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In this episode of the EduJedi Report podcast, Host and Learning Counsel CEO LeiLani Cauthen talks with Kristie Shelley, Senior Director of Emergent Bilingual Curriculum at Lexia Learning about digital learning design that is heritage-relevant.   Lexia English is a K-6 product that helps promote bilingualism or multilingualism. From day one, they approached the program with an asset model, which makes it unique, seeking to honor learners first and foremost. Studies indicate that teachers talk 80 percent of the time in the classroom. Lexia flipped the model because the only way to learn a language is to actually speak the language. In order to make this happen in an interactive atmosphere, they use a technology of the speech recognition engine. And to make the learner comfortable, Lexia allowed characters to use familiar accents, yet encouraged the learner to use Academic English, which showed in their writing and reading.  The unique Lexia English program is finding huge success while removing the burden from disappearing numbers of ESL teachers, and the professional grade UI/UX design is blowing the doors off competitors’ offerings. 

A short interview with Dr. Liz Brooke about returning to school post-pandemic, and how Lexia Learning uses the science of reading to create edtech that can empower ALL students and educators, regardless of the learning environment. 

For 21 years, Dr. Henery has provided vision, management, and leadership to meet the needs of all English Learners in her student population and their families. During the early weeks and months of the COVID pandemic, Little Rock School District stepped up to meet the unprecedented educational challenges it faced—in part, by providing equitable access to proven technology-based solutions, such as Lexia Core5 Reading, across the district. Listen to the podcast to learn more.   

Schools are bringing on professional grade digital curriculum and aiming at true personalization.  LeiLani hosts Dr. Liz Brooke and Michele Eaton, Director of Virtual And Blended Learning from the M.S.D. of Wayne Township.  This discussion about what software can do in schools reveals how leaders are trying to balance human teaching within a new context of real personalization because of more sophisticated software so that they can rid themselves of systemic inequities.  

Tens of thousands of school leaders are realizing they may have lost a year of progress with students. LeiLani discusses with Dr. Liz Brooke, Chief Learning Officer at Lexia and Felecia Evans, Principal at Lander Elementary School, Mayfield Heights, OH, what to do about realigning student learning amidst ongoing alternate schedules including on-campus, remote and hybrid learning. As educators come out of the fog of issuing millions of devices and making sure students have connectivity, they are finding a professional world of digital curriculum to help them play catch-up. This discussion focuses on practical leadership from the front lines by a Principal and new software qualities that result in leaps upward in achievement in shorter time – a critical discussion right now for K12 schools who hope to recover in language literacy.

Dyslexia, the most common learning disability, affects up to 15-20% of the population. What exactly is this learning difference, how can educators better understand dyslexia, and how can we best meet the needs of these students today? Listen to this interview with Dr. Suzanne Carreker, Lexia’s Principal Educational Content Lead, and Lee-Ann Tolfree Mertzlufft, Director of Options with Learning and a faculty member at Albany City Schools, to learn how our definition of dyslexia has changed over the last 30 years, why using the right tools is so essential, and how educators can better understand dyslexia—from both personal and global perspectives.

Listen to an interview with Lexia’s Chief Learning Officer Dr. Liz Brooke on the critical importance of motivation and engagement in today’s K–12 education landscape.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, much of the country's workforce is grappling with a new normal that has no clear end in sight. In the education sector, the massive and abrupt shift to remote learning received extensive media coverage as educators transitioned from in-person classroom instruction to teaching digitally from afar. But while teachers have certainly experienced a significant amount of upheaval over the past couple of months, their sense of job security is likely much stronger than that of many other working professionals—including the roughly 50% of people working in K–12 schools who aren't classroom teachers. To view the original blog, visit: 50/50: Uncertain Fates for Non-Teaching Personnel in Times of Recession

