Episode #352: Dr. Laurie Barron
https://outofthetrenches.podbean.com/e/episode-348a-dr-laurie-barron/
Dr. Laurie Barron is superintendent of the Evergreen School District in Kalispell, Montana, and was named 2021 Montana Superintendent of the Year. She has been a high school English teacher and coach, a middle school assistant principal, a middle school principal, and a part-time assistant professor. A National Board–certified teacher, she was 2012 Georgia Principal of the Year and 2013 MetLife/NASSP National Middle Level Principal of the Year. Barron is a coauthor of the books What Parents Need to Know About Common Core and Other College-and Career-Ready Standards and Middle School: A Place to Belong and Become and has authored numerous articles. She is also a speaker who provides motivation and professional learning to teachers and administrators throughout the United States.
Trench story: being forced into MS principal position 4th in 5 yrs. Had applied to a HS AP job. Her heart was really in HS. Got moved to a MS across town. Was terrified and didn’t want the job. Very challenging time. At end of yr was asked about UIP/data dives, she had no clue! Had a change of heart, had an incredible staff. Was still principal 7 yrs later. Worked w/ a flexible team. Other principals who were there we promoted. She matured, learned, etc.
Talk about transition from principal role in GA to supt. role in MT: had vacationed in NW MT. Wanted to retire there. Has been in MT 12 yrs. Lost her mom in 2013. Her mom’s advice was “what if you don’t get to retire?” 2 days after her funeral her husband found a supt. position in Evergreen.
Scheduling webinar/workshop with AMLE: found co-presenters & sought out schools of distinction, she decided she’d share w/ others the case study. She supports as needed/requested in her district. She sit closely alongside a new principal but allows her to have that autonomy. Looked back and saw that’s what worked. When things had dramatically improved, the data showed it. She’s been in a MS 23 of 29 yrs. Access to intervention, enrichment. A good master schedule is a good one for every kid. It’s hard to change a schedule during the SY.
Training on how to write a master schedule: she feels like there isn’t any training. She was a MS admin for 11 yrs & had 7 diff. ones. The one she kept she used for 4 yrs. it was trial & error. What matters are certain components, not the schedule itself.
Rotating schedule-she’d never implemented one. She presents case studies, ABCAB every wk. Every Wedn. is all classes. She’s a proponent of longer classes and less transitions for MS students. Your staffing is your most prized resource.
Schedule she used for 4 yrs: She did a modified block- She prefers 6 per. day 75 w/ time for electives & connections. Advisory is attached to 1st period. She also likes when advisory isn’t attached to a class. If you’re only looking @ advisory best practice is middle of the day, after lunch. It doesn’t have to be attached to a class. There’s no fear for kids. Structure is less important than outcome. There was a lot of pre-teaching & re-teaching. Decrease transitions for kids, t has fewer students per day. Need a large enough student population-750-1050. Alternating block- M,W, 3 classes.
Working w/ school leadership team-#1, decide what schedule, sections, encourage schools to honor t preferences. She started w/ a base, asked what they liked about it. There’s always the t who may not get the planning period they want. You shouldn’t disregard what ppl prefer. You may be moving a t from a grade level, subject to another. Take all that into consideration. Don’t undo a MS b/c of one.
6 components to consider when she talks about MS: she can hit them. Considerations, teacher preferences (what can u honor), sped (do this first), math, singleton, collaborative planning time. Focus on outcome rather than structure. Have to get more focused on outcome for students.
Out of everything: didn’t have time to ask (she was 10 m delayed on phone)
Where can ppl find you online: Successful Middle School Schedule webinar: AMLE > Events > Webinars > Recorded Webinar Details, email: lauriebaron18@gmail.com district website: Superintendent’s Office | Evergreen School District #50
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/0KPwVbQtsRQ
Episode #351: Dr. Zach Groshell
https://outofthetrenches.podbean.com/e/episode-251-zach-groshell/
Zach Groshell, PhD is a highly distinguished teacher, instructional coach, and education consultant. Zach is based in Seattle, WA and works with schools nationwide and internationally to develop high quality instruction based on the science of how kids learn. Zach hosts the podcast, Progressively Incorrect, and is active on Twitter (@mrzachg) and his blog, educationrickshaw.com. He is the author of the book, Just Tell Them: The Power of Explanations and Explicit Teaching.
Trenches story: dealing with the day to day of dealing with student truancy. A kid who repeated the cycle. He was a 3rd grader who would come & disrupt the classroom, left @ 11. There was a “chase committee” looking for the eloper. 1-on-1 communication and being positive with the parents. Native American school- K-12. They would make it through to graduation, Zach showed up 12 yrs later.
