The Educator's Blueprint

Join Lisa and Jamie for a discussion with Andrew Paulhamus, a veteran high school science teacher and PBIS team member at Williamsport Area High School in Pennsylvania. The answer to effective classroom management and supporting students to meet behavioral expectations is CONSISTENCY. Andrew discusses how matrices are used in his school and classroom as a resource to show students what expected be...

Students come to high school with many educational experiences. Unfortunately, some of these experiences have lasting negative impacts. Join Lisa and Jamie for a conversation with high school math teacher, Melissa Hough. Melissa strongly emphasizes the importance of creating a safe environment for students to actively engage in classroom activities leading to improved thinking skills and creating...

Educators, mark your calendars for June 9 and 10 , when the 20th , yes 20th MO SW-PBS Summer Institute 2026 will be held at Tan-Tar-A Resort in Osage Beach, Missouri! So much is happening at this year's institute that you will need to listen to featured podcast guest, Jody Baker, district coach and Summer Institute Coordinator, as she outlines many institute features including the keynote spe...

As educators, we've all had experience with some version of Check-In, Check-Out (CICO) as an intervention for at-risk students. What has CICO looked like for you? Is it an intervention that can be easily used for ALL students? Most importantly, has  the use of CICO been impactful for your students and provided a path to graduation? Listen in as Lisa and Sara Estrapala discuss some very promis...

As a general educator, if you are wondering if function-based support should be part of your behavior management focus, wonder no more. As we have learned, especially in the previous two podcasts, questioning and understanding the "why" of behavior is key to preventing as well as de-escalating challenging behaviors. Join Lisa and Jamie for a conversation with our first high school guest...

Understanding and having tools to work through the phases of behavioral escalation and de-escalation are such significant aspects of teaching. They're so important that we're devoting another episode to this topic! Listen in as Hannah Hergenrother, a 3rd grade teacher, emphasizes building strong relationships as well as explicitly teaching and practicing co-regulation/self-regulation ski...

Effectively managing escalating behaviors while maintaining safety for all is always a challenge regardless of the classroom setting. Listen in on this conversation with Nicole Daigle, an experienced special education teacher currently working in a middle school setting. She will walk you through the escalation/de-escalation phases and provide examples from her vast experience. Nicole emphasizes t...

We're getting specific with our precorrects, positive praise, and corrective feedback. Join us for a conversation with Carigan Allie, a 5th grade middle school teacher in Westbrook Public Schools--Maine. Carigan emphasizes that specifically teaching, modeling, practicing, and reinforcing positive behaviors is not just about students doing what is expected to earn tangible rewards. It IS about...

Sounds like TGIF, but it's not! TFI or Tiered Fidelity Inventory 3.0 is an updated tool that guides schools as they reflect on the implementation of the core features of PBIS for all tiers. Listen in on this conversation with Karen Robbie of the University of Connecticut and Maine PBIS. Karen emphasizes that TFI 3.0 is not about hitting a benchmark or checking a box on a list. It is about pro...

Preventing and de-escalating problem behavior has always been a challenge for teachers at all levels. Listen in as Kathy Gagnepain, a 4th grade teacher in the Rockwood School District in St. Louis, discusses her proactive planned approach. She emphasizes the importance of truly knowing your students, finding the “why” of the behavior, and, above all else, maintaining a student’s dignity throughout...

Listen in to a quick, practical conversation with Darcy Pratt, Dean of Students in the Southbridge Public School System in Massachusetts. This discussion focuses on her current work with teachers and coaches to improve student engagement and time on task. Explicitly teaching expectations and providing positive specific praise around those expectations requires time to build proficiency but can mak...

In this classroom series podcast, Mallory Murphy, 4th grade teacher and PBIS coordinator at Turner Elementary in Turner, Maine, describes what active engagement should be. She emphasizes the importance of being very intentional when designing lessons so that ALL students have an “access point” to the learning. The engagement piece doesn’t have to be fancy or elaborate. However, the first five minu...

