Better Learning Podcast

The Del Mar Union School District in San Diego, California is a district of thinking, inspiration, and impact. Their students experience a high-quality instructional core defined by strong academics and superb instructional practice. They chart the course through high standards, top-performing staff, and meaningful learning experiences.  Engaging, flexible learning environments are alive with critical thinking, real-world applications to solving problems, and curiosity that is encouraged via creativity and innovation.

Dr. Holly McClurg is the Superintendent of Del Mar Union School District, a San Diego elementary school district with a mission to ignite genius and empower students to change the world. Dr. McClurg believes in the unrelenting pursuit of the extraordinary school experience and that we must seize opportunities to revolutionize the traditional school system. She embraces doing things differently and better for students to help prepare them to meet the needs of today’s world. Dr. McClurg is proud to be in DMUSD, a dynamic and forward-thinking district. She earned a Ph.D. from the University of California, Riverside, Master of Arts from Point Loma Nazarene University, and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of North Dakota. She served as a teacher, principal, director and assistant superintendent before becoming the Superintendent at DMUSD.

Jessica Morales is an educator with 21 years of experience in education. After spending 12 years in the classroom refining her instructional practices, she has continued to serve students and educators as an Assistant Principal, Principal, and Director of Curriculum and Instruction. She is passionate about innovative practices that shape the school experience to be one of relevancy, rigor, and joy. Mrs. Morales redesigns learning spaces to increase agility, enhance comfort and propel learning. She has modernized over 80 learning spaces across eight Del Mar Union School District school campuses and designed the interior spaces of Pacific Sky School.

Shelley Petersen is the Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services that oversees professional learning and district initiatives related to teaching and learning.  She has been an educator for more than 30 years and has been in the Del Mar Union School District since 2005 and her current position since 2012.  Shelley is passionate about redesigning educational structures to meet the needs of today’s students. She takes a child-centered approach to ensuring educators are equipped with skills and insights allowing them to be responsive to what students want and need.

Season 7, Episode 7 of the Better Learning Podcast

https://www.betterlearningpodcast.com/

Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com.

Lesley Woodland is an Architectural Technologist with Technical Services Branch and the coordinator of the Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) Program at Alberta Infrastructure. These roles lead her to be active in the technical and design reviews of projects, contributing to the development of design guidelines produced by the Branch and communication of Lessons Learned from POEs.

Prior working for Alberta Infrastructure, she worked as a senior technologist in the private sector on many large scale capital projects, including K-12 schools and postsecondary education facilities. Lesley is a Certified Engineering Technologist, Past-President of the Association for Learning Environments Alberta Chapter and has spoken at several national conferences on the subject of Post Occupancy Evaluations.

Season 7, Episode 1 of the Better Learning Podcast

https://www.betterlearningpodcast.com/

Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com.

Jason Boone is a former high school mathematics teacher practicing as an educational facility planner to create next generation learning environments. He has a particular interest in exploring the future of education and educational facilities. He recently facilitated a discussion with educators, architects, and planners about how our American education system came to be where it is and where it might go at the international LearningScapes conference of the Association for Learning Environments.

Jason has a deep belief that high quality educational experiences (particularly K-12 ones) are critical to students' realizing their fullest human potential, lifelong happiness, and positive contributions to society. In his current position at Dore & Whittier Architects, based in Newburyport, Massachusetts, Jason serves as an educational facility planner and Project Manager with a focus on American K-12 educational projects ensuring that the built environment effectively supports the needs of students, teachers, and communities.

In addition to these responsibilities, Jason also serves on two Executive Boards for the Association for Learning Environments (A4LE), a professional association that is partnered with the Better Learning Podcast dedicated to improving the educational experience of students across the globe by exploring the intersection of learning and place.

Season 7, Episode 12 of the Better Learning Podcast

https://www.betterlearningpodcast.com/

Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com.

Diego Barrera is an optimist who believes in the power of design to improve people’s lives. He serves as a design principal at Stantec Architecture and has over fifteen years of experience in education design. Diego creates innovative solutions for a broad range of education projects, specializing in planning, visioning, and design. As accredited learning environment planner, Diego partners with students, educators, and communities to envision the future of their educational environments.

As leader of Stantec’s Innovative Learning Environments research + benchmarking group, Diego explores approaches to creating forward-thinking educational spaces. He delivers progressive designs that respond to client's needs by implementing a comprehensive process developed through a solid understanding of the client’s vision.

Season 7, Episode 13 of the Better Learning Podcast

https://www.betterlearningpodcast.com/

Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com.

Ewan McIntosh is the founder of NoTosh, a consulting and content company with a global reputation for pioneering collaborative, human-informed approaches to the design of built environments, learning experiences and strategy. He served as strategy advisor to the Vice President of the European Commission, to several Education Cabinet Secretaries, and was retained to design and lead the most successful digital election campaign in Scotland.

The passionate and energizing tour de force behind NoTosh, Ewan is a highly-regarded keynote speaker and host, he marries intense preparatory work, has a natural capacity to listen, and dynamic presentation skills to shine a light on the opportunities schools have right now to transform their practice.

NoTosh sees a world in which people have the creative confidence to find their place in a team and achieve something bigger than they are.

Season 7, Episode 2 of the Better Learning Podcast

https://www.betterlearningpodcast.com/

Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com.

