Episode # 416: Kurtis Hewson
https://outofthetrenches.podbean.com/e/episode-416-kurtis-hewson/
Kurtis Hewson is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, author and professional learning facilitator. In addition to being an award-winning teacher, vice-principal, and principal, he has also served as faculty at the post-secondary level. He is the co-founder of Jigsaw Learning, a co-author of the text Collaborative Response: Three Foundational Components That Transform How We Respond to the Needs of Learners (Corwin, 2022), and currently works with districts and schools nationally and internationally establishing Collaborative Response frameworks and interacting with thousands of educators annually.
Trench story: feeling overwhelmed w/ to-do list when you have priorities, it affects your sleep, relationships. Forced him to narrow down the focus. What are things we can let go, prioritize. It’s hard to do as educators. How do you prioritize w/ Lorna? He lays out the core tasks. He asks what is the one thing I want to accomplish today? Things that are important, find time in your calendar. In his role, it’s OK saying no to opportunities.
New book coming soon: (collaborative team meetings working title), will be self-published. Collaborative Team Meetings, the Missing Piece that Connects MTSS: focused on a powerful meeting structure known as the collaborative team meeting. It was originally about what they found out in schools. 4 lays of teams & the impact it has. It’s part of the Collaborative Response Framework. It’s a companion to 1st book. This book is the engine. How do you structure teams f.ex. in a HS. They talk about 4 layers. A lot of schools have 3 layers, collaborative planning- t’s in same dept or grade level. Look at instruction that impacts all students. Exists w/in first layer. Look at gaps w/ in instruction. 3rd layer- school support layer- most MTSS structures exist there. Specialists are involved. Incl. a family support liaison. Often teachers not in the convo, there were convos around t. coaching. 4th layer- case consult- 1 student is on the agenda. Based om complexity, crisis. Could involve ppl from external agencies. Highly reactive meetings. In his school- mtg every 3-5 wks bridging the 2 for a pro-active conversation. That bridges PLC & MTSS work. How to bridge the 2? 1x/month- teams will shift to a collaborative team mtg. APs, MTSS coordinator, etc, diversity of thought. They can be mixed teams w/ multiple subject disciplines. There is a pre-mtg organizer. A student to celebrate & I student to discuss. Have roles such as timekeeper, etc. Facilitator will ask what teacher did to lead to success. You’re unpacking your prof toolboxes in front of others. It builds high degrees of collective efficacy. Second part of mtg- you discuss key issue w/ a student. Don’t say their name, just mention issue. It can be difficult to narrow down the issue. Ask team members to note the name of kid silently. Set a timer & brainstorm what could be done to help w/ on task stamina. You’re just exploring possibilities. No one is allowed to say “I don’t think that would work”. What’s 1 thing you’d like to try, then say the name of student. That is a solutions-focused process that’s action-oriented. It’s for the MTSS coordinator to offer resources/strategies. Less & less st’s are on Tier 2 then. Work through 3-5 key issues. Classroom teachers then stretch their thinking. They may ask AP or MTSS Coordinator for help. Yesterday he walked out w/ strategies he hadn’t heard about before. The school he was in yesterday has done those mtg for couple yrs. It’s safe for t’s to say “I’m tapped out & don’t know what to do”. Every person is an expert- but every person is a team member. You walk away w/ resources you could give teachers. Add this on- do it 1 out of every 4 PLC mtgs. If 5 t’s meet in PLC. An admin, counselor, MTSS coordinator comes & joins.
Get a free starter kit at http://collaborativeteammeeting.com links to the book- role cards, clip of a mtg to watch. Companion website to book.
what you can offer districts for late summer, early fall: they do instructor workshops, districts have them work w/ cohorts of schools. They model the collab team mtg, observes, offer fdb. It’s not work you finish w/ a 1 day workshop. 4 return dates w/ in the course of the year.
Out of everything: in schools, we have to adopt “Ready, Fire, Aim” mentality. You put the start of a plan in place, fire. Intention isn’t to get it perfect. You will adjust as you go on. You may get overwhelmed w/ collab team mtg.
