Brett Roer, Jacob Kantor, & Candice Sears: AI in Education, Personalized Learning, Rural Education

Hayley Spira-Bauer: Welcome back everybody to the Learning Can't Wait. Podcast we have our very first panel of season. 5. And let me tell you, I am excited with us today. We have Jacob Kantor, the co-founder of Edlet. Hey, Jacob! Hey! There! Great to be with you today? Great to have you! We have a return guest, Mr. Brett Roer, the nonprofit, and Ed. Tech, K. 12, strategic advisor. Hi Brett, how are you doing

Brett Roer: Good? It's a pleasure to be back. Thanks for having me

Hayley Spira-Bauer: So happy. You're here, and last, but certainly not least, we have Candice Sears, the Director of Instruction, with Montgomery County Educational Service Center. Welcome, Candice.

Candice Sears: Hi, Hayley, so good to be with you. Thanks for inviting me.

Hayley Spira-Bauer: I'm so honored that you took time out of your busy day to come, join us, Candice, Brett, and Jacob. It's such a pleasure to have you here. I know we have a chalk full discussion plan, so let's jump right in our first question, as you all know, because y'all are listeners of the Learning Can't Wait podcast is always. How did you come to be the personal and professional version of yourself. Candice. I'm gonna start with you on this one, please.

Candice Sears: All right. Well, thank you, Hayley. So from an early age I've always felt this profound connection to the idea of service and empowerment. This intrinsic motivation has guided me through a path of education and leadership where the focus has really always been on the idea of uplifting others professionally my journey began with a clear vision, and really to reimagine and transform the educational landscape. My passion lies in creating environments where students can thrive harnessing like the power of technology. Now that exists and the innovative teaching methodologies that really tailor and personalize the learning experience for our students. I would also just say, the core of my professional ethos revolves around building meaningful relationships, and that foundation has really allowed me to connect deeply with students and educators and communities, just to foster that collaborative network that supports growth and learning across the space.

Hayley Spira-Bauer: You brought up 2 points there, one specifically about uplifting people and another about connecting with people. I always am inspired when a conversation starts there, because inevitably, we're gonna talk about innovation and technology. That is very much the core of the conversation around education today. But you can't have that without people. And so, Candice, thanks for starting us off with a beautiful overview of how you got to where you are, but also highlighting the central theme of people. All right, Brett, you're up next. Tell us how you got here, please.

Brett Roer: Yeah, absolutely again. Thanks, Hayley, for having me my name is Brett. I spent 16 years in the New York City public school system, from teacher and college advisor up to administrator, and most recently a principal in the Bronx. I think what brought me here. In my journey out of education and then into strategic advising edtech partnerships. Nonprofit leadership development is similar to what Candice mentioned. It's really 2 things. One is reflection. So continue to be curious. Recognizing thattitles and roles really aren't what's going to move education forward its relationships and the willingness to form coalitions around shared missions and values.And I really feel that is what propelled me literally to right here, right now in this podcast and also the things we're going to discuss today about the state of education and innovation.

Hayley Spira-Bauer: I know you're gonna have a lot to share. You spanned quite a few sectors over the past 5 years or so, and you've seen a lot of change both in schools and surrounding schools so excited to hear your perspective when we dive into the deeper conversation. Thanks, Brett.

Jacob Kantor: Thank you. And last, but not least, this time, Jacob Kantor, can you tell us a little bit how you came to be where you are today, personally and professionally, please. Sure again. Thanks for having me. So I'm Jacob Kantor. I came to the US from Ukraine as a kid went through LAUSD. Public schools, then Cal State Northridge, and a program at UCLA. But as soon as I finished college, jumped into a role with McGraw Hill. Been working with LAUSD. For many years. Varsity Tutors, Stride taking on kind of strategic projects with a IEDUC2 Education, Revolution Prep. So really kind of cut my teeth in at tech sales, working with districts and figuring out what solutions students need, and also could move the needle forward for students, but it all kind of stems. Back to my first day at school. I remember Ellora Avenue Elementary first day of school, not knowing any English, and just crying all day, and like I've been my late thirties, I still have that in my brain. So it just shows you how impactful these different things are for students that stay with them forever. Right? So really getting solutions in the hands of students that can give them the life that I'm privileged to have in America.

