Episode 90: The Future of Digital Literacy

With Yvette Renteria of Common Sense Media

Available May 5, 2026

So much of our focus as educators has begun to turn towards the digital space. How we can leverage technology and innovation to improve educational outcomes, but also how to keep students safe and thriving in a fast-paced digital world, are overwhelming and sometimes seemingly contradictory concerns. As the pace picks up, it’s hard to keep up with the latest information and cutting-edge research to help us make informed decisions. Morva McDonald speaks with Yvette Renteria of Common Sense Media about how her team is helping educators and parents stay on top of everything they need to know.

Guest: Yvette Renteria

Resources, Transcript, and Expanded Show Notes

In This Episode:

• “Something that I grapple with as somebody who's been an educator, like none of the adults, at least now– it will soon shift– have experienced this educational world that our kids do. Like the idea of getting to school, getting on the computer, getting online, doing some work and then, you know, pen to paper as well. And just kind of the mix of that day. And so, I mean, shout out to educators who are navigating this new space of how to teach.” (8:25)
• “One is like, this is our world. So we often say their digital life, or their digital world. And we often hear students and kids in this conversation be like, no, this is our life. Like we don't see a separation between digital life and real life. The second thing we often hear is, things are being done to us…when quite frankly, they might know more than what those policymakers or those decision makers are doing to them. So there's like a little bit of a frustration or like, leave me alone.” (14:22)
• “I sit in these focus groups and I listen to students, like I said, I'm so optimistic. They know, I think about this, I'm like, as a seventh grader myself, even my former seventh graders, the way they articulate this world is beautiful, to be honest with you. I just, I really do believe that our students, our kids will be okay. They're gonna, because they are...forming their thoughts and their opinions, and they are utilizing strategies, and they are trying things. And I do, they're even highlighting the risks and the concerns with their own mental wellness. They're downloading the apps that keep them offline. They're doing the things. And so that makes me hopeful.” (31:31)

Related Episodes

• Episode 81; 71; 70; 47; 31

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 89: Lessons from Retiring Heads

With Joan Hill and Russell Shaw

Available April 28, 2026

School leadership has always been a dynamic, evolving role, but never more so than in the past several years. As everything about education and the surrounding landscape changes rapidly, the role of a head of school requires more flexibility, tolerance for ambiguity, and innovation than ever before. On this episode of New View EDU, host Debra Wilson invites retiring heads of school Russell Shaw, of Georgetown Day School, and Joan Hill, of the Lamplighter School, to share their learnings and lessons for future heads.

Guests: Joan Hill and Russell Shaw

Resources, Transcript, and Expanded Show Notes

In This Episode:

• “I think that at our best, our schools can be counter-cultural and can sort of cut against the tide. And we have a world that is turning away from community, right? Our attention is being atomized. People are joining less things. Our schools do community really well. They give kids a model of what does it look like to collaborate, to engage with people who see the world a little bit differently than you do.” (9:53)
• “I’ve found young faculty members bring an esprit d’corps, a let's do this. It's so fun to witness because sometimes the senior faculty are a little jaded. They're a little, you know, sick around the gills, if you will, but the young faculty know that they've overcome big things in their generation, maybe more so than in any other generation at such a compressed time. Global pandemic, that was a big thing. These deep economic difficulties and huge societal changes. And they persist. They continue to get up every day. They see the joy and the hope in their students, and they want to be part of it. They want to lead it.” (26:04)
• “I watch some of the young aspiring heads want it so badly. They'll say and do anything, but man, you got to live that. And until you're able to really put one leg in the pant leg and the other and be willing to live it, and find that hill that you can all together rally around, then you become an imposter, you see? And when you're an imposter, you've got a short shelf life, because people don't want Memorex. They want the real thing.” (32:44)
• “But if you don't love the school with everything in you, if you don't feel deeply called to the mission of the school, the job is just too hard. You've got to believe in the place…These jobs, it's really hard. And you have to show up every day with this. I am doing important purposeful work. And I am going to persevere through the lawsuits and through the enrollment shifts and through the really knotty discipline issue, because I am, on behalf of this institution and mission, trying to serve some greater purpose.” (34:11)

Related Episodes: 87; 83; 81; 77; 67

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Episode 88: Navigating Disruption through Collaboration

With Chad Tew

Available April 21, 2026

It’s no secret that independent schools face ongoing challenges, from enrollment to governance to changing norms and social pressures. The schools that continue to thrive are generally the ones that adapt and innovate without losing their sense of tradition and identity. But that’s certainly easier said than done, especially when solutions like mergers enter the picture. Chad Tew, “Chief Disruption Navigator” for LearnCollab, joins host Morva McDonald to talk about his views on the market and landscape for independent schools, why he thinks of merging as more of a unification process, and how different levels of collaboration can shore up school communities in disruptive times.

Guest: Chad Tew

Resources, Transcript, and Expanded Show Notes

In This Episode:

• “One thing that is a challenge for schools, I think, is their governance model, and boards that are focused on kind of like, stability. And we're here to just kind of hold the mission for the future, which is true. And at the same time, sometimes that means that you're so focused on stability that you don't see the flip side of homeostasis, which is kind of apostasis. It's that idea that kind of like programmed, regulated cell death is what the real definition is, where any multicellular organism eliminates either damaged or unwanted or aged cells so that you can maintain a healthy balance. That's a challenge for independent schools.” (5:30)
• “I think every school should be thinking about a merger or some kind of collaboration. And sometimes some of the most exciting school collaborations come out of a strong school looking at opportunities where they can expand, by kind of helping out or absorbing or merging with another school. The word merger is something that can be scary to people. I like unification better, unifying two schools, unifying two faculties, two student bodies, two cultures, and how do you unify? So you think about it as like, you know, when two families come together, you know, as a result of a marriage, kind of. You want to try and set it up for success by thinking about unification instead of an up-down thing.” (20:28)

Related Episodes: 86; 74; 57; 38

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