We Can Do EPIC Things

MES is 30 years old! 🥳 In this episode, Lauren Spires helps me cohost as we talk with former and current principals, teachers, and student about all the wonderful things at MES. Enjoy!

Our district theme for the 25-26 school year is inspiring hope. We brought back some returning guests from Ed Services to share more about the district vision, goals for the year and what it means to have hope. Listen as we catch up with Shannon Brown and Leslie Peters, learn new fun facts about them, and hear what they are nexting!

Can you believe we’ve made 80 episodes?! We loved revisiting the 80’s and talking about how different schools were back then. We really appreciate you all tuning in for 3 seasons and stay tuned for more fun episodes ☺️

Let’s just start by saying that Carly and Lyndsey have rizz. If you’re not sure what this means, stay tuned because we have all the secrets from high school students on the latest terms! In this episode we talk with 4 DHS seniors about their favorite memories, plans for post graduation, and a fun new segment called “what does it mean?”. We had so much fun recording this episode and get a glimpse i...

We don’t know what it is, but there’s something about this pod and Taylor Swift making announcements! In this episode, we give a brief overview of all our in service classes offered for recent or salary credit. Listen to get a quick preview before signs ups come out on Thursday.

We. Are. Back. We had a few technical difficulties, but the tech department (Carly and Lyndsey) were able to get season 3 up and running! In this episode we do a summer recap and chat with the new members of PDC. This would have been the number one podcast last Wednesday if we could have aired it! Happy listening ✨

Our first grade friends are back! In this feel good episode, students from Stacia Almeida’s class read books they wrote for their Young Authors project with a Melinda Neilander. Enjoy!

Tara Auld’s CVMS students are back with another project. This time we learn so many fun facts about ancient China… who knew The Great Wall of China was so long!

We are back with the long awaited part 2 from the Modern Learning Conference. In this episode we catch up with the nominees and learn about the great things happening at their schools and in their classrooms.

Introducing the newest member of PDC… April Crandall! In this episode, we learn about April’s journey to teaching and other interesting facts about her life. Happy listening!

Live from New York, it’s Katie Martin! 🗽While in New York City at The Learning and the Brain Conference, we had the pleasure of talking to author, educator, and Chief Impact Officer at Learner-Centered Collaborative, Katie Martin. Listen as we talk about modern high schools, personalized learning, AI, and how her book inspired one of the most popular in service classes to date; The Learning Proje...

This week we have the legend herself, Shari Chappell! Shari is an avid listener and since we have heard so much about the Hot Dog of the Week, we had to learn more about it! She explains how it started and how the tradition is still going strong. 🌭

In this episode, we talk about the new GPA and how it is a more robust predictor of student success! We talk about the science of hope and what it looks like in the classroom. ✨

This is a good one! In this episode, teachers new to our district (Teacher Academy) share advice and what they have learned in their first year in Douglas County Schools. They offer great reminders to all of us about making connections, giving ourselves grace, and always making sure you have a plan. Happy listening!

In this episode, we talk with Amanda Simon (inclusive education teacher at DHS) about her EPIC classroom. Listen as Amanda explains her pathway to teaching and how she creates an EPIC learning environment for her students. We are so glad she committed to our school district!

Fawn Nguyen is here! She is a leader in the math education and you won’t believe her opening story (she should write a book). Listen as we talk all things math including a number talk in live time!

We are back! In this episode, we talk with Pam Ertel, 3rd grade teacher at Minden Elementary, and her students about the different projects they have done this year. We loved hearing students explain their projects and how much they love making their school a better place!

In this episode, we recap the Modern Learning Conference that took place on February 24-25th in Reno. Our district had that pleasuring of co-hosting the conference with Churchill County and in this part one episode, we share highlights as well as talking with EPIc coaches and award nominees.

….at least one rumor is true. Carly, Susan and Jason are retiring at the end of the school year. There are currently two job postings for Professional Learning Specialists and if you’re curious about the work, you’ll want to listen! Please reach out to anyone in our office (Carly, Lyndsey, Susan, Jason) if you have any other questions about the jobs.

Aspire Academy High School Students are at your service! In this episode, we talk with students at AAHS about their service projects in the community and learn about their personal connections to the projects. Happy listening!

We are back at Carson Valley Middle School with Tara Auld’s 7th grade students who talk to us about their sustainability projects. Listen as they explain this project and share their solutions for how to make a more sustainable future!

You know we love a good acronym in education! In this episode, we talk with Jen Mortensen about MTSS (Multi-tiered Systems of Support) and what it looks like in our district. Listen and learn more about the tiers and structure of MTSS and as always, we end with a riveting would you rather. Happy listening!

The Professional Development Center is back for the new year! We try out a new segment called Word Sneak and we had the best time recording. We share our philosophies on New Year’s resolutions and Ins and Outs for 2025. Hopefully this episode gives you a good laugh!

Happy New Year! This week we have Miki Trujillo back on the pod. Listen as she discusses key takeaways from her latest book, Teaching and Learning in the Face of Adversity, that she co-wrote with Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey. This is a great book to start a new year and reinvigorate your teaching. It has short chapters with checklists and plenty of space to journal your thoughts. Happy listening! ✨

Listen as we chat with students in Allison Meyers’s ceramics class about their pinch pot project with Kelly McCues’s kindergarten students. Happy listening and have a relaxing holiday break!