De Facto Leaders

This week, I’m sharing an interview I did with another host on the BE podcast network because I think it’s something you’ll really enjoy. The episode is going live in the De Facto Leaders podcast feed. Dr. Chris Jones has been an educator in Massachusetts for 22 years. His experience in the classroom ranged from 8th - 11th grade working in an urban setting. A portion of this was spent opening a high school division for an expanding charter school. He has just finished his 14th year as a building administrator. Chris is also the Vice President of the Massachusetts State Administrators Association (MSAA). True to his "why" of improving the educational experience for as many people as possible, he is currently the Principal of Whitman-Hanson Regional High School in Whitman, Massachusetts.He is the author of SEEing to Lead, a book that provides strategies for how modern leaders can and must support, engage, and empower their teachers to elevate student success. Chris vlogs weekly about continuous improvement and is also the host of the podcast SEEing to Lead as a way to amplify teachers’ voices in an effort to improve education as a whole.In this interview, Dr. Chris Jones and I discuss how school leaders and subject matter experts can work together to support each other. There's a big emphasis on the idea that we need to embrace uncertainty to improve personally and professionally. While I agree with this, I think it's possible to take it too far.In the K-12 world, I've seen many talented therapists or teachers continue old habits and patterns they know aren't effective.Usually there's layers of shame and guilt because they know they could be doing something more, or at the very least doing something different.Procrastination and not changing habits is often blamed on things like "mindset" or even character flaws, but many times it's simply a lack of clarity.If you're wanting to solve a problem in a classroom, a therapy room, or a school, the steps can feel overwhelming and all-consuming. Sometimes the end goal and how to get there can feel fuzzy.When you have a challenging task in front of you, some element of anxiety and uncertainty is normal and part of the process.But if you have absolutely no clue where to start or where you're going, being able to "motivate" yourself to move forward or do the work to change your habits is going to be extremely difficult.Imagine how you'd feel if you were stressed, frustrated, and nervous about something and you were told:"This is going to be hard and uncomfortable. I have no idea how long it will take. I'm not sure where we're going and how we're going to get there."Few people would be excited to jump in and get started in that scenario, especially if they knew they'd be left to figure it out alone.This is where school leaders can step in and help teachers, therapists, and other staff to see the path forward or put the support in place to make sure they get help along the way.Whether it be access to resources, trainings, establishing operating procedures for collaboration, or time to meet and connect. We might not need to see the whole staircase clearly, but we can at least get an idea of what lies ahead and make the first steps feel less intimidating.You can connect with Dr. Jones on LinkedIn here, and on Twitter here, and on Instagram here.  You can learn more about his book and podcast at: https://drcsjones.blog/seeing-to-lead-podcast/In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program for related service providers who want to take a leadership role in implementing executive functioning support. You can learn more about the program here. We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

There’s a difference between influence and control. Whether we’re making suggestions to a coworker, asking a supervisor for support, setting expectations with kids, or interacting with someone in an online forum…we’re all attempting to create behavioral change. In “helping people” professions, it’s easy to get emotionally involved with our work. This makes it difficult to identify if there are actionable steps we can take to impact bigger, systemic issues vs. when we should put our heads down and focus on the work (or people) in front of us. Just how far should we go in trying to convince other people to act or think a certain way? When is it our job to speak up, and when do we hit the point of diminishing returns? It’s easy to let our thoughts spiral about these questions; especially when we have lingering feelings of guilt that we could be doing more.That’s why I invited Candice Noss to episode 150 of De Facto Leaders to talk about how educators and therapists can tame their thoughts surrounding leadership and advocacy. Candice Noss is a dynamic and passionate speaker and coach, renowned for transforming and elevating lives through her business, The Mind Body Spirit Trifecta. As an expert in cognitive behavioral therapy, along with her 20+ years working as a Physical Therapist, Candice brings a wealth of knowledge and real-world experience to every stage, course and coaching engagement.  By addressing the entire human trifecta, the mind, body and spirit, Candice provides a powerful holistic approach to confident, healthy living.  Candice liberates and empowers others to genuinely thrive which ripples into every facet of life. An elevated life elevates business.  Candice clarifies how to elevate performance with a mind firmly aligned, a body purposefully loved and a spirit powerfully accessed.In this episode, you’ll learn:✅Setting boundaries vs. trying to control: Why making this distinction can reduce burnout and create space for your “dream projects” ✅Allowing consequences vs. forcing compliance: Can and should you “make” kids do their schoolwork (or any other task they don’t want to do)?✅How to determine, “What is my job in this scenario?” when advocating for yourself or others, educating the public and/or coworkers, or handling disagreements. You can learn how to connect with Candice on her website here: https://candicenoss.com/ Also, you can check out her video “Self-talk: Go from CRAPPY to HAPPY with 1 Simple Brain Hack” here: https://candicenoss.com/crappy-to-happy/Listen to her podcast, Designed for Greatness with Candice Noss here: https://candicenoss.com/category/podcast/ In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, a program that helps related service providers take a stand for themselves as leaders on their team as well as for their students. In the program, I’ll help you create a comprehensive plan for putting executive functioning support in place on your school team by giving you the tools you need to influence your team. You can learn how to become a member here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadershipCandice and I are both on the BE Podcast network, a podcast network for educators and leaders who are making innovative changes to education. You can learn more about the shows on the BE Podcast network here: https://bepodcast.network/  We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

