Schoolutions: Curious Educators. Evidence-Based Strategies. Classrooms Where Every Child Thrives.

Global changemakers Renée Dinnerstein and Larry Leaven have a shared commitment to children when it comes to reviving choice time, inquiry, exploration, and play in schools around the world. Their inspiring anecdotes and creative out-of-the-box solutions through this S2E36 Schoolutions conversation, will help listeners immediately put choice time into action. Episode Mentions: Vivian Gussin Paley...

I sat down with Dr. Anthony Muhammad for Schoolutions S3E37 to talk about his book The Way Forward: PLC at Work and the Bright Future of Education, and this conversation just landed in the top 20 most listened-to episodes in our summer series re-release. Anthony spent nearly twenty years as a teacher, assistant principal, and high school principal before becoming one of the most respected voices i...

You're about to hear one of the most downloaded episodes from the last five years of this podcast. The audio may be rougher than what you hear now, but I'm not going back to clean it up. You're hearing exactly where I started, and I trust that the growth shows on its own, the same way I hope my work as an educator does. ___________________________ I continue my conversation with Dr....

There's a magic to the 1980s and 90s childhood memories that just doesn't exist anymore. Did you grow up waiting by the radio on Sunday mornings for Casey Kasem's American Top 40? My sister and I would sit next to a clock radio for four hours, waiting for the number-one song in America. That kind of countdown is worth reviving. I’m taking a trip back to the era of analog weekend rit...

How do we approach parenting advice and teaching children when the world keeps changing? After over 40 conversations with experts during Season 5 of Schoolutions , I am summarizing the key ideas for supporting children during uncertain times. You will learn the surprising answer that nearly every expert discussed as the foundation for modern child development and the throughline every expert kept...

What does it look like to lead with both ferocity and grace, and why do so many teachers forget that admitting your feelings isn't the same as admitting defeat? In Part 2 of my S5E43 Schoolutions conversation, I continue my conversation with Cornelius Minor⁩   (author of We Got This ) and Dr. Kass Minor (author of Teaching Fiercely ), co-founders of The Minor Collective . We discuss why grace...

At the heart of the refreshed Minor Collective site is one belief: people come before ideas, ideology, or frameworks. As conversations about student growth and teacher effectiveness quietly shift toward kid obedience and teacher compliance, going it alone can feel scary. In this short but powerful clip from my S5E43 Schoolutions conversation with Cornelius and Dr. Kass Minor , The  Minor Collectiv...

What does it look like when education is built around the full humanity of every child and every teacher? In Part 1 of my S5E43 Schoolutions conversation, I sit down with Cornelius Minor⁩   (author of We Got This ) and Dr. Kass Minor (author of Teaching Fiercely ), co-founders of The Minor Collective . Together, they unpack what it really means to build a pro-kid mindset, reclaim teacher personhoo...

What if rebuilding your child's math confidence this summer started not with worksheets, but with a mirror? In Part 2 of my S5E42 Schoolutions conversation, Wendy Ward Hoffer ( All Minds on Mathematics: Math Workshop for Every Learner ) gets practical and personal. If your child had a hard year in math, this is your playbook. Wendy walks families and educators through exactly what to do and w...

What does it really mean to be "good at math"? In this short but powerful clip from my S5E42 Schoolutions conversation with Wendy Ward Hoffer , of PEBC , we challenge the old myth that math identity is built on speed and being right and explore how families and teachers can work together to nurture every child's confidence and curiosity in math. True mathematical thinking isn't...

What if the most powerful thing you could do for your child's math future this summer had nothing to do with worksheets or tutoring? In Part 1 of this week's S5E42 Schoolutions conversation, Wendy Ward Hoffer , author of All Minds on Mathematics: Math Workshop for Every Learner , shares a simple but radical idea: math identity is built in the everyday moments most of us are already livin...

🏃 What if the secret to student engagement this summer was free, fun, and made by a P.E. teacher with nearly 15 million views? In Part 2 of my Schoolutions conversation with @CoachGelardi⁩ (The PhysEdZone), we get completely practical. Tom gives age-by-age movement tips for summer, shares exactly which videos to start with, and explains why co-creating movement WITH kids, not just directing them,...

