The SENIA Happy Hour Podcast

On today’s podcast, host Lori Boll speaks with Katie Fowle and Sharoya Ham, authors of the #1 Bestselling book, Help! My Kid Won’t Go to School: Finding Hope on a Bad Day. Katie shares her experiences with her daughter who experienced school refusal and both Katie and Sharoys explain why school refusal happens, and some steps parents and teachers can take in understanding and supporting their children or students.

On today's podcast, host Lori Boll speaks with Heidi Mermis-Cava, the Director of Student Support Services at the Shanghai American School. Heidi recently presented at the in-person SENIA conference in Vietnam, where she received overwhelmingly positive feedback for her work.

Heidi shares some of her expertise on distinguishing between English as an Additional Language (EAL), Specific Learning Disabilities, and Language Impairments. This provides a valuable preview of the more comprehensive information she will be sharing at the upcoming SENIA virtual conference. Be sure to join us at the conference to learn even more from Heidi.

On today’s podcast, host Lori Boll speaks with Kevin Bartlett. Kevin is the founding director of the Common Ground Collaborative (CGC), one of SENIA’s partner organizations. CGC is a learning ecosystem used by schools in 20 countries. Kevin has led schools in Tanzania, Austria, Namibia and Belgium. He was a trainer for the PTC, co-author of the ACE accreditation protocol for NEASC, initiator of the IB PYP and co-founder of The Next Frontier Inclusion. He was AAIE International Superintendent of the Year (2014) and was inducted into the AAIE Hall of Fame. Kevin and Lori speak about his passion for inclusion, barriers to it, and how schools can embed it in a practical manner and create systems that include.

Overview:

Today host Lori Boll speaks with Ceci Gomez-Galvez who was one of our SENIA virtual conference speakers this year. Ceci (she.her.ella) is a collaborator, coach and advocate who empowers educators to create equitable learning opportunities for all language learners. Born and raised in Guatemala City, Ceci grew up in a unique bilingual household nurtured by her family who valued languages equally. Inspired by her own upbringing and her extensive experience in international schools, Ceci now leads a support program for multilingual learners based on practices which ensure culturally responsive teaching and equitable access.

Ceci and Lori speak about promoting language equity and translanguaging in our international schools as well as focusing on strong home-school partnerships in supporting a student’s language development. It’s always great learning from Ceci.

Connect

• ⁠Ceci's website⁠

• ⁠LinkedIn⁠

Resources from today’s show:

• ⁠Dr. Ofelia Garcia⁠

• ⁠Ginny Rojas⁠

• ⁠Dr. Andrea Honigsfeld⁠

• ⁠Street Data⁠

Bio

Ceci (she.her.ella) is a collaborator, coach and advocate who empowers educators to create equitable learning opportunities for all language learners. Born and raised in Guatemala City, Ceci grew up in a unique bilingual household nurtured by her family who valued languages equally. Inspired by her own upbringing and her extensive experience in international schools, Ceci now leads a support program for multilingual learners based on practices which ensure culturally responsive teaching and equitable access.

Overview:

Today host Lori Boll speaks with Ceci Gomez-Galvez who was one of our SENIA virtual conference speakers this year. Ceci (she.her.ella) is a collaborator, coach and advocate who empowers educators to create equitable learning opportunities for all language learners. Born and raised in Guatemala City, Ceci grew up in a unique bilingual household nurtured by her family who valued languages equally. Inspired by her own upbringing and her extensive experience in international schools, Ceci now leads a support program for multilingual learners based on practices which ensure culturally responsive teaching and equitable access.

Ceci and Lori speak about promoting language equity and translanguaging in our international schools as well as focusing on strong home-school partnerships in supporting a student’s language development. It’s always great learning from Ceci.

Connect

• Ceci's website

• LinkedIn

Resources from today’s show:

• Dr. Ofelia Garcia

• Ginny Rojas

• Dr. Andrea Honigsfeld

• Street Data

Bio

Ceci (she.her.ella) is a collaborator, coach and advocate who empowers educators to create equitable learning opportunities for all language learners. Born and raised in Guatemala City, Ceci grew up in a unique bilingual household nurtured by her family who valued languages equally. Inspired by her own upbringing and her extensive experience in international schools, Ceci now leads a support program for multilingual learners based on practices which ensure culturally responsive teaching and equitable access.

Overview: Host Lori Boll speaks with Max Simpson. Max has demonstrated a proven track record in the inclusion space from establishing 3 vocational training centers, modelling 11 inclusive and sustainable social businesses, and delivering essential consultancy services to organisations seeking enhanced inclusivity. Earlier this year, Max inaugurated a research centre dedicated to advancing knowledge in this domain. A fervent advocate for the business case for disability and neuro-inclusion, Max extends an invitation to potential partners to collaborate on a shared mission of fostering an inclusive society.

In today’s podcast Max shares about an exciting collaboration between Steps, a vocational training program they founded in Bangkok Thailand, and St. Andrew’s 107, an international school in the area. Once you hear about this program, you’ll immediately want to start one at your school.

