Impacting the Classroom

By Teachstone Inc.Education

Impacting the Classroom episodes

July 03, 2023Re-Cast of Teaching With Class - Welcome to Our CLASSy School
This week we’re bringing you a special recast from our sister podcast, Teaching with CLASS®. You’ll hear from a very CLASSy school, who shares their advice for creating a school with one shared goal: it’s all about interactions.
What does it look like for CLASS to be fully integrated into the curriculum? How can coaches get teachers excited about that, and what impact does it have on the lives of students? In today’s episode, you’ll hear from Lisa Howard and Britney Blackman from the New E3 School as they talk about their CLASS curriculum.
Listen to the episode to hear what Britney and Lisa have to say about how CLASS is helping and impacting their students, how teachers who have never encountered CLASS before are transformed by it, and how parents and families get involved in what the school is doing.
Topics Discussed in This Episode
[00:01:07] Today’s episode is about supporting teachers with a curriculum designed with CLASS in mind, making friends with data, and how US coaches can support teachers
[00:01:58] Introduction to Lisa and Britney and their roles
[00:05:32] How CLASS is helping and impacting the students Britney and Lisa are working with today
[00:09:28] The transformation period of a person who’s never worked with CLASS being exposed to the program
[00:12:46] The impact Britney sees on the lives of the children
[00:14:58] How children’s behaviors shift as a reaction to adult behaviors
[00:19:51] How to get a teacher excited about CLASS
[00:23:32] How to involve parents and families in the process
[00:27:50] Understanding what teachers went through during COVID
[00:31:50] The importance of taking a long view
[00:33:05] Giving yourself grace and space to grow.
Resources
Britney Blackman
Lisa Howard
33 min
June 13, 2023Building a Culture of CLASS®
CLASS® is more than just observations. To really see the principles work for you and your students, what you should be thinking about is building a CLASS culture that permeates the school all year long. How can program leaders do that?
In today’s episode, you’ll hear from Dr. Mike Jacobs, Principal at Apple Tree Early Learning. He’s made building a culture of CLASS a foundational principle at his school. Listen to the episode to learn how Mike is thinking about making sure that teachers are getting what they need, separating lead teachers and Tas into different cohorts, and building CLASS practices as daily teacher habits.
Topics Discussed in This Episode
[00:01:00] Dr. Mike Jacobs’ background
[00:02:43] How Mike builds a CLASS culture within his program
[00:08:02] Making sure teachers get what they need
[00:15:09] Establishing a culture of CLASS being bigger than just observations
[00:18:25] Planning the CLASS program
[00:21:01] Why Mike separated lead teachers and TAs for PD
[00:22:56] The disconnect that causes teachers other than the lead to be overlooked
[00:23:38] Building collective responsibility
[00:28:49] Making sure to ask higher-order thinking questions
[00:30:33] Turning CLASS practices into teacher habits they use all year long
[00:32:35] Mike’s tips on burnout
[00:34:17] Creating a path with the team
[00:35:45] Barriers that program leaders face during implementation
[00:41:08] The composition of Mike’s team
Resources
Marnetta Larrimer
Dr. Mike Jacobs
43 min
May 30, 2023Preparing the Workforce with Waldorf University
The educational workforce is changing, and going through a global pandemic only heightened and accelerated those changes. Today, we’ll talk about the kinds of changes that are happening in schools and classrooms and how the workforce is adapting and evolving along with the classrooms.
Melia Slinger, the ECE Program Director at Waldorf University, and Dr. Freda Barnett-Braddock, the Program Director of Graduate Education join Marnetta today to discuss what they see happening in schools and how the educational field is changing. They’ll discuss what was missing from education during the pandemic, as well as some silver linings, how higher education is changing to better support teachers, and what the future of teacher preparation looks like.
Topics Discussed in This Episode
[00:01:25] Melia’s background
[00:02:40] Dr. Barnett-Braddock’s background
[00:05:38] The centrality of connections and relationship-building
[00:06:50] Changes in the workforce since Melia and Freda entered the workforce
[00:09:10] How the pandemic affected the changing workforce
[00:15:50] The educational elements that were missing during the pandemic