Let’s talk about your book: Just Tell Them: The Art and Science of Explanation: Came out of his frustrations as a teacher and the Science of Learning and the 2 compared. Ph.D. dissertation was around student regulation and control. We think st’s are really good at making good decisions for their learning. When he was training to be a teacher, allowing st’s to lead learning & discover things for themselves, learning would be deeper & more powerful. End goal of education is to create a life-long learner, explicit instruction. It was counterintuitive to him. Kids who could do that didn’t struggle. Kids who did struggle couldn’t pay attention. Scaffolded approach to teaching-gradual release it the backbone of the book. He wanted to model it clearly & concise. When he did his dissertation, he looked at a very narrow area of research. Can st’s, if given the choice to study from any example what do they tend to do. Kids tend to be overly confident about their abilities. You don’t know what you don’t know. Online learning- he had st’s choose step-by-step how to study math problem or try it out for themselves. They did gravitate trying to study an example. Some ideas around self-directed learning will work, he worked in privileged schools- some st’s struggled to make a task work. Teacher prep programs don’t evoque this. This is about what works, how kids tick, so you yourself do less work. Can only do it when you structure your teaching.
Podcast Progressively Incorrect (link): has been on for 4 yrs, has 4 seasons. Come out wkly during the school yr. There was a debate show called Politically Incorrect & book called progressively worse. All guests. F.ex. reading wars- phonics that was underemphasized. Has been playing w/ model of having ppl debate on usefulness of neuroscience vs. cognitive science. He uses it as teacher being a guide on the side.
Current work: fully consulting now. He feels a little bad about leaving. He knows teachers deserve great PD. First foray, he works internationally, spoke at diff. conference. Schools who would like to launch program of Science of Learning. He needs to get the leaders to take the baton & move this forward. He likes to speak to ES schools using his ES experience. He was a secondary instructional coach. Titles are around his book- explicit instruction- kids need structured learning, esp. lower-level kids.
Frequent presenter @ ResearchEd (link): grassroots organization. 5 locations throughout the yr. Purpose is to bridge the gap b/w what researchers are doing & what t’s are allowed to learn about in their schools. $68/day. Ppl can meet w/ those. They talk about delivery, practical realities around behavior.
StepLab: Goodrich & Abelman were the creators. He’s the director of StepLab USA. It’s a solution to a problem that a lot of schools have. Schools have a coach, the t’s aren’t receiving the coaching & fdb, it holds ppl accountable. The leader’s fdb isn’t on a specific step progress. For every step there’s a model video t can use to replicate it It’s a big tool- 14K schools use it. The platform has been around since ‘17. Worldwide used. UK govt. uses it for new t’s. A lot of ppl think they’ve been coaching. Principals have never seen another person coach. The whole pt of Steplab is fixed coaching w/ accountable.
Blog- everything gets posted there. www.educationrickshaw.com Title is because he taught in Sudan and there were a lot of rickshaws there. Blogs about working memory, attention, teacher talk, ways to get student’s attention.
What’s one thing? when it comes to teaching there are many networks who can connect you to resources. He encourages folks to remember the persistent struggle t’s have is that they think they may be taking something away from kids. He say to perfect the art & science of teaching. St’s will enjoy your teaching then.
Where can ppl find you online? Twitter, Threads, BlueSky (@mrzachg) @scienceofmath FB group and his blog, www.educationrickshaw.com he can bring ideas to your school. He does current talking mostly at charter schools.
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/EcUp22T6TAE
Episode #353: Tom Pesce
https://outofthetrenches.podbean.com/e/episode-353-tom-pesce/
Tom Pesce is an international speaker, educator, emcee, and motivational entertainer. His long client list includes companies such NASA, Amazon, Google, NBC, Nasdaq, Formula 1, and more. He’s been a 4th & 6th teacher for 20 yrs.
He regularly works with professional sports teams and Fortune 500 companies around the world. Recently named “Entertainer of the Year” and honored by the Site Crystal Awards as “Standalone Celebratory Event of the Year”, Tom’s mission is clear: to make a lasting, positive impact wherever he goes.
In addition to his award-winning stage work, Tom is also a distinguished educator with over twenty years experience. He has earned multiple graduate degrees in the fields of elementary education, school district administration, and advanced leadership studies.
Today, Tom shares his passion worldwide, helping individuals and organizations discover their own magic in both their personal and professional lives. Tom possesses an intimate understanding of the daily trials and triumphs educators face. His captivating and personalized presentations aren’t merely designed to prevent teacher burnout; they ultimately leave participants equipped and inspired to take action. Tom lives in Ridgefield, CT with his wife, Becky, and their three children.