Hayley Spira-Bauer: You know, Jacob, you sharing that anecdote, one gives me the chill. So thank you for your vulnerability and disclosing and sharing the audience. Your story but 2. I'm gonna ask all of us to use it as a center for our conversation today. I don't think anyone here, or anyone who talks about education intentionally centers various populations, but centering. The student will be a call to action for us for the rest of this conversation. All right. So there's a lot of ways we could go from here. I used to say, early in the podcast and like series one and 2. What's your kind of state of the union of education? And so I wanna ask us that. Let's start with you, Brett, here, what gives you hope about the current direction of education. And and let's just start with the positivity. Let's be those optimists. What gives us excitement about what's ahead?

Brett Roer: Yeah, I wake up every day, really excited about the state of education. I see a light bulb every day. I have people now reaching out to me, asking for specific solutions because there's challenges. And for the first time in a while, and obviously, I'm thinking, through the lens of AI, there's real hope and solutions. So just to name some areas that I'm most excited about what AI can do in the larger scope of education one is keeping it student centered personalizing learning. I get to meet with innovative education solutions in the nonprofit and for-profit space. Who show me in a click of a button how they are actually in real time translating verbally and in writing into any dialect, they are able to personalize learning based on future career goals, passions, reading levels. Math math levels at the push of a button. Teachers are now able to authentically personalize learning and meet each student where they are in an engagement level and a rigor level that's appropriate. That's something that the best teacher in the world could not do with this kind of fidelity just a few years ago. And it's here, so that fills me with the most hope. And then, secondly, Teacher centered those light bulb moments. Seeing teachers reign, reignite their passion for education because they see some hope and some lights at the end of the tunnel, that there's something out there that if they are willing to embrace, change can really transform what they're doing can transform the experience for students families. They can even get back some of that time that we know is required in education to help students, but can be done so much more efficiently and better. Anyway, that's what's given me hope right now, in the state of education

Hayley Spira-Bauer: I have to tell you the evolution of this. Podcast. I'm just gonna name it again. Here it took all of 10 s after this, the real first question of the podcast to to say, AI like that is for long time listeners. That is a big change. But it's so real. It's ever present in the conversations around our classrooms. You know, Candice, you're very close to classrooms. You're still at Montgomery County Educational Service Center, working around the schools in the area of Dayton, Ohio. How does this land with you? What Brett shared, and what would you add onto it?

Candice Sears: Yes, I'm so grateful that Brett brought up a personalized learning component. It is really really cool to see. Education is truly moving beyond the traditional models and leveraging the technology to create environments that not only engage the students, but for me, prepare them for the challenges and the opportunities of a rapidly evolving world. This dynamic shift! It instills the hope fosters a belief in the potential within each of our students and empowers our kids to pursue their passions with the necessary tools that you know to be able to thrive and make a positive impact on society. So just the boundless possibilities that exist. Just amazing.

Hayley Spira-Bauer: We'd be remiss if we didn't acknowledge that. Obviously there's things that give us pause as well. So, Jacob, not to have you breathe the doom and gloom on this conversation. But what's what's causing you concern right now, as you look at the horizon.

Jacob Kantor: Yeah. You know some of the things coming out even this week with, you know, ESSER cliffs and potential rollbacks of teachers that were hired. You know, districts are gonna make some tough decisions this year with everything going on. But you know not to be all doom and gloom right like in the State of California. I live in Los Angeles like there's a a huge bucket of funds now for extended learning programs. Right? There's a huge bucket of funds for music and arts programs. There's career pathways, bucket of funds. Now, right? So for solution, providers that are, you know, in that space for everything that's kind of doom and gloom with ESSER and cliffs and all this kind of stuff, though there's always different kind of buckets of strategic plans at the state levels, or, you know, to really move the needle for students. So you know, as I kind of embroidery thinking through this, you know, idea of like a district having to potentially pink slip teachers and all that stuff like that breaks in my heart right like, if you're a brand new teacher, and you've been teaching for 3 years at a district. So that's kind of top of mind for me. But also, you know, strategic funds available at different States for different initiatives, where, you know, we can really tap into and move the needle for students.

