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Welcome to Season 6 of the Better Learning Podcast! Our seventeenth episode in the Season features Sandra Duncan, an international consultant, author of six books focused on the environmental design of early childhood places, designer of two furniture collections called Sense of Place and Sense of Place for Wee Ones, and adjunct faculty at Nova Southeastern University. Sandra works to assure the miracle and magic of childhood through indoor and outdoor play spaces that are intentionally designed to connect young children to their early learning environments, communities, and neighborhoods. Sandra has designed and taught university courses on built learning environments and has collaborated with architects, interior designers, and educators to create extraordinary places and possibilities for children and students of all ages. Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com.

Welcome to Season 6 of the Better Learning Podcast! Our sixteenth episode in the Season features Tom Vander Ark, an advocate for innovations in learning. As the CEO of Getting Smart, Tom advises schools, districts, networks, foundations and learning organizations on the path forward. He is the author of Getting Smart, Smart Cities That Work for Everyone, Smart Parents, Better Together, The Power of Place and Difference Making at the Heart of Learning. Previously, he served as the first Executive Director of Education for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Tom has also served as a public school Superintendent in Washington State and has extensive private sector experience. Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com.

Welcome to Season 6 of the Better Learning Podcast! Our fifteenth episode in the Season features Kyle Schwartz, a teacher at Doull Elementary in Denver, Colorado. Kyle Schwartz just finished her tenth year of teaching at Doull Elementary in Denver, Colorado. In her first year of teaching, Kyle asked her students a simple yet powerful question-- What do you wish your teacher knew? Her students' candid responses inspired the #IWishMyTeacherKnew movement and sparked a conversation about the realities students face and how schools can become more supportive, safe, and welcoming. Her first book, I Wish My Teacher Knew: How One Question Can Change Everything for Our Kids focuses on realities that students face and how educators can respond to their students’ needs by building relationships. Her second book, I Wish For Change: Unleashing the Power of Kids to Make a Dif erence is a guide for educators, families, and mentors to help young people find a personal sense of power and use it to better their communities. In addition to teaching, Kyle is a dedicated advocate for students. She has spoken internationally about supporting all students, differentiating instruction for students learning English, building strong classroom communities, and helping young people create change. Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com.

Welcome to Season 6 of the Better Learning Podcast! Our fourteenth episode in the Season features Brandon McLaughlin, the principal architect for the Clark County School District in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the shadow of the Las Vegas Strip, the Clark County School District is the 5th-largest school district in the U.S. at a staggering 305,000 students. Brandon came to the district on the heels of approval for a $3.7 billion dollar Capital Improvement Plan extension and oversees the architectural design for new and replacement schools along with modernization efforts. A district often criticized for prototypical, "prison-like" facilities historically, he looks to slowly align an ever-changing educational delivery model with buildings that support and ease delivery of content that increaeses student outcomes and enhances student and staff daily experience. Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com.

Welcome to Season 6 of the Better Learning Podcast! Our thirteenth episode in the Season features Kerri Brady, the Vice President of Educational Practice for Huckabee. Kerri focuses on educational planning, educational research, school safety + security, and change management. She helps clients shape the learning expereience by facilitating in-depth conversations and explorations on vision, curriculum, experience, and space. Kerri also serves on the Board of Directors for the Texas School Safety Center as the architect member and plays an important leadership role in the LEx Collaborative, a partnership between Huckabee, ESC Region 12 and Baylor University that focuses on educational research and the built environment's impact on student success. Most recently, Kerri led the charge to rewrite the School Facility Standards for the State of Texas and co-authored an international book about the role of Career and Technical Education in 21st century learning.

Welcome to Season 6 of the Better Learning Podcast! Our twelth episode in the Season features Ellen Perconti, the Superintendent of the Goldendale School District 404. Ellen is a learner, with a commitment to serve others in their learning journeys so that we can grow connections and seek wonder. Currently, she serves as Superintendent in Goldendale, WA and is the Board President of the Education Leaders' Organization. Ellen has a background in professional learning, curriculum, assessment, and leadership. Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com.

