Schoolutions: Curious Educators. Evidence-Based Strategies. Classrooms Where Every Child Thrives.

In this S3E29 Schoolutions conversation, Emily (Em) Hammond shares why she built NeuroWild after her own late autism and ADHD diagnosis, and after years of translating abstract concepts into illustrations for the neurodivergent kids and families she works with as a speech pathologist. She walks through The NeuroWild Shift, her three-stage framework for classroom belonging and student engagement: I See You, I Hear You, I've Got You.The conversation covers fluctuating capacity, why lowering the hoop matters more than raising expectations, and why rewards and punishment train kids to mask instead of thrive. Em and I talk about inclusive teaching, instructional strategies for neurodivergent students, and how educators can build a classroom culture where every kid, not just the neurodivergent ones, feels safe enough to try.Em also breaks down why deep interests belong in every subject, how culturally responsive teaching and anti-bias teaching connect to equity in education, and why a pro-kid, whole child mindset produces thriving students and empowered educators. If you care about instructional leadership, school change, or just want inspired teaching that treats kids like people instead of behavior charts, this one's for you.Episode Mentions:The NeuroWild ShiftDr. Ross Greene - Children will do well if they can.Vygotsky’s Zones of DevelopmentNeuro-affirming vs. neuro-damaging responsesUDLDrive (excerpt) by Daniel PinkEm’s Teachers Pay Teachers ShopNeuroWild Shift:    NeuroWild Shift Information Packet (49 pages) by Emily Hammond -NeuroWild (teacherspayteachers.com)   (This is the full-priced one.)NeuroWild Shift Information Packet (49 pages), Parent Discount | TPT (teacherspayteachers.com) (This is the parent discount one.)Free Executive functioning handout for classrooms:     Regulation and Executive Function Handout (7-page colored document) (teacherspayteachers.com)Free handout for supporting ND students in classrooms:  Helping Neurodivergent Students Find Success in the Classroom | TPT (teacherspayteachers.com)Connect and Learn with Em:on Instagramon FacebookChapters0:00 Intro1:01 Meet Emily Hammond1:25 An inspiring teacher story4:51 How Em built NeuroWild8:13 Why the system fails neurodivergent kids9:29 What is The NeuroWild Shift10:58 Neurodivergent vs neurotypical, defined12:31 Stage One: I See You13:30 Stage Two: I Hear You15:17 Stage Three: I've Got You16:17 The basketball hoop analogy19:21 What kids learn when they're shamed23:37 The Opportunity stage27:09 Zones of development and asset-based teaching30:22 Neuro-affirming vs neuro-damaging responses31:54 Teaching through deep interests35:34 The mental health crisis for neurodivergent adults39:26 Building a classroom where kids feel safe42:23 Why rewards and punishment backfire48:33 Where to find NeuroWildSchoolutions is the podcast for educators and school leaders, families and homeschoolers, and the coaches, counselors, and mentors who believe every student deserves to thrive. Join our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child.🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise.🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to 🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE! #schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedstrategies #classroomreadystrategies #TeacherPodcast#NeuroWild #NeurodivergentKids #InclusiveTeaching #StudentEngagement #ClassroomBelonging #TeacherSupport #InstructionalCoaching #SchoolLeadership #EquityInEducation #AutismAwareness #ADHDinSchool #WholeChild #EducationPodcast #SchoolutionsPodcast #TeachingTips #ProfessionalDevelopment #ParentInvolvement #NeurodiversityAffirming #ClassroomCulture #studentsuccess When teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

Happy Writing Wednesday. This week's tip is about a decision writers make constantly: quote it directly, paraphrase it, or summarize it.I pulled an old favorite off my shelf, Emily Kissner's Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Retelling. I've had this book since 2006 and it still holds up. Some quotes need to stay word for word. Others work better paraphrased. The book helps me sort out which is which before I hand my writing off to a reader.I recommend this resource for teachers working with students in grades 3 through 12. If you teach writing at any of those levels, it's worth pulling off your own shelf or picking up a copy.Chapters: 0:00 Welcome to Writing Wednesday 0:16 This week's tip: quote, paraphrase, or summarize 0:35 An old book back off the shelf 1:00 Why grades 3 through 12 can use this book 1:12 Rereading your own writing with fresh eyes 1:30 See you next Wednesday🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise.#OliviaWahlCoachingConsulting #Schoolutions #SchoolutionsPodcast #ForeverGettingBetter #5PracticesOfExpertTeachers #CuriosityDriven #EvidenceBasedClassroomReadyStrategies #WritingWednesday #WritingWednesday #TeachingTips #EffectiveTeaching #InstructionalStrategies #TeacherSupport #ProfessionalDevelopment #TeacherCoaching #NewTeachers #WritingInstruction #ELATeacher #MentorTeachers #EducationStrategiesWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

In this S2E31 Schoolutions conversation, Penny Kittle lives by her words, "When you stand next to beautiful writing, your writing is just kind of set free." Penny shares how her latest book, Micro Mentor Texts: Using Short Passages From Great Books to Teach Writer's Craft offers a process for studying and teaching on the shoulders of incredible authors as mentors to transform student writing.Ep. Mentions:Donald MurrayDonald GravesThomas NewkirkTom RomanoBook Love FoundationMatt de la PeñaKelly Gallagher-180 Days & Four Essential StudiesAndrea Davis PinkneyRebekah O'DellKwame Alexander (My Mother's Fried Chicken Was a Link to My Past—and My Daughter's Future)All Parents are Cowards Sarah Zerwin-Point-LessEzra Klein Chris CrutcherPeter ElbowJacqueline WoodsonPenny's Recommendations:Writing with Mentors: How to Reach Every Writer in the Room Using Current, Engaging Mentor Texts The Teacher You Want to Be: Essays about Children, Learning, and Teaching  Craft and Process Studies: Units That Provide Writers with Choice of Genre Penny's Selected Writing:On Joy, Teaching, and the Deep Satisfaction of WritingNCTE Speech: Risk, Voice, and Clarity in Teaching Engaged in Young Adult Literature: A Collaborative ConversationConnect:via Website on Instagram (Penny&Book Love Foundation)on Twitteron LinkedInon YouTubeon Mighty NetworksSchoolutions is the podcast for educators and school leaders, families and homeschoolers, and the coaches, counselors, and mentors who believe every student deserves to thrive. Join our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child.🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise.🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE with fellow educators! #schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedstrategies #classroomreadystrategies #TeacherPodcast #WritingInstruction #MentorTexts #InstructionalCoaching #TeacherTips #StudentEngagement #EffectiveTeaching #ProfessionalDevelopment #WholeChildEducation #TeachersOfYouTube #PennyKittle #TopTeacherEpisodesWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

Dr. Peter Liljedahl breaks down why 80% of students sit through a math lesson without ever thinking, and what actually fixes it. This episode covers the research behind Building Thinking Classrooms: random groups, vertical whiteboards, and the difference between a thinking task and a mimicking task. Peter and host Olivia Wahl talk through classroom behavior, student engagement, and why low engagement often starts with how a room is set up, not who's in it.They dig into active learning, student motivation, and what happens to attention in class when kids stop feeling anonymous. Peter shares research-backed education strategies and instructional strategies that hold up across grade levels, plus specific teaching tips for lesson planning that most teachers have never tried. This conversation is built for teachers looking for effective teaching methods, instructional coaching ideas, and innovative teaching approaches that don't require a new curriculum, just a new "how."⭐Thank you to Peter and Corwin Press, who are so generous in offering a 25% discount & free shipping PROMO CODE (CORWIN25) for Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, Grades K-12: 14 Teaching Practices for Enhancing Learning.Chapters:00:00 Introduction to Peter Liljedahl00:24 Peter's background and credentials01:24 The teacher who told him "you can be better than this"06:15 Why most students never think in a typical lesson09:33 The Building Thinking Classrooms framework12:34 Random groups vs. strategic and self-selected grouping17:35 Thinking tasks vs. mimicking tasks21:34 Why grouping has to be visibly random26:24 The hidden problem with digital randomizers32:01 Over-scaffolding and how it shapes student mindset33:55 Rethinking labels and IEPs in the classroom37:29 Push-in support, RTI, and what the research shows42:10 Why vertical whiteboards change everything45:57 What "fidelity" actually means in this framework49:42 Test scores, teacher impact, and long-term results52:26 Closing thoughtsSchoolutions is the podcast for educators and school leaders, families and homeschoolers, and the coaches, counselors, and mentors who believe every student deserves to thrive. Join our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child.🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise.🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE with fellow educators! #schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedstrategies #classroomreadystrategies #BuildingThinkingClassrooms #PeterLiljedahl #MathEducation #StudentEngagement #ActiveLearning #TeacherCoaching #InstructionalCoaching #EquityInEducation #InclusiveClassrooms #ProfessionalDevelopment #SchoolLeadership #EducationPodcast #TeachingTips #EffectiveTeaching #WholeChild#buildingthinkingclassrooms #BTCthinks #peterliljedahl #mathematics #math #problemsolving #thinkingclassrooms #thinkingclassroom #nctm #principlestoactions #teachersfollowteachers #edchat When teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

Reading your own writing out loud catches a lot of errors. But, reading it out loud yourself is not the same as hearing someone else read it back to you. In this Writing Wednesday, I talk about what happened when my friend Katie Kelly read the opening of a chapter I wrote. Hearing her voice on my own words showed me exactly where the writing dragged, where it confused her, and where I could cut without losing anything. I was too close to my own draft to see it clearly.This takes five minutes and changes how you edit. This habit fits directly into professional development, teacher coaching, and instructional strategies you can use today. Ask a colleague, a mentor teacher, or a friend to read your next email or lesson plan back to you. Notice what changes.Chapters: 0:00 Why reading your writing aloud matters 0:20 The habit I already had 0:35 Katie Kelly reads my writing back to me 1:00 What I heard that I couldn't see on my own 1:20 My new recommendation 1:35 See you next Writing Wednesday🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise.#OliviaWahlCoachingConsulting #Schoolutions #SchoolutionsPodcast #ForeverGettingBetter #5PracticesOfExpertTeachers #CuriosityDriven #EvidenceBasedClassroomReadyStrategies #WritingWednesday #TeachingTips #TeacherCoaching #InstructionalCoaching #ProfessionalDevelopment #NewTeachers #MentorTeachers #EffectiveTeaching #TeacherSupport #EducationCoaches #InstructionalLeaders #InspiredTeachingWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

Kindergarten teacher extraordinaire "Mr. Greg" of The Kindergarten Smorgasboard and ELEVATE Conference shares why being a teacher matters most. Listeners will leave inspired by Greg's hilarious tales from the classroom and practical tips to try right away with their students!  Episode Mentions: The Kindergarten SmorgasboardResource CenterBlogBasket Head ELEVATE ConferenceHolly Ehle - The Science of Literacy LearningScheduling Sunday!Greg's Recommendations:Greg HIGHLY recommends a doorbell for the classroomGreg HIGHLY recommends glue sponges to replace glue sticksHere is a great DIY sensory bin ideaABC Bootcamp is one of the most effective ways to teach letters & sounds in early elementary. The HOW & WHYChapters0:00 Welcome to Schoolutions with Mr. Greg Smedley-Warren0:54 The Teacher Who Inspired Greg: Mrs. Sears2:50 Why Greg Became a Teacher3:56 What Public Education Is Actually For4:55 Building Play and Inquiry Into Kindergarten6:26 The Basket Head Game8:05 Curriculum Pacing vs. Teacher Judgment10:02 The Post-COVID "Learning Loss" Narrative11:28 How Greg's Kindergarten Team Plans Each Week12:15 Staying in the Classroom Right Now14:19 Real Stories from a Real Kindergarten Classroom16:12 The Student Who Narrates the Whole Day17:32 Why Kids Need Structure and Routine19:22 The Science of Reading with Holly Ehle20:22 The Unofficial Fun Squad21:16 Why Greg Started The Kindergarten Smorgasboard21:38 The Envelope: How Greg Got Assigned to Kindergarten23:52 Calling His Mom and Falling in Love with the Job24:54 Starting the Blog26:31 Balancing Family, Teaching, and Creative Time27:53 Learning to Say No28:57 Sunday Planning30:31 Being Honest on Hard Days32:50 Greg's Call to Action for Teachers34:22 Why Teachers Need Each Other35:14 Closing ThoughtsSchoolutions is the podcast for educators and school leaders, families and homeschoolers, and the coaches, counselors, and mentors who believe every student deserves to thrive. Join our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child.🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise.🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE with fellow educators! #schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedclassroomreadystrategies #KindergartenSmorgasboard #TeacherPodcast #EffectiveTeaching #InstructionalCoaching #StudentEngagement #ActiveLearning #InclusiveTeaching #TeacherSupport #ProfessionalDevelopment #ClassroomBelonging #NewTeachers #TeachingTips #SchoolLeadership #WholeChildEducation #EducatorLife #StrongerTogetherWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

Discover why true educational transformation happens when we shift from content-centered to student-centered learning! In this insightful conversation, educators Julie Wright and James Goldberg share wisdom from their book The Limitless Classroom: Mantras to Deepen Learning. Learn how giving students time, purpose, and ownership develops genuine curiosity and transferable skills.Julie and James explain their three powerful mantras:Kids deserve more time to think and doKids deserve the why and how, not just the whatKids deserve to own their learning journeyWhether you're a teacher, coach, or administrator, you'll leave with practical strategies to prioritize student voice, create menus of opportunities, and embrace responsive instruction that meets learners where they are.Check out these resources from Julie and James!Slide Deck with Graphics PDF with GraphicsJulie’s BooksChapters:0:00 - Introduction and Overview 1:59 - Meet Julie Wright and James Goldberg 3:50 - The Purpose of "The Limitless Classroom" 4:40 - How Julie and James Met and Collaborated 7:54 - Why Mantras for Teaching? 9:40 - Mantra 1: Kids Deserve More Time to Think and Do 13:55 - Responsive Classroom Approach 17:02 - Mantra 2: Kids Deserve the Why and How, Not Just the What 21:55 - Surface to Deep Learning 24:00 - Mantra 3: Kids Deserve to Own Their Learning Journey 27:00 - Student Ownership Revelation Story 28:30 - Creating Menus of Opportunities 34:35 - Call to Action for Educators 40:00 - Conclusion and Contact InformationSchoolutions is the podcast for educators and school leaders, families and homeschoolers, and the coaches, counselors, and mentors who believe every student deserves to thrive. Join our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child.🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise.🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE with fellow educators! #schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedclassroomreadystrategies #LimitlessClassroom #EducationalMantras #StudentCenteredLearning #EducationTransformation #TeachingMantras #ClassroomStrategies #DeepLearning #StudentVoice #ResponsiveTeaching #TeacherProfessionalDevelopment #MathEducation #LiteracyInstruction #MeaningMaking #CurriculumIntegration #LimitlessClassroom #EducationalCoaching #TeacherCollaboration #ContentIntegration #TeachingStrategies #StudentAgency #MeaningfulLearning #EducationTransformation #ResponsiveTeaching When teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

I spent last week at the Quoddy Writing Retreat in Lubec, Maine. My colleague Angela teaches fifth- and sixth-grade writers. She tells her students that every writer works differently. Some students write inductively. They start with small stories and scattered facts, then hunt for the pattern that reveals the big idea. Other students start with the big idea. They find the stories and facts that support it afterward.Angela's lesson applies to any writer, young or old. It has real value for lesson planning and instructional strategies. Teachers, mentor teachers, and teacher coaches can use it directly: ask students how they naturally build an idea before you teach them how to organize one.This kind of insight comes from real conversations that happen between teachers who trust each other. New teachers need this kind of teacher support. Experienced teachers need the reminder too. Naming a student's writing process is a small move. It changes how a student sees their own thinking.Chapters: 0:00 - Intro & Setting: Happy Writing Wednesday opener, mention of the Quoddy Writing Retreat in Maine0:08 - Introducing Angela's Insight: Angela and her fifth and sixth grade writers, the idea that every writer has their own process0:18 - Inductive Writers: Students who start with small stories and facts, then find the pattern to reach a big idea0:28 - Big-Idea-First Writers: Students who start with the big idea, then find supporting facts and stories0:36 - Takeaway & Sign-off: Why this applies to writers of any age, closing with Happy Writing Wednesday🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise: #OliviaWahlCoachingConsulting #Schoolutions #SchoolutionsPodcast #ForeverGettingBetter #5PracticesOfExpertTeachers #CuriosityDriven #EvidenceBasedClassroomReadyStrategies #WritingWednesday #HappyWritingWednesday #TeachingTips #ProfessionalDevelopment #InstructionalCoaching #TeacherSupport #WritingProcess #EffectiveTeaching #NewTeachers #TeacherMentors #EducationStrategiesWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.When teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