Hayley Spira-Bauer: One thing I hear often is that the procurement process has some really positive aspects to creating more equitable access for different solutions to be able to access schools, but also has many, many broken components of it. As well. Does this land true for all of you on this call? Do you feel like procurement? Is a system that needs improvement. How do schools and and how do you? You know surrounding agencies approach this challenge?

Brett Roer: Yeah, if it's okay, I'd love to speak to it from, you know, former educator decision maker, now, current person trying to help scale innovation. I think something that I've learned right being in New York City. It's its own, it's its own world. And I did not realize how limited our access was to innovation, even though we are the largest school district in the country. So the last few years have been eye opening have been disheartening sometimes, because when I see now the state of procurement, I realize there's a lot of reasons why a certain product or solution is what an educator or a student or a family ultimately are provided. Sometimes it's the best solution possible for that community. Sometimes it's not. And so what I've just noticed is, it's been a very taxing process. Watching educators get to those solutions for a number of different barriers.watching how And solutions are sometimes not putting the student or the community at the forefront. And then most honestly, the time and the inefficiency of it is what has been most disheartening. Education. Leaders are so busy. They're asked to do a million things, and because they are amazing people. They're going to do them, but it ultimately comes up in an opportunity cost to them. Their bandwidth is so limited. So one thing I'm noticing is, how do you get the most innovative solutions in front of the right people is one challenge. And then how do you make sure that those people have the time and bandwidth to really engage with it and then make informed decisions. So I think that's been something that has really been at the forefront of my mind the last few months, and one of the reasons alongside Jacob we founded. We founded Edlet to try to bring educators and innovators in education. Spaces together have authentic conversations. And then finally, to give back to that educational community through shared donations that can fund scholarships and other initiatives. As Jacob mentioned that funding is always a crucial element, so giving back to educators for their time and expertise has really become a passion of mine that I hope is a much need to change in the procurement system.

Hayley Spira-Bauer: Candice, are you busy?

Candice Sears: Oh, yeah, not not at all, not at all. I'm not. I'm not sure what he's talking about.

Hayley Spira-Bauer: So for you. There's probably a lot of ways you look at the available tools and technology and services at your disposal. What? What goes on in your brain when you're making a decision about procurement?

Candice Sears: Yeah, Hayley, I'm positioned really. Well. Here at the Educational Service center in Dayton. You know, we have 16 public districts specifically aligned to us here in the the county. And it's really beautiful. Because in our role, that's that's one of the services that we provide naturally, organically, to all of our schools within the county. We know how busy folks are in the schools. We know the work that they're doing. We know the work that they want to do. But we also know how limiting that is. So here at our ESC. I'm honored and grateful our superintendent. She's a forward thinker. She's very open to like. How do we really ensure that our kids are getting the best, the best that they could be receiving. And so out of the Instructional services department. That's one of the big goals we look to see outside of the county outside of the State, you know, even outside of the country, like what exists? What are those possibilities? Where are those? And then how do we ensure that we're getting the best of the best here in in our county for our kiddos. The struggle that we have when I think about the question about, like the pressing pause is more around. It's the time. It's the pace in which changes are implemented in education. Despite the enthusiasm I walk into a classroom. I just put some VR headsets on a kiddo. We walk in the smiles. The Aha, the Wow factor, despite the enthusiasm and the commitment to innovation. The transformation of educational systems often encounters system inertia where progress towards fully integrating and merging these emerging technologies and pedagogies. It just happens a little bit more slowly than what I would hope and wish. So I think that's the big struggle for us there, Brett, I mean Brett and Jacob, the work they're doing. They're amazing tools out there. Amazing resources.How do we get that for our kiddos yesterday? Not next year?

