Dr. Kusum Sinha, Leading Artificial Intelligence in Garden City Schools

Today on the podcast we have Dr. Kusum Sinha, Superintendent of Schools, with the Garden City Public Schools.  Garden City is located in Long Island NY and has approximately 3,900 students served in 7 schools.  Kusum was appointed to the superintendency in July of 2018 and she is in his 8th year.  

Dr. Kusum Sinha brings over 25 years of experience in various leadership roles, including Director of PPS, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, and Assistant Superintendent for HR and Leadership Development. These positions have honed her leadership skills. Dr. Sinha has presented to state and regional audiences on diverse topics such as special education, universal design, instructional technology, AI, curriculum alignment and accountability, ENL, and parent-school partnerships.  Her systems-thinking approach has been pivotal in developing a vision, driving positive changes, and fostering innovation within the district. She has spearheaded the creation of innovative indoor and outdoor learning spaces, enhancing the learning environment and operational efficiency. Her commitment to integrating technology and innovative practices has transformed the educational landscape, providing students with access to cutting-edge resources and learning opportunities. Dr. Sinha also serves on the AASA governing board and participates in several local and national organizations.

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Or visit our website E-NSSA.org

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Eerie Niagara School Superintendents Association's podcast, achieving joy and mastery in public schools. I am your host, Brian Graham, superintendent of the Grand Island Central School District. We are really excited that you're listening today. This podcast is designed to celebrate all that is good in public education around Western New York. We will be featuring programs and innovative ideas that inspire and influence our students, faculty, staff, and community in new and exciting ways. So, everybody, let's get started. Today on the podcast, we have Dr. Cusim Sinna, superintendent of schools with the Garden City Public School District. Garden City is located in Long Island, New York, and has approximately 3,900 students served in seven different schools. Cusum was appointed to the superintendency in July of 2018, and this is her eighth year. Dr. Cusim Sina brings over 25 years of experience in various leadership roles, including director of pupil services, assistant superintendent for curriculum instruction, assistant superintendent for human resources and leadership development. Boy, I'm just gonna stop there, but I'm gonna keep going. Kusum, isn't that true for all of us? Like our superintendents keep giving us all these duties, but it really helps us, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_00 1:35

It absolutely does. I mean, that's how you become who you are with all these uh you know opportunities to learn and grow. And I've been so blessed with that.

SPEAKER_01 1:44

Yeah, for sure. And so, of course, these positions have honed your leadership skills, and Dr. Cinna has presented to state and regional audiences on diverse topics such as special education, universal design, instructional technology, AI, curriculum alignment, and of course, accountability in so many different areas. She has expertise in EL and parent-school partnerships, and her systems thinking approach has been pivotal in developing a vision, driving positive changes and fostering innovation within her district. She has spearheaded the creation of innovative indoor and outdoor learning spaces, enhancing the learning environment and operational efficiency. Her commitment to integrating technology and innovative practices has transformed the educational landscape, providing students with access to cutting-edge resources and, of course, many different learning opportunities. Dr. Sinna also serves as the AASA Governing Board. Sorry, you serve on that board and you participate in many local and national organizations. Kusum, welcome back to the podcast.

SPEAKER_00 2:56

Wow, I thank you, Brian. Boy, you made me sound so good there.

SPEAKER_01 3:00

It is so great to talk to you. And for our listeners, we are uh using like a video conferencing tool to do this podcast because I'm in Grand Island and she is on Long Island in Garden City. So I'm just thrilled that we have this technology to be able to connect and really celebrate some of the great work that you have been leading in your district. Today, well, as you know, you and I were on a podcast a little while ago with your friends Matt and Jared, and that podcast was generated because you were invited to be a keynote presenter at our annual New York State Council of School Superintendents Leadership Summit. And the three of you presented, but you all had a different spin on AI and innovation in your districts. And so the three of us, well, the four of us got together and we did a podcast about that, and that was great. So today, of course, we'll be highlighting the work of your leadership in AI and creating better opportunities for teaching and learning. But first, as you know, this podcast is called Achieving Joy and Mastery in Public Schools. So, what is bringing you joy this year as a superintendent?

SPEAKER_00 4:13

So I think for me, it's like every year it's pretty much the same. And which is, you know, when you go into classrooms or you're in in your schools and when it feels very human-like, right? The connections with our students, you know, with our students and our teachers, and being able to being able to just, you know, when there is an idea, whether it's coming from a teacher or a student, by the way, or groups of students, how do we just do it? And I think for me, that that is probably gives me the greatest joy. Or when I'm in a building and I get the kids, they'll they'll say, Dr. Sin, I haven't seen you. And I get the hugs, especially from the little ones. Yeah, it is the best. It is the best.

