FocusED

Don Parker Brings a Tons of Experience to FocusED Listeners

Dr. Don Parker is a transformational keynote speaker and professional development provider. He specializes in SEL, supporting teachers to build trusting relationships with students, restorative practices, trauma-informed practices, and improving the culture and climate of schools to enhance students’ and teachers’ feeling of belonging.

Dr. Parker is a former principal and served at Posen School in Posen, IL where he improved the school climate, staff collaboration, parent engagement, and student achievement. Before that he was the principal of Lincoln Avenue School, a K-8 school in Dolton, IL, where he improved the culture, implemented a resilience program, managed the implementation of restorative justice, and increased attendance and student achievement.

Dr. Parker is the author of the book Building Bridges: Engaging Students At-Risk Through the Power of Relationships and Be the Driving Force: Leading Your School on the Road to Equity. Follow Dr. Don Parker on Twitter: @DrDonParker1. _________________________________________

FocusED Show Notes with Don Parker Don starts with the fact that equity issues aren’t new. The achievement gap has been static for too long. Don says that leaders are driving this work or pumping the brakes.

Don says that equity work starts at the top.

Don talks about the fact that people will follow a person before they follow a cause.

Don’t miss what he says about sharing data to create a sense of urgency. We need to take an honest look at our practices and start the conversation with empathy.

Don talked about the fact that 72% of students feel that they need social and emotional support but don’t get it.

We need to take an inventory of our academic supports to ensure that we’re reaching all students.

Don says that we often make assumptions about the community and what they need, but the better strategy is to ask them. Are our family engagement and education strategies targeting what the community needs?

Dr. Parker says that we need to use surveys more often to gather information about what our families want from the school, maybe there’s something they think we should be providing that we’re (even though we can).

His story about a family who had a food-deficit is inspirational.

If Don could improve every school, he would make sure every student felt valued in the school environment. His water bottle analogy is incredible.

Don talks about strategies to create belonging and says that it’s not rocket science.

“99% of education is encouragement.” ~ Don Parker

Don tells our audience to listen to podcasts, go to conferences, and read books. He names Anthony Muhammad’s book, Transforming School Culture.

Joe asked if anyone outside of education inspired Don, and he pointed to a touching story about his uncle.

Don mentions the leadership of Barack Obama and overcoming seemingly impossible challenges. Find out what Don believes are the skills that Obama used to be successful.

He wants to see more on the topic of educator empathy…how to be more empathetic for the sake of our students. We came up with this title for a future book, The Empathetic Educator.

As final words, Don talked about the professional development that he’s doing around the country and how he helps educators to work better with students who have trauma in their lives.

This is Episode 52 of FocusED, and it features our guest, Sam Crome. It was originally recorded in front of a live audience in Delaware, provided as a professional development experience in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Education, Wilmington University, and The School House 302. Don’t miss what Sam Crome says about the power of teams, creating and leading thriving school cultures, and so much more. _________________________________________

Sam Crome Brings a Tons of Experience to FocusED Listeners

Sam Crome is a school leader, currently a Deputy Headteacher and Director of Education for a Multi Academy Trust in Surrey. He has been a Head of Year, Head of Department, Head of Sixth Form, lead Teaching and Learning, and most recently lead pastoral teams across a secondary school.

For the last few years, Sam has studied high-performing teams, trying to better understand how teams can become more than the sum of their parts. He regularly blogs, speaks, and works with schools regarding their teams, helping educators to maximize their effectiveness.

He remains convinced that this is an area that needs more attention and exploration. Sam is an accredited coach and loves working with coaches to help them realize their potential and make strides towards their career goals.

He’s the author of The Power of Teams: How to create and lead thriving school teams. _________________________________________

FocusED Show Notes with Sam Crome

Sam saw a lot of competition in the world of education, not necessarily using teamwork, which is why he wrote the book.

Here’s what Sam wants to know: how do a group of people come together to seamlessly strive toward a common goal?

