Do your perfectly planned music lessons keep going sideways the moment students move from their spots to the xylophones? If you find yourself constantly hushing, repeating directions, or playing "fun police," the problem isn't your teaching—it's your transitions! In this episode, Jeanette Mihalchik reveals why controlling your elementary music classroom comes down to treating transitions as core instructional content rather than downtime. You’ll learn how to use "Silly Guardrails" to satisfy yo

What if some of our greatest weaknesses are actually our greatest strengths taken too far? This week on Schurtz and Ties, Brian brings a quote from C.S. Lewis that leads us into a surprisingly personal conversation about leadership, parenting, relationships, and the uncomfortable reality that even our best qualities can become problematic when left unchecked. We wrestle with a question that's as funny as it is uncomfortable: "What do you admire about yourself that might occasionally make you

"This should have just been an email." If your team has ever thought that, this episode is for you. This week Jon and Coach Jim go solo to break down the four types of meetings every leader needs to understand: the one-on-one, the leadership team meeting, the full staff meeting, and the off-site. Each one has a time and a place, and using the wrong type wastes time, erodes trust, and quietly signals to your team that you do not value their attention. They also cover the one thing almost every

📊 Get Your Data Organized and work for YOU!! FREE Webinar→ bit.ly/5mistakesdata In this week podcast, Kurtis and Lorna break down how data and evidence can be used to inform your collaborative planning and collaborative team meeting efforts to truly take your school's MTSS efforts to the next level, through aligning data with your intentional collaborative structures and processes. Connected Resources: FREE webinar - Layering Team Meetings - https://bit.ly/layeringteams FREE webinar - 5 Mistak

How do you encourage someone who is avoiding a task without adding pressure or dismissing what they are experiencing? In this episode of The Language of Behavior, Joshua Stamper and Charle Peck explore what may be underneath avoidance, including anxiety, fear of failure, overwhelm, and uncertainty about where to begin. Drawing on their experiences in school leadership and therapy, they discuss why getting curious can be more useful than repeating, “Just get it done.” Josh and Charle share ways

What happens when students and older adults have intentional opportunities to learn from one another? In this episode of Time for Teachership, host Lindsay Lyons talks with guest Ivy Mitchell, a former civics teacher and creator of Bridging the Generations, about using intergenerational connection to strengthen civic engagement, challenge age-based stereotypes, and help young people see themselves as active members of their communities. Ivy shares how a simple classroom idea grew into a commun

Let’s chat—send me a text! Students need practice. There, I said it. 😉 Meaningful math doesn’t mean eliminating repetition, worksheets, or good old-fashioned skill practice. Sometimes students just need to practice the darn equation. But sometimes we can give that practice a little more purpose. In this episode, we’re talking about: What good math practice is actually forWhen straightforward practice is the best choiceHow practice can become part of a larger learning experienceUsing my Staine...

Download the free 1012 Must-Reads for Educational Leaders at https://bit.ly/102reads Put This Into Practice ➡️ Grab the Guide - bit.ly/teamnormsguide What happens when school leaders don't intentionally build culture? A vacuum forms—and it's usually filled by friction, isolation, and burnout. In this episode of Building a Culture of Collaboration, veteran educator, football coach, and author Tom Walls shares how leaders can intentionally design culture without launching another heavy initiati

Remember your first business card? Carley Crose handed hers to everyone, including the waiter at Chili's. Years of chasing titles and promotions later, a job where she could name her own title led to a revelation: all of this is made up. In this episode, Casey sits down with Carley, a program manager at an incentive meeting planning agency (and Casey's cousin), to talk about why so many of us tie our worth to a title and what opens up when we let that go. Listen for: - What Carley did when she

What does it feel like to be a student, staff member, or family walking into your school? And does that experience reflect the values your school says it stands for? In this episode of Aspire to Lead, Joshua Stamper sits down with educator, leadership consultant, and author Nathaniel Provencio to explore a question that deserves more attention in education. Is customer service and experience getting lost in our schools? Drawing from his book, Five Stars, Nathaniel explains why exceptional servi

In this episode, we learn the term “positive deviant” and explore how we can increase happiness by sharing the good things about people with their people.