SPEAKER_01 4:59

It really is, yeah. So give give our audience a little background, like what inspired, influenced you to pursue a career. I think. Did you first start off as a social worker?

SPEAKER_00 5:11

Yes. So, you know, being in education was not definitely was not something that I had even considered. So my background, I'm a clinical social worker. Right. And and I, you know, and again, I went into that field because it's a very people-oriented field.

SPEAKER_03 5:30

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 5:31

And and you really get to learn about how fragile human beings are, especially our minds. Because I worked in a psychiatric hospital for quite a bit of time.

SPEAKER_01 5:42

And where did where was that? Where did you grow up?

SPEAKER_00 5:45

Well, I grew up in New Jersey.

SPEAKER_01 5:48

Okay, nice.

SPEAKER_00 5:49

But we moved to New York, you know, after I got married and all, we were in New York. But I worked in in Goshen. There was a Arden Hill Hospital, that's where I ended up working. That was one of the hospitals. And then I also went into long-term care, was the director of social services there.

SPEAKER_03 6:05

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 6:05

Yes. And then I ended up in schools. I had applied for a social work position in Goshen schools, and I didn't get that because of there was somebody else on the preferred eligibility list.

SPEAKER_03 6:17

Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 6:18

And but they remembered me and they called me, you know, months later, I think it was like six, seven months later, that they had opening for an assistant director of PPS. And mind you, I've had no, I didn't have my certification and I didn't have any of that. But they hired me and then I went back to school. Yeah. I was there in December, and I was back in school in January to get my certification. And what was great about it is that, you know, they actually, my my district at that time supported me and they actually paid for my education to get my certification. Yeah. As soon as I was done, I became the director of PPS. And I loved every minute of it because I thought I was bringing my social work, you know, working with people and all of that into play, you know, in this in this role. So I I just loved it.

SPEAKER_01 7:09

Yeah, that is great. It's a great story. So so started off at Goshen with Yeah, my career.

SPEAKER_00 7:16

Well, no, prior to that, when I was doing my undergrad study, I did a year internship at the Middletown City Schools.

SPEAKER_01 7:23

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 7:23

Gotcha. So I worked in Middletown City Schools for a very short amount of time. It was like maybe six months. And I was working there and I had just graduated, and I wanted to continue to learn. So when I was in graduate school and I did my internship in a psychiatric hospital, they called me back.

unknown 7:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:41

They said, we have a and I wanted to go back because I just found that environment, the learning that was taking place for me, that I went back. I said, you know.

SPEAKER_01 7:51

And so those skills, right, now are baked into the work you do in leadership, whether it was director of pupil services or uh assistant superintendent of curriculum and so on and so forth. And now as a superintendent, do you find that those social work skills such as conflict resolution and things of that nature have really served you well in your leadership?

SPEAKER_00 8:15

Absolutely. I think for you know, as a social worker, you have to listen. And listening, I think, is probably even in our roles, we try to come up with solutions before we really listen, listen.

SPEAKER_01 8:28

That's right.

SPEAKER_00 8:29

Right. And so I think for me, like being in that role, it has really you you you listen differently. That's what I could say, whether it's the parents or whether it's our children, whether it's our staff. And I think that requires a level of I think patience also to be able to do that. So that end of it, and then understanding people, I think, you know, human minds are very fragile. I mean, having worked in a psychiatric facility, right? Human so you have to respect the mind. Yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER_01 9:02

Yeah, that is really, really powerful. We have a social worker here in our school district who I've been nudging a little bit to consider administration. She's in charge of our family support services program. And before that, she worked for a company in Western New York called Kids Escaping Drugs, and she just is dynamic. And I think more and more we're gonna see a lot of our leaders coming from different fields, not just the traditional regents exam field that you that you were prepared for, right? I think that these skills really do serve us well in in leadership, particularly understanding people and understanding conflict resolution and how to actively listen. Oh, absolutely absolutely powerful. So, so now you did all of that work and then you're here, you are in Garden City in your eighth year. By the way, congratulations, right?

SPEAKER_00 9:56

I made it.

SPEAKER_01 9:57

You're right, you're breaking the ceiling on the average length of time a superintendent serves. And and I love your your connection with your neighboring school districts and your your colleagues like like Matt and Jared. Maybe just uh share for our superintendents who are listening that how powerful that is to have a kind of a network of people that you that you connect with. And I mean, I think you guys connect, I believe, weekly, if if I'm not mistaken, and and just share ideas and learn from each other. Is that is that a good way to structure that?

