The Ed Essentials Podcast

Whether you are a teacher or administrator, our jobs are complex, difficult, and take lots of time to master. That is why Hunter Flesch created The Ed Essentials Podcast. This show is designed to give you STRATEGIES THAT WORK so you can have a greater impact on the community you serve. Hunter not only shares his own experiences as a teacher, but he brings expert guests from around the education world to share their stories and expertise with you. For more information and resources, visit https://linktr.ee/edessentials Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/edessentials/support

Recent Episodes

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Aug. 24, 2025

Applying Deming's Principles to Transform Schools with John Dues

John A. Dues serves as the Chief Learning Officer and Chief Operating Officer at United Schools in Columbus, Ohio. He is an accomplished systems leader and improvement science scholar-practitioner and has recently published his first book entitled Win-Win: W. Edwards Deming, the System of Profound Knowledge, and the Science of Improving Schools. Throughout his career he has served on the founding teams of seven school and nonprofit organizations. John has a BA from Miami University, an M.Ed. fro

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July 20, 2025

Unlocking a Catalyst Mindset with Becca Silver

Becca Silver helps school leaders and coaches do one of the hardest things in education—lead people through resistance and into real commitment. With two decades in education, she’s worked with thousands of educators and leaders across the U.S. and beyond. She’s also the founder of The Whole Educator and hosts the Coaching the Whole Educator podcast, where she breaks down the messiness of adult learning and change leadership into something practical—and actually doable. Connect with Becca Websi

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July 11, 2025

The Power of Collaborative Response with Kurtis Hewson

Kurtis Hewson is a former teacher and administrator, an award-winning educator, and the co-founder of Jigsaw Learning. He’s also the co-author of the book Collaborative Response, which is all about building schoolwide systems to support students through teamwork and intentional practices. Connect with Kurtis Website - https://jigsawlearning.ca Instagram - hewsonk27; https://www.instagram.com/jigsawlearningab/ Facebook - Kurtis Hewson; https://www.facebook.com/JigsawLearningAB/ LinkedIn - Kurt

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June 9, 2025

Putting AI to Work in Education with William Grube

In this episode, Hunter Flesch sits down with William Grube, founder of Gruvy Education, to explore how educators can use AI effectively in their roles. William shares practical tips, training insights, and common myths about AI in schools—all designed to help educators feel more confident and empowered. Connect with William: AI School Leadership Minute: https://direct-ai-updates-for-school-admins.beehiiv.com/subscribe Website: https://gruvyeducation.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@G

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May 19, 2025

Teaching Through Tragedy: Katlyn Godwin’s Story of Loss and Resilience

In this episode of The Ed Essentials Podcast , Hunter Flesch talks with educator and podcaster Katlyn Godwin about her journey through grief after the sudden loss of her husband. Katlyn shares how therapy, community, and faith helped her navigate trauma while continuing to lead in the classroom. Together, they explore the impact of toxic positivity, the power of empathy in school culture, and practical strategies educators can use to care for their mental health and support one another. Conne

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April 7, 2025

Hiring Insights to Help you Land your Dream School Leadership Role with Trent Grundmeyer

Dr. Trent Grundmeyer is an Associate Professor at Buena Vista University & Owner of Grundmeyer Leader Services. In this episode of the Ed Essentials podcast, Hunter discusses the critical aspects of hiring in education with Trent. They explore the importance of fit in leadership roles, strategies for aspiring administrators to stand out in a competitive job market, and the significance of personal and organizational alignment. The conversation also covers how to prepare for interviews, the valu

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March 24, 2025

Crafting Clarity with Casey Watts

Casey Watts, founder of Casey Watts Coaching & Consulting, LLC, is a Team Leadership Expert with 20+ years in education. She helps leaders break silos and build cohesive, vision-driven teams through clarity, collaboration, and collective purpose. A speaker, coach, and host of The Catching Up with Casey Podcast, she equips instructional leaders with actionable strategies to hold people accountable without micromanaging and create aligned teams. Connect with Casey: Website: www.catchingupwithcase

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March 2, 2025

Teachers Deserve It, Educator Wellbeing, and More with Rae Hughart

Rae Hughart is a dynamic innovator and the CEO and founder of TDI, where she seamlessly integrates design and technology to drive transformative projects. With a robust background in creative strategy and technical execution, she has consistently led initiatives that redefine industry standards. Rae’s leadership is marked by a commitment to excellence and a collaborative spirit, inspiring teams to push the boundaries of modern design. Her forward-thinking approach continues to influence the evol

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Aug. 12, 2024

73. Why Protocols, Systems, and Data are Crucial for Leaders (Dr. Jana Lee)

Dr. Jana Lee has worked in the education field as a teacher, administrator, adjunct instructor, literacy specialist, and consultant. If you're interested in her work, head to https://www.janaleeconsulting.com/ or follow her on social media using the links below. Jana Lee LinkedIn Instagram Twitter YouTube --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/edessentials/support

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July 17, 2023

72. SUMMER SERIES Foundations for Building Student Relationships (Jacob Santos)

Jacob Santos is a middle school teacher and multi-sport coach located in Des Moines, Iowa. Connect with Jacob -Email: santosjacob@saydel.net Connect with Hunter https://linktr.ee/edessentials --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/edessentials/support