Hayley Spira-Bauer: Oh, wow! That really resonates that really resonates. I can think of one district that will go unnamed where we are. Still, I think we're on month 11 of waiting for the process to complete. And we're not alone. I've heard many, many folks express similar frustration and schools wanting solutions and not having them in their hands quickly enough. And it's regionalized. This is a problem. You know. We're speaking about the whole country. Here we have Jacob in La. We have Brett and I in New York. We have Candice and Ohio. It's different everywhere. So, Jacob, how do you approach? I mean, you've worked in organizations that are national as well. How do you approach the localization of some of these these challenges and procurement issues.

Jacob Kantor: Yeah, so I think a lot of it, you know, taking one step back is very relationship built right, like some of these folks at these districts I've worked with for 10 plus years, and they were teachers then transition into assistant principals, then principals that now at the district level. So I think a lot of it is really, you know, going back to that relationship of Hey, we've worked with each other for a long time. But I'll tell you. You know to Candice's Point, you know I know the second largest district here, right like their procurement system works where they put out an RFP. You submit information it might take anywhere from 6 months to 12 months, and then you get approval for that RFP. But that approval of Step one. And then you have to go to every single school and say, Hey, I'm authorized, and I won this RFP along with a couple of other vendors like, let's now work together Right? So, for I think for a tech organizations that are looking to, you know, scale impact and scale their solutions. Like. You know. A lot of the times they think, Hey, I'm gonna win this RFP, and the money just starts flowing in right? Because there was a dollar amount tied to it like,that's the first step in a long journey.Right? That's just the district vetting you and saying, Okay, this solution seems interesting. Go see if schools want this, and then they have to make the decisions locally to say yes or no right? And like with La, you know, I'm bringing me back way back to being 22 and working from McGraw Hill when there was a textbook adoption going on right like. I visited 35 schools a day in La for years. Right like there was a teacher at every single school that was piloting McGraw Hill textbooks, and I went and saw one teacher. I had it planned out 30 schools, 35 schools a day, using MapQuest the night before. No iphone, no Garmin right like what a time to be alive! Great days, though. Right? That's how I truly learned, and you know, figured out also the parts of La. I've never seen as a as as a young student myself, but you know I wouldn't trade those days for anything, because it really taught me that, you know. 4 days a week I was in the field. I was visiting folks. I was having conversations, seeing the good, the bad, the the things that they wanted to improve. And yeah, really cut my teeth that way.

Hayley Spira-Bauer: I love that. We centered ourselves back here a little bit on relationships and the power of relationships. This space education. We are all here because we care deeply about kids, and we care about our system and education. And it's really great when you find other people that are in that with you, and you find a path together. So I have a question, though, about this idea of innovation and education Y'all are advocates for innovation. So what strategy, what strategies do you personally recommend for fostering a culture of continuous improvement and experimentation within educational institutions, while also paying attention to the fact that there's often resistance from various stakeholders. It could be hard. So let's say, we get through all of the procurement we have adoption. We're here. How do you get this culture fostered so that these ideas and these new ways of operating are embraced wants to take that first.

Candice Sears: I'm happy to to maybe just start us off here. So. And I'm so grateful that you asked the question because it's the it's the world that I live in. It's actually what keeps me going. And in the work that I get to do. So. I think modeling collaborative leadership is really important. Hayley, I think that this idea, if I can. Model, being an active listener, if I can model taking it all in. And then this idea, it's truly not somebody at the top making a decision. But it's very collaborative. In that relationship building the community engagement. How do we really bring community to the forefront of all of this. Whether that's, you know. Facilitating some community events or just getting the word out there, showing it's amazing again, going back to like just a something as silly as a VR headset, putting those on the heads of our community members or on, you know, letting parents experience that it's pretty amazing how that changes the landscape and the excitement showcasing real world examples is another strategy for me. It could be involving. It could involve setting up like some innovation labs. So setting up some true examples and models, and then letting and encouraging some experimentation with that. And then personalization, going back to what we've talked about a couple of times highlighting the value of tailored learning for a kiddos. That's all student centered in the design

