Dr. Frank Rodriguez and Dr. Gene Tavernetti—Digital Captives: Helping Schools Strike A Balance Between Humans And Hardware

About this episode

Dr. Frank Rodriguez and Dr. Gene Tavernetti discuss their book on balancing technology and human interaction in schools.

Get the book, Digital Captives: Helping Schools Strike A Balance Between Humans And Hardware Visit the Schools Next website, www.schoolsnext.org Follow Gene on X @GTavernetti About The Guests Dr. Frank Rodriguez is entering his 32nd year working in and with schools, primarily in Southern California. He entered education in 1993 through a two year commitment to teach in a bilingual 5th grade classroom in Long Beach through Teach for America, and thirty years later is still finding it difficult to leave. He is the Managing Partner of Schools Next, as well as the President of RISE School Programs, RISE Educational Services and the RISE Educational Foundation. With his partner Dr. Gene Tavernetti, he co-developed the FAST framework, a direct instruction teaching model based on the pedagogy of Dr. Madeline Hunter which synthesized and incorporated the brain research of Dr. David Sousa, Eric Jensen and Dr. John Medina. Dr. Rodriguez was a teacher and administrator for twelve years before beginning a career in professional development and teacher and principal coaching. More recently he has overseen RISE School Programs which serves more than 3000 students in seven districts in northern…

People in this episode

Host: Justin Baeder

Guests: Dr. Frank Rodriguez, Dr. Gene Tavernetti

Topics covered

• education
• digital learning
• teacher development
• school programs
• instructional models

Keywords

• digital captives
• education
• teaching model
• FAST framework
• school programs
• professional development

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Schools Next, RISE School Programs, RISE Educational Services, RISE Educational Foundation

More episodes of Principal Center Radio

• Courtney Daikos & Chris Daikos— Structured Service Learning: A Universal Apathy Intervention · June 1, 2026 · 41 min
• Nancy Frey—The Art and Science of Teacher Coaching · May 18, 2026 · 27 min
• Muriel Summers—The Leader in Me: How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Student at a Time · May 8, 2026 · 34 min
• Keith Schumacher—After the Donut: An Introduction to School-Based Father Engagement for School Leaders · May 5, 2026 · 31 min
• Erika Bare & Tiffany Burns—A School Leader’s Playbook for Tough Conversations · April 26, 2026 · 30 min
• Katrina Huels—Transformational Tools for Special Educators: How to Beat Burnout and Become the Best at What You Do · April 18, 2026 · 23 min