Topics mentioned in this episode:

• Who is Lance Walker? 
• What are some of Lance's insights about teaching in a rural area? 
• What made Lance realize it was time to move on to a new program? 
• How did teaching middle school prepare Lance for his current job? 
• What is the value of maintaining a portfolio? 
• What is one piece of advice that Lance would give to a young director? 

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Topics mentioned in this episode:

• Who is Moises Correa?
• What was Moises' first year of teaching like? 
• How was Moises able to cope with some of the experiences of the beginning of the school year? 
• How did Moises manage his work/life balance during his first year of teaching? 
• How was Moises' first UIL experience? 
• What was Moises' standard warm up routine during the UIL season? 
• How did Moises approach intonation? 
• How does Moises teach a brand new piece of music? 
• How did Moises deal with a particularly difficult student? 
• What advice would Moises give to a brass teacher about teaching clarinet?  What about flute?  
• How did Moises cope with the global pandemic and virtual teaching? 
• What advice would Moises give to first year directors entering the 2020-2021 school year? 

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Topics mentioned in this episode:

• Who is Cynthia Mixon? 
• What were communication, planning, and logistics like at Cynthia's respective band programs during her years as an assistant director? 
• What kinds of discussions did Cynthia have with her mentors during her years as an assistant director? 
• How did Cynthia manage some of the struggles she experienced during her first year of teaching?  What advice does she give young directors?  
• What does a typical week of communication look like for Cynthia's band program? 
• How involved does Cynthia prefer to have her assistants involved in communications? 
• What can a new or young teacher do to fit into the infrastructure of their new team? 
• Are there some aspects or responsibilities of the job that are better left specifically for an assistant or head director? 

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Topics mentioned in this episode:

• What can you expect from The Assisted Director this fall? 
• Why is having a mentor so important, especially right now?
• What are common objections or hesitations to joining an intensive mentorship program? 

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Show Notes 

Topics mentioned in this episode:

• Who is Rey Benitez? 
• What was Rey's transition to a new head director position like at the beginning of last school year?
• What were Rey's circumstances like during the start of quarantine? 
• How did Rey and his assistant divide duties during the online learning process?
• How did Rey's team approach instrument fittings this year? 
• What advice would Rey give to a first year director entering these pandemic circumstances? 

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Topics mentioned in this episode:

• What is the vision for The Assisted Director? 

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Topics mentioned in this episode:

• Who are our mentoring coaches? 
• How did our mentoring coaches handle quarantine?  
• How did our mentoring coaches handle online instruction? 
• What kinds of preparation are our mentoring coaches doing for this upcoming school year? 
• What do our mentoring coaches plan to do with their non-varsity bands for the upcoming school year? 
• What advice do our mentoring coaches have for first year directors entering the pandemic circumstances this upcoming school year? 

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Topics mentioned in this episode:

• Who is Damon Whitley?
• Who were Damon's black role models?  When did Damon have his first black teacher?
• How has being black affected Damon's path to becoming an educator? 
• How has being black altered Damon's relationship with his students?
• What can we do to be better advocates for our black students?
• How can we diversify our classrooms and why is it important to do so?
• What advice does Damon have for someone entering their first year of teaching? 

Connect with The Assisted Director on Facebook!  Christina Ortega Hanna Walker https://www.theassisteddirector.com/

Topics mentioned in this episode:

• Who is Andre Jackson? 
• What is the Diversity Council Dre is putting together? 
• How did Dre come up with the idea to present this to his Superintendent? 
• Is this something that should be duplicated in other school districts? 
• How can we as white people lift up the voices of POC without covering them up? 
• How can I, as a white person, present the idea of a diversity council to my school district? 
• What advice do you have for first year music educators? 

Connect with The Assisted Director on Facebook!  Christina OrtegaHanna Walker https://www.theassisteddirector.com/

Topics mentioned in this episode:

• What were the demographics of the schools that Breanna and David attended? 
• What have Breanna and David experienced in regards to being mentored by people of color?  What have Breanna and David experience in regards to mentoring students of color? 
• How has race played a role in Breanna and David's relationships with their students?
• From Breanna and David's perspectives, what are our roles as educators in teaching about diversity and teaching about racism? 
• From Breanna and David's perspectives, what can non-African Americans do to be better allies? 
• From Breanna's perspective, how has being a young, African American played a role in your life? 
• If Breanna and David could tell a young band director one thing, what would they say in regards to the topic at hand? 

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Christina Ortega 

Hanna Walker 

https://www.theassisteddirector.com/