In today's "Best Of," we're going all the way back to episode 9 of The Authority with Dr. Carey Borkoski. We talked about her book Dancing with Discomfort: A framework for noticing, naming, and navigating our in-between moments.

You'll hear about:

• The importance of transitions in creating an interesting, fulfilling life
• How to navigate unanticipated personal or professional transitions
• Navigating the transition into an administrator role
• Addressing the discomfort of giving or receiving feedback
• Getting over imposter syndrome

About today’s guest

Dr. Carey Borkoski is an Associate Professor and Research Fellow in the School of Education at Loyola University - Maryland, and a Lead Coach in the Johns Hopkins University School of Education. Her research focuses on the role of building community and cultivating belonging in student and faculty successes. She also writes and speaks on strategies and technology tools that contribute to building a sense of community in our learning spaces.

About the host

Ross Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Bluesky or LinkedIn

I also host Sideline Sessions, a podcast for coaches and parents of student-athletes. The show features conversations with coaches and performance experts in the NFL, NBA, NCAA, Olympics, and more. Listen here: https://bit.ly/3Rp0QGt

Brian Butler is an educational consultant, speaker, author, and award-winning former principal who is passionate about nurturing collaborative school cultures that unlock every student’s unlimited potential. In this "Best Of," we revisit our conversation about Brian's books, Every Student Deserves a Gifted Education and Limitless Future.

Hear about:

• Brian's inspiring story
• What is a gifted education?
• The necessary mindset shift to plan a gifted education for every student
• The five shifts/elements to help create a schoolwide approach to nurturing each student’s unique strengths, passions, and talents
• Fallacy of Fixed Intelligence, Labels Be Gone, Obligation of Teams, Our Superpowers, Resistance and Inspiration

Learn more about Brian:

• www.brianbutler.info
• Brian’s podcast, “A Conversation with Brian"

About the host

Ross Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Bluesky or LinkedIn

I also host Sideline Sessions, a podcast for coaches and parents of student-athletes. The show features conversations with coaches and performance experts in the NFL, NBA, NCAA, Olympics, and more. Listen here: https://bit.ly/3Rp0QGt

In more than 40 years of teaching, Andee Nunn reached over 4,000 students juggling positions as a reading specialist, English teacher, and communications adjunct faculty.

She was named the 2008 Danbury (CT) Teacher of the Year, 2008 Connecticut State Semi-Finalist Teacher of the Year, and won the 2018 NAACP Excellence in Teaching award.

Her book is Magic in Room 216: How One Teacher Came of Age and Inspired the Next Generation.

Tune into our conversation to hear about:

• What is the “magic?”
• The risks Andee took during her teaching career
• The students who taught her the most
• How she was able to get students to open up
• What was the catalyst that sparked Andee’s “metamorphosis?”
• Reflections on the current state of education

Get Andee’s book, Magic in Room 216.

About today’s guest

Born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Long Island, Andee Nunn’s imaginary teaching started at age 6 when she modeled her kindergarten teacher’s magical classroom. In her basement she lined up her dolls and play acting at her dream profession began. After high school, she earned her B.A in Speech Education, MS in Secondary Education from Queens College, NY. and later completed post graduate studies in Reading at Western CT State University. Andee earned certification as an Elementary Education Teacher, Reading Specialist grades K-12, as well as High School English Teacher grades 9-12. During her more than 40 years as an educator, she juggled positions as a Reading Specialist/Consultant, English Teacher, Director of IAP, The Individualized Achievement Program at Western for first generation college students and served as Adjunct Professor of Communications. Andee was named 2008 Danbury Teacher of the Year, 2008 Semi-Finalist CT. Teacher of the Year and was the 2018 recipient of the NAACP Excellence in Teaching Award. Now retired, she resides in Danbury CT where she raised two daughters and lives with her husband of 48 years. For the last few years, she has addressed high school and college aspiring educators as guest speaker.

