SEL in EDU

Dr. Michael Roth, CEO of Learning Avenue Associates and a former superintendent, has spent over 30 years in school leadership and now partners with districts across the country to reduce chronic absenteeism. In this conversation, we trace how attendance work shifted after COVID, and what it looks like when a school builds a culture students want to walk into. Michael shares why there is rarely one...

Dr. Dave Wiedlich, principal of Radnor Middle School, was named Pennsylvania's 2026 Principal of the Year and a National Finalist for Middle Level Principal of the Year by NASSP. In this conversation, he traces a servant-leadership path that began with his parents in Wilkes-Barre and runs through every role he has held since. Dave shares his grandmother's advice about two ears and one mouth, and h...

Most teachers spend a career never seeing a colleague teach. Vicki Wilson, a former Michigan principal and author of "Lead with Instructional Rounds," set out to change that. In this episode, she and Krista unpack a deliberately non-evaluative, strength-based version of instructional rounds: short ten-minute visits, doors left open, and conversations that name what is working rather than what is w...

Senior leaders often arrive ambitious and passionate, then quietly slide into what Courtney Joly-Lowdermilk calls "role blur," where the all-hands-on-deck approach erases job boundaries, and burnout sets in. As CEO of REACH Leadership, Courtney helps educational and nonprofit leaders bring clarity back to their roles and organizations. In this episode, she walks Krista through the REACH method: Re...

We keep treating stalled initiatives as a knowledge problem. Dr. Amanda March says that's rarely what's actually going on. "Knowledge and skills are not enough to do the good work." In this conversation, the school psychologist and systems consultant introduces the KASAB model, Knowledge, Attitudes, Skills, Aspirations, Behaviors, from Joellen Killian and Learning Forward, and zeroes in on the two...

Restorative practices often show up only after something has gone wrong. Erika Schwanbeck, a restorative practice coach, and Stephanie Clinise, a secondary ELA teacher, argue that the real work happens long before any conflict. Both talk with Krista about what restorative practice looks and sounds like day to day, woven into content rather than bolted on as a discipline. They get concrete: the 80/...

When Brenda Do watched her young nephew drop a container of leftovers and instantly call himself "so stupid," it broke her heart and sparked a question she couldn't put down. A copywriter by trade, Brenda went down a research rabbit hole into Carol Dweck's work on mindset, her own experience growing up where perfection was the baseline, and why children learn to fear getting things wrong. The resu...

Dr. Michele Ogden has spent her career in California schools as a teacher and principal, but some of her most meaningful work happens outside of them: eight years as a CASA, a court-appointed special advocate for youth in foster care.  In this episode, Michele explains what the role actually involves, from ramen outings and first train rides to the one-page court reports a judge reads before every...

In part four of the To Be Continued series, Krista sits down again with Thom Stecher, an educational consultant who has spent more than four decades mentoring students, teachers, and school leaders. Perspective, possibility, and passion led him here: to purpose. Thom describes purpose as a North Star and, more surprisingly, as a discipline. Passion moves us, he says, but purpose is what channels t...

What does it mean to truly prepare students for life? In episode 98 of SELinEDU, I sit down with Dr. De'Shawn Washington, 2024 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year and founder of Cultivating Changemakers, for a conversation that weaves together three things every student deserves: the ability to read, the knowledge to manage money, and the freedom to learn with joy. We dig into why over 60% of Massac...

In this episode of SEL in EDU, high school educator Stephanie Clinise discusses how AI can be a supportive tool in classrooms, fostering student voice, agency, and meaningful learning. She and Krista explore practical strategies, the importance of authenticity, and the future of technology in education. Main Topics: Integrating AI in the classroom without replacing routines Using AI to support stu...

In this episode of SELinEDU , Dr. Krista Leh sits down with Dr. Natalie Odom Pough , a mathematics educator and advocate for joyful, justice-centered learning, to explore what she calls the soft life . Together, they unpack the idea that learning environments do not have to be rooted in pressure, comparison, and compliance—but can instead be spaces where students feel seen, respected, and capable...

