Scott Bess is the Founder and former CEO of Purdue Polytechnic High Schools, which has quadrupled the annual number of underrepresented minority students from Indianapolis who attend Purdue University. Prior, Scott was President of Goodwill Education and developed the Excel Center to create opportunities for high school dropouts to attain a high school diploma, which now serves over 9,000 students across the US. He was appointed to the Indiana State Board of Education by Indiana’s Governor and serves on multiple boards related to education. Scott lives in Indiana with his wife, Robin, and enjoys time with his four adult children and five grandchildren.

Scott shares his journey of launching Purdue Polytechnic and how he was asked by former Indiana governor and Purdue president Mitch Daniels to lead the charge. The shared concern was the issue with underrepresentation of students of color at Purdue University. Scott asked if he had the greenlight to fundamentally re-design the high school experience to achieve a radically different outcome, especially for students that are traditionally underrepresented. And, with this goal in mind, Scott set out to build Purdue Polytechnic. His thesis was rather than waiting for the K-12 system to change, that they would create a pipeline for Purdue. His vision was always to create a project-based learning environment for high school students with community involvement. He ran into many obstacles around the current system, but continued to navigate through these challenges with the vision in mind. 

Scott shares how the essence of the school has stayed the same over its 8 years. When graduates are asked what their biggest take away from their time at the school is that they learned to fail. They focus on the skills students will need rather than the dense content, while also maintaining the parts of school that kids love like the extracurricular activities. Scott is also advocating for policy change around diploma requirements in Indiana as a state board member. 

Throughout this episode you will learn about Scott’s school AND what is possible when you follow a vision and a belief that comes from the depths of your heart. Scott is the embodiment of service and keeping to a vision that is pulling him in spite of all of the challenges of going against the status quo. I hope you find him as inspiring as he is a model education changemaker! 

Where to find him on social media:

Twitter (X) - https://twitter.com/scottbessindy

Threads - [email protected]

David’s mission is to reach as many education changemakers as possible to help them be the changemaker they have always desired to be. If you feel moved by his mission, please go and rate and review the podcast or share with a friend. 

David begins today’s episode with a short guided practice to get you centered as he hopes that you can listen from your heart today. He shares his experience navigating change from the limitations of fear vs. the expansion of your heart. He speaks to the importance of locating where you are coming from with your changemaking goals. If you are coming from a place of fear, you will create more suffering. If you are coming from a place of love and from the desires of your heart to serve, you will see that things start to flow and come together seamlessly. 

Find time to slow yourself down and gain clarity about what your role is in creating change in education. We spend some much time in our lives in our survival mode that we can’t connect as clearly with the truth within us. Fear guides us subconsciously and it is not our fault as this is the way we are wired. You can look fear in the eye and stop fighting with it, and instead loving it. This will allow you to overcome the obstacles that are blocking you from your changemaking dreams. 

David shares the importance of getting to the root issues of your fears so that you can see the path clearly and navigate the challenges. He tells a personal story about his deep fears launching his school and how difficult it was to work through that. As you begin to follow your heart AND befriend your fear, you see the pathway open up to create the needed change you want to bring into the world to make education better. David closes by asking you to reflect on this question: what is your role to create the best experience for our kids? 

He invites you to join him in the grassroots movement! 

Email David today at [email protected] if you want to join the movement. 

Websites:

https://www.davidkrichards.com/

https://www.growthps.org/

David speaks with Jethro Jones who is a national award-winning former school leader, podcaster, and author of the books How to be a Transformative Principal and SchoolX: How principals can design a transformative school experience for the people right in front of them! He is also founder of the BE Podcast Network, the best educational podcast network out there. Jethro currently consults school leaders on strategies to help them save time, lead more effectively, and overcome their own weaknesses. Jethro has worked as a principal at all K-12 levels, including a prison school, a district coach, distance learning team lead, and English teacher. 

This episode focuses on his work with positive intelligence. Jethro speaks to his own personal experience learning how to understand his saboteurs and how to use them to navigate his life as an education changemaker. You will learn how Jethro is hyper aware of when the saboteurs like the victim, the judge, and avoider (there are 10 total) show up in his daily life. He uses strategies from positive intelligence to shift from the victim mindset of the saboteurs into the sage perspective. From here, he can make clear and powerful choices. 

David discusses how his work with psychologist Dr. Shefali Tsabary and knowing your inner child is very similar to the positive intelligence approach. They both agree that being aware of your feelings and how to shift your mind from limitations to positive opportunities is a life changing experience. 

As an education changemaker, you will face many challenges and listening to Jethro speak of how he uses this approach to navigate the many obstacles of creating change can help you bring some of your ideas to fruition. You have the power to create change. As you begin to do the inner work and get clear on what is holding you back, you build your confidence to unleash the highest version of your changemaking self. 

