Each individual student may learn at a slightly different pace than their peers. How is one school district in Michigan embracing a style of education that delivers personalized learning? In this episode, we sit down with Alpena Public Schools Superintendent John VanWagoner to unpack competency-based learning for listeners. 

Efforts toward a more diverse central office, prioritizing the whole child, retirement announcements and much more is what listeners can expect from this episode as leaders from Michigan Association of Superintendents and Administrators, Michigan School Business Officials and Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals join host Don Wotruba for a dialogue on public education in Michigan.

If employees aren't engaged (and according to Gallup, it's around 70% that don't feel engaged), they can't make a difference for those they work for or on behalf of on a day-to-day basis. But, how do we change that? Josh Schneider, Author and Founder, The Millennial & Employee Engagement Institute, joins us to discuss creating meaning in the role in which we spend such a significant amount of time. 

At the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) they define social-emotional learning as a process in which both youth and adults acquire and develop their social and emotional competencies. In this episode, we talk with CASEL's Director of Policy and Practice on what systemic SEL looks like in a school system.

For today's students, school athletics look a little different than what past generations have experienced. What challenges is this causing and what new trends have emerged? We sit down with the Michigan High School Athletic Association Executive Director to discuss this and more.

Superintendents face a lot of challenges, including building a strong relationship with their board of education. We sit down with Michigan's 2018-2019 Superintendent of the Year to look at what goes into being an effective superintendent and how relationships play an integral part in achieving such a goal.

The passage of Proposal A 25 years ago shifted control of funding for public schools in Michigan. As a result, Michigan ranks dead last in state education funding. We sit down with an author of Michigan State University's 2019 Education Policy Report and discuss the crossroads at which our state currently finds itself.

Show notes:

• Read the report here
• View the report summary infographic here

Prior to stepping into the role of Michigan's new state superintendent of public instruction, Dr. Michael Rice served as superintendent for Kalamazoo Public Schools. In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Rice to talk about his background, priorities, what lies ahead in public education in Michigan and much more. 

The invention of technology has opened many doors and bridged many gaps globally, but how can it affect a student's learning during the school day? We sit down with a superintendent from a Michigan school district that implemented a district-wide cell phone ban. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in five high school students are vaping and more than half of them don't think the flavored pods they are using contain nicotine. In this episode, we sit down with a public health consultant at the Michigan Dept. of Health and Human Services to dive deeper into this serious issue.