In this S5E4 Schoolutions conversation, Dr. Molly Ness challenges what you know about learning to read, sharing insights from her most recent book, co-authored with Dr. Katie Pace Miles, "Making Words Stick." Discover how brain science and the alphabetic principle reveal better teaching reading strategies and build stronger reading skills for kids. You'll discover why 99% of "impossible" sight words actually follow phonetic rules and how orthographic mapping - not memorization - creates fluent readers. This episode is for teachers, education coaches, caregivers, homeschoolers, and anyone supporting developing readers.🔥 KEY REVELATIONS: 💡 Why flashcard memorization fails (and what works instead) 💡The 4-step process that makes words "stick" permanently💡How adult brains store 30,000-70,000 words instantly 💡The rubber band analogy that explains reading vs. spelling💡Why middle school comprehension struggles start in elementaryMolly breaks down complex brain science into actionable teaching tips that work for new teachers, mentor teachers, and seasoned educators alike. 📚 Make sure to get Making Words Stick: A Four-Step Instructional Routine to Power Up Orthographic Mapping by Dr. Molly Ness & Dr. Katie Pace Miles so that you can implement the 4-step routine tomorrow.People Mentioned:Dr. Linnea Ehri Dr. Jan Hasbrouck Mr. Dolch/Dr. Fry William NagyDr. Jan Wasowicz Resources from Molly:Making Words Stick (pdf one-pager)Building Language Comprehension for Readers in Grades K-2Chapters: 0:00 - The Flashcard Myth That's Hurting Kids 1:00 - Meet Dr. Molly Ness & "Making Words Stick"3:00 - The Research Behind Orthographic Mapping 5:00 - Lanaya Ehri's Groundbreaking Discovery 8:00 - Least to Most Reliable Ways to Learn Words 11:00 - The Shocking Truth About Sight Words (99% Are Decodable!) 13:00 - Why Orthographic Mapping Never Stops 16:00 - High Frequency vs. Sight Words Explained 19:00 - The 4-Step Process: See & Say It 21:00 - Step 2: Segment & Spell It 23:00 - Step 3: Study & Suss It Out25:00 - Step 4: Search & Stick It 27:00 - The Rubber Band Analogy: Reading vs. Spelling 29:00 - Helping Struggling Middle School Readers 33:00 - The Three-Legged Stool of Word Learning 35:00 - Take Action: Your Next StepsSchoolutions is the podcast for educators and school leaders, families and homeschoolers, and the coaches, counselors, and mentors who believe every student deserves to thrive. Join our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child.🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise.🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE with fellow educators! #schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedclassroomreadystrategies #MakingWordsStick #ReadingScience #OrthographicMapping #TeachingStrategies #EducationResearch #LiteracyInstruction #ClassroomManagement #StudentEngagement #EffectiveTeaching #InstructionalStrategies #TeacherCoaching #ProfessionalLearning #EducationLeadership #StudentSuccess #ThrivingStudents #EmpoweredEducators #InclusiveTeaching #WholeChild #ProKidMindset #InnovativeTeaching #LessonPlanning #TeachingTips #InstructionalCoaching #MentorTeachers #NewTeachersWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.When teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

I sit down with teacher, instructional coach, and author Julie Wright to dig into her book What’s Our Response: Creating Systems and Structures to Support ALL Learners. We talk about the five problems of practice she names in RtI and MTSS models, and why so many well-intentioned systems end up boxing kids in instead of lifting them up.Julie and I explore what classroom belonging actually looks like when teacher autonomy and agency are honored rather than handcuffed by a chart. We talk about asset-based thinking, why child study teams need to focus on student strengths instead of deficits, and how to build real student engagement by increasing kids' thinking and doing time instead of defaulting to more direct instruction.I ask Julie how Tier 1 instruction becomes the best intervention a classroom teacher can offer, and she breaks down practical moves for small group learning, early intervention, and closing what she calls the knowing-naming-doing gap. We also talk about student motivation, active learning, and what it takes to build a school culture where teachers and students both get to thrive. Episode Mentions: What’s Our Response: Creating Systems and Structures to Support ALL LearnersDr. Mary HowardWhat is RtI?What is MTSS?What is Tier One Intervention?Autonomy & AgencyAsset-Based ThinkingObservation ProtocolsLeast Restrictive EnvironmentTeaching with FidelityLearning WalksThat Workshop Book: New Systems and Structures for Classrooms That Read, Write, and Think by Sam Bennett & Workshop as a Time StructureFREE Resources from Julie Wright Consulting - What’s Our Response?Chapters 0:00 Introduction and Julie Wright's inspiring educator, Mary Howard3:15 Defining Response to Intervention and MTSS5:40 The five problems of practice in RtI models8:00 How the RtI and MTSS triangle boxes teachers and students in12:30 Honoring and increasing teacher autonomy and agency17:00 What asset-based thinking really means21:15 Building child study teams around student strengths25:45 Increasing students' thinking and doing time32:00 Why tier one instruction is the best intervention38:30 Small group learning without making it a whole thing42:00 Closing the knowing-naming-doing gap46:00 Julie's call to action: What's Our Response?Schoolutions is the podcast for educators and school leaders, families and homeschoolers, and the coaches, counselors, and mentors who believe every student deserves to thrive. Join our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child.🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise.🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE with fellow educators! #schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedclassroomreadystrategies #RtI #MTSS #InstructionalCoaching #TeacherSupport #StudentEngagement #SchoolLeadership #EquityInEducation #WholeChild #ProfessionalDevelopment #TeacherPodcast #SchoolutionsPodcast #InclusiveTeaching #NewTeachers #EducationLeadership #studentsuccess When teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

I'm at the Quoddy Writing Retreat in Lubec, Maine, this week, working alongside Ralph Fletcher and Georgia Heard and a room full of writers on completely different projects. Yesterday they gave us three prompts to bring into our response groups each day, and I'm sharing them here because every teacher facilitating peer feedback in a classroom can use these too."This seems to be about..." "I really connected to the part where..." "I wanted to know more about..." These three prompts pull meaning from a writer's work instead of jumping straight to fixing it. That shift matters for how writers apply feedback during peer response time, and it builds real connection instead of surface-level editing comments. These three prompts will change how your students talk to each other about their work.I also want to put a book on your radar: Valerie Bolling's book, Goal Setting in the Writing Classroom, released in 2025. Chapter Four highlights peer feedback and critique groups, and I'm obsessed with it right now.Chapters:0:00 Writing Wednesday from the Quoddy Writing Retreat0:12 Meet the facilitators: Ralph Fletcher and Georgia Heard0:25 Three prompts for response groups0:50 Why these prompts pull meaning instead of fixing writing1:05 Book recommendation: Goal Setting in the Writing Classroom by Valerie Bolling1:20 Chapter Four: peer feedback and critique groups1:30 Sign-off🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise.#Schoolutions #SchoolutionsPodcast #ForeverGettingBetter #5PracticesOfExpertTeachers #CuriosityDriven #EvidenceBasedClassroomReadyStrategies #WritingWednesday #PeerFeedback #WritingWorkshop #ClassroomBelonging #StudentEngagement #InstructionalStrategies #TeacherCoaching #ActiveLearning #LessonPlanning When teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

Christy Lynn Anana is a Mindfulness Director with Whole School Mindfulness at Quil Ceda Tulalip Elementary, located on the land of The Tulalip Tribes in Washington State, north of Seattle. In this episode, Christy offers listeners two guided meditations alongside a peek into her published book series called I Am Healing. This is one of my top 20 most-listened-to episodes, back now as part of our summer rerelease series. My guest is Christy Lynn Anana, Mindfulness Director at Quil Ceda Tulalip Elementary and author of the I Am Healing book series. We talk about classroom belonging, classroom behavior, and what active learning looks like when a school builds mindfulness into its actual culture instead of treating it as an extra.Christy walks me through a grounding breath practice, explains how student engagement and student motivation shift when kids have tools for big emotions, and describes teaching fifth graders to lead student participation in mindfulness for younger kids. We get into attention in class, effective teaching, instructional strategies, and lesson planning for teachers navigating low engagement after the pandemic. Christy also breaks down the difference between school counseling and mindfulness coaching, what instructional coaching and teacher support can look like at the district level, and why mentor teachers and new teachers alike need coaching strategies built around real classroom pressure, not just professional development checkboxes.Chapters: 0:00 Welcome and introduction 1:13 Three-breath grounding exercise 3:48 Inspiring educators: Dr. Anthony Craig 6:16 What a Mindfulness Director does 7:48 Defining mindfulness 9:47 Fifth graders leading mindfulness 12:29 The I Am Healing book series 13:53 I Can Feel Better and EFT tapping 16:09 A Safe Place and EMDR-inspired practice 18:26 What is EMDR 20:10 Circling up and big emotions 21:33 Waves of Emotions 24:21 A Guide for Lonely Kids 25:05 Supporting families through grief 26:25 Mindfulness Director vs school counselor 31:34 Post-pandemic mental health trends 36:03 Call to action and resources 37:20 Closing guided meditationEpisode Mentions:I Am Healing Book SeriesI Can Feel Better: A Tapping StoryA Safe Place: Strategies to Feel BetterDr. Francine Shapiro -  EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing)Waves of Emotions: A Mindfulness StoryA Guide for Lonely KidsQuil Ceda Tulalip ElementaryUniversity of Washington - Leadership for Learning (L4L) Program  - FacebookDr. Anthony Craig  (Schoolutions S1 E5: Accessing the Wisdom of Tulalip Tribes' Elders as Cultural Guides in Public Schools with Dr. Anthony Craig)Tulalip TribesRainbow Dance - Boston Children's FoundationDr. Bruce D. PerryEFT - Emotional Freedom TechniquesWhole School MindfulnessKobayashi Maru Tricia Hersey - Rest is Resistance: A ManifestoSam Bennett's Circles (Types) of EngagementSchoolutions is the podcast for educators and school leaders, families and homeschoolers, and the coaches, counselors, and mentors who believe every student deserves to thrive. Join our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child.🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise.🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE with fellow educators! #schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #5practicesofexpertteachers #curiositydriven #evidencebasedclassroomreadystrategies #ClassroomBelonging #StudentEngagement #InstructionalCoaching #TeacherSupport #SchoolCounselors #EducationLeadership #WholeChild #CulturallyResponsiveTeaching #ProfessionalDevelopment #SchoolCulture #MentorTeachers #InclusiveTeaching #EquityInEducation #ParentInvolvement #EmpoweredEducators When teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

Leah Mermelstein returns to Schoolutions for S2E35 to make the case for bending curriculum instead of buying a new one for literacy instruction every few years. She walks me through the exact process she uses with school districts to build integrated units of study, work that pulls reading, writing, vocabulary, and grammar together around real content like a kindergarten animal unit or a fourth-grade historical fiction study tied to local history.The conversation covers:💫What teaching with fidelity actually means (hint: it's not "follow the script")💫How to form a teacher cadre that drives instructional coaching and professional development💫Why starting with a school's mission statement changes the whole planning process. Leah even lays out six concrete steps: form a cadre, root the work in the mission statement, set priority goals, connect grammar and vocabulary to what's already being taught, build in cumulative and spaced practice, and plan for real independence.Episode Mentions:Leah Mermelstein's Schoolutions Interview, "We-Do" Writing Book, "We-Do" Model Graphic & Self-Directed Writers BookP. David PearsonCornelius Minor's Schoolutions Interview & We Got This. Book Dr. Tanya Wright's Schoolutions Interview & A Teacher's Guide to Vocabulary Development Across the Day BookPatterns of Power Series Nell K. Duke & Kelly B. Cartwright's The Science of Reading Progresses: Communicating Advances Beyond the Simple View of Reading (graphic on page 9)First Education Writing Summit  (June 14, 2023) - Reboot, Revamp, and Refresh Your School's or Classroom's Writing InstructionAlign the Design: A Blueprint for School Improvement by Nancy J. Mooney & Ann T. Mausbach Schooling by Design: Mission, Action, and Achievement by Grant Wiggins & Jay McTigheCHAPTERS:0:00 Leah Mermelstein returns1:10 Cornelius Minor: being in time, bending curriculum, pro-kid 4:30 The NAEP scores and why they matter here 7:15 What integrated curriculum looks like: the animal unit 11:00 Teaching with fidelity vs. bending curriculum 15:20 Step 1: Forming a curriculum cadre 17:40 Step 2: Starting with the mission statement 19:30 Step 3: Priority goals and enduring understandings 22:00 Step 4: Connecting grammar and vocabulary 23:18 Step 5: Cumulative and spaced-out practice 27:00 Step 6: Planning for purposeful independence 31:00 Reading student writing to guide instruction 33:45 Nell Duke's Active View of Reading and the "We-Do" model 36:30 Reboot, Revamp, Refresh Writing Summit, June 14th 38:00 How to reach Leah Mermelstein 39:00 Dialogue, not debate 40:00 Closing thoughtsSchoolutions is the podcast for educators and school leaders, families and homeschoolers, and the coaches, counselors, and mentors who believe every student deserves to thrive. Join our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child.🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise.🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE with fellow educators! #schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #5practicesofexpertteachers #curiositydriven #evidencebasedclassroomreadystrategies #IntegratedCurriculum #EffectiveTeaching #InstructionalCoaching #ProfessionalDevelopment #WholeChildEducation #EquityInEducation #TeacherSupport #SchoolLeadership #StudentEngagement #InclusiveTeaching #LessonPlanning #NewTeachers #MentorTeachers #EducationPodcast #CulturallyResponsiveTeaching #RadicallyProKid #LiteracyInstruction #TeacherImpact #schoolculture When teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

Research alone won't move a teacher to change what they do tomorrow. A story will. In this Writing Wednesday, I break down the method I use in my own writing: for every piece of research I include, I pair it with a real classroom moment, either something I lived through myself or something I watched happen in another teacher's room.The story is what makes a reader trust you. The research is what backs up the claim. Put them together and you get writing that actually sticks with the teachers, coaches, and school leaders reading it.This one's short, but it's a habit worth stealing if you write for educators, coach teachers, or create content for classrooms. Whether you're building out professional learning materials or writing instructional strategies for a blog, tie the research to a person. A moment. A room with real kids in it.This Writing  Wednesday series is for teachers, instructional coaches, mentor teachers, and school leaders who've thought about writing their own book.  See you next week.Watch the reel here.Chapters:0:00 Why research alone falls flat0:10 The method: pair every research point with a real story0:25 Stories build trust, research backs the claim0:35 Who this habit is for0:40 Sign-offThis series is for teachers, instructional coaches, mentor teachers, and school leaders who've thought about writing their own book.🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise: #Schoolutions #SchoolutionsPodcast #ForeverGettingBetter #5PracticesOfExpertTeachers #CuriosityDriven #EvidenceBasedClassroomReadyStrategies #WritingWednesday #WritingWednesday #TeacherCoaching #InstructionalCoaching #EffectiveTeaching #TeachingTips #ProfessionalDevelopment #MentorTeachers #NewTeachers #TeacherImpact #InstructionalStrategies #EducationCoaches #InspiredTeaching #SchoolLeadership #EducationWriting #TeacherSupportWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