SPEAKER_00 10:32

Yeah, yeah. So what we you know, we started this, we're all in the in our county, uh, you know, Nassau County superintendents. All three three of us are also on the technology committee.

SPEAKER_03 10:45

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 10:45

So when we when we started, you know, when we started the we had this in Nassau County, the the professional development day that we have for superintendents. So in that in that group, Jared, Matt, and I, we were on the technology committee. I said, let's let's do something on AI. And so we did, and we just bonded.

SPEAKER_01 11:06

But but but Cusum, you did that so early. Like you were ahead of the curve, uh, in my opinion, because obviously NISCI recognized you immediately along with with uh Jared and Matt and put you up on the stage to talk about it early when many districts were banning artificial intelligence, right? So so so I didn't mean to cut you off because I should be actively listening. But but tell me about that, right? Tell me about here you are, you have this technology committee, you have these great colleagues, and you're ahead of the curve. What what was it that nudged you ahead that that helped your your other colleagues learn more about AI?

SPEAKER_00 11:51

Yeah, I have to tell you, in my career, I've always been very much on technology. I still remember when I was in Goshen, and I remember because I was a director of PPS, and we were using, you know, the floppy discs.

SPEAKER_01 12:05

Oh, yeah, yeah. Using I remember those.

SPEAKER_00 12:07

And I said, wait a minute, wait a minute, what are we doing? And I think we were one of the first districts, or maybe the second, and that was in Orange County that we got into IEP Direct. I go, there's no way. This is not the way we're gonna be. And really, and I remember that year when we did that.

SPEAKER_01 12:23

I see what you said.

SPEAKER_00 12:24

We used grant money, and I purchased our special ed teachers laptops.

SPEAKER_03 12:28

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:29

This is going back like 25, over 25 years ago. Yeah, got them all laptops, maybe even more than 25 years ago, and we and and I said to them, just play with it, take it back for the summer and play with it. And it was and it was transformative, and this is going back way back when. So in our in here, I remember Chat GPT came out. What was it, November?

SPEAKER_01 12:53

November 2022.

SPEAKER_00 12:55

22, right? Yeah, and I remember it came out, and January, yeah, we're training our administrators.

SPEAKER_01 13:02

Yeah. Um that's a great story. Yeah, let's let's dig into that a little bit because you like I said, ahead of the curve, everybody else banning it across the United States. So tell me about that. What was it? And I think I I know what excited me about it, but what was it that excited you and and your colleagues to say we need we need to be out in front with this particular tool?

SPEAKER_00 13:27

Yeah. So there were two things that were motivating or that was really important to me, because I think as educators, we sort of missed the mark when social media came out and we said we don't want, right? And I think we didn't prepare our kids enough for when social media came out. So with AI, yeah, AI was not going anywhere. It was actually you, you know, like with everything that I was reading, it was like, my goodness, AI is going to be taking off in a way much, much faster.

SPEAKER_02 14:00

Yeah, good for you.

SPEAKER_00 14:02

So I I said to myself, well, how do I prepare our system? So we started with our administrators, nice, and I wanted them to understand it, what it is, and to use it, to use it to so because once they know they can lead their teachers, yeah. So we we did that in like I said, in January.

SPEAKER_01 14:20

In January of 2023.

SPEAKER_00 14:22

Yeah, and then we started providing professional development for our teachers. Yeah, we didn't ban it, but we were ahead in really providing the professional development, and you have to be ahead. So we never banned anything. We never, and you know, now we have a safe we have Magic School here, yeah, which is right, you know, which is a safe platform. And I have to tell you, earlier, just this when was it, maybe two months ago, I was meeting with our high school student government group. They're phenomenal, these kids, and so smart.

SPEAKER_02 14:54

It's the best.

SPEAKER_00 14:55

And we were talking about AI, and I said to them, I said, so tell me about it, like what how are you guys using it? They were so articulate, they understood about hallucinations, deep thoughts, they under and they talked to you about and they were appreciative that teachers who were giving them assignments using magic school that they were learning how to use it in play very reflective, responsible. And so that they appreciate, and they also said that you know, you know, the AI makes mistakes, it can give it to these math problems, and it's not always correct.

unknown 15:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:33

So they were critical consumers of AI, which is fantastic. Yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_01 15:39

So I love this story because I when I saw it in November of 2022 and started playing with it, I immediately saw it could level text. And that to me, you know, my background's in special education, and that to me was transformative, right? To be able to have a tool that could level text and and really level the playing field for a child with dyslexia, a child with a severe reading disability. I got super excited about that. And then in my world, the president of our University of Buffalo invited a few superintendents to meet, and he said, What are you doing about AI? And all and I said and I said, Oh, we're we're gonna play with it, we're gonna explore. Little did I know that UB now had well at that time had been awarded $20 million to build a national institute for artificial intelligence and exceptional education. And it's incredible. So they were ahead of the field, and so now I'm on their advisory board. But but to to what excites me about you is that you were really seeing the power that this would have for teachers, for administrators, and for students so early when the rest of the world was saying no, thank you, right? So that's a that's a really great story.

