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

In this short follow-up episode, Seth revisits a moment from his recent conversation with Karle Delo about student use of AI. While recording that episode, Karle mentioned catching a student actively using AI to cheat on math homework during her workshop—an anecdote that raised a question Seth forgot to ask in the moment: When she paused the workshop and asked students why any of this matters, what did they actually say?

So Seth reached out afterward. Karle shared her students’ answers, and Seth decided to run his own tiny, completely unscientific survey by asking kids in his own life—from Gen Alpha to teenagers—how they think about AI, what they use it for, and what worries them. The result is a snapshot of how young people are forming their early beliefs, habits, and anxieties around AI long before adults have caught up.

This episode explores what Karle's students said, what Seth’s informal sample revealed, and what this all means for parents and educators who want to help kids build a healthy relationship with AI rather than default to avoidance, fear, or unchecked dependence.

What Karle's Students Said

• AI will shape future careers. Students are hearing this in school—even if they can’t yet articulate the implications.
• Misuse leads to trouble. Kids associate AI with academic integrity issues, even if some (like a student Seth heard from) think, “My work is handwritten, so it doesn’t matter.”
• AI is a tool they’ll need later. This was the strongest theme, echoed repeatedly by Seth’s sample of students.
• AI can help, but overuse can stunt learning. Only one student in Seth’s survey—his daughter—expressed this strongly, with a visceral “this feels wrong” reaction.
• It’s advancing fast, and kids know it. Students feel the need to “keep up,” even if that feeling comes more from cultural osmosis than formal instruction.

What Seth Heard from Kids in His Life

Kids are already using AI in highly practical ways:

• A 10-year-old using AI to analyze a story draft, choosing which feedback to accept or reject.
• A student generating quizzes to help study.
• Another using it for creative programming.
• A teen redesigning his bedroom with his mom using AI for visualization.

They’re also experimenting:

• One student making joke assignments with a deepfaked LeBron James.
• Another generating an image of himself with exaggerated features “for fun.”

But beneath the experimentation sits a surprising emotional and moral range:

• Environmental concerns. Kids who care about climate see AI’s energy use and question whether it’s worth it.
• Moral boundaries. A young musician is troubled by AI systems that can copy an artist’s voice or style without permission.
• Therapeutic utility. A student with AuDHD uses character.ai to safely practice social interactions—while simultaneously feeling uneasy about the technology’s footprint.

The contrast between moral discomfort and personal utility appears again and again.

The Most Consistent Theme: Parents Aren’t Talking About AI.

The answer Seth heard most often: “We haven't talked about it at home.”

This silence leaves kids without guidance and leaves adults unable to speak from experience when young people ask for support.

Seth argues that adults don’t need to love AI—but they do need to engage with it enough to understand their own stance. Otherwise, conversations about learning, opportunity, ethics, creativity, and risk happen without them.

What’s Coming Up on Make It Mindful

• Valerie Besonceney on cultural competency and the complexities of student transitions—especially in international school contexts.
• Dr. Karen Dudek-Brannan returns for a new conversation about executive functioning, following one of the podcast’s most popular episodes.

In this episode of Make It Mindful, host Seth Fleischauer welcomes Karle Delo, AI Strategist at Michigan Virtual and one of EdTech Magazine’s Top 30 IT Influencers to Follow in 2023, for a deeply practical conversation about how students actually use AI.

With 14 years of experience as a science teacher, tech integration specialist, and curriculum director, Karle brings a grounded, student-centered perspective to AI literacy—one shaped by direct conversations with learners, classroom observations, and her work helping publish Michigan Virtual’s Student Guide to AI.

Together, Seth and Karle explore what real AI literacy looks like in classrooms: how students are experimenting, where they’re already sophisticated, and what teachers need to know to prevent cognitive bypass while building authentic agency. The episode highlights the role of intentionality, the power of desirable difficulty, and why students must be positioned as co-designers and leaders in shaping the future of AI in education.