Hayley Spira-Bauer: To your point. Sometimes folks just have to try it, and I love that you said like, Bring the VR set to the public, Brett. You look like you wanted to share. There, go ahead. Yeah, absolutely. So. A few things. I've been really fortunate. As one of my roles. That

Brett Roer: Most fortunate I get to work alongside. Candice is as the Ohio Regional director for aiEDU. So when we talk about innovation, some things that Ohio is doing that's really setting them apart from the rest of the nation. The lieutenant Governor's office has released an AI toolkit so statewide guide to support policy educators, families across the State, and really become like a beacon for the Midwest in innovating and meeting the future job readiness requirements. Secondly, they're hosting they're hosting AI summits. So in partnership with OESCA, which are the Ohio Educational Service Center Association. We're putting on these 4 large AI summits, and it goes back to what you said before about relationship. So I was fortunate enough to head out to Butler County in Ohio, back in November and alongside Candice kind of shared this partnership with a few 100 educators. And so 2 things that I saw that will relate back to how we really need to change mindset and build positive culture around technology and change is this, we're in a room full of folks, and we're talking about what have been your bright, light bulb moments with your educators. And there's some people there that couldn't find it. And they were resistant to even acknowledging that there might be some benefits to this. And this is at an AI Innovation Summit. And finally, you know, we talked about well, has anyone seen something in their county district classrooms? And one of the people's like, well, my wife actually is a teacher, and she has to write a weekly newsletter in her elementary school class. And now she uses an AI tool. And we said, Great! How does that help her? Oh, she gets done in 10 min instead of 2 h, like, what does she do now? On Sunday? She's like she gets her life back. And I said, Right so good. Can everyone just pause for a second if you're able to produce something equal or better in quality in less time. What do you repurpose that time for? And I hope it's reinvesting in yourself, because we know teachers are working around the clock. And so that's one is just making sure you hear a label. You stop and get everyone to acknowledge it. Because that's what they need to hear right? It might not be that exact use case for them, their community. But oh, there's something here. And it took someone trying so that embracing of an open mindset. And then the last thing I'll say is trying and learning, playing right playful education. So I'm going to name an organization that I'm a really big proponent of, because I've just watched light bulbs, left and right go off in its PlayLab, which is an educational nonprofit. Then word play is there, and so is lab. They really allow teachers and educators and education leaders to create. And I've seen in one-hour hackathons people leave there and say, this is the best PD. I've ever been to. I have something for tomorrow, and I wish I had embraced these kind of tools earlier. So again, when you see those kind of things, champion. It spread the word and encourage people to just try. So those are my 2 things. I think that really matter in terms of changing the mind shift and culture and education around innovation, especially with all the AI tools that are out there.

Hayley Spira-Bauer: You know, Jacob. You and I have a little bit of a shared history in virtual teaching and learning. Today, folks aren't necessarily viewing virtual tutoring, virtual teaching the same way. They were 5 years ago when you were in the space. Now, I've been in this space for 7 years, so I, too, have seen some transformation. Can you take this question and apply it to the evolution that you've seen in virtual instruction in your past roles and your current roles, because I can say with certainty, there is, and has been resistance from stakeholders to this modality, but I know you have a firsthand view of it as well.

Jacob Kantor: Yeah, you know. So I kind of kicked off my career after McGraw Hill, working for education where center based tutoring right? So I'd spend a lot of time cultivating relationship locally and saying, Hey, you know, the facility is a mile away. Come, visit us like, let's have Co. Branded events. What can we do for the community? And then, you know, after 4 years of doing that went over to Revolution Prep, where, you know, they were one of the first larger organizations using Zoom right before Zoom was a thing before video calls was a thing it was. You know, I had a Zoom license, and I was like, this makes a lot of sense. Instead of driving to. You know, Oxnard, I can do an introductory call on 30 min on Zoom, and it was quite fascinating, you know, sending Zoom links and having district leaders being like, what is this? Is this safe to download? And now, you know, fast forward to Covid hitting and everyone being forced online into Zoom. And really parents experiencing the positives, but also negatives right like there was a some of that as well. But really, you know, as a whole. The entire education system going online and experiencing what instruction looks like online it it was fascinating to see right. And, you know, throw it back to you as a question as well. You know now that we're, you know, past Covid, you know I'm seeing some districts be very hesitant to online and be very hesitant to sometimes tutoring as well, which we know right moves the needle for students as long as it's done the right way. But are you seeing some of that as well on the online front.

