NewTech High--It is Personal!

  NewTech High Podcast Series Quantum Bridge Solutions - July 29, 2026 Guests: Jake Trippel and Ric Dressen, Quantum Bridge Solutions What a powerhouse podcast!  Ric Dressen and Jake Trippel of Quantum Bridge Solutions (QBS) were our MVP's of the day with tremendous insight and foresight that we should all pay attention to.  Quantum Bridge Podcast, July 29, 2026 It may be just me, but the thoughts around AI and Quantum make my head spin. I think those types of ideas have always been challenging. As a kid, there were two authors that made me do that. One of those was mentioned today: Megatrends by John Naisbitt.  I remember reading the first book my senior year in high school. It shaped the way I thought about everything, including my role in education. The second influence were books that took these ideas of infinity and vastness, including these ideas like AI and Quantum, were by Carl Sagan ("billions and billions"). Three books I read of Sagan included Dragons...

NewTech High Podcast July 22, 2026 Good morning! Yesterday, I hosted a podcast in dedication of the work of Art Costa (Habits of Mind) along with Dr. Bill Sommers, from Learning Omnivores , and Dr. Steven Rippe, from EdVisions .  CostaCast  with Drs. Sommers & Rippe Of course, any of us that have been reading about how we improve our schools through our students are familiar with the work of Art Costa. His work is portrayed virtually all over the place in schools around the world. Habits of Mind is one of his collaborations that had major traction. I have to add that his Cognitive Coaching collaboration with Robert Garmston is a second major contribution to the world. The best I can tell is that they have been working on this concept for over 40 years. Garmston and Costa were colleagues at Cal-Sacramento and both with heavy influences on education.  Bill was a close friend and colleague of Art Costa. He had some very unique experiences over the years with him, so wan...

NewTech High Podcast NewTech High Podcast Dr. David Gundale, Principal, Open World Learning School (OWL) July 15, 2026 Good afternoon, New Techies:  Today, we welcomed Dr. David  Gundale , Principal at Open World Learning (OWL) High School in St. Paul for the NewTech High podcast. Dave has been an educator in the St. Paul Public Schools for 28 years. He previously taught career and technical education at Washington jr. High and Johnson High School.  At Johnson High School, he ran a small learning community fund by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that focused on Architecture, Construction, and Engineering.  At the same time, he collaborated with the Science Museum of Minnesota on a National Science Foundation grant called the IDEA Lab (Invention, Design, Engineering, and Art) that focused on pathways for female students and  students  of color into post-secondary engineering programs.   In 2008, he received  a Bush Leadership Fellowship ...

NewTech High Podcast Wednesday, July 9, 2026 We had the privilege of speaking with Shane Krukowski, COO and Co-Founder of Headrush Learning. Headrush is a powerful personalized learning platform that schools across the country are using.  Shane begins by telling us how he got into his platform. He was a Computer Information & Management diploma winner in Wisconsin in the late 90's. During this time, he got into a non-profit, Homeboys International, which had a basis in experiential, expeditionary learning, we well as trades-based authentic work that would help students build skills.  After a period of sustained success, as the program grew, it became difficult to manage. This work led them into Project Foundry, which put them into the charter schools network across the Midwest including New Country School in Henderson.  Headrush Podcast Video w/Shane When we talk about personalized learning, we have examples of many people who have continued to work with this closely ...

NewTech High Podcast July 1, 2026 Dr. Mario Acosta Podcast:   (click here to view) This morning, we hosted Dr. Mario Acosta, from Solution Tree on our podcast ranging from topics such as  Professional Learning Communities, School Culture and High-Reliability Schools using the Robert Marzano framework.  Mario Acosta, EdD, is an award-winning educator, accomplished author, and highly regarded speaker and consultant. He spent 20 years of his educational career as a teacher, instructional coach, assistant principal, academic director, and principal leading schools with diverse profiles in the state of Texas. He was named the 2022 Principal of the Year in the State of Texas while he was the principal at Westwood High School, a U.S. News & World Report top-50 campus and member of the High Reliability Schools (HRS) Network. Dr. Acosta has had success in leading schools of all sizes, with students and teachers from a variety of backgrounds, communities, and socio-economi...