Resources he shared:

• https://www.positiveintelligence.com/
• Book: The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change Your Life, and Achieve Real Happiness by Fumitake Koga and Ichiro Kishimi
• Book: What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing by Oprah Winfrey and Bruce D. Perry

You can learn more about Jethro on his website: https://jethrojones.com/coach 

Where to find him on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jethrojones

Instagram: https://instagram.com/jethrojones

David’s mission is to reach as many education changemakers as possible to help them be the changemaker they have always desired to be. If you feel moved by his mission, please go and rate and review the podcast or share with a friend. 

David took a courageous step to re-release an episode from his previous podcast. Please forgive the audio quality. The message is so raw and authentic that David is asking that you feel his words, despite the audio distractions. This was a powerful moment in David’s life where he publicly shared a traumatic experience from his childhood around abuse and abandonment. He held this shame and fear within his body for more than 32 years. Through his healing journey, he can work with this part of himself and live a life of flow and peace. 

David decided to release this again almost 3 years later because this was a really special unedited conversation with him about taking the quantum leap to surrender to something bigger than himself. For a long time, due to life challenges and a feeling of unworthiness, David lived life through his false self. He shares his experiences leading up to finding his authentic self and “jumping off the cliff” to find his calling and create a school. David shares his experience to help inspire others to pursue your passion. “If you’re willing to do the work, your life will never be the same.”

I think this episode will touch your heart as you listen to David share his journey from living through his false sense to gaining clarity and learning to live authentically. He shares some memorable one liners that summarizes the episode well: “The universe will present signs that you are operating in your false self.” When you feel self doubt, go within and tell yourself that nobody holds the key to your worthiness. It’s all within you.” “When you get yourself on your authentic path, the universe delivers.”

We hope you enjoy this episode that helps wake up part of you that wants to live authentically. 

David would like to hear how the episode landed for you. Email him at [email protected] to share your feedback. 

In this solo episode, David shares his vision for Changemaker ED”U”. He describes his process for coming to this place of clarity around moving in the direction of building an education changemaker hub. In the process he shares powerful advice about how to find your calling for creating change in the education space. What wants to come through you? Don’t let the limitations of the egoic mind talk you out of your soul’s mission. We all have a purpose that wants to come to life. This episode is for those of you that want to catch what you already know to be true deep within your heart. 

David shares his own personal journey of launching Growth Public Schools and how he took a courageous leap to follow his truth even though it was not logical. He shares his vision for a grassroots movement of people just like you coming together to create change one person at a time, and doing it in community. 

You can feel David’s passion for change and his desire to take action. We all have this within us and we are learning how to trust that deep knowing. This episode will inspire you to connect with your changemaking flame and begin to see more clearly where you fit in all of this. 

Whatever your mission is, it is massively important because we all have our part. Whether it is homeschooling your own child, launching a micro school, or an after school program, it is time for you to trust that knowing and move forward even in a small way. This is David’s purpose - to help changemakers like you bring your dreams to reality. As he inspires more and more people to share their passion for education change, he dreams of a ripple effect that will create change for our kids across the world. 

He invites you to join him in the grassroots movement! 

Email David today at [email protected] if you want to join the movement. 

Websites:

https://www.davidkrichards.com/

https://www.growthps.org/

In today’s episode, David has a great conversation with Danielle Nuhfer who believes that “well schools will change the world.” And part of how this change will happen is through educators, school leaders, and school systems prioritizing mindfulness and self-care. 

We discuss what inspired her to start the Teaching Well which is dedicated to helping schools increase teacher retention and student outcomes by prioritizing wellness. Danielle shares her vision for how to help teachers and schools prioritize wellness. 

Danielle is the author of The Path of the Mindful Teacher which chronicles her own journey of burnout and how she found a mindfulness practice that transformed her from the inside out. In this episode, she speaks candidly and personally about her own journey as a teacher dealing with exhaustion and burnout, and how mindfulness and her own courage catapulted her forward. As a result, she is committed to sharing her story and helping others that are going through a similar situation. 

Danielle passionately partners with like-minded school districts and works with teachers and students through professional development facilitation, online courses, and one-on-one school wellness coaching.

Danielle is a mindful education warrior with a powerful perspective on how we can create better schools for all. 

David’s mission is to reach as many education changemakers as possible to help them be the changemaker they have always desired to be. If you feel moved by his mission, please go and rate and review the podcast or share with a friend.

David starts this solo episode by inviting you to pause and take a breath with him and be in gratitude for your own growth journey. 

This episode focuses on trust within yourself. We have been taught to not trust ourselves, and trust things on the outside. We are not taught to trust that deep knowing within ourselves. We are constantly searching for external validation from our boss or coach, or partner, or others. 

We need to learn how to trust ourselves and our own feelings, senses, and intuition. That way, when someone shares your gifts and your strengths with you, it feels right because you are already fully aware of who you are. You don’t actually need their validation because you love yourself. 

Do you follow through on the feelings or intuition you have in certain areas of your life? Many of us don’t. Following through on the whispers of your heart will change your life. Be your own coach. See the greatness within you that David sees in you when he coaches you. And, act on it. This combination is powerfully effective. 

