Season 1, Episode 6 of FocusED with Guest Dr. Pedro Noguera
This is Season 1, Episode 6 of FocusED, and it features guest, Dr. Pedro Noguera. It was originally recorded live for a studio audience in Delaware, provided as a professional development experience for Delaware teachers and leaders. Don’t miss what Dr. Noguera says about equity in schools and so much more. This is a must listen for all educators.
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Dr. Noguera Brings Tons of Experience to FocusED Listeners
Dr. Pedro A. Noguera is the Distinguished Professor of Education at the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies and Faculty Director for the Center for the Transformation of Schools at UCLA. He is a sociologist whose scholarship and research focuses on the ways in which schools are influenced by social and economic conditions as well as by demographic trends in local, regional and global contexts. He serves on the boards of numerous national and local organizations and appears as a regular commentator on educational issues on CNN, MSNBC, National Public Radio and other national news outlets.
Prior to joining the faculty at UCLA, he served as the Peter L. Agnew Professor of Education at New York University and the Executive Director of the Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools (2003 – 2015), the Judith K. Dimon Professor of Communities and Schools at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (2000 – 2003), and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley where he was also the Director of the Institute for the Study of Social Change (1990 – 2000).
Dr. Noguera has published over 200 research articles on topics such as urban school reform, conditions that promote student achievement, the role of education in community development, youth violence, and race and ethnic relations in American society. His work has appeared in multiple major research journals. Dr. Noguera is the author of several books including: City Schools and the American Dream, Unfinished Business: Closing the Achievement Gap in Our Nation’s Schools, The Trouble With Black Boys, and Creating the Opportunity to Learn. His most recent books are Excellence Through Equity with Alan Blankstein and Race, Equity and Education with Jill Pierce and Roey Ahram.
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Thanks for listening to FocusED, an educational leadership podcast brought to you by TheSchoolHouse302 @ dereka206.sg-host.com.
FocusED is your educational leadership podcast where our mission is to dissect a particular focus for teachers and school leaders so that you can learn to lead better and grow faster in your school or district with more knowledge, better understanding, and clear direction on what to do next.
This episode was brought to you by GhostBed, a family-owned business of sleep experts with 20+ years of experience. With 30K+ 5-star reviews, you can’t go wrong with GhostBed. Their mattresses are handcrafted, and they come with a 101-night-at-home-sleep trial. For a limited time, you can get 30% by using our code — SH302 — at checkout. And, even if you tell someone about GhostBed, you can earn a $100 referral reward. Go to Ghostbed.com today and use SH302 at checkout.
This is Season 1, Episode 5 of FocusED, and it features guest, Sanee Bell. It was originally recorded live for a studio audience in Delaware, provided as a professional development experience for Delaware teachers and leaders. Don’t miss what Sanee says about being excellent on purpose in a practical way and holding that standard as a leader. Her interaction with the audience at the end was fun and inspiring…and wait to hear the blooper after the final music fades out. Enjoy.
Dr. Sanee Bell Brings Tons of Experience to FocusED Listeners
Dr. Sanée Bell is the principal of Morton Ranch Junior High in Katy, TX. She has served as an administrator since 2005 at both the elementary and secondary levels. Sanée was recognized as the 2015 Katy ISD Elementary Principal of the Year.
Prior to becoming an administrator, Sanée taught middle school and high school English and also coached girls basketball. She earned her doctorate degree in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Houston Clear Lake.
Sanée is passionate about authentic, purposeful learning for students and teachers, and also has a strong passion for leadership and its impact on teacher engagement, student learning, and school culture. Sanée recognizes her impact as a leader and uses her role to inspire, motivate, and empower others.
Sanée serves as Future Ready Thought Partner on the Future Ready Schools project, and has contributed to several publications and podcasts focused on leadership and its impact on students and teachers.
Sanée is co-author and co-editor of the Education Write Now Series, and she is featured in the book Dare to Lead authored by Brené Brown. Sanée is the author of Be Excellent on Purpose: Intentional Strategies for Impactful Leadership. Follow Sanée at saneebell.com and via Twitter @SaneeBell.
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Thanks for listening to FocusED, an educational leadership podcast brought to you by TheSchoolHouse302 @ dereka206.sg-host.com.
FocusED is your educational leadership podcast where our mission is to dissect a particular focus for teachers and school leaders so that you can learn to lead better and grow faster in your school or district with more knowledge, better understanding, and clear direction on what to do next.
This episode was brought to you by GhostBed, a family-owned business of sleep experts with 20+ years of experience. With 30K+ 5-star reviews, you can’t go wrong with GhostBed. Their mattresses are handcrafted, and they come with a 101-night-at-home-sleep trial. For a limited time, you can get 30% by using our code — SH302 — at checkout. And, even if you tell someone about GhostBed, you can earn a $100 referral reward. Go to Ghostbed.com today and use SH302 at checkout.