Trenches story: was in CR 20 yrs. 10-11 yrs ago began to feel suffocation. Didn’t know how to get out of feeling that way. Was firing on all cylinders. There’s not a lot of leeway for advancement except for admin. He gave so much time to s
t’s, parents, etc. Was overwhelmed. It took away from his personal best. Looked into how he could earn same salary out of the classroom. Wasn’t ready to go into admin just yet. Did something like many educators to consider before leaving- lateral move. He taught MS ELA. It was the change he needed. Sometimes it’s the shift in perspective.
What did you start in the classroom with magic? Has always been infatuated by it. He started when he was 11 y.o. His cousin was a magician. He got some stuff at a magic shop. Hated the monotony of school. Walt Disney version of teaching. Thought outside the box, created a world that was awesome. Thought about everyday being a brand-new adventure. In 4th grade class, he sees the construct of a magic trick like a plot map, protagonist’s journey. In magic shows, the constituents choose. Be independent in the task & own it. We don’t just want buy-in, we want investments. Problem, twists in plot, climax and resolution. It hits home the message of what we’re trying to sell.
Talk about educator keynotes and bring the fun back to staff Prof Dev. & classroom ideas.
Keynote titles: OWN YOUR MAGIC: Enhancing Student Performance Through Your Uniqueness
Ability to think about what makes me unique. His enthusiasm wasn’t always what district wanted. Many t’s hear & absorb the negativity from other staff around. Esp. ES t’s need to be real. You have to open up your heart to your class. Take the time to talk about a failure. It was a ripple effect that led to good things in his life. We fail forward. We need to love what we do and who we are.
He’s been doing keynotes since college. Didn’t want the audience to know he was still in the CR. 2 yrs ago he combined his 2 worlds. It was more realizing he had a great passion for speaking. He ran a leadership conference in 2003. He read books on leadership, knew it was his calling. Was student body president. All of this life story was his story. He wants to make a greater impact.
Talks with schools- Back to the Future: he references in his “Own your magic” talk. He talks about how Michael J. Fox changed the culture of the movie. 7 wks of filming with Eric Stolz. Something was missing. When MJF came on set, he brought a certain nuance to the film. Principals can change the game. It’s the undertone to his whole speaking piece.
He talks about the “teacher” title. Value that’s based on belief systems. It’s being who our st’s need us to be. It goes from education to vocation. It needs to be part of a school’s legacy. Problem w/ turnover of adm is that they don’t know what happened 20+ yrs ago, we have the opportunities to dig in. 30+ yrs ago staff lived in the community & they became invested. It becomes more like a family that way. Aside from standards, you can still close your door & teach your students. YOU were chosen to do this, not a computer. Kids are still at the center of it.
From Burnout to Brillance keynotes: he needed to transition from ES to MS. A lateral move helped him reevaluate his joy. We can’t let the system get us. You are best equipped to help the person you once were. Teaching isn’t designed to reward us monetarily, but if you change to business world you may still have a boss you don’t like. You can still get burnt out even if you’re successful. For him to be the best dad, he has to take care of himself. Don’t be afraid to take personal days. He has 52 strategies for t’s.
What’s one thing? you truly hold the key to your own happiness. What drove you to think about teaching in the first place? Don’t let everything else diminish it. Reignite it back into brillance. It’s worth it to keep going. Kids need you.
Where can ppl find you online? on most socials but Tik Tok, IG, X @tompesceoffical . include website www.tompesce.com
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/7bgmbBP6UfI
Episode #354: Brenda Yoho
https://outofthetrenches.podbean.com/e/episode-354-brenda-yoho/
Brenda Yoho is the author of Lead with Two Rules: Feeling Good and Feeling Safe, her career in public education spanned more than 25 years, as a teacher, elementary principal, middle school principal, and director. She provides encouragement and leadership advice. As an educational consultant with over two decades of experience in the education sector, she partners with the Illinois Principals Association to support K-12 principals, educational leaders, and staff members in rural and urban settings. She helps them develop their skills and competencies in areas such as school improvement, curriculum, staff development, crisis planning, school culture, family involvement, grants, bullying, and goal setting. She also provides mentoring and coaching to aspiring, new, and seasoned administrators, building trusting relationships and facilitating professional growth.
In addition to consulting and coaching, she is also a speaker, author, and professional development presenter. She shares her insights and expertise on topics such as character education, bullying, inspiration, motivation, culture, teacher mentoring, and leadership development. Her first book, Lead with Two Rules, focuses on building a culture that fosters safety and well-being for students and staff, using stories and strategies to teach self-regulation, problem-solving, choice, responsibility, and accountability. Her mission is to provide free resources, support, and guidance to everyone who seeks solutions in education. She believes in facing the sunshine and making each day better for someone else. Together, we can make the changes needed for the solutions we seek.