SPEAKER_00 16:57

And do you remember I I don't know if you have it, but at that time, like I'm a big one on if there's something new comes on and I love to beta test, like let's try it.

SPEAKER_01 17:06

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:07

And so Diffit, yeah, Diffit was because you're talking about special ed, our teachers, because it was developed by teachers and we gave it, and I'll never forget it. Like, teachers are like, oh my goodness, this could really it doesn't take away your creativity. You are now being the thinker, but you don't have to necessarily be you you you could create things in a much faster way. That's what it is, right? So our teachers, like they they were, they were loving it, and then our principals, I think it was it was maybe that summer, and I remember sitting and saying to myself, okay, the teacher observation process, but I did it on my own because I I created a chat bot using our vision, mission, what we believe in. And I created a tool for administrators. So again, it doesn't it now you're engaged in more really deeper, not even a discussion, but a dialogue with a teacher around their practice in a very different way rather than spending an inordinate amount of time writing up something that is it it can be taxing on our principles. And you know what I did this year, Brian? You're gonna so I took that chatbot and you know, with the portrait of a graduate, which is adopted in New York.

SPEAKER_03 18:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:31

So I and we've introduced all of that, but I what I did with that chatbot is integrated the portrait of a graduate as a coaching model.

SPEAKER_03 18:41

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 18:42

So our so our administrators are using it, but now they have actual talking points and and and some things that can they can engage with the teacher around the portrait of a graduate. Here's this lesson, and here's an here's one of the competencies that we see, and here's how you can even and getting the teachers to really think about those seven competencies in a way that is very intentional.

SPEAKER_01 19:09

Yeah, it was that's so smart. Could you just help our listeners just maybe crystallize a little bit more about this bot, right? Are you using chat? Are you using a different tool? And then I'm I'm assuming that because you've given this bot or whatever whatever tool you're using, the background information and portrait of a graduate, that it has memory, and then and that it it can then build upon ideas as your administrators are using it. What is the where does this bot live? Like what where where what was the genesis of it?

SPEAKER_00 19:44

So I the first you know, I created in using the chat GPT, but the paid version.

SPEAKER_01 19:49

Yeah, yeah. So you use it, you create a GPT.

SPEAKER_00 19:52

That's right. I created and what's and what's great about it is they're easy to create, number one, because it's just it's having a conversation with them, with the with the with the tool. And what you're doing is you have to keep doing that till you have it just right. That's the way I say it. So it does take time. Yeah. I remember this. We had one of the days that we were off and I just sat there. It took me hours, but I did it.

SPEAKER_01 20:19

It's in your life. I love it.

SPEAKER_00 20:21

I could not stop it. It was great.

SPEAKER_01 20:23

So so for the listeners, right? If you're exploring Chat GPT, an advanced way to engage in that is to learn how to create your own GPT, and that's what Cusum has has done with the portrait of a graduate. So now there is this one tool, this one spot or one chat tool that has all this memory and can really engage and help administrators and teachers brainstorm on how to how to fold in, layer in, dovetail in the competencies into the units of study that we're creating. Wow. And of course the the project-based ways, maybe authentic ways that we measure learning. Right. So that that so I I love that. I love it so much because you and I, as superintendents, are waiting for the state education department to give us guidance, right? But but really, you know, this idea of project-based learning, authentic learning, and so forth has been around for ages. And a bot like the one you created understands that, understands those authentic learning opportunities out there and can then connect, right, the elements of a portrait of a graduate to those ideas and really be a support uh for school districts starting to move forward with per the portrait of a graduate. Is that kind of the way you think of it?

SPEAKER_00 21:43

Yes, yeah. And I think like if you don't create things like that because of you, because we don't have this concrete guidance.

SPEAKER_03 21:52

Right.