Where can ppl find you online: Twitter/X: @hewsonk27
FB: https://www.facebook.com/JigsawLearningAB/
Website: www.jigsawlearning.ca
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/B3IbZkvtm9E
Episode # 217: Dr Niki Elliott
https://outofthetrenches.podbean.com/e/episode-417-dr-niki-elliott/
Dr. Niki Elliott is a clinical professor and director of the Center for Embodied Equity and Neurodiversity at the University of San Diego.
Dr. Elliott is a leading voice in neurodiversity and trauma-informed education, and she has trained thousands of educators and parents worldwide to better support children with learning differences, mental health diagnoses, trauma histories, and behavioral challenges. Her trainings consistently lead to measurable improvements in school climate, reductions in suspensions for students of color, and increased well-being among children, parents, and educators.
Her forthcoming book Heart-Centered Connection: 7 Essential Skills for Helping Neurodiverse and Marginalized Children Thrive (July 21, 2026) is based on decades of research with over 1,000 child-serving professionals and brings clear guidance and a hopeful message: when compassion and trust come first, real learning can begin.
Trench story: first yr teaching, taught 4th grade in Manhattan. She had a class of students who had significant emotional/behavioral challenges. A student, Greg, was a challenging case. He pushed her into a table. She prayed about it. Wanted to quit. Heard in her dream “neither of you go, work it out”. She needed to understand what the source of the behavior was. She built a relationship first.
How did you get to your current position? Started as 4-5th grade teacher. Also worked at HS w/ kids who were in restricted placements. From there she built teaching practice around supporting neurodiverse st’s. Worked on Doctorate and studied neurodiversity. She helped build charter schools as part of Doctorate. Built an indep. study program for 1-5th graders. Supported parents w/ hybrid homeschool, awareness of how nervous system works. Has been working 10 yrs training mental health professionals, is herself a parent of neurodiverse kids. Brought in yoga, breathwork, etc. Was then recruited to San Diego. 10+ years delivering trainings.
General edu teachers need preparation for inclusion. She is mostly concerned w/ restrictive environments they get moved to. More kids could be served in general ed space. Many schools have philosophies around sped. Most of those who have trainings are the sped teachers. Many schools have made significant investments in recent yrs to do the trainings.
Trainings: gives to univ. and K-12 educators, ppl who run summer camps, before and after school clubs, and parents who misread behaviors and don’t understand neurodiversity. There is a 37.5 hr certificate. 2 day hybrid training. Heart Centered connection-book helps w/ neurodiverse kids, sped aides, bus drivers, etc often don’t get trained. Usually only the sped teachers have a baseline understanding of what the kids need. 8 1 hr zoom courses. No training has never been a thought, ppl only get compliance training & background checks. Ppl interact w/ kids based on how they were raised.Rather than co-regulate, the adults co-escalate them. Helping professionals have higher ACE scores. Often the adults are neurodiverse as well. Adults aren’t asked the role they played in the situation/the physical environment. Nervous system awareness is the foundation of their work. Where training has been done district-wide there are less behavior referrals. What we see in research is that a child’s nervous system is heavily dependent on how adults react. Adults are never expected to analyze their co-regulating factor.
Location of trainings: work has grown to have facilitator trainings, (level 2-16 wks) they deliver a retreat 2 days then continue to lead the program online. TOSAs/counselors/Dir. of Sped are sent. Have launched this the last 2 yrs. Curriculum has master class videos where she teaches them. By the end of summer, will have 60 individuals.
Conferences– CEC (Conf for exceptional children), BOOST conf., AERA, AACTE, is keynote in San Bernardino county (7/23) is regularly a keynote. Polyvagal Institute in Spain in Sept. Lutheran conf- they brought all Sunday school teachers. There’s often a gap w/ faith-based organizations.