Sam talks about learning to coach and the impact that the process had on his work with leaders. The form of coaching that he mentions is “non-directive.”

Don’t miss what he says about his former self in terms of his past perspective on teams and what he believes now.

We ask Sam about what makes for a great team and how to lead a team. You’ll want to hear this.

He describes a “team debrief” as a critical aspect of teamwork. We discussed the need for Before Action Reviews and After Action Reviews.

Sam talked about the reasons why teams aren’t effective.

He mentions a simple remedy to team meetings: planning. We talked about this with Dr. Liz City.

Don’t miss him describe his BIG secret--start every meeting with a short burst of learning. Plus, this should be enjoyable and not too sensitive.

Teams have to believe that what they say they’re going to do at the meeting is what they actually do after the meetings. This means that the leader has to start meetings with an update about what has happened since the last meeting.

Sam talks about accountability from the leader for the people who attend meetings.

The survey data that he talks about is incredible.

Sam talks about the ResearchED Network and getting so much value from that group.

We asked Sam about what he would do to support the student experience, and he talked about a disruptive-free learning zone. Students need safety and belonging for learning to take place Related School Leadership Content Based on This Show

We wrote about teams in an early blog. Check it out and comment on the site.

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Thanks for listening to FocusED, an educational leadership podcast brought to you by TheSchoolHouse302 @ theschoolhouse302.com where we publish free leadership content. Go to the site, subscribe, and you’ll get all of our content sent directly to your email.

This is Episode 51 of FocusED, and it features our guest, William Parker. It was originally recorded in front of a live audience in Delaware, provided as a professional development experience in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Education, Wilmington University, and The School House 302. Don’t miss what Will Parker says about effective school leadership, motivation in schools, taking action as a school leader, and so much more.

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William Parker Brings a Tons of Experience to FocusED Listeners William D. Parker is the Founder of Principal Matters. He’s an educator, author, speaker, and executive coach who uses his expertise in school culture, leadership, and communication to equip educators with solutions and strategies for motivating students, inspiring teachers, and reaching communities.

An Oklahoma educator since 1993, he was named Broken Arrow Public School’s South Intermediate High School Teacher of the Year in 1998. He became an assistant principal in 2004 and was named the Oklahoma Assistant Principal of the Year by the National Association of Secondary Principals in 2012.

As principal of a Title I school, his school’s innovative approaches to collaboration, remediation, and mentoring resulted in marked improvements in student performance.

For six years, he served as the executive director of Oklahoma’s Association of Secondary Principals and the Oklahoma Middle-Level Education Association. As founder of Principal Matters, he provides virtual leadership academies, masterminds, executive coaching, and keynote presentations to equip and inspire educators.

His podcast, Principal Matters: The School Leader's Podcast, has more than 1 million downloads with more than 360 episodes available. He’s the author of Principal Matters, Messaging Matters, and Pause. Breathe. Flourish. _________________________________________

FocusED Show Notes with William Parker Will starts with a vulnerable story about his second year as a school leader and almost not making it because of the practically impossible nature of it. Don’t miss the part about the letter that he wrote to himself.

Will dives into the importance of self-care. If the leader runs out of energy, there’s no capacity to continue.

We talk about habits, and lowering the bars of resistance. TJ asks about decision-making fatigue.

Don’t miss what Will says about asking for help and networking (borrowing ideas).

You’ll love the story about the composer, and his response to preparing for a season of hard work.

His insight about “the capacity to sustain” is important for new leaders.

Joe asks about mindset and perspective, and Will responds with the dynamics of overcoming skill and will problems.

“Who else can I reach out to for help in this area.” This is a prompt that Will uses when he’s reaching his limit.

“One rake at a time.” This is a saying that Will uses to ensure that he’s taking small steps forward.

Will brings up Harry Wongs’ First Days of School as a go-to for every teacher every year.

Will tells us that he takes a ton of leadership lessons from The Lord of the Rings.

Joe digs deeper into instructional leadership books, and Will calls to attention Transforming School Culture by Anthony Muhammad. He also talks about Jimmy Casas’ book Culturize.

