This conversation explores the challenges educators face in creating safe and supportive environments for students. It highlights the importance of emotional support, effective discipline, and collaboration among teachers and administrators. The discussion emphasizes the need for empathy and understanding in addressing student behavior, as well as the critical role of school leadership in fostering a positive school culture.

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Larry Ferlazzo is the author or editor of 12 books, including Helping Students Motivate Themselves: Practical Answers To Classroom Challenges, The ESL/ELL Teacher’s Survival Guide, and Building Parent Engagement In Schools. He also maintains the popular Websites of the Day blog. In the Education Week Opinion blog, Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo, he responds to readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other challenges teachers face. He is an award-winning English and social studies teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, Calif.

Zach Groshell, PhD, is a former classroom teacher who now supports schools around the globe in implementing high-quality instruction based on the science of learning. He is the host of the popular podcast Progressively Incorrect and the author of Just Tell Them: The Power of Explanations and Explicit Teaching. His advocacy and consulting have resulted in powerful changes in culture, behavior, coaching, and instruction in a variety of school settings.

Jonah Davids is a research fellow at Maine Policy Institute, an analyst at The America Fund, and writes the Substack newsletter Mental Disorder.

Dennis Griffin, Jr. serves as the principal of Prairie Elementary School and is pursuing his doctoral studies in Educational Leadership at Cardinal Stritch University. Dennis is a servant leader who seeks to build collaborative cultures that enhance the future for ALL students, educators, and communities at large.