Education On Fire - Sharing creative and inspiring learning in our schools

This week I reflect on how 2021 has affected me and the children I am involved with.I look at some of the positive opportunities and outcomes we have explored on the podcast while understanding the two main things to consider.What can I do today to make a difference? What major whole scale changes can we move towards in our life, classroom, school and even as an education system.

A very short thank you from me to you for everything we have shared in 2021.I hope your holidays are full of love and joy.Mark x

Ashish Fernando founded iSchoolConnect in 2017 to solve the pain point of many parents and children: getting hassle-free admission in foreign colleges. After going through the same trouble of finding a college to study that fit his needs, Ashish launched iSchoolConnect with a vision to democratize the global admissions market for graduate and undergraduate programs. Through the effective use of artificial intelligence, iSchoolConnect aims at being the most cost-effective and advanced solution for connecting students and schools worldwide.Ashish started his career as a Software Engineer with Thomson Reuters Inc., building their flagship investment research solution - Thomson One. He then went on to take multiple executive roles in Program Management and AI before managing the Data Science and Engineering business in the Insurance vertical. Ashish is a university gold medalist in Biotechnology. He graduated from Bentley University's flagship MBA in 2014 with a 100% scholarship.Websitehttps://ischoolconnect.comSocial Media InformationFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/ischoolconnect/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/ischoolconnect/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ischoolconnect/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqFEkZLcdM6udUH_LUJGPrAResources MentionedThe Secret‘Employees First, Customer Second’ Show SponsorThe National Association for Primary Education speaks for young children and all who live and work with them. Find out more about their online CPD events at nape.org.uk/online-eventsListen to Mark’s audio course 10 Pieces of Advice You’d Like to Have as a Child

Brian LaBovick is the CEO and Founder of LaBovick Law Group in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. What most excites Brian these days is ‘Safety 4 Life Foundation’ – his foundation focused on improving youth’s safety regarding the road, the internet, the police, and human trafficking.The Safety 4 Life Foundation creates impactful educational programs designed to change dangerous behavior on and off the road. Their inspirational experiences act as a guide for children and families to make positive choices that save lives.The Safety 4 Life Foundation was created in a year like no other, when the need for impactful safety programs has never been greater! Internet safety and human trafficking became critical subjects to address because our students were attached to their electronic devices prior to the pandemic, but remote learning took this to the next level. These circumstances made many susceptible to predators which can lead to a human trafficking situation. The unrest as a result of law enforcement related tragedies made creating peaceful interactions and offering solutions to the public and the police a priority. And the road safety crisis continues on for everyone who shares the road, especially our young and most vulnerable.Safety 4 Life provides assemblies, safety fairs, on-line information, and events for students and their families. Our dynamic speakers bring real life scenarios to the audience and eliminate any confusion associated with the dangerous subjects being presented. Opportunities for community service are available along with our Student Ambassador program which gives students an introduction into a civic mindset while keeping themselves and their peers safe.Websitehttps://safety4life.org/https://www.labovick.com/our-attorneys/brian-labovick/Social Media InformationFB: www.facebook.com/Florida.LawyersIG: www.instagram.com/labovicklawgroup/Twitter: twitter.com/labovicklawLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/labovick-law-groupYouTube: www.youtube.com/c/LaBovick/videosVimeo: https://vimeo.com/labovicklawResources MentionedPatrick LencioniShow SponsorThe National Association for Primary Education speaks for young children and all who live and work with them. Find out more about their online CPD events at nape.org.uk/online-eventsListen to Mark’s audio course 10 Pieces of Advice You’d Like to Have as a Child

