The School Connect Podcast

Welcome back to part two of the season 2 podcast launch! Today, Tracey begins by talking about participating in CAFE roundtables where a principal can speak to community partners about the goals for their school. Thanks to an exciting opportunity to participate in 'A Community Thrives' campaign, many schools across Arizona will be able to complete projects that are important to them.

In this episode, Tracey discusses how there are always schools in need, but it works best when CAFEs are joined by community partners that help all across Arizona - whether it be a rural and tribal area to suburban and urban regions - no school is alone in this partnership!

Thank you as always for listening! We appreciate you. Please share this podcast with a friend or colleague that wants to listen, learn or get involved. Rate, review and subscribe.

Welcome back!! School is back in session and so is the School Connect Podcast. Tracey and Tim are launching season 2 with a quick look back at what made season 1 so special and giving new and returning listeners all the important reasons to listen and get involved to help our kids.  

The discussion turns to an exciting new collaboration and work with the Table Group, They help to create smart, healthy organizations by discovering how a team functions at work. They use a short assessment process that allows your work team to pinpoint each person’s geniuses, competencies and frustrations. They then create processes on how to integrate all these points on a team for it to function at its highest potential.  

Thank you for joining us on this season 2 kickoff! We appreciate you tuning in. Please share this podcast with a friend or colleague that wants to listen, learn and get involved. 

Become part of the village with School Connect!

Today Tracey and Tim have a very special show with not one, but three guests! Superintendent of Pendergast Elementary School District, Dr. Jennifer Cruz, is here with Keymora and Kelly who are members of the Eighth Grade Superintendent Student Council. The council began as a way to guide students toward higher education, particularly Ivy League Colleges. Over the years it has grown to become an incredible way to get students involved in leadership and policy decisions for their schools. Dr. Cruz believes it is vital to listen to the students they serve. She feels it’s impossible to make informed policy without actually interacting and getting their input. This is true bottom-up planning.

Kelly and Keymora talk about their experience in the council and how enriching it has been to their time as students, and their lives. It has allowed them to have a seat at the table when it comes to things like dress code, school nutrition, and community service events. It also has been essential in learning leadership skills, consensus building, the ability to take criticism, listening to their peers, and feeling pride from being part of big decision-making processes. 

Become part of the village with School Connect!

The construction industry. The perception around that is one that often doesn’t include women. But today’s guest is one that has broken those barriers wide open. Antonya Williams, Executive Vice President at McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. and board member of ACE Mentor Program Phoenix joins today’s episode.

Antonya shares her story of the lessons she learned from starting out working at her father’s construction company and the chance meeting with a life-changing mentor. This mentor challenged her in many ways, but one of the biggest for her was to write down her goals. A seemingly simple task, but can be daunting when faced with it. It was a relationship that changed her life. Knowing this impact, Antonya went on to pay this forward to others. ACE Mentor Program is an industry-sponsored program that teaches Architecture, Construction, and Engineering with intense hands-on projects, which leads to internships, scholarships, and long-term mentorship to those who wish to flourish in these fields.

Listen to amazing success stories and the incredible transformations that mentors made in the lives of young people. School Connect has been pivotal in the connections, relationships and expedited timeline for ACE to be able to help those that want to be involved. This has been a partnership that allows young people to see positive and inspiring examples to follow into successful, groundbreaking careers.

Find out more about ACE Mentor Programs

Find out more about Antonya Williams and McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.

Become part of the village with School Connect!

On today's show...

You may have heard the term 'The Great Resignation.' There's a sea change in the way people are viewing their work life and how it coexists with their personal life. Education is not immune from this, and today, Tracey and Tim look at some startling statistics and dive a bit deeper into this area.

They have invited an exemplary guest to discuss this topic - Dr. Sarah Lindstrom Johnson, associate professor at the T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics at ASU.

The conversation gets into the specific difficulties that both teachers and students are facing in the aftermath of remote learning and the present stressors from COVID, political pressure and the never-before-seen expectations that are bearing down educators.

But this wouldn't be School Connect if they didn't bring solutions to the table. Dr. Lindstrom Johnson discusses the Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS) Network, which gives educators a very clear framework of how to deter unwanted behavior and reward positive behavior in order to reintroduce kids back to school in a supportive and structured way. She also talks about the best ways that parents and those in the community can help those working in schools, so they know that what they are doing each day matters.

Today is a special show because we get to hear from an extraordinary teacher from Sunnyslope Elementary School. Patricia Wharton has a unique ability to connect with students and their families that have recently come from another country. From her pre-start of the school year parent-teacher conferences to text message groups to record-breaking fundraising to a simple Spanish greeting, it all is part of genuinely engaging parents.

Creating a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere that allows kids to transition more easily into a new school setting, let alone a new community and culture, is the foundation that Patricia builds with students and their families. Her passion comes from her own experience of coming to The United States not knowing the language. She's been in those parents' shoes, and she knows from her own kids how these new students feel as they first step onto the school campus. She also knows that engaged families result in dramatic differences in student behavior, grades, attendance, and so much more.

How many gifts do you give that actually multiplies? This is the question that Tim poses to kick off this episode, and the answer is inspiring. He and Tracey have a special two-part interview discussing the importance of supporting and appreciating our educators, and how gifts of any size spread beyond just one teacher or staff member

The first guest is Susie Smith, Principal of Desert Foothills Junior High. She recounts the struggles and unprecedented challenges that kids, teachers, and parents faced these past couple of years. She gives real-life examples, of how instructors in the classroom have to navigate social and emotional support for their students in order for them to learn at their best. This is just one illustration of what makes them so special, and why it is so important to celebrate them consistently throughout the year.

The second half of the episode continues with Robin Blumenthal, Local Outreach Pastor for Pantano Christian Church. Robin brings the other side of the teacher appreciation equation. She stresses that there has never been a more important time to reach out and show love to teachers and staff because they are being stretched beyond any limits that they had imagined. Listen to her incredible story of showing educators that they are valued and recognized. The time, effort, outreach, networking, ingenuity, and money that her organization put forth is amazing. She explains how each gift raises a teacher up, which in turn promotes a better classroom, which means a better education for our kids. 

Find out more about Susie Smith and Desert Foothills Junior High

Find out more about Robin Blumenthal and Pantano Christian Church

Become part of the village with School Connect!

Here on the show, we often talk about community building. Today we are talking about community building by building in the community! Grenee Celuch, CEO of Concord General Contracting in Mesa, AZ, joins Tracey and Tim for a fun and informative episode that looks at outreach and education from a new angle.

Concord approaches its business differently than most other large companies. Giving back comes first, and they want to team with their clients. They also engage with the culture of the organizations they work with. Sounds quite a bit like School Connect don't you think?

Grenee starts off with an amazing story about a project for a new classroom building. They used this as a learning opportunity for the kids at the school and gave them an experience they may never receive anywhere else. You'll have to listen to find out just how far they went!

They also discuss the reward that comes to employers by giving their employees pride and purpose in serving their community, and the exciting way that Concord is pairing with STEM education initiatives in the Tempe area. Building together creates strong relationships, strong communities, and strong kids.

Find out more about Grenee and Concord General Contracting

Become part of the village with School Connect!

We've all felt the frustration this last year. Stores and restaurants are understaffed, with long wait times, long lines, not enough tables open to eat. Businesses can limit seats, hours, and checkouts but our schools can't! Today's guests know this very well. Dr. Jason Reynolds is the Superintendent, and Danielle Airey is the Communications Director of the Peoria School District. They are here to give the inside scoop on staffing issues at schools and how they are developing new and creative ways to continue serving and educating kids through it all.

There's one thing that nearly everyone can agree on - kids learn and flourish better in the classroom. While it has been challenging, one of the major keys in bridging the gaps is improved communication. Being direct and consistent, showing both the needs and the rewards of getting involved. This results in improved awareness and network creation, which then leads to greater understanding, involvement, and participation from parents, businesses, and the community at large. The type of thing that School Connect specializes in. Support can come in many forms. It can be large business funding projects or sponsoring events. But a simple gesture or gift of time is just as valued and makes a big impact.

After hearing today's show you will get a new depth of understanding and appreciation for what goes on behind the scenes to keep our schools and children performing their best.

Become part of the village with School Connect!

Today's episode begins with a story about how a mishap with a logo brought together an incredible partnership. Tracey and Tim welcome Dr. William (Kip) Schumacher, and Dr. Erica Ray of the William C. Schumacher Family Foundation for a fun and joy-filled episode.

The Schumacher Family Foundation was already doing phenomenal work for local schools in Lafayette, LA. When the fortunate meeting between them and School Connect happened, Kip and Erica adopted School Connect's CAFE model and it pushed their outreach and school revitalization to new levels. Kip and Erica discuss all the ways that this alliance has helped their community, kids, and parents, and how the commitment of Tracey and the School Connect family helped to make it a reality.

Dr. Schumacher sees the model as something that helps locally but feels that it is so vital and works so well, that it may in fact be important enough to save our country. It brings people together, rallies around kids, builds community, bridges divides, and helps people to raise each other up instead of tear each other down. 

Find out how you can get involved with School Connect: http://www.schoolconnectaz.org

Become part of the village with School Connect!