When a parent sees your school’s number on their phone, what do they expect to hear? That answer might tell you something important about the relationship you’ve built. In episode 306 of Leaning Into Leadership, Dr. Ted Huff joins Darrin for a conversation about moving family engagement beyond fundraising and building partnerships grounded in trust, listening, and shared hopes for students. Ted brings 31 years of experience as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal. He and Darrin first

See What's Possible 🚀 Build Momentum - bit.ly/layeringteams In episode of Leading Collaborative Response, Kurtis and Lorna share the integral understanding of the connection between the tiers of support on the continuum and the layers of teams providing those supports. Connected Resources: Blog post - Reduce the Number of Student Meetings by Adding One More - https://corwin-connect.com/2022/04/reduce-the-number-of-student-meetingsby-adding-one-more/ Blog post - Scaffolding Our Collaborative

Can we support an anxious child without removing every uncomfortable experience? In this episode of The Language of Behavior, Joshua Stamper and Charle Peck explore a question raised at a recent conference: Is gentle parenting making kids more anxious? They unpack the difference between empathy and permissiveness, discuss how support can become overprotection, and consider what it means to help children face challenges within a trusting relationship. Drawing on their experiences as educators an

Glenn Robbins, an award-winning superintendent and best-selling author, shares insights on finding calm in chaos, turning rejection into redirection, and applying ancient stoic wisdom in modern school leadership. He emphasizes the importance of family, mentors, and timeless principles in leadership. His books, 'Calm in the Chaos,' 'I Won't Back Down,' and 'Unclench Your Fist,' offer valuable lessons from historical leaders and personal experiences. Glenn finds hope in education through the dedic

What does it take to move students beyond accurate decoding toward fluent, meaningful reading? In this episode, we welcome Kelly Maxwell and Deiysi Paredes-Monjaras, co-creators of Elevating Fluency, to explore why foundational literacy skills and language comprehension must develop together. Drawing on their experiences as a struggling reader and a multilingual learner, Kelly and Deiysi discuss the importance of connecting phonics to vocabulary, using visuals without promoting guessing, and rec

🎓 Join Educators From Across the Field → jigsawlearning.ca/summit - FREE to Register In this episode of Leading Collaborative Response, Kurtis is joined by Trevor VanSomeren and Michelle Micklich, the administrative team at Griffiths-Scott School. Trevor and Michelle share how their school has fostered an inclusive and collaborative learning environment through their Collaborative Response efforts. Explore four mistakes we see leaders make when planning for their first collaborative team meeti

Explore Why it Matters 🔎 Collaborative Meeting Spaces bit.ly/spacechecklist Is your organization truly learning, or just going through the motions? A learning organization is one that is constantly evolving, comfortable with "failing forward," and driven by a cycle of continuous reflection: What have we done, what have we learned, and what comes next? In this video, we break down the critical conditions needed to establish a high-performing learning culture. Discover how to build a team that t

Chris Roberts is the Founder of the Classical Education Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit building free, competitive math fluency tools for K–12 students. He holds a master's degree in mathematics education, spent years directing award-winning Texas bands, authored How to Make First Chair, and brings more than 30 years of software development experience to the classroom problem he couldn't stop thinking about. That problem: students failing algebra not because of algebra, but because they never

It’s the day after your major holiday concert. You’re voice is shot, your energy is at zero, the kids are bouncing off the walls, and there is still an entire week left before break. If you’ve ever felt like every second of every music class must come directly from your own vocal cords and body, this episode is your official permission slip to rest! In this episode, Jeanette Mihalchik dives deep into strategies for fighting music teacher exhaustion by leveraging technology and digital creators

When the shooting started at the Las Vegas concert, Todd Blyleven got his family out. Then he turned around and went back in. For eight hours. This week Todd joins Jon and Coach Jim for one of the most powerful conversations the Lounge has ever had. He is the son of Hall of Fame pitcher Bert Blyleven, a former professional baseball player, a speaker, a songwriter, and someone who carried more than 30 people out of a mass shooting with his own arms while the gunfire was still happening. He als