SPEAKER_00 21:52

So you and what it is, and I think in some ways with the state, it's like it's allowing you each district to kind of Building their yeah, it's almost like uh you're going on on this ramp, but at your own pace. Yes, yeah and what makes sense. So for us, it was like, okay, you know, how do we tie this together? But give a, you know, not making so not make it so taxing on our building administrators and our curriculum leaders. So this has they they've said that it's been wonderful for them because they're also growing from it. Each time they, you know, I always say, you know, I say this here all the time when you engage in a conversation like that, the root word for conversation is convert.

SPEAKER_01 22:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 22:37

And you're hoping that in these conversations, you're converting the teacher in some way, and you're being converted in some way through that exchange, right? That's right. So so this allows for that. I I believe it does. It's it's been uh wonderful. Yeah, and I love the feedback that our administrators give us. It's like, oh, this is this is something that they are using, and it's been helpful.

SPEAKER_01 22:59

Just if you could help us, just maybe me help me a little bit, because I've made GPTs, but I haven't shared them. So so is your the GPT you created, did you share it with your administrators?

SPEAKER_00 23:12

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 23:12

And so now they use your GPT.

SPEAKER_00 23:15

Yes. You can I've taken taken the you know the link and I've shared it with all of our administrators so they have it. And they can use it. They can use it.

SPEAKER_01 23:24

Yeah, so they can use it. So so you're did you say it's school AI that you use or magic school?

SPEAKER_00 23:32

Magic school. We're using the magic school, and that what's been great about that is we've done, you know, again, a lot of professional development around it. But teachers, we're like we actually you can take see how much teachers are really using it and who's using it.

SPEAKER_03 23:47

Right.

SPEAKER_00 23:48

And boy, have we seen we you you look you have to look at your data. It's been fantastic to see the growth in our teachers using magic school. And they're using it not just with but they're using it to create. They're using it because I was trying to create this bot within Magic School. I couldn't do it.

SPEAKER_03 24:07

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 24:08

No, it was much easier to do it with the chat GPT because I was trying to do it within there. So it, you know, a component of it with the portrait of a graduate. I probably could go back to it. I just haven't had the time. Right.

SPEAKER_03 24:20

Right, right.

SPEAKER_00 24:21

So then it sits in a platform, but I also think, Brian, with all the new tools that are coming out, especially with Google with Gemini, yeah. I'm not sure if you're gonna need because we we've opened the Gemini for our teachers.

SPEAKER_01 24:34

Same here.

SPEAKER_00 24:35

Right?

SPEAKER_01 24:36

So when you can build gems, which is really your GPT, right? You can build a gem, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:42

So I'm not sure if we're gonna need magic school moving forward.

SPEAKER_01 24:47

Right. So some of our listeners may be newer to this idea of build baking in AI in their schools. Magic School AI you can purchase through Obose. So they they have demonstrated Edlaw 2D compliance, so it's safe and you're it's gonna protect privacy. So for our listeners who are unfamiliar, that's important. The other thing that is really important is that Magic School AI, School AI, ConMigo, and Brisk all partner with OpenAI, which is ChatGPT. So their platforms are driven, you know, by the foundational elements of OpenAI or Chat GPT, which is very helpful. And then, like you just said, switching over to Gemini. Of course, that's a Google product, it's a competitor of Open AI, but it's it's many of our school districts are already Google school districts. And and some of our districts don't even know that Gemini is right in that waffle and that you can find it and notebook LM is there. And so it's I like your thinking, the evolution of that, right? That you you know, as these companies start competing and uh with each other, we're gonna have more opportunity to find the one that fits perfectly for our teachers and and students, I guess.

SPEAKER_00 26:08

Yeah, and you know, in Gemini, you know, one of the tools within Gemini, particularly for teachers, where you can create the storybooks that are only personalized for kids.

SPEAKER_03 26:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:20

Or create decodable books or create with really good graphics and images that are that are like it's unbelievable what it's like.

SPEAKER_01 26:30

It's so unbelievable. So do you do you have a little story right now about what you've seen, like a teacher or librarian using Storybook yet, or it's just you playing with it?

SPEAKER_00 26:40

Well, I've played with it for sure. But I yeah, but we also have other tools to create, like we have we use Litlab to create particularly those decodable books for our younger kids, but I don't even know if you need certain tools. I think that's that's big for us as superintendents and our director of technology and even our assistant superintendent for curriculum instruction to really evaluate the different tools that we have. And do we really need all of those tools? Yeah. Can it be done through Gemini, tell you the truth? Yeah, that's something to really look into.