Book; pillar 1 is the most foundational: self awareness. Pilar 3: neuro-inclusive spaces. They design to their own taste. We have an understanding that overwhelm from visual stimulation can have a negative impact. Some need less on walls, others need the stimuli. Have a sensory profile for each student. Ppl ask for strategies, tips, tricks.
Out of everything: impetus for book: based on her experience w/ son. He is neurodiverse, has not been able to enjoy camp, boy scouts. There’s isolation & marginalization families feel. Grandparents, other family members should also read the book. It requires everyone to be aware of these strategies
Where can ppl find you online: Niki Elliott – School of Leadership and Education Sciences – University of San Diego www.nikielliott.com
Heart Centered connections certificate- google at Univ. of San Diego.
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/QMLu3Rd7U8w
Episode # 418: Rich Czyz
https://outofthetrenches.podbean.com/e/episode-418-rich-cryz/
Rich Czyz is an author, educator, and speaker. He started his career as a fifth grade teacher, has served as a Basic Skills teacher, instructional coach, elementary supervisor and Director of Curriculum & Instruction. Rich is currently the Proud Principal of the Yardville Elementary School in NJ and Co-Founder of FourOClockFaculty.com, as well as author of several books including The Four O’Clock Faculty, The Secret Sauce, and his newest book, Autopilot, came out in Oct. Rich is passionate about engaging all stakeholders in meaningful and relevant learning opportunities.
Trenches story: one of the biggest things is intention, being in the trenches is when you get stuck, as admin. He can’t get into cr and is doing too many things at once. Productivity tools- he designates “daily disaster downtime”- block on this schedule. 30-40 m. block- which can be time to deal w/ a fire that needs to be put out. It’s uninterrupted time.
Autopilot: Practical Productivity for School Leaders book (released in OCt); Both new & veteran leaders and teachers can benefit from it. Idea behind it- how to run a school so it’s not running you. There’s a lot on the plate. Be more intentional. Automate tasks, work w/ others to delegate. Systems to help you be more productive. Elimination- is everything you’re doing providing value? Or get rid of things that may not be needed. Use of AI/Chat GPT- 80/20% rule, f.ex. email. Parent email- you can generate, AI can help w/ it. If you’re allowing AI to do 80% of work
Rogue Leader, 4 O’clock Faculty: Rogue Leader is the follow-up to 4 O’Clock- it’s about personalizing PD. Anyone can be a leader, it doesn’t depend on the title. There are strategies in there. As a teacher, 1st yr he was hired, crash course in becoming a teacher. Principal threw 28 5th graders at him. 14 other 1st yr t’s got hired that year. He expected someone else to provide PD. He developed sense of it was his responsibility to find PD. Mentality has stuck. Find ppl who will help you grow. It was really about becoming a better teacher. His district is large- 24 buildings, they let ppl go to conferences they want to go to. 2 mtgs/month in his building about logistics. 2 PD options tech PD which is virtual. Some are geared towards certain grade level. 4 O’clock Faculty– how do you find things for everyone? f.ex school nurse. PD lift- something he does in his district. 2 other schools in district. They were able to partner w/ teachers in other schools.
Consulting, speaking, upcoming conferences? Just got back from Hershey, PA- PNC- Penn. Tech Conference. Spoke on productivity, AI, does some during the school yr. Normally does ISTE. Speaking engagements during summer. Coffee edu- meet at local cafe to chat Sunday mornings for educators w/in the NJ/Penn. area.
Blog- writes once a week. Is pretty consistent. Talks about PD, productivity, talks about writing. Sometimes specific to things happening at the school. “Be more boring” (https://fouroclockfaculty.com/). You tend to try to do as much as possible and overextend yourself. Sometimes it’s OK to sit at home & read. Step back, don’t be on social media, send emails all evening. Hustle culture impacts everyone, it’s ok to take a step back.
Out of everything: idea of being intentional about all your decision making. Whether it’s PD, productivity, be intentional in your decisions. Get to meaningful goals as an admin.
