Tuesday Talks!

Your kid may feel like a brand-new person in middle school, but here’s the twist: they may be a different person at school, too. I’m joined by Linda Porter, a passionate educator with 25 years in education and 17 years teaching middle school English language arts. Linda has seen the full range of sixth grade to eighth grade growth, and she breaks down what’s actually going on when parents say, “My...

Raising a preteen or teenager? Has your sweet elementary kid hit sixth grade and suddenly you’re thinking, who are you and what happened to my child? Dr. Tiffany is taking off her PhD hat and speaking purely as a mom who’s stunned by preteen hormones, middle school mood swings, and that intense drive for independence that shows up as attitude at home. We walk through practical preteen parenting st...

“Making progress” sounds reassuring until you realize it can mean almost anything. We sit down with Dr. Amber Izrael, Ed. D, a specialist in special education data collection, to get painfully clear about what IEP data should look like when a child is receiving specially designed instruction and why weak progress monitoring puts students and schools at risk. We talk through what data collection ac...

“Your child is making progress.” Those five words can sound comforting, but they can also keep you in the dark. I want you to have something better than reassurance. I want you to have evidence you can understand and use to advocate for your child with confidence. In this episode, we dig into the real way to tell whether an IEP is working, and it comes down to one thing: data. I explain why a beau...

Ever walked out of an IEP meeting with a signed packet in your hand and a knot in your stomach, wondering if you actually made the right call? I get it. The room is full of well-meaning professionals, the conversation moves fast, and the IEP language can feel like a different world. So I’m slowing it down and giving you a simple way to read an Individualized Education Program without drowning in j...

Back-to-school prep is everywhere, but most families spend more time picking backpacks than preparing kids for what school actually feels like. I call it the backpack problem, and it’s the reason so many students start the year looking ready, yet feel unready when friendship stress, homework pressure, conflict, and disappointment show up in October. I’m Dr. Tiffany, and I’m sharing 10 back-to-scho...

Your kid taps one harmless video and suddenly an hour disappears into “next up” content you never would have allowed them to watch. Summer break makes that drift even easier, and the platform name does not matter as much as we want it to: YouTube, TikTok, and YouTube Kids all still require active parenting. In this episode, I talk through why only focusing on screen time misses the real issue: Wha...

Most of what schools call “partnership” isn’t partnership at all, it’s participation with a nicer name. If you’ve ever shown up to the meetings, answered the emails, tried the strategies, and still watched a child struggle, I want to offer a different lens: the structure around the child may be the real issue, not the effort of one person. We unpack Dr. Tiffany's Student Success Partnership M...

Most families don’t pick a school, they inherit it. We enroll where the boundary lines tell us to enroll, then we try to make our child fit the system even when the system does not fit our child. I want to flip that script and start with a simpler, more powerful question: what environment helps my child learn best? We walk through the real-world pros and cons of today’s education options, includin...

Your baby is communicating right now, even if you haven’t heard a single “real” word yet. This week, Dr. Tiffany walks through what infant speech and language development actually looks like from birth to 12 months, so you can stop guessing and start noticing the small signals that matter: crying patterns, eye contact, cooing, babbling, name response, gestures, imitation, and those first emerging...

Your child can look fearless under the lights and still be carrying a heavy load home. We sit down with Licensed Mental Health Clinician Jasmine P. Evans to separate sports myths from clinical reality and to talk about what student athlete mental health actually looks like in real time, especially when pressure is high and emotions are pushed underground. Jasmine explains why “tough” is not the sa...

If you’ve ever wondered why a child seems to be “passing” but still struggling, this is a conversation you’ll want to hear. A new grading policy is gaining popularity in public schools: "Minimum Grading” and “No Zero grading”? Some schools now enter a 50% or even a 60% for work that’s missing, unfinished, or never attempted, and the impact goes way beyond the grade book.  This week, we walk t...

Your instincts are rarely random. When you meet your child’s friend, the hard part isn’t noticing the red flags, it’s knowing what to do next without turning into the controlling parent your kid stops talking to. We dig into that tension and turn it into a clear plan you can actually use at home and in the classroom. I’m joined by Ayoka Hannah, a licensed clinical social worker, certified school s...

