The LiveSchool Podcast

What if we asked our students to help design the way their school functions? At St. Vincent Ferrer, that's exactly what they do. Our guest today is their Dean of Students, Eric Keiper. He’s here to tell us all about their House System and how student leadership has meant success for the Houses and the individual students. But it’s also meant much more than that, it’s helped to create the kind of c...

Congratulations! You’ve just accepted a job as the Principal of a new school! Your new home comes with some concerns though. Student attendance is low, the school has a tough time keeping staff, and student behavior is off the charts. If you’re thinking those conditions sound familiar you are not alone. Those are 3 of the most common concerns in schools all across the country coming out of the pan...

Welcome to our School Spotlight Series! In this series, we will be dropping episodes dedicated to sharing the good works, special programs, and unique culture wins that are happening all around the country so you can take them back to your school community! This week we are joined by Kanetha Callahan, who is the Community Achieves Site Coordinator for Margaret Allen Middle School in Nashville, Ten...

Community involvement is so much more than hosting an open house and scheduling parent-teacher conferences. Your school is uniquely positioned to bring positive, measurable change to your community. But how do you unlock that potential? Today’s guest is Principal Rashaad Pitt and he's here to share some helpful advice on how you can unleash that potential to close the gap between your school and t...

If you're going to be a very successful school leader you need to not only be comfortable living in the gray, you also need to be comfortable leading in the gray. That means not only being comfortable solving complex problems but it also means leading others through complex situations. Today's guest on the show is a leader who is not only comfortable leading his school but has also developed 22 Pr...

It’s easy to get in the mindset that what you’re doing is normal or routine. But if you start thinking like that it’s easy to lose sight of the greatness happening all around you.   If you’re a leader it’s also easy to lose the great people around you if you don’t get in the habit of celebrating those who are doing great things for the students in your school.   Todd Nesloney (@techninja...

We have all studied the importance of the first days of school when it comes to classroom management and student behavior. If you get it right early, you can set yourself up for a successful year. That makes sense. But what if you don’t? What if you’re several months into the year and your class has veered totally off the rails?  If you're a teacher whose class has ever gotten out of hand in...

Shifting your discipline plan to a positive approach centered around positive interactions, rewarding good behavior, and utilizing logical consequences can be a dramatic change. It can be met with some opposition. Who is the strongest champion for this approach? Who stands to benefit the most from this work? Your Students. The PBIS program in Huntingdon, PA really started to take off when the staf...

Do your students feel safe in your school? Can they be their authentic self without consequence? What stories will they tell of the experiences they had in your school? Those are the culture and climate questions we need to be asking ourselves. Baruti Kafele joined us on the pod today to chat with Jordan and Anna on school culture, turnaround schools, defining equity, developing AP’s, and looking...

~ BONUS EPISODE~ Technology can be a battle in the classroom. Students come to school with more experience using tech tools than some of their teachers! But it doesn’t have to be a fight, it can be an opportunity. An opportunity to meet students where they are and increase engagement levels in our schools. Our guest today is Justin McElwee who has committed his career to preparing teachers to beco...

Aristotle once said, “The fate of empires depends on the education of the youth.” That statement is as true today as it was in ancient Greece. That is why it is so imperative we change the negative narratives circling around our schools. Because if the next generation doesn’t understand the importance and power of education then we may not have the next generation of educators. Paul Kennedy is the...

From the outside, it may seem that all is well. But on the inside, it may feel like you have a Kodiak Bear breathing down your neck ready to pounce. Now imagine you're a student trying to learn Algebra or Adverbs under those conditions. That’s the reality that more and more of our kids face today as the CDC says that Trauma is the most significant health crisis in today's youth. Todd Finley is a P...

If students don’t want to be in the space, they aren’t going to learn in that space. Education can’t simply be a content delivery platform anymore. You have to create a robust Social-Emotional experience for your students to create the ideal conditions for learning. A House System can be the way you instill camaraderie and belonging into your school community. In this week’s episode, David Olinger...

Sometimes we hold on to traditions in schools and in classrooms that don’t drive learning, culture, or experiences. Sometimes the traditions are exactly what is driving those critical pieces. In this week’s episode, we chat with Kelly Rodriguez about how to know when you need to overcome or change traditions and when you need to lean into the things that are working. Hint: ask your students! Kelly...

* BONUS EPISODE * Teachers don’t need wellness PD or Pizza Parties. They need to be seen as professionals. Charmaine Williams is a veteran educator, accomplished writer, podcaster, and founder of the Controlled Chaos Academy. She joined Jordan and Anna this week to speak directly to school leaders on the behalf of teachers. Charmaine also stopped by to chat about student voice, relevant rewards, a...

What sets apart a great school from a failing school? What’s the secret sauce of schools that are closing achievement gaps? Why do U.S. teachers leave the classroom at twice the rate of other developed countries? In this week’s episode, we are joined by Education Researchers Laura Hernandez and Dion Burns from the Learning Policy Institute. Laura and Dion share their research on all of those quest...

If we are going to address the teacher shortage, we need to address teacher stress, burnout, and how society views the profession. Our guest today is working on doing just that by improving student engagement and bringing community involvement into the classroom through Project-Based Learning. Terra Tarango joins us this week to discuss Teaching Careers, Project-Based Learning, Community Involveme...

Sometimes school leaders have to do what’s best for their teachers and their students. Don’t be afraid to be that agent of change when the time comes to do what's best for your school. In this episode, Jordan is joined by Gerry Brooks (@gerrybrooksprin) and Lisa Kear (Elementary School Principal) to discuss leadership transitions, career adversity, building staff morale, teacher shortages, and how...

Schools need innovation to successfully navigate the ever-changing waters of modern education. That innovation is impossible without the collaboration of all the necessary stakeholders. In this week's episode, we talk with Dr. Nick Polyak about creating a collaborative culture in your school that allows innovation to shine. Listen as Anna and Jordan talk with Superintendent Polyak about Career Mob...

We all underestimated the behavior needs we ended up facing last school year. Learn how @PrincipalTurk and his staff built empathy in their students through relationships and logical consequences.  Listen as Anna and Jordan talk with Anthony about those topics plus servant leadership, encouraging innovation, and internal podcasts to communicate with your school community.

How do we get teachers and students to want to be in our schools? Find ways to engage them. If we can find ways to make things more fun and interesting we need to do that. Because happy students are more likely to be able to learn, and happy teachers are more likely to stay and teach them. Listen as Anna and Jordan talk with @educatorandrea about PHD Educators, rolling chair havoc, mental health,...

What’s the biggest rock that can be lifted in education right now? Rethinking the role of the teacher in the classroom.  Listen as Anna and Jordan talk with Dr. Greg Goins (@DrGregGoins) about the role of a teacher, a career in Education, and how leaders can spark change within their school communities. Links: Don’t forget to follow or subscribe to Greg’s Podcast: Reimagine Schools Want to se...

Coming Soon! The Flywheel Effect will be launching August 1st. Our show is all about sharing stories of admin, school support staff , and other educational change agents that have succeeded in their initial lift and have created cultures that have so much momentum that they grow and improve exponentially. We look forward to bringing you engaging discourse centered around School Culture and the edu...