Do you use, really use , teaching matrices in your school and/or classroom? Listen in as Lisa and Jamie have a conversation with 5th grade middle school teacher, Camilla Shaw. Camilla emphasizes the importance of designing any teaching matrix with the intention of explicitly spelling out expectations for contextually appropriate behaviors. She not only discusses the need to teach, practice, reinfo...

Listen in for an extremely practical conversation with Brittany Morrison, 4th grade teacher in the Maine public school system. Brittany provides a "do now" application for getting students ready for the school day. Daily greetings are just one part of building positive relationships with your students. Brittany outlines her morning routine that, if consistently followed, has worthwhile b...

So exciting to jump start this classroom mini series highlighting voices from the field informing practitioners as well as leaders about thoroughly researched skills that can build positive habits in the classroom! Partners with the National Center for PBIS, Karen Robbie, University of Connecticut, and Kimberly Yanek, University of South Carolina, will give you all the details regarding what’s to...

Join Lisa and Jamie for a quick chat to find out what's in store for this year's podcast. So many exciting sneak peeks including the Classroom Mini Series that will highlight the 6 Effective Classroom Practices as well as meaningful topics for all educators, special guests, and access to relevant resources! It's time to "take some time for tea" and start this year with the...

Join Lisa for a conversation with Amanda Henson, Elementary Instructional Supervisor for the Graves County School District in Kentucky. Amanda discusses her district’s multi-year journey to unify PBIS principles across ALL educational levels, not just elementary. Her motto: “let’s go slow to go fast” and develop this process correctly.  Learn about creating buy-in that benefits everyone involved w...

Lynne DeSousa, MTSS Specialist and PBIS Coordinator for the Colorado Department of Education, shares the importance of "getting back to basics". Current school safety initiatives  to prevent school violence has led to a re-emphasis on the foundational pieces of several educational initiatives, namely PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports), RtI (Response to Intervention), a...

Join Lisa and Jamie for a conversation with Mark Henderson, Director, Digital Initiatives, with the Missouri School Boards' Association. Mark, the "AI Guy", discusses using Artificial Intelligence for positive engagement with students and a resource to boost critical thinking skills. Although there are many AI platforms, Mark references several that educators may find valuable in an...

Jamie Grieshaber, MO-SWPBS Statewide Facilitator and Coach, is on the other side of the microphone in this episode of The Educator's Blueprint. Everyone needs a “Jamie” and her team in their school toolbox. Join Lisa for an interview with Jamie Grieshaber as she outlines her role as a valuable educational resource to districts who are serious about positive progress, not just about compliance...

Listen in on Lisa Power's conversation with Dr. Mark Wheatley, the Assistant Commissioner of Special Education for DESE (MO). Discover how his office along with DESE support Local Education Agencies (LEA). He highlights the importance of general education and special education working together, with the help of many knowledgeable consultants as well as plentiful resources to provide the most...

Train to HOPE? or Train to MAINTAIN? That is the question . . . and we know the answer! Join Lisa and Jamie for an important conversation with accomplished educational researcher, Dr. Katie Meyer, about using the resources that are available to build strong systems in an educational community. Strong systems in the areas of coaching, training, and technical assistance yield effective educational p...

Ever wonder what PBIS looks like outside of the United States? Well, it's alive and progressing! Listen in on this fascinating conversation with Dr. Anna-Maria Hintz and Dr. Michael Paal of the University of Oldenberg. Find out about similarities to and differences between the U.S. and German education models as well as challenges faced as schools implement these new systems. Anna-Maria and M...

It's already SEASON 5 of The Educator's Blueprint podcast. Join Lisa and Jamie as they review previous seasons as well as outline the upcoming 5th season with insights into guests and “just in time; just what’s needed” topics for all educators.

Struggling to implement Tier 2 interventions and graduate  students? Feeling like you get the program off the ground but can't graduate students from CICO? Do you have perpetual "clipboard" kiddos? Join Lisa Powers and Jamie Grieshaber for a conversation with Hannah Wright. Believe me, Hannah and her school have shared similar frustrations! Although Hannah  doesn't have answers...