Field Trip Podcast

From lunch-and-learns and chat-and-chews to food trucks and taking events out into the community, Hatboro-Horsham High School principal Dennis Williams means it when he says he wants to hear from parents. In this podcast, he shares how they’re working to get parents more engaged in the school lives of their students:

Also recommended:

In our interview, we asked Bruce Chaffin about:

More Resources

Picture what happens happen when every staff member in your school or district – from substitutes to the superintendent – can articulate exactly how they are connected to your educational mission. When students have a genuine voice in their learning. When everyone feels heard and has ownership in education.

That’s what Mountain Brook Schools in Birmingham, Alabama set their sights on.

Director of Instruction Missy Brooks and junior high principal Donald Clayton share why they were surprised when they asked students if they felt listened to or not, and what they did in response:

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Kutztown Area School District needed more teachers. So along with several other districts, they offered education majors at nearby Kutztown University the chance to spend time in classrooms — at least 30 hours a year, starting as freshmen.

The goal? A source of amazing, well-trained teachers ready to hire upon graduation. But in the process, they uncovered another gem: the program is tremendously beneficial to teachers as well.

Superintendent George Fiore, high school math teacher Shaylon Krautwald, and Kutztown University education major Georgia Lobb give the details.

More to explore

As the population of English learners grows across the country, Brazosport ISD in Texas is using restorative practices to support ELs’ growth in language, connect them to differing perspectives, and address behavioral issues.

In this interview with Grace Delgado, the Director of Language Acquisition and Lorin Furlow, the Director of Special Services, they dive into:

For Further Reading

Field Trip is a podcast from Frontline Education.

(Rebroadcast)

This week at Insights Summit 2019, our guests Nick Indeglio and Jon Ross are two of our keynote speakers. To celebrate, we're taking another listen to this episode of Field Trip from 2018.

Being a principal can be isolating. Here’s how two principals began to use podcasting, blogging and social media to connect with colleagues around the world — and the impact it had on their schools.

Nick Indeglio and Jon Ross are principals at Downingtown Area School District in Pennsylvania. While carpooling, they would often have conversations about their jobs — being instructional leaders, leading a building, and the impact being principals had on their lives and marriages. Those conversations eventually turned into a regular podcast: The Rock Star Principals.

Our conversation with Nick and Jon looks at how principals and other education leaders are using technology to share new ideas, serve their teachers and staff, and implement world-rocking strategies in their schools.

Field Trip is a podcast from Frontline Education.

“If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” That decidedly was not the refrain when teachers, staff, students and administration at Halifax County High School set out on a journey to re-imagine their school.

They weren’t facing glaring problems of practice. Rather, they looked at their 21st century world and asked the question, “How can we better equip our students for life in today’s world?” Then, they used design thinking to collect input from all involved parties and put ideas into action.

In this interview with principal Michael Lewis and Dr. Karen Sanzo from Old Dominion University, we explore what design thinking looks like in the education world, and the exciting outcomes that can result. We talk about building a team, getting teacher buy-in, empathy research and collecting input from students. And we find out what they’ve learned through the process.

When April Strong started teaching, she wanted to be the best. But it wasn’t until she started filming her own lessons and watching them back later at night that she was able to see exactly what she wanted to change about her practice.

It was nerve-wracking at first, but over time, April began to love the growth that came from self-reflecting on her videos. “Any serious athlete watches footage of their performances — why not teachers, too?” she asks.

In this interview, April shares why video is such a compelling self-reflection and coaching tool, and how she is using video to support teachers at Martin County School District in Florida, where she is now an instructional coach. And she has practical, simple steps to take for any school that is interested in taking the first step toward using video to support professional learning.

Also, check out our interview with Dr. Jim Knight about using video to support teaching and instructional coaching in our podcast episode, “See Reality, Get Better.”

Further Reading

For more on this topic, check out this white paper: “Ten Strategies to Improve Teaching with Video.” It includes:

Graham Local Schools is a small, rural district in Ohio. Yet it’s found a way to offer progressive professional learning that’s making a difference in teachers’ and students’ lives.

In this interview, Superintendent Kirk Koennecke discusses how Graham Local Schools is building community relationships, offering innovative opportunities for students, and providing the kind of personalized professional learning that teachers are asking for.

Further Reading:

Ever find yourself staring at a blank sheet of paper (metaphorical or otherwise) as you strategize how to provide teachers with the kind of learning opportunities they need? Then here’s some gasoline for your mental engine. 3 districts, 3 success stories, 3 sources of inspiration to get your motor going: Design thinking. Leadership development. Risk-taking that pays off. Measurable impact. See innovation in action with our eBook “Rock Star PD.”

Field Trip is a podcast from Frontline Education.

Teachers entering the workforce today are different from those who entered the profession a few decades ago: the perception of teaching as a career has changed. Millennials starting their careers have different priorities from those in other generations. And in many areas of the country, competition is fierce for qualified teachers.

Field Guide: Recruiting Millennial Teachers

Men and women in their 20’s and 30’s are making up an ever-increasing portion of the workforce. Are you fully prepared to attract them to your school or district? In this field guide, you’ll learn how to effectively market your job openings to prospective teachers, and strategies for enriching your applicant pool through online recruiting. Download it today!