Education Influencers

This show features individuals who are influencing education through thought leadership and hard work. They are making strides toward improving educational experiences and outcomes for all students and all teachers.

Education Influencers is a education podcast hosted by Dr. Carla Sparks, with 21 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Dr. Carla Sparks hosts Education Influencers, a education show with 21 episodes published.

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  Episode #20

  Dr. Rachel Maldonado on Dropout Recovery and Charter School Transformation

  Aug 13, 202653 minS1

  Today Dr. Carla Sparks interviews Dr. Rachel Maldonado, CEO of Irvington Community Schools and an EdD graduate of National Louis University (Dec. 2025). Dr. Maldonado shares her experience leading school transformation across Florida and Indiana in Title I urban settings, including building Duval Micro School into a nationally recognized dropout recovery model with a 96.2% graduation rate. She explains how funding structures, charter autonomy, and state legislation can create barriers for marginalized students, and describes navigating policy to move students to graduation. Dr. Maldonado highlights NLU’s mentoring and the disciplined focus needed to complete a doctorate while leading a dropout prevention school. She emphasizes relationship-building, listening to understand, transparent communication, cross-training staff, managing resistance, and ethical innovation (including AI/CTE) as keys to sustainable improvement amid staffing shortages and increasing political pressure. Episode Highlights: 00:00 Podcast Welcome 00:41 Meet Dr Rachel Maldonado 03:52 Influencing School Transformation 07:31 Doctoral Journey at NLU 09:15 Finishing the Dissertation 14:28 Impactful Change and Dropout Prevention 16:46 Humble Beginnings and Equity Lens 21:28 New CEO Role in Indiana 25:43 Relationships and Listening to Lead 30:06 Valuing Staff Without Big Pay 30:39 Transparent Leadership Communication 31:56 College Access and Scholarships 32:54 Risk Taking for School Turnarounds 34:17 AI CTE and Legislative Barriers 37:14 Hybrid Learning and Future Proofing 39:35 Speaking Up and Charter Warnings 41:22 Lessons Learned and Letting Go 42:35 Tips for Education Change Makers 46:01 Managing Resistance Inside Out 48:06 Irvington Challenges and Momentum 51:54 Gratitude and Closing Reflections #EducationLeadership #SchoolTransformation #CharterSchools #PublicEducation #DropoutPrevention #DropoutRecovery #TitleOneSchools #UrbanEducation #EquityInEducation #Inclusion #StudentSuccess #GraduationRate #EducationalPolicy #SchoolFunding #TeacherRetention #InstructionalLeadership #ExecutiveLeadership #CEOInEducation #NationalLouisUniversity #EdD #Dissertation #CommunitySchools #AIinEducation #CTE

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  Episode #18

  Dr. Dan Evans on Remarkable Learning, Academic Confidence, and High-Impact Instructional Levers

  Jul 15, 202623 minS1

  Today on Education Influencers, Dr. Carla Sparks interviews Dr. Dan Evans, author, trainer, and former Principal of the Year and Chief Academic Officer in Pinellas County, Florida, known for leading instructional change that produced the district’s highest achievement scores in reading, math, and science. Dr. Evans discusses his upcoming book, Remarkable Learning: A Guide for Building Creative and Confident Kids (releasing in September), which focuses on evidence-based “levers” that build academic confidence and self-efficacy so struggling students reach grade-level proficiency. He highlights academic discussion and strong questioning as high-yield strategies and explains “force multipliers” as the most impactful instructional moves. Evans describes narrowing focus, tightly designing curriculum, and pairing explicit instruction with applied, experiential learning (including STEM) as keys to rapid improvement. The book is available for preorder via Bloomsbury, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. Episode Highlights: 00:00 Welcome to the Podcast 00:40 Meet Dr Dan Evans 02:05 How Dan Influences Schools 03:11 New Book Sneak Peek 04:42 Building Academic Confidence 07:37 High Impact Discussion Strategy 09:22 Force Multipliers Explained 11:33 Preorder and Where to Buy 12:32 District Leadership Wins 14:13 Applied Learning and STEM 15:46 Principalship and Turnaround Work 18:09 Find Dan Online 18:50 Advice for Change Makers 22:20 Closing Thanks and Wrap Up #EducationInfluencers #DrDanEvans #DrCarlaSparks #EducationPodcast #InstructionalLeadership #EducationalReform #TeacherProfessionalDevelopment #AcademicConfidence #StudentSelfEfficacy #StrugglingLearners #GradeLevelProficiency #HighImpactTeaching #EvidenceBasedInstruction #ClassroomStrategies #AcademicDiscussion #EffectiveQuestioning #CurriculumDesign #LessonPlanning #SchoolTurnaround #PrincipalLeadership #ChiefAcademicOfficer #AppliedLearning #ExperientialLearning #STEMEducation #RemarkableLearning