In S3E11 of Schoolutions, I sat down with school counselor Zack "Coach Kasabo"  to talk about self- and co-regulation mental health strategies that actually work, not quick fixes teachers try once and abandon. Zack told me about his own struggles with anxiety and depression as a teen, and how that experience now shapes his work on classroom belonging, classroom behavior, and student engagement. His core belief: relationships come before punishment. That's what drives real student motivation.We talked about why low engagement usually traces back to unmet emotional needs, not laziness or defiance. Zack walked me through why active learning and inspiring students start with connection first, correction second. He also broke down two frameworks he created himself: the C.A.L.M. Redirection Technique and the T.I.P. Framework. Both are tools any teacher, counselor, or parent can use tomorrow to improve student participation and attention in class, without shaming a kid into compliance.I asked Zack about parent involvement, parent communication, and the home-school connection. He shared how he built family partnerships and caregiver support at a Title I school, including partnerships with local police, the fire department, and the YMCA to get kids winter coats. We also talked about education at home and what caregivers can do differently.Throughout the conversation, we kept coming back to culturally responsive teaching, equity in education, inclusive classrooms, and anti-bias teaching. Zack's mindset is pro-kid without being permissive. He wants every student to reach real student success, not just survive the school day.Episode Mentions:The School Counselor and Multitiered System Supports Title I Conscious Discipline Brain State ModelSchoolutions S2E2: Stopping Bullying and School Violence Before They Start with Professor Ron Avi AstorWhat is the Difference Between CBT and Solution-Focused Therapy?Erik Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial DevelopmentWatch the episode on YouTube here.Chapters: 0:00 Welcome to Schoolutions 1:01 Zack's grandmother, his inspiration 2:23 Compassion without enabling 3:36 Zack's teen mental health struggles 6:10 His current role as a K-8 school counselor 8:15 Why Tier 1 support has to come first 9:34 Working in a Title I school 11:14 Relationships before academics 13:36 How weekly classroom guidance changed everything 14:29 Building community partnerships 19:58 Life as Coach Kasabo 20:16 Punishment versus consequences 24:16 Compliance versus proficiency 26:26 The C.A.L.M. Redirection Technique 32:40 The T.I.P. Framework for self-regulation 36:29 Should kids be forced to apologize? 42:14 The theories and tools Zack relies on 44:57 How to connect with ZackSchoolutions is the podcast for educators and school leaders, families and homeschoolers, and the coaches, counselors, and mentors who believe every student deserves to thrive. Join our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child.🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise.🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE with fellow educators! #schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #5practicesofexpertteachers #curiositydriven #evidencebasedclassroomreadystrategies #SchoolCounselor #CoachKasabo #ClassroomManagement #StudentEngagement #TeacherSupport #InstructionalCoaching #ProfessionalDevelopment #SchoolLeadership #ParentInvolvement #EquityInEducation #InclusiveClassrooms #WholeChildEducation #SelfRegulation #CoRegulation #EducationPodcast #TeacherTips #NewTeachers #SchoolCulture #EmpoweredEducatorsWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

You will learn practical strategies and frameworks to create inclusive, identity-affirming spaces throughout this S4E24 conversation with Kwame Sarfo-Mensah.  This episode highlights Kwame’s book, Learning to Relearn: Supporting Identity in a Culturally-Affirming Classroom. This conversation is officially one of our top 20 most-listened-to episodes. Culturally responsive teaching and identity awareness are the foundation for becoming a better human to the young people in your life and classroom. Most educators focus on curriculum, but true connection requires a deeper look at your own positionality. We break down why identity awareness is not just an abstract concept, but a vital tool for building trust. By understanding your own positionality, you can better navigate the complex dynamics that define modern education. Kwame Sarfomenzo offers a roadmap for community members and teachers who are ready to do the internal work required to support young people more effectively. This is about moving beyond traditional methods to foster genuine human connection.Would you rather watch this conversation? Here's the YouTube link.➡️The three P's of intersectional awareness: Privilege, Power, and Positionality➡️Strategies for being an authentically active community-engaged educator➡️The importance of origin stories in teaching➡️Counter-storytelling and celebrating marginalized communities➡️Creating culturally affirming classroom environmentsHighlighted Frameworks:💫Origin Story Components (STORI):💫Racial Literacy Development Framework:Practical Strategies:✨The "Me Bag" activity for celebrating student identities✨Reflective questions for educator development✨Community engagement at multiple levels✨Ways to incorporate counter-storytellingSchoolutions is the podcast for educators and school leaders, families and homeschoolers, and the coaches, counselors, and mentors who believe every student deserves to thrive. Join our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child.🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise.🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to 🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE the episode!#schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedclassroomreadystrategies #CulturallyResponsiveTeaching #TeacherCoaching #InstructionalCoaching #EquityInEducation #TeacherPD #SchoolLeadership #InclusiveClassrooms #StudentEngagement #NewTeachers When teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

Stop staring at your screen and start walking for a mental reset. This Writing Wednesday covers four science-backed reasons walking resets your brain and improves cognitive function before you sit back down to write. Movement is a powerful tool to regulate your nervous system and flush out stress hormones like cortisol. By increasing dopamine and serotonin, a short walk stabilizes your brain chemistry and restores your ability to focus on complex tasks.If you need to break through a creative wall, try this simple habit today:🚶‍♀️‍➡️cuts cortisol, the stress hormone that piles up when you're frustrated and stuck. 🚶‍♀️‍➡️releases serotonin and dopamine, which stabilizes your mood. 🚶‍♀️‍➡️gives your brain a break through something called soft fascination, where your eyes wander and your mind loosens. 🚶‍♀️‍➡️ pumps more blood to your brain, which sharpens focus.Watch the reel here.Chapters:0:00 Writing Wednesday starts0:07 Cortisol drops when you walk0:22 Serotonin and dopamine kick in0:34 Your attention resets0:49 Blood flow sharpens your focus1:02 Get up and walkThis series is for teachers, instructional coaches, mentor teachers, and school leaders who've thought about writing their own book.🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise: #Schoolutions #SchoolutionsPodcast #ForeverGettingBetter #5PracticesOfExpertTeachers #CuriosityDriven #EvidenceBasedClassroomReadyStrategies #WritingWednesday #TeacherSupport #ProfessionalDevelopment #EducationStrategies #InstructionalCoaching #TeacherWellbeing #TeachingTips #EmpoweredEducators #EducationLeadership #MentorTeachersWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

I'm starting a new weekly series called Writing Wednesday. My book manuscript is due end of August, and I'm holding myself accountable by posting every week about the process. Here are two lessons from my editor, Kassia: First: build an outline before you write. I didn't get why she pushed me on this until I was three chapters in and kept losing the thread. Now I reread that outline constantly. It keeps the structure consistent for readers while still leaving room to cut and rearrange as the writing changes.Second: get an editor who tells you the truth, not just what you want to hear.This series is for teachers, instructional coaches, mentor teachers, and school leaders who've thought about writing their own book.Watch the reel here.Chapters:0:00 Why I'm starting Writing Wednesday0:07 Lesson one: build the outline first0:34 Lesson two: find an editor who's honest0:47 See you next Wednesday🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise#Schoolutions #SchoolutionsPodcast #ForeverGettingBetter #5PracticesOfExpertTeachers #CuriosityDriven #EvidenceBasedClassroomReadyStrategies #WritingWednesday #TeacherAuthor #InstructionalCoaching #ProfessionalLearning #EmpoweredEducators #StudentEngagement #EffectiveTeaching #SchoolLeadership #EquityInEducation #TeacherSupport #NewTeachers #MentorTeachers #WholeChild #InclusiveTeaching #EducationTransformationWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

Dr. Tanya S. Wright, an Associate Professor at Michigan State University and former kindergarten teacher, explains how to move beyond static word lists. This S2E26 Schoolutions episodeffocuses on the mechanics of building rich language environments during everyday classroom routines. Whether you are managing transitions or facilitating morning meetings, you will see how minor adjustments to your existing flow can yield significant gains in student literacy strategies.Tanya is the author of A Teacher's Guide to Vocabulary Development Across the Day: Grades K-3, and this conversation breaks down what her research actually looks like in a classroom. We define what it really means to know a word, and why a dictionary definition alone doesn't build the kind of vocabulary knowledge kids need as readers, writers, speakers, and listeners. This connects directly to student engagement, student participation, and closing gaps in attention in class when kids don't understand the words a text or a teacher is using.We talk about the "locked vocabulary gate," the idea that decoding without meaning leaves comprehension out of reach no matter how strong a reader's phonics skills are. Tanya explains orthographic mapping and why vocabulary knowledge is the missing piece connecting spelling, pronunciation, and meaning for beginning readers. This is essential listening for instructional strategies, lesson planning, and effective teaching in any K-3 classroom, and it matters just as much for culturally responsive teaching and equity in education, since kids arrive in a classroom with different vocabularies shaped by their homes and communities.We also cover text sets, active processing, observational vocabulary assessment, and why encouraging kids to attempt spelling of big words supports both vocabulary growth and decoding skills. Tanya makes the case that content area learning, in science, social studies, and beyond, is one of the best vehicles for vocabulary growth, and that cutting content instruction in the name of literacy actually works against literacy. This is a direct, practical resource for school leadership, instructional leadership, and school improvement conversations around curriculum planning and school culture.Episode Mentions: Tanya's books:Literacy Learning for Infants, Toddlers, & Preschoolers: Key Practices for Educators(NAEYC 2022)A Teacher's Guide to Vocabulary Development Across the Day: Grades K-3(Heinemann 2021)All About Words: Increasing Vocabulary in the Common Core Classroom: PreK-2(Teachers College Press 2013)Nurturing Knowledge: Building a Foundation for School Success by Linking Early Literacy to Math, Science, Art, and Social Studies(Scholastic 2007)A Parent's Guide to Reading With Your Young Child(Scholastic 2006)Other Resources Tanya Recommends:SOLID Start (FREE, open-access science curriculum materials with integrated literacy learning opportunities)This conversation is on YouTube too!Chapters: 0:00 Introduction to Dr. Tanya S. Wright 1:30 The educator who inspires her 3:00 Why five words a week isn't enough 5:30 Defining vocabulary and the locked vocabulary gate 8:00 The different types of word knowledge 11:00 What active processing means 13:00 Why read alouds build vocabulary 16:30 Choosing which words to explicitly teach 19:30 Supporting multilingual learners 21:00 The principles of word learning 23:00 Orthographic mapping and meaning 26:00 Why content learning builds vocabulary 30:00 Pre-teaching vocabulary: when it works and when it doesn't 34:30 What a text set is and why it matters 39:00 Finding strong texts without a publisher 41:00 Assessing vocabulary through observation 44:00 Word choice and spelling approximations in writing 47:30 Vocabulary strategies for independent readers 50:30 Final call to actionSchoolutions is the podcast for educators and school leaders, families and homeschoolers, and the coaches, counselors, and mentors who believe every student deserves to thrive. Join our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child.🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise.🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to 🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE the episode!#schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedclassroomreadystrategies #VocabularyDevelopment #EarlyLiteracy #ReadingComprehension #TeacherTips #InstructionalCoaching #EquityInEducation #ReadAloud #K3Teachers #TeacherSupport #ProfessionalDevelopment #Schoolutions #EducationPodcast #WholeChild #NewTeachers #InstructionalLeadershipWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

Global changemakers Renée Dinnerstein and Larry Leaven have a shared commitment to children when it comes to reviving choice time, inquiry, exploration, and play in schools around the world. Their inspiring anecdotes and creative out-of-the-box solutions through this S2E36 Schoolutions conversation, will help listeners immediately put choice time into action.Episode Mentions:Vivian Gussin PaleyDeborah MeierPS 321NAEYSLoris MalaguzziFanny RomanWhy Every Kindergarten and First-Grade School Day Should Begin with Inquiry and Imaginative Play by Olivia WahlS1 E8: Bringing Joy to the Start of Each Day Through Play with Mary Anne CamelDalton School Hong KongSusan Harris MacKayAnjiPlayNancy DuDefending the Early Years OrganizationMaking Your Environment "The Third Teacher" by Margie CarterChoice Time: How to Deepen Learning Through Inquiry and Play, PreK-2 by Renee DinnersteinIs Kindergarten Ready for the Child?  by Renee DinnersteinRenee Dinnerstein’s Revolution Grows in Brooklyn by Susan OchshornThis conversation is on YouTube too!Chapters:0:00 Introduction to Renée Dinnerstein and Larry Leaven2:00 The educators who shaped their careers7:00 Why play is disappearing from classrooms9:30 What choice time actually means12:15 Play vs. playful instruction14:00 Starting the day with play instead of using it as a reward16:50 Why choice time matters more after the pandemic19:00 Choice time work in Hong Kong and China20:40 Play across cultures: Rome, Italy, and beyond24:20 Mixing classrooms to support English language learners27:20 What teachers learn by observing play30:25 Why choice time can't be measured on a spreadsheet33:10 The choice time lab room model36:50 Focusing on a few students each day39:10 Building a choice time culture without full staff buy-in42:25 Final call to actionThank you to Renée Dinnerstein and Heinemann Publishing who are so generous to offer a PROMO CODE (CHOICE) to receive 30% off Renée's book: Choice Time: How to Deepen Learning Through Inquiry and Play, PreK-2https://www.heinemann.com/products/e07765.aspxSchoolutions is the podcast for educators and school leaders, families and homeschoolers, and the coaches, counselors, and mentors who believe every student deserves to thrive. Join our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child.🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise.🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to 🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE the episode!#schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedclassroomreadystrategies #ChoiceTime #ChildDirectedPlay #EarlyChildhoodEducation #TeacherTips #InstructionalCoaching #SchoolLeadership #StudentEngagement #ActiveLearning #WholeChild #EquityInEducation #EducationPodcast #Schoolutions #TeacherSupport #ProfessionalDevelopment #ParentCommunication #InclusiveClassrooms #TeacherMentors #SchoolCulture #InstructionalLeadership #NewTeachersWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

I sat down with Dr. Anthony Muhammad for Schoolutions S3E37 to talk about his book The Way Forward: PLC at Work and the Bright Future of Education, and this conversation just landed in the top 20 most listened-to episodes in our summer series re-release. Anthony spent nearly twenty years as a teacher, assistant principal, and high school principal before becoming one of the most respected voices in school leadership and instructional leadership today.We get into the three big ideas behind real professional learning community work: a focus on student learning, collective effort over individual effort, and evidence-driven decision-making. This is effective teaching and instructional strategies at the school-wide level, not just a classroom-by-classroom fix.Anthony also breaks down the difference between healthy and toxic school culture, and he explains the actual physical harm that negative collaboration does to a staff. If school improvement in your building feels stuck, this names why. We talk about what separates true commitment from what Anthony calls PLC Lite, and he lays out six non-negotiable tights that define PLC Right. Episode Mentions:The Way Forward: PLC at Work® and the Bright Future of Education by Anthony MuhammadDr. Richard DuFourThe Alchemist by Paulo CoelhoRobert Eaker The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization by Peter SengeThomas J. SergiovanniShirley Hord & Milbrey McLaughlinMadeline Hunter - ITIPProfessional Learning TeamsTransforming School Culture: How to Overcome Staff Division by Anthony MuhammadMTSSMarzano High Reliability SchoolsLearning by Doing, Fourth Edition: A Handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work® by Richard DuFour, Rebecca DuFour, Robert Eaker, Thomas W. Many, Mike Mattos, Anthony MuhammadWould you rather watch this conversation? Here's the YouTube link.Chapters:0:00 Welcome and introducing Dr. Anthony Muhammad1:51 The mentor behind the book: Rick DuFour4:00 Why the book is structured past, present, future9:24 The story behind the cover art12:28 The three big ideas of PLC at Work18:48 Turning big ideas into staff-specific questions21:20 Healthy vs. toxic school culture24:44 The physical toll of negative collaboration29:44 PLC Lite vs. PLC Right33:17 The six non-negotiable tights39:06 The best first step for educators41:15 Closing thoughts and where to find the bookSchoolutions is the podcast for educators and school leaders, families and homeschoolers, and the coaches, counselors, and mentors who believe every student deserves to thrive. Join our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child.🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise.🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to 🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE the episode!#schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedclassroomreadystrategies #PLCatWork® #atplc #anthonymuhammad #solutiontree #RichardDuFour #RobertEaker #SchoolCulture #InstructionalLeadership #SchoolImprovement #TeacherCoaching #ProfessionalLearning #EffectiveTeaching #EducationLeadership #PLCatWork #TeacherSupport #WholeChild #StudentSuccess When teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