Trenches story: Always have a backup plan. In 2010, had a near-death accident. Had a 1st yr AP. Brenda was out of work and had a TBI. When she came back, she knew she wasn’t the same principal. Wanted to get out of that position- told superintendent she wanted to leave edu- went to director spot. She wasn’t done though.
Also: When she first became Adm, then was transferred to a MS building from ES building. It was a low performing school. First day she took 10 m. and showed a hand signal to show them how to signal them everyone’s got their hands up & ready to have a convo. Said “this is how we begin a conversation”. She said “I respect, trust you and that’s how I want you to trust me”. Principals need to start w/ those. “you choose to be part of the solution”, “make it a great day or not the choice is yours”. She wanted to make sure kids were used to hearing those ?’s. Team leaders, etc started building family.
Retired in 2018 then worked coaching/mentoring principals in rural & larger districts. She was an AP in a rural town, Principal in urban area. Has helped them get through the things over the past few years. Home, school & community have to work together. Foundation of her work is finding solutions. First thing is to learn the community. Have chats w/ them. She wanted to know who the ppl are you’re serving. Have partners in edu. It doesn’t have to be funding sources. The choice is theirs to make, it can be for staff, parents, community. Look @ why behind it, then look @ solutions that are w/in our control. That’s why educators are getting burnt out. They’re giving up all of their day. We can talk about burnout in terms of school improvement. Find out what the resources are in your community, esp. if you’re the only principal w/o counselors, SRO, etc. Have a comm. member come in & talk about a solution for an issue you’re facing. We need to focus on finding a solution.
She can talk about how she helps principals & how she helps them prepare for the unexpected. Ideally we want to be able to respond to situations and not react. As a young admin she experienced the death of a staff member & student. She does workshops to help ppl prepare for that. She makes sure everyone that is surrounding her knows what to do. Office has t’s emergency sub plans. For admin, go ahead & write letters you don’t intend on using, such as when a staff member or student passes. Make sure you have well-written crisis plans. If you’re in a low SES school, make sure you can provide pictures of students if families don’t have any printed ones.
Talk about your book, Lead with Two Rules, Feeling Good & Feeling Safe. It focuses on building a culture that fosters safety and well-being for students and staff, using stories and strategies to teach self-regulation: she can talk about the “Two Rules”-what she’s found through her life is what she found as a 3rd grade student, she didn’t feel good or safe until she was in HS. She’d experienced bullying etc. It’s a simple statement for st’s and staff. Before you say/do anything, ask: Is this going to make me/others feel good & safe? You can choose to be part of the problem or part of the solution. There’s responsibility, accountability, choices. She knows Maslow’s Hierarchy works. Feeling good, feeling safe, etc. As a society, we desperately need these 2 rules. Kids learn about building relationships through this simple thing. Before st’s say or do anything. St’s then are able to self-regulate. It’s how you introduce it. Ask yourself, is it going to make me feel good & safe? Are you choosing to be part of the problem or solution? There’s a responsibility, consequences & accountability. Ask st’s if they’re part of the problem or solution. Be proactive rather than reactive. PBIS- she was always @ PBIS schools- however it’s not real life. When she got into education, she didn’t want any students to feel that way. Began as a TA, teacher, principal and director of education. She’s teaching them about their choice & What it means to make a choice. Example w/ MS/HS: if you choose to drive over the speed limit you choose to break the law. The consequences could be fatal. Is this going to make me & others feel good & safe? St’s need to talk w/ trusted info.
She’s worked in lots of different states & sees how the SEL component is falling by the wayside in secondary schools. We’ve been told we need to do SEL, PBIS, but it’s checking boxes. Are we consistently saying & doing it every day? You’re mandated to do so many things. Society is a reflection of what we’ve allowed to happen, we see a lot of lack of self-regulation. Some of the canned programs don’t go into the depth process w/ kids necessarily. There’s been f.ex. curricula that have failed.Suicide- we can blame social media, but tech isn’t going away. Kids often don’t know how to interact w/ others. In the book, she has diagrams that kids used. She had an 8th grader who’d failed 2x’s, almost was going to fail again. He was afraid to go to HS b/c he was born into a gang. She told him about U of IL professor who had a doct. student who was a former gang member, who talked to the student.
Follow-up workshops, divided up staff “How do we see”. Color-coded paper. Create, name & tell about the student. It’s important for us to see how we see others. Esp when there is a low # of staff members who look like st’s. Comments about them were all negative. Brenda asked “what are we saying, doing, how do you think we see them”. They had to see it themselves. Things started to change, t’s & team leaders started focusing on the needs of children over all, not just academically. Teams who worked w/ SEL needs, counselors came in 2x’s wk. It just kept building. They learn life skills to progress. She did this at both MS she worked at. Then ask “how do you think the kids feel?” “How are you talking to their parents?” She made a space to see parents when they were able.