Hayley Spira-Bauer: Funny, you say that because I will say that there are real advocates and folks that are willing to embrace online learning. And some of them are in positions of crisis. And I actually had planned, as y'all probably guessed, to talk a little bit about rural education. Candice, your your county spans a couple different types of living environments. So this episode is part of a series that relates to rural education and the unique challenges that rural schools face. So I actually would name that my opinion is really colored by the significant need for rural schools to have support of excellent caliber. And for me. That's what it's really about. But I am not a school based partner. So I want to really hear from canvas here. Rural. So rural schools have very different access to resources than some of their urban counterparts. Candice, can you share from your perspective, spanning a couple of different types of regions? How you see districts embrace and uplift their talent and technology while trying to overcome their challenges.

Candice Sears: Yeah, absolutely. So. I'm again just honored that I get to work in a space here in our county. We we span all of the different geographic regions. And the demographics that make up those regions. It's just really amazing what we may be handling and working with and trying to strategize through in one district may look very different than the next, just because of the diversity within the area that I get to work. But across all the settings the emphasis is on empowering educators, with the skills and the tools that they. They need to really deliver that personalized learning approach and those experiences. And we focus on both people, talent and technological tools. And really try to hone in like, how do we take the people talent and the technology technological tools and really start to overcome some of those unique challenges that we may see rural districts specifically you know. Again, they face limitations and technology and resources, but they're pioneering and personalized education through like a smaller class, sizes and community involvement, ensuring that the technology really is serving as a tool to enhance, not replace, that human element that we all believe in and know is of utmost importance in education. We do. We are seeing a lot of like initiatives like mobile tech labs. Community based broadband projects. All of those components definitely have service to bridge that digital divide, allowing students in more of those rural, remote areas to be able to have access to those high quality educational resources that are available.

Hayley Spira-Bauer: Such a unique perspective that you have spanning all types of environments like that. You know. There are so many benefits to being a part of a rural community. There's community like highlighted with a capital C right there. Brett and Jacob, which is one of you, want to jump in on this? What challenges? Do you see rural schools facing today? And how are they solving in addition to what Candice named here?

Jacob Kantor: Happy to jump on? You know, last week I was on with Jamie Green the superintendent at Trinity Alps Unified School District. And basically upstate California. I always say, feel like what I talk about California, since it's so large. It's like upstate New York. But upstate California. And you know. Thank you to Alan Pratt for connecting me. But such a mover and Shaker. And within, you know, we spent like 45 min together, and within the first 15 min he was like, Yeah, I'm bought into this like, this solution makes sense like, how do we make this happen? Right? Like. We're moving on this today? And you know, as you know, that does not normally happen right like there's normally lots of conversations, and then to the board or to the Cabinet, and you know for him to say, this is gonna move the needle for students like, let's do it. That quickly was, I mean. Amazing, right? So kudos to him. And then, just this past weekend, he won superintendent of the small School District Association. So he got recognized by, you know, 70% of his peers in the State of California or small district, so you know, shout out to him for winning that. But you know I think it, there are a lot of districts that can really move quickly if they find the right solutions that can really be impactful. And that really happens, it seems like at rural right like, yes, there's challenges with broadband Internet. Yes, there's, you know, other challenges they face. But like, I know, during Covid Dr. Alan Pratt from NREA, right like he worked with T-Mobile. I believe it was to get you know. Wi-fi routers and Hotspots, and like millions and millions of dollars of services, you know, in partnership with the government, but also T-Mobile into the hands of families and into the hands of students. And like there, there are a lot of great things happening. So that gets me excited for all those students, you know. Is there a long way to go? Of course, right? Are there lots of things to tackle and lots of challenges to. But that's that's life, right like we'll always have a new as soon as we solve one thing we'll always have the next thing to now tackle