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  Episode #17

  Service Learning in K–12: Dr. Kristy Verdi on IPARD, Teacher Preparation, and Community Impact

  Jun 25, 202636 minS1

  Today on Education Influencers, Dr. Carla Sparks interviews Dr. Kristy Verdi about K–12 service learning and how it differs from collegiate service learning. Dr. Verdi, a former high school social studies teacher who discovered service learning in 1999, founded Learn and Serve Tampa Inc. in 2020 to train and support teachers; the organization has supported projects in over 35 Tampa Bay schools, including park cleanups, donations for people and pets, facility enhancements, environmental protection, and community honor events. She explains the IPARD framework (investigation, planning/preparation, action, reflection, demonstration/celebration) and quality standards such as reciprocity, and discusses how service learning aligns with project-based learning through reflection, action, and sharing results with decision-makers. Verdi advocates embedding service learning into teacher preparation through instructional methods courses, developing a module, and leveraging organizations like the National Youth Leadership Council and related conferences and journals. Episode Highlights: 00:00 Welcome to the Podcast 00:30 Meet Dr Kristy Verdi 03:07 Service Learning Defined 05:03 IPARD Framework Explained 06:38 Training Pre Service Teachers 08:33 Methods Course Integration 10:12 Building a Teacher Module 13:14 Publishing and Measuring Impact 16:08 Service Learning vs PBL 18:57 Beach Cleanup Done Right 23:32 Supporting Teachers in Schools 26:53 Favorite Project Patriot Day 30:25 Finding Videos and Resources 33:04 Models and Funding for Training 35:16 Closing Thanks and Wrap Up

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  Episode #16

  Talent Acquisition, Teacher Mentoring, and Civics Curriculum Innovation with Dr. Bianka Newkirk

  Jun 10, 202624 minS1

  Today Dr. Carla Sparks interviews Dr. Bianka Newkirk , an educational leader and senior administrator in talent acquisition and HR programs for Orange County Public Schools, one of the nation’s largest districts. Dr. Newkirk explains how earning her doctorate at National Louis University and her dissertation on induction for second-career educators led her into instructional recruiting, educator development, and retention work, noting that over 50% of new hires are second-career teachers. She discusses why Florida’s certification changes and job security attract career changers, and highlights state-level contributions with the Florida Department of Education, including revising civics curriculum and updating Florida Educational Leadership Standards (FELS) with professional learning. Dr. Newkirk details a districtwide mentoring program redesign focused on structured mentor-mentee agreements, administrator alignment, and reducing early-career teacher turnover. Episode Highlights: 00:00 Welcome to the Podcast 00:36 Meet Dr Bianka Newkirk 02:19 Doctorate to Career Shift 04:01 Second Career Educators Explained 05:24 State Level Influence 07:24 FELS Standards Impact 09:02 Revamping Teacher Mentoring 13:57 Talent Acquisition Pathways 17:11 Curriculum Writing at Scale 19:33 Advice for Change Makers 21:20 First Day Teaching Reflections 23:50 Closing Thanks and Wrap Up

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  Episode #15

  Teacher Development, and Sustainable School Leadership with Dr. Aleli Vazquez

  May 22, 202634 minS1

  <p>Today Dr. Carla Sparks interviews Dr. Aleli Vazquez, an educational leader and National Louis University alumni Hall of Fame inductee, about leading with purpose through school culture, instruction, and advocacy. Dr. Vazquez shares how earning her doctorate in 2020 supported her leadership during COVID, her work as a founding principal in Florida, and her current role as Dean of Faculty at the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta. </p><p>She explains RCA’s high-energy, high-expectation model for grades 4–8 and its conferences that allow educators to observe live classrooms, learn RCA strategies, and implement systems like the house system. Dr. Vazquez detai...

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