Big conferences like ISTE, FETC, and CoSN often feel like family reunions for those of us in the education space, full of familiar faces, joyful reunions, shared laughs over lanyards and late-night brainstorming. But if you’re not already “in,” those same spaces can feel more like walking into someone else’s family photo. I’ll never forget…
Generative AI has landed in schools, but most of what it’s doing right now is just scratching the surface. Lesson plan generators. Rubric writers. Auto-filled report cards. These tools are helpful. They save time. They reduce cognitive load. But in the grand scope of education, they’re not transformational yet. They’re making teaching faster. But they’re…
It was the second day of school, and I had just asked my students to write about their first-day experience at our high school. Their responses stunned me. Over and over, they described the day as boring, repetitive, and impersonal. Every class felt the same: assigned seats, syllabus read-alouds, textbook distribution, maybe a pre-test if…
How One Spilled Bowl of Blueberries Became a Leadership Motto in Our Family Some lessons in leadership don’t come from books, boardrooms, or conferences. Sometimes, they come from your kitchen floor, covered in blueberries. Our youngest son was about three years old, and it had already been one of those days. You know the kind:…
Summer in education leadership can feel like a paradox. On one hand, the hallways are quiet, inboxes slow down (at least a little), and the buses stop rolling. On the other hand, the pressure doesn’t stop. Planning for the next school year begins before the last one ends. Staff need support, systems need upgrades, and…
They don’t put it on the calendar. There’s no formal notation on your schedule, no school-wide memo that says, “Warning: The emotional weight of this season is about to get heavier.” But those of us in education feel it. As the school year winds down, the load we carry quietly intensifies. And it’s not just…
I didn’t spend my vacation day last week on a beach.I spent it on Capitol Hill, talking to policymakers, dodging D.C. downpours, and advocating for the future of K-12 education. It was a whirlwind 24 hours in DC and 36 hours of travel. Because when it comes to education technology, how we fund it, protect…
The Myth of the Solo Hero In education, we love the underdog stories—the visionary leader who pushes innovation forward against all odds. But the truth? No leader does it alone. Especially in edtech, where complexity is high and stakes are higher, the strongest leaders are those who build partnerships that support sustainable, meaningful growth. This…
Hi, I’m Dr. Chantell Manahan! I’m a life-long educator and a life-long student. I began my career with six glorious years of teaching mostly French and a little English in Bryan, Ohio. I had recently graduated from Ball State University, and I was fortunate that Bryan offered tuition reimbursement for teachers seeking their Master’s degrees….
I had an idea a few years ago to start a podcast. I wanted to capture the stories of successful Directors of Technology/Chief Technology Officers to showcase the varied and rich backgrounds we all come from, since there is no clear path to becoming a K12 CTO! I know some from education backgrounds and some…