Where can ppl find you? https://fouroclockfaculty.com/ on X @RaCzyz & LinkedIn
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_30TXtYhUOw
Episode # 419: Mitch Weisburg
Episode # 419: Mitch Weisburg | The Out of the Trenches Podcast
Mitch Weisburgh helps people understand why conversations blow up and what actually works to stop that from happening. After decades of work in education, leadership development, and conflict resolution, he noticed a pattern, smart, well-intentioned people keep using approaches that make disagreement worse. His work focuses on the brain science behind conflict and the practical skills that help people stay calm, ask better questions, and move conversations forward without damaging relationships. Mitch is the creator of the MindShifting framework and the author of Conflict and Collaboration. He brings clear explanations, real-world stories, and tools listeners can use immediately at work, at home, and in everyday life. Hosts book him when they want a guest who can explain complex behavior simply and leave audiences with takeaways that actually change how they communicate. His mission is to have a critical mass of ppl on this plan be resourceful, resilient and collaborative. He teaches courses that are on the state website that are free to teachers.
He currently teaches three courses to educators, one on resourcefulness, one on resilience, and one on conflict and collaboration. The reviews from educators are that they find them life-changing. They are being taught in Washington State and NY State, and they fill up about two months in advance; they are limited to 85 registrations.
Trench story: 1st business 1981-99, taught ppl to use computers. Talked to lawyers about not giving reasons when firing someone. It didn’t work, when they negotiated employee’s severance, it dragged on 6 mos. After he received the $, he said his goal was to get the maximum $ and he did. His goal was to win. It was a huge lesson in negotiation for Mitch.
Why do smart, capable people make worse decisions under stress? Frame under school or district leadership. We go into situations thinking there will be 1 right answer. We think we have to show power, 1 right decision. 1 thing leaders have to do is understand there’s 1 right choice- it’s often a complicated or complex situation. F.ex. picking a reading curriculum- there are many trade-offs. It’s building consensus as you made the decision. We can’t predict how someone will react. In a complex system, no one knows the right answer. F.ex. when a st. is late to class there are many reasons. When you change curricula, do a pilot group first. We often rely on experts but they’re not good at creative thinking & innovation.
What is actually happening in the brain when people become reactive or defensive? It happens @ work, w/ family & friends. Brain has 2 ways of thought- survival brain- limbic system. It assesses whether organism is in danger. Fight, flight, freeze. We resort to habits. Wakes up in 2/100th of a second and assesses if something’s a risk.Other part of the brain does executive functioning. If someone’s in a position of power, t’s often think “how can I protect myself”?
How can educators or leaders de-escalate conflict without giving up authority? Particularly in the classroom. 3 aspects are mentioned in the book. Look for ways to give positive fdb. Motivational interviewing- way of questioning, getting out info that allows you to move fwd. The interviewee has to know you’re curious about them. Non-violent communications- way of making requests where it’s less likely to have other person be reactive.
Why is burnout not a motivation problem or a willpower issue? Motivation is internal. When someone’s coming from a place of well-being it’s not willpower. It’s allowing ppl to operate in things that are most important to them. In terms of educators leaving the profession. WE think we have to bear down or work harder. Our survival brains have been honed to detect negative stimuli. It has to happen before the person fully burns out. Smallest negative thing will trigger them. If environment is toxic- get out, a bad system will defeat a good person. Look for positive stimuli. Consciously focus your brain on the good aspects of the job. T’s can learn how to do this w/ st’s. It teaches them how to be co-regulated.
What causes conversations to spiral even when both people mean well? Discussion around a difficult students often you focus on the negative. There’s also one w/ parents and admin. Prepare for the conversation in advance. Respond rather than react. You can map out what negative might be brought up. Can use AI w/ using motivational interviewing. He has a story about a teacher in one of his classes about a student who doesn’t show up, teacher has an assignment. Teacher needs to be in a place of calmness in order to declare a positive trait, ie. get themselves into an empathetic manner. Give st agency. Qu’s like “what would you like to have happen?”
