De Facto Leaders EP 235: Engaging Families and the Role of Tech in Addressing Book Deserts

In this episode, I reflect on my conversation with my colleague Cassandra Williams as we discuss book and resource deserts, as well as how to engage with school communities.

In the interview clip I share, Cassandra shares a story of how one of her colleagues found a surprising way to increase attendance at parent-teacher conferences when he took the time to ask members of the community what their needs were.

Additionally, I share my commentary on how technology can both help and hinder literacy skills, and how it can be used as a tool for professional development.

Cassandra Williams is a true innovator in the education field, having dedicated over 25 years of her life to revolutionizing existing systems and setting new standards of excellence. With a degree in Elementary Education from Southern Illinois University and a Master’s from California State University, she is also the founder of two successful elementary schools in Indianapolis. Her research has focused on coaching teachers to accelerate student achievement, often utilizing video and other technologies as learning tools. Her most recent passion is the Educational Innovation 360° e-Instructional Coaching System (Link here: https://www.educationalinnovation360.com/), which she designed and developed in 2018.

Topics covered in this episode:

✅ When parents aren’t engaging, are you addressing the issue from a place of curiosity or judgement?

✅ Is technology a solution when schools lack access to books or curriculum materials?

✅ Using technology for professional development and training: Balancing efficiency with connection.

You can connect with Cassandra on LinkedIn here (https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassandra-williams-777b7927/), on Twitter here (https://twitter.com/Edinnovation360), and on Facebook here (https://www.facebook.com/Educationalinnovation360/), on Instagram @educationalinnovation360 (https://www.instagram.com/educationalinnovation360/)

You can learn more about her coaching and professional development for schools and individuals at Educationalinnovation360.com. (Link here: https://www.educationalinnovation360.com/)

You can listen to the original interview with Cassandra on the De Facto Leaders podcast here: EP 113: Making literacy accessible and equitable (with Cassandra Williams) Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-113-making-literacy-accessible-and-equitable-with-cassandra-williams/

You can listen to Cassandra’s interview on SEEing to Lead with Dr. Chris Jones here where they discuss using video as a tool for teacher training and development: Educational Innovation 360 (Link here: https://stl.bepodcast.network/s3/24)

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program for related service providers who want to take a leadership role in implementing executive functioning support. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/efleadership

I also mentioned Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs and other service providers create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/