Our eleventh episode in the Season features Wes Watts, the 2022 Louisiana Superintendent of the Year for West Baton Rouge Parish Schools. Wes just finished his 30th year in education. He spent 22 years on a high school campus as a teacher, coach, and principal. The last 8 years he has been the Superintendent in West Baton Rouge Parish, but has recently stepped down from his role within the district to take on other career goals. Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com

Our tenth episode in the Season features Christian Long, an unapologetic advocate for wonder and curiosity as the root of all learning worth doing and all learning environments worth designing. He currently serves as the Chief Growth Officer for the THINK Learning Studio consultancy and PD center, a new initiative of THINK Global School, the world’s first and only all-traveling international high school. Christian’s team created TLS to help every educator, school and learning network foster the mindset and conditions to help every student take the next step on their unique, real-world learning journey. By collaborating with school leaders and educators around the world, they design dynamic real-world learning models which seek to empower today's learners to make purposeful impact in the future. To do this, they’ve adapted the TGS’ renowned Changemakers® place-based, Project Based learning curriculum into a set of tools and methodologies that empower all types of educators to bring project-based learning to their students—regardless of location, age, economic status, or learning ability. Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com

Our ninth episode in the Season features Randy Fielding, an Architect and Founding Partner of Fielding International, an interdisciplinary architecture and education firm that designs schools where learners thrive.  Randy has authored more than 50 publications and received numerous design awards, including the top two International awards in school planning and design: Planner of the Year and the MacConnell Award from the Association for Learning Environments (A4LE). Randy’s work is grounded in research, which he has shared globally as the co-author of The Language of School Design: Design Patterns for 21st Century Learning.  He is also the Creative Director for SchoolPatterns.com, which Fielding International launched in 2021 to create a shared language and library that is accessible to all. More than 70 Design Patterns illustrate key ideas in school design, with problem and solution statements, an image gallery, and links to learn more. The power of these Patterns are brought to life in 15 recent articles at Getting Smart, including 6 Elements of Thriving Learners, Personal Space for Safety, Wellness and Autonomy, and How to Design a Learning Commons, all at gettingsmart.com/author/randy-fielding. In this podcast, Randy will discuss the importance of aligning a Learning Ecosystem: the dynamic cross-section between a school’s vision (what it is aiming to achieve for its students and community), its educational program (how a school functions to achieve that vision), and its social and physical environment (culture and places where the program is delivered). Rethinking the approach to visioning and design has never been more important. He will share how school communities around the globe are, more than ever, recognizing misalignments between their aspirational vision for thriving learners and their learning environments; and, how a new tool Fielding International developed has reshaped the visioning and design process to be more effective and efficient in creating vision-aligned learning environments. Our podcast, Better Learning, is now partnered with the Association for Learning Environments (A4LE). The partnership comes with Kay-Twelve's mission alignment with A4LE to help lead innovation at the intersection of learning and place in schools around the world! Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com

Welcome to Season 6 of the Better Learning Podcast! Our eighth episode in the Season features Kelly Smith, the founder and CEO of Prenda (prenda.com), an education company that helps people run their own microschools. Kelly Smith has been obsessed with learning and building things since childhood. After a master’s degree in nuclear fusion (MIT), Kelly had a career in engineering and marketing at various technology companies and sold a small software business in the clean energy space. He started volunteering with an afterschool code club at the local public library, helping kids learn computer programming, and he was so excited about the power of self-learning that he started a microschool around his kitchen table in January 2018. Kelly lives in Mesa, Arizona with his wife and four children. Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com.

Welcome to Season 6 of the Better Learning Podcast! Our seventh episode in the Season features two guests - Brad Sever & Brian Schoch. Brad Sever is an Assistant Principal at Carmel High School in Carmel, Indiana, which has about 5.,400 students. He has been an international educational consultant on project-based learning since 2010 and has worked with over 100 schools. He recently published a book with Solution Tree Publishing titled "Sustainable Project-Based Learning," which effectively integrates PBL, SEL, and PLCs. Brian Schoch is a skilled educator, with over 20 years of experience as a classroom teacher, and 13 years of experience leading professional development workshops in Project-Based Learning with teachers across the country. He earned his bachelor's degree in Business from Miami University (Oxford, OH) and his master's degree in Education from The Ohio State University, while working at Ohio State's Center on Education and Training. Brian's work has been featured in Project-Based Teaching: How to Create Rigorous and Engaging Learning Experiences by Suzie Boss and John Larmer Setting the Standard for Project-Based Learning by Boss, Larmer, and John Mergendoller Sustainable Project-Based Learning by Brad Sever. Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com.

Welcome to Season 6 of the Better Learning Podcast! Our sixth episode in the Season features Prakash Nair, a world-renowned architect, futurist and the Founding President & CEO of Education Design International. This episode is a special one - starting this week, our podcast Better Learning is now partnered with the Association for Learning Environments or also known as A4LE (have you seen our new logo!?). The partnership comes with Kay-Twelve's mission alignment with A4LE to help lead innovation at the intersection of learning and place in schools around the world! Over the past 22 years, Prakash has helped build EDI into a global leader for school architecture with innovative work in 54 countries on six continents. Prakash has won many international awards including the 2022 Outstanding Educational Leadership Award and the A4LE MacConnell Award, the highest honor worldwide for school design. He has done a TEDx talk and is the author of several books including Blueprint for Tomorrow published by Harvard Education Press. Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com.