You're about to hear one of the most downloaded episodes from the last five years of this podcast. The audio may be rougher than what you hear now, but I'm not going back to clean it up. You're hearing exactly where I started, and I trust that the growth shows on its own, the same way I hope my work as an educator does.___________________________I continue my conversation with Dr. Wendy Bunker around the recently released Science of Reading Literacy Briefs by the New York State Education Department, produced for the NYSED by Nonie K. Lesaux, PhD, and Katie C. Carr, M.Ed. This S3E28 episode focuses on Literacy Brief 4: Science of Reading: The PreK Years and the vital role the PreK years play in lifelong literacy. Episode Mentions:NYSED Literacy Briefs & Literacy Brief 4: Science of Reading: The PreK YearsDr. Nonie K. LesauxKatie C. Carr, M.Ed.High-Impact Practices CR-SESELNRP Report 2019  PROOF POINTS: Controversies within the science of reading by Jill BarshayUDLMTSSChoice Time by Renee DinnersteinTeacher Tom’s First Book & Second Book by Tom HobsonTools of the Mind by Elena Bodrova, Deborah Leong Would you rather watch this conversation? Here's the YouTube link.Chapters:0:00 – Intro: Revisiting a fan-favorite episode1:29 – Welcome & introducing Dr. Wendy Bunker2:00 – Overview of Literacy Brief 4: "The Science of Reading: The Pre-K Years"3:04 – The Big Six literacy skills (from the Big Five to adding oral language)5:05 – Understanding the high-impact practices bar graph (pre-K time distribution)9:12 – Print-rich classrooms & memorized read-alouds (the "Brown Bear" example)10:36 – Page two graphic: structures and processes for high-impact practices12:37 – Why page three is a favorite: high-impact practices in action for pre-K14:33 – Deep dive: phonological awareness, phonics, spelling & word study15:29 – The Hechinger Report findings: letters + sounds nearly doubles phonemic awareness effectiveness16:30 – Phonics vs. phonological awareness vs. phonemic awareness, explained19:19 – Page four: supporting English learners and students with identified needs (UDL framework)21:34 – Considering research gaps for diverse learners21:57 – Book recommendations (Dinnerstein, Teacher Tom, Bodrova & Leong)22:36 – Closing thoughts on joy and play in literacy23:24 – Outro & creditsSchoolutions is the podcast for educators and school leaders, families and homeschoolers, and the coaches, counselors, and mentors who believe every student deserves to thrive. Join our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child.🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise.🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to 🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE the episode!#schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedstrategies #classroomreadystrategies When teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

There's a magic to the 1980s and 90s childhood memories that just doesn't exist anymore. Did you grow up waiting by the radio on Sunday mornings for Casey Kasem's American Top 40? My sister and I would sit next to a clock radio for four hours, waiting for the number-one song in America. That kind of countdown is worth reviving.I’m taking a trip back to the era of analog weekend rituals, from the anticipation of the weekly Top 40 countdown to the chaotic energy of watching American Gladiators at my dad's house. This summer, Schoolutions is counting down the top 20 most-listened-to episodes from Seasons 1 through 5. Starting Friday, July 3rd, a new episode drops every Monday and Friday, from number 20 down to number 1.These episodes address what teachers actually wrestle with: classroom belonging, student motivation, low engagement, classroom behavior, and how to reach kids who seem checked out. You'll also find conversations built for coaches and school leaders around instructional coaching, teacher support, school culture, professional development, and what it takes to move from good intentions to real school improvement. Caregivers and homeschoolers are in here too. Episodes on parent communication, the home-school connection, and supporting student success outside the classroom.Season 6 kicks off in September.Chapters:0:00 The idea behind the summer countdown0:28 How the Schoolutions Top 20 works1:05 What topics the episodes cover1:30 Season 6 is coming🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise: #Schoolutions #SchoolutionsPodcast #ForeverGettingBetter  #CuriosityDriven #EvidenceBased #ClassroomReadyStrategies #ClassroomBelonging #StudentEngagement #StudentMotivation #ActiveLearning #InspiringStudents #EffectiveTeaching #InstructionalStrategies #TeachingTips #InnovativeTeaching #InclusiveTeaching #TeacherCoaching #InstructionalCoaching #TeacherSupport #NewTeachers #CoachingStrategies #ProfessionalDevelopment #SchoolLeadership #SchoolCulture #PrincipalStrategies #ParentInvolvement #HomeSchoolConnection #CulturallyResponsiveTeaching #EquityInEducation #InclusiveClassrooms #ProKidMindset #WholeChild #StudentSuccess #EmpoweredEducators #EducationTransformation #TeacherImpact #Homeschoolers #InstructionalLeaders #SchoolCounselors #EducationLeadership #Schoolutions #EducationPodcastWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

How do we approach parenting advice and teaching children when the world keeps changing? After over 40 conversations with experts during Season 5 of Schoolutions, I am summarizing the key ideas for supporting children during uncertain times. You will learn the surprising answer that nearly every expert discussed as the foundation for modern child development and the throughline every expert kept returning to: the expertise isn't out there in the next program or framework. It's already within you, and it's already within the child in front of you.Inside this episode:• What separates expert teachers from experienced ones (hint: they're "nosy")• How a child's identity as a reader, writer, and mathematician is built in everyday moments• Why whole child teaching (brains, bodies, hearts, and play) isn't softer teaching, it's more demanding teaching• What inclusive classrooms and culturally responsive teaching look like in practice• Why classroom belonging is the condition for learning, not a bonus after learning• How civic life, climate, and community belong inside education transformation• What's coming this summer (a Best Of archive series) and in Season 6 (For Teachers, By Teachers, and Forever Getting Better)Featuring ideas from: John Hattie, Angela Stockman, Molly Ness, Maria Walther, Kay Stahl, Patty McGee, Melanie Meehan, Maggie Roberts, Mona Iehl, Wendy Ward Hoffer, David Price, Eli Harwood, Rusty Keeler, Tom Gelardi, Stacey Shubitz, Dr. Courtney Bishop, Beverly Falk, Erin Patterson, Chris Hass, Muriel Summers, Cornelius Minor, Dr. Kass Minor, and many more.📚 Book a coaching session with Olivia: https://oliviawahl.com🎙 Subscribe so you never miss an episode👍 If this episode helped you, leave a review. It helps more educators and caregivers find the showChapters: 0:00 Intro — Teaching in the age of change1:10 The expertise is already within you (John Hattie & expert teacher habits)2:40 Professional learning & instructional coaching (Sandy Halpin, Larry Ainsworth, Angela Stockman, Chrissy Beltran)3:30 Student identity as readers — orthographic mapping, read-aloud & phonics (Molly Ness, Maria Walther, Kay Stahl)4:05 Writing, voice & the brain — student engagement through writer's workshop (Patty McGee, Katie Keier, Melanie Meehan, Maggie Roberts)4:30 Math confidence & rebuilding student motivation (Mona Iehl, Wendy Ward Hoffer)4:55 Science wonder, multilingual learners & student agency (David Price, Beth Skelton, Tan Huynh, Sarah Zerwin, Dr. Rebecca Winthrop)5:45 Whole child — brain-body connection, attachment, play & emotional safety (Gravity Goldberg, Eli Harwood, MJ Murray Vachon, Rusty Keeler, Tom Gelardi, Kate Driscoll)6:50 Inclusive classrooms — childhood illness, disabilities & neurodivergence (Suzanne Stone, Brett Fox, Stacey Shubitz, Dr. Courtney Bishop)7:30 Rethinking the model of school — microschools, homeschool & regenerative education8:05 Early childhood, equity & housing instability (Beverly Falk, Erin Patterson, Dr. Kris Nystrom, Dr. Fabi Bagula)8:55 Civic life, climate stewardship & student leadership (Chris Hass, Colleen O'Brien, Muriel Summers, Xochitl Bentley)9:30 Community is unshakable — Cornelius & Dr. Kass Minor close the season10:30 Thank you & what's coming this summer (Best Of archive series)11:40 Season 6 preview — For Teachers, By Teachers, Forever Getting Better12:30 Book a coaching session with Olivia + closing#Schoolutions #TeachingTips #EffectiveTeaching #StudentEngagement #ActiveLearning #ClassroomBelonging #WholeChild #InspiringStudents #InstructionalCoaching #ProfessionalDevelopment #SchoolCulture #SchoolLeadership #InclusiveTeaching #CulturallyResponsiveTeaching #EquityInEducation #ParentInvolvement #FamilyPartnerships #EmpoweredEducators #EducationTransformation #TeacherSupport #NewTeachers #ProKidMindset #OliviaWahl #PodcastForTeachers #Season5FinaleWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

What does it look like to lead with both ferocity and grace, and why do so many teachers forget that admitting your feelings isn't the same as admitting defeat?In Part 2 of my S5E43 Schoolutions conversation, I continue my conversation with Cornelius Minor⁩  (author of We Got This) and Dr. Kass Minor (author of Teaching Fiercely), co-founders of The Minor Collective. We discuss why grace and ferocity are twin concepts and how embracing emotional vulnerability is actually a mark of true strength. We also talk about what sustains teachers through hard times, what school leadership really looks like when it's built around empowered educators, and how marveling at the children right in front of you can change everything.You'll learn:→ Why grace is ferocity's twin and what "speculative grace" means for inclusive teaching→ How admitting your feelings builds real community (Cornelius's unforgettable skateboard story)→ What instructional leadership looks like when it centers authentic learning conversations→ Why every teacher, coach, and caregiver must claim the title of knower→ Cornelius's two-step summer practice: witness a young person, then marvelKass and Cornelius also share what it's like to co-found The Minor Collective while raising two daughters together, and what their marriage teaches them about community, humility, and beautiful chaos.💫Check out Part 1 & some resources mentioned:➡️ We Got This by Cornelius Minor➡️ Teaching Fiercely by Dr. Kass Minor➡️ The Minor Collective➡️ The Will to Change by bell hooks (on change)➡️ On Re-Finding Ferocity: When there are no more lines to hold➡️ Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire➡️ Emma Goldman➡️ Zaretta Hammond➡️ Sankofa (Akan concept)Chapters:0:00 Intro: Grace, ferocity, and keeping hope alive in hard times1:45 What does it mean to refind your ferocity?3:30 Sankofa: drawing fuel from ancestors and looking back to move forward5:30 Grace is ferocity's twin; rethinking what sustains teachers6:45 Cornelius's skateboard story: Joe, Malcolm, and admitting your feelings9:30 Vulnerability in instructional leadership: what it really looks like11:30 Curriculum inquiry conversations and the ecosystem of learning14:00 The Minor Collective at home; co-creating a life and a mission17:30 Beauty and chaos: what partnership and marriage teach about community20:00 Can you ever turn the work off? On the personal and professional being enmeshed22:00 Lessons from outside the US; listening to children and honoring what they bring24:30 Who gets to be a knower? Why teachers must claim their expertise28:00 The evolution of coaching: dialogic, facilitative, and side by side29:30 Where does hope live? The tweens, the teens, and thrifting32:00 Two steps for summer: witness a young person and marvel34:30 Wrap-up + what's coming in season sixSchoolutions is the podcast for educators and school leaders, families and homeschoolers, and the coaches, counselors, and mentors who believe every student deserves to thrive. Join our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child.🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise.🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to 🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE the episode!Next Week:  I'm doing something a little different. I'm sitting with the big ideas from this season; the threads that have run through every conversation, and I'm thinking out loud with you about what's coming. About a vision I am so passionate about, one that is at the heart of what Season 6 will be: For Teachers, By Teachers, and Forever Getting Better. That theme is close to my heart for many reasons, including a book I've been pouring myself into that's coming your way in spring 2027. I cannot wait to share more.#schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedstrategies #classroomreadystrategies #education #teachers #schoolculture #teachercoaching #instructionalcoaching #inclusiveteaching #culturallyresponsiveteaching #equityineducation #teachingfiercely #minorcollective #professionaldevelopment #schoolleadership #studentengagement #wholechild #grace #ferocity #marvel When teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

At the heart of the refreshed Minor Collective site is one belief: people come before ideas, ideology, or frameworks. As conversations about student growth and teacher effectiveness quietly shift toward kid obedience and teacher compliance, going it alone can feel scary. In this short but powerful clip from my S5E43 Schoolutions conversation with Cornelius and Dr. Kass Minor, The  Minor Collective's message is simple: you're not alone, and we're meant to go together...moving where teachers, children, and families are already headed. The team shares why their approach to education is relational, critical, adaptive, and responsive, and why that matters more than ever right now. If you care about people-first education, teacher support, and what schools are becoming, this one's for you. 💛⏱️ Chapters0:00 People over ideologies0:18 Relational, critical, adaptive, responsive0:36 Where education is really headed0:52 Why it can feel scary right now1:08 We're not alone...we go togetherWatch, reflect, and share Part 1 & Part 2 of our Schoolutions S5E43 interview. 🌿Would you like to work together to create an environment where we center people-first education and collective wisdom? Book a coaching session with me here. #Schoolutions #SchoolutionsPodcast #ForeverGettingBetter #CuriosityDriven #EvidenceBased #ClassroomReadyStrategies  #MinorCollective #PeopleFirstEducation #TeacherSupport #InstructionalCoaching #TeacherCoaching #ProfessionalDevelopment #WholeChild #ProKidMindset #EquityInEducation #CulturallyResponsiveTeaching #InclusiveClassrooms #EducationTransformation #EmpoweredEducators #SchoolCulture #InstructionalLeadership #TeacherImpact #MentorTeachers #NewTeachers #FamilyPartnerships #TeacherLife #Edu #Teachers #SchoolLeadership #TeachersOfYouTubeWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

What does it look like when education is built around the full humanity of every child and every teacher?In Part 1 of my S5E43 Schoolutions conversation, I sit down with Cornelius Minor⁩  (author of We Got This) and Dr. Kass Minor (author of Teaching Fiercely), co-founders of The Minor Collective. Together, they unpack what it really means to build a pro-kid mindset, reclaim teacher personhood, and find beauty in the mess of modern schooling.You'll learn:→ How curriculum audits center the human, not the framework→ Why community is the one thing that's truly unshakable→ What student engagement and student motivation really look like when teachers do the work alongside students→ How active learning and inclusive teaching shift school culture→ Why whole child thinking transforms everything from lesson planning to school leadershipCornelius and Kass also share how The Minor Collective approaches teacher coaching, professional learning, and instructional leadership with a fiercely humanistic lens: relational, critical, adaptive, and responsive.Some resources mentioned:➡️ We Got This by Cornelius Minor➡️ Teaching Fiercely by Dr. Kass Minor➡️ The Minor Collective➡️ Maxine Greene / aesthetic education➡️ Nothing Personal by James Baldwin (on personhood)➡️ The Will to Change by bell hooks (on change)➡️Minor, K. (2025, December 1). Illuminating the call: Thought sanctuary as a framework for teacher flourishing: Cultivating imagination and inquiry within the parameters of school. Voices in the Middle, 33(2)➡️Minor, K. (2025, September 1). Illuminating the Call: Fierce pedagogy: blueprints for a better future. Voices in the Middle, 33(1)Chapters: 0:00 Intro: What does education built around full humanity look like?2:15 Researcher inspirations: Maxine Greene, James Baldwin, bell hooks3:45 Reclaiming your personhood as a teacher5:10 Community is what's unshakable; lessons from those who've surfed the shifts6:15 Curriculum audits that center the human; The Minor Collective approach9:00 Teachers doing the student work themselves; street credit and trust10:15 The new Minor Collective site; going far together13:00 Lightning round: books, metaphors, and what teachers need right now15:20 One word for teachers + finishing the sentence on centering children16:00 Small things giving hope; joy at the school dance17:10 Wrap-up + Olivia's son and the joy of readingSchoolutions is the podcast for educators and school leaders, families and homeschoolers, and the coaches, counselors, and mentors who believe every student deserves to thrive. Join our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child.🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise.🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to 🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE the episode! #education #teachers #schoolculture #teachercoaching #instructionalcoaching #inclusiveteaching #culturallyresponsiveteaching #equityineducation #teachingfiercely #minorcollective #professionaldevelopment #schoolleadership #newteachers #studentengagement #schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedstrategies #classroomreadystrategiesWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

