My Future Possible Self: How Life-Ready Literacy Unlocks Lifelong Success for Every Student

Presented by Dr. David Miyashiro, Superintendent, Cajon Valley Union School District, CA; Saki Dodelson, CEO, Beable; Susan Gertler, Ph.D., Chief Academic Officer, Beable; and Edward Hidalgo, Chief Innovation and Engagement Officer, Cajon Valley Union School District, CA
Hosted by Tom Stein, Brand and Marketing Strategist, Beable

Sponsored by Beable, The Life-Ready Literacy Company

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This edLeader Panel brings together two progressive forces in education: California’s Cajon Valley Union School District and Beable, which just introduced K-12’s first Life-Ready Literacy System.

Dr. David Miyashiro, Cajon Valley’s superintendent, has spearheaded the district’s seamless transition to the digital age, which has served students and parents well during the COVID-19 crisis. Dr. Miyashiro discusses:

• The district’s approach to back-to-school and how it is using its digital capabilities to maintain student engagement and recover learning loss.
• The impact of The World of Work, the career development curriculum Cajon Valley developed that has gained international recognition for bridging the gap between education and the workforce – and was a focal point of the recent TedXKids@ElCajon event, ‘My Future Possible Self.’

Saki Dodelson and Susan Gertler, founders of Achieve3000® and now founders of Beable, address:

• How greater digital agility is required to meet distance learning and back-to-school challenges.
• How Beable’s multi-dimensional Life-Ready Literacy System connects literacy to workforce readiness by intertwining social-emotional growth with literacy acceleration in core content areas, career exposure and ACT/SAT prep.

Dr. Miyashiro, Saki, Susan and Edward together discuss how Cajon Valley and Beable are partnering to ensure that every student succeeds beyond graduation. This recorded edLeader Panel will be of interest to school and district leaders of elementary through high school. 

About the Presenters

Dr. David Miyashiro serves as Superintendent of the Cajon Valley Union School District. He was named 2016 Superintendent of the Year by the Association of California School Administrators Region 18. With Dr. Miyashiro’s leadership, Cajon Valley has achieved success with blended and personalized learning where all teachers and students have 24/7 access to their own district-issued laptop, internet connectivity, and digital ecosystem of robust resources and creativity tools.

Dr. Miyashiro was appointed by the CA State Board of Education as co-chair for California’s committee tasked with bringing Computer Science to all K-12 students and was appointed to California School Boards Association President’s advisory council. Cajon Valley completed its first round of development of a comprehensive K-12 Career Development and Well Being Program, The World of Work. This work has gained international recognition and is now available to LEAs and K-12 systems looking to bridge the gap between education and the workforce.

Saki Dodelson is Founder and CEO of Beable, the Life-Ready Literacy Company, and one of today’s true visionaries in education. Prior to launching Beable, Saki was the founder and CEO of Achieve3000® where she pioneered online differentiated learning and co-developed its patented method of differentiation. Over the past 18 years, Saki and her team helped more than 6 million preK-12 students significantly accelerate reading gains. Now, with Beable, Saki is building on this unprecedented foundation of success to more directly connect literacy to life-readiness and to the skills all students need to unlock economic opportunity and lifelong success. Saki was named one of Inc. Magazine’s Top 50 Women Entrepreneurs and is a recipient of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Recognized as one of the Top 100 Influencers in education in 2018 and 2019, Saki is a trusted thought leader and partner to districts nationwide.

Susan Gertler, Ph.D., is Co-Founder and Chief Academic Officer at Beable, The Life-Ready Literacy Company, roles she also held at Achieve3000®. Dr. Gertler has been developing differentiated curricula in the preK-12 and adult education markets for over 25 years, leveraging her expertise in education and psychology to provide for the unique needs of every learner. Dr. Gertler brings to Beable a proven track record of innovation, putting theory into effective practice by recognizing the value offered by every stakeholder – student, teacher, school and district administrator, parent, community member – and creating the content and methodologies to magnify their contributions. She collaborates with industry experts to build blended learning opportunities, focusing on how every student can demonstrate success through a combination of independent learning and targeted support. Dr. Gertler’s vision is instrumental to the success of Beable.

Ed Hidalgo is the Chief Innovation and Engagement Officer for the Cajon Valley Union School District. His role was created to support the district’s vision to develop happy kids, living in healthy relationships, on a path to gainful employment. He is the lead designer of the districts’ career development framework, the World of Work™ Initiative. Prior to this role, he spent more than two decades in the private sector, most recently at Qualcomm, where he worked in human resources, staffing, and government affairs.

About the Host

Tom Stein serves as Brand & Marketing Strategist at Beable. He has deep experience over three decades building brands and driving growth across many sectors. He has a particular depth of experience with education and ed-tech brands, including Blackboard, Schoolnet, Schoolwires, ETS, Pearson, IMS Global, and Achieve3000 among many others.

Tom is a founding partner of Stein IAS, one of the world’s leading B2B marketing agencies. He has been and a leader and innovator in B2B marketing for more than 30 years. In 2017, Tom was among the first inductees into the ANA B-to-B Hall of Fame.

Tom is part of the leadership team that has propelled Stein IAS to B2B Agency of the Year designation by ANA in 2019 and for an unprecedented five consecutive years. Tom also was inducted into the Creative Excellence in Business Advertising (CEBA) Hall of Fame in 2008.

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Beable is the Life-Ready Literacy Company. Its groundbreaking Life-Ready Literacy System intertwines social-emotional growth with literacy acceleration in core content areas, career exposure, and ACT/SAT prep. Powered by the BeableIQ automation engine, Beable provides the first multi-dimensional solution connecting literacy to life readiness and, ultimately, to lifelong success for K-12 students.