[00:18:56] How higher education is evolving to support teachers
[00:24:16] Technological and financial struggles for teachers
[00:27:30] Changes in family dynamics
[00:28:15] Using heightened awareness to better educate teachers and drive solutions for families
[00:30:48] What’s being done to recruit teachers and give them training to support students
[00:35:04] How higher education evolved to support the accessibility of learning in relation to cost
[00:38:29] Burnout and turnover, especially in areas like special ed
[00:39:45] The future of teacher prep programs
Resources
Marnetta Larrimer
Melia Slinger
Dr. Freda Barnett-Braddock
45 min
May 16, 2023Supporting Interactions in Special Needs Settings
Implementing CLASS® can be a challenge, especially in special education and inclusive settings. Teachers may initially feel they don’t have the time to handle or have other struggles that get in the way. Today’s guests discuss the implementation of CLASS in a special education setting to show how it can work.
In today’s episode, you’ll hear from Early Childhood Special Education Coaches Jess Schuhart, Cindy Sigsbee, and Christie Johnson. Learn about the strategies they used for rolling out CLASS and supporting teachers and students throughout the rollout, their framework for dealing with bias, and how CLASS works in the special education setting.
Topics Discussed in This Episode
[00:01:30] Introducing Christy, Jess, and Cindy
[00:03:16] Challenges in rolling out CLASS
[00:07:12] The framework for addressing bias
[00:13:42] Strategies for addressing bias
[00:16:25] Activities to foster a strong culture of improvement
[00:22:30] What happens during observations
[00:23:19] How the teachers felt through the roll-out period
[00:26:52] Being sensitive as a coach as well as a teacher
[00:28:19] How teaching experiences impact coaching
[00:28:42] Cindy’s coaching experience
[00:30:30] Where the teachers started and how they moved
[00:33:15] The biggest lessons learned and what should be done differently
[00:40:02] How CLASS is good for special education
[00:45:45] Favorite teacher quotes
Resources
Marnetta Larrimer
Jess Schuhart
Cindy Sigsbee
Christie Johnson
50 min
May 02, 2023Why Join the Educator Workforce
Impacting The Classroom – Why Join the Educator Workforce
How can students get on the path to becoming educators, and why should they? In today’s show, you’ll learn about a program in Broward County, FL, that puts high school students on that path by allowing them to finish high school with their CDA credentials. Our guest, Deborah Covard, teaches high schoolers as they learn to work with preschoolers, so she manages a very unique learning environment.
Deborah is a high school Early Childhood Education Teacher and Early Learning Lab Director. She’s been a teacher in Broward County for 20 years and has worked with elementary schoolers and high school students. Her passion for early education and training the next generation of educators has resulted in strong relationships with both older and younger students. Listen to the episode to learn more about Deborah’s program, what excites her high school students, what graduates of her program do after graduating, and personal stories from her teaching experiences.
Topics Discussed in This Episode
[00:01:04] Deborah’s experience over her time in education
[00:02:12] What Deborah sees high schoolers getting excited about
[00:03:34] The challenges that Deborah’s students have
[00:05:56] How to encourage a young person to join the educator workforce
[00:06:50] Whether graduates of Deborah’s program are likely to stay in the education field
[00:09:48] What Deborah would say to persuade someone to become an educator
[00:10:27] The importance of kids having mentors
[00:14:26] How parents interact with the students
[00:16:54] The age range of the preschoolers
[00:17:24] Helping high schoolers understand family engagement
[00:19:07] Challenges that Deborah has managing both high schoolers and preschoolers
[00:22:05] How Deborah’s class handles lunchtimes
[00:24:19] Whether Deborah’s class gets observed by CLASS
[00:26:54] Additional training that Deborah recommends for her high schoolers
[00:29:32] Training that new educators should take advantage of
[00:30:56] A personal story from Deborah’s work
[00:35:32] How that experience impacted Deborah’s approach going forward
Resources
Marnetta Larrimer
Deborah Covard
40 min
May 02, 2023Why The Adult Interactions in Your School Matter Live from InterAct
