The Growth Over Grades Podcast

Abandoning the Plan: Making Assessment Actionable with Starr Sackstein

How do we move teachers from being "expert data collectors" to active facilitators of real-time growth? In this episode of Growth Over Grades, host Jordan Lewis sits down with Starr Sackstein, a veteran educator and world-renowned assessment expert with over 24 years of experience. Starr currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer and part-owner of Mastery Portfolio, an organization dedicated to mastery-based progress tracking. She is also a Distinguished Educator Fellow with PDK International and the Educators Rising State Coordinator for Massachusetts. Drawing from her latest book, Actionable Assessment: Making Teaching and Learning Better for All, Starr challenges the traditional classroom power dynamics. She explains why teachers must have the vulnerability and confidence to abandon a rigid lesson plan the moment they notice students are struggling. We dive deep into the mic drop moment of removing grades to foster genuine inquiry and explore practical strategies like backward feeding—a math-context scaffolding technique that reduces cognitive load by having students solve the final piece of a problem first. In this episode, we discuss: * The Data Barrier: Why collecting data is useless if teachers wait too long to use it or feel restricted by pacing guides. * Vulnerability in Leadership: Why admitting you don’t have all the answers creates a more collaborative and effective learning environment. * Assessment as Learning: Transforming reflection from an afterthought into an integral skill that students use to advocate for their own needs. * Consistent Culture: How district leaders can establish a shared assessment language across different subjects to prevent student confusion.

Beyond the Baseline: Local Accountability and AI as a Coach with Dr. Brandy Howard

Standardized tests provide a baseline, but they rarely capture a community’s hopes and dreams. In this episode, Dr. Brandy Howard, Chief Academic Officer of Bullitt County Public Schools, shares how her district is bridging the gap between state measures and human-centered skills. From 5th graders defining creativity metrics to using AI as a cognitive coach, Brandy breaks down how to align an entire school system around what truly matters for the future of students. In this episode, we discuss: • Community-Led Metrics: How Bullitt County uses six local pillars to measure success beyond the test score. • AI as a Thinking Partner: Why chatbots like "Allie" are designed to ask questions and provoke deeper thinking for teachers. • Symmetry in Systems: The "walk-the-talk" approach to ensuring adult professional learning mirrors the student experience. • The Lean Startup: Why elementary students are mastering entrepreneurial processes to build durable skills. • Learning Walks: Shifting from compliance to growth-oriented coaching through shared language and "look-fors."

Hugging AI and Navigating Coherence: Redesigning Systems for Workforce Readiness with Jennifer Ferrari and Jeff McCoy

Education is currently navigating an acceleration of change that is moving faster than ever before. In this episode, host Jordan Lewis sits down with two visionary leaders from the Education Research and Development Institute (ERDI): CEO and President Jennifer Ferrari and Chief Education Officer Jeff McCoy. Together, they dive into the findings of the latest National Insights Report to discuss how districts can maintain a human dimension in an increasingly automated world. We explore the concept of hugging AI—a framework Jeff and Jennifer call H-AI-H (Human-AI-Human) —which ensures that human judgement remains the primary refinement and editing force behind technology. The conversation also challenges the traditional college vs. career binary, suggesting a shift toward workforce readiness that prioritizes the development of durable skills like adaptability, teamwork, and communication. Join us for a deep dive into how we can create a true bridge from school to life and why, despite the complexities of the modern landscape, the future of K-12 education remains incredibly bright.

A Shoe That Fits: Grounded Leadership and Student-Led Strategic Planning with Nerlande Anselme

If your district celebrates a 90% graduation rate, what happens to the other 10%? In this episode of Growth Over Grades, Jordan Lewis sits down with Nerlande Anselme, Superintendent of the Rome City School District in New York, to discuss why all means all must be a lived reality rather than just a mission statement.  Drawing on over 20 years of leadership experience, Nerlande provides a masterclass on how to build a student-centric north star that remains grounded even under the pressures of systemic change. Nerlande shares her unique process for crafting a strategic plan that started with student voices—inviting grades 2 through 12 to co-design the district's vision and values. We dive into the practical side of this shift, from leveraging influence over power to fostering local partnerships that create direct pathways into the workforce. Whether you are an administrator architecting a new strategic plan or a teacher looking to center student voice, this conversation offers a grounded roadmap for creating excellence through equity.

AI as a Creativity Machine with Matt Winters

In this episode of Growth Over Grades, Jordan Lewis sits down with Matt Winters, an AI innovator and specialist who is at the forefront of integrating artificial intelligence into the classroom. As the Artificial Intelligence Specialist for the Utah State Board of Education and a board member for the Utah Coalition for Educational Technology, Matt brings over a decade of experience in education and technology to a conversation about the human side of AI. We dive into Utah’s Portrait of an AI-Infused Learner and discuss how Matt’s team is bridging the gap between K-12 and the business community through the AI-Ready Company framework. Matt shares why he views AI as a creativity machine rather than just a productivity tool, and offers practical, small shift lesson designs that move students from passive consumers to critical collaborators. Whether you are a district leader navigating policy or a teacher looking for the time to play, this episode provides a roadmap for using creative technology to solve existing problems and enhance durable human skills.