Will mentions Hidden Brain and Guy Kawasaki’s podcasts as important to him for learning.

Don’t miss Will’s reflection questions for when he reads and learns.

Will ends with two contradictory statements that are both true. You are less important than you think you are. You matter more than you think. You want to hear what he means by this.

Dr. Todd B. Kashdan Ph.D. is a Professor of Psychology at George Mason University, a leading authority on well-being, psychological flexibility, curiosity, courage, and resilience.

He has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles, and his work has been cited over 45,000 times. He received the Distinguished Faculty Member of the Year Award from George Mason University and Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contributions from the American Psychological Association.

He is the author of Curious? and The Upside of Your Dark Side, and his latest book is The Art of Insubordination: How to Dissent and Defy Effectively.

His writing has appeared in the Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, National Geographic, Fast Company, among other publications, and his research is featured regularly in media outlets such as The Atlantic, The New York Times, NPR and Time Magazine. _________________________________________

FocusED Show Notes with Dr. Todd Kashdan

The reason that Todd wrote the book is because of the negative connotation that comes with speaking up at work.

The reason that we want dissension is to make superior decisions. It might be slower and more uncomfortable, but it makes for a better outcome.

As we open up to dissension, we’re asking people to challenge the status quo.

Don’t miss what Todd says about conformist thinking and what happens when we don’t provide a platform for diverse thinking.

Todd brings up the mixed research on diversity and the fact that diverse thinking works better for decision-making but most organizations don’t have a good way to ensure diversity.

Listen to what he says about creating meeting and classroom norms to encourage independent thinking. “It takes a modification of the group norms.”

We were reminded of Liz City’s advice when he talks about collecting information before meetings as a new norm.

You want to hear what he says about how we have to treat “minorities of one” to make sure that they feel comfortable sharing. “I brought you into this organization because of your unique background.”

Make sure people know that you respect their views even though you might disagree on everything.

We want disagreement about topics and issues, not relationships.

Todd talks about learning to be clear with ourselves and transforming our thinking. What he says about “conviction bias” is fascinating.

Todd opened up with his background and how all of our backgrounds lend to our biases. “To what degree do you represent the subculture in which you live?”

The more ways that we can view diversity, the more likely we can bring divergent thinking into the decision-making without thinking of people as “representative” of their group.

Todd reminds us as educators that one of the ways to deal with misconduct from students is to bring them into the forefront as leaders. The same is true for adults and co-facilitation.

We have to tell people why we’re amplifying ideas that deserve consideration, especially when they’re divergent.

Todd wants to improve the student experience in schools by improving their sense of belonging. Don’t miss what he says about distinctiveness.

Subscribe to Todd’s newsletter. At the end of his newsletter, he posts resources, books, people to follow, and more.

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Thanks for listening to FocusED, an educational leadership podcast brought to you by TheSchoolHouse302 @ theschoolhouse302.com where we publish free leadership content. Go to the site, subscribe, and you’ll get all of our content sent directly to your email.

This is Episode 49 of FocusED, and it features our guests, Dr. Elizabeth City. It was originally recorded live for a live audience in Delaware, provided as a professional development experience in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Education, Wilmington University, and The School House 302. Don’t miss what Dr. City has to say about her book Meeting Wise, how it leads to a stronger culture in schools, and so much more. _________________________________________

Dr. Elizabeth City Brings a Tons of Experience to FocusED Listeners

Dr. Elizabeth City is Senior Lecturer on Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), where she is Executive Director of Reach Every Reader and previously served as Director of the Doctor of Education Leadership (Ed.L.D.) Program.

Liz has served as a teacher, instructional coach, principal, and consultant, in each role focused on helping all children, and the educators who work with them, realize their full potential.