Connect

• STEPS website

• LinkedIn

• Facebook

Bio:

Max Simpson has demonstrated a proven track record in the inclusion space from establishing 3 vocational training centers, modelling 11 inclusive and sustainable social businesses, and delivering essential consultancy services to organisations seeking enhanced inclusivity. Earlier this year, Max inaugurated a research centre dedicated to advancing knowledge in this domain. A fervent advocate for the business case for disability and neuro-inclusion, Max extends an invitation to potential partners to collaborate on a shared mission of fostering an inclusive society.

Overview

Host Lori Boll speaks with Kathi Silva, author of ‘Extraordinary Experiences: Tales of Special Needs Abroad,’ a book about living with special needs as expats. Kathi wrote this book as a way to share stories and help others prepare for adventures overseas while parenting their neurodiverse children.

Kathi shares about her experiences raising her autistic twins overseas in multiple countries and her wishes for international schools from the lens of a parent.

Connect

• LinkedIn

Resources from today’s show:

Kathi’s Book: Extraordinary Experiences: Tales of Special Needs Abroad

BIO

Kathi and her husband joined the Foreign Service when their autistic twins (now 22) were two years old. They have lived and coordinated education and support services for their twins in the U.S., France, South Africa, Venezuela, Serbia, Uruguay, Uganda, and Switzerland, with each country providing a different perspective of how neurodiversity is perceived and handled. In 2019, Kathi produced and edited ‘Extraordinary Experiences: Tales of Special Needs Abroad,’ a book about living with special needs as expats, as a way to share stories and help others prepare for adventures overseas. She has also written for the Foreign Service Magazine to advocate for more support for families with special needs children.

Overview

Today host Lori Boll speaks with Sam Drazin, Founder and Executive Director of Changing Perspectives, one of SENIA’s sponsor organizations and partners. Lori and Sam discuss Sam’s background and inspiration behind starting Changing Perspectives, Sam’s definition of inclusion, the needs of schools in terms of how they can become more inclusive, and his vision for the future of schools. So dive right in and enjoy.

Connect

• Changing Perspectives Website

• Instagram

• Facebook

• LinkedIn

Bio:

A nationally recognized educator and changemaker, Founder and Executive Director Sam Drazin applies his personal and professional background to lead Changing Perspectives’s mission to strengthen school communities through social-emotional learning, disability awareness, empathy development, and inclusion. Sam was born with Treacher Collins Syndrome, a rare congenital disorder resulting in both facial anomaly and hearing loss. His experiences, both as a student with a disability and as a teacher working in an inclusive classroom, helped him recognize the importance of supporting students in developing the essential life and relationship skills that underpin equity, inclusion, and social change. The students and educators we work with around the nation are a constant inspiration for Sam

Today host Lori Boll speaks with G. Cody QJ Goldberg, co-founder and Chief Play Officer of Harper’s Playground which inspires and empowers global communities to build radically inclusive playgrounds. Through storytelling, consulting, and unique design principles, they create playful nature-scapes where people of all ages and abilities find belonging and social connection through play. Lori and Cody discuss the inspiration behind Harper’s Playground, Cody’s belief that a well designed and realized inclusive play space can truly transform a community for the better,and of how schools and communities can design physically inviting, socially inviting, and emotionally inviting spaces.

Connect

• Facebook

• Instagram

• Twitter

Resources from today’s show:

• Kathy Snow: Disability is Natural

• Inclusion is Dope shop (all proceeds go to building inclusive playgrounds)

Bio:

Father of two, Cody proudly serves as the Chief Play Officer of Harper’s Playground. A graduate of New York University with a BFA in film and television studies, he co-founded the organization in 2010 along with his wife, April. Together they spearheaded the design, funding and construction of the first Harper’s Playground in Portland, Oregon. A big fan of inclusion of all kinds, Cody is committed to creating opportunities for both of his daughters to build friendships and community for themselves. He believes that the power of a well designed and realized inclusive play space can truly transform a community for the better.

Overview

Host Lori Boll speaks with Kevin Simpson, the founder of one of SENIA’s partner organizations, AEILOC, which stands for the Association of International Educators and Leaders of Color. Today Kevin and I speak about AEILOC’s important work, address privilege, and touch upon the intersectionality between SENIA’s and AEILOC’s missions and visions. Kevin shares the 4 A’s that all international schools should think about when addressing DEIJ work; Acknowledgement, Awareness, Action, & Advocacy.

Connect

• Website

• Twitter

• Instagram

Resources from today’s show:

• The Principal as Chief Empathy Officer- Dr. Thomas Hoerr

Bio

Kevin Simpson is a native of Flint, Michigan who owns and operates KDSL Global, an international education consulting company which launched in 2016 in the USA and in the United Arab Emirates. He and his team have served thousands of schools, educators, and leaders worldwide in over 60 countries. He was an international school educator and leader serving in Laos, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Simpson is founder of the Association of International Educators and Leaders of Color.