Jan. 27, 2026
Teaching With Heart And AI
What happens when a first-year teacher pairs AI with a lesson on kindness—and sees her fifth graders raise their voices with empathy? We sit down with Bethany Collette from Concordia Parish to explore a classroom model that treats technology as a tool and human connection as the goal. From generating relatable reading passages to crafting quick exit tickets, Bethany shows how simple AI workflows free up time for deeper discussion, small-group coaching, and the kind of peer feedback that actually moves writing forward.
Website: spotlight4success.com
00:06 - Welcome And Guest Introduction
00:26 - Bethany’s Role In The Classroom
00:48 - Using AI To Engage Students
01:33 - American Book Company Overview
02:26 - Teaching Kindness And Life Skills
03:01 - A Call For Compassionate Teachers
04:01 - Closing And Gratitude
WEBVTT
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Welcome to Spotlight for Success by American Book Company.
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I am Devin Pintozi, your host.
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We are here at LACU in New Orleans, Louisiana, 2025, and we are so excited to be here with our special guest, Bethany Collette.
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Bethany, thank you for joining us today.
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No problem.
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Thank you for having me.
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Yes.
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Bethany joins us.
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She's in Cacordia Parish over at Vidalia Upper Elementary.
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Can you tell me a bit about what you do in the school system?
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Yes, I um I teach ELA to fifth graders.
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Wonderful.
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So what brings you to LACU?
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Um, well, uh my district sent me, and I'm excited to be here, you know.
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That's great.
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And can you tell me a bit about uh um any special experiences that you're bringing with you into LACU?
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Yes.
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Um I use AI a lot to enhance my teaching.
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Okay, um, to make it more relatable to the kids, make it fun.
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Um and so I'm just you know, I'm glad that that's that's the the center of all of this.
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So, you know, because AI's here and it's not going anywhere.
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No, it's not it's just gonna keep getting better.
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So, you know, let's use it.
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Oh, absolutely.
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Yeah, that's great.
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And uh so um uh can you tell me a bit about uh do you have any special memories of working with the students?
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Thank you for watching Spotlight for Success.
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I am Devin Pentozi, Chief Operating Officer of American Book Company.
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We are located here in our headquarters in Woodstock, Georgia.
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All of our materials are printed in USA.
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We have course books, ebooks, and online testing in grades A through 12 in mathematics, ELA, science, and social studies.
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These materials are all designed to help students achieve higher scores on their state specific and high states assessment.
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We guarantee score improvement.
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You can get free samples of our materials either in print or in electronic formats at abc12.com.
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We look forward to hearing from you.
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That you'd like to share.
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Well, this is um my first year.
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Um yeah, I deviated last week from curriculum for just a little bit to take a moment to teach my students some life skills and learning how to speak to each other with kindness and empathy.
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And um, you know, by the end of it, uh they were learning to be kind to each other and work together and support each other.
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Oh, that's great.
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It's so important today.
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It is, yeah.
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Um kids have been through so much, you know, COVID and everything.
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Um let me ask you, Bethany, do you have anything you'd like to share with the LACU uh community?
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Um, I implore those that feel that they are called to teach to do so.
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Even if it's hard at first, we need you.
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We need more teachers, more teachers that have that kind heart, that compassion um for learning.
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Um because it's it's not just the students that learn, like I learn from them as well.
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They teach me every day, you know.
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So I just I ask that people that are passionate about education to get in this field.
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I know the money isn't always great, but they're so it's so rewarding.
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That's wonderful.
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Well, thank you so much again.
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It's our special guest, uh Bethany Collette.
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Uh, she is a teacher at Videlia Upper Mela Elementary School once again in Concordia Parish.
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Thank you for joining us today.
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