Voices for Excellence

Dr. Michael T Conner
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Education for Kids
  • Updated Weekly

Welcome to Voices for Excellence, hosted by Dr. Michael Conners, where we explore the dynamic world of education, leadership, and innovation. This podcast offers in-depth conversations with thought leaders, educators, and industry experts, providing listeners with actionable insights and strategies to drive excellence in their fields. Season 3 continues our journey with a focus on cutting-edge topics like diversity in education, equality and inclusion, the impact of AI in the classroom, and transformative leadership strategies. Each episode is designed to inspire educators, leaders, and professionals committed to fostering positive change and achieving outstanding results. Across all seasons, Voices for Excellence delves into: Innovative educational practices and strategies Leadership development and personal growth Diversity and inclusion in the educational landscape The role of technology and AI in modern learning environments Join us for thought-provoking discussions and gain valuable perspectives on how to excel in today’s rapidly evolving world. Whether you’re an educator, a leader, or simply passionate about making a difference, this podcast provides the tools and inspiration you need to elevate your impact. Subscribe to Voices for Excellence and stay at the forefront of educational and leadership excellence!

  1. Interoperability, AI Sobriety, and the Data Warehouse with Daniel Crook

    1d ago

    Interoperability, AI Sobriety, and the Data Warehouse with Daniel Crook

    Daniel Crook, founder of School Harbor and co-founder of AEG Systems, joins Dr. Michael Conner for a direct, infrastructure-first conversation about what K–12 districts are getting wrong about AI adoption. Daniel has spent years working inside the systems that districts rely on to manage data, make decisions, and integrate technology at scale. His assessment is clear: the AI problem in education isn't a platform problem, it's a foundation problem. Too many districts are evaluating AI tools before they've built the data infrastructure that would allow those tools to function effectively. In this episode, Daniel walks through why the data warehouse is the non-negotiable starting point, what interoperability actually requires in practice, not in theory, and the three criteria every district leader should apply before selecting or expanding any AI platform. He also introduces the concept of AI sobriety: an implementation philosophy that grounds strategy in the technology's current capabilities rather than its projected future state. The conversation also touches on the Netflix analogy for understanding where edtech sits in the broader AI development cycle, and why the districts building administrative intelligence now will have a significant structural advantage over those still chasing student-facing tool count. A grounded, no-hype episode for superintendents, CTOs, instructional technology leads, and anyone responsible for AI strategy in K–12 education. Episode 127 | Voices for Excellence

    58 min
  2. Coding Is the New Cursive: Why Every Kid Needs It (And It's Not About Software Engineering) | Stewart Brown

    Jun 15

    Coding Is the New Cursive: Why Every Kid Needs It (And It's Not About Software Engineering) | Stewart Brown

    Today's kindergartners will retire in 2082, but are we preparing them for that world or ours? In this episode, Dr. Michael Conner sits down with Stewart Brown, Director of Partnerships at Code4Kids, to challenge the "21st century" trap that's already widening the gap for Generation Alpha and Beta. Stewart and Michael dig into why coding is becoming as essential as cursive, a fundamental literacy every student needs, not just a technical skill for future developers. They explore how cross-curricular computer science can bridge math, science, arts, and social studies, and why the education system urgently needs to move beyond outdated frameworks and embrace what Stewart calls 22nd-century thinking. The conversation unpacks why understanding technology matters far more than becoming a software engineer, and how Code for Kids is already reshaping what digital literacy looks like in practice, through connective, curriculum-integrated education that gives students real agency in a technology-saturated world. Stewart Brown is a multiple founder of international EdTech companies and a trusted voice in AI literacy in education. Code for Kids, launched in 2018, integrates coding, robotics, digital literacy, and STEAM across the curriculum. This is essential listening for educators, administrators, and parents asking the question that matters most: how do we truly prepare students for their future? Subscribe to Voices for Excellence for conversations that challenge education's status quo.