Out of everything: self-awareness is the key first step. Ask self “Am I in limbic brain rather than sage brain?” Take a 2 m. mindfulness break. Positive self-talk. It’s a muscle to get yourself out of it- it requires training it or having a trusted advisor/coach.
Where can ppl find you online: https://www.mindshiftingwithmitch.com/ There is a free newsletter on mindshifting. If in NY state,you can go to frontline portal and sign up for the course for free. Find him on LinkedIn, FB, substack, IG @mitchweisburg
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/kV9soU8BCtk
Episode # 420: Emily Kircher-Morris
https://outofthetrenches.podbean.com/e/episode-420-emily-kircher-morris/
Emily Kircher-Morris M.Ed., LPC, is the author of Teaching Twice-Exceptional Learners in Today’s Classroom, Raising Twice-Exceptional Children, and Neurodiversity-Affirming Schools. Emily hosts the Neurodiversity Podcast, which explores parenting, counseling techniques, and best practices for enriching the lives of neurodivergent people. Emily has taught in gifted classrooms and is now in private practice as a licensed professional counselor.
Trench story: split time b/w an ES & MS. Worked w/ GT st’s. Several were struggling. They weren’t well understood. Tried to figure out ways to advocate for them & what worked for their brain. They were failing classes. 1 got an IEP. It was eye-opening. Her advocacy was less formal than necessarily talking about 504/IEPs. She went to indiv. teachers. B/c they were 2E kids, the supports weren’t being put in place yet (20 yrs ago). Today parents are much more well versed in what the advocacy can look like. You don’t have to have a diagnosis to qualify for 504.
AMLE session, “Creating Neurodiversity-Affirming Learning Environments: Implementing Practical Support Strategies.” Practices that are good for neurodivergent learners are good for all. There are barriers families face in terms of insurance, etc. in terms of getting a diagnosis. Be explicit about instruction- provide multiple methods to access materials. We need to separate the way we view traits of neurodiversity. We think they’re “rude” or “unmotivated”. That moves us to a place of problem-solving. T’s should talk to their st’s about how they best learn- even young ones. It’s self-awareness.
Share other neuro-affirming PD you can provide: many districts us the podcast for learning. neurodiversity educator hub- community for educators who support neurodivergent learners. here are webinars for educators. Lots of training for counselors Doesn’t know if conf will be open to the public. Are more state-level. She goes to Natl. Council for Gifted Children conf & gets a lot of value out of it. She’s been to Learning Forward, is presenting at School Counselors conf. this summer. Often a keynote at the state level.
Book: Neurodiversity-Affirming Schools: Transforming Practices So All Students Feel Accepted & Supported: can talk about how she tag-teamed w/ co-author Amanda Morrin. Convos started on podcast led to ideas about book. She had experience working in GT & general ed CR. Created a manual of how to support neurodivergent learners. Doesn’t try to change who they are. This was the hardest book that either of them had written. It’s also about deconstructing practices from the past. Brought in personal experiences, being neurodivergent & having neurodivergent kids.
Tips for t’s who have a lot of neurodiverse and may not be identified as such.
The Neurodiversity Podcast: how it got started (2018) & who you have as guests. Her husband is a video & audio producer & produces it. 8 yrs ago there wasn’t much out there on this topic. Often has occupational therapists, parents, also about neurodivergent adults. Episodes come out weekly. Over 300 episodes. Blend experts w/ everyday ppl.
Out of everything: you don’t have to rely on labels to recognize st’s who need support. Be flexible & creative on how you support st’s. It’s not 1 size fits all.