Brett Roer: If I could just add Hayley, because jacob brought up the amazing Alan Pratt. I was so fortunate 2 years ago. I got to go to the NREA National Conference, and you know again, only serving in urban education in New York City. I think the thing that was most shocking to me, and it shouldn't have been so. I'm like naming. My ignorance is just how common the problems are. The similarities are the same. The surface is what looks different. I was kinda joking like in New York City and other more urban areas. The problems are more like vertical. Right? You're like in a very condensed area. And there's a lot of problems. And in rural spaces, some of the things you're solving for are like horizontal. But like it still takes 2 h on the subway for a kid to get across New York City, and it still takes some of these students hours to get there. So what I noticed was really similar in terms of how we solve problems is innovation for whatever reason doesn't often get to these 2 specific use cases urban and rural. There's always funding challenges. But there's this shared like we are. We're all who we're all we got, and we're going to make it happen for our kids in our community? That sense of community is super strong. That sense of. You know, grit and grind. And we're gonna get it done is super strong. And so like I left there really inspired, and feeling like a kindred spirit without ever having lived there specific challenges as a rural educator. So I say that because urban rural like these, these audiences and these districts really need your help. And they really want edtech innovation to come to them, so please don't overlook them as being too smaller district, or is too cumbersome of a procurement process like they need your help, so please please make all efforts and double down on on these communities.

Candice Sears: Yeah, I can just top in Brett. I'm glad that you brought up the the the challenge for a tech. Providers like don't overlook or don't you know, don't overlook some of the smaller areas that's actually a benefit. And and what I get to do in our work here as a county educational service center, we are really able to leverage these tools and and think about consortium or be an intermediary, whatever it may look like to ensure that all of our districts. Those very small rural districts, are very large urban districts. Everybody has access through more of a a shared approach and a collaborative approach here at the county. So we're thinking about professional development when we're thinking about getting some of these innovative solutions out there. It isn't necessarily. Oh, we've got, you know, a hundred kids at a grade level, or we've got 400 kids at a grade level. We've got thousands of kids. We can really, as a county level, merge all those numbers and really think about bulk and then leveraging the resources across and creating networks. So teachers are able to connect with others within their region that can support each other through the process of implementation.

Hayley Spira-Bauer: Love, an Education Service center. Tell you every time I meet someone from an ESC. I'm like, yes. Yes. Because otherwise this work is lonely. And you know one of the things that we talk a lot about, and I'm sure Jacob and Brett really feel is how different things can be a mile down the road. And this is true in New York City. This is true in La, and this is true in upstate California as you need. There's such differences from school to school, but our challenges and our triumphs are so similar I feel really heartened right now, and I also feel like, I don't want to ask last question, because this conversation can continue for days. These are some very smart folks here today. I'm a Learning Can't Wait podcast that have such a unique perspective, both because of their history and their careers, but also because of their current work. But I'm gonna I'm going to ask the last question, anyway, folks. So our last question is, what advice would you give a teacher starting their career? Now, Brett, I know you've answered this before. But perhaps you could share what advice you might give a school leader starting their career today, or someone who's coming into the nonprofit or for profits based supporting schools just to like twist up your answer for our longtime listeners. You want to start a soft breath.

Brett Roer: Sure. Yeah, thank you again for this opportunity to be here today. I think probably when we last spoke was only a couple months ago. But again, the world in education is changing, so totally different. Vanguard, I would again say, embrace innovation, and change really find ways that will make you a more efficient, better version of yourself, and then make sure you're being very reflective about how you can repurpose that time invested in your students, relationships, personal commitments. I think that is something I was not able to do in any facet of my life as an educator. But I really feel like the power of AI is, if use. If used with intention, you can really free up your time and your space to impact students, communities, and also your own personal life. So embrace innovation, embrace, change, find AI champions and pick their brains early and often

Hayley Spira-Bauer: Candice. How about you?