And, let us know if you want to join our next MasterClass on Candid and Compassionate Feedback. If you want to see real growth in your school, click here to reserve your seat or here for more information.
Lastly, join us in the Principals’ Club, designed to take your PLN to a PLC so that we can support one another in our growth as leaders. We hope to see you there.
Robert Jackson Brings a Ton of Experience to Our OneThingSeries
Robert Jackson began his teaching career almost 25 years ago in Indianapolis Public Schools with a No More Excuses teaching approach with all of his students after being cut from the NFL Minnesota Vikings. As an educator, he didn’t allow his students to feel sorry for themselves or let their circumstances define their futures. He set high expectations for his students and expected them all to do well. Those same students went from low performing to successful Pastors, Lawyers, School Administrators, Teachers, Pharmaceutical Sales Reps, Business Owners, Pro Athletes, Entertainers and more.
He has become one of the most sought-after speakers in the country, delivering keynote addresses and workshops to educators and administrators at national conferences, parents and student workshops, corporate events and churches. He has delivered 100’s of presentations and has become an expert in teaching cultural diversity, restorative practices, socio emotional learning, working with students who have experienced trauma and how to educate Black and Latino males. His goal is to teach educators and administrators how to use their power more effectively to Educate, Activate and Motivate all Students to be Successes.
Mr. Jackson has written and published 6 books and has written articles for ASCD EL Leadership Magazine. His new book, Becoming the Educator They Need: Strategies, Mindsets, and Beliefs for Supporting Male Black and Latino Students just won the Gold Excel Award for Technical Writing in July 2020. His “No More Excuses” Curriculum has been featured in publications nationally and is being used in K-12 Schools, Colleges and Universities in the US and Canada. His books include, Black Men Stand Up, A Boys Guide to Manhood, A Young Woman’s Guide to Womanhood, Put a Stop to Bullying, and Solutions to Educating Black and Latino Males.
He is married to Essence Best Selling Author, Tajuana “TJ” Butler-Jackson and they have 3 children and 1 grandson.
His motto is: “For Every Problem, there is a Solution.”
Key Thoughts from Our Interview with Robert Jackson
Robert Jackson delivers a powerful message, packed with clear strategies that every school administrator and teacher should know and do.
Robert emphasized the need to simply ask students questions and talk to them about their lives. He suggests a simple survey to get keen insights. “Equip them by asking them.”
Listen to the distinction he makes between empathy and feeling sorry for a student. He went deep into the data and illuminated the disparities in school discipline practices, particularly between objective and subjective offenses.
You have to hear what no one ever asked him about.
Robert delved into the importance of self-care and what we should do every day, from getting rest to prayer.
His line, “I’m wearing my life on my face,” will cause you to think and consider how you perceive individual students and certain situations.
Robert describes how his pastor, Creflo Dollar, impacts him as a person. He also lists a few very influential leaders, athletes, and activists from the past who he listens to online to help him grow as a person and a leader.
Robert’s views on the critical importance of perspective finding to navigate relationships and circumstance is powerful.
Find out what he says about leadership and what it means for everyday living.
Robert ends by letting us know that every story needs to be heard, even the ones that we would typically ignore.
Mr. Jackson’s interview is filled with clear takeaways on how to grow as a person and better connect with our students in schools. He challenges us to take action and make a difference. It was a wonderful follow-up to our latest blogpost, highlighting incredible Black educators from the past and present who every educator should know. We hope to hear from you about your favorite parts of both the blog and the interview.
Please follow, like, and comment. Use #onethingseries and #SH302 so that we can find you. For more great leadership content, follow dereka206.sg-host.com.
This is Season 1, Episode 4 of FocusED, and it features guest, Brad Weinstein. It was originally recorded live for a studio audience in Delaware, provided as a professional development experience for Delaware teachers and leaders. Don’t miss what Brad says about doing discipline differently in schools and changing school culture from punitive to restorative. If you listen to the very end, you’ll catch our quick conversation about trying to get Brene Brown to be a guest on our One Thing Series podcast. Enjoy.
Brad worked as a Director of Curriculum and Instruction in downtown Indianapolis. He also served as principal for two years on the eastside of Indianapolis. Brad is an award-winning teacher who taught for 11 years, including roles as a coach and STEM department chair. He holds a B.A. in Education from Purdue University, an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from Indiana Wesleyan University, and completed a Principal Licensure Program from Indiana Wesleyan University.
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Thanks for listening to FocusED, an educational leadership podcast brought to you by TheSchoolHouse302 @ dereka206.sg-host.com.
FocusED is your educational leadership podcast where our mission is to dissect a particular focus for teachers and school leaders so that you can learn to lead better and grow faster in your school or district with more knowledge, better understanding, and clear direction on what to do next.
The 302 Thoughts segment of our One Thing Series takes a deep dive into our blog post for that particular month. February is dedicated to Black History Month and we thought it was only appropriate to honor and celebrate outstanding Black educators from the past and present.