She is currently focused on developing successful readers and strategic leaders in equitable, learning-rich environments. She has authored and co-authored several books for educators, including: Meeting Wise; Data Wise; Strategy in Action; Instructional Rounds in Education; Resourceful Leadership; and The Teacher’s Guide to Leading Student-Centered Discussions. _________________________________________

FocusED Show Notes with Dr. Elizabeth City Dr. City starts her discussion with the challenges with adults collaborating effectively to support kids.

She talks about the fact that educators are all pressed for time but that we need to maximize the time we do have.

Joe asks about a practical tip that leaders can do tomorrow. Liz answers that the agenda for the meeting can be used as a place to start. Don’t miss what she says about adult learning.

Dr. City tells us that we should shift some of the agenda items at our meetings to collaborative problem solving. What if one person brings a dilemma and we use a consultancy protocol?

Ask this about meetings: Why do we need these people to come together?

The cycle that she explains is critical to what happens before and after meetings to get the work done.

Joe asks about consultancy protocols that Liz talked about. The give-and-get structure is important because everyone learns and everyone contributes.

Liz calls for an increase in rigor in schools. “We underestimate what kids can do and that reflects what we ask them to do.”

We need tasks that engage the hearts and minds of kids. ~ Dr. Liz City

Don’t miss the questions that she asks when we’re analyzing a task that we ask students to do. Exactly what are we asking students to do? Assuming success on this task, what should we expect students to understand and be able to do?

Her favorite resource is when we can learn from one another. The profession is too isolated.

Joe ends by asking what Liz wishes would get more attention. She talks about amplifying the voices that don’t always get heard. Powerful way to end.

Related School Leadership Content Based on This Show Our Podcast with Richard Elmore

From Tinkering to Transformation: How School District Central Offices Drive Equitable Teaching and Learning by Meredith I Honig & Lydia R. Rainey

The Great School Rethink by Rick Hess

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Thanks for listening to FocusED, an educational leadership podcast brought to you by TheSchoolHouse302 @ theschoolhouse302.com where we publish free leadership content. Go to the site, subscribe, and you’ll get all of our content sent directly to your email.

This is Episode 48 of FocusED, and it features our guests, Nathan Maynard and Luke Roberts. It was originally recorded live for a live audience in Delaware, provided as a professional development experience in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Education, the Delaware Academy for School Leadership, and The School House 302. Don’t miss what Nathan and Luke say about restorative justice, school discipline practices, social and emotional learning, school leadership…and so much more.

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Nathan Maynard and Luke Roberts Bring Tons of Experience to FocusED Listeners

Nathan Maynard is a renowned global leader in discipline and restorative practices. He has over 15 years experience as a facilitator of the work throughout juvenile justice and educational settings. He co-authored the Washington Post bestseller Hacking School Discipline, which is now an international bestseller in 21 countries. He was awarded as “Youth Worker of the Year” in Indiana. Nathan also is the Co-Founder of Highfive--international restorative practices training group and the first restorative behavior support software for schools.

His passion for restorative practices has helped in addressing issues of bullying, cyberbullying, and older peer coercion. His work was noticed by the Metropolitan Police, and he was asked to help Police Officers become more empathetic to young people.

Dr. Luke joined High Five (with Nathan) in 2022 where he brings his passion of championing young people's voices and experiences with the power to change the system. As Chief Innovation Officer, he finds engaging and exciting ways to equip children with conflict resolution skills as well as future developments for High Five. _________________________________________

FocusED Show Notes with Nathan Maynard and Luke Roberts Nathan started with his definition of restorative practices. Joe underscored the relational aspect of the definition.

Luke emphasized the process. “If everything is restorative, nothing is restorative.” His question: are we repairing a relationship or building one from scratch?

Nathan talked about how kids these days don’t respond to fear because they’re just not scared of adults like they used to be.

Luke brings up a great point: we start with students as “the offender” when we talk about behavior. They’re still students.

TJ asked a hard question about students and guns in schools. Nathan passes it to Luke, lovingly of course. Luke shifted the conversation from “fear” to “embarrassment.” Students need to claim power by coping with embarrassment…something to help them feel confident.

Nathan pushed us to reflect about whether or not students are feeling ostracized and whether or not the school and the adults in it are compounding the problem.

Don’t miss what Nathan says about our role in not glamorizing behaviors.

One question that comes from the conversation is about the quality of our relationships in schools. What’s the quality of my relationship with [insert a misbehaving student’s name]?

Luke talked about confirmation bias. Sometimes we look for the things we’ve heard about kids. Story’s matter.

We asked Luke about his interviews with students. Here’s what they say: Am I being treated fairly? Are the adults genuinely caring? Do they care about me? Did they give me time?

Luke talked about the difference between the content of an experience and the quality of it. _________________________________________

Thanks for listening to FocusED, an educational leadership podcast brought to you by TheSchoolHouse302 @ theschoolhouse302.com where we publish free leadership content. Go to the site, subscribe, and you’ll get all of our content sent directly to your email.

This is Episode 47 of FocusED, and it features our guest, Dwight Carter. It was originally recorded live for a virtual audience in Delaware, provided as a professional development experience in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Education, the Delaware Academy for School Leadership, and The School House 302. Don’t miss what Dwight Carter tells us about being great as a school leader, his five principles of leadership…and so much more. _________________________________________ Dwight Carter Brings Tons of Experience to FocusED Listeners Dwight Carter is a nationally recognized school leader from Central OH and has been an educator for 27 years. He is currently the Director of Student Support Systems for the Eastland-Fairfield Career and Technical Schools District.

Here are just a few of his awards and accolades:

He was inducted into the Jostens Renaissance Educator Hall of Fame.

He was named a National Association of Secondary School Principals Digital Principal of the Year

He was an Academy of Arts and Science Education High School Principal of the Year

He was the 2015 Ohio Alliance of Black School Educators Principal of the Year

And he was a 2021 Columbus Afrocentric Early College Sankofa Emerging Leader Award winner.

He is the co-author of three books: What’s In Your Space? Five Steps to Better School and Classroom Design (Corwin, 2015), Leading Schools in Disruptive Times: How to Survive Hyper-change (Corwin 2017), and the second edition of Leading Schools in Disruptive Times (Corwin, 2021).

His newest book is Be Great: Five Principles to Improve School Culture from the Inside Out.

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FocusED Show Notes with Dwight Carter Dwight starts with a simple definition of culture: the accepted behaviors within the organization.

Dwight runs us through the five competencies of school culture. Be Grateful Be Relational Be Enthusiastic Be Authentic Be teachable

Joe asks about simple steps that adults can take. Dwight responds with the first principle about gratitude.

Dwight talks about “what we can control” and brings up the topic of hyper-change. We have total control over our attitude and actions.

Don’t miss what Dwight says about the difference between being a “doormat” and a “doorway.”

Dwight reminds us of a Todd Whitaker quote: “When the principal sneezes, everyone catches a cold.”

What Dwight talks about in terms of “teachable” reminded us of our work in an effort to create learning cultures.

Don’t miss what he says about the difference between “being judgemental” and “evaluating others.”

Dwight is calling for a shift from teaching to learning--moving from a focus on what teachers are doing to a focus on what students are doing.

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Thanks for listening to FocusED, an educational leadership podcast brought to you by TheSchoolHouse302 @ theschoolhouse302.com where we publish free leadership content. Go to the site, subscribe, and you’ll get all of our content sent directly to your email.

FocusED is your educational leadership podcast where our mission is to dissect a particular focus for teachers and school leaders so that you can learn to lead better and grow faster in your school or district. Let us know who you would like to hear from next.

Leading Fearlessly with Dr. Douglas Reeves

This is Episode 46 of FocusED, and it features our guest, Dr. Douglas Reeves. It was originally recorded live for a virtual audience in Delaware, provided as a professional development experience in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Education, the Delaware Academy for School Leadership, and The School House 302. Don’t miss what Dr. Reeves says about leading in fear and how to avoid it, changing old practices (like grading)…and so much more.

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Douglas Reeves Brings Tons of Experience to FocusED Listeners

Dr. Reeves is the author of more than 40 books and more than 100 articles on leadership and education. He has twice been named to the Harvard University Distinguished Authors Series and was named the Brock International Laureate for his contributions to education.

His career of work in professional learning led to the Contribution to the Field Award from the National Staff Development Council, now Learning Forward. Doug has worked in 50 states and more than 40 countries. His volunteer activities include FinishTheDissertation.org, providing free and non-commercial support for doctoral students, and The SNAFU Review, publishing the essays, poetry, stories, and artwork of disabled veterans.

Doug lives in Boston. He Tweets @DouglasReeves, blogs at CreativeLeadership.net, and can be reached at 1.781.710.9633. _________________________________________

FocusED Show Notes with Dr. Douglas Reeves

We started with the concept of fear. Why so much fear in schools? Dr. Reeves makes it simple: if the only people talking are the ones who are volunteering or in charge then we have a fear-filled environment.

Joe highlights what Dr. Reeves says in the book about special education. Doug riffs on the fact that special education practices are just good teaching practices.

One focus of the podcast was all about the need for taking risks and not getting things right the first time.

T.J. asked Doug to talk about candor in schools and the importance of it.

Joe mentions Atul Gawande’s video about feedback. Dr. Reeves follows up with the words of Howard Gardner and Richard Elmore and their sentiment about thinning--I used to think and I don’t think anymore.

You don’t want to miss what Doug says about “promises-made and promises-kept.”

He talked about credibility and the strategies we can use to build our own credibility.

What he says about decision-making and options is powerful.

Doug mentioned Daniel Kahneman’s “sunk cost fallacy.”

We asked Doug what would improve the student experience in every school, and he talked about grading and the use of the average.

He calls for more non-fiction writing in all subjects.

Doug mentions a book he read last week that he calls “the single best book on student discipline.” Changeable by Stuart Ablon

Joe asked about remembering facts and applying what you read, and Dr. Reeves promotes Zotero as a personal assistant of sorts.

Don’t miss what Dr. Reeves says about making a local impact with his work and measuring that.

Doug has a call-to-action for daily support for new teachers and the need for all of us to share as much as we can with each other about the difference that we all make as educators.

This is Episode 45 of FocusED, and it features our guest, Laurie Barron. It was originally recorded live for a virtual audience in Delaware, provided as a professional development experience in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Education, the Delaware Academy for School Leadership, and The School House 302. Don’t miss what Laurie says about strengthening school and district communities as a teacher and leader…and so much more. _________________________________________

Laurie Barron Brings Tons of Experience to FocusED Listeners Dr. Laurie Barron is in her twenty-seventh year in education, serving as a high school English teacher, a middle school assistant principal, and nine years as a middle school principal.

Since 2013, she has served as the superintendent of the Evergreen School District in Kalispell, Montana. Barron holds a bachelors in English Education from the University of Georgia, an masters in Supervision and Administration from the University of West Georgia, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Sarasota.

The following are just some of her accolades: National Superintendent Certification through AASA National Board Certified Teacher Teacher of the Year STAR Teacher Georgia Middle School Principal of the Year National Middle School Principal of the Year School Administrators of Montana G.V. Erickson Award Empowered Superintendent of the Year by the Montana Educational Technologists Association Montana Superintendent of the Year

She has co-authored 3 books: We Belong: 50 Strategies to Create Community and Revolutionize Classroom Management (ASCD, 2021) Middle School: A Place to Belong and Become (AMLE, 2018) What Parents Need to Know about Common Core and Other College- and Career-Ready Standards (World Book, 2015)

Dr. Barron is a national speaker, consultant, and leadership coach and she says she’s living the dream in northwest Montana, with her husband Daniel, where together they enjoy spending time with family watching Georgia Bulldogs football, snow skiing, camping, rafting, hiking, and watching their daughter Emma play college soccer. _________________________________________

FocusED Show Notes with Laurie Barron Laurie started out the conversation with the fact that the concept of instructional leadership may have confused us during NCLB into forgetting about the whole child. Her book brings that back to the center of the conversation with a sense of belonging.

