Untitled PodCast

Carmen Zeisler is the Director of the ESSDACK Learning Centers, an Educational Consultant/Coach, and a co-founding member of the ESSDACK Resilience Team. In Learning Centers, she has been instrumental in leading a Redesign process through Project-Based Learning. In schools, Carmen loves collaborating with teachers on Trauma-Informed practices and she leads The Restorative Justice in Schools effort on the ESSDACK Resilience Team. Her other passion as a Consultant and Coach is supporting teachers to build a strong reading culture in their classroom. One of her favorite ways to do this is to use picture books with science and social studies to make these content areas come alive for students! Carmen is also well versed in integrating technology tools and platforms into the elementary classroom and she has supported and coached countless teachers as they implement new tech. Some of her favorites are Seesaw, Flipgrid, and Classkick.

Carmen has traveled the world as a teacher. She spent ten years in Mexico at the American Institute of Monterrey teaching 9th and 10th grade English literature and helped build the gifted and talented program that was used as a model for all of the state of Nuevo Leon. Carmen fell in love with the Mexican culture through language, food, dance, music, and people.

She started getting antsy and wanted a new adventure so she headed off to Brasilia, Brazil where she spent three years at the American School of Brazil teaching kindergarten. During this time, she had students from 16 different countries in one classroom! Her time in Brazil left her with a passion for writing and languages.

She landed back home in McPherson, KS where she taught for 10 years prior to coming on board at ESSDACK. Carmen has been to 33 countries and loves infusing her travels into her teaching.

Carmen’s is a natural at building relationships with students and teachers so that she can then ask powerful questions that help ignite passions!

Ryan Stephans is a middle school educator with more than a decade of experience in the public schools as a Social Studies teacher.  He is a graduate of Kansas State University, with a Bachelor's degree in Secondary Education, and Emporia State University with a Master's in History.  He began his teaching in 2005 at the high school level, before leaving for Turner Middle School in Kansas City, Kansas in 2007.  He spent eleven years at TMS, the majority of the time teaching 8th grade United States History.  During those eleven years he served as the Building Improvement Chair, Professional Development Council Representative, and Social Studies Department Chair.  In 2013, he was selected as an Abraham Lincoln Fellow by the Horace Mann Corporation.  Beginning in 2018, he joined the staff at Summit Trail Middle School in Olathe, Kansas, continuing to teach 8th grade United States History.

Jordan Billings has been a Social Studies teacher for 14 years.  He went to Emporia State University, where he earned Bachelor's degrees in Social Sciences and Speech and Theater Education as well as a Master's in American History.  He began his teaching career in 2006 at the high school level, before leaving for a position in higher education.  He spent six years as a professor for the University of Phoenix, the majority of the time teaching United States History.  During that time he also served as the History and Humanities Area chair for the Midwest region. In 2012 he joined the faculty at Indian Trail Middle School where he currently serves as the Co-Department Chair for the Social Studies Department.  In 2019, he received an Outstanding Educator award from Ottawa University.

Ariel Jankord is a K-5 STEM teacher in Spring Hill, KS. She spent the previous 11 years teaching 1st, 2nd, and 4th grade. She runs after school programs for computer science, and makerspace. Ariel is the founder of the Johnson County Edcamp. She is an ISTE Certified Educator and received the Making It Happen award from ISTE and MACE-KS in 2019. Apple Teacher, Google Certified Educator, Microsoft Innovative Educator, Seesaw Ambassador, and Flipgrid Certified. And serves as an ISTE PLN leader for STEM.

Jerri Kemble has been a public school educator for three decades serving as a teacher, school counselor, K-12 principal, assistant superintendent, and district superintendent. She has a successful track record of disrupting the status quo and working with stakeholders to create positive change. Jerri has received numerous awards for her seasoned leadership, including Kansas School Counselor of the Year, eSchool News Tech-Savvy Superintendent, Kansas State University's Educational Administration Student of the Year, and most recently Tech and Learning Magazine's Technology Leader of the Year. Whatever task is given to Jerri, she does it with a warm Midwestern smile, grace, and a tireless work ethic.

Jerri Kemble's most potent asset is her ability to work with a diverse group of people, connecting them to other passionate and imaginative people. She is an exuberant presenter and has trained teachers and administrators throughout the United States. In 2017 she was invited to Shanghai to teach STEM and Social-Emotional Learning to teachers, students, and parents. In January 2020 she spent time in Kenya, Africa working with schools on global collaboration and supporting the telemedicine program initiated to bring health care to rural African villages.

Jerri Kemble has been invited to the White House on three occasions. Twice to share her knowledge with Vice President Joe Biden's top aides on virtual education and to attend President Obama's rollout of the Future Ready Initiative for Schools.  Jerri pioneered the Kansas Online Learning Program to provide virtual education opportunities for students in kindergarten through 12th grade and to adults wishing to receive a high school diploma.  Mrs. Kemble has also served as an adjunct professor providing graduate-level courses in educational technology and leadership.

Most recently, Jerri has been involved with the Kansas School Redesign Project. As part of the original Redesign Think Tank, she helped generate ideas for the Kansas Commissioner of Education.  She has worked with the Think Wrong Institute to redesign schools by utilizing the design thinking process. This work focuses on today's students and building the skills they will need for their future.

Jerri Kemble is now serving as the National Advisor and Evangelist for ClassLink.

Josh Stock is currently a 6th grade Language Arts teacher at Santa Fe Trail Middle School in Olathe, KS and an Awesomeness Expert. He is also a co-chair of the Building Leadership Team during the Mercury phase of the school’s Kansans Can School Redesign project. In his free time he hosts the Kansas Moonshot Podcast highlighting the amazing things educators are doing in their classrooms across the state of Kansas.

Listen to Tim Vesco share about the origins of KSEdChat and EdCampKS. He also share his, and his district’s, journey through the KSDE Redesign process.