Today’s episode is all about new teachers. What are the biggest struggles they are facing in the classroom, are these struggles what they expected, what advice would they give to people considering this profession? I had so much interest in this episode that we decided to make it a three-part series. We are going to start with our middle school teachers, then next month you’ll hear from our high school teachers, and lastly, you’ll hear from elementary teachers. If you are an elementary teacher and are interested in being a part of the show, please reach out to me at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]). Before we start this specific episode with our middle school teachers, I want to explain a few things that are talked about during the show. If you aren’t in the education world you may need a few acronyms explained- when we talk about RTI- that stands for Response to Intervention. It’s our way to make sure that every student is getting what they need and if they don’t understand a concept, how will we make sure they get there? At Washington Middle School, where I teach and where the teachers you are about to hear from teach, we do this in three ways. We first have classroom pause days, where teachers pause and use formative assessments to see where the class as a whole is lacking. Did everyone miss a concept? Does the teacher need to explain that in a different way, or do the students need more time to break down this idea? Or maybe, the teacher was planning on spending a lot more time on a topic that students have already grasped and they can move on. That is called tier 1 instruction. The next step is tier 2. Teachers have retaught a concept in a new way or given more time, but the students still haven’t mastered it. They need additional time or resources- Washington does this by what we call AO. This stands for Academic opportunity. This is a 30-minute block of intervention time. It’s new to us this year, and taking some time to get used to, as you’ll hear in the episode. The idea is that students are placed in various AO classes by their teachers. Maybe we had a test over main idea and you still aren’t getting it. As your literacy teacher, I may request that you come see me next week so I can work with you and the other students who are still struggling with that concept. We keep our intervention groups for AO at no more than 10. We have a lot of content groups that break up concepts that need to be covered and share kids. So maybe if I’m doing Main Idea next week, the other literacy teacher may be doing theme. This helps us get out of the mentality that they are “my” kids, and change to they are all “our” kids. If students have mastered a concept that’s being covered and no teachers need them for that day, they get to choose an enrichment class based on their interests.  And just to finish this explanation, tier 3 would be students who are significantly below and need all three tiers, so they are maybe in a class that is covering concepts from previous grade levels, basics that the student is still struggling with. Anyway- all of that to explain our process here for RTI, because this is something you’ll hear new teachers discuss in this particular episode and I didn’t want you to be lost.I was surprised by a lot of what I heard from our new teachers, but also really encouraged, they are working hard and doing a great job. I had a lot of fun talking with them and  I can’t wait to share this conversation with you, so let’s get started.

Today’s episode is all about September 11th. We specifically focus on age-appropriate ways to facilitate discussion in our classrooms and share some of our favorite resources to use i...

Today’s episode is all about the enneagram and we can use it in education. Specifically how parents and teachers can use it to better understand what motivates their children or students. To help me with this topic, I reached out to Holly Billings- you know and love her! She has been a guest many times and her expertise never ceases to amaze me! She brought along Katie Sandifer and Magen Olive to help get a parent’s perspective.  We have a really great discussion about different types, how to find your time, how to recognize when you're in times of growth or stress, and even how to use the enneagram to help with student behavior. I can’t wait for you to hear our conversation, but we need to first start with a few basics. As you’ll hear today, there are 9 enneagram types. I’m going to very briefly describe each type so you’ll get the most out of this episode. First, you have the one. The one is called the perfectionist and they are known as the Rational, Idealistic Type, they are principled, purposeful, self-controlled, and obviously perfectionistic. The two is known as the helper. They are known as the caring, interpersonal type, they are demonstrative, generous, people-pleasing, and can be possessive.The three is the achiever. They are known as the success-oriented, pragmatic type. They are adaptive, excelling, driven, and can be very image-conscious. The Four is the individualist. They are known as the sensitive, withdrawn type. They tend to be expressive, dramatic, they can be self-absorbed, and sometimes temperamental. The five is the investigator. They are the intense, cerebral type. They are perceptive, innovative, secretive, and can also be isolated. The six is the loyalist. They are the committed, security-oriented type. They tend to be engaging, responsible, anxious, and suspicious.The seven is the enthusiast. They are the busy, fun-loving type. They are spontaneous, versatile, distractible, and can be scattered.The eight is the challenger. They are the powerful, dominating type. They tend to be self-confident, decisive, willful, and often pretty confrontational.Lastly, we have the nine. They are the peacemaker. They are known for being the easygoing, self-effacing type. They are receptive, reassuring, agreeable, and complacent.I’m so excited to share this episode with you guys. It has been my absolute favorite episode to ever record. We had so much fun and became instant best friends. I can’t wait to for you to hear it. So, let’s get started!Resources discussed on the show:Our favorite websiteswww.enneagraminstitute.com (http://www.enneagraminstitute.com)www.yourenneagramcoach.com (http://www.yourenneagramcoach.com)