Key Topics Discussed

• How students actually experience AI
  Why the most insightful conversations about AI often come from learners—not adults.
• Intentionality and the habit of noticing
  Practical strategies for helping students recognize where AI shows up in daily life—especially in the places they least expect.
• Preventing cognitive bypass
  What students lose when AI removes the “desirable difficulty” essential for learning, and how AI can serve as a coach rather than a shortcut.
• The gym metaphor for AI use
  Why relying on AI to “lift the weights for you” undermines learning—and how to shift toward AI as a trainer, not a replacement.
• Sophisticated student use cases
  From quizzing themselves to vibe-coding entire debate-coaching tools, students are using AI in ways many adults have never considered.
• AI literacy, privacy, and data awareness
  Plain-language guidance for students: what’s safe to type, what’s never okay, and how platforms infer far more than we think.
• Maintaining human relationships at the center of learning
  Why AI feedback is powerful only when paired with teacher guidance, identity development, and student voice.
• Creativity, boundaries, and student agency
  How formulaic assignments—not AI—may be what stifles creativity, and why students must help shape the norms around healthy AI use.

Guest Bio

Karle Delo is an AI Strategist at Michigan Virtual with over 14 years of experience in public education. A former science teacher, technology integration specialist, and curriculum director, Carly was recognized by EdTech Magazine as a Top 30 IT Influencer to Follow in 2023. She recently helped publish Michigan Virtual’s Student Guide to AI and leads statewide work on AI literacy, student voice, and practical implementation strategies for schools. She shares resources and insights at @CoachKarle on social platforms.

Host Bio

Seth Fleischauer is the founder and president of Banyan Global Learning and a former classroom teacher with extensive experience in global education, digital literacy, and live virtual teaching. He hosts Make It Mindful and Why Distance Learning?, where he explores how emerging technologies and human connection shape modern learning.

Episode Links

• Michigan Virtual AI Hub: https://michiganvirtual.org/ai

• Michigan Virtual Student Guide to AI: https://michiganvirtual.org/ai/students

• TheySeeYourPhotos.com - website where you can see what information AI can glean about you just from a photograph.

• Follow Carly: @CoachKarle on all platforms

In this special bonus episode, host Seth Fleischauer unpacks a surprising insight from his recent conversation with Dr. Chandler Chang of Therapy Lab: an AI “scribe” that listens to therapy sessions and supports teens between appointments. Yes, it raises privacy flags. Yes, it feels futuristic. But if we can suspend disbelief and concerns for a moment, the implications could be huge.

Seth explores how this same model could transform coaching, advising, and teaching:
- What if an advisor’s best insights were available to students 24/7?
- What if overloaded professors or mentor teachers could extend their presence through a trained AI assistant?
- What if PLCs, leadership groups, or even families could capture their collective wisdom and make it accessible on demand?

He even shares a deeply personal experiment—training an AI on years of emails from his late father to approximate his voice when he needed advice.

This episode wrestles with the big tension: Are AI tools expanding our humanity, or eroding it? Helping us connect, or helping us avoid connection?

And it sets the stage for the next full conversation with Karle Delo, who brings a ground-level look at how students are actually using AI in classrooms today.

In this episode of Make It Mindful, host Seth Fleischauer welcomes back to the podcast Dr. Chandler Chang—clinical psychologist, child and adolescent specialist, and founder of Therapy Lab—to explore how young people are navigating mental health, technology, and growing up in an always-on world. With a practice built around time-limited, evidence-based therapy plans (sometimes called “bite-sized therapy”), Chandler shares why shorter, structured interventions can open doors for people who might otherwise avoid or disengage from traditional therapy.

The episode offers a grounded, human perspective on how therapy, technology, and education overlap—and how mindful design can keep young people at the center.

Key Topics Discussed

• Why “bite-sized therapy” works for many people and how brief interventions are backed by research
• What the rise of “cringe” reveals about self-reflection, social anxiety, and cognitive biases
• How discomfort and exposure can build adolescent resilience
• The emotional load teachers carry and the role of boundaries in creating safety
• Inside Therapy Lab’s new AI companion: scribing sessions, personalized reminders, and closed-loop privacy
• Hallucinations, safety escalations, and keeping AI therapeutically grounded
• Anthropomorphizing AI: risks, developmental considerations, and responsible use with teens
• How teens experience online vs. offline communication—and why emotional check-ins matter
• Short-form media, dopamine, and helping young people recognize their own internal states

Guest Bio

Dr. Chandler Chang is a clinical psychologist specializing in child and adolescent mental health and the founder of Therapy Lab, a practice built around time-limited, evidence-based therapeutic plans. She leads a team integrating clinically-trained AI companions into therapy to expand access, enhance continuity of care, and support teens between sessions. Chandler holds advanced training in brief interventions and is committed to helping families navigate the intersection of mental health and modern technology.

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.

Episode Links

Therapy Lab — therapylab.com
Email Chandler — chandler@therapylab.com
Contact Therapy Lab — info@therapylab.com