What if the most powerful thing you could do for student engagement wasn't a new lesson plan, but making sure every kid feels safe enough to try? In this clip from my S5E41 Schoolutions  conversation, I sit down with @CoachGelardi where he emphasizes the critical role of physical safety in the P.E. classroom, but also highlights that an emotional connection with students encourages them to tr...

What does it really take to teach 28 kindergartners (alone) in a gym every single day? In Part 1 of my S5E41 Schoolutions  conversation with @CoachGelardi ,  the 2025 SHAPE America National Elementary P.E. Teacher of the Year and New York State Teacher of the Year, we talk about what world-class physical education and fitness actually look like and why every educator, parent, and school leader nee...

In Part 2 of my S5E40 Schoolutions  conversation with Dr. Kay Stahl , we explore practical tips for families to keep reading alive over the summer. This episode provides valuable educational strategies to enhance reading comprehension and foster essential reading skills, especially for children who say they are not readers. Dr. Stahl shares the latest research on comprehension (from the National A...

Are all reading skills taught the same way? Not according to researcher Scott Paris and understanding the difference could transform how you teach literacy. In this short from my S5E40 Schoolutions  conversation, I sit down with Dr. Kay Stahl as she explains how Scott Paris introduced a powerful framework that every educator needs to know: the Constrained vs. Unconstrained Skills Continuum. On one...

What if the biggest obstacle to student success isn't summer, it's what teachers stop doing after the standardized test? In Part 1 of my S5E40 Schoolutions conversation with Dr. Katherine (Kay) Stahl , literacy consultant, clinician, and former director of the NYU Literacy Clinic, she shares what 25+ years in classrooms taught her about reading, assessment, and what actually works. Learn...

This June, Schoolutions is setting teachers, families, and students up for success in September all summer long. Five conversations. One month of inspiring students, empowered educators, and real education transformation. This Month's Conversations: 📖 S5 E40: Dr. Kay Stahl | June 1 & 5 Dr. Kay Stahl brings 25+ years of classroom and clinic experience to a conversation about the 5th editi...

What does it actually take to build student engagement and student participation for experienced multilinguals — not just in theory, but in every lesson, every day? In Part 2 of my S5E39 Schoolutions  conversation, literacy experts Beth Skelton and Tan Huynh break down the integrated literacy framework at the heart of their new book, Integrated Literacy for Experienced Multilinguals . This episode...

What does it cost us when experienced multilinguals never receive the explicit academic language instruction they need, not just to pass a class, but to fully participate in school, in careers, and in life? In this short from my S5E39 Schoolutions  conversation, I sit down with authors Beth Skelton and Tan Huynh to unpack their newest book, Integrated Literacy for Experienced Multilinguals . Toget...

What does "stuck" actually look like in a classroom and whose job is it to fix it? In this S5E39 Part 1 episode of Schoolutions , I sit down again with Beth Skelton and Tan Huynh to discuss their newest collaboration, Integrated Literacy for Experienced Multilinguals. They talk about why the phrase "long-term English learner" needs to go, and what "stuck" looks like i...

What happens when the students whom everyone overlooks become the ones who change everything? In Part 2 of this must-hear S5E38 Schoolutions  conversation, Rachael Thrash shares the inspiring story about Angolan students in Portland, Maine, who turned their isolation into a school-wide soccer tournament, walks through her Actionable Participatory Model step by step, and gives you the one move you...

Is your student council secretly reinforcing the status quo? In this short from my S5E38 Schoolutions  conversation, Rachael Thrash , author of Let the Learners Lead and Senior Director of Education & Innovation at Big Bad Boo Studios, breaks down why traditional student leadership models are built on barriers that silence the very students whose voices matter most. When school leadership beco...

Is your student council accidentally silencing the students who need a voice most? In Part 1 of this two-part S5E38 Schoolutions  conversation, Rachael Thrash , Senior Director of Education and Innovation at Big Bad Boo Studios and author of L et the Learners Lead: Empowering Student Voice to Co-Create School Culture , breaks down why traditional student leadership models are quietly reinforcing t...

What if the secret to student engagement, student motivation, and inspiring students wasn't a new app or a new behavior system, but storytelling? In Part 2 of my S5E37 Schoolutions conversation, Xochitl Bentley (author of Helping Students Become Climate Stewards ) walks us through what climate stewardship projects look and feel like in real classrooms: from a Green Ambassador Grant field trip...