Today’s episode is all about our district’s move to an 8 period day. Our middle school and Jr. High moving from a 7 period day to an 8 period day. A lot of thought went into this change, and I know our community is excited about it. I sat down with middle school principal, Bethanie Hale, and Jr. High Principal, Mark Smith, to discuss why we’re moving in this direction. They had a lot of interesting insight that ranged from the PLC process to RTI, to added electives. I know you will want to hear all about this change and how it will benefit not only our students, but our community as well, so let’s get started!

Today’s episode is all about childhood trauma and how it affects the students we teach every day.Holly Billings, Behavior Support Specialist and Mental Health Coordinator for the El Dorado School District, has been on our show several times before. The first time we had her on, she discussed student behavior. I really see today’s episode like part II of that conversation. She goes in depth about childhood trauma and the research behind it. This directly relates to what we are seeing in our classrooms across the state of Arkansas. I am completely fascinated by this topic and I really can’t wait to share this interview with you, so let’s get started. Resources mentioned in the episode: Help for Billy- http://store.beyondconsequences.com/help-for-billy/ https://www.beyondconsequences.com/   Resilience Film- https://kpjrfilms.co/resilience/

Today’s episode is all about FACS- Family and Consumer Science. One of my dear friends Anna Reynolds teaches FACS at our local high school. I wanted to hear all about what this program is and what students get to do in this program. So, Anna agreed to sit down with me and tell me all about FACS! She has taught FACS classes for 11 years now. She majored in Family and Consumer Science Education (which I didn’t know was a thing) and she is currently teaching Culinary Arts at EHS. I can’t wait to share this interview with you, so let’s get started.

Today’s episode is all about one of our elementary schools here in El Dorado, Hugh Goodwin. We sat down with Raven Swint, Assistant Principal, Kathy Sixby, Literacy Instructional Facilitator, and Janice Riggs, Math Instructional Facilitator to hear about all the things going on at Hugh Goodwin Elementary School.  I took away from this conversation that they just love to celebrate.  I can’t wait to share our conversation with you guys, so let’s get started!

Today’s episode is all about implementing a house system at a middle school and teacher morale.  We sat down with middle school principal Bethanie Hale and discussed how she plans to implement a house system similar to the Ron Clark Academy and why she chose to do this.  She also discusses what she is doing at her school to help support teacher morale during such a difficult time in education. It’s a great conversation and I can’t wait to share it with you. To learn more about the Ron Clark House system you can visit their website at: www.rcahousesystem.com We also discuss how Bethanie used the Enneagram to help learn about her teacher’s personalities and how to best interact with them.  If you want to learn more about the Enneagram you can visit one of many websites at: www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-descriptions Or if you’re a reader like me, I highly recommend- The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile

Today’s episode is all about poverty simulations, equity labs, and TESS (Teacher Excellence and Support System).  I sat down with Kim Wright, public school program advisor for the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education in Arkansas.  Kim is in the office of Educator Effectiveness and Licensure she’s also in the Educator support and Development Unit. I learned so much about what our state can offer our districts and schools. I can’t wait to share this information with you!

Today’s episode is all about how educators have pivoted and continued using the skills they learned in March as we move into blended learning this school year.  I sat down with Anna Warriner, Teacher Center Coordinator from South Central Service Cooperative, Leah Stinnett, South Central Cooperative Math Specialist, Jo Ann Womack, Technology Integrationist/ coordinator at South Central Service Cooperative, and Karen Kay McMahen, South Central Service Cooperative Director.  They break down what teachers in our area (south central part of the state) as well as across the entire state of Arkansas are doing, what’s working, what’s not, and how we are moving forward. It was so fun to talk with everyone, and it’s so exciting to see where our profession is going.