What if rebuilding your child's math confidence this summer started not with worksheets, but with a mirror?In Part 2 of my S5E42 Schoolutions conversation, Wendy Ward Hoffer (All Minds on Mathematics: Math Workshop for Every Learner) gets practical and personal. If your child had a hard year in math, this is your playbook. Wendy walks families and educators through exactly what to do and what to stop saying so that children walk into September with agency, curiosity, and the belief that they belong in mathematics.In this episode you'll learn:• Why rebuilding a child's math identity often starts with the adults first• How to let your child be the expert when homework looks unfamiliar• What "humble math" looks like — and why it's the most powerful teaching stance there is• The one thing to say instead of "I didn't learn it this way."• What a child who has had a great summer mathematically looks like when walking into a September classroomWendy's vision for classroom belonging, pro-kid mindset, and whole-child education shines throughout, and her Wonder Woman analogy for what student confidence looks like might be the most memorable moment in the series.💫Check out Part 1 & the linked resources for Part 2 here: 📚 Book: All Minds on Mathematics: Math Workshop for Every Learner🌐 Organization: Public Education Business Coalition (PEBC)💫Blog Post: "Math: Why Doesn't Yours Look Like Mine?"💫Upcoming Professional Development: Minds on Math Institute💫Study Guide for All Minds on MathChapters:0:00 Welcome back & what Part 2 covers1:30 If your child had a hard year in math — start here2:00 Look in the mirror first: modeling a healthy math identity2:45 Re-engaging a struggling learner without using the word "math"3:30 Creating safety at home for risk-taking and vulnerability4:30 Teaching kids it's okay to disagree with themselves5:30 The dinner table as a math and thinking workshop6:45 What September looks like for a teacher who has read All Minds on Mathematics8:00 How Wendy envisions readers engaging with the book9:20 "I didn't learn it this way" — what to say instead10:00 Let your child be the expert: questions that work11:30 When you still don't understand after asking all the right questions12:20 How modern math curricula differ from what we were taught13:40 The egg carton fraction story — and "Mama, I hate your math"15:30 It's not about the curriculum — it's about the child16:10 What a child looks like after a great math summer (the Wonder Woman moment)17:40 Reading from All Minds on Mathematics: humble math, pages 38–3918:45 Olivia's 3 key takeaways21:00 Next week on Schoolutions + closingSchoolutions⁩ is the podcast for educators and school leaders, families and homeschoolers, and the coaches, counselors, and mentors who believe every student deserves to thrive. Join our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child. 🎙️ New episodes every Monday & Friday with bite-sized Wednesday reel bonus content.🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise.🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to 🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE the episode! Next Week: Cornelius⁩ and Dr. Kass Minor, co-founders of The Minor Collective, have spent years building education around a radical premise: that kids deserve to be truly centered. In a moment when teaching feels surveilled, exhausted, and politically complicated, this conversation is a fierce, tender reminder of why the work still matters and how to keep going.#MathIdentity #HumbleMath #StudentSuccess #FamilyPartnerships #InclusiveTeaching #ProKidMindset #WholeChild #SummerLearning #ClassroomBelonging #InstructionalCoaching #EquityInEducation #EmpoweredEducators #MathWorkshop #ParentInvolvement #AllMindsOnMath #Schoolutions #InspiringStudents #TeacherSupport #EducationTransformation #studentengagement  #schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedstrategies #classroomreadystrategiesWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

What does it really mean to be "good at math"? In this short but powerful clip from my S5E42 Schoolutions conversation with Wendy Ward Hoffer, of PEBC, we challenge the old myth that math identity is built on speed and being right and explore how families and teachers can work together to nurture every child's confidence and curiosity in math.True mathematical thinking isn't about quick answers. It's about dwelling with ideas, pondering, and reflecting deeply. These are qualities shared by history's greatest mathematical minds. For teachers and parents alike, this means rethinking the instructional strategies and education strategies we use to support kids who think differently or move at their own pace.✅ What you'll learn:• Why honoring student ideas, instead of rushing to the "right" answer, builds real student engagement, student motivation, and student participation. • How simple prompts like "How might we think about this?" or "How can we model this?" spark active learning, hold attention in class, and turn low engagement into genuine curiosity, especially for students who've struggled with classroom behavior or confidence in math.Watch, reflect, and share Part 1 & Part 2 of our Schoolutions S5E42 interview. 🌿Would you like to work together to create an environment where your students dwell with ideas, ponder, and reflect deeply? Book a coaching session with me here. I'd love to be a thought partner for you.🕐 Chapters:0:00 – The Big Question: Setting Kids Up for Math Success0:08 – The Myth: "Good at Math" Means Fast and Right0:20 – What Real Mathematical Thinkers Actually Do0:32 – Reframing What "Good at Math" Means0:42 – Honoring Student Thinking: Practical Prompts1:00 – Building Confidence Through Meaning-Making#Schoolutions #SchoolutionsPodcast #ForeverGettingBetter #CuriosityDriven #EvidenceBased #classroomreadystrategies  #MathIdentity #MathMindset #ClassroomBelonging #StudentEngagement #StudentMotivation #ActiveLearning #InspiringStudents #EffectiveTeaching #TeachingTips #InclusiveTeaching #TeacherCoaching #InstructionalCoaching #NewTeachers #ProfessionalDevelopment #SchoolLeadership #SchoolCulture #ParentInvolvement #HomeSchoolConnection #FamilyPartnerships #CulturallyResponsiveTeaching #EquityInEducation #WholeChild #StudentSuccess #EmpoweredEducators #EducationTransformation #TeacherImpactWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

What if the most powerful thing you could do for your child's math future this summer had nothing to do with worksheets or tutoring?In Part 1 of this week's S5E42 Schoolutions conversation, Wendy Ward Hoffer, author of All Minds on Mathematics: Math Workshop for Every Learner, shares a simple but radical idea: math identity is built in the everyday moments most of us are already living.In this episode you'll learn:• Why being good at math is not about speed or correct answers• What a child who says "I hate math" is really saying• How to find math everywhere this summer, at no costWendy believes math education is a powerful lever for equity in education and inclusive teaching. Her work spans classroom belonging, culturally responsive teaching, and building a pro-kid mindset that honors every learner's thinking, not just the fast or the "correct" ones. Our conversation continues with Part 2 on Friday, where Wendy offers a full summer playbook for families and educators. Don't miss it!Some resources mentioned:📚 Book: All Minds on Mathematics: Math Workshop for Every Learner 🌐 Organization: Public Education Business Coalition (PEBC)💫Blog Post: "Math: Why Doesn't Yours Look Like Mine?"💫Upcoming Professional Development: Minds on Math Institute💫Study Guide for All Minds on Math Chapters:0:00 Introduction & what you'll learn1:40 About Wendy Ward Hoffer & All Minds on Mathematics2:45 Researcher inspiration: John Holt & trusting children3:45 Why summer is an underutilized math opportunity5:20 Reframing what it means to be good at math6:50 Math workshop & student math identity8:00 What teachers & families should listen for (signs of negative math identity)9:30 Coaching kids to help each other without doing the work for them11:00 Sending kids off as mathematicians — what teachers can say12:40 Math detectives: finding math everywhere this summer13:10 Lightning round — best road trip math game14:00 "I hate math" really means...14:15 The kitchen as a math workshop14:55 Most underestimated free summer math activity15:35 One word for every student entering September16:20 Olivia's 3 big takeaways17:50 Preview of Part 2Schoolutions is the podcast for educators and school leaders, families and homeschoolers, and the coaches, counselors, and mentors who believe every student deserves to thrive. Join our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child. 🎙️ New episodes every Monday & Friday with bite-sized Wednesday reel bonus content.🌿Ready to grow alongside your children? Book a coaching session with me here. We'll unlock the expert who is already within you and surround you with a community of educators committed to forever getting better through collective expertise.🎵 Music: Benjamin Wahl Don't forget to 🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE the episode! #MathIdentity #StudentEngagement #InclusiveTeaching #MathWorkshop #SummerLearning #TeachingTips #EquityInEducation #ProKidMindset #StudentMotivation #ClassroomBelonging #ActiveLearning #InstructionalCoaching #SchoolCulture #FamilyPartnerships #CulturallyResponsiveTeaching #EducationLeadership #AllMindsOnMath #Schoolutions #MathForKids #empowerededucators #schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedstrategies #classroomreadystrategiesWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

🏃 What if the secret to student engagement this summer was free, fun, and made by a P.E. teacher with nearly 15 million views?In Part 2 of my Schoolutions conversation with @CoachGelardi⁩ (The PhysEdZone), we get completely practical. Tom gives age-by-age movement tips for summer, shares exactly which videos to start with, and explains why co-creating movement WITH kids, not just directing them, is the real driver of student motivation and active learning.🎯 You'll Learn:• How the PhysEdZone YouTube channel was born on a rainy day and a bake sale• Why Tom's videos work as mentor texts for new teachers and instructional coaching• Age-based tips: Pre-K–3rd (dance fitness workouts) vs. upper elementary–high school (70 at-home PE activities)• The sock ball basketball game that teaches abdominal strength AND accuracy• How student participation in choosing songs and moves is the co-creation model that keeps kids coming back• Why giving kids a score to beat is one of the most powerful tools for inspiring students💫Make sure to watch Part 1 & check out some of the resources mentioned:➡️The PhysEdZone (Tom's YouTube channel)⭐Witch Doctor workout (dance fitness)⭐Dance Monkey workout (dance fitness)⭐At-Home P.E. series with 70 videos made during the COVID lockdown➡️Coach Gelardi's TikTok➡️Coach Gelardi's Instagram⏱️ Chapters:0:00 Welcome back — Part 2 intro1:00 Recap: what we covered in Part 12:00 How the PhysEdZone YouTube channel began3:30 The rainy-day bake sale origin story5:00 Using Tom's videos as mentor texts for new teachers7:00 Why Tom started his TikTok for P.E. tips8:00 Inspiring future P.E. teachers through social media9:00 Co-creation and why creativity follows mastery10:30 Building a library of movement content11:30 Best videos to start with this summer12:00 Age-based tips: Pre-K through 3rd grade12:45 Age-based tips: Upper elementary through high school13:00 The at-home P.E. series with 70 household-item activities13:30 Sock ball basketball breakdown14:00 Why competition keeps kids coming back for more15:00 Closing thoughts and thank-you16:00 Outro: Movement is joy16:30 Coming up next: Wendy Ward Hoffer on summer mathJoin our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child.🎧 New episodes every Monday & Friday with bite-sized Wednesday reel bonus content.📧 Book a coaching session with me here if you’d like a thought partner to help you cultivate curious learners who advocate for what they believe in.🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to 🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE!Next week's episode: Wendy Ward Hoffer, author of All Minds on Mathematics, makes the case that summer is the most underused math classroom we have. The kitchen, the car, and the dinner table are all you need.#schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedstrategies #classroomreadystrategies #PhysEdZone #CoachGilardi #Schoolutions #StudentEngagement #ActiveLearning #InspiringStudents #TeacherCoaching #InstructionalCoaching #NewTeachers #ProfessionalDevelopment #HomeSchoolConnection #FamilyPartnerships #EducationAtHome #WholeChild #ThrivingStudents #EmpoweredEducators #TeacherImpact #SchoolCulture #InclusiveTeaching #StudentMotivation #StudentParticipation #ClassroomBelonging #EffectiveTeaching #EducationStrategies #PhysicalEducation #SummerActivities #KidsMovement #DanceFitness #AtHomePE #EducationPodcast #TeacherTips #ParentInvolvement #ProKidMindset #SchoolImprovement #InstructionalLeadershipWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

What if the most powerful thing you could do for student engagement wasn't a new lesson plan, but making sure every kid feels safe enough to try?In this clip from my S5E41 Schoolutions conversation, I sit down with @CoachGelardi where he emphasizes the critical role of physical safety in the P.E. classroom, but also highlights that an emotional connection with students encourages them to try new things without fear of making mistakes. It underscores how acknowledging the uniqueness of each student is vital for effective physical education and teaching. By prioritizing both safety and emotional well-being, educators can help all students thrive.This is what inclusive teaching, classroom belonging, and pro-kid mindset look like in action. Whether you're navigating low engagement, mixed-ability groups, or just trying to inspire students who've checked out, this one's for you.✅ What you'll learn:• Why emotional safety is the foundation of active learning• How to channel naturally talented students into peer mentors• A simple reframe that boosts student motivation AND classroom culture• Real talk on differentiated instruction from a PE classroom lensWatch, reflect, and share Part 1 & Part 2 of our  ⁨@schoolutionspodcast⁩ S5E42 interview. Would you like to work together to create an emotionally safe environment for your students? Book a coaching session with me here. I'd love to be a thought partner for you.🕐 Chapters:0:00 – Physical vs. emotional safety in the classroom0:22 – Every kid is unique: handling mixed ability levels0:45 – What to do with naturally gifted students1:05 – Going from good to great by helping others#Schoolutions #SchoolutionsPodcast #ForeverGettingBetter #CuriosityDriven #EvidenceBased #classroomreadystrategies #PhysEd #ElementaryPE #MovementMatters #SHAPEAmerica #KidsAndMovement #TeacherOfTheYear #BrainBreaks #PhysEdZone #ChildDevelopment #ElementaryEducation #TeacherLife #MovementIsLearning When teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

What does it really take to teach 28 kindergartners (alone) in a gym every single day? In Part 1 of my S5E41 Schoolutions conversation with @CoachGelardi,  the 2025 SHAPE America National Elementary P.E. Teacher of the Year and New York State Teacher of the Year, we talk about what world-class physical education and fitness actually look like and why every educator, parent, and school leader needs to pay attention. Tom is the creator of the PhysEdZone YouTube channel, which is closing in on 15 million views, and he's built one of the most powerful P.E. programs in New York City.In this episode, you'll learn:Why student engagement and active learning start with emotional safety, not rulesHow Tom uses co-created classroom expectations to build genuine classroom belonging and reduce classroom behavior issuesThe science behind movement and student success, and why movement breaks are non-negotiable for attention in classHow specific feedback (not praise) drives real student motivation and student participationWhy inclusive teaching means beginning with every kid where they are: athletically, emotionally, and sociallyTom's approach to inspiring students who struggle and those who excelWhat parents and caregivers can do at home to keep kids moving and support a home-school connectionThe biggest mistake adults make that kills kids' love of movement (hint: it's the iPad)What pro-kid mindset, whole child development, and equity in education actually look like inside a gymCoach Tom Gelardi in the News: Chalkbeat NYC ArticleCBS News FeatureNBC Today Show 3rd HourFeatureChapters:0:00 – Introduction: 28 Kids, One Gym, Zero Assistants1:45 – Meet Tom Gelardi: Awards, YouTube & Origin Story3:00 – Tom's Education Background & Early Mentors4:30 – What It Means to Be a "Pied Piper" for Kids5:45 – A Day in the Life: Elementary P.E. Across 20 Years7:00 – From Good to Great: Using Talent to Lift Others8:00 – Why P.E. Teachers Are Masterful Responsive Educators8:45 – Managing Safety with 60+ Kids in One Space10:00 – Co-Creating Classroom Expectations (Not Just Rules)12:00 – Large Class Sizes: What City Schools Look Like13:00 – Wild Midday Story: Fifth Graders + First Graders, No Equipment14:30 – Turning Chaos Into Opportunity: Teacher Growth15:15 – How Movement Impacts the Brain & Focus17:30 – Brain Breaks: The Research Behind Movement & Learning19:00 – The Long-Term Relationship Between P.E. Teachers & Kids20:30 – Making Impact Beyond the 45-Minute Class21:30 – Lightning Round: Rainy Day Movement Ideas22:30 – What Adults Do That Kills Kids' Love of Movement23:30 – Put the Phone Down: Being Fully Present24:30 – Worst Equipment Story (The Flat Basketball)25:30 – Biggest Misconception About P.E. Teachers26:30 – The Power of One-on-One Feedback in P.E.28:00 – Specific Feedback in Action: The Beanbag Example30:00 – Learning From Your Students as a Teacher31:00 – Wrap-Up & Key Takeaways🎧 Part 2 drops Friday, where @CoachGelardi⁩ shares his best summer movement tips for families, broken down by age group, plus his favorite PhysEdZone videos to use right now.Join our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child.🎧 New episodes every Monday & Friday with bite-sized Wednesday reel bonus content.📧 Book a coaching session with me here if you’d like a thought partner to help you cultivate curious learners who advocate for what they believe in.🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to 🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE!#schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedstrategies #classroomreadystrategies #PhysicalEducation #PETeacher #StudentEngagement #ActiveLearning #ClassroomBelonging #TeacherTips #InspiringStudents #WholeChild #InclusiveTeaching #StudentSuccess #MovementBreaks #BrainBreaks #EffectiveTeaching #InstructionalStrategies #SchoolCulture #TeacherCoaching #InstructionalCoaching #EmpoweredEducators #EducationTransformation #ProKidMindset #ParentInvolvement #HomeSchoolConnection #EquityInEducation #NewTeachers #SchoolLeadership #TeacherImpact #PhysEdZone #TomGelardi #Schoolutions #OliviaWahl #SHAPEAmerica #ElementaryEducation #ChildDevelopment #MovementIsLearningWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

