In this short bonus episode, Host Seth Fleischauer reflects on a question sparked by a recent conversation with Stephanie Frenel of SchoolOps AI: why do schools so often default to quantitative data and shy away from qualitative insight?

Drawing on his own teaching experience and conversations with fellow educators, Seth explores how numbers feel safer, more objective, and easier to defend—while words require judgment, confidence, and accountability. He contrasts traditional grading systems with narrative assessments at The Earth School, where qualitative data demanded deeper observation and, ultimately, better teaching.

The episode makes a simple case for mixed methods and for reclaiming qualitative data as a rigorous, human-centered tool—especially in a system that often asks teachers to hide behind numbers.

School leaders are drowning in data—test scores, surveys, observations, behavior reports—but starving for insight.

In this episode of Make It Mindful, Seth Fleischauer is joined by Stephanie Frenel, founder and CEO of SchoolOps AI, for a deep conversation about what it actually takes to make sense of complexity in schools—and how AI can support that work without stripping out the human judgment that matters most.

Stephanie brings a rare combination of experience to this conversation: former principal, instructional coach, systems-level leader, and now founder working at the intersection of school leadership and artificial intelligence. Drawing on her work at Fair Schools, Rocketship Public Schools, and Shusterman Family Philanthropies, she shares why mixed-methods data—quantitative and qualitative—is essential for understanding what’s really happening inside a school.

Together, Seth and Stephanie explore how principals can move beyond dashboards and compliance metrics toward tools that surface root causes, support collaborative decision-making, and reduce operational burden—freeing leaders to spend more time with students, families, and teachers.

This conversation is not about AI replacing educators. It’s about AI working quietly in the background to help schools become more coherent, more humane, and more responsive.

In This Episode, We Discuss

• Why school leaders are overwhelmed by data—but still lack actionable insight
• The limits of purely quantitative metrics in understanding student learning and school culture
• How qualitative data (observations, interviews, rubrics) can be analyzed responsibly at scale
• What “mixed-methods” analysis looks like in real school improvement work
• How SchoolOps AI integrates academic, behavioral, and social-emotional data without compromising privacy
• FERPA compliance, data security, and why AI shouldn’t retain student-level memory
• The role of AI as a collaborative tool for principals, coaches, and teacher teams
• Why coaching remains essential—and how AI can support, not replace, human relationships
• What meaningful impact looks like beyond test scores
• A case study where triangulated data revealed student agency—not academics—as the real lever for change

About the Guest

Stephanie Frenel is the founder and CEO of SchoolOps AI, a platform designed to help school leaders make sense of complex data systems through research-backed, human-centered insights.

She is a Pahara Institute Fellow and former Teach For America corps member, with degrees from Georgetown University and Stanford University. Her career spans teaching, instructional coaching, school leadership, and system-level philanthropy, including leadership roles at Fair Schools, Rocketship Public Schools, and Shusterman Family Philanthropies.

Recommended Listening

Stephanie recommends:

• The Knowledge Project
• The Diary of a CEO

Links & Resources

• SchoolOps AI: https://schoolops.ai
• Stephanie Frenel on LinkedIn
• Make It Mindful #26 Navigating Change and Ambiguity with World Savvy
• World Savvy - Building future-ready schools
• Pahara Institute - Developmental opportunities for education

Host Bio

Seth Fleischauer is the founder and president of Banyan Global Learning, an international education organization delivering experiential and distance learning programs that build global competency. A former classroom teacher, Seth explores how mindful innovation—across psychology, technology, and global learning—can strengthen education systems and support the wellbeing of young people.

Credits

Hosted, written, and produced by Seth Fleischauer
Edited by Lucas Salazar

In this episode, Seth speaks with Valérie Besanceney, an international educator, author, former Executive Director of Safe Passage Across Networks (SPAN), and current International Advisor on Transitions, Care, and Mobility Services for the Council of International Schools (CIS). Her work focuses on helping globally mobile students—and the educators and institutions that support them—navigate transitions with clarity, care, and a grounded sense of belonging.

The conversation traces Valérie’s journey as a third culture kid, her early ease with adapting to new environments, and the later reckoning with identity, rootlessness, and belonging that many cross-cultural students eventually face. She describes how those experiences shaped her writing, her consulting practice Roots with Boots, and her broader mission to ensure schools understand that belonging is not a destination but a lifelong practice.

Together, Seth and Valérie explore:

• Identity formation as a prerequisite for genuine belonging
• The distinction between belonging and fitting in, and why the latter often demands self-abandonment
• How cross-cultural mobility affects learning, confidence, and relationships
• Why help-seeking is an essential skill for all students—not only those who move between countries
• The systems-level work required for schools to create coherent, sustainable transitions-care programs
• The role of teachers, counselors, admissions teams, parents, and students in building cultures of care
• How intentional schoolwide practices can transform mobility from an isolating experience into one that strengthens self-knowledge and global competence

Valérie also discusses her children’s book B at Home: Emma Moves Again and the companion My Moving Booklet, both designed to help young people name emotions, anticipate challenges, and talk openly with adults during relocation. Her core message: even in difficult transitions, you are not alone, and conversation—grounded in honesty and curiosity—is a powerful tool for resilience.

A brief lightning round touches on linguistics in the age of AI, books that challenge us to seek out differing perspectives, and the value of connection during personal hardship.

Books Mentioned

• Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds by David Pollock, Michael Pollock, & Ruth Van Reken
• Seek: How Curiosity Can Transform Your Life and Change the World by Scott Shigeoka
• Belonging by Owen Eastwood
• Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Guest Links

• Valérie’s work: https://rootswithboots.com