Schoolin' Around

Leaders work hard to make their schools great, often facing many challenges, like getting others to agree on what needs to change. Change can be hard, especially within an established school system, with long-held beliefs, traditions, or struggles.

In this episode, we discuss why change is so hard and how leaders can build their root cause analysis and strategic thinking skills. Our guest, Simma Reingold, works with schools and leaders all over the country, helping walk teams through the process of large-scale change, whether that is implementing MTSS or a curriculum overhaul.

Over the last ten years, as a Strategy and Operations Consultant, Simma has facilitated in-depth strategic planning engagements with Superintendents to radically redesign policies, practices, and organizational structures so that the vision for the future can become a reality today. She specializes in community-centered design, leveraging student and educator feedback to guide district-level decision-making while uncovering new and unique ways to solve persistent challenges.

Learn more about MTSS and Branching Minds by visiting our website Branchingminds.com, or Sign up for our weekly newsletter on all things MTSS with this link. (https://hubs.la/Q02g9lwV0) Don’t forget to follow and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn @BranchingMinds.

In the world of education, every year new initiatives are promised to be the magic bullet that solves all the problems. However, many of those new things don’t last. Educators can be weary of something new. Our guest today understands the hesitancy; however, in her work, Angie Plugge, director of Learning in Waverly, Nebraska, spends her days building an MTSS practice that stays true to its purpose, helping teachers evaluate the impact of core instruction and meet the needs of students.

In this episode, Angie and I talk about building an effective MTSS practice, the impact of collective efficacy, and how leaders should strive to be reasonable as they implement new practices and frameworks. Angie brings 23 years of experience leading school and district teams through improvement efforts. She spent her first 19 years working in Title I middle schools as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal, where she learned how to set up MTSS systems. She now serves as the Director of Learning in a mid-sized rural district where she supports schools in setting up their MTSS systems.

Learn more about MTSS and Branching Minds by visiting our website Branchingminds.com, or Sign up for our weekly newsletter on all things MTSS with this link. (https://hubs.la/Q02g9lwV0) Don’t forget to follow and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn @BranchingMinds.

Most teachers will tell you that teaching is not just about helping students learn content but about how to think about themselves, the world, and even their place in it. Our guest today, Emily Francis, talks a lot about the power of story and how that can help students find their way, especially if they are immigrant students encountering language and cultural challenges.

In today’s episode, Emily and I sat down to discuss the power of stories and how teachers and administrators could reach English Language Learners in powerful ways.

Emily Francis is a teacher, author, and speaker excited to talk about the potential of English Language Learners because she knows exactly what they are experiencing. As an immigrant student, she experienced what many students around the country are experiencing. She is passionate about sharing with educators the power that stories can have in unlocking their potential. She even wrote a book about her story and the stories of her students called “If You Only Knew: Letters from an Immigrant Teacher.”

Check out her book here: https://a.co/d/8C3GBES

Check out this article about utilizing MTSS to Support English Language Learners: https://www.branchingminds.com/blog/mtss-english-language-learners

Learn more about MTSS and Branching Minds by visiting our website Branchingminds.com, or Sign up for our weekly newsletter on all things MTSS with this link. (https://hubs.la/Q02g9lwV0) Don’t forget to follow and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn @BranchingMinds.

Schools around the country are still feeling the effects of interrupted learning and finding their way to help students grow and succeed. Many of those schools know that they can’t go back to the way things were before, and they want to make a change to impact ALL students. For Emily Myers, MTSS Director of Orange County Schools in North Carolina, she desires to lead her team in the work of equitably supporting students through MTSS.

In this episode, Emily spoke with us about her journey with MTSS and how her mindset shifted from just identifying students for special education to truly making equity the center of her work. She is kind enough to share a story about how MTSS made a difference for a student very close to her heart.

We also talk about how serving students is getting comfortable operating in the messy work of decision-making and doing what’s best for students even when it isn’t always clear.

Learn more about MTSS and Branching Minds by visiting our website Branchingminds.com, or Sign up for our weekly newsletter on all things MTSS with this link. (https://hubs.la/Q02g9lwV0) Don’t forget to follow and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn @BranchingMinds.

In the work of educators, one area that continues to challenge schools is making sure that we are helping students in the best way possible, preventing problems for them further in the future. Now more than ever, educators are looking to researchers to find the most effective interventions and provide them with guidance and what to do with the needs they see in the classroom.

The guest for this episode, Gary Schaffer, is one of those researchers. He is also an author striving to create materials and resources to help educators do their job to the best of their ability and help students succeed. Not only does he have years of experience as a school psychologist and academic, but he also brings the perspective of a student who received special education services.

Growing up as a struggling student with ADHD and a learning disability, Gary Schaffer has dedicated his professional practices and life to helping all learners succeed. Gary received a bachelor’s degree in special education and English and subsequently became a school psychologist and clinical mental health counselor. He has authored three books related to MTSS for SAGE and Routledge Publications entitled:

1) Multi-Tiered Systems of Support: A Practical Guide to Preventative Practice

https://a.co/d/bm1XkVT

2) Implementing Universal Social-Emotional Programs is a Step-by-Step Guide for Schools

https://a.co/d/bHEJHuB

3) Nuts & Bolts: Multi-Tiered Systems of Support: A Basic Guide to Implementing Preventative Practice in Our Schools

https://a.co/d/5e2GYOc

Learn more about MTSS and Branching Minds by visiting our website Branchingminds.com, or Sign up for our weekly newsletter on all things MTSS with this link. (https://hubs.la/Q02g9lwV0) Don’t forget to follow and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn @BranchingMinds.

Any educator will tell you that the first couple of years in a new role is like drinking from a fire hose. There is so much to learn and adapt to, even more so when you are a new principal.

In this episode, Larissa talks with Justin Peterson, an elementary school principal in Broken Bow, Nebraska. He stepped into a new role this year and is not only learning what it means to be a principal but is learning all about how MTSS can help a school meet the needs of students. He was ready to chat about what it means to be a learner somewhere new and how much he loves his job.

Learn more about MTSS and Branching Minds by visiting our website Branchingminds.com, or Sign up for our weekly newsletter on all things MTSS with this link. (https://hubs.la/Q02g9lwV0) Don’t forget to follow and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn @BranchingMinds.

It takes a lot more work and planning to make a large wheel turn, but in Gwinnett County Schools, their team did just that. They have been working hard these last few years, making the wheel of school improvement turn with their strategic work with MTSS, and they are seeing the impact of their efforts.

In this episode, Larissa chats with Dr. Tinisha Parker, Executive Director of Student Services, Dr. Debbie Durrance, Executive Director of Data Governance, and Elizabeth Moore, Director of Instructional Development and Support for Gwinnett County Schools in one of the largest school districts in the country. They share the process of bringing their teams together to truly make a difference for their students and how sometimes the MTSS process requires unlearning before adding anything new. They also share their wisdom for those just beginning the process and share about their work moving forward.

Learn more about making system level change with MTSS. https://www.branchingminds.com/mtss-guide https://www.branchingminds.com/branching-minds-solution

Learn more about MTSS and Branching Minds by visiting our website Branchingminds.com, or Sign up for our weekly newsletter on all things MTSS with this link. (https://hubs.la/Q02g9lwV0) Don’t forget to follow and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn @BranchingMinds.

In this episode, we talk with Jennifer Ocana and Jennifer Sessa from Island Village Montessori, a K-8 charter school in Florida's Sarasota County School system. Jennifer Ocana is the Head of School for Island Village but has been teaching and leading for 20 years in Montessori schools. Jennifer Sessa is the Director of Pupil Support, working with the Special Education staff. We talk about how MTSS and the Montessori philosophy are closely linked and how they lean into differentiated instruction to help meet the needs of their diverse population.

Learn more about MTSS and Branching Minds by visiting our website Branchingminds.com, or Sign up for our weekly newsletter on all things MTSS with this link. (https://hubs.la/Q02g9lwV0) Don’t forget to follow and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn @BranchingMinds.

Reading difficulty has an outsized effect on a student's ability to be successful in school and life. In the past few years, more and more states are passing legislation around dyslexia, requiring schools and teachers to have the knowledge and to screen students early.

Dyslexia is “a brain-based learning disability that specifically impairs a person’s reading ability.” Fortunately, research suggests that early identification and intervention for dyslexia prevents further difficulty for the student.

In today’s episode, I sat down with Kristen Beesaw, Assistant Director of Interventions and 504 for Bryan Independent School District. We talked how about misconceptions about dyslexia and how a Multi-Tiered System of Supports can help meet students that are at risk for dyslexia. Kristen was kind enough to share how Bryan is striving to intervene early and implement best practices to support students at risk for dyslexia.

Kristen Beesaw has been in education for 28 years, all with the Bryan Independent School District. She has served as a high school Language Arts teacher for 13 years, then Technology Specialist, Secondary Language Arts Coordinator, and then as Dyslexia Coordinator. Currently, she is the Assistant Director of Interventions & §504, where she oversees MTSS/RtI, Dyslexia, Secondary Reading interventions, the district’s summer programming, and §504.

For more information about dyslexia, check out our recent webinar from with Dr. Eva Dundas. https://www.branchingminds.com/webinars/identifying-and-supporting-dyslexia-within-mtss

Learn more about MTSS and Branching Minds by visiting our website Branchingminds.com, or Sign up for our weekly newsletter on all things MTSS with this link. (https://hubs.la/Q02g9lwV0) Don’t forget to follow and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn @BranchingMinds.

As educators, we know that we cannot control what students bring in with them each day, whether that be academic, behavioral, emotional, or even language learning needs. An educator's job is to support students, helping them feel safe so that they can learn and meet their goals.

This episode is a conversation with Gabi Graham, a former elementary dual language teacher passionate about helping schools support students from other cultures. We talk about how different aspects of student mental health can affect outcomes and how sometimes simple things can make all the difference in helping students feel safe and that they belong, no matter their culture.

Gabi Graham balances the roles of being the mother of 2 sweet girls and a successful sales development representative for Branching Minds. As a former dual language educator and lover of all things EdTech, she can understand user needs daily. She lives in a beautiful west Texas border city where the mountain views are breathtaking, the people are warm, and the tacos are truly the best! Give her a good book on a rainy Texas day and she is sure the be the happiest gal around!

Learn more about MTSS and Branching Minds by visiting our website Branchingminds.com, or Sign up for our weekly newsletter on all things MTSS with this link. (https://hubs.la/Q02g9lwV0) Don’t forget to follow and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn @BranchingMinds.