    48 min
  3. Emotional Intelligence Isn't Soft, It's the Durable Skill Driving Academic Success | Dr Donna Housman

    Jun 1

    Emotional Intelligence Isn't Soft, It's the Durable Skill Driving Academic Success | Dr Donna Housman

    Stop managing behavior. Start changing it. Dr. Mike Conner sits down with Dr. Donna Housman, CEO and founder of Housman Learning, to explore the paradigm shift reshaping early childhood education: why emotional intelligence isn't a soft skill, it's the durable, sustainable driver of academic achievement and lasting behavioral change. Key Topics: The evolution of emotional intelligence from "soft skill" to critical educational driverECSEL (Emotional, Cognitive, and Social Early Learning): The evidence-based program closing the preparation gapWhy self-regulation, not funding, is the real differentiator in high-risk populationsThe achievement gap is a symptom; the preparation gap (birth to kindergarten) is the diseaseHow early childhood emotional competence prevents the "troubled teen" crisis before it startsTeacher satisfaction, retention, and the post-COVID educational landscape Dr. Housman brings 30 years of clinical psychology expertise and longitudinal research proving that developing emotional intelligence starting as early as 3 months old transforms children's trajectories, and challenges the entire education sector to rethink what "preparation" really means. Subscribe for deep conversations on education, human development, and the research-backed practices that create lasting change.

    44 min
  4. The Circles of Genius We're Wasting: Why Lived Experience Matters More Than Motivation with Shokry Elady

    May 18

    The Circles of Genius We're Wasting: Why Lived Experience Matters More Than Motivation with Shokry Elady

    Organizations love to say they’ve “given people the tools to succeed”, so why do the same individuals and teams keep being labeled as the problem? In this episode, host Dr. Michael Conner talks with Dr. Shokry Eldaly (Teachers College, Columbia University) about what’s really missing: structures that make efficacy possible. Shokry breaks down why motivation isn’t the primary barrier, how rigid systems discount lived experience, and what it looks like to build collective impact without blaming individuals. In this conversation: Why “lack of motivation” is often a convenient story How structures shape outcomes more than individual effort Lived experience as essential data for change Hope as a practical strategy for collective impact Subscribe to Voices for Excellence for conversations that challenge how we lead, learn, and grow together.

    54 min
  5. Keeping People at the Center of AI Integration with Matthew Berkshire

    May 4

    Keeping People at the Center of AI Integration with Matthew Berkshire

    Schools aren't just content delivery systems, they're the places where belonging happens, and that matters more in the age of AI than it did before. Matthew Berkshire, Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Greenville Central School District in New York, built something unusual: a school improvement process that used AI to strengthen the human trust network, not replace it. When Greenville adopted the Agile Evolutionary Group platform, the Diagnostic revealed hidden patterns in pacing, intervention, and assessment that educators had felt but couldn't name. The real work started after, sitting together, reviewing insights against lived experience, and making decisions as a learning organization. In this conversation with Dr. Michael T. Conner, Berkshire walks through what intentional AI integration looks like: starting with people who already trust each other, designing conditions for learning rather than supervising instruction, and keeping professional judgment and collective efficacy at the center. He talks about pandemic lessons, how the AEG platform fit into an already-strong school improvement process, the challenge of keeping dynamic collaboration alive across 6-12 departmental alignment meetings, and why, even with AI, the educators make the final call. What You'll LearnHow to integrate AI tools without removing people from the processWhat the AC-Stage means for instructional leadershipWhy the Diagnostic is a beginning, not an endingHow to design conditions for learning across a whole districtThe difference between technology that supports and technology that replaces This episode is essential listening for instructional leaders, superintendents, and anyone building the conditions for continuous improvement in a learning organization. And on that note, onward and upward.

    47 min
  6. When the Superintendent Becomes the Chief Advocate, Everything Shifts

    Apr 20

    When the Superintendent Becomes the Chief Advocate, Everything Shifts

    The superintendent isn't a budget manager, they're the chief advocate for all children. Dr. Michael J. Barnes rebuilt Mayfield City Schools around this principle, and the results speak for themselves.The superintendent is the chief advocate for all children in their community. Nobody else can say that, not the mayor, not the school board, not the superintendent of the next district over. But somewhere along the way, superintendents drifted from the instructional chair into operations and politics. Dr. Michael J. Barnes reversed that drift entirely. At Mayfield City Schools (Ohio), Barnes built a four-track personalized learning model that blew up the time/learning equation. Traditional, Cross-Curricular, Self-Paced, and The Option. When students got agency over their learning design, attendance skyrocketed, not because of better discipline policies, but because students were actually designing their own learning. Time stopped being the constant. Learning became it. In this conversation with Dr. Conner, Barnes walks the AC-Stage reframe: what does instructional leadership look like when the industrial model is obsolete? What's the role of the superintendent in an Innovation Core? Why do design thinking, engineering, and entrepreneurship matter as much as math? How do you navigate the VUCA landscape of state politics without abandoning your moral imperative? What You'll LearnThe superintendent's real job: chief advocate for all childrenHow to flip the time/learning variable, when learning is constant, time becomes flexibleThe four-track personalized learning model and why student agency drives attendanceWhy instructional leadership means staying in the learning chair, not the politics chairThe Creative Staircase framework for systemic innovationHow to navigate the VUCA landscape in state politics without compromising your vision This conversation is essential for any superintendent or central office leader in the AC-Stage of education. Dr. Conner and Dr. Barnes dig into the frameworks that move the dial from excellence as an aspiration to excellence as a system. And on that note, onward and upward.

