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Catching Up: School Choice, AI & Humanity, and Bottom-Up Innovation

Getting Smart Podcast

Release Date: 03/13/2026

How Are Wellesley High School Students Designing the Future of School? | Wellsey High Students show art How Are Wellesley High School Students Designing the Future of School? | Wellsey High Students

Getting Smart Podcast

Students at Wellesley High School are helping imagine what learning could look like in 2040. In this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Mason Pashia talks with Alty and Anaya, two learners from the school’s Evolutions (EVOLS) program, about designing future-ready classrooms, visiting innovative schools, and building skills through hands-on, project-based experiences. From CTE-inspired spaces and collaborative learning environments to student voice and public speaking, this conversation offers a powerful look at what happens when young people are...

info_outline What Makes a Child Well-Educated in the Age of AI? | Dr. Deborah Kenny show art What Makes a Child Well-Educated in the Age of AI? | Dr. Deborah Kenny

Getting Smart Podcast

In this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom Vander Ark speaks with Dr. Deborah Kenny, founder of Harlem Village Academies and author of The Well-Educated Child, about what it means to educate for depth, agency, and purpose in the age of AI. Their conversation explores deeper learning, Montessori, International Baccalaureate, Socratic dialogue, and the kind of rigorous, student-centered experiences that help young people become thoughtful, capable contributors to the world. Outline (00:00) Introduction (00:39) Meet Dr. Deborah Kenny & Harlem Village Academies (03:17) Redefining...

info_outline Catching Up: Human Connection, AI Hive Minds, and the Skills Gap show art Catching Up: Human Connection, AI Hive Minds, and the Skills Gap

Getting Smart Podcast

Nate McClennen and Mason Pashia unpack a wide-ranging set of ideas shaping the future of learning, from AI “hive minds” and youth relationships with AI to portraits of a graduate, durable skills, and real-world learning. They explore what it means to prepare students for a non-routine economy where judgment, collaboration, agency, and ownership matter more than ever. Along the way, they highlight innovative school models, reflect on new research and reports, and consider how education systems can better connect technical skills, human development, and future-ready experiences. Outline ...

info_outline How Do We Build Unbounded, Co-Created Pathways for Every Learner? | Jean-Claude Brizard show art How Do We Build Unbounded, Co-Created Pathways for Every Learner? | Jean-Claude Brizard

Getting Smart Podcast

In this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom Vander Ark talks with Jean-Claude Brizard, CEO of Digital Promise, about the launch of the Center for Learner Pathway Innovations and what it will take to build New Pathways that are truly “unbounded.” They dig into the barriers that keep learners from seeing and accessing opportunity (visibility, value, and recognition gaps), why pathways must be co-created with learners and communities, and how credentialing and learner records can better capture skills and verified...

info_outline How Can We Rethink Math Education When Computers and AI Do the Calculations? | Ted Dintersmith show art How Can We Rethink Math Education When Computers and AI Do the Calculations? | Ted Dintersmith

Getting Smart Podcast

In this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Nate McClennen sits down with author and education advocate Ted Dintersmith to rethink what math should look like in a changing world—especially as AI makes rote procedures less relevant. Together they unpack the limits of test-driven instruction, the consequences of low math and data literacy for civic life, and why classrooms should prioritize estimation, statistics, probability, modeling, and real-world problem solving that builds confidence and curiosity. If we want future-ready learners, math has to move from gatekeeping to empowerment. ...

info_outline How Do We Thrive and Rehumanize School for Kids and Adults? | Stephanie Malia Krauss show art How Do We Thrive and Rehumanize School for Kids and Adults? | Stephanie Malia Krauss

Getting Smart Podcast

Stephanie Malia Krauss returns to the Getting Smart Podcast for a conversation with Tom Vander Ark about her new book, How We Thrive: Caring for Kids and Ourselves in a Changing World. Together they explore why so many adults and young people feel overwhelmed and depleted—and what it looks like to “rehumanize” school and home by protecting the essentials that help humans thrive. The discussion walks through body, mind, heart, and spirit essentials—from food, sleep, movement, and nervous system regulation to play, wonder, flow, connection, belonging, and contribution—offering...

info_outline How Can We Design Learning Spaces That Transform Education? | Kevin Stoller show art How Can We Design Learning Spaces That Transform Education? | Kevin Stoller

Getting Smart Podcast

Learning doesn’t happen “in rows,” and Kevin Stoller has seen firsthand how the right environment can change everything. In this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Mason Pashia talks with Stoller—author of Creating Better Learning Environments and host of the Better Learning podcast—about designing learner-centered spaces that support movement, choice, collaboration, and community connection. They explore why the term “classroom” can limit our thinking, how districts can better align facilities with instructional vision through a “learning space...

info_outline What Happens When Students Bring a Portrait of a Graduate to Life? | NEAAAT Students show art What Happens When Students Bring a Portrait of a Graduate to Life? | NEAAAT Students

Getting Smart Podcast

In this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, host Victoria Andrews sits down with student leaders from Northeast Academy for Aerospace and Advanced Technology (NEAT) to explore what happens when a Portrait of a Graduate becomes more than a poster on the wall. Kaylyn Rosado, Connor Mawhiney, and Anna Montero share how student voice shaped their school’s learning model—from a student ambassador program and community interviews to classroom practices that build collaboration, empathy, and confidence. The conversation also highlights NEAT’s flexible STEM-focused pathways...

info_outline Catching Up: School Choice, AI & Humanity, and Bottom-Up Innovation show art Catching Up: School Choice, AI & Humanity, and Bottom-Up Innovation

Getting Smart Podcast

In this episode of Catching Up, Nate McClennen and Mason Pashia explore what’s changing in education—and what should change next—through the lenses of infrastructure, accountability, and emerging technology. They discuss a “smart city” view of transportation and connectivity, unpack new research on how parents respond to grades vs. standardized test data, and examine a Florida study on how school choice competition impacts performance. The conversation then shifts to the Future of Tech and Work, including AI agents and the incentive structures shaping...

info_outline How Do You Build a Team That Builds, Instead of Building It All Yourself? | Kelly Coffin show art How Do You Build a Team That Builds, Instead of Building It All Yourself? | Kelly Coffin

Getting Smart Podcast

In this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, host Rebecca Midles talks with Kelly Coffin, superintendent in Farmington Hills, Michigan, about what it really means to “go slow to go fast” in district transformation. Coffin shares how leaders can build trust and capacity through co-design with educators closest to students, stay connected through daily visibility and listening routines, and “test the system” for readiness without defaulting to top-down control. The conversation centers on authentic leadership—grounded in clarity of vision, coherence, and the...

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In this episode of Catching Up, Nate McClennen and Mason Pashia explore what’s changing in education—and what should change next—through the lenses of infrastructure, accountability, and emerging technology. They discuss a “smart city” view of transportation and connectivity, unpack new research on how parents respond to grades vs. standardized test data, and examine a Florida study on how school choice competition impacts performance. The conversation then shifts to the Future of Tech and Work, including AI agents and the incentive structures shaping major AI companies—ending with a clear call to invest in “relational infrastructure” so that human connection, trust, and agency grow alongside AI.

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