Voices for Excellence

What if students spent less of the school day waiting for directions and more of it learning how to direct themselves? Erika Twani wants educators to ask that question. Her own calculation puts a student’s time in school at 16,800 hours. The more important question, she says, is what students are doing with those hours. In this episode of Voices for Excellence , Dr. Michael Conner welcomes Erika T...

What does it take to lead with conviction when fear, politics, and constant change are shaping education? In this episode of Voices for Excellence , Dr. Michael Conner sits down with veteran superintendent, executive coach, and founder of 2EDUK8, LLC, Dr. L. Oliver Robinson. Drawing on more than two decades as a superintendent, Dr. Robinson shares a practical philosophy for building stronger leade...

What if preparing students for the future means changing not only the tools in the classroom, but the way education thinks about leadership, learning, and change? Dr Jeanene Stettner-Dutt joins Dr Michael Conner for a timely conversation about leading schools through uncertainty without losing sight of the people at their centre. With experience spanning the classroom, principalship, curriculum le...

Why do women make up most of the education workforce, yet remain dramatically underrepresented in the superintendent’s chair? In this episode of Voices for Excellence , Dr. Michael T. Conner welcomes Dr. Donna Wright, 2020 Tennessee Superintendent of the Year and Lead Superintendent for the AASA National Women’s Leadership Consortium, for a candid conversation about crisis leadership, sponsorship,...

What does it look like when rural education leads, not waits? Dr. Michael Conner welcomes Dr. Melissa Sadorf, executive director of the National Rural Education Association (NREA), the oldest national education organization in the country, founded in 1907. In her first year leading NREA, Dr. Sadorf is rolling out the organisation's first-ever five-year strategic plan, and reframing what rural scho...

Most leaders are trained in strategy, systems, and skills. Almost none are taught to deal with themselves first. In this episode of Voices for Excellence , Dr. Michael Conner is joined by Dr. Antoinette Gutierrez, educational leader, consultant, author, and founder of the CALSA Coachella Valley chapter, for a deeply personal and deeply practical conversation about what it means to lead from a plac...

Every so often, a conversation cuts through the noise and gets to the heart of what education leadership demands right now. This is one of those conversations. In this episode, Dr. Michael T. Conner is joined by Dr. Rick Fernandez, former superintendent, former high school principal, Chief Growth Officer at BlueKit Software, and co-host of the Boyz of EdTech podcast, for a powerful discussion on l...

What does it really take to build a school system ready for the future? In this episode of Voices for Excellence , Dr. Michael Conner welcomes Dr. Tommy Welch, Deputy Superintendent of School Improvement and Strategic Initiatives for Richmond County School System, for an energising conversation about continuous improvement, artificial intelligence, and the leadership required to serve every learne...

Daniel Crook, founder of School Harbor and co-founder of AEG Systems, joins Dr. Michael Conner for a direct, infrastructure-first conversation about what K–12 districts are getting wrong about AI adoption. Daniel has spent years working inside the systems that districts rely on to manage data, make decisions, and integrate technology at scale. His assessment is clear: the AI problem in education i...

Today's kindergartners will retire in 2082, but are we preparing them for that world or ours? In this episode, Dr. Michael Conner sits down with Stewart Brown, Director of Partnerships at Code4Kids, to challenge the "21st century" trap that's already widening the gap for Generation Alpha and Beta. Stewart and Michael dig into why coding is becoming as essential as cursive, a fundamental literacy e...

Stop managing behavior. Start changing it. Dr. Mike Conner sits down with Dr. Donna Housman, CEO and founder of Housman Learning, to explore the paradigm shift reshaping early childhood education: why emotional intelligence isn't a soft skill, it's the durable, sustainable driver of academic achievement and lasting behavioral change. Key Topics: The evolution of emotional intelligence from "soft s...

Organizations love to say they’ve “given people the tools to succeed”, so why do the same individuals and teams keep being labeled as the problem? In this episode, host Dr. Michael Conner talks with Dr. Shokry Eldaly (Teachers College, Columbia University) about what’s really missing: structures that make efficacy possible. Shokry breaks down why motivation isn’t the primary barrier, how rigid sys...