School renovation and new construction is an exciting process. When it’s done correctly, it can help students succeed in a collaborative, newly-designed 21st-century environment. It’s obviously important to create a plan to help you match your curriculum, but what is even more important is getting students involved and letting them have a voice in the decision-making process.

Bryan Byerlee is the Principal at Garden City Elementary, part of Cranston Public Schools in Cranston, Rhode Island. As a former classroom teacher, Bryan has a deeply rooted passion for creating dynamic learning experiences, engaging students, educators, and staff alike within their learning community. Bryan received a Masters of Education from Providence College, with an emphasis in Elementary and Middle School Administration/Principalship.

Michelle Carpenter is the chief strategy officer (CSO) at Natural Pod, a company focused on creating better learning environments. Michelle specializes in developing, communicating, executing, and sustaining strategic initiatives, ensuring Natural Pod thoughtfully supports students and educators within their learning environments. She is an advocate for including student voice in the design process to ensure learning spaces ahead meet them where they are, and help them reach their full potential. Michelle is also actively involved in A4LE, primarily in support of SchoolsNEXT, a student design competition for learning spaces.

Jennifer Leyva, Sr. Designer and Project Manager at Fielding International, has been designing and planning schools around the world for over 15 years of experience.  Her passion for creating healthy and engaging learning environments are exemplified in some of Fielding International’s most notable designs, including Col.legi Montserrat in Barcelona, Spain; the Academy of Holy Names in Tampa, Florida; and, at the International School of Kazan in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. Working closely with Fielding’s Design Architects, our in-house Educators, students and teachers, Jennifer ensures that school interiors function as 21st century educational spaces, allowing for maximum flexibility and variety with furniture selections, and that they are aesthetically inspiring with interior details, lighting, finishes and color selections. Her goal is to help ensure schools provide a safe place for students to be uninhibited creatively, academically, and inspired for a lifetime of learning.

Season 7, Episode 10 of the Better Learning Podcast

https://www.betterlearningpodcast.com/

Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com.

Molly Smith believes in celebrating the intersection of educational vision, community values and creative design.  She is an educational planner, facilitator, author, speaker, and AZ community member.  She is a former Principal in Charge of a southwest based architecture and engineering firm of over 100 employees; the founder of thinkSMART planning - which is an educational facility planning firm committed to the creation of learning environments that support the latest thinking in teaching and learning; and a sitting international board representative for the Association for Learning Environments – a 4000+ member organization of planners, educators, architects, and educational environment vendors.

Currently, she provides expert leadership in facility planning and programming, comprehensive master plans and strategic plans for educational facilities all over the US. Her broad-ranging experience includes facility programming, master and long-range planning, space utilization analysis, budget and financial analysis, and site selections for well over $1B of educational space over the last 20+ years. Molly has been fortunate to work nationally with a wide range of award-winning design firms and prominent educational and institutional clients creating amazing environments for teaching, learning, and working.

Season 7, Episode 9 of the Better Learning Podcast

https://www.betterlearningpodcast.com/

Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com.

Kevin J. Walsh has a passion for helping school districts achieve greater student experience goals by understanding how funding can work as a support mechanism for long-term planning. In his day to day, he incorporates intentional design into every level of project planning, trying to discover ways to make a purposeful change to the learning environment even through the most mundane types of infrastructure projects.

Personally, Kevin has a willingness to always learn and always stay curious while being dedicated to doing the right thing. His main motivation in life is to communicate what’s inside and to see the best in people while staying dedicated to his career of improving the built environment to make a lasting and positive contribution.

Season 7, Episode 3 of the Better Learning Podcast

https://www.betterlearningpodcast.com/

Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com.

Irene offers varied experience in educational and institutional facilities. Her experience in the design of academic facilities ranges from renovation to new construction. As President of IN2 Architecture, Irene is involved in all aspects of a project, including visioning, programming, master planning, schematic design, design development, construction documents and contract administration.

Irene keeps up with the latest instructional & curriculum trends in school design, ensuring her client’s buildings are designed with student success in mind. She has earned the A4LE Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to the world of educational facility design and planning, and is a A4LE Fellow.  She is also an instructor in the Advanced Academy for Educational Facility Environments, and serves on the executive committee of the Collaborative for High performance Schools (CHPS).

Season 7, Episode 5 of the Better Learning Podcast

https://www.betterlearningpodcast.com/

Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com.

Wayne is a Principal at HKS Architects, Inc. in Dallas since 2014. As the K-12 Studio Practice leader, he serves K-12 public school clients with a comprehensive knowledge and passionate determination to achieve their objectives. He brings over thirty years’ experience designing educational facilities, having led numerous planning efforts in over 20 Southern Region school districts.

Registered as an REFP in 2012, Wayne has been deeply involved in A4LE at both the Chapter and Region Board levels. He has fostered and promoted key forward-looking initiatives throughout his career, becoming WELL AP certified in 2018. His Article titled Designing for Student Wellness was published in the Fall 2019 edition of Learning By Design.

Wayne has also been an advocate of safe school design. A member of the International Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Association (ICA), he has presented at symposiums and conferences on this subject throughout the years at the request of professionals and clients.

Season 7, Episode 8 of the Better Learning Podcast

https://www.betterlearningpodcast.com/

Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com.