#74 What School Leaders Actually Need From AI with Stephanie Frenel

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 DiscussWhy school leaders are overwhelmed by data—but still lack actionable insightThe limits of purely quantitative metrics in understanding student learning and school cultureHow qualitative data (observations, interviews, rubrics) can be analyzed responsibly at scaleWhat “mixed-methods” analysis looks like in real school improvement workHow SchoolOps AI integrates academic, behavioral, and social-emotional data without compromising privacyFERPA compliance, data security, and why AI shouldn’t retain student-level memoryThe role of AI as a collaborative tool for principals, coaches, and teacher teamsWhy coaching remains essential—and how AI can support, not replace, human relationshipsWhat meaningful impact looks like beyond test scoresA case study where triangulated data revealed student agency—not academics—as the real lever for changeAbout the GuestStephanie 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 ListeningStephanie recommends:The Knowledge ProjectThe Diary of a CEOLinks & ResourcesSchoolOps AI: https://schoolops.aiStephanie Frenel on LinkedInMake It Mindful #26 Navigating Change and Ambiguity with World SavvyWorld Savvy - Building future-ready schoolsPahara Institute - Developmental opportunities for educationHost BioSeth 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.CreditsHosted, written, and produced by Seth FleischauerEdited by Lucas Salazar