EdGate Powers Podcast #10 - with Hillary Knudson (Rinaldi)
The K-12 education system is built around a fundamental tension: states need the flexibility to establish standards that reflect their own priorities, while students, educators, and education providers must navigate a landscape of different expectations across the country. Those differences become especially important as states revise standards, districts take greater control over instructional materials, and schools face new demands around student engagement, career readiness, and emerging technologies. The challenge is maintaining rigorous and meaningful expectations while giving educators the instructional materials, professional learning, and flexibility they need to help students succeed.
In this episode of the EdGate Powers Podcast, Rich Portelance speaks with Hillary Knudson, Vice President at Whiteboard Advisors and former Deputy Chief of Staff at the Tennessee Department of Education, about the current state of learning standards and where standards-based education is headed. Drawing on her experience at the federal, state, and private-sector levels, Knudson examines how states are shaping academic expectations, why similarities still exist across different state standards, and what those standards can and cannot tell educators about how students should learn.
The conversation moves beyond the standards themselves to consider what happens after those expectations are established. Knudson discusses the importance of high-quality instructional materials, professional learning, coherent curriculum, and project-based learning, while also addressing chronic absenteeism and the need to make learning more engaging and meaningful for students. She explores how AI is creating new opportunities for teachers and students, the emergence of AI-related guidance and data science education, and why CTE and work-based learning will become increasingly important as schools prepare students for careers that may look very different from those available today.
In this episode, you will learn:
- How state learning standards are evolving and why states continue to play such an important role in K-12 education.
- Why differences between state standards do not necessarily mean that states have completely different academic expectations.
- What learning standards establish and why they cannot determine how educators should teach those expectations.
- How high-quality instructional materials, professional learning, and instructional coherence work together to support student learning.
- Why project-based learning and cross-disciplinary instruction can create more meaningful and engaging learning experiences.
- How student engagement and chronic absenteeism are connected to the way learning experiences are designed.
- How AI can help teachers reduce administrative work while creating opportunities for more meaningful student feedback and instruction.
- Why AI literacy, data science, CTE, and work-based learning are becoming increasingly important areas for education leaders to consider.
Why This Conversation Matters
Learning standards provide the foundation for what students are expected to know and be able to do, but standards alone cannot guarantee that students receive a coherent or effective education. The quality of instructional materials, the preparation and support teachers receive, the way subjects connect to one another, and the degree to which students are engaged all influence whether those expectations translate into meaningful learning. At the same time, states and districts are making decisions about new areas of learning, including AI, data science, financial literacy, and CTE, that will shape what students encounter in the classroom.
The most important question may therefore be less about whether the country should have identical standards and more about how educators and policymakers can maintain rigorous expectations while making learning relevant to students' lives and future opportunities. Stronger connections among standards, curriculum, professional learning, technology, and workforce preparation can give schools a clearer path toward that goal while allowing states and districts to respond to their own communities.
Join Rich and Hillary as they examine the state of learning standards and the forces shaping their future, from state-level policy and instructional materials to AI, student engagement, CTE, and the growing need to prepare students for opportunities that have yet to be defined.
Learn how education publishers and districts alike can best develop, implement, and support standards across the United States.
Hillary Knudson (Rinaldi) is a seasoned K‑12 education policy strategist for Vice President for Whiteboard Advisors. She is focused on translating rigorous research into practice that drives meaningful systems‑change. With experience across state and federal levels, including work as Deputy Chief of Staff for the Tennessee Department of Education, and a Senior Research Assistant on Education Policy for the United States Senate, Hillary has advised on math education, student pathways, and evidence‑based policy implementation.
Hillary champions equity, access, and high‑quality instruction—especially in mathematics—bringing a clear, research‑driven voice to how curriculum, standards, and instructional models can better serve students.
Rich is passionate about eEdTech and helping people discover pathways to successful careers. He leverages his many years of business experience in strategy, product development, brand creation and sales & marketing as a frequent industry speaker and sought after consultant.
Beginning his career in digital marketing and web development, Rich was recruited into the private, independent school market to help usher in digital technologies and social media. During this time, Richard served as a student advisor and was nominated to serve on the CAIS (Connecticut Association of Independent Schools) Technology Commission. In 2012, Rich joined York & Chapel, a brand and digital transformation agency where he began working with secondary and higher ed clients, developing strategies for student engagement and pathway creation. In 2014, Richard founded CareerPath, a SaaS engagement platform. Over the past ten years, Rich has given back to the industry as an advisor to numerous EdTech startups, and generally has had a blast doing what he loves to do — help others succeed.
Questions Answered
During the podcast, we tackle critical questions that publishers and educators are asking about preparing future-ready teaching and connecting standards to instructional materials.
- What is the current state of learning standards across the United States, and how might it evolve over the next several years?
- How can having 50 different sets of academic standards help eliminate inequities in education?
- How can publishers and edtech providers help reduce inequities in the education system?
- How can project-based learning create greater coherence across different academic disciplines?
- What are the main drivers shaping the need for textbook and instructional material adoption?
- Will the trend toward centralized instructional material adoption in large school districts continue into smaller and more disadvantaged communities?
- How can education technology help states keep up with rapidly changing learning standards?
- What changes could improve the U.S. education system and strengthen learning standards?