In this bonus episode, live from Interact, you’ll hear from Matt Owens and Vicki Kintner-Duffy. Matt started as a middle school writing teacher, then joined Teachstone as an instructional designer. Vicki began as a preschool teacher and has been at Teachstone for 11 years in roles including coach, trainer, project manager, and now research and evaluation specialist.
Listen to the episode to learn more about their backgrounds and what each of them is thinking about interactions between adults, including emotional support interactions as well as instructional interactions.
Topics Discussed in This Episode
[00:03:15] Matt’s introduction and background
[00:03:50] Vicki’s introduction and background
[00:04:43] How Matt’s own educational background drives his experiences
[00:07:56] Why adult/child interactions and adult/adult interactions play out similarly
[00:10:12] Approaching coworkers in a way that makes them feel supported and prepared
[00:17:23] System buildings that result in happy people who feel supported and greater retention
[00:25:07] What other types of interactions beyond emotional support look like
[00:27:45] The interconnectedness of curiosity and emotional support
[00:29:55] What it would look like to invest in interactions
[00:32:58] Reasons for hope about the future of education
[00:37:30] What to do when some are unwilling to work on building support
[00:43:10] Participation rates in teambuilding exercises
Resources
Marnetta Larrimer
46 min
December 06, 2022Keeping Each Other Accountable - Equity in ECE Funding
Why isn’t funding equitable, and what has to be addressed in order to make sure that ECE funding is just and equitable? Today, we're talking about current funding, and we're also talking about how funding has not been equitable throughout the early childhood space.
Today’s guests are Keami Harris, the Chief Equity and Strategy Officer at the Early Childhood Funders Collaborative, and Dr. William Johnson, the Director of Educational Strategy at the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund. Listen to their conversation to learn more about how funding has been inequitable throughout history, what foundational shifts need to occur for funding to flow in the right direction, and how leaders and providers can hold each other accountable.
Topics Discussed in This Episode
[00:00:59] Keami Harris and her work for Early Childhood Funders Collaborative
[00:02:13] Dr. William Johnson and his work as Director of Educational Strategy at the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund
[00:02:57] How previous policies or funding have been inequitable
[00:07:38] What foundational shifts are necessary
[00:11:50] Personal experiences that influenced Keami’s and Dr. Johnson’s work
[00:20:06] How funders and policymakers ensure that their dollars are used in an equitable way
[00:26:09] How to elevate the voices of families so they can get what they need
[00:31:32] How providers and leaders can hold each other accountable
[00:38:10] What Keami and Dr. Johnson wish people knew about their work
Resources
Marnetta Larrimer
Dr. William (Billy) Johnson
Keami Harris
45 min
November 01, 2022Voices of Head Start
Because October is Head Start Awareness Month, Impacting the Classroom is celebrating with a closer look at Head Start, the federal government’s program to support student readiness and child development. Today’s guests are Christa Wesley, a Head Start Director at Cheaha Head Start in Alabama, and Marcia Flores, the Vice President of Chicanos por la Causa in Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico.
Listen to the episode to learn what the critical areas for families are that Marcia and Christa see working in Head Start, how each of them reached their current positions, what their different communities look and how Head Start can serve them.
Topics Discussed in This Episode
[00:01:13] What Christa is doing for Head Start in Alabama
[00:02:05] What Marcia is doing for Head Start in Arizona
[00:02:56] What brought Christa and Marcia to Head Start
[00:05:34] Critical areas for children and families
[00:12:42] What a Head Start program looks like and what roles exist within it
[00:14:55] Marcia’s Head Start journey toward her current position
[00:17:30] Christa’s Head Start journey toward her current position
[00:20:15] What Marcia and Christa wish people knew about Head Start
[00:23:05] The Head Start mission
[00:24:40] Successful family components of Head Start
[00:26:35] How to promote collaborations that support Head Start programs
[00:33:20] More information about Head Start’s migrant or seasonal programs
[00:36:30] What Christa’s community looks like
[00:38:28] What enrollment in Christa’s community is like
[00:40:40] What Head Start means to Marcia and Christa