About the host

Ross Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Bluesky or LinkedIn

I also host Sideline Sessions, a podcast for coaches and parents of student-athletes. The show features conversations with coaches and performance experts in the NFL, NBA, NCAA, Olympics, and more. Listen here: https://bit.ly/3Rp0QGt

Nathaniel Provencio has worked in the public education field since 2001 as a classroom teacher, building administrator and associate superintendent. He is a speaker, school leadership coach, and author of Community Connections and Your PLC at Work®: A Guide to Engaging Families.

We talk about:

• Why parent and family engagement are important to schools, and how it relates to PLCs
• How the concepts of a PLC apply to family engagement
• Is connecting with families just code for more work for already overworked teachers?
• Engaging families who traditionally have barriers to engagement
• The biggest ‘community connection fail’ Nathaniel has seen a school try, and how to do it better

Get Community Connections and Your PLC at Work from Solution Tree. Learn more about Nathaniel at his website provenprincipalllc.com

About today’s guest

Nathaniel Provencio has worked in the public education field since 2001 as a classroom teacher, building administrator and associate superintendent . In 2010, he became the principal of Minnieville Elementary in Prince William County, Virginia. Under his leadership, Minnieville Elementary was recognized as a Virginia Distinguished Title 1 School, became a National Model Professional Learning Community and was the winner of the 2019 Richard DuFour PLC Award.

Mr. Provencio has been honored as the 2017 Prince William County principal of the year, the 2017 Washington Post Principal of the Year and the 2019 Virginia National Distinguished Principal of the Year.

Mr. Provencio is the author of Community Connections and Your PLC at Work, which focuses on how schools can utilize the professional learning community framework to enhance family and community engagement.

Mr. Provencio graduated from the University of North Alabama in 2001 with a degree in education and has a master’s degree in education administration from George Mason University in which he was recognized as one of 50 all-time George Mason University Alumni.

About the host

Ross Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Bluesky or LinkedIn

I also host Sideline Sessions, a podcast for coaches and parents of student-athletes. The show features conversations with coaches and performance experts in the NFL, NBA, NCAA, Olympics, and more. Listen here: https://bit.ly/3Rp0QGt

Dr. Chad Dumas is a Solution Tree PLC at Work®, Assessment, and Priority Schools associate and international consultant, presenter, and award-winning researcher whose primary focus is collaborating to develop capacity for continuous improvement.

His latest book is The Teacher Team Leader Handbook: Simple Habits to Transform Collaboration in a PLC at Work®.

We discuss:

• Foundations and actions of teacher team leaders
• How important to establish the mission of the PLC?
• The book has Swiss Army Knife-like tools for leaders — you don’t use them all every time you pull out the knife, but you have what’s needed for the situation
• Role and responsibilities of the teacher team leader
• The assumptions a team leader must make
• Who selects the leader?
• When it’s time to build capacity and when it’s time for a reset

Get the book here: https://nextlearningsolutionspress.com/ttlh/

Hear my previous conversation with Chad on episode 132, Let’s Put the C in PLC with Chad Dumas.

About the host

Ross Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Bluesky or LinkedIn

I also host Sideline Sessions, a podcast for coaches and parents of student-athletes. The show features conversations with coaches and performance experts in the NFL, NBA, NCAA, Olympics, and more. Listen here: https://bit.ly/3Rp0QGt

In this "Best Of" episode, I spoke with Tony Frontier about his book AI with Intention: Principles and Action Steps for Teachers and School Leaders (ASCD).

In one of our most popular conversations from last year, you'll hear about:

• On the topic of AI and education, what is important for educators to keep in mind about what has changed and what remains the same?
• Tony’s greatest fear and greatest hope about how AI will change education
• Essential Question: How can teachers and students use AI tools to support intentional teaching and learning?
• Most important guiding principles that challenge teachers to think more clearly about what has changed and what is the same
• Essential Question for Leaders: How can leaders build capacity to ensure AI tools are used to effectively support intentional teaching and learning?
• Read Tony’s Educational Leadership article, “Active Learning, Not Passive Compliance”

Get the book AI with Intention from ASCD or wherever you get your books.