Schools aren't just content delivery systems, they're the places where belonging happens, and that matters more in the age of AI than it did before. Matthew Berkshire, Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Greenville Central School District in New York, built something unusual: a school improvement process that used AI to strengthen the human trust network, not replace it. When Greenville adop...

The superintendent isn't a budget manager, they're the chief advocate for all children. Dr. Michael J. Barnes rebuilt Mayfield City Schools around this principle, and the results speak for themselves. The superintendent is the chief advocate for all children in their community. Nobody else can say that, not the mayor, not the school board, not the superintendent of the next district over. But some...

What happens when a public school district builds a micro school inside itself, and doesn't apologize for it? Rob Dickson is the CIO of Wichita Public Schools (USD 259), and he's not waiting for permission to innovate. Creative Minds, a K-6 vertical classroom where kindergartners learn alongside sixth graders. Future Ready Centers that look like businesses, not classrooms, where students earn cert...

What if AI isn't trying to fit into your classroom — but to rebuild it entirely? Erin Mote, CEO and founder of InnovateEDU, explores what it means to navigate an arrival technology , one that doesn't fit into existing systems but fundamentally reorders them. Erin leads national and international work on AI literacy, including National AI Literacy Day (March 27th), and she's not here to hype or fea...

Can Your AI Guidance Actually Guide — Or Does It Just Add Cognitive Load? Thirty-five states have issued AI guidance for schools. But how many of those documents reduce workload instead of compounding it? How many build judgment muscles instead of issuing checkbox mandates? And how many actually get used in real classrooms? Julia Fallon, Executive Director of SETDA, has spent 25 years working with...

What does leadership look like when education is evolving faster than ever? In this powerful episode of Voices for Excellence , Dr. Michael Conner welcomes Dr. Rachel Edoho-Eket — President of the Maryland Association of Elementary School Principals, nationally recognised keynote speaker, and two-time bestselling author. Together, they explore: • Why people must come before programs • How relation...

What if unlocking educational excellence meant embracing both our past traumas and the resilience we’ve built through them? In this compelling episode of Voices for Excellence, Dr. Michael Conner welcomes Dr. Paul Miller, an influential educator and author, as part of our Black Excellence series during Black History Month. With a visionary approach that bridges the past and future of learning, Dr....

How do we build the future of learning with—and not against—the forces of innovation transforming society? In this visionary episode of Voices for Excellence, Dr. Michael Conner sits down with Mike Yates—education disruptor, creative strategist, and a national leader shaping the future of teaching through AI and learner-centered design. From leading AI innovation at Teach For America's Reinvention...

What does it really take to redesign education systems for a future that demands equity, human-centered innovation, and world-class learning outcomes? In this riveting Black Excellence Series episode of Voices for Excellence, Dr. Michael Conner sits down with visionary systems leader Dr. Tauheedah Baker-Jones—a powerhouse in transformational education reform whose work bridges research, policy, an...

What does it take to lead with clarity, compassion, and courage through the stormy waters of educational transformation? In this inspiring episode of Voices for Excellence, Dr. Michael Conner welcomes Dr. Lloyd Jackson, Superintendent of the Texarkana Arkansas School District and a proud alumnus of the very community he now leads. Known for his signature calm and purposeful leadership, Dr. Jackson...

What does it take to lead a district through transformation while honoring the lived realities of students, educators, and community members? In this powerful episode of Voices for Excellence — part of our fourth annual Black Excellence series — Dr. Michael Conner sits down with Dr. Simone Griffin, Superintendent of Benton Harbor Area Schools in Michigan. Together, they explore the deep work of in...

What does it take to build a legacy that lifts others as it rises? In this powerhouse episode of the Black Excellence Series, Dr. Michael Conner sits down with Dr. David Heiber—renowned educator, visionary entrepreneur, and founder of Concentric Educational Solutions—for a masterclass in purpose-driven leadership, systems disruption, and unshakable commitment to our youth. With raw honesty and unm...

What does it take to lead through the shift when everything in education is evolving at once, and the pressure to deliver excellence for all students only intensifies? In this powerful instalment of the Black Excellence Series on Voices for Excellence, host Dr. Michael Conner is joined by transformational leader and 2022 NABSE National Principal of the Year, Brian K. Roberson II. A leadership coac...