Resiliency-we can talk about 12 steps that are important to build in your school. Important for both staff & st’s. Look at student body- do they have ppl they can look up to? How much do parents know about their child’s school? Where can they go in the community to get resources? Does my family/friends stand by me during difficult times? I enjoy my communities cultures/traditions? Do you have these present in your school? Think about SIPs, how to incorporate them in your plan to improve? Great to use to improve school cultures.
What’s one thing? Spead & implement the 2 rules. She’ll send you a book, reach out. The world would be better if we could self-regulate.
Where can ppl find you online?
Contact her via https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendayoho/ www.BrendaYoho.com she publishes blogs every Wedn. Other socials: X, IG, FB, isn’t super active. LinkedIn most active. Her purpose is to help educators help others enrich their lives. She’s not here to make $. Is a busy grandma as well.
Episode #355: Matt Sherrill
https://outofthetrenches.podbean.com/e/episode-355-matt-sherrill/
Matt Sherrill is a Regional Educational Technology Coordinator for the Learning Technology Center, serving Illinois’ East Central region. Always an early adopter, Matt is passionate about utilizing technology to drive impactful learning and supporting fellow educators as they grow fluent in new tech.
An educator with 15 years of classroom experience, Matt previously worked as an ELA teacher and department chair in McLean County Unit 5 schools. Matt also holds a Master’s Degree in Teaching and Learning and a Technology Specialist endorsement on his Illinois Professional Educator License.
In addition to his classroom work, Matt has served on his district’s AI Advisory Team where he developed and delivered AI-focused professional development to the district’s staff. He has also shared his insights as a guest speaker on AI literacy for Illinois State University’s pre-service teachers.
Trenches story: rooted in AI space. He’d taken grad course on AI in edu. Was really excited but terrified. Felt discouraged. Very little was being done to address it. Found a good support network of like-minded ppl. Got together & started doing the work.
What had you moved from ELA teacher/dept chair to EdTech? He was always tech focused. It helped him become more efficient/effective. Even as a ELA t, when district rolled out new SIS, he was building coach- “Train the Trainer” for the program. He would often work w/ pre-service t’s as an ELA teacher. He offered lessons he learned w/ technology & shared tools. Started doing work on AI in district. Did more on institute days. Had influence on CR outside his school. Saw how much that helped the interns in his CR. Last 1.5 yrs, state-level union, he was a virtual instructional coach. PAired up w/ 3 early-career educators, brought up tech tools.
AI Advisory Team in your district- was still in the CR last yr and put together this group. It happened organically. They saw receptiveness, interest grow. Started in fall ‘23. Navigated what AI use looked like in his district. In his new role w/in the learning tech center in IL, he puts together PD for ppl across the state. He’s one of 5 w/in the state. #2 he has 8 RoE, facilitates networking opportunities for edtech coordinators across the state #3 is a mentor/consultant to teachers across the state looking for tech resources. He helps offer AI guidance/advice to other districts working on that. He wants to help day-to-day teachers.
Teachers- be aware what it is, and have educated convos w/ st’s. He still encounters many “blissfully ignorant” t’s who are unaware of AI. Typical district, 10% of t’s will be aggressively opposed to AI integration. Some have valid concerns about cheating. 10% on other end-early adopters. Some of them use it recklessly. 80% in the middle. He tries to target to the 80%. He tells about positives but also aspects that are frightening. He tries to grow their understanding. A big part is “existential crisis” slide. How AI can impact you outside the profession. It’s not just about you using it, it’s being aware of how others are using it. This is bigger than AI in the classroom. Becoming AI literate will help steer conversation. Root it in t’s day-to-day. Take it beyond educational spaces.
IL EdTech conference, put in 13-15th Nov: is co-presenting “Upstream Efforts”, how to get everyone rowing in the same direction (AI). Rooted in concept of self-determination theory. Psychological requests for ppl to have buy-in. They talked about how they rolled it out w/ staff. Give them knowledge/practical guidance. He can talk about his involvement & thoughts for future conferences.
He’s been a guest speaker on AI literacy for Illinois State University’s pre-service teachers: He loves guest-speaking at Univ. Tries to stress that once you kind of learn basics of how Chat GPT comes up w/ the text it comes up w/. One of biggest limitations is hallucinations. Can mimic human language falsely. Pre-service t’s want AI to do the work they’re not confident in. Secondary pre-service t’s take this. 80/20 Rule, let AI do heavy lifting, then take care of the formatting, editing. Rubrics, f.ex. Where you need to use your expertise. Otherwise you can’t do the fine-tuning. Don’t offload the learning process onto AI. If they’re not well-versed in assessment practices they may use it harmfully. A former principal is a professor there, he comes in & talks to them on AI literacy.
