Episode # 388: Dr. Chad Dumas
Episode # 388: Chad Dumas | The Out of the Trenches Podcast
Dr. Chad M.V. Dumas is a Solution Tree PLC at Work®, RTI at Work®, Assessment, and Priority Schools associate and international consultant, presenter and award-winning researcher whose primary focus is collaborating to develop capacity for continuous improvement. Having been a successful teacher, principal, central office administrator, professional developer and consultant in a variety of school districts, he brings his passion, expertise, and skills to his writing and speaking as he engages participants in meaningful and practical learning. In his Amazon best-selling books, Let’s Put the C in PLC, An Action Guide to Put the C in PLC, and The Teacher Team Leader Handbook, Chad offers readers and audiences educational research, engaging stories, hands-on tools, and useful knowledge and skills they can implement immediately.
The results of Chad’s work speak for themselves. One district was identified as “Persistently Lowest Achieving” upon his arrival, and within a few years multiple schools were recognized as National PLC Models for improving student learning. Chad has served on and led accreditation visits for Cognia around the United States and world, presented nationally and internationally, and collaborated with school boards, intermediate service agencies, state departments of education, and professional associations.
Was a previous guest 4 yrs ago on episode #69: https://outofthetrenches.podbean.com/e/episode-69-chad-dumas/
Trench story: the new book is a result of being in the trenches w/ teacher team leaders.Kept going back to a few simple strategies & moves. Navigating the messy middle.
Here to talk about new book: In The Teacher Team Leader Handbook (released Mar 25), what led you to writing it? Dumas provides teacher team leaders with clarity on their role and approach, accompanied by actions that help teams get going, gain momentum, overcome obstacles, and refine skills that maximize their effectiveness in professional learning communities. Uncover the responsibilities, assumptions, and mindsets of effective teacher team leaders and utilize 40 simple, go-to moves, techniques, and strategies that will transform team collaboration.
K–12 teacher team leaders can rely on this handbook to:
- Understand the three key responsibilities of the team leader in a PLC
- Cultivate assumptions and mindsets for successful team collaboration
- Utilize tools to implement simple actions that transform team functioning
- Reflect on their progress and determine future action steps
- Address common challenges that impede their effectiveness
There’s very little in the book we haven’t heard about before, he uses the work of many others. Folks think these strategies are hard to access. Book in 2 parts- who you are as a person, then what you do. Is there clarity about the responsibilities of a teacher team leader? 2 responsibilities: make sure it’s a safe space & build capacity. 3rd- do the work. His book isn’t about doing the work. Who you are as a person, assumptions, mindsets. New teacher team leaders how to go about this? Read the book-it’s a workbook. There are simple habits. Ch. 7 includes common challenges team leaders & teams have. It references challenges that can come up. Have clarity about your purpose. He’s organized chapt. on others’ work. Laid out in a logical fashion. If new to this position, at the end of chap. 3,4,5 there are vignettes of a teacher team leader & asks how you would respond.
Work w/ this book before working w/ teams: Work of engaging w/ colleagues is individually integrated. One of the first moves he share is pausing & breathing along w/ it. It looks weird if you’re not used to it. You can practice & laugh together at these attempts. Getting into “heat of the battle”, know the skills before. Skills come from non-verbal communication science.
“Magic move”– 3rd point- idea come from Michael Grider. Yourself, other ppl, inanimate object. Problem is ppl are often looking at each other during team meetings. You can project it. Practice looking @ 3rd point. Developing group rapport- it’s easy to get group to follow. In a group it’s developed synchronously.
Speaking/trainings given for schools? both for ST & Independently. PLC at Work®, RTI at Work®, Assessment, and Priority Schools- often w/ admin, teams of teachers, etc. The difference is the intellectual property. He has a collaborative leadership academy for Let’s Put the C in PLC, An Action Guide to Put the C in PLC.
Upcoming Conferences: Will be at Learning Forward in Boston Dec. ‘25. He’s attended almost every year since 2004. He has a 2 hour session of his book.
Out of everything: Who you are matters, what you do makes a difference. Invest in yourself to clarify who are as a person.