If the schools are devoting time and money to improving reading instruction, how should the rest of the day look for kids as it pertains to literacy? Should parents be working with kids at home? If so, how much? What about reading? Can we use apps to help build language skills? How about audiobooks? A common recommendation is that we should read 20 minutes a day, several times a week. I had a hard time nailing down a specific study that “proved” that this is an ideal amount, so where did this recommendation come from?I discuss answers to questions like this in episode 149 of De Facto Leaders.  In this episode, I share:✅Is listening to an audiobook the same as reading it in print, and will it make you a better reader? ✅If we can’t agree on whether or not homework is beneficial, how can we figure out what kids should be doing outside the school day?✅Why do teachers often recommend reading 20 minutes a day, and why did this become the magic number? ✅Will encouraging a struggling reader to sit down with a book make them hate reading even more? In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that teaches language and literacy professionals a framework for language therapy that builds the skills kids need to benefit from core reading instruction. I also mentioned the following episodes of De Facto Leaders for discussions on project-based learning and improving the connection between home and school:Do school leaders need coaching (with Dan Kelley): https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-114-do-school-leaders-need-coaching-with-dan-kelley/Cell phones, 1:1 device initiatives, and homework policies in K-12 Education (with Dr. John Burkey): https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-139-cell-phones-11-device-initiatives-and-homework-policies-in-k-12-education-with-dr-john-burkey/Becoming a school founder and empowering students through project-based learning (with Tanya Sheckley): https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-144-becoming-a-school-founder-and-empowering-students-through-project-based-learning-with-tanya-sheckley/ We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

When I first learned about the field of occupational therapy, I had a very superficial understanding of what it entailed. In the school systems, it seemed like referrals often focused on fine-motor skills related to school, like pencil grip. When I learned about sensory processing, I discovered that it’s so much more than that; and I realized how important it is for other members of both school and clinical teams to understand how each discipline can support each other. That’s why I was so excited to talk with Maude Le Roux in episode 148 of the De Facto Leaders podcast.Maude Le Roux, OTR/L, SIPT, RCTC, DIR® Expert Trainer, is an international trainer on a wide variety of topics and also the director of her own online academy. She opened A Total Approach with her husband in September 2001. Maude is SIPT certified and specializes in Sensory Integration as it applies to functional activities of daily living, including improving the ability of any child to partake in their learning environment. Maude has presented workshops in multiple international locations, as well as in the US nationwide. She has developed the Developmental Pathways Model (DPM) in reaching clients with different profiles with a wide array of diagnoses. She is well known for her work in Sensory Processing, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Reading and Learning Disorders, as well as Attachment Disorders. She serves on the board for ATTACh, an international organization involved in attachment and trauma informed care. She is currently mobilizing an international group of Occupational Therapists to organize the influence of trauma informed care in the occupational therapy field. Maude has published two books; “The Listening Journey for Children”, and “Our Greatest Allies” is available through www.amazon.com. In this conversation, we discuss:✅How can we bridge the gap between what’s “educationally relevant” and a child’s developmental level?✅Collaboration between private therapists and school teams: Why do relationships turn adversarial, and what’s possible when we form partnerships?✅Tips for helping parents understand the boundaries between “school recommendations” and “home recommendations.”✅Sensory integration, discrimination, and modulation: How our nervous system supports motor, cognitive, and language development✅Differential diagnosis: Is it a sensory issue, a behavior issue, or an attention issue? ✅Praxis, posture, and motor planning: How do these factors impact our ability to engage in goal-directed behavior during sitting, reading, writing, or other daily tasks? You can email Maude at maude@maudeleroux.com.You can learn more about Maude’s clinic, “A Total Approach”, at: https://atotalapproach.com/Learn more about her professional training for clinicians at: https://www.maudeleroux.com/You can purchase her books here:Our Greatest Allies: https://www.amazon.com/Our-Greatest-Allies-Relationship-Intervention/dp/0988328836The Listening Journey for Children: https://www.amazon.com/Listening-Journey-Children-Francoise-Nicoloff/dp/0987053604 In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program for related service providers that helps them put programming in place that supports executive functioning. You can learn how to become a member here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Language therapy often focuses on early intervention; but what happens if students continue to struggle with language in the high school years? Many SLPs are pressured to drop students from their caseloads or move to a consult-only model when students transition to secondary school.Yet that often means many students enter adulthood lacking skills that have a significant impact on their ability to access advanced education or job opportunities.  