In Part 2 of my S5E40 Schoolutions conversation with Dr. Kay Stahl, we explore practical tips for families to keep reading alive over the summer. This episode provides valuable educational strategies to enhance reading comprehension and foster essential reading skills, especially for children who say they are not readers. Dr. Stahl shares the latest research on comprehension (from the National Academy of Education's free report, Reaping the Rewards of the Reading Initiative), which shows that active learning matters more than passive reading: children need to MAKE something (a map, a book, a podcast) to demonstrate true understanding.We also cover:→ Why everything counts as reading (menus, stats, movie discussions) and how low-engagement readers can find their entry point→ The social side of reading: how family partnerships and shared books drive student participation and inspire students to read more→ Why there's no age limit for read-alouds and the connection to parent involvement, home-school connection, and inclusive teaching→ What reading struggle looks like at home and education strategies caregivers can use to support striving readers→ How to use "pulse points" to identify roadblocks to comprehension and apply instructional strategies that work💫Make sure to watch Part 1 & the linked resources mentioned:Assessment for Reading Instruction (5th edition) Reaping the Rewards of the Reading Initiative — a free report from the National Academy of Education, summarizing 250 studies across five research groups on comprehensionNational Academy of Education website Chapters:0:00 Introduction & episode overview1:45 What "I'm not a reader" really signals3:30 The four traits of reading motivation4:45 What counts as summer reading (everything!)6:15 Should you ever stop reading aloud?7:30 Books being banned — and why families should read them at home9:00 Family book clubs & social reading experiences10:30 Building vocabulary and knowledge over summer11:15 The comprehension research that changes everything: make a product12:30 Maps, books, recordings — authentic learning in action13:00 What reading struggle looks like at home15:00 How context, support, and interest affect comprehension16:30 Modeling reading as a caregiver17:00 Reaping the Rewards of the Reading Initiative (free report)18:00 Key takeaways & wrap-up🎧 New episodes every Monday & Friday with bite-sized Wednesday reel bonus content.📧 Book a coaching session with me here, if you’d like a thought partner to help you cultivate curious learners who advocate for what they believe in.🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to 🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE!Next week's episode:  @CoachGelardi ,  New York State Teacher of the Year and the force behind 15 million YouTube views, pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to keep kids moving, focused, and thriving. From keeping 64 kids in one gym safely engaged to building a viral at-home fitness empire during COVID, this conversation will completely change how you think about physical education.#schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedstrategies #classroomreadystrategies #SummerReading #ReadingInstruction #StudentMotivation #ParentInvolvement #LiteracyTips #TeachingTips #EducationPodcast #SummerReading #ReadingInstruction #StudentMotivation #StudentEngagement #ActiveLearning #InspiringStudents #ParentInvolvement #HomeSchoolConnection #FamilyPartnerships #CaregiverSupport #TeachingTips #EffectiveTeaching #InstructionalStrategies #LiteracyTips #TeacherCoaching #InstructionalCoaching #ProfessionalDevelopment #SchoolLeadership #SchoolCulture #InclusiveTeaching #WholeChild #ProKidMindset #StudentSuccess #EmpoweredEducators #InspiredTeaching #EducationTransformation #Schoolutions #KayStahl #OliviaWall #EducationPodcast #NewTeachers #TeacherMentors #SchoolAdministrators #Homeschoolers #ReadingComprehension #VocabularyBuilding #ReadAloud #LiteracyResearchWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

Are all reading skills taught the same way? Not according to researcher Scott Paris and understanding the difference could transform how you teach literacy.In this short from my S5E40 Schoolutions conversation, I sit down with Dr. Kay Stahl as she explains how Scott Paris introduced a powerful framework that every educator needs to know: the Constrained vs. Unconstrained Skills Continuum. On one end, you have constrained skills like phonics and letter names: sequential, isolated, and learned over a short period of time. On the other end are unconstrained skills like comprehension and vocabulary: lifelong learning journeys that grow incrementally and can never truly be "finished."This distinction is a game-changer for instructional strategies and lesson planning, because it means we can't use a one-size-fits-all approach to effective teaching. When we understand that phonics has a finish line but comprehension does not, we become better equipped to support the whole child and build a path toward true student success.Watch, reflect, and share Part 1 & Part 2 of our @schoolutionspodcast S5E40 interview. 📧 Book a coaching session with me here, if you’d like a thought partner to help you cultivate curious learners who advocate for what they believe in.📚 CHAPTERS0:00 – Introduction: Not All Skills Are Equal0:08 – What Are Constrained Skills? (Phonics & Letter Names)0:20 – The Skill Continuum Explained0:32 – What Are Unconstrained Skills? (Comprehension & Vocabulary)0:45 – Why This Framework Changes How We Teach#Schoolutions #SchoolutionsPodcast #ForeverGettingBetter #CuriosityDriven #EvidenceBased #ClassroomReadyStrategies #effectiveteaching #instructionalstrategies #teachingtips #studentengagement #activeLearning #inclusiveclassrooms #culturallyresponsiveteaching #professionaldevelopment #instructionalcoaching #teachercoaching #schoolleadership #schoolimprovement #educationleadership #newteachers #mentorteachers #lessonplanning #wholesomechild #studentsuccess #empowerededucators #educationtransformation #literacydevelopment #readinginstruction #phonics #comprehension #constrainedskills #unconstrainedskills #scottparis #teacherimpact #schoolculture #equityineducationWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

What if the biggest obstacle to student success isn't summer, it's what teachers stop doing after the standardized test? In Part 1 of my S5E40 Schoolutions conversation with Dr. Katherine (Kay) Stahl, literacy consultant, clinician, and former director of the NYU Literacy Clinic, she shares what 25+ years in classrooms taught her about reading, assessment, and what actually works. Learn about effective methods for teaching reading and supporting learning to read, ensuring summer reading is a time of continued progress. This conversation offers practical education tips for teachers, emphasizing the importance of phonics and ongoing teaching, especially after standardized testing concludes.🎯 In this episode, you'll also learn about:• The constrained vs. unconstrained skills framework every teacher needs to understand• Why diagnostic assessment has fallen by the wayside and how to bring it back• What fluency really means beyond reading speed (hint: it's about comprehension)• The case for morphology instruction in 3rd grade and beyond• How to turn end-of-year data into something useful for families and next year's teacher• Paired reading: the research-backed strategy parents can use at home this summerSome resources mentioned:Assessment for Reading InstructionParis, S. (2005). "Reinterpreting the Development of Reading Skills." Reading Research QuarterlyStahl, K. (2011). "Applying New Visions of Reading Development in Today's Classroom." The Reading TeacherKeith Topping, paired reading research and methodologyKay's website — specifically a parent-facing section on diagnostic assessment with 12 questions parents should ask their child's teacherKay's five co-authored books Chapters:0:00 Introduction ➡️Dr. Kay Stahl1:45 Who is Kay? Background & NYU Literacy Clinic2:45 Constrained vs. unconstrained skills (Scott Paris research)5:30 The biggest mistake teachers make at year-end8:30 Turning data into action ➡️ end-of-year assessment tables11:00 Why diagnostic assessment has fallen by the wayside13:00 Science of reading & Assessment for Reading Instruction13:45 Morphology ➡️what it is and why it matters15:40 Fluency beyond reading speed ➡️accuracy, prosody & comprehension18:00 The speedometer➡️teaching kids to match reading rate to purpose20:30 Paired reading ➡️ the research-backed family strategy22:30 Lightning round ➡️summer tips, myths & quick wins25:30 Wrap-up & what's coming in Part 2Part 2 drops Friday: covering summer reading plans, what counts as reading, and a comprehension finding that changes everything.Join our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child.🎧 New episodes every Monday & Friday with bite-sized Wednesday reel bonus content.📧 Book a coaching session with me here, if you’d like a thought partner to help you cultivate curious learners who advocate for what they believe in.🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to 🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE! #Schoolutions #SchoolutionsPodcast #ForeverGettingBetter  #CuriosityDriven #EvidenceBased #ClassroomReadyStrategies #ScienceOfReading #LiteracyInstruction #ReadingFluency #TeachingTips #InstructionalCoaching #StudentEngagement #StudentMotivation #EffectiveTeaching #SummerReading #ParentInvolvement #HomeSchoolConnection #FamilyLiteracy #WholeChild #ProKidMindset #EmpoweredEducators #Morphology #DiagnosticAssessment #ProfessionalLearning #TeacherLifeWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

This June, Schoolutions is setting teachers, families, and students up for success in September all summer long. Five conversations. One month of inspiring students, empowered educators, and real education transformation. This Month's Conversations: 📖 S5 E40: Dr. Kay Stahl | June 1 & 5Dr. Kay Stahl brings 25+ years of classroom and clinic experience to a conversation about the 5th edition of Assessment for Reading Instruction. A must-listen for anyone who cares about student success and keeping reading alive all summer. Kay's insights on paired bedtime reading and dinner-table reading talk make the home-school connection feel completely doable and prove that summer slide is totally avoidable.🏃 S5 E41:  @CoachGelardi | June 8 & 12Coach Tom Gelardi, New York State's P.E. Teacher of the Year, pulls back the curtain on what really happens in a gym class: managing 64 kids in a space meant for 30, and building a YouTube channel closing in on 15 million views. This conversation transforms how you see student engagement, whole child development, and the power of movement as an instructional strategy.➗ S5 E42: Wendy Ward Hoffer | June 15 & 19Author of All Minds on Mathematics, Wendy makes the case that summer is the most underused math classroom we have. The kitchen, the car, and the dinner table are all you need. A practical, joyful playbook for any adult who wants to grow a curious mathematician, no worksheets required.  @PEBC 💛 S5 E43: Dr. Kass & Cornelius Minor | June 22 & 26Co-founders of The Minor Collective, Cornelius and Dr. Kass Minor, have spent years building education around one radical premise: kids deserve to be truly centered. In a moment when teaching feels surveilled, exhausted, and politically complicated, this conversation is a fierce, tender reminder of why the work still matters.🎙️ S5 E44: Season 5 Closing Reflection | June 29I (Olivia Wahl) reflect on the big ideas from Season 5, preview what's coming this summer, and share what Season 6 is all about — for teachers, by teachers — leading up to my book release in spring 2027.📬 Stay Connected & Subscribe👍 Like if you're ready for education transformation💬 Comment: Which guest are you most excited to hear?🔔 Subscribe for weekly teaching tips and instructional strategies https://www.youtube.com/@schoolutionspodcast/📱 Share Wednesday reels with colleagues, friends, and familiesChapters:0:00–0:10: Intro 0:10–0:20 Dr. Kay Stahl 0:20–0:30 Coach Tom Gelardi 0:30–0:40Wendy Ward Hoffer 0:40–0:48 Kass & Cornelius Minor 0:48–0:59 Season 5 Reflection#Schoolutions #SchoolutionsPodcast #ForeverGettingBetter  #CuriosityDriven #EvidenceBased #ClassroomReadyStrategies #TeacherPodcast #EducationPodcast #StudentEngagement #ClassroomBelonging #ActiveLearning #InspiringStudents #EffectiveTeaching #InstructionalStrategies #TeachingTips #InnovativeTeaching #InclusiveTeaching #TeacherCoaching #InstructionalCoaching #TeacherSupport #MentorTeachers #CoachingStrategies #ProfessionalDevelopment #SchoolLeadership #SchoolImprovement #InstructionalLeadership #EducationLeadership #SchoolCulture #PrincipalStrategies #ParentInvolvement #HomeSchoolConnection #FamilyPartnerships #CulturallyResponsiveTeaching #EquityInEducation #InclusiveClassrooms #AntiBiasTeaching #ProKidMindset #WholeChild #StudentSuccess #ThrivingStudents #EmpoweredEducators #EducationTransformation #TeacherImpact #SummerLearning #NewTeachersWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

What does it actually take to build student engagement and student participation for experienced multilinguals — not just in theory, but in every lesson, every day?In Part 2 of my S5E39 Schoolutions conversation, literacy experts Beth Skelton and Tan Huynh break down the integrated literacy framework at the heart of their new book, Integrated Literacy for Experienced Multilinguals. This episode is packed with education strategies and instructional strategies you can use tomorrow.You’ll learn about:🔄 THE INPUT-OUTPUT LOOP: The single most powerful shift for active learning and attention in class. Stop delivering 40-minute lectures. Give students a small chunk of content, then ask for output immediately. Rinse and repeat. Beth and Tan show exactly how this works in a grade 7 science lesson on plate tectonics; a masterclass in effective teaching and lesson planning.📝 THE STRUCTURED QUICK WRITE: A practical instructional routine that integrates reading, writing, speaking, and listening in one short activity. Tan walks us through building academic sentences using "comma-but" contrast structures; the kind of innovative teaching that produces real academic language, not just correct answers.⚖️ EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION AS AN EQUITY ISSUE: This is where the conversation gets real. Beth shares a story about a professional multilingual woman whose career advancement is being capped, not because of her ability, but because no one ever taught her the academic language structures she needed. This is the cost of low engagement with explicit instruction. Equity in education and inclusive teaching aren't just values; they're instructional choices. An annotated mentor text, a sentence frame, a structured quick write: these aren't optional scaffolds. They're a right for every student.💫Make sure to watch Part 1 & check out resources mentioned:➡️Long-Term Success for Experienced Multilinguals by Beth Skelton and Tan Huynh (their first book)➡️Integrated Literacy for Experienced Multilinguals by  Beth Skelton and Tan Huynh  (the new book)➡️Talk. Read. Talk. Write. by Nancy Motley - credited by Tan as the inspiration for the input-output loop sequencing➡️Previous Schoolutions episode with Beth and Tan: an earlier, separate episode (distinct from this two-part series) where scaffolding is discussed in depthChapters:0:00 Intro — integrated literacy framework overview1:45 Why the four language domains can't be siloed5:30 The badminton metaphor for language integration8:00 What is the input-output loop?10:00 Plate tectonics classroom example13:00 Beth on shortening the loop for academic language14:30 Using "while" and "comma-but" as contrast structures17:30 The equity argument — explicit instruction is a right20:30 What is an annotated mentor text?22:30 The structured quick write in action25:30 Stories of student and teacher breakthroughs29:30 Key takeaways + outro🎧 New episodes every Monday & Friday with bite-sized Wednesday reel bonus content.📧 Book a coaching session with me here, if you’d like a thought partner to help you cultivate curious learners who advocate for what they believe in.🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to 🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE! Next week's episode: I am sitting down with literacy expert Dr. Kay Stahl to unpack something so many students carry quietly: "I'm not a reader." We're talking about what that statement actually signals, why diagnostic assessment matters so much more than a standardized test score, and how families can build confident readers this summer without it ever feeling like school. You don't want to miss it. I'll see you then.#schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedstrategies #classroomreadystrategies #MultilingualLearners #ELLStrategies #IntegratedLiteracy #StudentEngagement #EquityInEducation #ExplicitInstruction #InstructionalCoaching #TeacherTips #ActiveLearning #InclusiveClassrooms #CulturallyResponsiveTeaching #ProKidMindset #Schoolutions #EducationPodcast #TeacherCoaching #LessonPlanning #AcademicLanguage #ProfessionalDevelopment #StudentSuccess #EffectiveTeachingWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

