Teaching Learning Leading K-12

Gavin Grift - Emerge: The 5 Most Common Challenges Faced by Middle Leaders and How to Overcome Them. This is episode 762 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.  Gavin Grift is a globally recognized thought leader in leadership development, renowned for his deep work on the ‘inner game’ of leadership. As the founder and CEO of Grift Education, Gavin has spent decades helping school leaders develop the thinking skills necessary to lead successfully - both individually and in collaborative environments.  He is a champion of strategic reflection, self-awareness, and thinking-based leadership, ensuring that leaders not only achieve success but sustain it in dynamic and complex educational landscapes.  He is the author of nine books, including Emerge, Five Ways of Being, and Collaborative Teams That Work, which have helped leaders worldwide navigate challenges with clarity and confidence. His research-informed approaches are highly sought after, making him one of the leading voices in professional learning and leadership coaching worldwide. Our focus today is Gavin’s book -Emerge: The 5 Most Common Challenges Faced by Middle Leaders and How to Overcome Them. Awesome information! Incredible conversation! So much to think about. Thanks for listening! Thanks for sharing! Before you go... You could help support this podcast by Buying Me A Coffee. Not really buying me something to drink but clicking on the link on my home page at https://stevenmiletto.com for Buy Me a Coffee or by going to this link Buy Me a Coffee. This would allow you to donate to help the show address the costs associated with producing the podcast from upgrading gear to the fees associated with producing the show. That would be cool. Thanks for thinking about it.  Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you! You are AWESOME! Connect & Learn More: https://www.grifteducation.com/ https://www.instagram.com/grifteducation/ https://www.facebook.com/grifteducation https://www.linkedin.com/company/grift-education/ support@grifteducation.com Length - 47:36

Kevin Stoller - Better Learning Podcast - talks with Steve about the 1984 movie: Teachers. This is episode 761 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. The Better Learning Podcast combines education and entertainment in a fresh, engaging format where guests share their favorite school-related movies. Host Kevin Stoller leads dynamic conversations, exploring memorable scenes, iconic characters, and timeless lessons through award-style categories like “The John Keating Award” for standout teachers and “Realistic or Ridiculous?” to dissect school life portrayals. With humor, analysis, and reflection, each episode celebrates the fun, flaws, and impact of these films while sparking nostalgia and insights. Whether you’re an educator, student, or movie buff, join us to relive the movies that shaped how we see school life, and share your favorites. Teachers is one of my all-time favorite movies. I was in undergraduate school, working on my degree so that I could teach high school history. Mr. Gower is my favorite teacher.  Saw this movie numerous times at the theater. Love this conversation! Had fun catching up with Kevin. Thanks for listening! Please share. Before you go... You could help support this podcast by Buying Me A Coffee. Not really buying me something to drink but clicking on the link on my home page at https://stevenmiletto.com for Buy Me a Coffee or by going to this link Buy Me a Coffee. This would allow you to donate to help the show address the costs associated with producing the podcast from upgrading gear to the fees associated with producing the show. That would be cool. Thanks for thinking about it.  Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you! You are AWESOME! Connect and Learn More: https://kay-twelve.com/ https://kay-twelve.com/podcast/ Length - 01:01:20