Where can ppl find you: Home – Next Learning Solutions, X, FB, LinkedIn @chaddumas tinyurls for FB & LinkedIn. ST Books have free reproducible, on his website he has those as g-doc
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ez8-js7LfSY
Episode # 389: Glenn Forbes & Jenni Donohoo
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Glenn Forbes is a school principal and school improvement coach in Queensland, Australia. Forbes has been an educator since 2000 moving from classroom teaching to principalship over the span of his career. His principal experience ranges from small, one-teacher rural schools through to leading large, diverse and complex metropolitan schools. Glenn’s strong belief in cultivating collective teacher efficacy and establishing a culture of high expectations has resulted in marked improvement in various schools.
Glenn is a member of the Queensland Association of State School Principals (QASSP). He chairs the curriculum subcommittee and serves as president of the Ipswich Branch. He has been the recipient of the QASSP Travelling Scholars grant which he used to further his knowledge of collective teacher efficacy construct. His schools have been recognized at the Showcase Awards for Excellence in schools for Excellence in Parent and Community Engagement and Excellence in Early & Primary Years Education. Glenn has presented at the World Education Summit with Jenni Donohoo and has been a keynote speaker at several conferences. Several of Glenn’s articles have been published in The Queensland Principal journal. Glenn has been a member of the Menzies School Leadership Incubator Advisory Board which has been tasked with building a pipeline of school leaders equipped to lead and grow collective efficacy.
Glenn received his undergraduate degree in Primary Education and a Master’s degree in Learning Management from Central Queensland University.
Jenni bio: Jenni Donohoo, PhD, is a professional learning facilitator, author, and researcher. Jenni has been an educator for more than twenty-five years, with experience in elementary, secondary, and postsecondary settings. She has multiyear partnerships with numerous organizations and government agencies where she works alongside system and school leaders supporting high-quality professional learning designed to improve outcomes for all students. Her areas of focus include collective teacher efficacy, collaborative inquiry, and metacognition.
Jenni is a five-time best-selling author and her books have been translated into several languages. As the director of the Jenni Donohoo Center for Collective Efficacy, she has been recognized internationally as an educational thought leader. Jenni has been a keynote speaker at conferences including WorldEduLead, Raising Student Achievement, Annual Visible Learning, Corwin’s Women in Education, and the LEAP Conference in Australia.
Jenni received a bachelor of arts degree in art history and an honors bachelor of arts in sociology from the University of Windsor, and a master’s degree in education from the University of Windsor. She earned a PhD in education from the joint program at the University of Windsor, Brock University, and Lakehead University, all in Ontario, Canada.
Trench Story: will lead into the book: Glenn: currently in 8th week of 10-week term in Queensland. At this time they’re reporting on student progress. St’s are tired, it’s winter, there’s illness. Shout out to 2 t’s @ his school-they had an idea to do a staff wellness activity- 5K run along the river. It gave them a chance to rest, relax & recharge.
Jenni-experience w/ a PLC at a secondary school, where they had to identify st learning needs. T’s were invested. They were willing to collaborate, learn, experiment, try new things. She modelled “what happens here, stays here”.
Authors of Collective Impact: (about book from website) Explore the four key sources of collective teacher efficacy: mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, persuasion, and positive emotions. Understand how to tap into these sources to overcome the barriers that impede the development of collective teacher efficacy. With a focus on sustained improvement, this guide provides practical steps to achieve lasting impact.
How did you all become co-authors? Glenn’s in the principalship doing the work. Jenni focuses heavily on research & theory. It was a valuable working opportunity. They met online, then connected when he was in the US, Jenni went to Brisbane.Shout-out to Tommy Tompson how cointed “the enemies of efficacy”.
In your new book, you uncover what you refer to as the twelve enemies of teacher efficacy. Would you tell us about what the twelve enemies are, and why you decided to take this approach with the new book? They worked thru a process to identify the “dirty dozen”. Identify how they over come them.
Which ones are the most common? they encourage ppl not to read straight thru Jenni’s encountered magnitude. As we’re forming judgements, we take on a perception of challenge. Glenn- frustration via fragmentation. The antidote is focus. They have little moves in the book.Positivity over negativity. Elevate positivity.
The chapter structure you chose is compelling because you introduce how to counteract each of the enemies of efficacy. For example, Feedback over Blame, and Perspective over Magnitude. This structure feels very user friendly and opens the door for readers to use some of the micro moves that you suggest taking. Is there a chapter that was your favorite to dig into? They collaborated for over a yr. They maintained the same structure in each structure. Describe enemy, tie to research, offer ways to overcome, then there’s a planning template. Favorite micromove-interdependence over isolation. Joint work is truly interdependent. A problem of practice often gets deflected. Glenn’s favorite chapter is on overcoming negativity- leveraging the power of the narrative. Principals control the narrative of the school-so construct the collective efficacy move- 100 words or less.
