When Sean O’Shea surveyed his staff, only 7 out of 25 teachers had used AI.So he didn’t run a training. He rebuilt the culture.

In this episode, we break down what actually worked—how one principal moved teachers from hesitation to experimentation, and why AI only matters if it improves thinking, not replaces it.

This is real school, real constraints, real moves.

In This Episode:

- The permission problem holding teachers back (and how to fix it fast)

- Why most AI PD fails—and what to do instead

- Using AI as a thought partner, not a shortcut

- A simple staff meeting shift that changed adoption

- How Sean used AI to analyze evaluations and uncover real school-wide gaps

- The balance: faster feedback vs. losing human connection

- A practical “Driver’s Ed” model for teaching AI to students

3 Moves You Can Try Tomorrow:

1. Give teachers one safe AI task (quiz or sub plans)—no pressure, just try

2. Use AI to generate reflection questions, not answers

3. Share one real example of AI saving time—make it visible

Key Insight: AI isn’t the change. Teaching people how to think is.

Guest: Sean O’Shea Middle School Principal | Massachusetts

What if the best professional development in your school isn’t a program… but the teacher down the hall?

In this episode, I sit down with digital learning coach Stevie Frank to break down what real growth looks like for educators right now—from conferences and coaching cycles to AI, edtech, and the uncomfortable truth about learning something new.

We cut through the noise on AI hype, challenge the idea of one-size-fits-all PD, and share practical ways teachers can grow—even without leaving their classroom.

This is a grounded conversation about learning, leadership, and why the best educators are still willing to feel uncomfortable.

🧠 What You’ll Learn

• Why the best PD is often the teacher next door
• How to get started presenting at conferences (without overthinking it)
• The real gap between AI conversations online vs. classrooms today
• Why hands-on learning still matters in a tech-heavy world
• How coaching, co-teaching, and relationships drive real change
• A simple mindset shift: you don’t have to fully know it to try it

💡 Quotes Worth Pulling

• “The best professional development is the teacher down the hall.”
• “It’s okay to live in the gray area—you don’t have to know everything to try it.”
• “Sometimes the best tech decision is putting the tech away.”
• “If you’re not paying for the tool—you are the product.”

🔗 Connect with Stevie Frank

• Twitter/X: @StevieFrank23
• LinkedIn: Stevie Frank
• Website: steviefrank.com

⚡ Dan’s Takeaway

Stop waiting for better PD.

The growth you’re looking for is already in your building.

Share this episode with a colleague—and try one new thing this week.

What if the best school you've never heard of is sitting inside a former Sears building in Memphis?

In this episode of The TechEd Clubhouse, I talk with Scott Holcomb — Ed Tech Imagineer at Crosstown High, Space Camp Hall of Famer, and yes, an actual character in the 1985 Space Camp movie — about what happens when a group of teachers finally get to build the school they always wanted.

Crosstown High isn't a school that adopted a new program. It's a school that started from scratch — no bells, no traditional silos, no "we've always done it this way." Built inside a 1.5 million square foot vertical village alongside a YMCA, a hospital, restaurants, and a grocery store, it was designed around one question: what if we actually listened to students and teachers?

Scott's journey to get there — from school counselor to instructional technologist covering an entire Memphis school district to Space Camp Hall of Famer — is as unconventional as the school itself.

IN THIS EPISODE

• Why the same trick that got a resistant teacher interested in technology in 1998 still works with AI today
• What Crosstown High actually looks like day to day — and what makes it different beneath the surface
• The AI conversation schools keep getting wrong, and what student surveys revealed about how kids are actually using it
• Why banning AI is the calculator mistake all over again
• Are we at the start of an educational renaissance? Scott and Dan make the case
• Space Camp: what it is, who it's for, and why it's changed more lives than just astronauts

CROSSTOWN HIGH BY DESIGN

• Project-based — real problems, real community connections, real work
• Intentionally diverse — lottery system built around zip codes, not applications
• Relationship-driven — teachers know their students, leadership knows their teachers
• Always iterating — surveys, sabbaticals, and the belief that the school will never be "finished"

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Crosstown High — crosstownhigh.orgUS Space and Rocket Center / Space Camp — rocketcenter.comMagic School AI — magicschool.aiNotebook LM — notebooklm.google.comXQ Institute — xqsuperschool.org

CONNECT WITH SCOTT

Instagram: @hideotakaminiLinkedIn: Scott Holcomb

CONNECT WITH DAN

Website: coachthomastech.comTwitter/X: @coachthomastech

The TechEd Clubhouse Podcast explores STEM education, project-based learning, creativity, and practical ideas teachers can use tomorrow.

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