Schoolin' Around

In this episode, Larissa interviews Joel Addis, an elementary school principal, about his experiences and strategies for managing the busy role of a school leader. They discuss the misconceptions and how the role of a principal is different than he expected. Joel emphasizes the importance of being instructionally focused. In this conversation, Joel Addis discusses the importance of time tracking a...

Dr. Avis Williams, superintendent of NOLA Public Schools, discusses the district's initiative to address the mental health crisis among students. The district has implemented the 'mental minute' practice, which encourages students and staff to take a minute each day to engage in activities that promote mental well-being, such as reading, journaling, and breathing exercises. Dr. Williams emphasizes...

In this conversation, Larissa and Britt Shurley discuss the misunderstandings and challenges surrounding MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) and special education. They emphasize the importance of using language of inclusivity and ensuring that all students have access to differentiated supports. They also discuss the role of MTSS in the referral process and how it can help identify students wh...

In this conversation, Larissa and her guest, Caitlin Crossman, from the Professional Services team, discuss the challenges of implementing MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) in schools and how leaders can prioritize their efforts using the Impact Effort Map. They highlight the importance of focusing on high-impact, low-effort tasks and provide examples of how this tool can be used to streamlin...

In this conversation, Dr. Mary O'Meara and Ms. Theresa Donahue from Plainview, Old Beth Page in New York, discuss their district's implementation of a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS). They highlight the community involvement and diversity in their district, emphasizing the importance of supporting every student. The district's theme of 'Every Student Matters, Every Moment Counts' aligns wel...

In this episode of Schooling Around, Larissa and LaTisha Cole, Branching Minds Professional Service Consultant,  discuss the importance of effective professional development in implementing and sustaining MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) in schools. They emphasize the need for educators to have time, space, and support to learn and apply new strategies. The conversation explores practic...

In this episode, Larissa unpacks how co-teaching could make MTSS possible within the secondary classroom. Co-teaching is an inclusive model of instruction that helps serve students with disabilities and students that need more support in the general education classroom. Larissa breaks down how co-teaching benefits each tier of MTSS and tips for leaders in making co-teaching work for teachers. Reso...

Melissa Harvey, a middle school principal in Texas, shares her strategy of conducting stay interviews with teachers to address teacher retention and build a positive school culture. Stay interviews involve asking high-performing employees why they choose to stay at the school and what they love about it. Melissa also conducts stay interviews with new employees at the 30, 60, and 90-day mark to ens...

Our guest, Dr. Janet Wilson, discusses the principles and benefits of high-impact tutoring and how it can be integrated into the school day. She emphasizes the importance of aligning tutoring with classroom instruction and measuring its effectiveness through both quantitative and qualitative data. Dr. Wilson also addresses the challenges of funding and sustainability, highlighting the need for dis...

In this conversation, Dr. Katherine McKnight discusses the challenges and trends in secondary students' literacy. She emphasizes the importance of higher-level questioning and deep comprehension skills. Dr. McKnight also highlights the need for a clearly defined literacy plan and professional development for teachers. Additionally, she addresses the integration of literacy instruction across conte...

In this episode, Larissa discusses how to apply the MTSS mindset to professional development (PD) for adults. She highlights the need for effective PD and many teachers' dissatisfaction with the quality of their learning experiences. Larissa emphasizes the importance of differentiating PD for adult learners and explains how to assess their needs and engage them in their learning. She also explores...

In this conversation, Larissa and Lindsay discuss the role of arts and elective classes in developing the whole child. They highlight the importance of belonging and connectedness, shared experiences and a sense of responsibility, learning soft skills and reinforcing job skills, overcoming challenges and building resilience, fostering creativity, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence, and...

Dr. Essie Sutton, the Director of Learning Science at Branching Minds, discusses the connection between student mental health and academic performance. It is well-established that these two factors are deeply connected, with poor mental health impacting a student's ability to focus and engage in learning. This relationship is bi-directional, with academic performance also influencing mental health...

Lindsey Helton, an elementary school principal, discusses the importance of attendance and shares strategies for addressing attendance issues. She emphasizes the need for a strong home-school connection and student-led conferences to empower students and improve attendance. Lindsey also highlights the challenges of high mobility and the importance of treating people with respect and assuming posit...

In this episode, host, Larissa, explores the concept of fidelity monitoring in MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports). Fidelity monitoring refers to the consistent implementation of interventions and assessments to ensure student progress. Larissa highlights the importance of fidelity in intervention implementation and the challenges that can arise when fidelity is lacking. It also discusses the r...

In this conversation, Larissa and her guest, Whitley, discuss the importance of schools in the community and how educators can lead the transformation of school-community relationships. They emphasize the need for schools to be viewed as community hubs and highlight the impact that can be achieved through shared goals and stakeholder involvement. They also explore specific ways in which schools ca...

In this episode, Larissa interviews Ashley Pennell, a Senior Customer Success Manager at Branching Minds, about the overlap between MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) and special education. They discuss the confusion surrounding these two concepts and how they work together. The conversation concludes with strategies for administrators to help teachers understand the role of special education...

This episode features the live recording of the Schooling Around podcast with Dr. Judy Elliott and Dr. George Batsche. They discuss trends and challenges in MTSS, empowering teachers, supporting mental health, and implementing MTSS at the secondary level. They emphasize the importance of data-driven decision-making, collective leadership, and collaboration in the MTSS framework. They also highligh...

In this conversation, Rachel Butler, Learning Science Content Specialist, discusses the importance of good interventions in the context of a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS). She emphasizes the need to consider the research behind interventions and recommends using the ESSA tiers of evidence to determine their effectiveness. Rachel also highlights the factors to consider when evaluating inte...

In this episode, Larissa interviews Lisa Marquardt-Krol, an instructional design manager, about professional development (PD). They discuss the importance of case studies in PD and how they help educators put themselves in the shoes of students and practice interventions. They also highlight the need for real-world examples and experiences to make learning sticky and relevant. Lisa emphasizes the...

In this episode, Larissa Napolitan and Trudy Bender discuss the top concerns for school leaders, with a focus on creating a safe and supportive environment for both students and staff. They emphasize the importance of building a positive school culture and the role of administrators in modeling the behavior they expect from their staff. They also highlight the need for administrators to be present...

Season 2: Episode 1 This week, we kick off Season 2 with an in-depth interview with the MTSS leaders in Mineola Union Free School district in New York. Their collective leadership approach and their shared MTSS vision have transformed how their district approaches student improvement. Larissa sat down with 3 of their leaders who have spearheaded the work to discuss what worked for them, as well as...

The school year has its ups and downs, even though the stretch from November to December contains a lot of fun activities, educators are exhausted leaving for Winter Break. Most likely, they might be feeling an undercurrent of a cold or just completely drained. Depending on the year, you might start to wonder if there is another job that doesn’t leave me feeling this exhausted, with nothing left t...

In 2022, the national average reading score at both fourth and eighth grade decreased by 3 points compared to 2019. Literacy curriculum is under the microscope, and the Science of Reading has become a hot topic of conversation in school districts nationwide. For this episode, I called on our own Data scientist, Dr. Eva Dundas to ask her about some misconceptions about Science of Reading. We discus...

Teachers everywhere are using technology to make their lives easier; instead of relying on students to carry home field trip flyers, they just send an email, instead of hand calculating grades, they can have students take online quizzes and grades automatically import into the gradebook. This is the way it should be But, why is Tech still sometimes resisted or struggled with? Each week this month...