8 with 8

Everywhere we look in education, we see the term "curriculum" - especially "the general curriculum" as it relates to students with disabilities. It even features prominently in IDEA. But what exactly do we mean by curriculum? Not everyone uses this word the same way. What if we thought differently about exactly what we’re giving access to - and how we go about doing it? In this episode, we welcome special guest Shawna Benson. Shawna is the Program Director for the Center for Teaching Diverse Learners at OCALI. Shawna will talk with SST8's Dee Dee Howes about how we can reset our understanding of curriculum, to transform teaching and learning for students with disabilities. 

Co-Host: Dee Dee Howes, SST8 Educational Consultant

About Our Guest: Shawna Benson is the Program Director at the Center for Teaching Diverse Learners at OCALI (Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence.) She has held this position for 13 years and before that, Ms. Benson served as an Associate Professor and Program Director of the Disability Center at Urbana University. 

Additional Resource

http://LiteracyAccessforAll.org (log-in required to access resources)

What is one thing all teachers do with all students? All teachers give assessments to check for student understanding! From formative checks to state-wide tests, it’s something we, as educators, all do. The hard part is figuring out if you’re getting a true picture of what each student knows and can do. As we continue our season on resetting and restarting education for students with disabilities, it is more important than ever to ensure that assessments of all types are truly designed to be accessible to students with disabilities - meaning that nothing about their disability gets in the way of them showing what what they are capable of. And that means that we, as educators, have to be creative and flexible.

Co-hosts: Tracy Mail, Educational Consultant, SST8 and Cherie Smith, Educational Consultant, SST6 

Click here to download this episode's Resource Guide

How do we address unfinished learning that exists for students with diverse needs? We can't possibly cover everything so what do we do? Listen in to learn how you can use the three easy to remember steps of "Weed, Feed, and Seed" to prioritize, target, & deliver instruction to meaningfully address gaps in learning!

Co-Hosts: Dee Dee Howes and Stacey Smith, SST8 Educational Consultants

Additional Resources

Addressing Unfinished Learning After COVID-19 School Closures (article, Council of Great City Schools, June 2020

How do you support the establishment of an inclusive community to support the needs of students who receive special education services? Join us to hear 8 strategies for promoting a positive and inclusive school climate; one in which all staff believe that in order to meet the needs of ALL students, it’s necessary to meet the needs of EACH student.

Co-Hosts: Stephanie Denham*, former SST8 Educational Consultant and Stacey Smith, current SST8 Educational Consultant

Additional Resources:

*Just after recording the first few episodes of Season 4, Stephanie took a position at another organization in Northeast Ohio. We already miss her perspective, knowledge, and humor, but of course we are excited to see her continuing to find new ways to serve the students and educators of northeast Ohio. Best wishes to Stephanie in her new adventure, and we look forward to introducing some new team members to you in the coming months!

This is our first episode of season 4 of 8 with 8, and for the next eight episodes we’ll be focusing on strategies school leaders and educators can use to push the reset button and re-focus ourselves around effective strategies for meeting the needs of students with disabilities. To help us, we have been revisiting ODE's Reset and Restart guide, particularly the section on Additional Considerations for Special Education. Today we’re starting from a Leadership and Administration focus and we're going to talk about collective responsibility - a powerful strategy that can be particularly impactful for diverse learners.

Co-Hosts: Jenine Sansosti, SST8 Director and Stephanie Denham*, former SST8 Educational Consultant

*Just after recording the first few episodes of Season 4, Stephanie took a position at another organization in Northeast Ohio. We already miss her perspective, knowledge, and humor, but of course we are excited to see her continuing to find new ways to serve the students and educators of northeast Ohio. Best wishes to Stephanie in her new adventure, and we look forward to introducing some new team members to you in the coming months!

The circumstances of the 2020-2021 school year offered many opportunities for innovation and new ways of delivering learning, and in many ways our field has grown stronger as a result. But nevertheless, we are starting to see in statewide data that some students have experienced significant learning losses as a result of the pandemic, especially among vulnerable student populations - including students with disabilities.