    51 min
  7. From Creative Minds to Future Ready Centers: Rob Dickson Reimagines K-12

    Apr 6

    From Creative Minds to Future Ready Centers: Rob Dickson Reimagines K-12

    What happens when a public school district builds a micro school inside itself, and doesn't apologize for it? Rob Dickson is the CIO of Wichita Public Schools (USD 259), and he's not waiting for permission to innovate. Creative Minds, a K-6 vertical classroom where kindergartners learn alongside sixth graders. Future Ready Centers that look like businesses, not classrooms, where students earn certifications in advanced manufacturing and cybersecurity. An iterative, agile approach to systems change that treats failure as feedback, not failure. Dickson's work bridges the operational and instructional sides of AI adoption, from changing app approval processes to training teachers on generative AI within weeks of ChatGPT's release. He argues that adaptability is the highest form of intelligence, and that schools must prepare students not for certainty, but for curiosity in the face of constant change. What You'll Learn: The three learning stages: K-5 learning by doing, 6-8 skill discovery, 9-12 skill developmentSocial fitness - how Generation Alpha navigates networks of billions, not 15Why AI replaces tasks, not jobs - and what that means for curriculum designHow Wichita's Future Ready Centers and Creative Minds micro school operateArizona State's six levels of problem solving - and why academia lives in the first threeHumanity, Agency, Audacity: Rob's three words for being 2035-ready

    54 min
  8. National AI Literacy Day with Erin Mote: Why Doing Something Beats Doing Nothing

    Mar 23

    National AI Literacy Day with Erin Mote: Why Doing Something Beats Doing Nothing

    What if AI isn't trying to fit into your classroom — but to rebuild it entirely? Erin Mote, CEO and founder of InnovateEDU, explores what it means to navigate an arrival technology, one that doesn't fit into existing systems but fundamentally reorders them. Erin leads national and international work on AI literacy, including National AI Literacy Day (March 27th), and she's not here to hype or fear-monger. She's a scout: someone managing both the promise and the peril. What You'll Learn: The difference between arrival technologies (AI, electricity, internet) and adoption technologies (crypto, VR)Why AI literacy is as critical in English and science as it is in computer scienceReal examples of AI reducing bias, optimizing bus routes, and screening for dyslexiaHow National AI Literacy Day (March 27) is calling in parents, students, and communitiesWhy "do something" is the only response that mattersErin's two-word challenge: Do somethingHer song choice: Happy (balancing promise and peril)

    43 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Welcome to Voices for Excellence, hosted by Dr. Michael Conners, where we explore the dynamic world of education, leadership, and innovation. This podcast offers in-depth conversations with thought leaders, educators, and industry experts, providing listeners with actionable insights and strategies to drive excellence in their fields. Season 3 continues our journey with a focus on cutting-edge topics like diversity in education, equality and inclusion, the impact of AI in the classroom, and transformative leadership strategies. Each episode is designed to inspire educators, leaders, and professionals committed to fostering positive change and achieving outstanding results. Across all seasons, Voices for Excellence delves into: Innovative educational practices and strategies Leadership development and personal growth Diversity and inclusion in the educational landscape The role of technology and AI in modern learning environments Join us for thought-provoking discussions and gain valuable perspectives on how to excel in today’s rapidly evolving world. Whether you’re an educator, a leader, or simply passionate about making a difference, this podcast provides the tools and inspiration you need to elevate your impact. Subscribe to Voices for Excellence and stay at the forefront of educational and leadership excellence!

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. Michael T Conner
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    128
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2022-2024 AGILE EVOLUTIONARY GROUP CORP.
  • Show Website
    Voices for Excellence