Who is the book for? Is good for instructional coaches & principals, everyone has the power to be a leader in their own way. There are good leadership strategies/moves you can use under any circumstance. Helpful if you’re implementing a strategy.
Speaking of feedback, you write about the power of feedback to counteract blame. You even use the terminology ‘coaching feedback’. What’s interesting is you seemed to be referring to the principal as the coach. Can you tell us a little more about that? Based on book Thanks for the Feedback. T’s always thinks it’s evaluative, we need to normalize coaching fdb by separating the two. Coaching fdb is different than evaluation.
How do you recommend instructional coaches partner with the principal on building collective efficacy in their school? It’s a great partnership.Coach becomes instrumental in scaffolding. Have a consensus on the goal for partnership.
What advice do you have for others who want to focus on collective efficacy as a key driver for school improvement, who aren’t there yet? Sources of efficacy- comes back to the work of Albert VanDura. Sources- when teams succeed, convinced to take a risk, etc, they’ve organized chapters on those sources. They get practical in the book so ppl can apply it.
Speaking events: they have collaborated on some events. Jenni can let me know what she’ll be speaking at in the fall. Jenni will have a session @ First Educational Resources, go to her site, There’s a face to face session in August. (cut that out)
Glenn can talk about teacher teams at this school, working w/ collective efficiency. Was recently in the US w/ Jenni- their calendars don’t always sync to work together. Glenn can talk about his career– in Queensland, still a principal. Can share some current challenges at his school. School in Brisbane. Collective efficacy happens thru doing the work. It happens thru staff doing the work.
Out of Everything, what’s one thing you’d like people to remember: Jenni: efficacy is a belief, where it’s established, ppl will put forth more effort. It matters most in raising st. achievement. Glenn- collective impact
Where can ppl find you online? Glenn- Solution Tree to find book, he’s building a website; Jenni www.jennidonohoo.com there’s a form;
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/M49O1lh9LWU
Episode # 390: Josh See
Episode # 390: Josh See | The Out of the Trenches Podcast
Josh See is a former teacher, academic advisor, and principal of 13 years. With the average cost of college more than six figures, he has set out to show families how to save tens of thousands of dollars in future college costs by starting college early, in high school. He has helped over 3,000 families create their own college-in-high-school strategy using resources readily available to them, such as earning college credit and graduating with a college degree before graduating from high school.
He works 1:1 with families and also has a step-by-step course: The College Fast-Track Start Kit that walks a family through the exact process to start their college journey in high school. He lives near Greely, CO.
Trench story: Wasn’t sure what he wanted to do in college. Changed his major. Decided to become a teacher. Fell by accident into charter school world, was part of a charter network for 13 yrs, then worked at an Early College HS campus as career advisor. Put together framework of what college could be. Wasn’t affiliated w/ district.
Talk about a student experience with College in High School: St’s came from anywhere and everywhere. Family approached him who lived 70 miles away. His school has no geographic boundaries, they could come as long as they live in the state. Neighborhood HS wasn’t serving student. They needed another option. He thought about creative way to help st. Near st’s house was the local community college. Used comm. college as HS hub (st was a 10th grader).He was allowed to enroll under age for 2 classes. Kept tabs on st. Graduated w/ an associate’s before graduating from HS. The st. got a level of momentum that caught on to other families. Started a satellite office campus near the community college. Thriving today w/ 200 st’s. They’re reimaging HS. Had a refined system on how they determined college readiness. They were taking what was already available.
Dual Enrollment how is it different for you? he’s very well versed in his, knows the in & outs and legislation, a lot of schools lack the strategy that can meet so many needs. In CO legislation the school are supposed to allow all HS to dual enroll, sometimes they offer a random class. KLEP exam vs. the AP exam. IF st’s got a lower score on an AP exam. CE- there’s no high-stakes exam @ the end. For him, it’s 1 semester vs. the whole academic year.
How to graduate from college before graduating from high school? They’re graduating w/ AA. A handful have graduated w/ BA. Colleges are out earlier so they get the diploma before HS commencement.
