Preparing young people for adulthood is all about providing them with the right blend of experiences; both in and outside of school. Building literacy, numeracy, and content knowledge will give students a foundation for success; but we need to pair that with real-world experiences where they can apply that knowledge in real time.

When we think about “real-world” experiences; we often think of internships, “on the job” skills, or daily tasks and other things we’d categorize as “adulting”.

However, outdoor excursions offer kids and young adults the opportunities to explore and experience things beyond the day-to-day.

It’s one thing to learn about water health and environmental studies in a classroom; but when you get the chance to do a multi-week excursion along the Hudson river and drink from a natural water source, you amplify your learning to a new level.

That’s why I invited Greg Morrissey to the De Facto Leaders podcast for episode 163.

If you enjoy hiking, skiing, and other outdoor activities you’ll want to listen.

Trust me, you’ll thank me later :)

Greg Morrissey is an educator, explorer, and founder of Mountain Goat Movement -- an organization that provides transformative adventures for students while connecting them to leading explorers, educators, and storytellers. Think: education through adventure. Projects can be as short as one day or as extensive as a multi-week expedition, everywhere from the Adirondacks to Antarctica. Greg has raised over $140,000 for students from low-income backgrounds to experience the power of the great outdoors.

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅Bringing traditional curriculum and content areas to authentic outdoor experiences.

✅How to use excursions to help kids work as a team and form connections with peers.

✅The concept of “tiered” expeditions: Offering different activities to support different levels of experience with the outdoors

✅What habits and skills can you practice in daily life to prepare for a multi-day or multi-week adventure

✅A behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to prepare for quality outdoor education; including what Greg is doing to raise funds for scholarships to increase equity.

Be sure to check out the BE podcast network for educators and aspiring leaders. If you’re looking for shows to inspire you to level up in your career or more effectively serve students, we’ve got you covered. Learn more about the BE podcast network at http://bepodcastnetwork.com/

My heart sinks when I see how polarizing topics in education have become, as well as the tendency for people to have “all or nothing” thinking.

I’ve seen an increasing amount of activities pitted against each other as if doing one means we can’t ALSO do the other:

👉Standardized testing vs. real-world observations/stakeholder interviews.

👉Year-round school vs. traditional summer break.

👉Critical thinking skills vs. foundational skills.

👉Play vs. academics during non-school time (after school or over the summer).

👉Soft skills vs. technical skills.

What if we stopped thinking about all of these things as opposing viewpoints, and instead tried to integrate them together?

What if we stopped saying, “Should I do this or that?”, and instead started asking “How can I find a way to do this AND that”?

I invited my colleague David Schipper to episode 162 of the De Facto Leaders podcast to ponder some of these questions.

Specifically, I wanted to tackle the “summer slide” debate.

This topic is near and dear to me because I was a “summer slider”. I was almost held back in first grade because I was behind in reading, and my parents took it upon themselves to spend time with me after school during the school and over the summer to get me remedial instruction in reading through a combination of things they did at home, as well as tutoring programs they invested in.

I was also shy and anxious, and needed a nudge from my very extroverted mom to participate in activities that allowed me to work with others, build friendships, handle frustration and learning curves, and develop mental flexibility. These experiences were essential in helping me to fully leverage the skills I was working on concurrently, like reading. But going to the pool for swim meets in the summer did not teach me to read; my academic instruction did.

Had my parents decided to just “let me catch up naturally” and eliminated the reading tutoring from my early years, I wonder what kind of impact that would have had.

Would I have turned into a lifelong learner?

Would I have felt even more anxious due to the combination of struggling academically AND being really shy?

Would the issue have been identified if standardized testing wasn’t done?

In this interview David and I talked about how we can better answer these questions, starting with a discussion of the summer slide.

David Schipper is the director of Strategic Learning Clinic, a position he has held since 2013. David obtained a B.A. in English Literature from Concordia University in 1998 as well as a B.Ed. in Secondary Education (English and History) from McGill University in 2002. After some work as a local teacher in Montreal, David founded 2Torial Educational Centre in 2007. Aside from his ability to put both parents and students at ease, David is able to help families get to the root of the problem(s) and propose the most suitable programs to resolve these issues. As a father of two children, David knows how to relate to the concerns of parents and as an experienced educator and passionately understands the struggles of students. His passion and dedication to teaching and learning is second to none.