Resources
Marnetta Larrimer
Marcia Flores
Christa Wesley
43 min
September 27, 2022The Role & Responsibility of the Teacher Influencer
TikTok influencers come from a variety of backgrounds, but some of the popular influencers out there are teacher influencers. What are the responsibilities of teacher influencers, and what’s their role in the current conversations about education?
In today’s episode, Marnetta Larrimer talks to Arielle, a teacher known on TikTok as Mrs. Frazzled, and Miss Redacted, a teacher influencer who left teaching. The two of them host a podcast together called Teacher Quit Talk. Listen to the episode to hear their thoughts about what’s controversial on TikTok – it’s not what you might expect – what the role of social media influencers is when it comes to their impact on diversity and equity, and what some of the inequities that occur in school are.
Topics Discussed in This Episode
[00:00:22] Teacher influencers and their role in the conversation on education
[00:00:54] Miss Redacted’s introduction
[00:01:22] Arielle, aka Mrs. Frazzled’s introduction
[00:02:10] The responsibilities of teacher influencers
[00:04:34] The most controversial Tik Tok, given the current climate
[00:08:22] The role of social media influences on the topic of diversity in education
[00:13:09] The Addison Rae controversy
[00:17:12] Equity projects that Miss Redacted and Mrs. Frazzled are involved with now
[00:17:15] Student equity by region
[00:20:35] How inequity is insidious
[00:22:10] How social media influencers are impacting the teacher shortage
[00:26:20] What to say to teachers who decided to stay
[00:29:36] What policymakers and lawmakers should listen to and what they should do
[00:35:06] How they feel about not coming back to teaching in the fall
Resources
Marnetta Larrimer
Mrs. Frazzled
Miss Redacted
Teacher Quit Talk
39 min
September 13, 2022 What to Do With $50,000
It’s not in question that educational efforts need more funding; the question is what to do with that funding when it’s received. In today’s episode, Marnetta talks to one returning guest, Sarnitha Stricklin, director of the Jefferson Early Childhood Network in Louisiana, and Jen Roberts, CEO of Agenda for Children. They’re going to talk about using funding, both how they’ve done it previously and what their vision is for the future.
Listen to the episode to hear what Sarnitha and Jen have to say about what leaders should do when they’re receiving education-specific funds, the successful investments they’ve seen and been part of, and their ideas for issues like retention and compensating educators.
Topics Discussed in This Episode
[00:00:23] Returning guest Sarintha Strickland
[00:01:04] Jen Roberts, CEO of Agenda for Children
[00:01:25] How Sarintha and Jen know each other
[00:03:18] What leaders who are receiving education-specific funds for the fiscal year 2023 should do
[00:07:10] What the initial investment in the leadership looked like for Sarintha
[00:11:52] The most successful investment Jen saw
[00:13:51] Growth in CLASS scores
[00:14:26] Putting directors in a leadership role
[00:15:43] When they started to think they were making a difference
[00:20:35] The vision Jen and Sarintha are working toward now
[00:23:45] Ideas for compensating educators
[00:28:48] Who outreach is open to
[00:31:15] Ideas for retention
[00:36:07] Reaching people at all levels
Resources
Marnetta Larrimer
Sarintha Stricklin
Jen Roberts

39 min

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Impacting the Classroom brings together educators, policymakers, and researchers who are making an impact in education.

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Impacting the Classroom episodes

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