Career Counseling: His framework in the schools separated counselors from career guidance counselors. He’s found trying something, like a first college class-asking st’s what they like to do. Have a st get in the trenches to see what they like in an actual HS class. He has a lot of st examples who have done it both ways. His school had a track record of which classes work for younger st’s and which ones don’t. Dual job of most HS counselors could be why many families aren’t aware of the dual enrollment piece. He fills families’ toolbox.
How to save $50,000 on college without saving a dime: He gets data from NCES (Natl. Center for Ed Statistics). Comm. college- 1 3 credit class $300, at a Univ. much more- $2500. Spend a few hundred $ to save more in the future.
College Debt: He’s not a financial aid expert. The average st will come out w/ $29K in debt. It’s better to lower costs now, take financial aid package before st starts. He says you don’t need st. loans to go to college. He talks to st/parents how to avoid st. loans. He advocates doing gen ed classes while you’re in HS. Do what you can to eliminate future loan debt.
He has released a small book w/ tips. It’s an offshoot from the course he sells. Has been advertising audio courses on TikTok. KLEP exam- can get college credit w/ that, there’s a small guide on his website. Both parents & st’s need to have a why.
Out of everything: reimagine HS. Tagline in his videos & communication. St’s deserve this. Know there are other options!
Where can ppl find you? https://stan.store/joshsee (this is more of a site to buy his products or book a consultation). He has a free Klepp guide. On Thursdays 12 EST, he has a power hour reimaging HS. It’s on Tik Tok. Refer to his LinkedIn also for links.
https://www.facebook.com/collegeinhighschool1/
https://www.instagram.com/collegeinhighschool/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-see/
@collegeinhighschool1 on TikTok
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/iy6_9QgjSv8
Episode # 391: Shira Wolff Cohen
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Shira Wolff Cohen brings 25 years of experience in youth workforce development and education. Over a decade of her career was spent in school leadership at a Philadelphia charter school. As a Teacher, Program Director, Dean, Vice Principal, and Principal, she championed student engagement, innovative instruction, and strong community partnerships to create impactful learning experiences. Shira is the co-founder of Innovageous, where she focuses on building partnerships, designing programs, and improving instruction in both school-based and out-of-school settings. She wrote Leading Future-Focused Schools- came out 7/1.
Trench story: started t career 3 yrs after graduating college. Started teaching in a church in a “large closet” w/ 25 kids. One day had visitors, ppl observed. Her MS st’s became antsy. Felt like she couldn’t complete her lesson. When they left, she cried. T’s provided her w/ support & empathy. Came back the next day & set different expectations. Built growth mindset.
Move from charter school leadership to company: part of her trenches story. She was @ the school for 19 yrs, left in 2020. When she left had been AP/principal for 12 yrs. Worked to bring service learning to give back. School had a mission to develop st’s socially & emotionally. Created youth leadership opportunities. Decided to change roles. Looked into creating own organization. Partnered w/ friend Johanna & sister Alysha. They’ve worked in 1000’s of schools to make sure there were innovative learning opportunities. Smooth continuity of learning b/w home & school.
https://innovageous.com/ company and what type of out-of-school settings and how schools who may not yet have CTE/CU credits can start a program: Her team works w/ adults & supports for after school programs. School district of Philly- youth workforce development initiative. Embeds career-connected into program. Red Cross w/ CPR training, etc. Youth as junior counselors. Non-profit volunteers. They want to build capacity. Create PD plan to ensure leaders have the tools they need to know career clusters. Coordination- they can go through partner fatigue.
Talk about your book: written for school leaders, curriculum directors, is how we create an eco-system where all stakeholders are invested in creating a future for st’s. Was looking for this type of resource as a leader. She documented lessons learned when she started Innovageous. How to ignite excitement for ppl to realize everything is possible. Leadership moves to make sure everyone has what they need. Book has a lot of resources w/ implementation tools for leaders. Can be given to t’s during PD. Book has reflection pts. Explains also how to create an ecosystem to have partnerships. Has leadership in practice activities. Digital hub you get access to when you purchase book. Connections to careers. Not meant to be read front to back, PLC or admin team to work on in teams, or leaders who participate in a cohort. It has curriculum webs per grade band. Book’s organized into 3 parts. Leadership in action practice activities. There is also a huge resource center. The book is about how to start a CTE program w/ what you have. How do you engrain it in your schools? It’s about creating a whole-school approach to how they do this. She also writes about how to create future-focused spaces that can be flexible. Common workplaces have flexible spaces- it may be small or large. Classrooms aren’t what she sees. Suggestions: CR w/ flexible seating. Equipment that’s up-to-date. Visual representations of different careers. Creativity spaces. Elements connected to nature. It’s also about st voice. Visual design. Looking into modern CR furniture. Spaces for different types of learners. Mirrors what they may expect in their future.
