Education Matters NY

Wayne interviews Adam Rudder the NYSERDA Director of Clean Transportation. They discuss the role of NYSERDA as well as the promise and challenges to electrifying a school bus fleet. 

Leadership goes to the movies! Wayne uses a series, docudrama, and a documentary as jumping off points for leadership discussions. Check out the titles he recommends. 

Wayne describes the reasons for his over a year long hiatus from Education Matters. He also talks about the power of curriculum in regards to basic first steps and use a situation from his current role outside of traditional education to illustrate the point. 

It's April which means it is time for Skills USA. Mark Payne has returned to talk about his new role at DDS and this year's Skills USA competition. Mark will also discuss DDS Companies sponsorship of the Precision Heavy Equipment Competition. 

Education Matters NY is back! In this episode Wayne Ackles explains his extended hiatus. Wayne also shares the circumstances that led to the creation of the podcast as well as the future of the podcast. 

Time to take a breather from the show and concentrate on my current job and other personal matters. I will be back!

Some summer or other season reads about leadership. Wayne shares two books on leadership with a twist and a book about how NYS has become the sometimes fiscally dysfunctional place that it is. What do bridges across the Lake Ontario State Parkway have to do with this dysfunction?

David Dunn, the immensely successful principal for Martha Brown Middle School, reflects on his career. This emotional interview explores what created that success over 45 years and what kids really need from all of us in public education. 

Segment spotlights a couple of  news articles on teacher recruitment and retention. The episode also looks at some geeky and fun channels from the satellite radio universe.

First in a series of recommendations of material to listen to, watch or read over the summer or after. These materials may provide some insights in your course matter, or if you are an administrator give you further material to help you illustrate why you are making a particular change.  This episode features- On the Media, Hidden Brain, Science Friday & The Ted Radio Hour.  

Welcome back for Season 2 of Education Matters NY! Jim Zumbo is our kick-off guest for the second season. Jim discusses his career and the role of sports for the whole child. Jim also gives parents tips on how to make the transition to a school sports parent. We also discuss the role of travel leagues and AAU Leagues and their positive and negative impacts on athletes and families. 

Special Edition Season Finale- A look at the shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde with special attention to Red Flag Laws, Mental Health and Guns in the United States of America. Are there solutions? Are we willing to look at possible solutions and ourselves?

Education Matters NY has a home on a website now which allows you to send comments, ideas, or suggest a guest that you would like to hear on the show. 

A look at Dr. Melba Nicholson's article from Fastcompany.com about what we really mean by work-life balance and how to be adjusted to our work and personal lives in the post-pandemic world. 

Joe Fantigrossi returns to discuss the Resilience and Equity Conference at Falk College on the campus of Syracuse University, May 17-20. Joe discusses the purpose, the guests and opportunities at this conference sponsored by Finger Lakes Community Schools. 

Mark Payne returns to discuss the Skills USA Competition. Mark talks about his almost 30 year history with the competition and what it means for the young people who compete in it. This year's competition is April 28, in Syracuse NY.

Life hack cultivated from an article written in Inc.com by Jessica Stillman on a different way to look at managing your time.

Kim is our first Women in Leadership participant. Kim discusses her role as a Community Family Outreach Coordinator and her role in the realm of students with special needs. She also talks about risk taking and how to have professional dialogue among colleagues. 

News round up where Governor De-Santis uses students as props and it backfires. We also look at Florida's  "Don't Say Gay" Bill. Texas and the role of child protective agencies and schools with emerging transgender students. We also examine the teaching of controversial topics.

Brian Schmitt, the superintendent of Genesee Valley Schools, shares his work in creating a community schools model for his district. 

Gene Gordon former science teacher and current employee of NASA explains what the NASA HUNCH program is and how schools can get involved and work with NASA.

We explore some interesting news articles about active shooters, posting lesson plans for the year, microcredentialing and how smart is your county in New York State?

Today's episode focuses on a tool to help you cultivate your own professional development through the use of Flipboard. Next week will be a return to a full episode

Mark Payne a fellow Training Coordinator with me at DDS shares his unconventional path into a teaching career at Alfred State. He also shares lessons learned and offers explanations as to why the trades are not being filled and sought out as they once were. Disclaimer- There were technical difficulties in this episode that did not allow for editing. Therefore there are some minor dips in audio qua...

First Reclaiming Your Life segment. These segments provide quick life hacks to create more work life balance.  Today's boundary maker- turning off email notifications on your smartphone.