On this episode of the School Leaders Project, host Cindy Blackburn sits down with Dr. Danielle Mirliss, Director of Research and Academic Innovation at Pingry School, to explore how schools can build AI literacy with purpose, ethics, and trust.

Danielle shares how Pingry has shifted from creating rigid AI policies to grounding its approach in clear values, keeping relationships, critical thinking, and student agency at the center of teaching and learning. Together, they unpack what families are most concerned about when it comes to artificial intelligence in schools, from academic integrity and misinformation to the future of education and work.

The conversation dives into practical strategies for supporting teachers, engaging parents, and developing an AI literacy curriculum that helps students understand how AI works, how to use it responsibly, and how to think critically about its ethical impact.

If you’re a school leader, educator, or parent looking for a thoughtful, real-world approach to teaching AI in K–12 schools, this episode offers clarity, reassurance, and actionable ideas.

On this episode of the School Leaders Project, host Cindy Blackburn sits down with Antonio Vigil, Director of Innovative Classroom Technology at Aurora Public Schools, to explore what it really takes to transform public education in a moment of rapid change.

Together, they unpack how Aurora Public Schools is rethinking equity, AI, and instruction through its districtwide strategy, Destination APS. Antonio shares powerful stories of using AI to support multilingual learners, build belonging through real-time translation, and strengthen relationships between schools and families.

The conversation dives into the “both and” philosophy of education: creating rigorous, engaging learning experiences while also centering relationships, empathy, and student voice. You’ll hear practical insights on data literacy, dashboards for educators, street data for equity, liberatory design, and why adaptive leadership matters when schools are moving beyond improving the status quo.

If you’re a school leader, educator, or anyone interested in the future of teaching and learning, this episode offers a hopeful, grounded look at how systems can change in meaningful ways.

In this episode, host Cindy Blackburn sits down with Eric Heilman from CIRIS to unpack a question many independent school leaders are quietly asking: What is institutional research, and how is it actually used to make better decisions in schools?

Together, they explore how institutional research can move beyond dashboards and compliance to support clearer questions, healthier data culture, and more human decision-making. Eric shares how schools can democratize access to data, distinguish between operational and strategic data, and build governance practices that make data trustworthy and usable rather than overwhelming.

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

• what institutional research looks like in independent schools
  
  
  
• how school leaders can use data without drowning in it
  
  
  
• the difference between having data and having clarity
  
  
  
• why better questions matter more than more metrics
  
  
  
• how AI is beginning to intersect with institutional research and data governance
  
  
  

This episode is especially relevant for heads of school, academic leaders, and anyone responsible for stewarding data in K–12 independent schools who wants to use information thoughtfully, ethically, and in service of their mission.