Upcoming trainings/webinars? he speaks in diff. districts, there’s an AI summit in Central IL (spring). There was a request to host these events in diff. parts of IL. There are 8 partners in his region he coordinates with. It’s like a mini-conference. Sessions w/ admin, practical ones for t’s day-to-day, etc. How do we start convos of AI Literacy w/ st’s? With sub shortages districts want him to come for institute or early dismissal days.
What’s one thing? AI, tech is evolving so fast, it’s important to remember to build AI literacy. Important personally, around your st’s, and will help steer decision-making. Ethan Mollick-big voice around practical AI use- recommends10+ around hands-on application.
Where can ppl find you online? only active on LinkedIN, use website: www.LTCIllinios.org email him-insert address (he can be your point person around AI).
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/7_gupW2sjlQ
Episode #356: Roni Habib
https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-z8k8p-18c0581
Roni Habib is the author of Happy & Resilient: The Complete Guide to Joyful Teaching, Learning & Living. He is an expert in helping leaders, educators, and parents become happier, more resilient, more connected to their purpose, and more playful. The founder of EQ Schools, he leads workshops and speaks in organizations nationally and abroad.
Trenches story: taught for many yrs, started in Boston. Intense year first yr teaching. Moved to CA-taught in Paolo Alto ca. 15 yrs. Around his 6th yr he almost quit. Didn’t realize he was burning out. Lots of negativity that impacted the students. Didn’t know what to do next. Experience w/ a tragedy in April that year, was asked to speak at student’s funeral. Was the hardest thing he had to do professionally. When he got up & shared, he knew he had to put st’s well-being first. Very big school w/ 2000 kids. Kid who committed suicide was one of his, did it in a public way. Afterwards, he created training on how to thrive and be resilient after discovering mindfulness. Created a positive psychology course. 120 st’s signed up. 100’s of kids taught over 4 yrs. He wanted millions of kids/educators to learn to use these strategies. Decided to train other educators in it. That’s his hook. Ppl can resonate w/.
EQ Schools: Launched after putting on these training sessions. Started as a project, FT teacher. Took another 4 yrs to leave the CR. Went part-time at first. Created workshops on the side. He wanted to marry positive psychology & PD for adults. Got hired as a keynoter. Started his own conferences, summits. He had to focus on doing this. Districts are still interested in bringing him in for educator resiliency. There will always be a need for it.
Book Happy & Resilient: The Complete Guide to Joyful Teaching, Learning & Living. When you focus on happiness & resilience, educators are better @ their jobs. He wants students to thrive as a result. He can list more practical things, towards R.A. A.M.P. 5 elements that contribute to effective teaching & learning. It’s about what leads a person to truly thrive. Relationships (he encourages listeners to think about who they care about & can give gift of time to; people want to be seen), awareness (living in the present), advancement (pursuing life-long goals), meaning (connection to purpose, what’s your story), positive emotions (we should experience a 3-1 ratio positive to negative emotions; whatever you resist, persists), etc. In each category, he delves into practical tools. He can give listeners activities they can do in the CR. F.ex. relationships- start class w/ improv games. Get all st’s in a circle (“pass the clap”). You start by clapping, this goes around the circle. It will go around the circle in less than 10 sec. Celebrate failure- it allows them to take more risks. They learn faster from mistakes. Then try to do it in less seconds. They’re primarily pedagogical tools; they put us in a mindful state. You get them to get centered. Emotional resonance- they’re positively connected w/ others. Positive emotions make us want to learn more things. The idea is to say “yes, let’s create a joyful, emotionally intelligent classroom”. He loves to do gratitude circles- st’s write 3 things they feel grateful for in their journal. They stand up, share 1 thing they feel grateful for. It opens a window into ppl’s lives. It builds up empathy. It’s a physiological shift. You’re shifting to a more present state. The book contains 100’s games, mindfulness practices. Roni was afraid of using these things b/c he thought st’s would think it’s lame. He thought parents would sue him, loose instructional minutes. 95% of st’s loved the exercises. It was the only time during the day they had a moment to connect w/ others in a joyful way. He got nice emails from parents. He actually gained instructional minutes. This helped him reconnect w/ the joy of teaching. Sometimes t’s ask him “what if we all use them in our school, will st’s find it repetitive”. No, it just works. Participants in workshops make magic in their CR.
Workshops center around: resiliency, applied positive psychology. “How do you self-regulate effectively?” “How do you choose empowering beliefs for yourself?” His workshops are interactive. The gremlin, the negative messages you tell yourself. He believes in the power of healing. Huge emphasis on joy, laughter, connection. It leads ppl to be more open, vulnerable. W/ mindfulness- we decide what we choose to believe. Choose those which are empowering. Prompts illicit vulnerability. They open up- it becomes a place of growth. Participants see each other’s humanity. You can’t have an effective SEL program w/o adult SEL. CASEL-very clear that you need to start on the adults if you’re going to launch an SEL program in the school. Kids need to see it modelled. In book- he delves into practices adults can have for themselves. Then they enjoy being @ work more.
