The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly – Education Edition

Schools are being asked to solve problems they were never designed to fix. In this episode, Dr. Sherri breaks down a new Iowa education bill and connects it to a much bigger issue: a system built around standardized assessments and federal funding pressures. From screen time limits to snow days to preschool expansion, this conversation reveals why education keeps treating symptoms instead of solvi...

A student brings a gun to school, shoots a teacher, and takes his own life. We call it “unpredictable.” But inside classrooms, the signals are often already there. In this episode, Dr. Sherri breaks down the gap between what schools see and what they actually do —from student behavior struggles to system breakdowns, to what structured success actually looks like. This isn’t about three separate st...

Take a minute and step behind the curtain. In this first one-on-one interview, Dr. Sherri (Founder of Education That Matters) breaks down what’s actually happening when students start to struggle—and why so many never recover from it. This isn’t about homework help. It’s about clarity. We talk about: • what makes ETM different • what the Academic Clarity Assessment actually reveals • why students...

In this comeback episode of The Good, The Bad & The Ugly – Education Edition , Dr. Sherri breaks her silence and tackles three stories shaping education right now: The Good: A model of transparency and community engagement in Iowa — and why that’s how trust gets rebuilt. The Bad: Why technology isn’t “just a factor” — it’s reshaping teen brains, attention, and long-term memory (growth is uncom...

South Dakota’s HB 1017 is aiming to address disruptive student behavior by allowing schools to move students to “alternative instruction.” On paper, it sounds simple — but the real-world implications for students, teachers, and long-term outcomes are anything but. In this mini episode of The Good, The Bad & The Ugly , Dr. Sherri breaks down: • the good — acknowledgment of the behavior crisis •...

In this special listener-requested episode of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly – Education Edition , Dr. Sherri Rochel walks through the full story of first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner — the events leading up to the January 6, 2023 shooting at Richneck Elementary School, the warnings that were raised, and the systemic failures that allowed a preventable tragedy to occur. This episode goes beyond the...

This week on The Good, The Bad, The Ugly – Education Edition , Dr. Sherri looks at what’s happening inside teacher contract negotiations and labor tensions as districts head toward 2026. This isn’t a surface-level news recap. It’s a grounded conversation about what these moments feel like for educators, students, and communities when communication stalls and escalation becomes the only remaining o...

🎧 Today’s GBU in Education: School Safety, Fentanyl, and Campus Violence A real conversation for students, parents, and educators Some days in education require us to slow down and talk honestly about what’s happening in the real world. In this episode, Dr. Sherri Rochel walks through The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly in education — not as a news reporter, but as a caring teacher having the convers...

Tonight’s Good, Bad & Ugly walks through an inspiring win for Career and Technical Education, a concerning spike in teacher shortages, and a hard truth about ongoing learning loss that parents deserve to understand. In this episode, Dr. Sherri breaks down: 🌟 The Good: CTE programs expanding nationwide, with 32 states now reporting career-readiness indicators — giving students real-world skill...

Today’s episode of The Good, The Bad & The Ugly – Education Edition dives into three stories shaping classrooms across the Midwest and the nation. 🟩 THE GOOD — Minnesota’s Attendance Boost Minnesota schools are seeing early improvements in attendance thanks to relationship-centered supports like home visits, daily check-ins, and community partnership work. It’s a reminder that when adults sho...

In today’s episode of The Good, The Bad & The Ugly – Education Edition , Dr. Sherri breaks down the stories shaping education across the country. We start with hopeful progress as FAFSA fixes finally help families move forward and schools begin integrating mental-health support directly into classrooms. Then we examine a viral TikTok controversy that raises big questions about professionalism,...

Today, Dr. Sherri Rochel dives into three major stories shaping education across America — from rising student achievement to system failures and the teacher pipeline crisis. 🟩 The Good: Mississippi’s success story proves that clear expectations, accountability, and teacher support can drive long-term student growth. 🟨 The Bad: A superintendent’s arrest in Iowa exposes cracks in background-check...

This Halloween, we’re tackling something truly spooky — the numbers behind student performance. From high-scoring heroes in Brookings, South Dakota, to national averages that have dipped to a 30-year low, Dr. Sherri Rochel unpacks the data that’s haunting classrooms across the country. 🟩 The Good: Brookings High School students crushed the ACT, scoring above both state and national averages. 🟨 T...

Today, Dr. Sherri Rochel dives into four powerful education headlines shaping classrooms across the nation: 🟩 The Good: The National Education Opportunity Network (NEON) is giving high school students a head start on college — and it’s working. 🟨 The Bad: Enrollment decline is forcing districts to merge, close, and rethink how community education looks. 🟥 The Ugly: AI is rewriting the rules on...

Dr. Sherri Rochel dives into this today's education headlines — from record-breaking investments to curriculum debates and courtroom battles. In this episode: Chicago’s new budget adds $500 million for student services and teacher support 🤑 New York’s controversial math guidelines aim to reduce anxiety but spark concerns about rigor 📉 South Dakota’s own math standards revision gets a sneak peek...

Dr. Sherri Rochel explores this week’s education headlines — from promising innovations in AI and curriculum design to the difficult realities of student behavior and widening academic gaps. In this episode: AI teacher-training partnerships from Microsoft & OpenAI NWEA’s new national growth dashboard for K-8 Persistent high school declines in reading and math Rising student behavior challenges...

Dr. Sherri Rochel dives into this week’s education headlines — the uplifting wins, the ongoing challenges, and the realities shaping classrooms today. This episode covers: Student and teacher success stories from South Dakota and California The launch of Mississippi’s REACH MS virtual-teaching program Nationwide bus driver shortages impacting daily operations Leadership transitions and policy shif...

In this first episode, Dr. Sherri dives into the stories making headlines in education — from Iowa’s coffee-filled act of kindness to nationwide teacher shortages and the ongoing struggle of classroom funding. 🎧 Tune in for: ☕ A heartwarming PTO story in Johnston, Iowa 🏫 Teacher shortages across Ohio, Illinois & Pennsylvania 💔 The reality of teachers spending $820/year on supplies Full sho...