Better Tools, Not More: What Educators Say About Teaching and Technology

Francie Alexander is an industry leader in the fields of early childhood education, literacy, and intensive intervention for striving reading and math students.

Francie currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Text Project. She served for almost 10 years on the PBS Next Generation Media Advisory Board. She was previously Chief Academic Officer for Scholastic. She has been a frequent guest on NBC’s TODAY Show, has written columns for The New York Post, and was “The Book Nanny” for Los Angeles Family Magazine. Additionally, Francie has authored more than 50 books for children, including the STEM Curious George Readers. She currently provides monthly Book Talks in HMH’s Teachers Corner.

Francie is a former member of the National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees the National Assessment of Educational Progress, widely known as “The Nation’s Report Card.” Prior to her time at HMH, Francie held key positions in both state and federal education agencies.

Melissa Aviles Ramos began her career as an English teacher and later served as a principal, deputy superintendent and acting superintendent for Bronx, NY, high schools, before holding various senior leadership roles across the system and ultimately serving as Chancellor of New York City Public Schools. Throughout her career, Melissa has remained focused on strengthening instructional quality, supporting educators, and improving outcomes for students.

Dr. Daniel Marien serves as the Superintendent of the Chilton School District, where he oversees the day-to-day operations for a school district of just over 1,000 students and just under 200 staff members.

His mission is to use the resources the school district has, both human and financial, to put together the best team of professionals that will then offer the best possible learning experiences for each and every one of their students. Dan has been in a building leadership role for the past 12 years, where he has led a school through a significant bell schedule change, implemented virtual learning days, removed cell phones from students’ possession during the school day and addressed student and staff use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). These items and more were addressed while the school’s state report card scores climbed and while that school watched their U.S. News and World Report ranking ascend into the top 30 of the high schools in the state of Wisconsin.

Instructional Coach K-12, WI

Teacher Ambassador, Teacher AI Innovator

Instructional Focus Areas:

• Vocabulary
• Writing
• Small Group Instruction
• Student Accountability
• Curriculum Mapping