Candice Sears: Yeah. So I certainly would echo a lot of what Brett had shared. Relationships, relationships, relationships, expanding your network, not believing that your network has to be within the 4 walls of the school building that you may be working within, but also thinking well beyond not being afraid to ask the questions actively, listening like, spend time just listening to people people are amazing. The minds of folks are just absolutely unreal. And so it's so cool, how much we can learn if we're able to just listen. And then the my, the open mindedness also, with that growth mindset idea, just be open. Hear it out embrace, embrace some of these new technologies, and try it out. Don't be afraid to take risk in the educational space for the sake of our our students ahead

Hayley Spira-Bauer: Spoken like a true leader there, the 2 of y'all you share things that just help people to to really contextualize the conversations they're having. Thank you. Brett, Candice and Jacob last, but certainly not least.

Jacob Kantor: Yeah. So a lot of this kind of has been echoed on this conversation. But be curious. Be open-minded. Yeah. Candice hit on growth mindset. I'm a Carol Dweck-er. I used to do a lot of the Onsite trainings at schools. I worked with around growth mindset for high school teens and their parents specifically around it. But also, you know. Thank you for having us because podcasts like yours that give an audience to, you know ideas and to folks that you would have never met or heard from right like. So thank you for what you do right. There's other cool podcasts as well at tech insiders, guys. But like also, you know, one thing to keep in mind as well, in that same spirit of you know, being curious and open minded right in April, ASU+GSV is going on. They're having the AIR Show. Which is a couple days before the actual show, right? Like, I'm really fortunate at Lucky to be on the Council for the AIR Show, and I mean talk about a good opportunity to meet with 75 different solutions in the space that are going to be demoing, how they work with students, how they work with administrators, how they work with teachers, and also meeting other movers and Shakers. And you know, full circle. I'll take it back to how Brett and I met.you know, outside of LinkedIn, and exchanging some messages like we had our first in person meeting at ASU+GSV. Right, and just gelled and hit it off. And now II feel like my wife says he's by, you know, work, work, husband, that we text all day long. Right? So it's it's really kind of being in the space where others are and really being open to forging relationships. That could be, you know, really lifelong relationships. And yeah, you know, and I'm also cognizant of not everyone can get out to San Diego in April, right? Like, if you're in New York, and it's tough to travel into San Diego, right? But there's other opportunities, right? Like some of the things that Brett and Candice are doing right like. There's webinars going on. Every single feels like every single day on various topics. So really kind of seeking out those opportunities to learn. And just having that open growth mindset around. You know, there's a lot of things that will appear very, very hard. Like heavy at first, right? And lots of work to be done. But you know, the more you learn, and the more you take it in, and the more books you read, and the more things you learn about it, like it will all become more clear, and it'll become easier to understand.

Hayley Spira-Bauer: I love that advocacy for a learning stance. I also wanna name that I would never have met Candice today if it weren't for Jacob and Brett so so grateful for the power of human connection. I read an awesome article today about super communicators, and how they do what they do, and I shared it on my LinkedIn. It'll probably old by the time this episode airs. But you know you, you have to listen, Candice. That's exactly what you said, and you have to be willing to learn. That's what super communicators do. And I think on this call. We have a couple super communicators and it made for a really wonderful episode. So first, I just want to thank the 3 of you for joining me on season. 5 of the Learning Can't Wait. Podcast hosted by Fullmind. I'm so grateful that you're here.

Brett Roer: Honor and a pleasure. Thank you.

Hayley Spira-Bauer: And yeah, of course, of course, and I really want to thank all of our listeners for tuning in today. We are eager to interview brilliant people like Candice and Jacob and Brett. I am always grateful to hear how the industry is changing, and I appreciate the prospective perspectives that they shared here today. Thank you, everybody.

Jacob Kantor: Thanks for having us

Brett Roer: Again.