Technology Essentials in Education Episode 19:
Nurturing the Whole Child in a Tech-Heavy World

Hello there, my name is Monica Burns and welcome to Technology Essentials and Education.

Today I'm talking with Dr. Chaunté Garrett, a former superintendent, chief academic officer, and the founder of Empowering Learners and Leaders to Excel.

We're tackling a big question, a critical question in education, which is how do we support the whole child in an increasingly tech-heavy world.

Dr. Garrett shares lots of strategies for addressing academic, social, and physical safety through very intentional systems.

Today's episode is a fantastic one for anyone who's trying to find a balance between the use of digital tools, thinking about ed tech in the classroom, as well as supporting the whole child.

Let's get into the conversation. This episode is brought to you by Jotform, which provides an all-in-one solution to streamline administrative tasks, enhance community engagement, and foster innovation.

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Welcome to the podcast. I am so excited to have you on today to talk about supporting the whole child in a tech-heavy world, especially in today's digital classrooms.

Before we get into all of that, can you share a bit with listeners about your role in education and what your day-to-day looks like?

Great. Thank you. It's an honor to be with you again, Dr. Burns, Monica. My name is Dr. Chaunté Garrett and I serve as the chief executive officer and founder of Empowering Learners and Leaders to Excel.

We empower school and district leaders to overcome harmful systems and build effective systems that support the whole child through data-driven strategies that use whole child data.

This means taking a holistic view of data and supporting instructional excellence throughout the whole school to improve outcomes throughout the educational ecosystem.

As you work with schools and districts, supporting a wide range of learners and collecting data that helps drive decisions, one of the key conversations is how to nurture the whole child.

When you hear the phrase nurturing the whole child, what does that mean to you in today's classroom? What do you want others to hear when they hear that?

We frame it through Empowering Learners and Leaders to Excel, developed in partnership with ISPE ASED, based on the Healthy, Safe, Engaged, Challenged, and Supported framework.

Our model supports academic safety, social safety, and physical safety. Academic safety means an academically rich environment with high-quality instruction.

When students are in an academic safety environment, they receive instruction that supports their needs.

Social safety means their social well-being is taken care of through mechanisms like social-emotional learning curriculum and community circles.

For example, when I was leading a campus, we had curriculums and community circles throughout the day, restorative practices facilitated by community organizations, and both online and in-person mental health services to ensure social safety.

Physical safety involves systems and processes around discipline, building facilities, and norms that make sure kids feel safe.

When we talk about the whole child, we're looking at the entire experience for students and building systems around that so the entire ecosystem meets their needs and provides a great educational experience.

Thinking about the past few years and the different technology tools more accessible to educators, including AI, how has the meaning of whole child shifted as classrooms have become more tech-heavy?

As classrooms become more tech-heavy, we want to be careful and thoughtful, not using technology for technology's sake but using the correct tool in the correct way for the correct outcome.

There are many opportunities for mental health support, social-emotional learning, and academic support available through technology, including interventions and whole courses.

I have leveraged a bit of it all personally, and I also present on equity and AI, focusing on equitable access to AI in schools and districts.

These shifts and new technology haven't moved aside other pieces of the conversation but have changed the direction of some aspects, like mental health support.

Some educators worry that more technology means less human connection, while others see it as a way to scale impact in different ways.

What is your response to that concern? Are you hearing or feeling that? What do you share when someone brings that up?

I think it's not going to move anyone aside who isn't willing to grow with it. The best technology is the technology we tell what to do.

If AI is as effective as the prompt, then any iteration will give us something great if we tell it how great to be.

I remember when I took over my classroom and got curriculum discs that let you make your own quiz, which was only as good as the questions I selected.

It's the same with every technology; the support you choose is only as good as the research you do, so we must do our due diligence to meet the need.

It's about choosing the right tool for the right purpose to get the outcome we need, which may sound vague but becomes clear when doing targeted research.

That's why I emphasize data at the beginning of every project and post, whether about assessment or conflict resolution, because using data to make decisions, including selecting tech tools, leads us down the right path.

This helps find the correct opportunity for our kids and teachers.

That level of intention is really what we're getting at, especially with data gathering and using that information intentionally.

The work you do is important for helping people say, 'I see this and now we're taking this action' or 'I've heard this from staff and now we're acting on it.'

When sharing technology with groups, such as around formative assessment, one question is the value add or benefit of choosing this technology.

Sometimes that connects to giving kids more options and ways to share their learning.

From your experience, what are some ways technology helps students feel seen and heard, especially those who might not always speak up in class?

That's a great point. One thing educators are still figuring out is how to choose student voice.

In conversations about technology and AI, when used well, students can find their voice efficiently within the context of what teachers build more efficiently without losing their expertise or autonomy.

Teachers leverage their experience and expertise and remain in the driver's seat with technology, including all the pieces.

Teachers expect to lose something because technology is there, but they don't, and as leaders, the rollout is imperative.

How we build technology integration is imperative, and we are continuing to build planes while flying them.

When we reach a point where we can take a deep breath and learn from one-to-one rollouts, we can build something great rather than rushing.

Take the time to build it with teachers so they have a model for building it with kids, which will look and feel different from past rushed technology initiatives.

Past rollouts have been rushed due to racing against circumstance, leaving little time for agency on everyone's part, but we must have agency because technology is here to stay.

As you described, this is important for listeners trying to find balance using these tools, as it can feel awkward figuring out how to scale impact and reach more students or colleagues.

You have agency to decide how to use these tools effectively.

Looking ahead, what trends do you think will influence how we support the whole child in the next two, three, or ten years?

The rapid evolution of AI definitely stays on the radar, as we've seen exponential growth in just the last three years.

It's hard to describe; flourish is not adequate to describe it.

Every week there's a new trend, and while folks enjoy playing with it, it can be intimidating to see kids do things you can't fathom.

How do I plan for this kind of thing? It's difficult to wrap your head around growing with AI rather than just keeping up with it.

We've always figured it out and taught, even lesson planning that way, but growing with it is a great mindset for those feeling overwhelmed or unsure.

As we wrap up, I love that message because it frames the fast-paced technology conversation alongside the important whole child work you've dedicated so much time to supporting schools and districts.

Where can listeners connect with you or learn more about your work?

You can find me on my website drncgarrett.com, on Instagram and LinkedIn as Dr. NC Garrett (two R's, two T's), and on Facebook as Dr. Shante Garrett.

Feel free to email me at Dr.N.C.Garrett@ledservices.com. I am very responsive and look forward to connecting with you all.

Thank you so much, Dr. Garrett, for your time, strategies, and great examples for anyone curious about supporting the whole child even in a tech-heavy environment.

It was lots of fun chatting with Dr. Chaunté Garrett today, and I want to finish the episode with a few key points to make ed tech easier.

The whole child framework must address academic, social, and physical safety through intentional systems.

Technology can enhance whole child supports when educators choose tools purposefully rather than using tech for its own sake.

Student voice is a key part of whole child work, and technology can help elevate student voices, especially those who might not speak up in class.

The rapid pace of AI development may feel overwhelming, but educators can benefit from a mindset shift towards growing with technology rather than just keeping up.

Remember, you can find the show notes and full list of resources from this episode wherever you are tuning in.

Don't forget to connect with Jotform and stay connected with Dr. Chaunté Garrett, our guest for today's episode.

A big thank you to Jotform, the presenter of today's episode.

To learn more about Jotform and how educational institutions can get a 30% discount on Jotform Enterprise, head to jotform.com/enterprise/education.