The Table | The Deans' Roundtable Podcast Series

Student Support as Infrastructure: Hidden Leadership | Sherann Alkins What if your counseling team isn't a service sitting next to the school, but the infrastructure the whole school depends on? In this episode, Bridget Johnson talks with Sherann Alkins, LICSW, CAGS, founder of Counselor and Concierge and a 20-plus-year school counselor, assistant principal, and principal, about treating student s...

**Sign up for the Advisory Alignment Collective Program! Advisory Done Right: Why "Fine" Isn't Good Enough | Alan Brown What if your advisory program isn't failing because of your advisors, but because of how it was designed? Most schools have advisory. Far fewer have an advisory that works. In this episode of The Table, Bridget Johnson and her business partner, educator and former dean of student...

Youth Sports Betting: The Hidden Addiction in Schools | Saul Malek You wouldn't smell it on a student—and you won't find it in a backpack. So how do you spot the addiction that's quietly reaching your hallways? Host Bridget Johnson talks with Saul Malek, professional speaker and America's emerging voice on the modern gambling landscape, about youth gambling as an overlooked student wellness issue....

Youth Sports Betting: The Hidden Addiction in Schools | Saul Malek You wouldn't smell it on a student—and you won't find it in a backpack. So how do you spot the addiction that's quietly reaching your hallways? Host Bridget Johnson talks with Saul Malek, professional speaker and America's emerging voice on the modern gambling landscape, about youth gambling as an overlooked student wellness issue....

Beyond Spreadsheets: Fixing Student Support with August Schools Your school has a counselor, a nurse, a dean, a learning specialist, and a dozen advisors — but are they actually working with the same picture of each student? For most independent schools, the honest answer is no. Student support data lives in spiral notebooks, unsecured Google Docs, disconnected email threads, and the memory of who...

Nature as the Classroom: Healing Teen Isolation | Manny Almonte What if the most isolated young men in your community aren't missing a mentor program—they're missing a campfire? Teen social isolation has been declared a national epidemic, and young men of color are carrying a particular kind of loneliness that schools and traditional mentorship programs often fail to reach. In this episode, Bridge...

The Trauma-to-Prison Pipeline: What Every Educator Needs to Know What if the student disrupting your classroom isn't defiant—but dysregulated? In this episode of The Table Podcast Series, Bridget Johnson sits down with Dr. Dana Ainsworth to explore the trauma-to-prison pipeline and what it means for schools today. Drawing from her doctoral research, Dr. Ainsworth explains how childhood adversity,...

Faculty Onboarding Done Right: Retention Starts Here | Meera Shah What if your school's biggest retention strategy isn't compensation—but onboarding? In this episode of The Table Podcast Series, Bridget Johnson sits down with Meera Shah, founder of Tray Education, to explore what faculty onboarding should actually look like in independent schools—and why most programs fall short. Meera reframes on...

Character Formation in Independent Schools with Ryan S. Olson What kind of human does your school make it easier to become? In this episode of The Table Podcast Series, Bridget Johnson welcomes Ryan S. Olson for a thoughtful, research-based conversation on character formation in independent schools—and the tension many schools face between academic excellence and developing young people of depth,...

Student Wellbeing Crisis: What Schools Get Wrong | Dr. Denise Pope Are today's students more successful—or more overwhelmed than ever? In this episode, Bridget Johnson sits down with Dr. Denise Pope, Senior Lecturer at Stanford and co-founder of Challenge Success, to explore what decades of research reveal about student stress, belonging, and engagement. Drawing from data on over 350,000 students,...

Why Schools Are Getting AI Wrong (And What It's Costing Students) with Sarah Hanawald Why are so many educators resisting generative AI—and what's at risk if they do? In this episode, Bridget Johnson sits down with Sarah Hanawald, Executive Director of the Association for Academic Leaders, to explore one of the biggest challenges facing schools today: how to lead in an AI-driven world. While stude...

Raising Kids Who Belong: Home & School Strategies | Peyten Williams What if every behavior challenge your students or children throw at you is actually a belonging signal in disguise? In this episode of The Table Podcast Series, Bridget Johnson sits down with Peyten Williams — founder of BowBend Consulting and 16-year educator — to explore the brain science behind belonging and what it practically...