Conferences? EQ schools have in the past. He may decide to put one together in June ‘25 (will be open to admin & any educators who want to introduce these strategies. He does keynote as a speaker, PD provider in districts (it’s multiple points of contact throughout the year). He will send a link to have listeners sign up.
What’s one thing? be your own best coach. Treat yourself well mentally. Take care of your rest. If not now, then when? When you do this well, you’ll show up best for your students.
Where can ppl find you online? http://www.eqschools.com click “schedule a call”. Get his socials from his email signature. Include his TedXTalk also. Is on FB, X, IG @roninhabib, soon Bluesky. Website: https://www.eqschools.com
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/hJ7DNLPDXow
Episode #357: Alyssa Gallagher
https://outofthetrenches.podbean.com/e/episode-357-alyssa-gallagher/
Alyssa Gallagher is the Head of BTS Spark, America (West & Central), Speaker & Facilitator in Leadership Development, Multipliers, Design Thinking and Author of MESSY Leadership. She is a passionate and experienced education leader, author, speaker, and consultant. She has over 20 years of leadership experience in various educational settings, from district administration to non-profit management. She is currently the Head of BTS Spark, America (West/Central), a global education non-profit that empowers educators to transform their schools and communities. Alyssa’s mission is to unleash the intelligence and potential of everyone on her team and in her network. She is a certified Multiplier practitioner and collaborator, as well as a co-author of two books on design thinking for school leaders and educators and a book on embracing the messiness of leadership. She designs and delivers engaging and impactful learning experiences that help leaders and educators foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and well-being. She is also a sought-after speaker and facilitator who shares her insights and best practices on leadership, learning, and change.
Trenches story: she loved being in the CR. Was an AP @ an ES, a large, multi-track one. Started the job & found it was nothing she expected. Principal was a manager, didn’t care to improve things. She started questioning what she was capable of. Was given “to dos” list, like testing, discipline. Felt far away from teaching. She had to dig deep to bring her spark, love of improving things. It lit a fire to seek another AP position. Found ways to connect w/ kids. Is grateful she didn’t give up on leadership, evt. became a principal.
Talk about your work as a leader and now as head of BTS Spark: Started working w/ them in 2020. Global non-profit. Have 300 leadership coaches. Goal is to help develop leaders @ all levels, teachers to superintendents. Connect them w/ executive coaching. She gets reached out via individuals or larger districts who want to feed, develop & grow their leaders. Some systems are thinking about pipelines. Opportunities to connect them w/ supports. Coaching- they offer both one-on-one and go through a matching process to connect w/ leadership coach, someone who can provoke their thinking. All are certified leadership coaches. Also small groups w/in state. WA is putting together peer groups; they can create custom packages.
MESSY Leadership, book you co-wrote with Rosie Connor: Over the past decades, BTS has coached 20K leaders. Too many leaders feel isolated, and they often think “this is why role is hard”. The book analyzes the data. Rosie is in Australia. Asked if there are common leadership challenges or themes. Book provides tools w/ actionable things. MESSY-acronym- each one of the letters stands for an aspirational goal.
We discuss 2 chapters: E for Emotional Connection and Y for Your Presence. She likes the “Seizing Momentum” chapter. When they were coaching leaders in 2020, they had insights about the expectation wasn’t really what they expected.E- Emotional connection is about leaders dropping a bit of the professional demeanor. You can’t have all the answers. Be humble. Ask staff to co-investigate. There’s a “culture of nice”, it ends up stunting progress. We have to push problems underground. We think we may damage relationship because we shy away from building relationships. When leaders know how to unearth connections, they build deeper connections. Don’t let these things slide under your leadership.
Y-Your Presence= when she was the sole principal @ ES, she felt isolated. It’s focused on YOU as the leader. Building confidence, understanding mind traps, despite leader’s accolades, many have impostor syndrome. How do leaders feel comfortable bringing all they have? Know what the mind traps are. Have emotional awareness. Find blind spots. Grow & evolve as a leader. They share 6 in the book. 1 is pleaser- you want to keep ppl happy. You may start having resentment. Martyr is another mind trap- you can’t remove things from all plates, you can’t always be first in, last to leave.
What can ppl do to move away from these mind traps? we all come from the teaching world. It starts w/ self-awareness, this is who I am as a leader. Spend a little time reflecting. What are some triggers? What are different responses? Identify how you can get out of the box, “glimmers”. What gets you grounded/connected to being your best self?