March 2020 saw a massive upheaval in Americans' day-to-day lives as the COVID-19 pandemic began to take its toll. While professionals able to do their jobs remotely transitioned to working from home, schools closed their doors and took on the Herculean task of moving learning from the classroom to the cloud—no small feat under ideal conditions, let alone when the country is in crisis and life has changed seemingly overnight. Every individual is coping with and adjusting to the upheaval in their own way, and students are no different. But although schooling in a pandemic has proven difficult for some, others seem to be not only getting by but flourishing. To view the original blog, visit: Silver Linings: Why Remote Learning Allows Some Students to Shine

When it comes to distance learning, one key question is often relegated to the background: What do students think? To view the original blog, visit: Interaction, Structure, Creativity: Students Weigh in On Improving School During a Pandemic  

It is no exaggeration to place teaching among the most important professions in our society; after all, teachers are uniquely positioned to have a profound impact on young people by inspiring their actions both within the school walls and beyond them. Sadly, it is also no exaggeration to place teaching among the country's most stressful jobs.  To view the original blog, visit: Moving Away from Standardized Professional Development for Teachers

It is no exaggeration to place teaching among the most important professions in our society; after all, teachers are uniquely positioned to have a profound impact on young people by inspiring their actions both within the school walls and beyond them. Sadly, it is also no exaggeration to place teaching among the country's most stressful jobs.  To view the original blog, visit: Social-Emotional Learning: Support for Teachers Who Are Feeling the Burn

With in-classroom learning on hold for many schools throughout the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, educators, students, and parents have been adjusting to the often-referenced “new normal.” In education, navigating the transition to e-learning has been a significant component of this adjustment—and because moving from the classroom to the cloud is by no means a one-size-fits-all process, instructors and administrators must take care to avoid common remote learning pitfalls as they develop effective approaches that work for them and their students.  To view the original blog, visit: Avoid These 5 Common E-Learning Pitfalls

A recent New York Times article began by presenting a familiar scenario: A young girl, newly equipped with an iPad, was eager to begin online learning after her public school had been shuttered due to the COVID-19 crisis. To view the original blog, visit: Online Learning: Accessible to All?

As schools across the United States close for weeks—and potentially months—to slow the spread of COVID-19, communities are scrambling to reimagine education. Are districts prepared to move to online learning? How will virtual classrooms work for very young students? How will grade-level expectations be communicated and assessed?  To view the original blog, visit: Let Teachers Lead: Our Teachers Know What Their Students Need

In school districts across the United States, the COVID-19 outbreak has pushed teaching and learning from the classroom to the computer practically overnight. To view the original blog, visit: Switching to E-Learning? Don’t Leave Equity Behind

Suddenly, the world has changed. With schools across the United States closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers and students have been left wondering how to cope with the loss of structure, community, and support provided by the K-12 system. To view the original blog, visit: A Self-Care Guide for Teachers and Students

Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures. In the face of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, organizations of all types are being forced to rapidly reevaluate and restructure the way they conduct business during a public health emergency. Like other business leaders, school administrators must think critically about how each decision they make may impact students, parents, and surrounding communities. To view the original blog, visit: Classroom to Cloud: 3 Factors to Consider When Transitioning to Remote Learning

In 2019, Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg captured the world’s attention with her eloquent environmental activism. But although Thunberg's fight against climate change certainly makes her stand out from the crowd, she is by no means the only youth activist out there. As noted in a CNN list of young environmental activists, Mari Copeny of Flint, Michigan, sent a letter about her city's water crisis to then-President Barack Obama in 2016 that was written powerfully enough to prompt Obama to fly to Flint and assess the situation personally. Arguably the most impressive part of the story is the fact that Mari was just 9 years old at the time. To view the original blog, visit: How Can We Help Foster Greta Thunberg's Drive in All Students?

Where do the billions of dollars allocated for K-12 education in the United States each year actually end up? A new mandate borne of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) aims to answer this question by requiring the addition of state-by-state data points to each state’s annual report card. With this improved insight, parents, teachers, policymakers, and other interested parties will theoretically be able to more accurately "follow the money."  To view the original blog, visit: New ESSA Provision Aims to Boost School Funding Transparency