Dr. Norrine Russell is the founder and owner of Russell Coaching for Students, an international student coaching practice that provides support for typical and atypical students in the areas of executive functioning, social and emotional skills, academic and study skills, and other life skills. With twenty years of experience supporting healthy youth development and conducting parenting education, Dr. Russell has extensive knowledge of child and adolescent development, learning styles, special needs, and positive parenting philosophies. Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, Russell Coaching currently serves students in the US, Canada, and the UK. Dr. Russell has a Ph.D. in Psychology from Bowling Green State University with a focus on both psychology and education.Websitewww.russellcoaching.comSocial Media InformationIG @russellcoachingllcResources Mentionedhttps://childmind.org/https://www.additudemag.com/Show SponsorThe National Association for Primary Education speaks for young children and all who live and work with them. Find out more about their online CPD events at nape.org.uk/online-eventsListen to Mark’s audio course 10 Pieces of Advice You’d Like to Have as a Child

Dr. Shemmassian is the Founder of Shemmassian Academic Consulting and one of the world’s foremost experts on medical school admissions, college admissions, and graduate school admissions.For nearly 20 years, he and his team have helped thousands of students get into medical school and top colleges using his systematic and proprietary approach.Dr. Shemmassian received his B.S. in Human Development from Cornell University. Despite graduating with a 3.9 GPA as a pre med student, Dr. Shemmassian’s interests in mental health led him to complete his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at UCLA. Throughout his education and beyond, Dr. Shemmassian successfully guided students into top colleges, medical schools, and graduate programs, and has found his professional calling in helping others achieve their educational and career goals.Dr. Shemmassian’s admissions expertise has been featured in various media outlets, including The Washington Post and Business Insider. Moreover, he has been invited to speak at Yale, Stanford, UC Berkeley, and other prestigious institutions about various aspects of the admissions process.Websitehttps://www.shemmassianconsulting.comResources that may support you if you are looking at colleges: How to pursue extracurriculars the right way for college admissionsHow to get into med schoolEverything you need to know to become a dentistResource MentionedHow to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale CarnegieShow SponsorThe National Association for Primary Education speaks for young children and all who live and work with them. Find out more about their online CPD events at nape.org.uk/online-eventsListen to Mark’s audio course 10 Pieces of Advice You’d Like to Have as a Child

Kohila Sivas is the creator of the revolutionary MathCodes Method™, a unique system designed to recover learning loss in math. Kohila blended the math hacks she discovered to demystify math and merged them with a coaching methodology that can transform any struggling student.She developed the system over 22 years working one on one with over 1500 struggling students.Kohila was once a struggling math student herself and is now a Math Coach, reformed tutor, ex-teacher, BI and Math Interventionist, #1 Best Selling Author, speaker, and Master NLP Practitioner.She is also a fearless entrepreneur, parent, and a lifelong fighter and learner.Since 2018, she and her partner Rod Bellamy have trained passionate educators to launch and grow independent coaching practices using the MathCodes Method™.The MathCodes Association of Certified Coaches (MACC) is a growing organization that offers professional certification.Websitewww.mathcodes.com www.mathcodescertifiedcoach.comSocial Media Informationwww.facebook.com/mathcodesbykohilawww.linkedin.com/in/kohila-sivas-2502297a/Resource mentionedThink and Grow Rich - Napoleon HillShow SponsorThe National Association for Primary Education speaks for young children and all who live and work with them. Find out more about their online CPD events at nape.org.uk/online-eventsListen to Mark’s audio course 10 Pieces of Advice You’d Like to Have as a Child

