Let’s chat—send me a text! The first week of school isn't just about procedures, seating charts, and syllabus review. It's when students begin forming beliefs about what mathematics feels like—and who they believe they are as mathematicians. In this episode, I share how my thinking about the first week has changed over the years, why students walk into our classrooms carrying mathematical identities, and how we can intentionally design experiences that foster confidence, curiosity, and belong...

Connect with the Show Here! Can you be a public school principal and openly follow Jesus without crossing the line into pushing beliefs on others? We’ve been sitting with that tension for a long time, because public school leadership demands fairness, trust, and service for everyone, including students, staff, and families with completely different faiths or no faith at all. What we’ve learned is simple but challenging: our beliefs matter most in what people experience from our leadership.&nb...

Access a FREE webinar to transform how you plan and facilitate effective team meetings - https://bit.ly/transformteams In this episode of Building a Culture of Collaboration, Kurtis is joined by Chrissy Beltran, better known to her instructional coaching community as “Ms. B”. Chrissy brings both practical classroom knowledge and the heart of a coach to her work, as we explore lessons learned when helping to build strong, collaborative cultures in schools and beyond. Learn more about Chrissy Be

Summer Reset Series: What Is Tier 1 Instruction in the Upper Elementary Literacy Classroom? In this Summer Reset episode, we are revisiting one of the foundational pieces of strong literacy instruction: Tier 1 instruction. After talking about time sucks and instructional clarity in the last episode, this conversation brings us back to a key question: What are students getting access to during core instruction every day? Tier 1 instruction matters because it is the instruction every student is en

Many districts have screens in hallways and classrooms, and still struggle to get the right message to the right people at the right time. In this episode of Digital Learning Today, Jeff Bradbury sits down with Kate Haddad from Rise Vision to unpack what a modern district communication system can look like when it is multi-channel but centrally managed. You will hear practical ideas for using digital signage, screen sharing, and emergency alerts to streamline everyday updates, improve consistenc

Episode 150!!! The Leadership Journey with Dr. Darrin Peppard (@darrin_m_peppard) In Episode 150 of the #UUPotential Stories Show, Brandon welcomes back special guest, leadership coach, former school administrator, and great friend Darrin Peppard for a very special conversation about the current state of leadership. After working alongside countless leaders in schools, athletics, and corporations, Brandon and Darrin dive deep into the common challenges leaders are facing today and the trends t

Great conversations deserve a second listen. In this edition of Second-hand Schurtz, we revisit Episode 38—a conversation recorded before Kasey became a principal about beginning the school year with purpose, clarity, and authenticity. Starting strong isn’t simply about generating excitement. It’s about establishing commitments we can return to when the optimism of August meets the challenges of the year. Brian and Kasey wrestle with five enduring ideas: • Light up the room by leaning into w

Sometimes the biggest opportunities in life begin with the smallest moments. For Bradlee Skinner, it started with a selfie at a Savannah Bananas game. That one interaction eventually led him from the classroom to becoming a plaza DJ for the Savannah Bananas and Texas Tailgators. But this conversation isn't really about baseball—it's about leadership, courage, relationships, and choosing to say "Why Not?" instead of asking "What If?" Joining Darrin are Bradlee and Melissa Skinner, two incredibl

What might change in your school if students felt safe enough to say they were not okay? In this episode, Ashanti Branch shares how his own journey as a student, engineer, and educator led him to create the Ever Forward Club, a nonprofit dedicated to helping young men build connection, emotional awareness, character, and leadership skills. He explains why many students learn to hide behind masks, what it takes to earn trust, and how schools can create spaces where young people feel seen, heard,

Jason Sudeikis once told Stephen Colbert that his high school basketball coach was part of the inspiration for Ted Lasso. That coach was Donnie Campbell, a math teacher and basketball coach from Kansas who found out the news walking to his classroom one morning. This week Coach Campbell joins Jon and Coach Jim for a conversation about what he actually taught Jason, why he never felt like a leader who coached but a coach who happened to lead, and the MVP framework he built his entire program aro

The episode explores the experience of feeling stuck and overwhelmed, providing practical leadership tools and emphasizing the importance of building hope. It introduces a five-step reset for navigating uncertainty and discusses the connection between leadership and hope, concluding with an invitation to join the Hope Collective for leadership development and support. Takeaways Practical leadership tools Building hope Chapters 00:00 Feeling Stuck and Overwhelmed 01:40 Navigating Seasons of

Starting college this fall? In this episode, we're sharing seven simple things every new college student should do before classes begin. From checking your university email and finding your classrooms to organizing deadlines and locating campus resources, these practical college success tips can help make your first semester less stressful and more successful. Whether you're a first year student or returning to campus, these back to college strategies will help you start the semester strong.

