Almost every school leader that I know has said they didn’t realize what they were getting themselves into when they started their first administrative position.

In this episode, I wanted to share clips from past “De Facto Leaders” guests to showcase some of the challenges faced by school administrators (or those hoping to move into an administrative role).

You’ll hear discussions on:

✅Qualities of a good principal: Protecting staff and removing barriers

✅Navigating ambiguity and impostor syndrome as a leader

✅Can teaching practices change if the system isn’t ready?

✅Investing in curriculums: The end user is the TEACHER, not the student.

✅Asking for help: How to make it an easy “yes” for the other person.

This episode includes clips from the following interviews:

EP 109: Can my principal evaluate me if they’ve never done my job?(with Eric Makelky)?
Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-109-can-my-principal-evaluate-me-if-theyve-never-done-my-job-with-eric-makelky/

EP 151: Does your SYSTEM support your policy and your curriculum? (with Jalita Johnson)
Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-151-does-your-system-support-your-policy-and-your-curriculum-with-jalita-johnson/

EP 112: How to “lead up” to your school administrator (with Jethro Jones)
Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-109-can-my-principal-evaluate-me-if-theyve-never-done-my-job-with-eric-makelky/

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/

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL and MyFlexLearning.

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you simplify and streamline technology, reliably meet Tier 1 standards, improve assessment performance, and more. Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

MyFlexLearning is the scheduling platform that helps middle and high schools meet the individual needs of all students. Create and manage time for flex blocks, WIN time, activity periods, RTI, counselor and teacher appointments and much more. And with a built-in accountability tool and reporting features, solve your challenges around getting kids where they need to be and understanding how flex time is spent. Make your flex time work for you. Visit myflexlearning.com/BE to learn more and receive $500 off the first year.

As a professional field, we’re getting stuck in old ways of thinking when it comes to designing services for students experiencing executive dysfunction.

When we think of “therapy” the first thing that comes to mind is a clinician sitting in a chair saying things like, “And how does that make you feel?” or a clinician doing exercises in a 1:1 or group setting.

When we think of “planning for therapy”, we think of what materials or activities we’re going to do in our direct therapy sessions.

With “social skills intervention”, we think of an adult teaching a group of kids how to follow the rules in social situations, while students answer questions and discuss to demonstrate their understanding.

Lack of generalization continues to be one of the biggest pain points for therapists using these models.

And while most clinicians agree that collaboration with other professionals and caregivers is important, the “planning” for those activities is often less intentional than the way we plan for direct intervention.

That’s why in the School of Clinical Leadership, the first thing I teach clinicians is how to create a long-term strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place for their caseloads (and sometimes the entire school) using multiple service delivery models.

When the entire intervention starts and ends within a traditional therapy session, students don’t generalize executive functioning skills across settings.

We as a field need to evolve in the way we think about what’s included in “therapy” services for executive functioning.

There are three paradigm shifts clinicians, educators, and school leaders can make when thinking about supporting kids executive functioning in schools.

I describe what they are in this episode.

I mentioned the following resources in this episode:

Push-in, pull-out, co-teaching: What’s most functional for language therapy? (Link here: https://drkarenspeech.com/push-in-pull-out-co-teaching-whats-most-functional-for-language-therapy/)

How to make better accommodations by being less accommodating (Link here: https://drkarenspeech.com/push-in-pull-out-co-teaching-whats-most-functional-for-language-therapy/)

EP 83: How to provide high-quality support for your caseload with the “asset stack” method (Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-83-how-to-provide-high-quality-support-for-your-caseload-with-the-asset-stack-method/)

In this episode, I mention 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

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL and MyFlexLearning.

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you simplify and streamline technology, reliably meet Tier 1 standards, improve assessment performance, and more. Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

MyFlexLearning is the scheduling platform that helps middle and high schools meet the individual needs of all students. Create and manage time for flex blocks, WIN time, activity periods, RTI, counselor and teacher appointments and much more. And with a built-in accountability tool and reporting features, solve your challenges around getting kids where they need to be and understanding how flex time is spent. Make your flex time work for you. Visit myflexlearning.com/BE to learn more and receive $500 off the first year.