Where can ppl find you? is on FB, LinkedIn, IG:
www.facebook.com/EmilyKircherMorris
Emily Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/emilykm_lpc
Podcast Facebook Page:
www.facebook.com/NeurodiversityPodcast
Podcast Instagram Page:
https://www.instagram.com/theneurodiversitypodcast/
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilykirchermorris/
Neurodiversity-Affirming Schools: Transforming Practices So All Students Feel Accepted & Supported
View this episode on YoutTube: https://youtu.be/1_DV0L_OLoo
Episode # 421: Derek Cantrell
https://outofthetrenches.podbean.com/e/episode-421-derek-cantrell/
Derek Cantrell is the Principal at Alleghany High School in Western VA who recently released a book called Better Together, which shares the journey of bringing two long-time rival high schools together to unify the community and build one school culture. It also highlights many of the leadership lessons we learned along the way.
Trenches story: 1st day coming out of COVID in fall 2020. Vote from school board they voted to consolidate the schools. He had to continue on and finish out the journey of the previous HS. It had been talked about for 40 yrs. Both board voted to consolidate. There are more CE, AP courses, etc.
Tell me about your book Better Together: started doing presentations, podcasts, systems they put in place to recognize the ppl. Consolidating 2 HS it’s about traditions, values w/ HS, how to make ppl feel valued, appreciated. Putting ppl & culture first before they got to the academic piece. They did a lot of intentional things on forefront w/ consolidation. Merged mascots, colors. Talked about what the staffing was going to look like. He was a student in the system. Was the final principal of the city school (7 yrs). Finishing up the 3rd year of consolidated HS.
Culture: students played on the same travel teams. A school built in 1939 vs. 63. There was a brackman cup trophy cup game at beg. of year. There are 2 banners, 1 from each school, display board, hall of fame from both.
Did you get a year 0? HE was hired for the new HS in Oct. and was still the principal of the one that was being consolidated. Took stuff from 3 diff. buildings into one. AP picked up w/ different maintenance/projects. They did alot to make sure ppl felt different when they walked into the school. advisory committee Created a student & parent fdb form. Considered absenteeism. Started these things about 9 months before the beg. of the school year. Created a culture & communication roadmap. Ask staff about their preferences. But a lot on FB, X.
Positive changes to culture? kids knocked it out of park. They were respectful as teammates. Multiple menbers as school leadership, st. advisory from each school. Visible as staff.
IS current VA HS principal of the year (found out in Nov, announced in Jan): Heading to DC tomorrow for NASSP? He was nominated by APs. Surveys have to be answered by student, community member, etc. It recognizes the things he’s done w/ consolidation. Went to gala in DC. Great meeting leaders across country. Went to Dept. of Ed. This summer VASSP has a conference he’ll be recognized at.
Uplifting school community-book is a playbook but tells the consolidation story.There’s a lot of consolidation happening. Book is about the little things, ppl, communication, being intentional.
PD speaking engagements: Will do Making Schools Work in Nashville, takes APs. Will present on People over Paperwork-AI. Has done some podcasts. Will be working w/ Nevada T’s assocn. on culture. Can help/consult in bringing. Is willing to do book study w/ leadership teams who may be consolidating.
Out of everything: when you put relaitonshops first, good things happen. They’re much more successful then puting results first. The little things create momentum.
Where can ppl find you online: Linkedin, X @derekcantrell
Buy the book here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQMYVJ5R
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/hVF62DZG77c
Episode # 422: Joe Reed
https://outofthetrenches.podbean.com/e/episode-421-joe-reed/
I’m Joe Reed, founder of Pulse (pulseconnect.us), a student support platform built for K-12 school leaders who are tired of reacting to problems they could have seen coming. My background is in social impact and community development. I spent years working with under-resourced communities and kept running into the same wall: by the time anyone had a clear picture of what was actually happening with the people they were serving, it was already a crisis. I started building Pulse to close that gap, for schools first, because that’s where the need is most urgent and where the tools have missed the mark most.Pulse is built on a simple conviction: educators should be in the classroom, not buried in spreadsheets. We help school leaders spot struggling students earlier, cut through the administrative noise, and get back to what they actually came to do: teach, coach, and build relationships with kids.
I love talking about what it looks like to build technology that earns trust, why most edtech fails the people closest to students, and how the right tools can give educators their time and attention back.
Trenches story: was serving in S. Africa 5 yrs. Lots of violence. Safety crisis. Built a network, community of support.
Leveraging Entrepreneurship to Shape Culture w/ in a school and how you came up w/ a solution around the problem, entrepreneurship side. Students who want to solve community problems. How the tool can help them build the tools they want to. Difficult students are brilliant. Giving st’s a problem to help solve. They then think their way forward. We need entrepreneurship in the classroom. It’s building comprehensive systems.
Smarter outsourcing: a team based approach: (edit you “I know you’ll be editing out*). There are systems around a problem. WE need to understand the ecosystem around a problem statement. Who is taking responsibility around the probl. statement. F.ex. situation in Nigeria. Ppl have experienced trauma there. Their brains have been wired to go after crime. Built a job/entrepreneurship training program. Identified social entreprise to provide outsourcing. T’s & st’s should co-design. He’s outsourced operations to Nigerian team. Have built a web of support. Problem they had, a partner had a problem, they identified solutions.
From Nonprofit to Startup: Building Ventures That Last Has built a tool for non-profit work. Tried to report on impact for the ppl they were working w/. They’re right where societal challenges take place. Got a grant to build a solution for impact monitoring. Lots of volunteers who work in school. Did research how to build tool. It became impossible to scale the work. Isn’t trying to compete w/ Panorama. Keep t’s time behind a laptop minimum. They wanted better info from teachers. Make t’s lives easier. When product is live in May-June, t’s will be able to dictate into their phone what’s going on w/ sts. Built everything on plan base. “School development plan”. Edtech platform to target support to st’s. System will prompt a text to t’s phone, they can verbalize their need. Verbal processors give lots of data. They need helpful suggestions from how to benefit st. 4 yr journey. Haven’t taken outside investors. They want to be more proactive in their responses.
Shared Success: What Global Leaders Can Learn from African Partners-seperate business on purpose. Business outsourcing company. They help him build sales vision. They asked the hard questions. Cross-cultural learning they went thru. They’re inquisitive, want to build something that lasts longterm.
Can you share a moment when you realized the communities you were serving already had the ideas and work ethic—they just needed the right structure and support and suggestions for teachers who are working w/ PBL? Build is brilliant. They used to use junior achievement. Give t’s an assignment to clarify what they see as an opportunity. “what about other problems they’re not seeing”. In PBL we have to help w/ clarification. Have to take them further into “why does this problem exist”? Then help build solutions comprehensively. Fail forward-better product outcome. Give st’s more ownership.
What challenges do nonprofits face when it comes to sustainability, and how does creating revenue-generating ventures address that? this was birthed out of their non-profit. Funding models often can’t keep up w/ success. The business process outsourcing is tied to their non-profit. Solveline is the name of the business. They’ve tried to structure things so everyone wins.Some philanthropy models are broken. His partners have asked him to fund. There’s no growth plan. Need to make programs self-sufficient. Doesn’t replace fundraising. It’s having others vest into the product. He calls donors for counsel.
You describe SolveLine as “a virtual assistant with the skills of an operations manager.” Can you unpack that for us? It’s a separate company. The teams own the business. Pulse will have a contract w/ Solveline for customer success. Specific jobscope. Needs will change every week. This is his operations dept. Solveline will run it to keep him on calls w/ clients to stay in clear visions.
In 5 years where do you see Pulse, who do you see using it, and the impact? Starting w/ schools for a # of reasons- families are tied to schools. He’d like to see adoption going across the board. Grades going up. Wants to break reading score cycle. He’s a proponent of non-profit. Wiser on how to distribute resources to field. Lots of business-use cases.
They’ve applied to speak at some EdTech conf. in Oct. www.pulseconnect.us -there will be info about where they’ll have booths, speaking.
Out of everything: best solutions are living inside ppl we’re serving. Co-create w/ them.
Where can ppl find you online: https://www.facebook.com/coffeeshopjoe
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joepaulreed/
https://www.solveline.pro/ email
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/SNhRj82vtLE