Has a large speaking engagement (keynote w/ MS English t’s)- at a district for English PD in August.
She can talk about how ppl can book a call w/ her. Team has ppl w/ deep experience in communication, sped, exec management. Speaks on many topics around career development, etc. Virtual & in person. Does retreats, individual coaching. Inclusive practices. Practical tools- explicit instruction to whole group, etc.
Out of everything:career development is for every st. Not just for college-bound, w/ IEPs, or in CTE program. Take a school-wide approach.
Where can ppl find you? www.innovageous.com set up a meeting shira@innovageous.com access Linked in, IG, FB both her & innovageos
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/xcIftPTZToo
Episode # 392: Janet Patti & Robin Stern
https://outofthetrenches.podbean.com/e/episode-392-janet-patti-robin-stern/
Dr. Janet Patti, wrote Emotional Intelligence for School Leaders a former school leader, is CEO of Star Factor Coaching, a founding member of CASEL, and professor emeritus at Hunter College School of Education at City University of New York, where her teaching and research concentrated on educational leadership. & Dr. Robin Stern is the cofounder and senior advisor to the director at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, a licensed psychoanalyst with 30 years of experience, and the author of The Gaslight Effect. They are cocreators of the STAR Factor Coaching model, which helps educational leaders enhance their emotional intelligence skills.
Trench story (start w/ Robin): it’s new learning to reflect. Once, she presented to a group of edu, daughter was in studying in Cairo, the Arab Spring broke out. Daughter was in touch w/ her, and Georgetown was going to bring st’s back. During the presentation, Robin couldn’t manage her emotions. Thought she could present, then had to stop. She was in front of the room as a role model, she took the opportunity to say it to the attendees. T’s were very understanding. The “trench” was dealing w/ understanding she needed to stop the presentation.
Janet: beginning of work w/ SEL at a MS when she was an AP. MS had 1700 kids, 125 staff. So much violence in the area. Culture/climate was lacking. Staff didn’t understand culturally responsive edu. It wasn’t easy. Kids acted out, her office was filled w/ kids who were thrown out of class. She diverted situation. Screamed at the top of her lungs “don’t do this”. The bell rang. Beg. of SEL work. It took 3+ yrs. It brought her to adult learning.
Book you co-wrote Emotional Intelligence for School Leaders: They have known each other since 1990, when they met, they became best friends. Shared each other’s stories. They took the 360* ECI test. The ? was then “then what?” They started to develop a model- the STAR Factor model. Realized they needed to write about it. Called Dan Goldman & decided they needed to write about it. Years later- this started in 2004- they’d collected stories of leaders they’d coached. Wanted to share how they were living EI. Model made it useful to ppl who didn’t know it well. Chancellor in NYC Schools understood the model & brought them in 2007. Trained supt’s and principals. Book focuses on stories, skills, competences. In this safe space, ppl could grow, move fwd in development. Robin’s a st. of self-psychology. It allows ppl to progress along a trajectory. Coaches scaffold for client. The process is part of it. Skills of EI: understanding emotion, RULER (link from center for EI). Model’s unique b/c it helps us understand how this impacts every area of life. There are also behavioral competencies as well.
Talk about why EI matters for School Leaders today? Schools have realized that leaders need this training. The burnout rate is so high, 1 in 4 principals leave their jobs. You have to be in physical, emotional, spiritual space. there is a model distress, b/c we’re witnessing things in our culture we don’t like. There’s a type of internal revolt in t’s.
How can leaders shift the emotional mindset in a (new) school where there isn’t a lot of emotional regulation? They have to embody it. They have to come first. Leaders have to fix the problem. They see t’s who still talk down to kids, or are complaining. Send part of your faculty to a training. Evt. bring it to st’s. Mood meter or app How We Feel.
Psychological safety in terms of principal/teacher relationship: not really predominant in edu. There’s divisiveness b/w levels. Principal has to build this w/ their t’s. It’s a prerequisite for any change. Psy. safety is the absence of fear. T’s often are afraid of elevating their voices. It could be the mental health of a st, t or colleague.