About today’s guest

Tony Frontier, PhD is an award-winning educator who works with teachers and school leaders nationally and internationally to help them prioritize efforts to improve student learning. With expertise in classroom assessment, student engagement, curriculum development, meaningful feedback, technology integration, and strategic planning, Frontier emphasizes a systems approach to empower leaders and teachers to serve others.

As a former classroom teacher in Milwaukee Public Schools, an Associate High School Principal, the Director of Instruction for the Whitefish Bay School District, and a college professor who taught PhD candidates statistics, research, and learning theory, Frontier brings a wealth of experience as a classroom teacher, building administrator, central office administrator, and researcher to his workshops, writing, and research.

About the host

Ross Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Bluesky or LinkedIn

In our latest "Best Of" episode, I'm bringing back my second conversation with Mark Miller. Each of my episodes with Mark is worth revisiting.

Mark is a Wall Street Journal and international best-selling author, communicator, and the former Vice President of High Performance Leadership at Chick-fil-A. Today, Mark serves as the Co-Founder of Lead Every Day, an extension of his life-inspired mission to encourage and equip leaders with the tools they need to be successful.

As an author, Mark has more than one million books in print in 25+ languages. His latest is Uncommon Greatness: Five Fundamentals to Transform Your Leadership.

We discuss:

• Mark’s journey to leadership and how it influenced his understanding of uncommon vs. “common” greatness
• Reasons for the global leadership crisis
• 33% of organizations believe there’s not sufficient leadership for today and 50% of leaders don’t believe their organization has enough emerging leaders for the needs of the future
• “How can I add the most value in this situation?”
• The Five Fundamentals: See the Future, Engage and Develop Others, Reinvent Continuously, Value Results and Relationships, Embody a Leader’s Heart
• Being a leader people want to follow

Subscribe to The Authority to get more deep-dive interviews with education authors. It’s available wherever you get your podcasts. Visit https://bepodcast.network to learn more about the Be Podcast Network for educators.

Connect with our guest:

• Get Uncommon Greatness at https://www.leadeveryday.com or wherever you get your books
• Reach out to Mark directly at 678-612-8441
• Text UNCOMMON to 66866 for additional resources
• Connect on social media at https://www.linkedin.com/in/highperformanceleaders and @MarkMillerLeads

About our guest

Mark Miller is a Wall Street Journal and international best-selling author, communicator, and the former Vice President of High Performance Leadership at Chick-fil-A. Mark started his Chick-fil-A career working as an hourly team member in 1977. In 1978, he joined the corporate staff working in the warehouse and mailroom. During his tenure with Chick-fil-A, the company grew from seventy-five restaurants to over 2,700 locations with annual sales exceeding $19 billion. Today, Mark serves as the Co-Founder of Lead Every Day, an extension of his life-inspired mission to encourage and equip leaders with the tools they need to be successful. Mark began writing almost twenty years ago when he teamed up with Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One Minute Manager, to write The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do. With over one million books in print in more than twenty-five languages, his global impact continues to grow. For more information, please visit https://leadeveryday.com.

Danny Steele worked for 31 years in education as a principal, assistant principal, teacher, coach, and assistant professor of Instructional Leadership.

In 2005, Steele was recognized as Alabama’s “Assistant Principal of the Year,” and in 2016, he was recognized as Alabama’s “Secondary Principal of the Year.”

He has written six books including two with Todd Whitaker, has presented at numerous state and national conferences, and has spoken in school districts around the country.

His new book is The Instructional Leader in You: 10 Strategies for Every School Leader.

We discuss:

• Instructional Leader: a necessary part of every principalship?
• What are the barriers to instructional leadership?
• Being strategic with delegation
• Being curious
• Being visible
• Being About the Culture
• Interconnectedness of the strategies

Get Danny’s book from Routledge and learn more about his work here: www.leadershiplearningandculture.com

About the host

Ross Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Bluesky or LinkedIn

I also host Sideline Sessions, a podcast for coaches and parents of student-athletes. The show features conversations with coaches and performance experts in the NFL, NBA, NCAA, Olympics, and more. Listen here: https://bit.ly/3Rp0QGt