentiation is, how to differentiate, and useful examples to get you thinking on how to differentiate your instruction.

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Chandra Orrill is a first-generation college graduate who has earned an M.S. and Ph.D. in Instructional Systems Technology from Indiana University and a B.A. in Computer Applications in Music from the University of Alabama. She worked as faculty in higher education for 24 years before stepping out to lead Rethink Learning Labs. Her work for most of those years has been driven by her own observation that even as an honors student in K-12, her educational experiences were not particularly engaging or enriching. She is driven by a desire to support students in learning to think critically, to feel capable of success, and to be able to succeed in any field(s) they want. To this end, her research has focused on middle grades mathematics. She is particularly interested in how teachers understand the math they teach and how to support teachers in becoming more expert in their content. More recently, she has expanded these efforts to include more problem-solving approaches and content areas. Specifically, she has worked in computational, cybersecurity, and design thinking in elementary and middle grades. Chandra's goals for Rethink Learning Labs are to transform education through research, to partner with schools and teachers who want to rethink education for the 21st century, and to mentor new researchers into applied research efforts that are driven by data and theory, but that also have a clear impact on teachers, students, and schools.

On this episode of The Education Concierge Podcast, join us as we highlight George Stewart, a dedicated educator with 16 years of experience and a fervent advocate for quality education. George's journey into education advocacy began with his acceptance into the National Education Association (NEA) Teacher Leadership Institute (TLI). Since completing the program, he's showcased his expertise by presenting at the NEA National Leadership Summit and serving as a TLI capstone reviewer.

George's commitment to public education is evident in his collaboration with state legislators, where he actively contributed to writing and introducing education legislation in the Mississippi House of Representatives. His advocacy efforts have notably led to the largest teacher pay raise in Mississippi's history and impactful campaigns surrounding safe drinking water in Jackson.

A staunch supporter of community schools and education equity, George has played a crucial role as the MAE representative on the OUR JPS Community Schools Planning Team and the Mississippi NAACP Education Committee. Beyond his teaching career, George is an alum of The Mississippi Black Leadership Institute, founded by Congressman Bennie Thompson, and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute Advocacy and Campaign Institute.

Tune in to gain insights from George Stewart's wealth of experience, his journey in education advocacy, and the impactful changes he's spearheaded in the realm of public education.

Shawn Young is a co-founder and CEO of Classcraft, the Engagement Management System for schools. Since its launch, Classcraft has gained incredible traction with educators worldwide, providing tools to gamify their classrooms.

Shawn taught 11th-grade physics for nine years, holds a bachelor’s degree in physics and a master’s in education from Université de Sherbrooke, and is also a seasoned web developer. Shawn sits on the Scientific Advisory Board for UNESCO’s MGIEP, sits on the corporate advisory board for Future Ready Schools New Jersey, sits on the corporate advisory board for SETDA, is the vice-president of the Edteq Association and is an Ambassador for the Education faculty of the University of Sherbrooke.

Shawn is interested in how we can create a community in the classroom and how playful principles can help teach the whole child.

How to Connect with Shawn:

The owner of Reach Scholars Tutoring, LLC. At Reach Scholars Tutoring, LLC, your child will receive a customized online reading program based on our initial reading assessment results. Our goal is to help students to reach their reading literacy goals. This also includes English as a Second Language students who need help to improve their English.

How to Connect with Veronica Reid

Kwame Sarfo-Mensah holds a Bachelor’s in Mathematics and a Master’s in Elementary Education from Temple University. He served as a middle school math teacher for nine years in Philadelphia, PA, and Boston, MA. He is the founder & CEO of Identity Talk Consulting, providing professional development and consulting to K-12 schools and educators globally. He also authorizes two books: "Shaping the Teacher Identity: 8 Lessons That Will Help Define the Teacher in You" and "From Inaction to 'In Action': Creating a New Normal for Urban Educators." Outside of teaching and consulting, Kwame hosts the Identity Talk 4 Educators LIVE and the Radical Math Talk podcasts, which highlight the educators who are reshaping, redefining, and decolonizing the way education is taught in our schools. Throughout his 15-year career as a math educator, author, and consultant, Kwame has earned numerous accolades for this work, which include being honored as the 2019 National Member of the Year by Black Educators Rock, Inc. and is recognized as a Top Education Influencer by brightbeam, Inc. in 2021 and 2022. Kwame's work has been featured on The Tavis Smiley Show, Edutopia, Ed Post, Teaching Channel, WGBH News, The Educators' Room, LLC., and Medium.

How to Connect

Charter school superintendent that believes in all of my kids!

How to Connect with Raymond Ankrum

Nandi Edouard was born, raised, and returned to Cobb County, GA, where she is working with her design team to reimagine the educational landscape in Georgia. Previously she was the Director of School Culture, Managing Dean of Students, and New Teacher Development Lead at Prospect Schools in Brooklyn, NY. Before this, Nandi spent three years in Houston, Texas, teaching and leading 6-8th grade English and Language Arts at YES Prep Public Schools. Nandi received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Spelman College and holds a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University. Now, she serves as the lead school founder and chief executive officer of The Simple Vue Academy, which is proposed to open in 2025.