Peer approval can feel louder than our voices—and there’s a brain-based reason why. This week Dr. Tiffany pulls back the curtain on how the developing prefrontal cortex and early-firing reward systems make belonging so powerful, then connect that science to what teachers see daily: effort shifts, language changes, and risk-taking that often follow a friend-group swap. From classroom stories to a c...

If you care about youth sports, this conversation gives you a clearer playbook: safer language, smarter systems, and a path to raise athletes who love the game and themselves. This week, we sit down with Jasmine Evans, a licensed mental health clinician and lifelong competitor. Jasmine’s dual lens as a former elite athlete and practicing therapist brings clarity to messy moments: when to push, whe...

What if the real danger isn’t AI itself, but raising kids who can’t think without it? We dive straight into that tension and map out a clear, humane path for parents and teachers who want powerful tools without sacrificing grit, curiosity, or integrity. Rather than banning technology and fueling shortcuts in the shadows, we show how to build AI literacy—knowing when to use it, when not to, how to...

A kid says, “I used ChatGPT to study,” and every parent’s stomach tightens.  The question isn’t if kids will use AI, but whether we’ll teach them to use it well. This conversation unpacks the fear and the opportunity, showing how AI can become a patient tutor instead of a shortcut that quietly replaces effort.  You’ll leave with a simple blueprint: treat AI like a tutor at the table, not a ghostwr...

We continue our conversation about The Learning Pit and focus on learning the difference between Rescuing and Supporting kids as they learn. The urge to rescue kids in challenging learning situations is powerful—especially when tears rise, the clock is ticking, and we know the shortcut. But quick rescues come with a hidden cost: they replace real learning with dependence. This conversation gets pr...

Struggle doesn’t mean something’s wrong; it means something’s working. In this week's episode, we dive into the Learning Pit—the messy middle where confusion turns into real understanding—and show how parents and teachers can coach without rescuing, so kids learn to climb out on their own. We start by naming the Learning Pit as a normal, research‑backed part of how the brain builds durable kn...

What happens when my fifth grader asks for more control over his learning—and then grades his parent on how well that’s going? We sit down for a midyear check-in that blends honesty, humor, and a surprisingly sharp plan to finish strong. From student-directed routines to the “learning hole” metaphor, we unpack how kids build real independence when adults learn to time support just right. If you’re...

Worried your child is still struggling while the school year flies by? This week, Dr. Tiffany is breaking down the real-world roadmap from concern to support: how to request a special education evaluation, what timelines to expect, and the exact data that moves schools to act. You’ll learn why a written request starts legal timelines, which specialists might test your child, and how to avoid the c...

What if a single phrase could change how a child learns, how a teacher leads, and how a team grows? We’re digging into the real mechanics of mindset with leadership coach Andre Kennebrew, showing how language, feedback, and belief can flip a fixed story into a growth trajectory. No buzzwords—just practical scripts, classroom tactics, and lived examples that help kids and adults build resilience an...

After a short holiday break, Tuesday Talks is back—and we’re stepping into the second half of the school year with clarity, courage, and conversation. Whether you’re a long-time listener or brand new to the show, this episode re-introduces the heart of Tuesday Talks: a space where parents and educators come together to understand school systems, advocate effectively, and keep kids at the center of...

We're recapping the most powerful insights, conversations, and mindset shifts from the previous two months of this season's Tuesday Talks centered on agency, advocacy, and accountability in education. Dr. Tiffany SLP reflects on standout moments with parents, educators, students, and school leaders—including conversations on parents taking control of their child’s education, the 4-day sc...

Perfection doesn’t make the holiday—connection does. In this's week's episode, we dig into realistic winter break plans that swap pressure for presence, so your family can laugh more and stress less. From Motown-backed tree decorating and edible gingerbread hacks to a living-room snowball showdown, you’ll get simple ideas that spark big memories without a big budget. SLP and mom-of-four,...