If students don’t have a solid grasp on complex syntax, they’ll continue to struggle:…Getting the “gist” of things and explaining/recalling past events.…Writing extended responses or forming cohesive narratives for academic reports, job applications, and work-related communication.…Understanding temporal or causal vocabulary that supports time-perception and future thinking.…Engaging in inner dialogue for strategic planning and self-regulation.Building sentence structure is NOT just a skill for students in late elementary school doing Language Arts assignments. It’s a LIFE skill, and students who don’t have a solid foundation will continue to struggle in adulthood. That’s why I invited Tiffany Shahoumian-Ruiz to the De Facto Leaders podcast to share success stories from her experiences with language therapy at the high school level. Tiffany is a bilingual high school SLP from Southern California who has primarily worked in the school systems. She’s also a member of Language Therapy Advance Foundations, and many of the strategies we discuss in this conversation are things I cover in that program. In this conversation, we discuss:✅What if everyone else is working on high-level comprehension, but our students still need work at the word and sentence level?✅Does therapy have to mimic classroom activities to be aligned with the curriculum? ✅Can we make a dent in language for high school students, or is it “too little, too late’?✅Will students be bored and disengaged if they’re still going to speech in high school? ✅How complex syntax can impact daily functioning and future career opportunities. You can connect with Tiffany by searching her name on Facebook.We also discussed the Expanding Expression Tool by Sara Smith, and you can learn more about that resource here: https://www.expandingexpression.com/In this episode, I mentioned Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs create a system for language therapy that supports syntax and vocabulary students need to thrive in school and beyond. Learn more about how to become a member here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/ We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

In this conversation, Ben Hockema and I discuss how to create a solid financial plan in your career so you can focus your time and energy on the impact you can make. We discuss all kinds of possibilities; whether you want to stay in your current position as a therapist and/or teacher, whether you want to add an additional income stream, or whether you know for certain you want to start a business full time. We even talk about ways to explore opportunities if you have lots of ideas in your head and aren’t sure which direction is best for you. Ben is a Certified Financial Planner and the founder and advisor of Illuminate Wealth Management. He works with individuals, families and small business owners on their full financial picture; everything from cash flow and paying for education to saving and investing for big goals such as retirement, to individual and small business tax planning so that his clients can gain clarity and develop a path that is unique to their own goals, hopes and dreams. In this conversation, we discuss:✅How much should be in your emergency fund? ✅How much should you save before quitting your job and focusing on your business full-time? ✅Understanding the difference between debt, investments, and ongoing expenses in business and life. ✅Resources for creatives who love helping people, but are uncomfortable navigating financial planning. ✅Stability, freedom, and impact: How we can find the balance between all three. You can learn more about Ben’s resources for talking to kids about money here: https://www.dollarsandkids.com/, and his financial planning services here: https://www.illuminatewm.com/. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benhockemailluminate/, or learn more about the National Association of Financial Advisors College Affordability Project here: https://www.napfa.org/napfa-foundation-college-affordability-project. You can learn more about the Profit First framework here: https://mikemichalowicz.com/profit-first/. In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers design services that support executive functioning in K-12 settings. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership Be sure to check out the BE podcast network for educators and aspiring leaders. If you’re looking for shows to inspire you to level up in your career or more effectively serve students, we’ve got you covered. Learn more about the BE podcast network at http://bepodcastnetwork.com/ We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Executive functioning and financial literacy go hand-in-hand; which is why money management should be a part of any K-12 curriculum. Much of this has to do with self-evaluation, the ability to think into the future, and the understanding of quantitative and temporal concepts.There are endless digital tools designed to help people manage their finances, but these tools won’t be useful for people who don’t have a solid sense of the quantity or the value of money. That’s why I invited Ben Hockema to episode 145 of the De Facto Leaders podcast to discuss how we can talk to kids about money and help them develop financial literacy.Ben is a Certified Financial Planner and the founder and advisor of Illuminate Wealth Management. He works with individuals, families, and small business owners on their full financial picture; everything from cash flow and paying for education to saving and investing for big goals such as retirement, to individual and small business tax planning so that his clients can gain clarity and develop a path that is unique to their own goals, hopes and dreams. In this conversation, we discuss:✅How to overcome shame so you can teach kids about money, even if you’re not a financial expert (or don’t think you’re good at money management)✅How to have intentional conversations that help kids understand the value of money.