Is it functional to work on parts of speech?

Is sentence diagramming useful?

How do we improve word-retrieval in kids with developmental disabilities, and is it similar to what we’d do for an adult with a brain injury?

How can we make therapy academically relevant and functional beyond just getting a good score on a standardized test?

I invited speech-language pathologist and Language Therapy Advance Foundations student Katy Wyatt to the show to share answers to these questions.

I’m always excited to connect with people who are using the frameworks I teach; because I’m always amazed at some of the creative ideas they come up with to expand on what I’ve given them.

If you’re a Language Therapy Advance Foundations student, and you want some practical ways to use the tools I’ve given you, you'll really enjoy this interview. And if you’ve been lurking and considering whether the program is for you, this will give you an idea of what you’ll learn if you do decide to join.

Katy Wyatt graduated from California State University, Los Angeles in 2017, with a Masters of Arts in Communication Disorders. After moving to North Carolina, Katy has worked in head starts, homes, schools, skilled nursing facilities, and assisted living facilities with clients ages 11 months to 99+ years. Katy is a board-certified cognitive specialist, and has also been certified in the SOS approach to feeding. Katy currently works in the schools full time with Kinetic Physical Therapy and Wellness; she works with students to improve their language, articulation, and fluency skills, develop alternative means of communication, and improve their social and academic functioning. Katy also serves as the compliance coordinator and SLP-Assistant supervisor with Speech Inspirations PLLC.

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅The parallels between therapy for aphasia and child language disorders.

✅Why therapy focused on vocabulary and background knowledge can ALSO address executive functioning skills like the ability to self-question, generate and evaluate ideas, and plan/executive them.

✅Parts of speech and sentence diagramming: How to embed this kind of work into structured but contextualized activities.

✅Syntax as a vocabulary skill: How to help kids understand what words MEAN and what words DO.

✅Why it’s impossible to define what vocabulary skills are “age-appropriate” at each grade level; and how to reframe the way you think about scaffolding across grade levels and varying student needs.

✅Generalization: How to focus on explicit instruction of content and strategy in direct therapy while ALSO giving students retrieval tools they can use outside sessions.
You can listen to the entire conversation here.

The Language Severity Rate Scale and Classroom Communication and Learning Checklist from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) can be found here: https://www.dpi.nc.gov/documents/ec/speech-guide/download

I mentioned this conversation in this interview: EP 148: Unlocking success through sensory processing and team collaboration (with Maude Le Roux) Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-148-unlocking-success-through-sensory-processing-and-team-collaboration-with-maude-le-roux/

Katy is a member of Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that gives SLPs and other service providers create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL and MyFlexLearning.

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you simplify and streamline technology, reliably meet Tier 1 standards, improve assessment performance, and more. Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

MyFlexLearning is the scheduling platform that helps middle and high schools meet the individual needs of all students. Create and manage time for flex blocks, WIN time, activity periods, RTI, counselor and teacher appointments and much more. And with a built-in accountability tool and reporting features, solve your challenges around getting kids where they need to be and understanding how flex time is spent. Make your flex time work for you. Visit myflexlearning.com/BE to learn more and receive $500 off the first year.

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/

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL and MyFlexLearning.

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you simplify and streamline technology, reliably meet Tier 1 standards, improve assessment performance, and more. Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

MyFlexLearning is the scheduling platform that helps middle and high schools meet the individual needs of all students. Create and manage time for flex blocks, WIN time, activity periods, RTI, counselor and teacher appointments and much more. And with a built-in accountability tool and reporting features, solve your challenges around getting kids where they need to be and understanding how flex time is spent. Make your flex time work for you. Visit myflexlearning.com/BE to learn more and receive $500 off the first year.