This month we invited our good friend, Dr. Salome Thomas-EL, to join us to discuss his journey as an educator and how the education industry can attract more teachers of color.
Dr. Salome Thomas-EL has been a teacher and principal in Philadelphia, PA and Wilmington, DE since 1987. He is currently the Head of School at Thomas Edison Public Charter School in Wilmington, DE. Thomas-EL received national acclaim as a teacher and chess coach at Vaux Middle School, where his students have gone on to win world recognition as Eight-Time National Chess Champions. Principal EL was a regular contributor on “The Dr. Oz Show” and the author of the best-selling books, I Choose to Stayand The Immortality of Influence (Foreword by Will Smith). The Walt Disney Company optioned the movie rights to I Choose to Stay. Thomas-EL speaks to groups across the country and frequently appears on C-SPAN, CNN, and NPR Radio.
Principal EL’s journey into the classroom is nothing short of a calling from above. While working for Prism sports and talking to various athletes, EL realized the tremendous impact that educators had on the lives of the athletes, and he wanted to do the same for others.
Listen to why Principal EL decided to teach at the K-8 grade levels and not at the high school level.
EL’s explanation of why he decided to introduce students to chess is profound and poses the critical question: in what other ways can we engage students to think critically and have fun simultaneously in schools?
The conversation takes a nice turn to how schools must have a culture that supports teachers and attracts future educators into the profession.
EL gets very practical on how to recruit teachers of color.
Lastly, listen to EL rap and promote the power of an education.
This 302 Thoughts was a wonderful follow-up to our latest blogpost, Principal Leadership at TheSchoolHouse302.com:
We hope to hear from you about your favorite parts of both the blog and the interview.
Please follow, like, and comment. Use #onethingseries and #SH302 so that we can find you. For more great leadership content, follow dereka206.sg-host.com.
This is Season 1, Episode 3 of FocusED, and it features guest, Starr Sackstein. It was originally recorded live for a studio audience in Delaware, provided as a professional development experience for Delaware teachers and leaders. Don’t miss what Starr says about going gradeless in a traditional grading environment…and so much more. Enjoy.
Starr Sackstein is the Author of Such Great Educational Leadership Books for Teachers and School Leaders
Starr Sackstein was a Teacher Center teacher and ELA teacher at Long Island City High School in New York. She also spent nine years at World Journalism Preparatory School in Flushing, New York, as a high school English and journalism teacher where her students ran the multimedia news outlet WJPSnews.com. As a teacher, she completely got rid of grades, teaching students that learning isn’t about numbers, but about the development of skills and the ability to articulate growth.
Starr also has experience as the Director of Humanities (Business, English, Library, Reading, Social Studies, and World Languages) in West Hempstead, New York. It was from this experience that she wrote From Teacher to Leader: Finding Your Way as a First-Time Leader Without Losing Your Mind.
She is the author of many books (I’m not going to list them all). Here are a few of her titles:
Hacking Homework: 10 Strategies That Inspire Learning Outside of the Classroom co-written with Connie Hamilton.
Peer Feedback in the Classroom: Empower Students to be the Experts with the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)
From Teacher to Leader: Finding Your Way as a First-Time Leader without Losing Your Mind in 2019 (DBC).
Assessing with Respect: Everyday Practices that Meet Students’ Social and Emotional Needs (ASCD), which just came out in March of 2021.
Hacking Learning Centers in Grades 6-12: Teaching Choice and Providing Small Group Learning Opportunities in Content Rich Classes co-authored with Karen Terwilliger which is set to come out in 2021.
At speaking engagements around the world, Starr speaks about blogging, journalism education, bringing your own device to school, and throwing out grades, which was also highlighted in a recent TEDx talk entitled “A Recovering Perfectionist’s Journey to Give up Grades.” In 2016, she was named one of ASCD’s Emerging Leaders.
In recent years, Starr has spoken internationally in Canada, Dubai, and South Korea on a variety of topics from assessment reform to technology-enhanced language instruction.She is now a full time consultant with the Core Collaborative, working with teams on assessment reform and bringing student voice to the front of all classroom learning. She is also the publisher with Mimi and Todd Press, helping other authors share their voices around making an impact for students such as Belonging Through a Culture of Dignity: The Keys to Successful Equity Implementation by Cobb and Krownapple. Most recently, Arrows: A Systems-Based Approach to School Leadership by Rosebrock and Henry.
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Thanks for listening to FocusED, an educational leadership podcast brought to you by TheSchoolHouse302 @ dereka206.sg-host.com.
FocusED is your educational leadership podcast where our mission is to dissect a particular focus for teachers and school leaders so that you can learn to lead better and grow faster in your school or district with more knowledge, better understanding, and clear direction on what to do next.
Subscribe here to join the tribe and get free leadership content each week via email–blog posts, podcasts, books to read, access to live events, and more.
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