✅Making money tangible: How to help kids learn the value behind the numbers✅What skills and abilities should someone have before they get a credit card? ✅How can families set up boundaries and expectations in their homes when it comes to responsibilities, chores, and earning money. ✅Helping kids navigate earning opportunities such as getting money for chores, getting a job, or starting a side hustle.You can learn more about Ben’s resources for talking to kids about money here: https://www.dollarsandkids.com/, and his financial planning services here: https://www.illuminatewm.com/. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benhockemailluminate/, or learn more about the National Association of Financial Advisors College Affordability Project here: https://www.napfa.org/napfa-foundation-college-affordability-project In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers design services that support executive functioning in K-12 settings. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Many people working in K-12 education have ambitions to start their own company where they have the ability to redesign the way student learning happens.The motivation often comes from wanting to create a scenario where they feel less constrained, more innovative, and more impactful.When I ventured into self-employment, I found that many of the “how to start your business” programs focused on simple business models that allowed people without a business background to become profitable quickly, without loans or funding. This often included things like coaching and consulting, or things that could be built up “on the side”, like selling online training or products. These can be great options, but the process is often like peeling back the layers of an onion. You start one project thinking, “Once this is built, I’ll have solved all the problems I set out to solve.”But in the process, you realize you’ve uncovered a list of additional puzzles, challenges, and questions in the process. Anyone who cares about education reform understands this feeling of wanting to do more, something I grapple with on a daily basis. Solving problems in education requires a unique skill set, and I’ve found it difficult to find people who understand both business AND education, who can support educators creating their own program from scratch.Private practice is an option many consider, but not as many people think about founding their own school. That’s why I invited Tanya Sheckley to the De Facto Leaders podcast. Tanya is the Founder and Head of School at UP Academy. UP Academy is reinventing education by customizing learning for each student, integrating project-based learning throughout its curriculum, and supporting students with disabilities to attend alongside able-bodied students in mixed-age classrooms. Inspired by the will, drive, and desire of her daughter, Eliza, who was born in 2009 with cerebral palsy, UP Academy is proving that it’s possible to celebrate differences, change what’s broken in the American school system, and provide all children with a rigorous, well-rounded education.Tanya also hosts the Rebel Educator podcast, speaks across the country on the future of education, and leads professional development programs for school administrators and educators.She is a certified yoga teacher, and enjoys rock climbing, snowboarding, camping, and going to the local farmers market. She lives in the Bay Area with her husband Chris, two kids, black labrador Bean, and canine ambassador Harold.In this conversation, we discuss:✅Become a school founder: Blending the right mindset with the right strategies✅How much vulnerability can you show to your team? Where can you go for support when your team needs you to show up confident as a leader? ✅What is project-based learning, and how does it fit in with traditional curriculum?✅How to use experiential learning to build deep conceptual knowledge that’s engaging for students and teaches real-life application✅The homework debate: How do we distinguish between unproductive busywork vs. when it’s helpful to do work outside of school? To connect with Tanya, you can reach out to her on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheckley/You can learn more about her podcast, Rebel Educator at: https://www.rebeleducator.com/Learn more about UP Academy at: https://www.upacademysf.com/To learn more about Tanya’s availability for professional development program offerings, check out her website at: https://tanyasheckley.com/In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers design services that support executive functioning in K-12 settings. You can learn more about the program at drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership. We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Many clinicians are trained to focus on checklists and evaluations so we can walk in to work confident; knowing exactly what our protocols are. And while systems and processes are extremely important, we have to know how to use them flexibly. When we think about this in relation to cultural competency; we often think of eliminating biases in our evaluations and materials; but it goes so much deeper than that. We also need to think about how we interact with coworkers, how policies are impacting our students, or what’s going on in the community we’re working in. When we’re too rigid in the way we do things or the way we think about our work, we may unintentionally make students, clients, families, or even our coworkers feel unwelcome.That’s why I invited Melanie Evans to the De Facto Leaders podcast to talk about the concept of “cultural competemility”, and how it can help teachers, leaders, and therapists think about cultural responsiveness.Melanie Y. Evans, M.S. CCC-SLP is an ASHA-certified bilingual pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist licensed to practice in Texas and Oklahoma. She is also the founder of Pediatric Speech Sister, whose mission is to assist other speech-language pathologists on their cultural competency journeys and bring more inclusion in the field. Melanie dedicates her career to serving Black and Latinx populations and closing the academic achievement gap.In this conversation, Melanie shares:✅How professionals can better support black and brown children✅What is the school to prison pipeline, and what are some reasons it’s persisting?