Training you give for EI? Where can leaders access this, esp. if there is none in their district? They have a seminal training (5 ½ days, 6 individual coaching sessions), they have a 6-9 month coach training (w/ peer coaching), as needed as ppl sign up. They have team coaching as well. They want to get more of their work uploaded, CTLE’s in NY State. Bring on board ppl who have training in EI. Bringing ppl on board who are respected for their EI. They offer guidance in self-coaching. At the Center for EI they develop & train schools in the RULER approach.
Speaking engagements late fall/early 2026? Robin will do a session late Sept. called The Mindful Leader conference in DC, they’re going to Italy in Nov. to talk about the RULER approach. Robin has The Gaslight Effect podcast
Out of everything: Janet: quick fixes don’t work. If we’re going to invest, it’s about enhancing culture. The leader’s critical in making change happen. Robin: many of us didn’t grow up in homes where emotions were given a seat @ the table.
Where can ppl find you? www.starfactorcoaching.com they’ll have online courses in the next year.
About – Robin Stern Book-Emotional Intelligence for School Leaders
Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence (YCEI)
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4JnA5TF6jq4
Episode # 393: Jackie Pelegrin
Episode #393: Jackie Pelegrin | The Out of the Trenches Podcast
Jackie Pelegrin is an Instructional Designer and Adjunct Instructor Jackie leverages decades of experience as an instructional designer within both higher education and the corporate world. She holds an MBA and a Master of Science in Instructional Design and Technology, both acquired through online learning. In addition to her full-time role as a curriculum writer, Jackie serves as an adjunct instructor, teaching online courses at Grand Canyon University.
Trench story: first instructional design job, was in training. Course in Adobe Captivate. She’d lost the content. Helped rebuild the course, then the old file got restored. Questioned herself but the colleague was a really good mentor.
Work with students teaching at GCU: teaches 7 courses from intro to instructional design, models & theories, learning experience- how to make them best for the learners, multimedia course. Organizational workplace in learning. Objectives, keys are the best thing. Qualitative & quantitative research. They do a capstone w/ portfolio ready for job interviews.
What is instructional design and what are job opportunities for students who are majoring in it? Field that keeps growing. K-12, corporate, higher Ed. Ensures that curriculum meets the needs of the learners, f.ex. for adult learners. They look @ science of learning, it’s also an art. Makes sure it’s aligned to goals. Each industry does it differently, f.ex. e-learning development. Curriculum coaches in K-12 space. Students can start small or go into Fortune 500 companies or other corporate. Higher ed- curriculum, faculty development.
Students want education background, maintain what they’ve already learner.
Transferable skills for educators looking to leave K-12: lesson planning. Many ppl in her dept. were teachers. Models, learning theories help. Good project management skills, collaborative efforts, esp. teaching & lesson planning. Work w/ subject matter experts, technology aspect is important. Don’t get intimidated by the tools. Diff. org use different tools, Captivate, Ispring, etc. They pick up the tools & add to their toolkit.
Designing with Love podcast: I also enjoy being a podcast host and having the opportunity to interview students, graduates, educators, and experts in the field. Started as a way for online st’s to have guest speakers come in. It gives the online st’s a more rich experience. She also uses st’s who graduated to give them advice. Name came out of the blue. Has been doing it for 2 yrs. It’s grown to elearning developers, novice instr. designers. She’s learned to pivot, it’s not just for her st’s.
Designing with Love Blog– tell me about a few recent posts. It started as something that podcast-Buzspout will give you a blogpost. Content that’s there is in a written form. It’s a foundation to start a blog, it’s posted a week before an episode comes out. 20 episodes about ID models & tools. Ended it w/ putting theories into practice. Those blogs will come out rest of 2025. Ppl can comment on it, reach out to her through the website. Riverside will create video shorts for YouTube, it will give transcripts on screen.
Speaking engagements: is trying to seek out opportunities: ISpring Learning community group on LinkedIn, may do conference engagements, starting online.
Out of everything: instructional design is a growing, exciting industry, it’s an art and a science
Where can ppl find you: https://designingwithlove.buzzsprout.com/
Buy me a coffee page: ppl can book time w/ her to get help w/ instructional design, podcasting, etc.
website: https://sites.google.com/view/instructorpelegrin/home Her st’s tend to focus projects on K-12 space, she asks them to reach out to community so they can do projects outside of schools. They can add these to their portfolio, google sites, wix, etc.