Shellee Howard is the Founder and CEO of College Ready and CR Tutoring and Test . She is a college graduate and is a Certified Independent College Strategist. She is a best-selling author, a member of HECA (ethics organization), and a member of SOFA (Society of Financial Awareness). Shellee is a mother of 4 young adults. Her oldest son graduated from Harvard in 2016 debt free and graduated from UC San Diego Medical school in 2021. He will be completing his Orthopedic Surgeon Residency at UCLA. Her oldest daughter attended the University of Alabama and CBU and graduated debt free with her BSN in 2020 and received her RN in 2021.Her youngest son is a high school senior and will be attending SFSU in the fall of 2021 majoring in Film Production.Her youngest daughter is a rising Senior and will be looking to attend college as a business major internationally.Shellee has traveled around the world helping students create their “Stand out Strategy". She knows what it takes to compete in the Top tier schools as well as finding the best-fit college for all students. Shellee believes that no two students are the same and each student must have their own strategy and plan to be successful. Each student has a gift/talent and a passion that will set him or her apart from their competition. Getting to know your student one on one is the key to success. This can be done in person or via Zoom. College Ready has clients all over the USA and each one is important. Her focus is to find the best academic, financial and social fit college for each student to thrive at and graduate debt free!She runs a company called College Ready. She helps kids (and their parents) by preparing them for the college admissions process, helping to get them into college without huge debt and even how to succeed once admitted. She is also a best selling author.Websitewww.collegereadyplan.comSocial Media InformationShellee's book: How to send your student to college without losing your mind or your moneyFacebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/CollegeReadyDebtFreeFacebook page: www.facebook.com/CollegeReadyPlanInstagram: www.instagram.com/collegereadyplan/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/college-ready/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr_WodPHDfSWEbiPdsRDbyQ/featuredTwitter: twitter.com/gocollegeready/Show SponsorThe National Association for Primary Education speaks for young children and all who live and work with them. Find out more about their online CPD events at nape.org.uk/online-eventsListen to Mark’s audio course 10 Pieces of Advice You’d Like to Have as a Child

Edurio and the team has just completed its latest research about equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). The report, titled ‘Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Among School Staff’, involved more than 16,500 respondents from 381 schools in England - the largest review of schools as workplaces.  The key findings: Less than half of school staff feel their workplace is diverse (43%)69% of Minority Ethnic staff feel their workplace is committed to promoting EDI compared to 82% of White British/Irish staffLess than a third (28%) of staff believe their leadership team is diverse.Only a third of staff (36%) consider the diversity of their school’s staff to be representative of their student population.Almost nine out of 10 (88%) of those in a leadership position are confident that all staff are treated equally. However, for those that do not hold a leadership position this falls to 70%.65 % of men feel confident that decisions around promotion are made without bias in their school, this falls to 57% for women.I chat to Iona Jackson who is Head of Research at Edurio. She has 10 years of research experience across a variety of sectors, and now leads a team of education research specialists focusing on stakeholder feedback within schools.Edurio is a leading provider of stakeholder feedback solutions to schools and multi-academy trusts. It works with over 100 trusts and 1,500 schools across the UK and internationally. Edurio has developed an advanced survey management and data visualisation platform for schools and multi-academy trusts as well as a research-based survey library. It covers topics such as staff retention, parental engagement as well as teaching and learning. The team designs surveys in partnership with academic experts and practitioners to address school management priorities and inspection requirements. Edurio publishes research, case studies and practical guidance on evidence-driven school improvement.Websitehttps://home.edurio.com/Show SponsorThe National Association for Primary Education speaks for young children and all who live and work with them. Find out more about their online CPD events at nape.org.uk/online-eventsListen to Mark’s audio course 10 Pieces of Advice You’d Like to Have as a Child

Lois Letchford’s dyslexia came to light at the age of 39, when she faced teaching her seven-year-old non-reading son, Nicholas. Examining her reading failure caused her to adapted and change lessons for her son. The results were dramatic. Lois qualified as a reading specialist to use her non-traditional background, multi-continental experience and passion to assist other failing students. Her teaching and learning have equipped her with a unique skill set and perspective. As a teacher, she considers herself a “literacy problem-solver.”Reversed: A Memoir is her first book. In this story, she details her dyslexia and the journey of her son’s dramatic failure in first grade. She tells of the twist and turns that promoted her passion and her son’s dramatic academic turn-a-round - as in 2018 he received his Ph.D.Websitehttps://www.loisletchford.com/Social Media InformationLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/loisletchford/Show SponsorThe National Association for Primary Education speaks for young children and all who live and work with them. Find out more about their online CPD events at nape.org.uk/online-eventsListen to Mark’s audio course 10 Pieces of Advice You’d Like to Have as a Child