SPEAKER_01 27:15

I I love talking to you. I love your leadership in this area. I love the fact that you're exploring so many things. For our listeners, storybook is baked into Gemini. You can give it a prompt. And by the way, you know, I don't even know. Sometimes you can use Gemini or chat to help you create a prompt, which a lot of people, right? So once you create that prompt, which is kind of easy now, you can put that prompt in storybook and like Kusum's saying, generate maybe a social story for a child who's struggling with transitions, right, from one thing to another, a child who might be on the autism spectrum. There are so many powerful uses of it. And I think what some people don't even realize is once it's created, you can you can download it as a PDF and share it, you know, with a teacher or share it with a parent.

SPEAKER_00 28:07

Yes, right. And you can even print it if you wanted to print it, even you can still do all of those things. But what it allows us, and it also, Brian, it's important because you you know the human connection piece is so important because you, you know, we're talking about technology, but how do you keep it that where the the the but it allows you because you can tailor, imagine a child having some challenges connecting with, and the child loves you know, various sports or something different. You can create a story around what the child likes, yeah, right? Yeah, that's it to me like when we were never able to do that, and it goes back to it allows us to personalize learning in a very different way, yeah. For kids, and we can create, you know, there's also we're getting in our community, I don't know if it's like that with you, Brian, and I and I and I don't disagree with it. After reading The Anxious Generation, because we read that book, that's we had a we had a very nice in terms of number of parents who participated in reading that book, and I we led that discussion with parents, that at the at our lower levels, it's particularly in our K5, you know, we were giving when COVID came, everybody received one-on-one, you know, devices.

SPEAKER_03 29:26

Right.

SPEAKER_00 29:26

We we now don't send it home with them. Yes, you don't do not send devices home with kids. We we use it very purposefully because it's at those younger grade levels, you still there's skills that they're learning that you still need to promote. So we're very, you know, we look at, we even analyze how much screen time kids are getting in school because you have those analytics you can put up. Yeah, so we're using those tools, but teachers are using technology in a very purposeful way. So when they're creating lessons and they're there's a real reason why they're using technology. That's been the other professional development that we've really have honed in on, particularly with our our younger uh children.

SPEAKER_01 30:14

Yeah, that's super smart. Love that. So besides Magic School, Gemini, Storybook, I I'm assuming you're you're you and your team are are playing a little bit with Notebook LM.

SPEAKER_00 30:27

Oh yeah, notebook LM, we I think use it so much in our like any time, like I use it for my contracts. I'll put all the contracts in there. And if I have a question, even if it's about could be a and the principals now use it, if it's even a disciplinary issue, like where would this fall under?

SPEAKER_01 30:46

Yeah, the code of conduct.

SPEAKER_00 30:47

Code of conduct. You can put your code of conduct, you can put your, you know, I use it for any of those items that are dense material.

SPEAKER_03 30:55

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 30:58

It saves you time, it really saves you a ton of time.

SPEAKER_01 31:03

So I love that so much. We are here in Grand Island, we're starting to create notebooks for our uh clerks and personnel. So just exactly what you said, right? Put the contracts in, put your employee handbook in, and and particularly if you're new, you know, if you have institutional knowledge, you've been in the chair for 10 years, right? You're the expert now. But if you're brand new, you using Nobook LM is like you're giving them their own chatbot, their own agent that all they have to do is type in, you know what, uh, how does somebody apply for FMLA? Boom, you get the answer because it grabs it right from your content, right? So we're starting to see it as a potential agent or bot for our personnel clerks and other other employees.

SPEAKER_00 31:54

That's a great way of positions.

SPEAKER_01 31:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:56

So that's wonderful the way you're using it, because we're using, but I like your idea of giving it to, you know, uh really training the clerical staff and using it even more to address questions and things of that nature. Right. You know, or even creating those short informational videos that are very visually appealing.

SPEAKER_01 32:17

Yes, yeah, smart.

SPEAKER_00 32:18

With the voice, right? So that's a that's a good great way to use that too.

SPEAKER_01 32:23

So one of the things that impressed me the last time I interviewed you, and then you actually helped to contribute a chapter and a book that we put together, you have been very innovative with professional development and helping teachers and administrators get excited about learning new things in your district. And I think if you wouldn't mind, just touch on some of the ideas that you've incorporated that you think have led to a more successful and exciting professional development uh journey for your educators.

SPEAKER_00 32:59

So, you know, so in our like I'm a big believer in that as you know, we're an educational system. So just like we teach our kids, you have to have those same engaging opportunities for the adults in your system, right?

SPEAKER_03 33:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:14

So it's like, well, how do we do that? And so in our in our district, contractually, you have we have 15 hours that teachers have to complete of professional development during the year. So we began to think about rather than doing everything after school in a in a very uh strict way, traditional, right?

