Daniel Crook, founder of School Harbor and co-founder of AEG Systems, joins Dr. Michael Conner for a direct, infrastructure-first conversation about what K–12 districts are getting wrong about AI adoption.

Daniel has spent years working inside the systems that districts rely on to manage data, make decisions, and integrate technology at scale. His assessment is clear: the AI problem in education isn't a platform problem, it's a foundation problem. Too many districts are evaluating AI tools before they've built the data infrastructure that would allow those tools to function effectively.

In this episode, Daniel walks through why the data warehouse is the non-negotiable starting point, what interoperability actually requires in practice, not in theory, and the three criteria every district leader should apply before selecting or expanding any AI platform. He also introduces the concept of AI sobriety: an implementation philosophy that grounds strategy in the technology's current capabilities rather than its projected future state.

The conversation also touches on the Netflix analogy for understanding where edtech sits in the broader AI development cycle, and why the districts building administrative intelligence now will have a significant structural advantage over those still chasing student-facing tool count.

A grounded, no-hype episode for superintendents, CTOs, instructional technology leads, and anyone responsible for AI strategy in K–12 education.

Episode 127 | Voices for Excellence

Today's kindergartners will retire in 2082, but are we preparing them for that world or ours? In this episode, Dr. Michael Conner sits down with Stewart Brown, Director of Partnerships at Code4Kids, to challenge the "21st century" trap that's already widening the gap for Generation Alpha and Beta.

Stewart and Michael dig into why coding is becoming as essential as cursive, a fundamental literacy every student needs, not just a technical skill for future developers. They explore how cross-curricular computer science can bridge math, science, arts, and social studies, and why the education system urgently needs to move beyond outdated frameworks and embrace what Stewart calls 22nd-century thinking.

The conversation unpacks why understanding technology matters far more than becoming a software engineer, and how Code for Kids is already reshaping what digital literacy looks like in practice, through connective, curriculum-integrated education that gives students real agency in a technology-saturated world.

Stewart Brown is a multiple founder of international EdTech companies and a trusted voice in AI literacy in education. Code for Kids, launched in 2018, integrates coding, robotics, digital literacy, and STEAM across the curriculum.

This is essential listening for educators, administrators, and parents asking the question that matters most: how do we truly prepare students for their future? Subscribe to Voices for Excellence for conversations that challenge education's status quo.

Stop managing behavior. Start changing it.

Dr. Mike Conner sits down with Dr. Donna Housman, CEO and founder of Housman Learning, to explore the paradigm shift reshaping early childhood education: why emotional intelligence isn't a soft skill, it's the durable, sustainable driver of academic achievement and lasting behavioral change.

Key Topics:

• The evolution of emotional intelligence from "soft skill" to critical educational driver
• ECSEL (Emotional, Cognitive, and Social Early Learning): The evidence-based program closing the preparation gap
• Why self-regulation, not funding, is the real differentiator in high-risk populations
• The achievement gap is a symptom; the preparation gap (birth to kindergarten) is the disease
• How early childhood emotional competence prevents the "troubled teen" crisis before it starts
• Teacher satisfaction, retention, and the post-COVID educational landscape

Dr. Housman brings 30 years of clinical psychology expertise and longitudinal research proving that developing emotional intelligence starting as early as 3 months old transforms children's trajectories, and challenges the entire education sector to rethink what "preparation" really means.

Subscribe for deep conversations on education, human development, and the research-backed practices that create lasting change.