What does it cost us when experienced multilinguals never receive the explicit academic language instruction they need, not just to pass a class, but to fully participate in school, in careers, and in life?In this short from my S5E39 Schoolutions conversation, I sit down with authors Beth Skelton and Tan Huynh to unpack their newest book, Integrated Literacy for Experienced Multilinguals. Together they challenge the deficit-laden label "long-term English learner" and replace it with something far more accurate and empowering: experienced multilingual.What does "stuck" actually look like in a classroom? It looks like a ninth-grader saying, "It gets bigger when it gets closer," and a well-meaning teacher accepting that answer and moving on. It looks like assuming students should already know academic language simply because they've been in the system for years. It looks like protection masquerading as support, and acceptance masquerading as high expectations.Tan and Beth argue that every content teacher (science, math, social studies) is also a language teacher, whether they know it or not. The language of geology is not the same as the language of literary analysis. The language of a lab report is not the language of a hallway conversation. And when we stop assuming and start teaching explicitly, we close gaps and open futures. As Tan says it best: "An experienced multilingual is not a struggling student. They are students in need of academic instruction."Watch, reflect, and share Part 1 & Part 2 of our @schoolutionspodcast S5E39 interview. 📧 Book a coaching session with me here if you’d like a thought partner to help you cultivate curious learners who advocate for what they believe in. Chapters:0:00 – The Cost of Silence: What Society Loses0:08 – The Danger of Assumptions in Schools0:18 – What Could Students Do If We Just Taught Them?0:28 – Reframing the Label: Not Struggling, Just Under-Taught#Schoolutions #SchoolutionsPodcast #ForeverGettingBetter #CuriosityDriven #EvidenceBased #ClassroomReadyStrategies #ExperiencedMultilinguals #ELDTeaching #AcademicLanguage #EquityInEducation #CulturallyResponsiveTeaching #InclusiveClassrooms #StudentEngagement #StudentSuccess #EffectiveTeaching #InstructionalCoaching #TeacherSupport #ProfessionalDevelopment #SchoolLeadership #InstructionalStrategies #WholeChild #ProKidMindset #EmpoweredEducators #TeacherImpact #EducationTransformation #MultilingualLearners #WIDAFramework #IntegratedLiteracy #ActiveLearning #InspiringStudents #SchoolCulture #NewTeachers #MentorTeachers #FamilyPartnerships #HomeSchoolConnectionWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

What does "stuck" actually look like in a classroom and whose job is it to fix it?In this S5E39 Part 1 episode of Schoolutions, I sit down again with Beth Skelton and Tan Huynh to discuss their newest collaboration, Integrated Literacy for Experienced Multilinguals. They talk about why the phrase "long-term English learner" needs to go, and what "stuck" looks like in a classroom. This episode is a must-listen for any teacher looking to improve their English language instruction and support every student.Beth shares a powerful classroom story about a ninth grader who could explain physics perfectly in social language but needed explicit support to reach academic language. Tan shares what it felt like to arrive in the U.S. as a five-year-old Vietnamese refugee and later be told his "creative" science writing wasn't science writing at all.Some episode mentions👇💫The Writing Revolution by Natalie Wexler and Judith Hochman💫Long-Term Success for Experienced Multilinguals by Beth Skelton and Tan Huynh (their first book)💫Integrated Literacy for Experienced Multilinguals by  Beth Skelton and Tan Huynh  (the new book)💫The 2020 WIDA framework💫The original WIDA "Can Do" philosophy💫Ruslana Westerlund — contributor to the 2020 WIDA frameworkPublications💫Scientific American — mentioned as an example of science writing for non-scientists🔑 Topics discussed:➡️ Why "experienced multilingual" replaces deficit language around student engagement and student motivation➡️ What stuck looks like and how it starts as early as 4th grade (classroom behavior vs. academic language)➡️ Social language vs. academic language: the continuum and why it matters for active learning➡️Why every content teacher is responsible for the language of their discipline and how that supports inclusive teaching➡️Good-intentioned practices that actually increase the gap (a must-hear for instructional coaching and teacher support)➡️ The equity argument for explicit instruction as the most generous form of culturally responsive teachingMore resources from Tan & Beth:Huynh, T. & Skelton, B. (2026).A Scaffolding Strategy to Help Experienced ELLs Express Complex Ideas. EdutopiaHuynh, T., & Skelton, B. (2025).Sentence-Level Scaffolds That Foster English Learners' Independence and Growth. EdutopiaHuynh, T., & Skelton, B. (2025).Adapting Gradual Release of Responsibility for English Language Learners. EdutopiaHuynh, T., & Skelton, B. (2025).Using an Input-Output Loop to Help Newcomer Students Learn Class Content. EdutopiaChapters:0:00 Welcome & guest introductions1:45 Research nugget: The Writing Revolution (Tan)2:55 Research nugget: WIDA 2020 framework (Beth)3:50 Why this book? Origin of Integrated Literacy for Experienced Multilinguals5:40 Why "long-term English learner" needs to go (asset vs. deficit language)7:50 What "stuck" looks like: the convex lens classroom story11:00 Social language vs. academic language explained13:00 Every content teacher IS a language teacher14:40 Beth's husband's geology thesis (and why science writes in passive voice)16:50 Tan's "sandwiched" rock layers story (two Englishes)18:45 Lightning round: Q&A with Beth and Tan22:00 Preview of Part 2 with the input-output loop & language domainsJoin our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child. 🎧 New episodes every Monday & Friday with bite-sized Wednesday reel bonus content.📧 Book a coaching session with me here, if you’d like a thought partner to help you cultivate curious learners who advocate for what they believe in.🎵 Music: Benjamin Wahl Don't forget to 🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE! #schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedstrategies #classroomreadystrategies #MultilingualLearners #ELLTeachers #AcademicLanguage #ExperiencedMultilinguals #EquityInEducation #InclusiveClassrooms #InstructionalCoaching #TeacherCoaching #CulturallyResponsiveTeaching #StudentEngagement #StudentMotivation #ActiveLearning #EffectiveTeaching #InstructionalStrategies #ProfessionalDevelopment #SchoolLeadership #EducationLeadership #SchoolCulture #TeacherSupport #MentorTeachers #ProKidMindset #WholeChild #StudentSuccess #EmpoweredEducators #EducationTransformation #TeacherImpact #SchoolChange #ClassroomBelonging #AntibiasTeachingWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

What happens when the students whom everyone overlooks become the ones who change everything? In Part 2 of this must-hear S5E38 Schoolutions conversation, Rachael Thrash shares the inspiring story about Angolan students in Portland, Maine, who turned their isolation into a school-wide soccer tournament, walks through her Actionable Participatory Model step by step, and gives you the one move you can make this Monday to start co-creation in your classroom today.Rachael unpacks why shy students, multilingual learners, and kids who learn differently are the most silenced voices in schools, and exactly how strategic facilitation and inclusive teaching can change that. This is equity in education and school culture work at its most practical and most human.💫Make sure to watch Part 1 & check out some of the resources mentioned:Rachael Thrash's websiteLet the Learners Lead: Empowering Student Voice to Co-Create School Culture by Rachael ThrashBaxter Academy for Science and Technology, Portland, MaineInternational School of HelsinkiNext Week: Tan Huynh and Beth Skelton are on a mission to reach the students everyone assumes are fine — experienced multilinguals who can chat in the hallway but still can't write a formal essay with ease. Tune in to learn about their new book, Integrated Literacy for Experienced Multilinguals, and for the personal stories, the framework, and the moves that offer these students the instruction they've always deserved. Chapters:0:00 — Hook: Angolan Students Who Changed Their Whole School 1:00 — Welcome Back & Part 2 Overview 1:30 — Case Study: Baxter Academy for Science and Technology, Portland, Maine 3:00 — How Isolation Became the Catalyst for Change 4:00 — From Problem to Proposal: The Soccer League Story 5:30 — The Confidence Ripple Effect — What the Biology Teacher Noticed 6:30 — Whose Voices Get Overlooked Most Often 7:30 — The Story of Risa: From Silent to Leading 9:00 — How a Student Leadership Retreat Changed Everything 10:00 — Introducing the Actionable Participatory Model 10:30 — Step 1: Relationship Building and Connection 11:30 — Step 2: Exploring What's Working and What Isn't 12:30 — Step 3: Imagining a Better School 13:00 — Step 4: Breaking Ideas Into Actionable Projects 14:00 — Step 5: Real Audience, Real Stakes 14:45 — Step 6: Reflection and Redefining Together 16:00 — Why This Book Is a Mentor Text for Teachers 16:30 — What the World Is Demanding of Kids Right Now 17:30 — Why Co-Creation Defies AI 19:00 — Regenerative Education and Hattie's Research 20:30 — Page 143: The Co-Create Framework Quote 22:00 — The One Move to Start This Work on Monday 24:00 — Key Takeaways and Call to Action 25:00 — Next Week Preview: Tan Huynh and Beth Skelton 26:00 — Outro and How to Work With Olivia Wahl📧 🎧 New episodes every Monday & Friday with bite-sized Wednesday reel bonus content.📧 Book a coaching session with me here if you’d like a thought partner to help you cultivate curious learners who advocate for what they believe in.🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE! Next week's conversation: Tan Huynh and Beth Skelton are on a mission to reach the students everyone assumes are fine — experienced multilinguals who can chat in the hallway but still can't write a formal essay with ease. Tune in to learn about their new book, Integrated Literacy for Experienced Multilinguals, and for the personal stories, the framework, and the moves that offer these students the instruction they've always deserved. #schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedstrategies #classroomreadystrategies #StudentVoice #CoCreation #LetTheLearnersLead #RachaelThrash #Schoolutions #OliviaWahl #ActionableParticipatoryModel #StudentLeadership #InclusiveTeaching #EquityInEducation #ClassroomBelonging #StudentEngagement #Multilingual #ELLStudents #ShyStudents #OverlookedStudents #InstructionalLeadership #SchoolImprovement #TeacherCoaching #InstructionalCoaching #EffectiveTeaching #ActiveLearning #EmpoweredEducators #WholeChild #ProKidMindset #CulturallyResponsiveTeaching #AIinEducation #HumanCenteredLearning #PortraitOfAGraduate #EducationTransformation #RegenerativeEducation #ProfessionalDevelopment #SchoolCulture #InspiringStudents #TeacherImpactWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

Is your student council secretly reinforcing the status quo? In this short from my S5E38 Schoolutions conversation, Rachael Thrash, author of Let the Learners Lead and Senior Director of Education & Innovation at Big Bad Boo Studios, breaks down why traditional student leadership models are built on barriers that silence the very students whose voices matter most.When school leadership becomes a privilege for the already-confident, already-popular, already-successful kids, we send a quiet but powerful message: this space isn't for you. Real school culture change starts when we treat every student as a leader in the making.Watch, reflect, and share Part 1 & Part 2 of our @schoolutionspodcast S5E38 interview. 📧 Book a coaching session with me here: https://www.oliviawahl.com/printable-resources/p/professional-mentorship-expert-networking, if you’d like a thought partner to help you cultivate curious learners who advocate for what they believe in. 📘 Grab Rachael's book: Let the Learners Lead🌐 Learn more: https://cocreateschools.com/Chapters0:00 Why Traditional Student Leadership Fails0:20 The Status Quo Problem in Student Councils0:45 School as a Laboratory — For Every Student1:10 What Exclusive Leadership Models Really Teach Kids1:35 How We Repeat Society's Inequities in Schools#Schoolutions #SchoolutionsPodcast #ForeverGettingBetter #CuriosityDriven #EvidenceBased #ClassroomReadyStrategies #StudentLeadership #ClassroomBelonging #StudentEngagement #EquityInEducation #InclusiveTeaching #SchoolCulture #StudentVoice #ProKidMindset #LetTheLearnersLead #EffectiveTeaching #InstructionalLeadership #SchoolImprovement #EmpoweredEducators #TeacherCoaching #ActiveLearning #InspiringStudents #EducationTransformation #CulturallyResponsiveTeaching #WholeChild #SchoolChange #TeacherImpact #AntiTeaching #NewTeachers #ProfessionalDevelopment #SchoolLeadership #SchoolutionsWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

Is your student council accidentally silencing the students who need a voice most? In Part 1 of this two-part S5E38 Schoolutions conversation, Rachael Thrash, Senior Director of Education and Innovation at Big Bad Boo Studios and author of Let the Learners Lead: Empowering Student Voice to Co-Create School Culture, breaks down why traditional student leadership models are quietly reinforcing the status quo, and what co-creation actually looks and feels like in schools.Rachael walks us through David Yeager's research and the student voice continuum, unpacks why a student survey is NOT the same as student voice, and shares two unforgettable stories about what happens when teachers trust kids enough to let things get messy. This is instructional leadership and school culture work at its most human.Some episode mentions: Rachael Thrash's website10 to 25 by David Yeager, PhDDesigning Group Work by Cohen and LawtonStudent Voice Continuum — Teschales and Nykula, University of PennsylvaniaInternational School of HelsinkiTricia Friedman🎧 Part 2 drops Friday, where Rachael walks us through a school case study, whose voices get overlooked most, and the one move you can make on Monday morning to get this work started. CHAPTERS0:00 — Hook: Is Your Student Council Doing More Harm Than Good? 1:00 — Welcome & Introduction: Who Is Rachael Thrash? 2:00 — Research Spotlight: David Yeager & Designing Group Work 3:30 — What Traditional Student Leadership Gets Wrong 5:00 — The Student Council Constitution That Excludes Most Kids 6:00 — The Moment Rachael Knew We Had to Do This Differently 7:30 — Student Voice vs. Student Survey: There's a Huge Difference 9:00 — The Student Voice Continuum Explained 10:30 — Co-Creation: What It Actually Means for Students & Adults 11:30 — What Happens When Teachers Let Go of Control 12:30 — The Resistance Art Gallery Story 14:30 — The Helsinki Interview That Changed Everything 16:00 — Life Is Messy — and That's the Point 16:45 — Lightning Round With Rachael Thrash 19:00 — Key Takeaways & Call to Action 19:45 — Come Back for Part 2 — PreviewJoin our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child. 📧 🎧 New episodes every Monday & Friday with bite-sized Wednesday reel bonus content.📧 Book a coaching session with me here if you’d like a thought partner to help you cultivate curious learners who advocate for what they believe in. 🎵 Music: Benjamin Wahl Don't forget to🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE! #schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedstrategies #classroomreadystrategies #StudentVoice #SchoolCulture #StudentLeadership #CoCreation #LetTheLearnersLead #RachaelThrash #Schoolutions #OliviaWahl #InclusiveTeaching #EquityInEducation #ClassroomBelonging #StudentEngagement #InstructionalLeadership #SchoolImprovement #TeacherCoaching #InstructionalCoaching #EffectiveTeaching #ActiveLearning #EmpoweredEducators #WholeChild #ProKidMindset #CulturallyResponsiveTeaching #AntiBiasTeaching #EducationTransformation #TeacherImpact #ProfessionalDevelopment #NewTeachers #SchoolLeadership #FamilyPartnerships #inspiringstudentsWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

