The Cardinal Cast

Superintendent Dr. Laurie Smith is joined by elementary reading specialists Beth Michaels, Kathleen Place, and Lauren Weihenmayer to share practical tips for supporting young readers at home. This episode explores the importance of summer reading, choosing books children enjoy, building reading routines, and encouraging a lifelong love of reading.

For the next edition of our district podcast, The Cardinal Cast, Superintendent Dr. Smith hosts an episode to reflect Mental Health Awareness Month . Her guests include student leaders of the high school's Hope Squad , Kaelyn, Isabela, Sloane, and Ellie, and Bernadette Selgrath, Education Coordinator for the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) . Learn more about the efforts of the Hope...

In this episode of The Cardinal Cast , Upper Dublin High School senior and podcast host of The Motivational Mic, Jacob, joins Superintendent Dr. Smith to share his journey of resilience, perspective, and hope. Jacob and Dr. Smith discuss all things podcasting as he reflects on how his experiences with childhood cancer inspired him to launch his podcast and how he builds meaningful connections with...

Dr. Smith interviews three teachers about Unified programs offered at Upper Dublin High School. Leah Matusow teaches Unified gym courses and Kim Nordlinger and Lori Saville are special education teachers. They share the impact of these programs and the benefits they bring to the Cardinal community.

Dr. Smith sits down with  Julia Skolnik , CEO of Professional Learning Partnerships, and UDHS students  Olivia and  Kiarra to talk about our  Portrait of a Cardinal . Ms. Skolnik shares the process behind creating this important vision and what it means for our schools, while Olivia and Kiarra, who served on our Portrait focus groups, offer their perspective on what this could mean for the peers t...

What does true inclusion look like in our schools? In this episode,  Ms. Sarah Whelan , Jarrettown Elementary teacher, and  Mrs. Rose Lovejoy , parent, share inspiring stories of students feeling seen, valued, and included—both in the classroom and across the community. From inclusive classroom practices to powerful parent experiences, this conversation highlights how inclusion benefits every stud...

For this conversation, Dr. Laurie Smith sits down with  UDHS environmental science teachers Christopher Smith and Erin Loch  to discuss what inspires their work in the classroom and the innovative learning experiences they design for students—including a hands-on journey down the Schuylkill River to assess water quality and a field investigation in which students studied the biodiversity of the fu...

The pilot episode "Feeling Inspired at UDSD" includes a series of short interviews conducted by our host Upper Dublin School District Superintendent Dr. Laurie Smith with students Ayreslee and Kaleb as well as teachers Erica Stianchi and Ed Bush, Director of Transportation Jeff Tyler, parent Courtney Lauer, and Aurelio Arroyo from our facilities team. Music by the Sean J. Kennedy Quartet