Steve Haberlin - Calming Student Stress: Mindfulness, Meditation, and Other Strategies to Reduce Anxiety and Enhance Learning in K-12 Classrooms. This is episode 760 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. Steve Haberlin, PhD, is an assistant professor of curriculum and instruction in the College of Community Innovation and Education at the University of Central Florida.  Dr. Haberlin’s research focuses on the implementation of mind-body practices, including mindfulness, meditation interventions to address mental health concerns in educational settings and help students unfold their potential.  His research involves studying the impact of brief meditation, including the use of technology-assisted devices, to improve focus and reduce stress and anxiety. A life-long meditator, with more than 25 years’ experience, his work involves facilitating meditation professional development training and workshops for faculty.  Dr. Haberlin is the author of Meditation in the College Classroom: A Pedagogical Tool to Help Students De-Stress, Focus, and Connect, Awakening to Educational Leadership: A Mindfulness-Based Approach to Supporting and Coaching Teachers, and Calming Student Stress: Mindfulness, Meditation, and Other Strategies to Reduce Anxiety and Enhance Learning in K-12 Classrooms, which was released earlier this year. Our focus today is Steve’s book - Calming Student Stress: Mindfulness, Meditation, and Other Strategies to Reduce Anxiety and Enhance Learning K-12 Classrooms. Excellent conversation! Great read! Please share. Thanks for listening! Before you go... You could help support this podcast by Buying Me A Coffee. Not really buying me something to drink but clicking on the link on my home page at https://stevenmiletto.com for Buy Me a Coffee or by going to this link Buy Me a Coffee. This would allow you to donate to help the show address the costs associated with producing the podcast from upgrading gear to the fees associated with producing the show. That would be cool. Thanks for thinking about it.  Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you! You are AWESOME! Connect & Learn More: http://facebook.com/steve.haberlin/ steve.haberlin@ucf.edu https://www.amazon.com/Calming-Student-Stress-Mindfulness-Meditation/dp/147587300X https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781475873016/Calming-Student-Stress-Mindfulness-Meditation-and-Other-Strategies-to-Reduce-Anxiety-and-Enhance-Learning-in-K-12-Classrooms Length - 50:21

Ben Tanzer - After Hours: Scorsese, Grief and the Grammar of Cinema. This is episode 759 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. Emmy-award winner Ben Tanzer's acclaimed work includes the novel - The Missing, the short story collection UPSTATE, the science fiction novel Orphans and the essay collections Lost in Space and Be Cool.  Ben is a Story South and Pushcart nominee, a finalist for the Annual National Indie Excellence and Eric Hoffer Book Awards, a winner of the Devil's Kitchen Literary Festival Nonfiction Prose Award and a Midwest Book Award. He also received an Honorable Mention at the Chicago Writers Association Book Awards for Traditional Non-Fiction and a Bronze Medal from the Independent Publisher Book Awards.  He's written for Hemispheres, Punk Planet, Men’s Health, and The Arrow, AARP’s GenX newsletter. He lives in Chicago with his family. Our focus today will be his latest work - After Hours: Scorsese, Grief and the Grammar of Cinema. Powerful writing. Engaging. Thought provoking. Please share. Thanks for listening! Before you go... You could help support this podcast by Buying Me A Coffee. Not really buying me something to drink but clicking on the link on my home page at https://stevenmiletto.com for Buy Me a Coffee or by going to this link Buy Me a Coffee. This would allow you to donate to help the show address the costs associated with producing the podcast from upgrading gear to the fees associated with producing the show. That would be cool. Thanks for thinking about it.  Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you! You are AWESOME! Connect & Learn More: https://www.tanzerben.com https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-podcast-will-change-your-life/id564098800 https://twitter.com/BenTanzer https://www.instagram.com/tanzerben/ https://www.facebook.com/BenTanzer/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanzerben/ https://www.tiktok.com/@bentanzerauthor https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001JRXQDQ Length - 01:11:10

Craig Gehring - MasteryPrep: Helping Students Improve Their SAT & ACT Scores. This is episode 758 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.   Craig Gehring is the founder and CEO of MasteryPrep.  After he earned perfect scores on the ACT and SAT, Craig started tutoring to help students earn scholarships. He found that most students need more support than what traditional test prep programs provide. That was the genesis of MasteryPrep.  Each year, MasteryPrep partners with over 2,000 schools and school districts to help more than 400,000 students improve their ACT and SAT scores at no cost to the students or their families. MasteryPrep is licensed by ACT, Inc. to use official test questions in its material, and is proud to serve as the Council for Opportunity in Education’s preferred provider of ACT and SAT preparation.  Craig lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with his wife and three teenage daughters. Awesome talk! So much to learn! Please share. Thanks for listening! Before you go... You could help support this podcast by Buying Me A Coffee. Not really buying me something to drink but clicking on the link on my home page at https://stevenmiletto.com for Buy Me a Coffee or by going to this link Buy Me a Coffee. This would allow you to donate to help the show address the costs associated with producing the podcast from upgrading gear to the fees associated with producing the show. That would be cool. Thanks for thinking about it.  Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you! You are AWESOME! Connect & Learn More: https://masteryprep.com/ https://x.com/craiggehring https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-gehring-6a179630/ craig@masteryprep.com Length - 36:49

