Jeff sits down with Shira Leibowitz, Brett Clark, Jarret Sharp and Ron McAllister to talk about Educational Leadership and how we can set the best example for others.

Topics Covered:

• How to set up a 1:1 school
• Distributing 1:1 machines from elementary through high school
• Using Technology as an Administrator for teacher feedback
• Teaching Character Education in our schools
• Teaching “Digital Citizenship”
• Creating eTeachers
• Using Professional Development time to help teachers become better learners
• Teachers and Administrators being accessible role models for the students/community
• How has Social Media changed your teaching/research/knowledge tree?
• The Flipped Classroom
• Involving your school and teachers in “edtech” conversations
• Getting your school started using social media

Websites and Apps Discussed:

About our Guests:

Rabbi Shira Leibowitz, Ph.D. is Lower School Principal at Schechter Westchester in White Plains, New York. Rabbi Leibowitz attended Cornell University, graduating with a B.A. in American Studies Magna Cum Laude and with Distinction in all subjects.  Rabbi Leibowitz was ordained as a rabbi from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and completed a Master of Philosophy and a Ph.D. in Education at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

Rabbi Leibowitz held a number of positions in education prior to arriving at Schechter Westchester.  She served as Education Director at Camp Ramah in New England and then as Assistant Director of the National Ramah camping movement featuring both day and sleep away camps throughout the United States as well as in Canada and Israel.  She served as Judaic Studies Department Chair and taught both Bible and Rabbinic Literature at the Solomon Schechter High School in Manhattan during the school’s first two years in existence.  Rabbi Leibowitz then served as Associate Principal at The Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union (now the Golda Och Academy). She was promoted to Lower School Principal at The Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union, the position she held immediately prior to becoming Lower School Principal at Schechter Westchester, where she has served since August, 2000.

Rabbi Leibowitz lives in White Plains with her husband, Rabbi Alfredo Borodowski, and their two children.  Rabbi Leibowitz trains in martial arts and has a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. She is a co-moderator on twitter of #educoach, a weekly conversation between prinicipals, educational coaches, and other school leaders about ways of supporting teachers to improve classroom instruction. Rabbi Leibowitz is currently writing on a book about character and values education. She speaks and writes about a wide range of topics in education.

You can follow Shira Leibowitz on twitter at www.twitter.com/shiraleibowitz and on her blog at http://schechterwestchesterlowerschool.wordpress.com/

Ron McAllister is a continual learner with 21 years of learning as a K-8 Classroom Teacher, Reading Specialist, Instructional Technology Specialist, and Administrator.  He is currently in his fifth year as Principal of Vickery Creek Elementary School in Forsyth County Schools in Metro Atlanta and is pursuing his Doctorate in Leadership.  You can follow Ron on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/rondmac and his blog at http://rdmcallister.blogspot.com/.

Mr. McAllister has a passion for working with all students and enjoys Science and Technology.  He is passionate about working with teacher leaders and mentoring those entering School Administration.  He is married to Michelle and enjoys photography, music, and boating.

Jarret M. Sharp received his Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology from Brigham Young University, a Masters in Curriculum and a Masters in Special Education from Chapman University.  He is currently working on a Doctorate in Advanced Educational Leadership from Argosy University.  Jarret presently serves as the Principal of Crockett Elementary in Phoenix, Arizona.  Crockett is a K-6 Title I school where 1 in 5 students is homeless & 1 in 7 is a refugee.  Presently there are over 14 nationalities represented at Crockett and over 15 languages spoken on their campus.  Crockett is a 1:1 computing school in grades 4, 5, & 6.  Crockett just recently received a large donation from Auto Enginuity’s Mr. Jay Horak – a Crockett alum, in support of literacy and technology.

An educator of over 20 years, Jarret has coached, taught special education and served as an administrator to homeless, at-risk, refugee and under-privileged youth.  He is ardent student of project-based learning, specifically interested in Expeditionary Learning.  Mr. Sharp’s focus and expertise lie in serving at-risk populations, school culture/branding & marketing and corporate – philanthropic – education relationships.

He is married to Jamie, and together they have 5 brilliant children – Rachael, Korben, Kieffer, Eli & Elizabeth.  They make their home in Glendale, Arizona.

@PrincipalSharp
Blog: principlesofprincipals.blogspot.com

Brett Clark is the new elearning coordinator at Lodge Community School. Before that, I taught 9 years of Mathematics. My first three years, I taught 7th grade math at Sunnyside Middle School, in Lafayette, IN. Then I taught pre-algebra, algebra, and business math for three years at Evansville North High School. Finally, I ran the math remediation program at Washington Middle School for three years. I have a Bachelor of Science in Math Education from Oakland City University. I am currently working on my Master of Science Education with a specialization in professional development from Walden University. My particular interest include assessment literacy, standards-based teaching and grading, technology integration and professional development. I am avid user of social media for the purpose of collaboration and professional development. You can find me at www.twitter.com/Mr_Brett_Clark.

I have been married for eleven years and have three boys, Micah (8), Nathan (6), and Levi (2). Micah and Nathan attend Fairlawn elementary school. I am the youth pastor at Abundant Faith. I enjoy playing the bass guitar, and recently started blogging. You can find my blog atwww.educationdreamer.blogspot.com

I bring to the Learning Leadership Cadre my love for learning, my passion and enthusiasm for all things education, my desire for strong collaboration, and, my willingness to change in order to improve my work as an educator.