Stop Your Brain From Sabotaging Your School | Mitch Weisburgh What if the biggest obstacle in your school isn't budget cuts, student behavior, or the system — but the way your own brain responds to stress? In this episode of The Table Podcast Series, Bridget Johnson is joined by educator and MindShifting founder Mitch Weisburgh to unpack why our survival brains hijack our best leadership instincts...

Trusted Adults & Healthy Boundaries: Sustainable Student Relationships What does it actually mean to be a trusted adult — and are you doing it in a way that's sustainable? In this episode of The Table Podcast Series, host Bridget Johnson sits down with Dr. Brooklyn Raney to explore the real cost of blurred boundaries in schools and what it takes to build authentic student connections without burni...

Sustainable School Leadership: Escape Heroic Mode with Kalimah Fergus-Ayele Is your school running on systems — or running on you? If things stall the moment you're out of the building, this episode is essential listening. Host Bridget Johnson sits down with Kalimah Fergus Ayele, Author of Roundtrip Ticket Home , to tackle one of the most urgent challenges in school leadership: breaking free from...

Leading From the Middle: Navigate Up, Down & Across | Meredith Herrera Are you the connective tissue of your school — leading in every direction at once, without the authority to match your responsibility? This episode is your roadmap. In Episode 46 of The Table Podcast Series, host Bridget Johnson is joined by Board-Certified executive coach Meredith Herrera for a deeply practical conversation on...

Father Engagement in Schools: Beyond Sports with Kelin Mark Sr. & Bro. Thomas X-Williams Are fathers truly engaged in their children's education, or are they only showing up for sports? This groundbreaking conversation challenges school leaders to rethink father involvement and activate dads as powerful academic partners. Kelin Mark Sr., the first Black male principal in both Wayne Township School...

Creating NeuroWell School Cultures: Brain Science Strategies with Lisa Riegel Are your discipline policies actually working against how students' brains learn? Educational neuroscience expert Lisa Riegel, Ed. D., reveals how understanding brain science can transform the way you approach student behavior, teacher burnout, and school culture. As author of NeuroWell and the newly released Aspirations...

Parent Feedback Strategies: Building Trust & Retention with Ryan Ermeling Is parent feedback triggering more anxiety than insight at your school? You're not alone. In this essential conversation, Ryan Ermeling, founder of ParentPulse, reveals why traditional approaches to parent feedback create more problems than they solve—and what to do instead. After working with nearly 300 private and independ...

Leadership Presence for Educators: Communication Skills with Belle Halpern What separates good administrators from truly inspiring educational leaders? Join veteran educator Bridget Johnson in conversation with Belle Linda Halpern, executive coach and founder of Inspiring Educators, for a transformative discussion about building leadership presence in K-12 settings. Belle Linda Halpern is an execu...

Athletic Identity Beyond the Game: Supporting Student-Athletes' Character Development What happens when the jersey comes off? For most student-athletes, the answer reveals a dangerous truth: their identity is so exclusively tied to sport that retirement feels like death. Casey Johnson and Michael Willett both experienced career-ending injuries in Division I football, discovering their self-worth w...

Building Trust & Strategic Thinking in School Leadership Teams Are you leading alone, carrying the weight of decisions, culture, and vision without the team support you need? Most educational leaders struggle with trust issues they can barely name—but the impact shows up everywhere. Join leadership consultant Susanne Carpenter for an honest conversation about building the high-trust, strategically...

School Leadership Support: Building Communities of Practice That Prevent Burnout School leaders today face unprecedented isolation while carrying immense emotional weight for their communities. The traditional professional development model isn't working—leaders need connection, reflection, and judgment-free spaces to grow. Join Bridget Johnson with Jennifer Dubey and Kyle Conley, co-founders of B...

Mental Health in Schools: Dr. Olivia Moorehead-Slaughter on Supporting Students & Educators How do we normalize mental health conversations in K-12 schools? What does psychological first aid look like for parents and educators? Join Bridget Johnson and child clinical psychologist Dr. Olivia Moorehead-Slaughter for an essential conversation about building emotionally healthy school communities whil...

Measuring Student Emotions with Neuroscience: AgileBrain with Dr. Bill Nolen & Margot Moses What if your school could measure student emotions as precisely as academic performance? In this groundbreaking episode, host Bridget Johnson sits down with Dr. Bill Nolen and Margot Moses from Leading Indicator Systems to explore AgileBrain—a revolutionary neuroscience-based platform that's transforming ho...