SPEAKER_01 33:33

You're exhausted, you're exhausted after the end of the day.

SPEAKER_00 33:38

At the end of the day, the teachers are tired. And and really, you saw that. So we began to come up, we called it flex, flexible professional development. So, meaning we're gonna be very flexible in how we're gonna provide this or how you're going to get it yourself, right? So there wasn't this strict parameter around it. So we did that for all professional development. But with technology, what we are I'm a big believer in any PD you do, professional development, it has to be, it's not one and done, never can be. PD with coaching. How do we do professional development with coaching and making sure every professional development we have that teachers can take or anybody can take something from it and apply it tomorrow? That's the best PD. That's our mindset around professional development. So we have, and and again, I I don't provide these professional development, but we have an you know, you have to have the right people on that board. That's true. That's right. We have an amazing, we have an amazing technology department, but our staff developer, and we only have one technology staff developer in our district. Only one.

SPEAKER_03 34:47

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 34:48

But what he has created, and this year, uh, you know, and his name is Mike. I said to Mike, you know, partner with other people in the district every time you provide professional development.

SPEAKER_01 35:00

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 35:01

So we had started out with what we called, and uh, let me go back a little bit with pajama PDs.

SPEAKER_01 35:06

Yeah, I remember I remember this concept. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:08

Yeah. So teachers would hop on a Zoom call, virtual PDs, and we would have, and there were teachers that didn't even need any hours or anything, but they would hop on because it was so valuable to them. So these PDs were like at seven o'clock in the evening, virtual after they've had dinner, their kids are off to bed. Now they're at home in a comfortable space learning together.

SPEAKER_03 35:33

Yeah, nice.

SPEAKER_00 35:34

And they made it very, very engaging. I mean, virtually, it was it, you you know, people enjoyed coming together to learn together.

SPEAKER_03 35:42

Right.

SPEAKER_00 35:43

And our administrators, we you know, our administrator, many of our administrators would be on those professional development sessions. Yeah. So this year, he's partnered with, you know, sometimes I think the last one we did on formative assessments, and he had two administrators with him that were, you know, just sharing ideas on, and it was around assessment, a heavy topic.

SPEAKER_03 36:04

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:05

But it was all virtual. And how are how can you use different tools even to create, you know, assessments and getting, especially with formative assessments, how are you getting that pulse on your kids on a regular basis? Yeah. So we did that.

SPEAKER_01 36:20

What about this Netflix?

SPEAKER_00 36:22

We did that. This this was this is great. We started that actually, it was last year, mid-last year, and it's it's PD Flix.

SPEAKER_01 36:31

Okay. Really? PD fashion. Like Netflix. Netflix, but PD, got it.

SPEAKER_00 36:36

PD. And what it is is that any any professional development we do, we record it and it becomes on demand. So we have a whole library of professional development. And again, and they're not boring to watch, they're actually pretty fun because there's a lot of engagement. And so our teachers have been loving it. And so we we we give them professional development hours if they want to engage in that type of learning, and they will call. Like Mike also has he has a whole system set up where teachers are booking time with him. So they've seen it, they want to try it, they need his help. So they there's a whole system around it. So it's been beautiful for us. And again, with one staff developer, but I think it's that way because we have so many other people that are helping each other learn more, try a tool. Oh, let me try this, you know, and they help each other.

SPEAKER_01 37:31

Because that really is the key, right? To to have make it engaging, have our professional educators have flexibility in how they tap into professional development, and then to provide the additional coaching through Mike is also a great model. And being creative with PD Flix, I think you have something called tech bytes and pretzel Tuesdays.

SPEAKER_00 37:55

Yeah, we used to do that quite a bit. And but that the now what we do is really like we have our library media specialists at the high school, her and our our technology staff developer, they'll get together and they do it about once a month. That they are nice, they offer it in the library, and teachers are coming, and it's at different periods for, you know, and they just come in and and it's it's it's small sessions, but they're powerful sessions that they have.

SPEAKER_01 38:23

I love that you just brought up the librarian, right? I understand your high school librarian is one of your superstars in the district. I think recently wrote a book and is is really helping to move initiatives forward. You know, just tell tell us tell us a little bit about how we can tap into our librarians and our school districts to inspire and influence them to be the leaders of of this new technology.

