On April 5, we were lucky enough to be joined by Dr. Nikole Hollins-Sims, an award-winning education expert with a broad set of experience in behavior support, equity, student mental health, and education consulting.  Dr. Hollins-Sims is currently a technical assistance coordinator for the Midwest PBIS Network, having previously served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Education at the Pennsylvania Department of Education. During the webinar, she went into detail about important data practices, the nature of bias in school discipline, common mistakes in schoolwide behavior support, and more. Let’s explore three key takeaways from the conversation. Dr. Nikole Hollins-Sims is the lead author of the recently-released book Creating Equitable Practices in PBIS: Growing a Positive School Climate for Sustainable Outcomes. You can follow her on social media at  @DrNikoleHSims and @H_SConsult on Twitter, Dr. Nikole Hollins-Sims on LinkedIn, and @dr_nikole on Instagram. To learn more about her consulting work, you can visit her website at www.hollinssimsconsult.com.

On November 10, we were lucky enough to be joined by Dr. Maurice Elias, who is currently a Professor of Psychology at Rutgers University and the Director of the Rutgers Social-Emotional and Character Development Lab. He is a highly accomplished researcher in SEL and character education who has made influential contributions to his field, both in the academic community and as a writer for the general public. As someone who has a deep and nuanced understanding of SEL and what it’s capable of accomplishing, Dr. Elias had a lot to share about how educators can use it not just for teaching long-lasting and rewarding competencies, but also for improving behavior in the moment and enhancing the learning process altogether. As a Professor of Psychology at Rutgers University and Director of the Rutgers Social-Emotional and Character Development Lab, Dr. Maurice Elias is a leading figure in the research and implementation of SEL. His work is centered around developing and advocating for effective and equitable systems that help kids lead positive, productive lives. You can follow the SECD on Twitter or read his writings at Edutopia.

On October 18th, we were very fortunate to have a live webinar discussion with Dr. Lindsa McIntyre, who is currently the Superintendent of High Schools for Boston Public Schools. She is renowned as an influential advocate of DEIB in education (diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging), and during her tenure as headmaster of Jeremiah E. Burke High School, she helped it become the first high school in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to exit Turnaround status. From her personal journey as a young Black student growing up during desegregation to her professional track record as a school administrator, Dr. McIntyre has spent her life both directly experiencing and fighting inequity in education. This has helped her develop an extensive and profound set of educational philosophies that have served her communities in lasting ways. They’ve proven useful not only for supporting DEIB, but also for enacting positive change in the educational environment in general. An influential educator with extensive personal and professional experience in fighting for equity,  Dr. Lindsa McIntyre is currently the Superintendent of High Schools for Boston Public Schools. She is also a member of the Classcraft Equity Board. You can follow her work via LinkedIn.

For the fifth installment in our Chat With the Experts webinar series, we had the pleasure to speak with Trent Goble, VP of K12 Strategy at the influential education technology company Instructure. Trent shared deep insight into the role and evolution of SEL, and how it factors into the assessment and technology in schools. There were a lot of important topics covered in this webinar, but much of the conversation illustrated the importance of SEL-informed instruction and leadership in schools. With over 25 years of experience as an educator, innovator, and thought leader, Trenton Goble is currently the VP of K12 Strategy at Instructure. Previously, he co-founded and served for 10 years as Chief Academic Officer at MasteryConnect, the influential education software solution for mastery-based learning and formative assessment. Trenton also holds an M.Ed in Instructional Technology with an emphasis in School Administration. His latest book, “Reclaiming the Classroom”, focuses on empowering teachers and administrators.

On September 1, we were honored to host a webinar discussion with Lorea Martinez, one of today’s most distinguished experts in social-emotional learning. Lorea was kind enough to share what she’s learned across her extensive career both as an educator and an SEL specialist, with a focus on key strategies for developing social-emotional skills in people of all ages. The conversation covered a lot of ground, but much of the conversation helped to illustrate just how important social-emotional skills have become in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Lorea Martínez is the award-winning founder of HEART in Mind, a company dedicated to helping schools and organizations integrate Social Emotional Learning into their practices, products, and learning communities. Her new SEL book for educators, Teaching with the HEART in Mind, is available now. You can learn more about her work at www.loreamartinez.com.

On August 25, we were lucky enough to be joined by Chris Dede, one of today’s foremost researchers in education. Having spent much of his extensive career examining how people learn, as well as the nature of our relationships with technology, Chris was able to offer plenty of insight and knowledge regarding motivation, engagement, collective learning experiences, and more. The topics and themes of the discussion were wide-ranging, but they all served to highlight just how nuanced the learning process is and how much impact teachers can make when they tap into that nuance. Chris Dede is currently the Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education (HGSE) and a co-principal investigator at the NSF-funded National Artificial Intelligence Institute in Adult Learning and Online Education. You can follow him on LinkedIn and Twitter to stay updated on his work.

On August 18, we had the chance to chat with Terry M. Scott. He offered compelling insight into the role of effective instruction in schoolwide PBIS, as well as the importance of bolstering positive teacher-student relationships. As a professor at the University of Louisville’s College of Education and Human Development, Terry carries out scientific research focusing on schoolwide prevention systems, managing student behavior, and video-based training for educators. Having conducted over 24 years’ worth of research, interviewing teachers, writing over 100 publications, and leading over 1,000 presentations, Terry has amassed an incredible amount of data to distill and support his three tenets of effective instruction. Terry M. Scott is a Professor and Distinguished University Scholar in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Louisville. His research interests focus on school-wide prevention systems, the role of instructional variables in managing student behavior, functional behavior assessment/intervention, and scientific research in education.

On August 2, we had the chance to chat with Kent McIntosh, Ph.D., to discuss how educators can build truly equitable and sustainable behavior initiatives. Throughout the conversation, Kent shared the data behind his research, outlined actionable steps for preventing bias, and highlighted the importance of collaborating with students to create more inclusive and supportive learning environments. Kent McIntosh, Ph.D., is the Philip H. Knight Chair of Special Education at the University of Oregon. He is Co-Director of the Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. His current research focuses on increasing racial equity in school discipline, as well as the implementation of sustainable systems for social, emotional, and behavioral support in schools.