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qwqPY_UKWYY
Episode #394: Dr. Anthony Muhammad
https://outofthetrenches.podbean.com/e/episode-394-dr-anthony-muhammad/
Dr. Muhammad is a highly sought-after educational speaker and presenter. With nearly 20 years of experience as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal, he has transformed school cultures and student proficiency globally. He was named the Michigan Middle School Principal of the Year in 2005. Dr. Muhammad has also been honored by the Global Gurus organization as one of the 30 Most Influential Educators in the world in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. His most recent books include The Way Forward: PLC at Work and the Bright Future of Education (2024), Learning by Doing: A Handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work, 4th Edition (2024).
Trench story: he got into it to be in the trenches. Grew up in Flint, he witnessed the devastation of factories closing, militarization of the police force, all happened w/in 5-7 yrs. 8 yrs as a MS t, MS AP then principal. Sometimes sacrificed his peace of mind to help. He enjoys being in the middle of the action. Wants to inspire other.
Journey from being MS principal to full-time author & consultant: Happened organically. If you stay true to your mission/purpose, opportunities happen organically. Went to a PLC conference in 2001, was enamoured w/ what he learned there, esp. about marginalized young ppl. Rick du Four wanted him to write articles. 2007 there was a need for balance, others need him to consult @ schools, so he moved into FT consultancy. If you seek being on a stage, you may never get it. Do a great job at what you’re doing, opportunities.
Known for books like https://www.solutiontree.com/beyond-conversations-about-race.html
https://www.solutiontree.com/time-for-change.html
https://www.solutiontree.com/the-collaborative-administrator.html
Wants to talk about The Way Forward: PLC at Work and the Bright Future of Education (2024) about recovery from the pandemic. He also talks about struggles w/ boys at the secondary level. Their learning needs aren’t met. PAssing the state tests, etc. There was a report by EdWeek in Jan. about the policy that doesn’t match boys’ learning needs. F.ex. drill & kill standards, missing worksheet. It’s appropriate learning environments due to boring, non-engaging pedagogy. Rick duFour one of the most influential educators, when he passed in 2017- asked Anthony to go PLC light. When he loses someone close, he doubles down. When pandemic hit, educators emailed him about the next step. Rick’s words came back to him. Realized PLC is a necessity. 25% of educators quit or retired.PLC at work strategy is the answer to not having staff retention. The pandemic was the time to have improvements. There was a small window to improve. We reaffirmed old, bad habits. Now there are antiquated policies coming out of D.C. A large % of educators voted for these policies. He’s hopefully at a micro level, pessimistic at macro level.
Also possibly Learning by Doing: A Handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work, 4th Edition (2024) How has each addition changed w/ the time? This edition is profoundly different. Extra chapter added. 1 of the original authors of the book has passed. Coaching teams- it needs to be intentional. Intrinsic motivation. It talks about teacher shortage, evolution of the system, and inclusive mindset. Right after the book was written the anti-DEI movement. Anthony changed the culture chapter. Update to RTI/MTSS chapter. Added section on COVID & the impact on learning.
Anti-DEI movement per Trump admin and how educators can serve their schools within a social divide. There’s hostility towards st’s with disabilities, LGBTQ: he has a piece in The Way Forward about this. There was a huge shilt after murder of Floyd to 1 side now a huge shift to other side. Mission is to serve all. You challenge this professionally. Zaretta Hammond- CRT and the brain- if you have ppl who want a mono-cultural approach, it doesn’t help kids learn. John Hattie CRT has a 1.01 positive effect size on learning. He emplores educators to not fall for populism trap.Boards of Ed aren’t elected to push 1 consistency after another. They need to serve ALL w/ in your
Popular PD’s he’s holding soon and conferences: PLC at work summit- every year in Phoenix. Events page: Anthony Muhammad
What could a brighter future look like as we move forward: He’s a big fan of the PLC process. Singapore, S. Korea has adopted our standards, research but we haven’t adopted it.
Out of everything: Words of wisdom- there is hope, educators invest in the development of young ppl. Don’t let politics of the moment, local communities stop you from impacting young ppl.
Where can ppl find you? www.newfrontier21.com link to upcoming events, books, videos, etc there is on FB, LinkedIn. View this episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/TcFP_8HsU_M