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June 26, 2023

71. SUMMER SERIES Cracking the Coaching Code (PJ Caposey & Bryan Wills)

PJ Caposey is the Illinois Superintendent of the Year and is a best-selling author having written nine books for various publishers. His work and commentary has been featured on sites such as TED, The Washington Post, NPR, CBS This Morning, ASCD, Edutopia, The Huffington Post (HuffPost), and has been featured in think pieces alongside General Petraeus and General McChrystal. PJ is a sought after presenter and consultant who recently keynoted several national conferences with expertise in time ma

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June 19, 2023

70. SUMMER SERIES Pairing Relationships and Practices for Powerful Literacy Results (Eva Mireles)

Eva Mireles is a K-12 Reading specialist, K-5 Reading Coach, Staff Developer and TPT Creator who help teachers find a realistic approach to teaching reading so that they can ditch overwhelm and focus on creating meaningful and engaging experiences for students. Connect with Eva Instagram: https://instagram.com/msevamireles Twitter: https://twitter.com/evamireles4_eva LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eva-mireles-572388a8/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/msevamireles Website: https://evam

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June 12, 2023

69. SUMMER SERIES Burning IN to Education by Tackling BurnOUT (Amber Harper)

Amber Harper is a classroom teacher, speaker, and teacher burnout coach located in Indiana. Connect with Amber: Instagram: @burnedinteacher Twitter: @burnedinteacher TikTok: @burnedinteacher Facebook: @burnedinteacher Website: www.burnedinteacher.com Connect with Hunter https://linktr.ee/edessentials --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/edessentials/support

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March 27, 2023

68. How to Succeed as an Instructional Coach (Nicole Benson)

Nicole Benson is a full-time high school instructional coach. In this episode, Nicole provides us with mindsets, strategies, and tips to succeed as a current or aspiring instructional coach. . Connect with Nicole: nicole.benson@johnston.k12.ia.us . Connect with Hunter: https://linktr.ee/edessentials --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/edessentials/support

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Jan. 30, 2023

67. Transformational School Leadership (Dr. Anthony Muhammad)

Anthony Muhammad, PhD, is a much sought-after educational speaker and presenter. A practitioner for nearly 20 years, he has served as a middle school teacher, assistant principal, and principal, and also as a high school principal. . Connect with Anthony: Twitter: @newfrontier21 LinkedIn: Dr. Anthony Muhammad Facebook: Dr. Anthony Muhammad Website: www.newfrontier21.com . Connect with Hunter: https://linktr.ee/edessentials --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ed

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Dec. 19, 2022

66. How to Have Hard Conversations (Jennifer Abrams)

Jennifer Abrams is an international educational and communications consultant for public and independent schools, universities and non-profits. Jennifer trains and coaches teachers, administrators and others on new teacher/employee support, having hard conversations, collaboration skills and being your best adult self at work. Jennifer’s publications include Having Hard Conversations, The Multigenerational Workplace: Communicating, Collaborating & Creating Community and Hard Conversations Unpac

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Sept. 12, 2022

65. How to Use EdTech for Student Success (Alfonso Mendoza)

We live in time where we have the most technology available to us than ever before. So how do we use it? It goes BEYOND just the tools. It requires a systems level understanding and having the right mindset in order to keep up with the pace of technology. Alfonso Mendoza, an educator, technology specialist, and host of the"My EdTech Life" podcast is here to help. . CONNECT WITH US: Alfonso Mendoza: Podcast and Social Media Hunter Flesch: Instagram | Twitter | Website . JOIN the FREE FACEBOOK G

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Aug. 29, 2022

64. How to Lead Effectively as a First Year Principal (Matt Lakis)

Ever wonder what it would be like if you took charge of your school building, what would that be like? How would you know you're making the right decisions? What would your leadership style look like? And would your organization benefit from your leadership today? We answer those questions and more with first year principal, Matt Lakis. . Connect with us: Matt Lakis: https://twitter.com/MattLakis_WGHS Hunter Flesch: Instagram | Twitter . Join The Ed Essentials Group Chat, a FREE Facebook Grou

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Aug. 22, 2022

63. Kicking off the 2022-23 School Year!

The 2022-2023 school year is HERE, and I have a few words of wisdom as we dive headfirst into this upcoming year. . Check out The Ed Essentials Group Chat, a FREE Facebook Group full of supportive educators! https://www.facebook.com/groups/edessentialsgroupchat . Follow me: @edessentials_ Instagram Twitter --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/edessentials/support

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Aug. 8, 2022

62. 5 Ed Leadership Insights (Tristan Bernhard)

Looking for leadership advice that will help you have a greater impact this upcoming school year? Harvard graduate and current High School Social Studies teacher, Tristan Bernhard, and I reflect on 5 ed leadership insights from our first year in ed leadership programs. . Welcome to The Ed Essentials Podcast! This is Hunter Flesch and if you are an educator looking for teaching and leadership strategies, then The Ed Essentials Podcast is the show for you. My mission is to equip you with the nec

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July 25, 2022

61. Transforming School Culture (Heather Buckley)

What would a school be capable of if they could truly have a culture where everyone LOVES coming to work each day? Is the culture in your building lacking a certain spark and sense of community? Ever wonder how to effectively establish a more positive presence within your school building? In this episode, you are going to learn from Iowa’s 2022 Elementary Principal of the Year, Heather Buckley, about some ways to make this culture happen in your building no matter what role you are in. . To conn

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