What Works For Me

This week Rob talks to our guest about Teacher Appreciation Week, and what she does to honor the work teachers do! You can reach our guest, Brooke, at brooke.lunak@splcwa.org To see some examples of her teacher appreciation ideas go here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13zVqznYeDMoiVw2G_x6guanvpKTazSJs?usp=sharing

This week we talk all things classroom management with Sarah Nixon. Sarah teaches 4th grade at Christ Lutheran School in Albuquerque, NM. You can reach Sarah at snixon@clsabq.com with all your classroom management questions. 

This week Mike speaks with Brenda Jank about her work with schools equipping students and teachers to thrive. Brenda is the CEO of Run Hard. Rest Well. You can reach her at: brenda@runhardrestwell.org

This week we speak with Matt Hewitt from Pathfinder Church and St. John Lutheran School in Ellisville, MO.  He's talking about his role as their Chief Operations Officer. You can contact Matt at Matt Hewitt mhewitt@pathfinderstl.org

This week we speak with Jess Koch about the religion curriculum she created for infant-4 year old children. You can see what she created here: https://www.beyondbibletimeeccurriculum.net/

This week we speak with Kristen Okabayashi and Sally Heit at Hope Lutheran in Seattle. We talk about working as a strong team to drive school enrollment. You can contact Kristen and Sally at: kokabayashi@hopeseattle.org sheit@hopeseattle.org

This week we speak with Richard Rausch about his journey from public education to becoming a Lutheran school principal. 

This week we talk to Karen Merritt about supporting students emotionally. Karen serves as the school counselor at St. Paul's in Fort Worth, TX

Serving in ministry is tough, and serving in ministry with your spouse is still tough. This week we speak with Ben and Meghan Vogel about how they support each other as they serve. You can reach Ben at bvogel@bethanyparma.com and Meghan at mvogel@bethanyparma.com

This week we talk with Dr. Julian Petzold about school safety. Dr. Julian Petzold earned his Ph. D. in Educational Leadership and conducted research on best practices in school safety.  Through his extensive research, he learned that there is a lack of school safety plans that are practical, and therefore useful.  His desire is to bring the practical side of safety to schools, early childhood cent...

This week we speak with Dave Black from Lutheran High School in Parker, CO about the use of AI in his classroom. Dave is the director of Lights Academy and a classroom teacher. Dave has some great insights in this episode! You can contact Dave with all your AI questions at: David. Black@lhsparker.org

This week we speak with Jesus Peña, 8th grade teacher, math guru, and founder of RGVDADS, a nonprofit focused on equipping fathers. RGVDADS creates opportunities for fathers in the Rio Grande Valley to network through meetups, blogs, and sharing information about fatherhood. The work Jesse is doing at St. Pauls, and his larger work in the community through RGVDADS, is such a wonderful example of s...

Mark Dressler is the Principal Pastor at St. Matthew in Stony Plain, Alberta. He joins the podcast to share his experience as a pastor who is now a principal. You can contact Mark at dressler@st-matthew.com with any questions you have about his unique role, and the great work he is doing in Stony Plain.

This week we speak with Daniel Weber, the athletic director at Central Lutheran School in New Haven, Indiana about the John Weber Memorial Basketball Tournament. This tournament is such a great witness to the power and impact God has in our lives through Lutheran education. You can reach Daniel at dgibson@cluth.org He would love to answer any questions you have about starting a tournament! He had...

This week we speak with Chris Hathaway about teaching science in a Lutheran school and his book:  No God? No Way!: A Science Teacher's Perspective on Naturalism and the Bible  You can reach out to Chris at chathaway@martinlutherhs.org and you can find his book for preorder here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CR5Q3Q1R?nodl=1&ref_=cm_sw_r_apan_dp_YHMNT84Y4DGDH796DZKD&language=en-US&dpl...

This week Rob speaks with Dr. Matthew Baxter, the director of Anchor Lutheran School in Anchorage, Alaska. They talk about the role of artificial intelligence in school, and how it can be used to make a teacher's job easier and lower the risks of burnout. If you have questions about AI in schools, you can reach Dr. Baxter at: dr.baxter@alsalaska.org

This week we speak with Ben Bauer, 6th grade teacher at Forest Hills Lutheran Christian School in Cornelius, OR about a student worship team. What a blessing! You can reach Ben at bauerb@fhlcs.org It's a fun one!

This week we talk with Dan Felten, 6th grade teacher at St. Lorenz in Frankenmuth, Michigan. Dan puts together a weekly school newscast called Spartan Social with the 8th grade students. Dan would love to answer your questions and help you do something similar at your school. You can contact Dan at dfelten@stlorenz.org, and you can view episodes of Spartan Social at https://boxcast.tv/channel/tmpq...

This week a student reads the Christmas story from Luke 2. What a blessing! Merry Christmas!

How many animals are in your classroom? If you are Mandy Liddle, the answer is a bunch! Salmon, sturgeon, and snakes! Oh my! Mandy Liddle is the Environmental Education Director at St. Lorenz in Frankenmuth, Michigan. Mandy has such a heart for her work, and is doing great things sharing the wonders of creation with her students. You can reach Mandy at mliddle@stlorenz.org. She is a wealth of info...

This week we speak with Trevor Timm, principal at Our Redeemer in Wauwatosa, WI about the ways he builds relationships and supports a wonderful school culture. What does a big Bluetooth speaker have to do with school culture? Listen to find out! You can contact Trevor at trevor.timm@orlctosa.org to learn more about the great work he is doing. He may even share a playlist with you!

This week we speak with Ann Henny about her role in preparing music for worship, specifically around the season of Advent. Ann is the director of worship arts at Christ Church in Norfolk, Nebraska. You can contact Ann at ahenny@clnorfolk.org to ask her about anything worship arts related. It was great to have Ann on this week! You can hear the music of Christ Church at this link: https://church.cl...

This week we speak with Stacy Montagu about her role as the administrative assistant at Bethany Lutheran School in Parma, Ohio. Stacey has much to share about her role, and how she equips herself to better serve others. You can reach her at smontagu@bethanyparma.com She would be happy to speak with you about what she does!

This week we speak with Sheri Juszczak from Peace Lutheran School in Bremerton, WA about the awesome work her school is doing with STEM! Sheri is the 8th grade teacher and STEM extraordinaire. You can contact Sheri at sjuszczak@plsbremerton.org She would love to hear from you, and share what she knows (which is a whole lot!)

This week we talk with Michael Zeddies about how he writes devotions, and how he has turned those devotions into a book titled: Devotions from the Roads of Michigan: Meditations for Christian Classroom Teachers and Others Who Wander Michael teaches 6th grade at St. Lorenz in Frankenmuth, MI. You can reach Michael at mzeddies@stlorenz.org You can find his book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Devo...