How to connect with Nandi-

Wendell Scales, Jr. is an award-winning youth advocate who has pioneered many first-of-its-kind access K-12 pathway programs focused on financial literacy, STEM, social justice, and community engagement.

Over the last decade, he enhanced college and career-going outcomes among predominately BIPOC scholars in Pulaski County. These scholars would achieve a 97 percent graduation rate, a 95 percent acceptance rate, and nearly $20 million in grants and scholarships. He is currently the deputy director of innovation at Arkansas Lighthouse Charter Schools, his efforts have led to being recognized as a national 2022 Yass Prize Semifinalist and a $200k STOP Awardee (Sustainable, Transformation, Outstanding Permissionless) for their AgriSTEM initiative.

A champion of community advocacy has led Scales to advisory board appointments for Pulaski County Youth Services and Electus Global Education Co. He has been recognized as 2022 AY Magazine-Men of Distinction, 2021 Arkansas Community Colleges(ACC) Outstanding Alumni, and 100 Black Men of Greater Little Rock 2019 Real Men of Service Award.

He is an alumnus of several leadership programs, such as SCOP (Stanford College Outreach Program), a college-access immersion program; he is a graduate of Leadership Greater Little Rock Class XXXV and currently serves as Arkansas State, Government Relations Co-Chairfor The Southern Association for College Admissions Counseling (SACAC).

He earned his bachelor’s(2012) in Finance at Henderson State University, and a Master of Arts degree in higher education (2019) with an emphasis in student affairs from University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

How to Connect with Wendell

Email: wendell@scalingtheworld.com

Dr. Terry Ross is the President and Founder of New Teacher University. Dr. Ross has dedicated his adult life to public education and to ensure that all students receive a world-class education. He is an award-winning teacher and administrator. Serving as a classroom teacher, principal, associate superintendent, educational consultant/educational entrepreneur, and director for an educational nonprofit cemented Dr. Ross as a transformational leader. As a transformational leader, he has worked with many districts, charter management organizations, principals, and teachers to develop their capacity to make data-driven decisions and coach them to have robust Professional Learning Communities. His school work convinced him that the answers to students making dramatic gains in achievement lie within the communities, teachers, and leaders serving the students. Dr. Ross has trained thousands of educators and educational leaders nationwide to be data-driven, equity-centered advocates for students and their success. His philosophy is grounded in the belief that all students can and want to learn. He also believes that all families want what is best for their children. His background in Special Education has given him a ‘no opt out’ attitude toward student learning and developed a ‘can do’ spirit.

How to Connect with Dr. Ross

Belinda Gordon-Battle is a licensed clinical therapist and life consultant based in Miami while providing therapeutic services across the globe. Through her mental health counseling practice, she provides a safe space for individuals (children and adults), families, couples and organizations to receive counseling and support services that address mental health and mental wellness. BGB, as her clients and colleagues call her, is an advocate of “removing the stigma” and normalizing the therapeutic process. She incorporates cultural relevance and non-traditional interventions and strategies to strengthen her clients’ steps towards goals of behavioral, emotional, social and mental wellness.

How to Connect with Belinda Gordon-Battle 

Hajj Womack has over seventeen years of experience in education as a teacher, professor, mentor, instructional coach, and administrator. Hajj Womack has degrees from Morehouse College and the University of Michigan. Successful completion of Atlanta Public Schools’ District leadership program and innovative problem-solving add to Womack’s qualities. Parenthood and family have also provided challenges and experiences that provide a greater wealth of education experience. School administration provided experience in managing 50+ staff and an approximately $400,000 budget. This unique combination of experiences and training is used to develop products that meet educational needs.

• CEO and Co-Founder, IST
  
• 20 years educator--principal, teacher, instructional coach
  
• APS Superintendent Academy for Building Leadership & Georgia Leader & Teacher Certified
  
• Morehouse College and University of Michigan degrees in History
  

Hajj Womack, a Morehouse alumn and University of Michigan graduate, is a 20-year veteran in public schools serving as a teacher, administrator, instructional coach, and consultant.  He is the CEO and Co-Founder of Innovative School Tools LLC, an ed-tech company.  Innovative School Tools launched TeachersInTouch in February 2018 and has grossed $30000 in sales with $96000 committed for the fall.

How to Connect with Hajj Womack

Brandon C. Ballard is an 8-year former U.S. Army Reservist that knows about sacrifice and a professional people person that knows about service to others. Upon leaving his corporate casino job in 2017, photography became a vehicle he used to create impact in and beyond his community. He spent 6 years cultivating the entrepreneurial energy flowing through Philadelphia by hosting panels, workshops, and programs for creatives and youth at all stages of the journey. Brandon has served as a content lead on numerous projects with brands such as Radio One, Entercom, PECO, and Temple University while building his own brands to help open doors and perspectives for other dreamers as well.

