The RocketPD Podcast: Real Talk with Educators

Chronic absenteeism nearly doubled after the pandemic — and health is one of the most overlooked drivers behind it. In this episode of the RocketPD Podcast, host Corey Murray sits down with Dr. Adrianna Bravo, pediatrician and Chief Medical Officer at Inspire Health for Education, to unpack how physical and mental health challenges are quietly keeping students out of class — and how school-based t...

Teacher evaluation is meant to support growth — but for many school leaders, it’s become a compliance-heavy process that drains time, erodes trust, and leaves little room for meaningful coaching. In this episode of The RocketPD Podcast, host Corey Murray sits down with Dr. Susan Enfield, Executive Director of the Center for Educational Leadership at the University of Washington, and Will Krasnow,...

Guest: Dr. Joshua P. Starr, former superintendent & nonprofit executive; Founder, Common Ground Solutions Description: How do you lead when your community can’t agree on what matters most? In this episode of The RocketPD Podcast, RocketPD co-founder and longtime ed-tech journalist Corey Murray sits down with Dr. Joshua P. Starr — former superintendent and national education leader — to explore...

Guest: Dr. Michael Hinojosa, former Dallas ISD Superintendent & Founder, Together Network for Transformation Description: What does it really take to lead in today’s fractured K-12 landscape? In this episode of The RocketPD Podcast, RocketPD Co-Founder and longtime ed-tech journalist Corey Murray sits down with former Dallas superintendent and national superintendent of the year Dr. Michael Hi...

Dr. Sheldon “Shelley” Berman is a former superintendent, national SEL leader, and co-author of A Call to Courage: Standing Up for Public Education. On this episode of the RocketPD Podcast, Shelley and Corey talk about how school leaders can navigate political flashpoints, respond to misinformation, and build stronger school communities grounded in shared values. They explore practical ways to crea...

Veronica V. Sopher is a former journalist and school district communications chief. She's a sought after speaker and an expert at helping school leaders address sensitive topics like discipline and security with anxious parents. On this episode of the Rocket PD podcast, Veronica and Corey take on the issue of school communications. They talk about what it means to tell your school's story and we o...

Matt Miller is a former Spanish teacher and the author of Ditch That Textbook and Tech Like a Pirate. In the age of fleeting student attention, Matt has coached thousands of educators in the art and science of technology as a tool for student learning. In this episode of The RocketPD Podcast, Corey asks Matt what it takes to create authentic and engaging classroom experiences that capture students...

Eric Sheninger is the founder of Aspire Change EDU and author of books like Personalized and Disruptive Thinking. A former school principal, Eric helped turn New Jersey's New Milford High School into a model for school innovation. He's become one of the nation's leading voices on school change and transformation. On this episode of the Rocket PD Podcast, Corey and Eric take on the subject of chang...

Angela Watson is the founder of Truth for Teachers and the author of Fewer Things Better. In an age where school teachers and staff are starved for time, Angela has emerged as a leading voice on time management. On this episode of The RocketPD Podcast, Corey and Angela share practical ideas to help busy teachers and school staff make more efficient use of time. They talk about changing mindsets, l...

John Spencer is a renowned PBL expert, college professor, and author of Empower, What Happens When Students Own Their Learning. On this episode of the Rocket PD podcast, Corey asks John about the power of project-based learning and design thinking in an AI-driven world. Corey and John discuss a process for designing PBL units that are engaging, easy to assess, and closely aligned to academic stand...

Robert Barnett is the co-founder of the Modern Classrooms Project and author of the book, Meeting Every Learner's Needs, Redesigning Instruction So All Students Can Succeed. On this episode of the Rocket PD Podcast, Corey asks Robert about his journey as a classroom teacher, the challenges of one-size-fits-all instruction, and how the community he's building through Modern Classrooms aims to chang...

Dr. Luvelle Brown is an author, educator, former superintendent of the year and AASA Effie A. Jones Jones Humanitarian Award winner. As a school leader, he has emerged as a champion for change in the area of school culture and a leading advocate for student inclusion.  In this episode of the RocketPD podcast, Dr. Brown confronts the inflammatory, often hurtful rhetoric that public school leaders a...

Dr. Catlin Tucker is a bestselling author, former Teacher of the Year, and expert on all things UDL and blended learning. On this episode of the Rocket PD podcast, Dr. Tucker challenges educators to reimagine traditional classroom education in favor of more student-centered blended learning models and describes what it looks and feels like when teachers transition from leading at the front on the...

Josh Starr is the author of Equity-Based Leadership and the former superintendent of the Montgomery County Public Schools (MD). In this episode of The Rocket PD Podcast, Josh encourages school leaders to move from a problem mindset to a solution mindset and describes a framework for adaptive leadership that innovative leaders across the country have started adopting to tackle complex problems, be...

Dr. Steve Constantino is the author of Engage Every Family. His Five Simple Principles logic model has become foundational to family engagement strategies in thousands of U.S. K-12 school districts. But there's a difference between family engagement theory, which nearly everyone can agree is important, and actual practice. In this episode of The RocketPD Podcast, Dr. Constantino talks about how a...

As educators weigh the potential benefits of artificial intelligence with the inherent risks, educator and Wall Street Journal Best-Selling Author of Adaptable A.J. Juliani has emerged as a leading voice of innovation, experience, and reason on the topic. On this episode of the RocketPD podcast, helps us balance obvious drawbacks of the technology, like cheating and plagiarism, with its potential...

Carla Tantillo Philibert is an educator, author, and entrepreneur whose work on student and adult well-being has taken her from starting a school in inner-city Chicago to classrooms and keynote stages around the world. On this episode of The RocketPD Podcast, Corey and Carla explore the growing challenge of staff retention and Carla offers up strategies to help schools nurture a culture of mutual...

Kim Marshall is founder and editor of the Marshall Memo. He's also a former Boston principal and one of the world's leading voices on teacher evaluation. On this episode of The RocketPD Podcast, Kim and Corey take on the challenge of job-related stress and staff engagement in K-12 schools. Kim challenges principals and other school leaders to rethink the traditional teacher-evaluation process — in...

If you don't know Jennifer Gonzalez by name, you almost certainly know her popular blog Cult of Pedagogy. A former classroom teacher and self -professed teaching nerd, Jenn has built one of the nation's most engaged communities of educators dedicated to sharing and promoting effective teaching practices. On this episode of The RocketPD Podcast, Corey and Jenn take on the myth that more teachers ar...

Peter Liljedahl is the author of Building Thinking Classrooms, a book that has quite literally started a movement, the premise of which is simple: If we want students to learn, we must teach them not what to do, but how to think. On this episode of The RocketPD Podcast, Corey talks with Peter about what a Thinking Classroom looks like, how it works, the years of research behind it, and the feeling...

The numbers tell a sobering story. Too many teachers are leaving the profession. On this episode of The Rocket PD Podcast, Corey talks with educator, speaker, and best-selling author of Innovator’s Mindset George Couros. Together, George and Corey take on this issue of teacher attrition and discuss ways to unleash the creativity of teachers and staff through things like better training and profess...

On the series trailer of The RocketPD Podcast, award-winning journalist and RocketPD co-founder Corey Murray shares a deeply personal story about his struggle with Cerebral Palsy, his experience in the public school system, and how the many exceptional teachers and staff he met along the way helped shape his future. This episode is brought to you by RocketPD. Host Corey Murray LINKS MENTIONED IN T...