✅Why being culturally responsive is a journey and not a set of rules✅How we can “read the room” and ask better questions when working with both clients and coworkers✅What is cultural competemility and how can teachers and therapists apply it to practice?In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers design services that support executive functioning in K-12 settings. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadershipYou can connect with Melanie on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanieyvonneevans/ follow her on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/@PediatricSpeechSisterNetwork and follow her on Instagram @pediatricspeechsister (https://www.instagram.com/pediatricspeechsister/)You can read her post on “5 Ways to Support Black and Brown Children in Clinical Settings” here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CBWI-YNBOmZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==Other experts mentioned in this episode relating to the School to Prison Pipeline:Dr. Valencia Perry: https://www.speakwritethink.com/Dr. Shameka Stanford: https://www.instagram.com/drjuvenile_forensicslp/ We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

People working in the schools are often expected to make everything a priority all the time, without consideration of how they might be able to manage the backlog of projects. They have to say “No” to people who need help in the interest of saying “Yes” to others. They have to see the faces of the people their decisions are impacting. While there is an understanding that prioritization is part of the methodology in other industries and agencies, it's viewed with much more skepticism when it’s done in education. When teachers, school therapists, and school administrators have to say “No” they’re accused of focusing too much on test scores, being obsessed with funding, making it all about the grades and the standards, or not being inclusive and individualized enough for students. These concerns come with good intentions because they’re focused on STUDENTS. But how often do we ask, “What is the best scope and sequence for supporting the adults?”There are endless debates about what is and isn’t evidence-based, what is developmentally appropriate and reasonable to expect from students, and how we should design programs and services.Yet sometimes the research and developmental models don’t give us clear answers. Sometimes the “best” intervention plan on paper isn’t feasible (which means it really wasn’t the best after all). Making good decisions for students and clients isn’t JUST about what the research says. It’s about what’s going to help the adults get from point A to point B without burning out. That’s why I’m proposing an unconventional way to answer the question of, “What should I prioritize in instruction/therapy”? in episode 142 of the De Facto Leaders podcastI discuss answers to questions like:✅What are “child-focused” questions, and when should we settle for “good enough” answers?✅Core/content area knowledge versus problem-solving and application: Which is higher priority for teachers?✅Language therapy vs. executive functioning therapy: Can school clinicians address both? ✅Can schools borrow methods from business and tech companies to better serve students? ✅Scaffolded adult learning: What information and support do adults working in the schools need to do their jobs well?In this episode, I mentioned my Language Therapy Advance Foundations program that teaches SLPs how to create a language therapy system. Learn how to become a member here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/ I also mentioned the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers put executive functioning support in place on their school team. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadershipI also mentioned the following De Facto Leaders episodes:EP 113: Making literacy accessible and equitable (with Cassandra Williams) Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-113-making-literacy-accessible-and-equitable-with-cassandra-williams/EP 122: Executive functioning for college students: Beyond checklists and planners (with Jill Fahy) Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-122-executive-functioning-for-college-students-beyond-checklists-and-planners-with-jill-fahy/EP 123: Creating equitable systems for K-12 math (with Jonathan Regino) Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-123-creating-equitable-systems-for-k-12-math-jonathan-regino/EP 129: Professional learning communities and curriculum reform in public and private education (with Tom Conroy) Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-129-professional-learning-communities-and-curriculum-reform-in-public-and-private-education-with-tom-conroy/EP 131: What are tech and curriculum companies doing for K-12 education? (with Meg Hearn) Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-131-what-are-tech-and-curriculum-companies-doing-for-k-12-education-with-meg-hearn/EP 138: Increasing access to instructional programs in rural districts (with Chris Dodge) Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-138-increasing-access-to-instructional-programs-in-rural-districts-with-chris-dodge/EP 148: Unclicking success through sensory processing and team collaboration with Maude Le Roux): https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-148-unlocking-success-through-sensory-processing-and-team-collaboration-with-maude-le-roux/ We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.