SPEAKER_00 38:51

Well, I I have to tell you, I think our library and media specialists are leaders in that area. So, you know, our library and media specialist at the high school, Margot Calamo, she is amazing at getting, you know, first of all, going into classroom as teachers going to her for assistance. And it's all around different tools. And she's also a great teacher, I should say, for of children and adults. So she's people will follow her. And what she has done is she's transformed that program in our high school that had that has become now the hub. That are and she is, you know, teach she's tapped into so much. And actually, we were like, how do we clone her? Because that what she provides the teachers, and I think at the secondary building, and I'm you know, talk about AI, at the secondary level is where you get the most skepticism around the some of these tools, right?

SPEAKER_01 39:52

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 39:53

And we and and our I think our high school, and I also have to give credit to our high school principal, when we when AI when when it first came out, here's what he did, which was brilliant, brilliant. He said to the teachers, because that was one of the goals. How do we get our teachers to understand AI more? And our teachers do an end-of-the-year reflection. He told them, he told them, I want you to use AI to do your reflection. Here's what they did. You so your teachers that are the your creative ones, like your art teachers, uh-huh, they created these visuals of superheroes and then a visual, right? We had our another teacher who did a whole Seinfeld episode around theme around reflection, creative, right? That's creative. So you haven't taken away their creativity, they're just applying it in a different way. Yeah, right. So every teacher talked about how they used AI, but they used the tool for their reflection. I thought that was brilliant, quite frankly.

SPEAKER_01 40:55

Super great idea. So we should probably wind things down a little bit. You know, there's no doubt you're ahead of the curve. You have been for for quite a while, well beyond many of our colleagues. So congratulations for your innovation, your leadership. Is there anything else you wanted to share with the audience as we wind this down? Any words of wisdom, any anything that you're thinking about? And actually, you've already touched on some really important concepts like the tools that you're using today may be replaced by other tools in the future and and and to be open to trying different things is certainly one of the themes today. But what else would you like to share as we wind things down?

SPEAKER_00 41:38

I think the one I think it that is probably the most important, especially for superintendents, is you know, you have to have a very strong network. So I have to tell you, the phone calls that Matt, Jared, and I have on a weekly basis, and sometimes it's only half an hour, sometimes it'll go to an hour, and then there's lots of conversations in between that it becomes a place where you maybe not, you know, you problem solve, but you it's allows you to think beyond, like think big, right? We should be thinking big, I think at all times. If you don't think big, then how do you get your district to that next place? And you have to, you we're the ones who do that really, with some great people around us. But I would that's the biggest advice I would give. Find a group of colleagues that you can really grow with, and that that you can help each other grow to that next level. I think that is so, so important. That's been a blessing for for me for sure. And I'm sure they would say the same thing, Matt and Jenny.

unknown 42:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:42

And I love that. And that concept applies, I think, to all levels of leadership too, right? The superintendency for sure. Assistant soup should have a little cohort, a little group that they love, principals and teachers. So, yeah, that's really, really great advice. It's just a pleasure to talk to you.

SPEAKER_00 43:00

Can I add one more quick thing? One other quick thing, because we the other thing that I would say, which we do all the time, is you look for, you know, how do you do even better for your district? And sometimes you go outside of the field of education.

SPEAKER_03 43:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 43:18

That is so important. Read, you know, you have to read different from the business world. You have to read, so you have to be open that you're not just focused on education, but broader. And I think that's what we bring to the table when we are we're like, hey, did you try this? Hey, did you see this? We read this in the, you know, in the Wall Street Journal. Did you read that? I think it helps us to think differently. So when you get outside of not just educate, education is so important. That's our that's our field, but outside it adds value to our conversations for sure.

SPEAKER_01 43:55

And it structures our thinking in what post-high school might look like for kids as we open up our own level of understanding by reading different pieces of literature, whether whether it's the Wall Street Journal or other books from the business world, it certainly helps us to lead in that capacity. So, Kusum, thank you so much for being with us today and congratulations on your eight years at Garden City and everything that you're doing to support your students in Long Island. I'd love to come out and visit someday and just kind of get a tour. It'd be awesome. So, for our friends who love achieving Joy and Mastery in Public Schools, don't forget you can find us on your favorite podcast platform. That's Apple Spotify, Odyssey, iHeartRadio, and so many others. So we thank you for tuning in and we look forward to the next episode of Achieving Joy and Mastery in Public Schools. Thank you very much. Thank you for joining us today as we explore the concept of achieving joy and mastery in public schools. We will be interviewing school districts in Erie and Niagara counties on a regular basis as we look to shine a spotlight on all of the amazing programs and practices essential for achieving joy and mastery with our students, faculty, staff, and community. This podcast is sponsored by the Erie Niagara School Superintendents Association, and we hope you consider subscribing.