Are you managing your stress, or simply powering through it? In this week's episode of The Language of Behavior, Josh and Charle talk about what happens when the demands of work start to take over and why work life balance is not the answer. As the school year ramps up, they explore the idea of building capacity under pressure, staying present, and making sure reactivity does not take over when stress starts to rise. The conversation focuses on practical ways to prepare before chaos hits, inclu

Are You Asking "Why"? If you're chasing a title, a goal, or a version of yourself right now, this might be the "why" check you need. I have a friend more disciplined than anyone I know. 5am workouts. A budget she never breaks. Actual willpower against "remind me in 15 minutes." Recently she mentioned wanting to tone her thighs just a little more. So I asked the question I always ask: "What is it that motivates you to reach that goal?" She paused. "Huh. That's a good question. I'd have to thin

Let’s chat—send me a text! One of my favorite classroom projects completely stopped working—and it ended up becoming one of the most important lessons of my teaching career. In this episode, I share the story of a once-successful cell phone plan project that unexpectedly fell flat and how it completely changed the way I think about designing meaningful mathematics. We'll explore why real and relevant aren't always the same thing, how I adapt lessons from Illustrative Math without reinventing ...

Mitch Weisburgh helps people understand why conversations blow up and what actually works to stop that from happening. After decades of work in education, leadership development, and conflict resolution, he noticed a pattern, smart, well-intentioned people keep using approaches that make disagreement worse. His work focuses on the brain science behind conflict and the practical skills that help people stay calm, ask better questions, and move conversations forward without damaging relationships.

Have you ever walked into the faculty lounge expecting a quick breather, only to get sucked into a vortex of workplace negativity? You aren't alone! In this episode, I sit down with author, speaker, and veteran educator Dana Goodier to talk about building true music teacher resilience when you're feeling completely drained. We dive deep into how you can protect your peace, set hard boundaries with your work hours, and navigate the unique isolation that comes with being a music specialist. From

What if the biggest challenge facing your organization right now is not strategy, not technology, and not the economy, but the fact that 38 percent of your Gen Z employees have taken a mental health day after receiving feedback? This week, Jon Goehring and Coach Jim Johnson welcome Dr. Andrea Mata, known as Dr. Dre, clinical psychologist, speaker, high school football coach, adjunct professor, and author of a parenting book, for one of the most direct, practical, and genuinely eye opening conver

Looking to learn more and get started with a powerful meeting structure that will transform your school’s MTSS efforts? Access the Collaborative Team Meeting Starter Kit at https://bit.ly/ctmstarter 5 considerations for every school trying to take their school support teams to the next level because the School Support Team is critical and how that team is organized. The workshop that will help you coordinate and optimize support beyond the classroom bit.ly/5sstmeetings In this episode of Leadi

In Part 2 of this conversation with host Lindsay, Dr. Genevieve Erker Caffrey unpacks the final three components of her P.O.W.E.R. Framework for justice-oriented social studies instruction: Wisdom & Wit, Entanglements & Empowerment, and Relevance & Responsibility. Together, these dimensions help educators move beyond teaching about history to creating meaningful learning experiences that cultivate critical thinking, civic engagement, and student agency. You'll hear practical examples for elemen

Let’s chat—send me a text! What if math intervention didn’t mean going back three grade levels and trying to fill every gap a student has before they’re allowed to move forward? In this episode of The Modern Math Teacher, I’m joined by my friend and math intervention expert Juliana Tapper, author of Teaching 6–12 Math Intervention: A Practical Framework to Engage Students Who Struggle, to talk about a different approach: just-in-time intervention. And selfishly? I had questions. This year I’m...