SPS Podcasts

Welcome to the SPS Friday 5 - five questions posed in about five minutes to an expert on a given topic. This is the second of three episodes focused on preparing students to get back to school. New Glover Middle School Principal Mike Stark came from 20 years as a principal in the Cheney Public Schools district, where middle school consists of 6-8 grades. As SPS begins the process of moving up our...

Welcome to the SPS Friday 5 - five questions posed in about five minutes to an expert on a given topic. This is the first of three episodes focused on preparing students to get back to school. Spokane Public Schools Director of Early Learning Karin Thompson talks through the top three things parents of young children should be doing right now to prepare themselves for the start of a new school yea...

We visited a new hire orientation this week to speak with fresh SPS teachers and other staff about who they are, what they'll be doing, and why they're excited for the coming school year.

Arthur Wedge suffered serious injuries after he was hit by a car in September of 2021. With the help of his teachers, school counselor and family, he was able to recover and continues to be a model student at Shaw Middle School.

Students at The Community School worked with Generation Alive to raise funds for Spokane Public Schools' Homeless Education and Resource Team (HEART) and support their fellow students who may be experiencing homelessness.

Each year, the Spokane Symphony invites fourth and fifth grade students from across the city to the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox. Last Thursday, 2,500 students from every elementary school in Spokane Public Schools had the chance to see this historical theater and learn about music in a way many of them have never experienced before.

Jefferson Elementary Music Teacher Tamie King taught fourth and fifth graders how to play chords on a ukulele. She was looking for a way to get them in front of an audience. But, you know, pandemic. Inspired by the notion of a science fair, she opted to have students write an original song using chords or notes they felt comfortable and successful playing. Seeing that they were committed to the pr...

Linwood Elementary Fitness & Health Teacher Fiona Zwiesler has been leading a school-wide Olympics for the past several weeks. "We as a school have focused on the Olympic motto, 'higher, faster, stronger,' and also on the three values of the Olympics: respect, friendship and excellence," she said. "We made a medal chart outside the gym and every day will be adding the...

Adam Gangelhoff's 2-4-3 program at Shaw Middle School promotes love and is a way for students to be seen, heard and cared for.

A group of Shadle Park High School students visited third graders at Westview Elementary School last week. The older students handed out buckets of swag – water bottles, erasers, earbuds – as well as a handmade cookie with each students’ name, shaped like a puzzle piece. Junior Evie Patel explained to the class. “OK, so what that puzzle piece means is that between Shadle and Westview, we’re workin...

Frances L.N. Scott Elementary celebrated its new name on October 22, 2021. Prior to a dedication ceremony, select students had a chance to attend a Q&A session with members of the Scott family, including her daughter, son, grandchildren, and son-in-law. Questions included: 1.    "Could you talk about how you are feeling right now?" -Karli 2.    "What would your mother say if she...

Students at Garfield Elementary School put on eyeshades and perked up their ears this week to learn goalball, a team sport designed specifically for athletes with a vision impairment. SPS Vision Services Teachers partnered with visually impaired students, representatives from the Northwest Association for Blind Athletes, and Fitness & Health Teacher Donavon Hodgson to offer students this oppor...

For Hispanic Heritage Month, 3rd grade students from Libby Center's Spanish Immersion program learned about "El Grito", a battle cry that helps mark the beginning of independence festivities in Mexico. "We learned about how Mexico started their independence," said teacher Nancy Gonzales, "and so in order to inspire them to go and fight and really get them motivated, t...

Welcome to another episode of Spokane Public School’s monthly podcast series, where we are sharing the great work of our amazing community partners. This month, we’re featuring Communities in Schools – a non-profit whose mission is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.  Communities in Schools has been an incredible partner to our d...

Welcome to another episode of Spokane Public School’s monthly podcast series, where we are sharing the great work of our amazing community partners. This month, we’re featuring College Success Foundation – a non-profit that empowers students, families, and communities with the resources they need to ensure students are prepared for college, or any other post-high school academic endeavor, and comp...

“How’s everybody doing today, did you have fun at recess?” “It’s too hot!” students shout. Paraeducator Phil Saunders stands in front of a group of fourth through sixth graders at Audubon Elementary’s summer camp. “So, I’ve got some questions to start off, OK? What is sound?” All eyes are fixed on an antique wooden box he’s brought from home. A student in the back row leans forward. “Vibrations in...

Welcome to another episode of Spokane Public School’s monthly podcast series, where we are sharing the great work of our amazing community partners. This month, we’re featuring Spark Central – a nonprofit that sparks the creativity, innovation, and imagination that allows people to carve the path to their best future.  They partner with our schools in the West Central neighborhood by offering kids...

Welcome to another episode of Spokane Public School’s new monthly podcast series, where we are shining the spotlight on some of our amazing community partners. This June, we’re featuring The ZoNE – a community initiative that’s for people from Northeast Spokane, by people from Northeast Spokane.  The ZoNE has a hand in helping so many different causes around the NE – from expanded learning (which...

Welcome to another episode of Spokane Public School’s new monthly podcast series, where we are shining the spotlight on some of our amazing community partners. This month, we’re featuring the NATIVE Project, which provides wrap-around health services for both Natives and Non-Natives in the Spokane community. I learned a lot about native American healthcare and culture while putting this episode to...

Welcome to a new monthly podcast series from Spokane Public Schools, where we’ll spotlight some of our amazing community partners. You might know about some of them already, and there might be others you’ve never heard of. We want everyone in Spokane and beyond to know about the great work these local organizations are doing in our schools and in the community. And not only will you hear from folk...

Welcome to what will be the last episode of the Spokane Public Schools podcast series on mental health and wellness. Hosts Ally Barrera and Kristy Mylroie speak to the director of SPS's mental health services department, Dr. Dave Crump. We have a great discussion about the behavioral and emotional health reactions we experience following a crisis – like a pandemic, for example – and how we ca...

Hello, and thanks for listening to another Spokane Public Schools podcast on mental health and wellness. In this episode, I’m speaking with Danielle Allen, who is the therapist at Adams Elementary. The conversation is only ten minutes long, but we cover a lot of ground from the importance of knowing you’re not alone to the one simple thing parents and guardians can do to help their student through...

Thanks for checking out our latest episode of the Spokane Public Schools podcast series on mental health and wellness. I’m sharing a special conversation I had with Kristi Mathistad, who is one of the district’s chemical dependency professionals. She help students struggling to control their substance abuse. We go into what her job entails, the common issues she sees, and how she helps her clients...

Thanks for checking out another episode of the Spokane Public Schools podcast series on mental health and wellness. Today I’m talking with Natalie Sarria-Wiley, who is one of the therapists at Rogers High School. Natalie is a Rogers grad herself – as well as a woman of color – and we had a great chat about some of the mental health challenges she’s seen in her community, as well as why we put so m...

Thanks for listening to another installment of the Spokane Public Schools conversation series on mental health and wellness. Today we’re talking about the holidays! This is a stressful time of year for lots of reasons and to help us get through it is Kati Kelsey, who is a mental health therapist at North Central High School. Apologies in advance for any audio glitches you might hear. Sometimes whe...