*We briefly discussed a presentation that covered a sensitive topic in this interview.

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅Is the summer slide real? Who is it impacting the most?

✅This isn’t just about summer: It’s about what we’re prioritizing in school.

✅The case of too many accommodations: What happens in the college years when we don’t build foundational academic skills before students graduate high school.

✅The layering of academic skills with executive functioning: Real life examples of how it looks when teenagers are planful with their time and when they aren’t.

✅Tutoring: Yes, it’s needed; but what does good tutoring look like?

In this conversation, I mention a number of other interviews relating to the topic of early literacy, so be sure to check the show notes for links to all of those other interviews in the show notes here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-162-the-summer-slide-real-phenomenon-or-invented-by-tutoring-companies-with-david-schipper/

In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/

I also mentioned the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. You can learn more about that program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership

Helping families feel involved in their children’s education goes beyond checking the boxes to make sure you’re following legal guidelines.

That’s why I invited Dr. Kristin Vogel-Campbell to De Facto Leaders to talk about how school teams can make the IEP process more welcoming to families, especially those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Dr. Kristin Vogel-Campbell (she/her/hers) is a veteran Special Educator with over 20 years in the field. She has served in various roles from paraeducator to Director of Student Services and Special Education. She was a classroom teacher for a decade in the San Francisco Bay Area, working with students from Kindergarten through 8th grade. She is a systems-focused educator, working at the district level with school teams to ensure that students with disabilities are provided high-quality, research-based instruction and that all students are treated with dignity and respect in the Least Restrictive Environment. In addition, she has supported new site leaders in deepening their understanding of Special Education, including laws and protections for students and families.

Kristin is a practitioner-researcher, working with families to share their experiences and perspectives. Informed with this familial knowledge, teams can make practical shifts needed to move to a collaborative partnership with culturally affirming, sustainable, and equitable families. She has presented at AERA (American Educational Research Association), NAME (National Association of Multicultural Education), and ACSA (Association of California School Administrators, among others. Articles have appeared in Leadership (ACSA magazine), The Journal of Leadership, Equity, and Research, and the KQED Education blog. Her book “Partnering with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families in Special Education” was published in December 2023 by Rowman & Littlefield.

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅You’ve provided the “procedural safeguards”, but do families really understand their rights?

✅What’s going on when parents don’t show up for parent-teacher conferences and IEP meetings?

✅Why environmental set-up matters during IEP meetings; including seating arrangements and how/when the team enters the room.

✅Navigating language barriers, transportation issues, and logistical constraints.

✅Finding the balance between family schedules and staff contractual time when setting up IEP meetings.

✅Tips for managing nerves during IEP meetings so you can make your report feel conversational (and less technical).

You can connect with Dr. Vogel-Campbell on LinkedIn here (https://www.linkedin.com/in/drvogelcampbell/), and on Instagram here (https://www.instagram.com/drvogelcampbell/).

Be sure to check out her book “Partnering with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families in Special Education” here (https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538180365/Partnering-with-Culturally-and-Linguistically-Diverse-Families-in-Special-Education).

Be sure to check out these other episodes of De Facto Leaders where I talked about how to improve community and family engagement:

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/

EP 118: Coaching aspiring leaders in school turn-around and community outreach (with Edward Gordon II) Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-118-coaching-aspiring-leaders-in-school-turn-around-and-community-outreach-with-edward-gordon-ii/

EP 96: Supporting bilingualism in K-12 kids (with Briana Wagner)
Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-96-supporting-bilingualism-in-k-12-kids-with-briana-wagner/

EP 143: Developing a cultural competemility mindset (with Melanie Evans)
Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-143-developing-a-cultural-competemility-mindset-for-educators-and-clinicians-with-melanie-evans/

I also mentioned The School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers guide their teams to support students’ executive functioning across the day.
This program will help you plan direct therapy, but will also help you lead change management on your team, no matter your job title. You can learn more about the School of Clinical Leadership here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership