This episode features Dr. Sarah Tambucci, an experienced artist, educator, and advocate for children and youth. Dr. Tambucci has served as President of the National Arts Education Association and is currently Director Emerita of the Arts Education Collaborative in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 2005, she received the Pennsylvania Governor's Award for Outstanding Leadership in Arts Education. In addition to authoring numerous articles on issues related to arts education, educational leadership, and policy, she serves on regional, state and national advisory boards. During this conversation, Dr. Tambucci shares her extensive experience with arts education as a teacher, principal, and mentor of beginning art teachers. In addition, she describes an institute through which she has helped school superintendents to understand the importance of integrating the arts across subject areas and grade levels.

This episode features Dr. Sarah Tambucci, an experienced artist, educator, and advocate for children and youth. Dr. Tambucci has served as President of the National Arts Education Association and is currently Director Emerita of the Arts Education Collaborative in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 2005, she received the Pennsylvania Governor's Award for Outstanding Leadership in Arts Education. In addition to authoring numerous articles on issues related to arts education, educational leadership, and policy, she serves on regional, state and national advisory boards. During this conversation, Dr. Tambucci shares her concerns about the pervasive anger and uncivil behaviors to which children are being exposed. She discusses the role of art in helping children express their concerns and deal with strong emotions.

This episode features Max Schachter whose son Alex was killed during the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, FL. Since that tragic day, Max has created a non-profit organization, Safe Schools for Alex and has become a tireless advocate for laws, policies and practices that can make schools safer for all children. During the interview, Max stressed two points. (1) It is vitally important for schools to comply with laws requiring the reporting incidents of violence and other violations of codes of conduct to their respective state board of education. Without such data, districts tacitly create an environment that condones violence. (2) Districts (and law enforcement agencies in the surrounding community) need to establish threat assessment teams that can investigate potential threats. In recognition of his efforts Max was awarded the U.S. Department of Justice Attorney General Citizen Volunteer Service Award in 2019. For a wealth of information and resources to improve safety in your school, go to: https://www.safeschoolsforalex.org/

Dr. Terry Kushner has extensive experience as a teacher, principal, superintendent, and coach. Following his retirement, he has remained active in the profession as a supervisor of student teachers and as a member of a university-based program that provides leadership training. As he says, "Education is my vocation." In this podcast, Dr. Kushner shares his perspective on changes that have occurred in education over the years. Regardless of the changes, however, he sees building strong relationships as crucial for good teaching and good administration.

Lance Rhinehart has taught high school English for over 21 years in a suburban district in Western Pennsylvania. In this podcast, he reflects on changes brought about by the COVID pandemic. Returning to in-person instruction was not merely a matter of reopening school buildings and expecting everyone to pick up where they left off. Everyone is readjusting—trying to find a new balance between empathy for stressed out students and re-engaging them in them in substantive learning. As is clear through his comments, Rhinehart's deep love of teaching has helped him weather the challenges of the past three years.

In this podcast Anitrice Black, an early childhood educator for over 20 years in urban settings in Western Pennsylvania, shares her values about working with parents to best meet the needs of her young students. "Parents entrust their children to me. I want them to know they can reach out with questions—to know I take their concerns seriously." As a keen observer of children's behavior, Black has great insight into the social and emotional needs of her students. Responding to those needs is paramount for creating a classroom environment conducive to learning.

During this episode, Dr. Helen M. Hazi puts recent challenges to curriculum content into an historical perspective and offers suggestions for responding to efforts to censor instructional materials. A major focus of Dr. Hazi's scholarship has been the intersection of law and policy with educational practice. She helps to distinguish what teachers can do to minimize the possibility of challenges to their instructional choices and what is the responsibility of principals, superintendents, and school boards. Although the information conveyed cannot be considered formal legal advice, the ideas presented provide a framework for thinking about the troubling issue of censorship.

In this episode, middle school students Ryan and Camden share their experiences and thoughts about going to school during the COVID pandemic. What shines through in their comments is an empathy for what others were experiencing—from the stress experienced by teachers, to difficulties of other students, to their own family's adjustments. We were so pleased to spend some time in conversation with these thoughtful young students.

This episode features Leticia Harshman who has been teaching high school English for 20 years in a suburban district in Western Pennsylvania. During the conversation Harshman reflects on her growth from a new, uncertain teacher to one who can see the solving of challenges as fun and who clearly enjoys her work with students. On the one-year anniversary of her school switching to remote learning, Harshman asked her students to write "Dear Diary" entries about what the experience had been like for them. A sampling of the students' writing can be read by visiting https://scholarpractitionernexus.com/dear-diary-student-reflections-on-school-during-covid/

In addition to the students' writing, Harshman's piece, "Learning through the Tears," can be accessed at:

https://scholarpractitionernexus.com/learning-through-the-tears-by-leticia-harsman/

This episode features Dr. Christine Coyle as she shares her journey from earning a doctorate in cell biology to the teaching of high school science. Dr. Coyle reflects on her shift in focus from basic research to promoting an understanding and love of science in others. Dr. Coyle entered the world of K-12 education during the COVID pandemic which means she did not have to dismantle tried and true instructional methods, but did have to find her way in an unsettled and changing landscape of practice.