Adam Geller - Observation Copilot: Turning Classroom Observation Notes into Feedback for Teachers. This is episode 757 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. Adam Geller is the Founder & CEO of Edthena which harnesses the power of AI and video coaching to enhance professional learning, boost teacher retention, and improve student outcomes. He started his career in education as a science teacher in St. Louis, Missouri.  Since 2011, Adam has overseen the evolution of Edthena from a paper-based prototype into multiple research-informed platforms for streamlining feedback to teachers:  AI Coach by Edthena, an artificial intelligence-driven solution to guide teachers through coaching cycles.  Edthena VC3, a platform for classroom observation and collaboration using video coaching.  Edthena Organization Libraries, a platform for schools and districts to curate and share best-practice teaching videos. And today, our focus is on their newest tool for educators… Observation Copilot: Observation Copilot streamlines the process of turning principals’ classroom observation notes into clear, structured feedback for teachers.  Great conversation! So much to learn! Please share. Thanks for listening! Before you go... You could help support this podcast by Buying Me A Coffee. Not really buying me something to drink but clicking on the link on my home page at https://stevenmiletto.com for Buy Me a Coffee or by going to this link Buy Me a Coffee. This would allow you to donate to help the show address the costs associated with producing the podcast from upgrading gear to the fees associated with producing the show. That would be cool. Thanks for thinking about it.  Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you! You are AWESOME! Connect & Learn More: https://observationcopilot.com/ https://www.edthena.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/edthena/posts/?feedView=all https://x.com/edthena https://www.facebook.com/Edthena/ https://www.instagram.com/edthena/ Length - 32:16

  Lisa Gitelson - The Fresh Air Fund: Because a Summer Can Last a Lifetime. This is episode 756 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. Lisa Gitelson is the CEO of The Fresh Air Fund. Each year the nearly 148-year-old nonprofit invites about 3,000 low-income New York City-based children ages 8-18 to spend the summer swimming, rowing, hiking, and stargazing in Fresh Air Fund camps. Throughout Lisa’s career in public service, as an attorney and child welfare advocate, she has been dedicated to addressing the needs of underserved youth.  Prior to joining The Fund, she was Assistant Executive Director/Legal Counsel for The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NYSPCC). She is also an Adjunct Professor at Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College, CUNY, where she teaches the Policy & Practice of Child Welfare.  As Assistant Executive Director/Legal Counsel for NYSPCC, Lisa identified legislation and other public policy issues that impacted the organization’s work and developed an advocacy agenda to move public policy efforts forward.  Previously, she served as Associate Executive Director, Downstate, at the Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies (COFCCA) where she was responsible for bringing private foster care, juvenile justice, residential care and prevention services agencies together to coordinate advocacy efforts for the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. In this role, Lisa represented COFCCA member agencies in discussions with the Administration for Children’s Services, the New York City Council and the New York State Office of Children and Family Services.    Prior to COFCCA, Lisa was the Director of Foster Care and Adoption Services at Sheltering Arms Children and Family Services. She began her career as an attorney representing foster care agencies before serving in multiple leadership and supervisory roles at the New York City Administration for Children’s Services, Family Court Legal Services. Lisa is a graduate of Colgate University and has a JD from Washington University School of Law. Our focus today is The Fresh Air Fund. Awesome talk! So much to learn! Please share. Before you go... You could help support this podcast by Buying Me A Coffee. Not really buying me something to drink but clicking on the link on my home page at https://stevenmiletto.com for Buy Me a Coffee or by going to this link Buy Me a Coffee. This would allow you to donate to help the show address the costs associated with producing the podcast from upgrading gear to the fees associated with producing the show. That would be cool. Thanks for thinking about it.  Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you! You are AWESOME! Connect & Learn More: https://freshair.org/ https://x.com/FreshAirFund https://www.instagram.com/thefreshairfund/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/freshairfund LGitelson@freshair.org Length - 32:10

