Getting Smart Podcast

Can AI help students build real relationships rather than replace them? The conversation explores pro-social tools, warm introductions, learner profiles, and the motivation crisis AI makes harder to ignore. It also unpacks what PISA really measures, why microschool and Arizona ESA data demand caution, a proposed DARPA-style education R&D agency, and Alabama’s new public health sciences boarding school.

Bill Zima, Marzano Academies’ Director of Implementation, and Michelle McCann, a Marzano Resources professional development specialist, explore competency-based education. They discuss mastery, feedback, learner agency, authentic community learning, and why implementation is harder than changing grading systems. They also examine where letter grades fit, what research says about strong implementation, and advice for leaders considering the shift.

A K-8 district isn't supposed to have a high school. Bostonia Global built one anyway, and rethought what high school could look like in the process. In this episode, Rebecca Midles talks with Nerel Winter (CEO of Bostonia Global), Johanna Simko (Principal of Bostonia Global High School), and David Rios (a Bostonia Global alumnus) about designing an in-district dependent charter high school from scratch, one built around competency-based learning, a K-12 "world of work" curriculum, and an advisory model where every adult in the building is also a mentor. They talk through what it actually took to hire and train teachers for a school unlike anything else in their district, how they built a transcript that speaks to both universities and employers, and what David's own path, from a bilingual K-5 program to a UC Riverside campus, looks like from the inside.

Mike Posthumus, a learning design principal at Fielding International, explores how schools can be built around meaningful learning rather than “cells and bells.” He takes us inside Singapore American School’s $600 million redesign, featuring flexible communities, outdoor access, and spaces that encourage agency. He also shares Cranston’s affordable experiments and how small pilots can reshape existing classrooms.

Lindsay Whorton, president of the Holdsworth Center and an education leadership expert, explores why the modern principal’s job has become unsustainable. She discusses redesigning school leadership, distributing coaching responsibilities, and a four-level framework for building capacity. The conversation also spotlights Lockhart ISD’s teacher-leader transformation and what principals should focus on personally.

Sal Khan, educator, entrepreneur, and founder of Khan Academy, explores AI’s impact on schools, careers, and everyday life. They discuss uneven job disruption, the growing importance of communication, creativity, and empathy, and new ways to measure these durable skills. Khan also shares the evolution of Khanmigo, the Khan-TED Institute, and guidance for students entering an AI-shaped world.

Dr. Kelly Page, social design ethnographer, inclusive usability researcher, and author of When Credentials Cause Harm, examines the hidden costs of digital badges and learning records. She explores who controls learner data, how credentialing can enable surveillance and exclusion, why more data is not always better, and what truly learner-owned, consent-driven systems could look like.

A $2.5 billion social media settlement sparks a debate about funding real-world connection instead of more apps. The conversation explores AI search bias, why learning tools need efficacy over efficiency, and how school systems improve. It also spotlights student-led policy, lawsuits, grantmaking, and authentic co-design, ending with stories of music, pottery, and everyday trust.

Janice K. Jackson, former CEO of Chicago Public Schools and current Aspen Institute education leader, explores the future of public education. She discusses nuanced approaches to screen time, meaningful parent engagement, mayoral control versus elected boards, and the rise of microschools. The conversation also examines shrinking enrollment, school choice, accountability, and how underused school buildings could serve communities.

Antonio Parés, founder of Walnut Hill Workshop and experienced education leader, explains the new $1,700 federal tax credit for scholarships. He covers how taxpayers can redirect funds to scholarship-granting organizations, practical mechanics for donors and districts, debates over the 90/10 rule, shared SGO infrastructure, Colorado’s cross-sector prep, eligible expenses, risks from narrow guidance, and immediate steps districts should take.