At times, we talk ourselves out of these intuitive feelings because we use the analytical mind. Try to trust the feeling and act on it, wherever it may lead you. Try not to let your logical mind override your knowing and trust the inner knowing of your soul. It is hard to trust ourselves, but you can do it with practice, just like any skill. 

When you start to practice this trust regularly and act on it, your life opens up and it is simply amazing! This practice will begin to let the part of you that wants to share the truth with you open up and you gain courage, confidence and clarity. Trust the feeling in your heart and the whispers in your soul. You deserve it. 

David’s mission is to reach as many education changemakers as possible to help them be the changemaker they have always desired to be. If you feel moved by his mission, please go and rate and review the podcast or share with a friend.

David has a great conversation with Dr. Tyler Hester who is currently the founder of Educators Thriving and also a vice principal in Richmond, CA. Previously, Tyler worked for the U.S. Department of Education, the Obama presidential campaign, was a classroom teacher, and a leader at Teach for America. Tyler has an undergraduate degree from Stanford, a Masters from Cambridge, and a Doctorate from Harvard. 

They discuss Tyler’s educational journey and how he launched Educators Thriving and his belief and commitment to creating education change. Many of us can relate to his story of wanting to create lasting and transformative change and all the challenges that come along with this commitment as an education changemaker. His commitment to changemaking led him to work on the problem of educator burnout. 

He shares how he learned that there are predictable personal challenges that we face as educators, yet we don’t have systems and a culture that systematically works toward solving this. As such, Tyler created Educators Thriving. It started with a book he was working on that is provisionally titled Don’t Be Miserable in October. It was through his research project at Harvard that he was inspired to work towards creating change around this core issue. 

Educators Thriving works to supplant professional development with personal development. He quickly started to see that there is a hunger for personal development and well being in education. He believes that by applying the sound research around well being, we can create lasting change. After realizing that so many educators had teachers that were burning out, he committed to bringing this program to as many educators as possible. He has an inspiring story and an amazing vision that he shares during this episode. 

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To learn more about Tyler (and his doctoral capstone) as he mentioned or Educators Thriving check out this website: https://www.educatorsthriving.org/ 

David’s mission is to reach as many education changemakers as possible to help them be the changemaker they have always desired to be. If you feel moved by his mission, please go and rate and review the podcast or share with a friend. 

David starts this solo episode by inviting you to pause and take a breath with him and envision your happy place to bring calm and peace to your day. This helps you calm your mind, body, and spirit. 

This episode focuses on self awareness from an emotional intelligence and mindfulness perspective. From a mindfulness lens, connect with that part of you that is limitless and boundless and live your life from there. Catch that feeling of expansiveness. 

When you can live in this place on a daily basis, you can begin to gain clarity about your life. Create the stillness within through whatever practices work best for you. As you master mindfulness, you begin to improve your overall emotional intelligence (EQ) skills, especially self awareness. 

David shares how mastering EQ is a key to excellent leadership from his experience as a leader. Get to know yourself incredibly well, get clear on your psychological self, and what makes you tick, AND also get to know the part of you that is bigger than yourself. When you can master both of these, you find the winning combination of the practicalities of EQ and the timeless and boundless connection to the flow of life and something much bigger than you. 

David closes by sharing about self awareness as a key to self leadership. The best leaders inspire. And it is important that you can inspire and lead yourself before you can lead others successfully. Mastering self awareness allows you to become a great leader because you lead yourself effectively. This translates to all other areas of your life. 

David’s mission is to reach as many education changemakers as possible to help them be the changemaker they have always desired to be. If you feel moved by his mission, please go and rate and review the podcast or share with a friend.

Lindsay Kobolt currently serves as the Director of Counseling and Community Well-Being at Pembroke Hill School in Kansas City Missouri. Lindsay is passionate about advocating for well-being initiatives in school systems. When the challenges of parenting, being an educator and striving for excellence became overwhelming, Lindsay found her way to mindfulness.

David and Lindsay have a great conversation about doing your own work on yourself to be a better educator. Lindsay shares her first hand experience of getting counseling for herself to be a better counselor. She took this concept and applied it to all aspects of her life. She began to heal within herself and find mindfulness as a tool to show up more whole for her school community. 

In this episode you will learn: 

• How you show up for yourself directly influences how you serve your community 
• How to deconstruct the belief that taking care of yourself is selfish and bad
• The benefits of simple mindfulness practices in all aspects of your life
• Ways to release the burden and pressure on yourself to be perfect and always available for others
• How mindfulness practices take time and the need to stay consistent and patient
• Ways to let go of the “shoulds”
• Simple ways to embody self compassion practices 
• Tips for dealing with your inner critic 
• How to meet each day with love and curiosity 

You can find Lindsay on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsay-kobolt-310a6a238/

David’s mission is to reach as many education changemakers as possible to help them be the changemaker they have always desired to be. If you feel moved by his mission, please go and rate and review the podcast or share with a friend.