Sandra Jin - Bridging the Gap Between AI Optimism and Action Through PD. This is episode 755 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. Sandra Jin is the Director of Innovation at Leading Educators, driven by her belief in self-determination as a fundamental right for every child. A former teacher inspired by her classroom experiences, she designs programs at the intersection of pedagogy, student agency, and technology. Sandra leads strategic initiatives that integrate AI-enabled practices to foster inclusive, equity-centered education. Her expertise spans national projects, including the AI Schools Collaborative and AI tool building design sprints. She is a 2025 EDSAFE Women in AI fellow. Previously, she led ELA professional learning in district-facing partnerships and coordinated national professional development programs. Sandra brings classroom experience from seven years teaching in Washington, DC. Sandra holds an M.Ed. from George Mason University. She resides in New Hampshire with her husband and three children, and outside of work, actively advocates for arts education in her local community.  Our focus today is Bridging the Gap Between AI Optimism and Action through PD. Connect & Learn More: Great conversation! So much to learn! Thanks for listening! Please share. Before you go... You could help support this podcast by Buying Me A Coffee. Not really buying me something to drink but clicking on the link on my home page at https://stevenmiletto.com for Buy Me a Coffee or by going to this link Buy Me a Coffee. This would allow you to donate to help the show address the costs associated with producing the podcast from upgrading gear to the fees associated with producing the show. That would be cool. Thanks for thinking about it.  Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you! You are AWESOME! https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-jin-7bb202118/ https://leadingeducators.org/team/sandra-jin/ https://leadingeducators.org/ sjin@leadingeducators.org Length - 40:44

Marianne Richmond - If You Were My Daughter: A Memoir of Healing an Unmothered Heart. This is episode 754 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. Bestselling children's author Marianne Richmond has touched the lives of millions through her children's books that put into the world messages of love and belonging! She is now telling her own story through the release of her memoir, IF YOU WERE MY DAUGHTER, that offers the why behind her life's work and invites people to step into their bravest, brightest self! Our focus today is Marianne’s book - If You Were My Daughter: A Memoir of Healing an Unmothered Heart. Powerful book! Awesome discussion! Thanks for listening! Please share. Before you go... You could help support this podcast by Buying Me A Coffee. Not really buying me something to drink but clicking on the link on my home page at https://stevenmiletto.com for Buy Me a Coffee or by going to this link Buy Me a Coffee. This would allow you to donate to help the show address the costs associated with producing the podcast from upgrading gear to the fees associated with producing the show. That would be cool. Thanks for thinking about it.  Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you! You are AWESOME! Connect & Learn More: http://www.mariannerichmond.com https://www.instagram.com/mariannerichmondwriter/ https://www.facebook.com/richmond.marianne/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianne-richmond/ Length - 40:26

Laura Lipton - Groups at Work: Strategies and Structures for Professional Learning. This is episode 753 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. Laura Lipton, EdD, has been a featured speaker at international, national, and state conferences since 1984. She shares her expertise with thousands of educators throughout North America, Central America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. As an international consultant, her writing, research, and seminars focus on effective and innovative instructional practices and on building professional and organizational capacities for enhanced learning. Laura engages with schools and school districts, designing and conducting workshops on learning-focused instruction, literacy development, and strategies to support beginning teachers. She facilitates organizational adaptivity and learning through training and development in data-driven dialogue, group development, action research, and learning-focused collaborations. Her authored and co-authored publications relate to organizational and professional development, learning-focused schools, and literacy development. Laura’s recent books include Groups at Work, More Than 100 Ways to Learner-Centered Literacy, Data-Driven Dialogue, Making Mentoring Work, Mentoring Matters, and Pathways to Understanding. Our focus today is Laura’s book written with Bruce Wellman -Groups at Work: Strategies and Structures for Professional Learning. Excellent conversation. So much to learn. Please share. Thanks for listening! Before you go... You could help support this podcast by Buying Me A Coffee. Not really buying me something to drink but clicking on the link on my home page at https://stevenmiletto.com for Buy Me a Coffee or by going to this link Buy Me a Coffee. This would allow you to donate to help the show address the costs associated with producing the podcast from upgrading gear to the fees associated with producing the show. That would be cool. Thanks for thinking about it.  Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you! You are AWESOME! Connect & Learn More: https://www.solutiontree.com/laura-lipton.html https://www.solutiontree.com/groups-at-work.html https://miravia.education/ lelipton@miravia.education Length - 41:19