Clement Townsend spent close to two decades in front of the camera as a Sports Journalist including time spent on the local news, cable, and the internet.  His career took him to several markets including San Angelo, Texas, Mobile, Alabama, Lynchburg, Virginia, and Chicago Illinois.  Clement has covered numerous big events throughout his careers such as the Super Bowl, NBA All-Star Game, and multiple college football National Championships.  Clement is the author of “How to Become a Broadcasting Star” and the founder of Broadcasting Career Mentor (BCM).  BCM provides media training for youth across the country.  BCM offers in-person training and virtual media training through the Video Journalism Pro Online Course.

Website and Social Links

www.videojournalismpro.com

LinkedIn:Clement Townsend

Facebook:CTownsendTV

Instagram:CTownsendTV

Twitter:ClementTV_

How to Connect with The Education Concierge Podcast with Benita G.

Matt Barnes  Co-Founder and Parent Coach of The Education Game

Matt believes that “normal” is broken in traditionally structured schools and wants to make “weird” the new normal.

Over 25 years, Matt has distributed $500m in philanthropy, led an education reform nonprofit, served on nine educational boards from pre-K to university, and coached thousands of parents on education system navigation.

In 2020, Matt launched “The Education Game,” a platform that inspires parents to embrace a Future-Ready learning model that shamelessly deemphasizes grades and academic compliance while radically emphasizing learning, problem-solving, and student engagement.

He is the father of three amazing teens who were educated in traditional, hybrid, micro, and self-directed learning models.

This is one of my favorite conversations!  I have found another radical, maverick in education!  We are about to take over the world, dismantling the layers of education!!!

HI! I'm your unconventional math consultant, Rosalba.
I create a space for busy elementary teachers who WANT to love math and are looking for a place to support them on their learning journey.

Everyone has the same end goal for our students. We want them to be critical thinkers and not parroting clones. So how do we get there? We have to reframe our mindsets in order to reframe our lessons. I believe we have to be active participants in our learning. And not just our learning when it comes to math topics.

To me, we are more than just math teachers. I've always been a renegade teacher/coach. I make noise about math. But I also make noise about diversity and inclusion. One is not isolated from the other. It's all connected.

I often get asked why it's called "Zenned Math". You see it's not really so Zen. Not at first. I encourage teachers to lean into the discomfort. That's where we learn and grow. When we lean into that discomfort, do the work, then we get to a place of Zen. That's the end goal in everything we do. But we have to muddle through the tough stuff to get there.

But no worries, I'll be here every step of the way...helping you reduce math anxiety, make math lessons more engaging, work on effective teaching practices, and most importantly help you put diversity and inclusion at the forefront.

HOW TO CONNECT WITH ROSALBA

Dr. Aaron Griffen: Vice President (VP) of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at DSST Public Schools | CEO Prosperity Educators, LLC | Editor: "Challenges to Integrating Diversity Equity and Inclusion Programs in Organizations"

Areas of Specialty, Research, and Scholarship: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusive Practices, Urban Education Policy and Analysis, Culturally Responsive and Relevant Curriculum and Instruction Development, Educational Leader Growth and Development, Multicultural Education, African American Educational Lobbying, Qualitative Inquiry, Narrative Analysis, and Faculty and Staff Professional Development. 

Higher Education Professional(US & International):
I am a 20-year, seasoned and collaborative professional who enjoys working as a coach, advocate, mentor, lecturer, consultant, and advisor. Furthermore, I am passionate about learning and valuing the lived experiences of others.

As an educator, I treasure my role of being an advocate for experiential learning that promotes student engagement and global interconnectedness through:
Service-Learning Community Engagement Intercultural Engagement
Social Responsibility Student Accountability Social Justice
Life Competencies Leadership Development Academic Scholarship

As an administrator and practitioner, I value innovation while promoting organizational effectiveness in operational areas by:
* improving services and processes in the student lifecycle;
* fostering collaborative partnerships with staff, faculty, and external service providers;
* integrating new concepts into a work environment while maintaining the foundation and values;
* ensuring cultural context and new content/concepts are aligned; and
* keeping current effective practices of the existing system.

Higher Education Expertise:
* US-Framed, New/Start-up Colleges/Universities Overseas
* Administrative and Operations Management
* Policy, Process, & Procedure Development and Implementation
* Residence Life/Student Housing Change and Transition Management
* International Student Affairs Transition or Transformation Management

Global/Expat Career Strategist:
As a 10-year expatriate (expat) by choice traveling the globe, I have a passion for helping others achieve their dream and goal of ex-pat living. My lived experiences in the Middle East, Caribbean, Central, Southeast, and South Asia, as well as my travels to East Africa, are assets to my clients.
* Expat Career Coaching (Individual & Group);
* Expat Job Search Coaching - for colleagues interested in International Higher Education;
* Expat Transition Coaching
Start your Expat Journey Now! FREE Consultation - hello@roseappleglobal.com
Learn more: www.roseappleglobal.com

Independent Consultant for Higher Education:
Specializing in the optimization of services and processes in the administrative and operational areas of student-facing units:
* Student Affairs *Student Services * Business/Financial Affairs

Global Experience:
Lived and worked in: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Commonwealth of Dominica, Singapore, Bangladesh, and the USA and traveled to 50 countries.

Connect and Contact Karla.