What if the secret to student engagement, student motivation, and inspiring students wasn't a new app or a new behavior system, but storytelling? In Part 2 of my S5E37 Schoolutions conversation, Xochitl Bentley (author of Helping Students Become Climate Stewards) walks us through what climate stewardship projects look and feel like in real classrooms: from a Green Ambassador Grant field trip to TreePeople Eco Park in LA to a student-led postcard campaign to city representatives. These aren't assigned projects. They're sparked by genuine encounters with stewardship, and they ripple outward into the community.You’ll learn:✦ How to make the case for environmental justice education in any classroom ✦ The "read with the grain / read against the grain" strategy for counter-storytelling✦ Flash fiction + news stories = student agency in climate narratives✦ What a real climate stewardship project looks like, start to finish✦ The 3 questions every student should carry with them for life💫Make sure to watch Part 1 & check out some resources mentioned:➡️Flash fiction technique borrowed from writer Kathy Fish: thinking like a mosaicist➡️The Great Pacific Garbage Patch as a springboard for student flash fiction writing ➡️Louisiana's Cancer Alley as a case study for rhetorical strategies in ELA ➡️Field trip to TreePeople eco park in Los Angeles Chapters:0:00 – Introduction & Part 1 Recap1:45 – The "Read With / Against the Grain" Strategy4:00 – Banking Student Questions as Visible Inquiry5:30 – Flash Fiction + News Stories = Student Agency8:00 – Making the Case for Environmental Justice in Any Classroom10:30 – Environmental Hazards as Public Health Emergencies11:30 – The Green Ambassador Grant Project12:30 – TreePeople Eco Park Field Trip14:30 – Student-Led Community Showcase & Postcard Campaign15:45 – Defining "Climate Steward"17:00 – The Three Questions for Future Ancestors18:00 – Reading from the Book's Preface19:30 – Olivia's 3 Big Takeaways21:00 – Next Episode Preview📧 Book a coaching session with me here if you’d like a thought partner to help you cultivate curious learners who advocate for what they believe in. 🎵 Music: Benjamin Wahl Next Week: International educator and author Rachael Thrash is about to challenge everything you think you know about what student leadership looks like. She makes a compelling case in her new book, Let the Learners Lead, for why handing real power to students doesn't just change schools, it changes the world. When teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

When students shut down during climate conversations, the answer isn't more data; it's better storytelling. In this short from my S5E37 Schoolutions conversation, climate educator and author Xochitl Bentley explains why wrapping difficult facts in stories is the key to unlocking student engagement, authentic voice, and real civic action in your classroom.Whether you're focused on inspiring students, improving student participation, or building a pro-kid mindset across your school, Xochitl's approach to environmental storytelling offers a whole child framework that works across ELA, science, social studies, and beyond.Watch, reflect, and share Part 1 & Part 2 of our @schoolutionspodcast S5E37 interview. 📧 Book a coaching session with me here if you’d like a thought partner to help you cultivate curious learners who advocate for what they believe in. Schoolutions is for teachers, education coaches, instructional leaders, school administrators, parents, homeschoolers, teacher mentors, school counselors, and anyone committed to empowered educators and thriving students. Tune in every Monday and Friday for evidence-based, classroom-ready strategies you can apply right away.📚 CHAPTERS0:00 Why students shut down during climate conversations0:22 The problem with facts and statistics alone0:38 Why storytelling unlocks student engagement0:52 The power of community-rooted stories1:05 Authentic voice, honest call to action #Schoolutions #SchoolutionsPodcast #ForeverGettingBetter #CuriosityDriven #EvidenceBased #ClassroomReadyStrategies #StudentEngagement #ClassroomBelonging #InspiringStudents #ActiveLearning #EffectiveTeaching #InstructionalStrategies #StudentMotivation #TeacherCoaching #InstructionalCoaching #NewTeachers #MentorTeachers #ProfessionalDevelopment #SchoolLeadership #EquityInEducation #CulturallyResponsiveTeaching #InclusiveClassrooms #AntiBiasTeaching #ProKidMindset #WholeChild #StudentSuccess #EmpoweredEducators #EducationTransformation #TeacherImpact #ClimateEducation #EnvironmentalStorytelling #StudentVoice #Schoolutions #ClimateStorytelling #ClimateStewards #XochitlBentleyWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

What if the most powerful climate tool we have isn't a statistic, it's a story?In Part 1 of my S5E37 Schoolutions conversation, I sit down with teacher Xochitl Bentley to unpack how using six specific storytelling stances can effectively engage students with climate change issues. Xochitl emphasizes that stories can be a more powerful tool than statistics in fostering environmental education and stewardship, highlighting their role in the broader education for sustainability movement.Some resources mentioned:📚 Helping Students Become Climate Stewards: Storytelling for Environmental Advocacy and Problem Solving by Xochitl Bentley📚 Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor by Rob Nixon📚The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer📚Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler➡️Fukushima Daiichi Accident CHAPTERS:0:00 – Introduction & Who Is Xochitl Bentley1:45 – The Research: Rob Nixon & Slow Violence3:30 – What Sparked Xochitl's Passion for Climate Stewardship5:00 – The Food Story That Hooked Students (Heather's Classroom)6:10 – Lessons from Japan: Foresight, Islands & Sustainability8:30 – Why Facts Alone Don't Drive Action9:30 – Wrapping Data in Stories: The Core Argument10:30 – The Six Storytelling Stances (Overview)11:00 – Stance 1: Storytelling for Systemic Responsiveness12:10 – Stance 2: Storytelling About Root Causes13:10 – Stance 3: Storytelling Beyond Either/Or14:10 – Stance 4: Storytelling for Kinship & Reciprocity15:20 – Stance 5: Storytelling for Intergenerational Awareness16:30 – The Seventh Generation Principle Connection17:10 – Stance 6: Storytelling for Collective Mobilization18:10 – Lightning Round Begins18:45 – Book Rec: The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer19:40 – One Word Students Feel: Overwhelmed20:10 – Most Underrated Genre: Ghost Stories21:00 – Biggest Myth in Environmental Education21:30 – A Student Becomes a Climate Steward When…22:00 – Wrap Up & What's Coming in Part 2🎧 Part 2 drops Friday, where Xochitl walks through the full storytelling flow and real climate stewardship projects from her classroom.Join our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child. 📧 🎧 New episodes every Monday & Friday with bite-sized Wednesday reel bonus content.📧 Book a coaching session with me here if you’d like a thought partner to help you cultivate curious learners who advocate for what they believe in. 🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE!#schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedstrategies #classroomreadystrategies #StudentEngagement #TeacherCoaching #InstructionalStrategies #ClimateEducation #EffectiveTeaching #ClassroomBelonging #CulturallyResponsiveTeaching When teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

In part 2 of my S5E36 ⁨Schoolutions conversation with Sabina Sethi Unni from @openplansnyc⁩ breaks down how urban redevelopment can truly impact a school community. Sabina shares specific strategies for urban design, like a co-created toolkit and a relational outreach approach, showing a before and after in community engagement. This architecture video highlights the Clarkson Street project, proposing new installations to foster a better environment.💫Make sure to watch Part 1  and learn more about applying by reaching out to Sabina at [email protected]📚 Some Episode Mentions:School Streets program with Open PlansClarkson School Street Project New York EdgeThe Project for Public Spaces Transportation AlternativesParis School Streets program Pratt Institute / International Placemaking Week CHAPTERS0:00 — Introduction: Streets as the Most Joyful Place in the Neighborhood1:30 — What Is a School Street? Definition & What It Looks Like4:00 — How Schools Apply & Eligibility Requirements6:30 — Equity First: Why Low-Income Communities Are Prioritized9:00 — The Biggest Barriers: Staffing, Admin Burden & Leadership Turnover11:30 — Co-Creating the Toolkit with Transportation Alternatives14:00 — From Cold Outreach to Relational Organizing16:30 — The Clarkson Street Story: A National Model in the Making20:00 — NYC's First-Ever Permanent Swing Gate on a Public Street23:00 — Mayor Mamdani's Opt-Out Proposal & What It Could Mean26:00 — If Every Street Became a School Street: Where to Start29:00 — The Vision for Scale & What Paris Can Teach NYC31:00 — How to Get Involved, Apply, or Support the Movement🎧 New episodes every Monday & Friday with bite-sized Wednesday reel bonus content.📧 Connect with me if you’d like a thought partner to help you cultivate curious learners who advocate for what they believe in. 🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to 🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE! Next week's episode: Xochitl Bentley teaches us about different storytelling stances and how they connect to climate stewardship. Xochitl offers a masterclass in culturally responsive teaching, inclusive classrooms, and sparking student motivation through narrative and identity. #schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedstrategies #classroomreadystrategies #SchoolStreets #UrbanPlanning #EquityInEducation #StudentSuccess #WholeChild #SchoolCulture #InstructionalLeadership #TeacherCoaching #ActiveLearning #OutdoorLearning #FamilyPartnerships #CulturallyResponsiveTeaching #ProKidMindset #SchoolImprovement #EmpoweredEducators #InclusiveClassrooms #SchoolusionsPodcast #TeacherSupport #PrincipalStrategies #CommunitySchoolsWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

In this clip (watch here), Sabina Sethi Unni from Open Plans defines a school street as a DOT program enabling schools to close adjacent streets to car traffic during school hours, enhancing school safety. This initiative, rooted in urban planning, can range from simple pick-up and drop-off closures to creating spaces for recess and gym. The aim is to improve road safety and overall student safety by managing traffic around schools.This is the kind of innovative teaching environment and instructional leadership thinking that drives real school improvement, strengthens family partnerships, and builds school culture from the ground up. Whether you're a principal, teacher, instructional coach, or caregiver, this conversation will inspire you to think differently about the spaces where students learn, move, and thrive.📩 Want to bring a School Street to your school? Contact Sabina at [email protected] to unlock more innovative teaching strategies that empower educators and drive real school change? Subscribe and explore the full channel.Watch, reflect, and share Part 1 & Part 2 of our Schoolutions S5E36 interview. CHAPTERS:0:00 What is a School Street?0:12 Pick-Up & Drop-Off Safety0:22 Recess & Gym on the Street0:35 Outdoor Learning & Science Fairs0:48 Community Programming & Halloween Parades1:02 School Streets as a Hub for Student & Family Life📧 Connect with me if you’d like a thought partner to help you cultivate curious learners who advocate for what they believe in.🎵 Music: Benjamin Wahl📌 Subscribe for more tools for empowered educators, teacher mentors, school counselors, instructional leaders, and anyone committed to thriving students and school change. #Schoolutions #SchoolutionsPodcast #ForeverGettingBetter #CuriosityDriven #EvidenceBased #ClassroomReadyStrategies #SchoolStreets #OpenPlans #StudentEngagement #ActiveLearning #EquityInEducation #SchoolCulture #InnovativeTeaching #WholeChild #OutdoorLearning #FamilyPartnerships #InstructionalLeadership #SchoolImprovement #EmpoweredEducators #ProKidMindset #CulturallyResponsiveTeaching #InclusiveClassrooms #TeacherCoaching #EducationTransformation #ThrivingStudents #SchoolLeadership #ParentInvolvement #InspiringStudents #TeacherImpact #ProfessionalDevelopment #NYCSchools #UrbanEducation When teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

In Part 1 of this S5E36 two-part Schoolutions conversation, urban planner and organizer Sabina Sethi Unni from @openplansnyc breaks down New York City's School Streets program. It's a DOT initiative that closes car traffic in front of schools during school hours to create outdoor space for kids who need it most. Consider the possibilities...what if the street outside your school could become a gym, a science fair, or a Halloween parade all before 3 PM?We discuss:- What School Streets actually looks like (hint: it's active learning in action)- How schools apply and who is eligible- Why student engagement and classroom behavior improve when kids have space to move- The #1 barrier for under-resourced schools and how Open Plans removes it- Why equity in education and culturally responsive teaching are baked into their outreach model- How parent involvement and family partnerships make or break the program- What school leadership and principal strategies can do to champion this today- Why community engagement is non-negotiable in education transformation📩 Want to bring a School Street to your school? Reach out to Sabina directly: [email protected] Some resources mentioned:School Streets program with Open PlansHackney, UK (suburb of London): Open streets research program Paris School Streets program School Streets reportCHAPTERS:0:00 — Introduction & Sabina's Background1:45 — Research That Drives the Work (Hackney, UK)3:00 — How Street Design Became a Lever of Power5:00 — From Intern to Full-Time: The Equity Research That Started It All7:15 — How Schools Apply & Who Is Eligible8:45 — Prioritizing Low-Income Communities of Color9:45 — The Real Barriers: Staffing, PTAs & Stretched Schools10:55 — How Open Plans Removes Barriers for Schools12:30 — What a School Street Actually Looks & Feels Like13:45 — Flexible Hours: Schools Choose What Works for Them14:30 — How Involved Is Open Plans After Approval?15:30 — Leadership Turnover as a Hidden Barrier16:30 — Lightning Round: Best Quotes, Myths & Big Dreams18:30 — The Danger of Skipping Community Engagement19:30 — Key Takeaways & Part 2 PreviewJoin our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child. 📧 🎧 New episodes every Monday & Friday with bite-sized Wednesday reel bonus content.📧 Connect with me if you’d like a thought partner to help you cultivate curious learners who advocate for what they believe in. 🎵 Music: Benjamin WahlDon't forget to 🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE!#schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedstrategies #classroomreadystrategies#SchoolStreets #EquityInEducation #StudentEngagement When teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.

This May, Schoolutions is putting student voices front and center because real student success starts with listening. We spotlight how teachers can tune in to children's voices and experiences, including their streets, stories, leadership, and language.👟 Sabina Sethi Unni opens the month with her powerful work through Open Plans NYC and the School Streets program. She is transforming unsafe streets in front of New York City schools into open play spaces that honor the whole child.📖 Xochitl Bentley dives into different storytelling stances and how they connect to climate stewardship. Xochitl offers a masterclass in culturally responsive teaching, inclusive classrooms, and sparking student motivation through narrative and identity.🌱 Rachael Thrash talks about co-creating schools with students and developing student leaders. This is a must-listen for anyone passionate about active learning, student participation, and equity in education.📚 Beth Skelton and Tan Huynh close out the month with their new book on working with experienced multilinguals and their integrated literacy framework.  Beth and Tan offer essentials for anyone committed to anti-bias teaching, inclusivity, and thriving students who are also language learners.These conversations are rooted in inspiring students and educators, and in the belief that educational transformation happens when we center student voice, build family partnerships, and support teachers.Join us this May. We can't wait to see you. 💙CONNECT & SUBSCRIBE:👍 Like if you're ready for education transformation💬 Comment: Which guest are you most excited to hear?🔔 Subscribe for weekly teaching tips and instructional strategies 📱 Share Wednesday reels with your teaching teamCHAPTERS0:00 Intro: May's theme: centering children's voices0:12 Sabina Sethi Unni: School Streets & safe play spaces0:25 Xochitl Bentley: storytelling stances & climate stewardship0:36 Rachael Thrash: co-creating schools & student leadership0:47 Beth Skelton & Tan Huynh: experienced multilinguals & integrated literacy0:58 Join us this May!#Schoolutions #SchoolutionsPodcast #ForeverGettingBetter  #CuriosityDriven #EvidenceBased #ClassroomReadyStrategies #ClassroomBelonging #StudentEngagement #StudentMotivation #ActiveLearning #InspiringStudents #EffectiveTeaching #InstructionalCoaching #TeacherSupport #ProfessionalDevelopment #SchoolLeadership #SchoolCulture #FamilyPartnerships #HomeSchoolConnection #CulturallyResponsiveTeaching #EquityInEducation #InclusiveClassrooms #AntiBiasTeaching #WholeChild #StudentSuccess #EmpoweredEducators #EducationTransformation #TeacherImpact #NewTeachers #StudentVoice #StudentLeadership #MultilingualLearners #TeachersOfYouTube #EducationPodcast #ProKidMindset #SchoolImprovementWhen teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.