Keynote/staff PD topics: many of them are around Messy Leadership. Also around Building Your Own Signature Leadership Style. Burnout & Resilience. She also speaks on Design Thinking- in “S” chapter- forward-thinking leadership. Don’t get stuck in patterns that don’t produce. Are we leading schools we could create & how do we evolve? We’re always wanting to move from theory-action. Her speaking engagements aren’t a one-off.
Upcoming events spring/summer: (she’ll look), she may be @ ASCD/ISTE in July- In March will be at Superintendents conf.
What’s one thing? know how much you matter- if you want to have a bigger impact, it’s finding ways to share your spark. Kids, schools, communities need that. Don’t underestimate the value of what you bring. We can change things. Ripple impact- small actions have a huge ripple effect. You deserve support in that!
Where can ppl find you online? BTS Spark & @LinkedIn www.btsspark.org They share a lot of free resources via website
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/pBNzikJIO10
Episode #358: Dr. Chris Jochum
https://outofthetrenches.podbean.com/e/episode-358-dr-chris-jochum/
Christopher J. Jochum, Ph.D. currently serves as Professor and Chair of the Department of Teacher Education at Fort Hays State University (FHSU) where he leads a large teacher preparation program, serving on-campus and virtual students across the country.
Jochum’s previous professional appointments include the University of Nebraska at Kearney as an Associate Professor of Foreign Language Education and Spanish, the University of Central Missouri as an Assistant Professor of Secondary Education, Salina High School South (Kansas) as a secondary Spanish teacher and Chair of the World Languages Department and Kearney Public Schools (Nebraska) as a K-12 English as a Second Language teacher.
Dr. Jochum is the author of “The Department Chair: A Practical Guide to Effective Leadership” (Rowman & Littlefield) and serves as the Co-Chair of the Advisory Board for the Academic Chairpersons Conference, where he is also one of the facilitators for the New Chair Alliance. Chris was recently elected as a Commissioner for the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP) and was one of the founding Directors of The National Center for Clinical Practice in Educator Preparation.
Trench story: having started in K-12, now training t’s, his hat goes off to those in K-12. As a leader he has the choice to crawl out of some sort of trench. He defines success as defined daily, not in a day. We have the choice.
Talk about your book “The Department Chair: A Practical Guide to Effective Leadership”. Does it apply to post-secondary only? Yes, but leadership is leadership. If you’re in education, the closer you are to students, the more influence you have. You think you can prepare for dept. leadership. He wrote the book he wished he’s had. It’s for those who are leading from the middle.
In 2025 (probably middle-2nd half), he will be publishing a book through RtA on t leadership in K-12 space in terms of Teaching. Will be avail. for digital download. In W NE, he went from teacher leadership to training teachers @ the univ. level. 5 yrs ago, he started a teacher leadership class (12 chapt book). Developed a curriculum based on his research. It’s not about “adding one more thing”. The district should empower them to do more inside their CR, in community. Title will be something about You don’t have to leave to lead: Retaining Teachers by Developing Leaders. This increases staff retention, morale, and is often overlooked.
Talk about your podcast: The Department Chair Leadership Podcast – Dr. Chris Jochum Has hosted in since Oct. ‘23. Started b/c there’s not a lot out there in terms of training teacher leaders. Sort of “backed into it”. He’s learned a lot from other podcasts. Spans PreK-16. Did it because he wanted to learn how to get his better. Better platform to support other educators. It’s about Schoolhouse Leadership. In higher ed they really don’t train leaders. Sometimes you get into higher ed because of teaching. The format is solo episodes, sometimes interviews. Every other wk or 1x month, episodes drop on Tuesdays. There’s not a lot in the higher ed space to train Dept. chairs. Encourages listeners to give him feedback.
Speaking engagements: (keep in mind for CCFLT FC possible keynote). He was a WL methods professor for 8 yrs. Understands what it means to advocate. Teachers are probably recruiting, working w/ feeder school, preparing for a student trip or study abroad. He could talk about how to maximize your influence? In other spaces, he’s taught on core mission statements, identifying core values, and addressing conflict. Did district-wide PD in W KS at beginning of 24/25 SY.
He takes st’s to Costa Rica (June 7-17) every summer. At prior Univ. he took st’s to develop language proficiency. They do teacher leader workshops- undergrad majors. Spend a week going to a language school. They learn what it’s like to be a lang. learner. His colleague who sponsors it does school psych.
Out of everything: always be curious, keep creative tension. It doesn’t minimize struggles, but continue to focus on what’s positive.
Where can ppl find you online: https://cjleadership.com/ links from there to podcast, LinkedIn, Tik Tok (links on website), presentations chris@cjleadership.com
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/p7jiElyUrEg