What helps young people and adults see beyond what is into what could be? In this episode, I’m joined again by educator, author, and lifelong champion for young people, Thom Stecher, for a conversation about possibility... a powerful mindset that invites hope, stretches imagination, and opens doors where others see walls. Together, we explore possibilities not as wishful thinking, but as a way of...

Discover practical strategies for fostering resilience and emotional wealth in students and educators alike. This episode features insights from Josephine Hunt, a seasoned special education teacher and media voice, who shares how natural consequences, intrinsic motivation, and mindful coaching cultivate resilient learners. Main topics: The resilience loop: understanding how overcoming challenges b...

If your school feels busy but not aligned, the issue might not be effort at all. It might be clarity. I’m joined by speaker, author, and consultant Casey Watts to dig into why well-intentioned initiatives stall when teams don’t share a clear, detailed grasp of the destination, the language, and the role each person plays in getting there. We get concrete about what “clarity” actually means in educ...

A single hand raised can fool us into thinking a class feels safe, while most students are silently calculating the social cost of being wrong. We sit down with award-winning educator and burnout expert Chase Mielke to make psychological safety practical through a Goldilocks Gradient lens: low, mid, and high-risk moments that shape student participation, academic risk-taking, and real engagement....

Small, steady moves can transform a classroom. We sit down with Pennsylvania educator Brittany Christensen to unpack how 5–10 minute SEL warmups grew into a living practice woven through literacy, nonfiction analysis, and daily routines. Teaching English and ESOL in a large urban district, she shows how high expectations can coexist with care by building a shared language around growth mindset, se...

What if the biggest lever for healthier schools is how we view people and problems? I sit down with veteran educator and consultant Thom Stecher to unpack how a shift in perspective can transform classroom climate, leadership choices, and our well-being. From the first moments, we trace a clear arc: perception shapes understanding, understanding unlocks empathy, and empathy fuels compassionate act...

What if students did work they couldn’t fake and didn’t want to?  We sit down with award-winning educator and author Michael Hernandez to rethink assessment, culture, and the role of technology by anchoring learning in agency, responsibility, and authentic audiences. Instead of building classrooms around compliance and bans, we explore how trust and clear boundaries create a sandbox where creativi...

What if staff meetings ended with real decisions and classes felt like energizing workshops? We sit down with communication expert and author Chris Fenning to rebuild school time around clarity and outcomes using one simple framework: Topic, Purpose, Output. From IEPs and MTSS to department huddles and professional learning workshops, we show how to set relevance, choose the right activities, and...

What if US history class felt human, focused, and alive every single day? We sit down with high school social studies teacher Trevor Conde to unpack a design-first approach to SEL where routines create safety, novelty sparks curiosity, and students see themselves in the story. Trevor shares how backward design, clear weekly modules, and transparent due dates reduce friction and build self-manageme...

What if the difference between a struggling reader and a confident one is not a love of books, but the routines around them? Dr. Steve Underwood joins us to unpack how predictable, evidence-based instruction changes the math on literacy and identity. From a childhood marked by poverty and round-robin dread to a career leading systems change, Steve shows why consistency, safety, and the science of...

Coaching should feel like a partnership where educators bring their expertise, name the barriers they face, and co-create next steps that actually fit their classrooms. We sit down with Kenny McKee and Kathy Perrett, co-authors of Compassionate Coaching, to explore a humane, practical framework for helping teachers move forward without judgment or gimmicks. In this episode, we unpack six recurring...

Leading a school shouldn’t feel like juggling flaming clipboards. Tammy Musiowsky and Christine Arnold join us to share how minimalist leadership turns a noisy school ecosystem into a coherent one by aligning purpose, editing systems, and removing friction that wastes energy and time. They unpack the Triple P (purpose, priorities, pare down) and the Five Rs (reimagine, remove, repurpose, reinvest,...

What if belonging wasn’t a poster or a pep talk, but a practice you could measure, build, and sustain? We sit down with Dr. Sheldon Eakins to unpack how leadership choices shape whether students feel accepted, supported, and included. From turning speaking engagements into chapters to designing a student belonging survey, Dr. Eakins shows how to move from intent to impact with tools any school can...