But there is good reason to be hopeful. There are powerful and evidence-based solutions for so many of these challenges our students face! For that reason, SST8 is kicking off the podcast this year by reflecting upon ways that we can intentionally reset and restart education once more. Join us this season on 8 with 8, as we refresh our expectations and strategies around leadership, school climate, curriculum, instruction, and assessment, family engagement, and college and career readiness. We will bring you some bite-size episodes, with quick and actionable ideas. We will also have some interviews with some amazing leaders who have taken this challenging season as an opportunity to dig even deeper into utilizing evidence-based and creative strategies for supporting diverse learners. As always, we’re here with you every step of the way.  Enjoy the rest of your summer and we’ll meet you back here on August 13th, at 8 with 8!

This is the last episode of Season 3, which we have called Learning through Leadership. It has been an incredible journey through the histories and insights of some of our very favorite educational leaders - including some of our great colleagues in region 8, outstanding leaders at the state level, and even international speaker and author Dr. Peter DeWitt. Join us today as SST8 consultants Denise Ward and Chris Ferrell take stock of these conversations and highlight some of the most impactful takeaways. 

Thank you for joining us this year as we have learned our way through this new podcast endeavor. It has truly been a labor of love and a full team effort. We’ll be taking some time off this summer to rest and recharge, and we hope that you do as well.  See you in the new school year!

8 with 8 Production Credits

Editor/Producer: Christian Kerchenski

Graphic Design: Savannah Evans

Technical Advisor: Matthew Ferrell

8 with 8 Advisory Team (AKA “brain trust"): Stephanie Denham, Christine Ferrell, and Heidi Kerchenski. 

Lead Host: Jenine Sansosti

Co-Hosts: SST8 Educational Consultants

This week, 8 with 8 brings you a fun and wide-ranging discussion with Joe Iacano, Superintendent of the Summit Educational Service Center (Summit ESC). Most of us know Joe as a supportive educational leader who has been in the field for more than 40 years of experience in education, and in a wide range of leadership roles. His current leadership role at Summit ESC affords a unique perspective across many types of districts, leadership styles, and local needs. In this interview, Joe shares his Learning through Leadership journey, including his thoughts on the biggest priority needs of the day, why it's important for new leaders to reflect on the "why" behind the actions of those they serve, and his rockstar hobby that helps him chill out and recharge.

Co-hosts: Jenine Sansosti, SST8 Director and Janelle Schuler, SST8 Assistant Director

Musical credit: Texas Twister, original song by Joseph Iacano. Did you know that Joe is a guitar-playing, songwriting, international recording artist? Check out on Spotify (search for artist Joseph Iacano)

Additional Resources

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't, by Jim Collins (book | e-book)

We’re continuing our “Learning through Leadership” journey today as our own Denise Ward talks to Superintendent Melvin Brown about his own leadership journey. Melvin is currently the Superintendent of Reynoldsburg City Schools, which is just outside of Columbus. Our colleagues in Region 8 may remember Melvin from his time as Deputy Superintendent of Cuyahoga Falls City Schools. In today’s episode, Ieading with passion is a recurring theme: listeners will clearly hear how passionate Melvin is about doing what is best for children, how he builds a network of connections with leaders who inspire him, and how emerging leaders should seek new opportunities that align with their own professional passions. 

Co-host: Denise Ward, Educational Consultant

Additional Resources

Caste by Isabel Wilkerson (book | audiobook)

Check out some of Melvin's favorite leading thinkers and speakers, including Dena Simmons, Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., and Wes Moore

Why would a student-focused leader choose the word "ME" as her word of the year? Join us this week to find out, as SST8 consultants Debbie Theirl and Chris Ferrell catch up with Aireane Curtis, Superintendent of Windham Exempted Village Schools. She has held a wide range of educational consulting roles and leadership experiences in Northeast Ohio, which prepared her for her current position. In this episode, Aireane shares her thoughts on prioritizes district decisions, self care, and support network tips - her one treat that she can't resist!

Co-Hosts: Debbie Theirl and Chris Ferrell, Educational Consultants

Additional Resources

Leadership Freak by Dan Rockwell (Blog)

No Pain, No Gaines by Chip Gaines (Book | Audiobook)

Off Balance by Matthew Kelly (Book | Audiobook)