The Better Learning Podcast will partner with the Association for Learning Environments (A4LE) to help facilitate more conversations with educational leaders and change-makers across the country to help support their mission of improving the places where children learn. The conversations that are held on the podcast are meant to bring educational leaders at all levels real-world issues and solutions that listeners can take with them to the district, school, and even community level. The Association for Learning Environments (A4LE) was first established in 1921 as the National Council on Schoolhouse Construction (NCSC) then becoming Council of Education Facility Planners International (CEFPI) in 1971. It took its current name in 2015 and has since been leading innovation at the intersection of learning and place. With the Better Learning podcast seeking to highlight innovative programs and initiatives, A4LE aspires to connect the Better Learning audience with like minded leaders that are helping lead the change. Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com.

Welcome to Season 6 of the Better Learning Podcast! Our fourth episode in the Season features Remco Bergsma, the President and CEO of MiEN Company. Remco started MiEN Company with an idea in mind - to design open learning and working spaces that mirror modern working environments so that students were better prepared for the real world. Intentional design in schools can build readiness for the work environment and amplifies the soft skills future employers are looking for. While teachers move away from traditional instruction, schools must also adapt and create active learning spaces that help educators make an impact. Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com.

Welcome to Season 6 of the Better Learning Podcast! Our third episode in the Season features Kirk Henwood, the new School Superintendent of the Walsh School District. Dr. Kirk Henwood is passionate about public school education and the opportunity it provides to all children. His professional mission is to fulfill the promise of public education in rural Colorado public education through creating effective schools, and effective school leadership in order to provide high quality learning opportunities for students. His experiences in working in small rural school districts have given him a broad set of skills to fulfill this mission, including valuing relationships, expertise in quality instructional practices, deep experience in human resources, and educational law, all of which he leverages in order to better meet the needs of students and their learning. Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com.

Jolene Levin is the President and CEO of NorvaNivel located in Dallas, Texas. Jolene is passionate about designing creative and innovative spaces that allow all students’ needs to be met for learning success. Since NorvaNivel was founded in Australia in 2010, she has personally partnered with hundreds of education leaders to help their schools navigate, from traditional teaching and classroom design, to create agile learning spaces that support the pedagogy of today and tomorrow. With an understanding of the direction of education, Jolene creates the vision of learning spaces of the future. She brings with her hundreds of successful case studies and a commitment to improving education in the United States with inclusive learning spaces. She is inspired by her children and transforming the world in which they learn.  Email: jolene@norvanivel.com If you are interested in being on the show or know someone who would be a great guest, please connect with Kevin Stoller

Tim McClure is the Assistant Superintendent for Facilities of at Northwest Independent School District located in Justin, Texas. Tim’s experience spans for more than twenty years. His background in architecture and construction, combined with his detailed experience providing long range planning and budgeting for school districts, allows him to serve in a leadership role with an unmatched capacity. Tim is a valuable leader throughout all aspects of the industry including visioning, project facilitation, professional presentations, team management, programming, schematic design, design development, graphic design, construction drawings and contract administration. Email: Tim.McClure@nisdtx.org If you are interested in being on the show or know someone who would be a great guest, please connect with Kevin Stoller

Providing an innovative, relevant, and future-focused learning experience is important for the next generation of students. By moving away from the "factory model", you can be certain that your students will gain a sense of ownership, the opportunity to feel valued and heard, and to learn from real-world connections. To learn more about the work Tom Woelper is doing, visit https://neiacademy.org/. If you know a school leader that would benefit from a peer-to-peer confidential group, nominate them today at www.ed-leaders.org. Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com

Our second episode in Season 5 features Michelle Ball, an educator for more than forty years and the founder of Alturas Academy located in Idaho Falls. Alturas Academy has a unique model that has built a strong community for their students to learn in an environment that is safe and engaging. Take a listen to this episode to learn new successful methods of content delivery that every educator should know about! If you know a school leader that would benefit from a peer-to-peer confidential group, nominate them today at www.ed-leaders.org. Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com

Thank you to Carmelo Piazza for having an open, honest conversation about being a school leader in today's environment. To learn more about the work Carmelo is doing, visit http://carmelothesciencefellow.com/ If you know a school leader that would benefit from a peer-to-peer confidential group, nominate them today at www.ed-leaders.org. Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com