Joe asks Laurie to get granular about strategies for helping students understand and feel that they matter in school. Her response: Trusting relationships are the biggest key.

Laurie breaks down a timeline for engagement: Every classroom door, every morning. Every classroom visited, every week. Feedback to every teacher every month. Twice a year check-ins with every direct report.

Dr. Barron talked about earning the credibility to give teachers ideas that they’ll use. Part of it comes from visibility; the other part comes from our ability to have tough conversations.

Laurie talked about the level of accountability that comes from having crucial conversations. Timing is everything.

Laurie talked about the myth that holding high standards will push people out. She says that we might need to “love harder” and “explain more.”

Show Notes @ theschoolhouse302.com

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Thanks for listening to FocusED, an educational leadership podcast brought to you by TheSchoolHouse302 @ theschoolhouse302.com where we publish free leadership content. Go to the site, subscribe, and you’ll get all of our content sent directly to your email.

Dr. Lorea Martínez Pérez is the award-winning founder of HEART in Mind Consulting, a company dedicated to helping schools and organizations integrate Social Emotional Learning in their practices, products, and learning communities. She has worked with schools, districts, and organizations to guide SEL implementation efforts, including training teachers and leadership teams, and provided guidance to educational technology and media companies to help them integrate SEL in their products.

An educator who has worked with children and adults internationally, Dr. Martínez is a faculty member at Columbia University Teachers College, educating aspiring principals in Emotional Intelligence. She has conducted extensive research in the SEL field with a focus on SEL implementation, principals’ Emotional Intelligence, teacher preparation, and school climate. She frequently blogs about how to incorporate SEL in teaching practices, leadership, and parenting. She received her Doctor of Philosophy, magna cum laude, in Quality and Innovation in Education from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. In 2014, she was awarded the American Education Research Association Graduate Student Award for Excellence in SEL Research from the SEL Special Interest Group.

Dr. Martínez started her career as a special education teacher and administrator. A native of the Costa Brava in Spain, she currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and two daughters.

Buy her book, Teaching with the HEART in Mind: A Complete Educator’s Guide to Social Emotional Learning.

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FocusED Show Notes with Lorea Martinez Don’t miss what Lorea says about teaching SEL: “We wouldn’t let reading teachers teach the skills of reading without knowing how to read well themselves.”

Lorea talks about the need to practice SEL in front of students. They don’t just learn because we teach them the skills. They learn because we show them.

This conversation doesn’t gloss over the incredible needs in schools today, both socially and academically.

Lorea talked about the system changes that need to be made for SEL to work.

Dr. Martinez talks about the fact that we’re teaching teachers how to teach students but we’re ignoring the fact that we also need to help teachers to help themselves.

Don’t miss what she says about her HEART acronym.

We discuss the need for teachers and leaders to process their emotions so that they don’t come up against a wall when they’ve swallowed them for too long.

The E in HEART is “elect your responses,” which is about our behavioral patterns and making better choices than what we do on autopilot.

Lorea provides listeners with specific strategies to use. Don’t miss what she says about taking the weather report with popsicle sticks.

We discuss the need for leaders to have real conversations about how people feel.

We love the fact that she highlights the need for leaders to celebrate and praise the staff. We have to continue to find the positive moments and bright spots.

Joe follows up to underscore the importance of praise, using our specific praise model, and the way we need to be very intentional about celebrations and individual accomplishments. _________________________________________

Thanks for listening to FocusED, an educational leadership podcast brought to you by TheSchoolHouse302 @ theschoolhouse302.com where we publish free leadership content. Go to the site, subscribe, and you’ll get all of our content sent directly to your email.

FocusED is your educational leadership podcast where our mission is to dissect a particular focus for teachers and school leaders so that you can learn to lead better and grow faster in your school or district. Let us know who you would like to hear from next.