Aspire: The Leadership Development Podcast

In this week’s episode, Kim Gameroz breaks down the misconceptions of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and how to build a systematic approach to have the most impact with SEL. In this episode, we discuss: Creating a common language   Making Morning Meetings meaningful  And her upcoming book!  About Kim Gameroz: Kim Gameroz is a change agent for schools and districts who seek to revolutionize classrooms by taking on a systematic approach to teaching social and emotional skills. For over 15 years, Kim has coached, trained, and mentored teachers, students, and families around the globe. She was invited to speak at Social Thinking's Global Provider's Conference in San Francisco, as well as Get Your Teach On's Rock Your School and PBIScon22 for PBIS Rewards. She has also consulted for school districts and families in need of social and emotional support, served on SEL panels for the Cotsen Art of Teaching Foundation, and has appeared on various webinars and podcasts with leaders and companies near and far.

I met my amazing guest at Teach Better 22 and we had a wonderful conversation, which I wanted to continue on the Aspire to Lead Podcast. In this week’s episode, Robert Dunlop shares his experiences on the pursuit of happiness and how a dark time in his life changed his perspective completely.   In this episode, we discuss: Understanding and Learning from the Peaks and Valleys of our Professional Journey The Research on Happiness And his new book, STRIVE for Happiness in Education!  About Robert Dunlop: Robert Dunlop is a teacher, speaker and author who has a passion for helping other educators love their careers. His work with thousands of teachers, principals and support staff has given him insight into the importance of happiness in education. He believes that all students deserve to be surrounded by educators who are passionate and love coming to school each day. To help make this a reality, he has made it his mission to help educators make happiness and well-being a priority. Recently, he publish

In this week’s episode, Bryan Zwemke shares how he started a new position this summer to serve his district in a new role. Regardless of your position, we all need support in our leadership journey and Bryan shares some wonderful strategies to connect and grow to gain leadership knowledge.  In this episode, we discuss: The support and guidance needed to survive a new leadership position Personalized learning and the changes needed to enhance student soft skills And the Teach Better Administrator Mastermind!  About Bryan Zwemke: Bryan Zwemke is an Assistant Superintendent of Learning and Innovation in Illinois with 22 years of experience teaching and leadership in rural, suburban, and urban settings focused on student achievement and student engagement. His priorities focus on the core strategies of a guaranteed and viable curriculum, mental health, equity and access for all students, supporting quality teams, and personalized learning for students. Bryan completed his doctoral program for Educat

Today’s leaders face the challenge of leading five generations: Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and brand-new Generation Z teachers, along with Gen Alpha, today’s youngest students. In this week’s episode, Mark White, shares his research and experiences to address expectations implicit with leading each generation.  In this episode, we discuss: Tactics for transitioning to 5-Gen Leadership and understanding distinct generations in teaching staff Advice for creating a welcoming environment for Gen Z and Gen Alpha And his book, Leading 5 Generations in Schools!  About Mark White: Mark White is an award-winning teacher, school leader, and author. He was previously the superintendent of the Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools in Gahanna, Ohio, and the academic principal at the Beijing National Day School in Beijing, China. He has frequently been a guest speaker in universities and at local, state, and national conferences. As a consultant, he has coached thousands of educators in schools across

In this week’s episode, Rose Griffen, shares her story of discovering a need with non- verbal autistic children and how she stepped up to create her own product to help support her students. In addition to the products she creates, Rose has become a huge resource in the special education space as she helps consult, speak, and teach about autism and communication skills.  In this episode, we discuss: Strategies to enhance our communication  Breaking down the misconceptions of Autism And her podcast, Autism Outreach!  About Rose Griffin: Rosemarie Griffin, MA, CCC/SLP BCBA, is an ASHA certified Speech-Language Pathologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She divides her time between a public school and her own private practice, ABA SPEECH.  She is the founder of ABA SPEECH. ABA SPEECH offers therapy services, courses, consultations and products geared towards helping autistic students find their voice. Rose is also the host of the Autism Outreach Podcast, a weekly show all about autism and com

After a fantastic weekend of learning and fun, I had to get one of my Teach Better Teammates on with me to recap this epic event.  In this week’s bonus episode, Katie Miglin, provides some insight, behind the scenes stories, and additional information from the Teach Better 22 Conference!  In this episode, we discuss: Key takeaways from Teach Better 22 Networking events and how to get connected And the 12 hour live show!  About Katie Miglin: Katie Miglin was a former classroom teacher of 13 years in the middle school setting. She taught 7th grade for all thirteen years with a few sections of 6th and 8th grade sprinkled throughout. Her experience includes teaching Writing and Math. During her time in the schools, Katie has held a variety of roles including Fellowship of Christian Athletes Huddle Leader, Curriculum Chair, Drama Club Director, and PBIS Tier 1 Coach. She has also been a part of the building leadership team, community outreach team, and before school program. Katie is now working for

What do we do when we are at our breaking point and feel completely overwhelmed? For many, unfortunately, masking and ignoring the problems become the unhealthy solution. This week’s guest, Jeff Kubiak, is incredibly transparent and brave as he shares his battle with alcoholism, his focus on mental health, and how he is transforming his campus to focus on the social and emotional needs of his students and staff.  In this episode, we discuss: Focusing on the Trauma of Staff and Students Equity Walks on Campus And his upcoming book, Monsters Do Have Manners! About Jeff Kubiak: I, Jeff Kubiak,  grew up in Davis, CA with one sister, and an amazing mother and father. My mom was a public school teacher for 33 years, and my dad worked for UC Davis for 35 years. I have a phenomenal wife, Piper and two kids, Keeley, and Braden. My pops passed away in 2019 from Alzheimers. I am currently an educator, author and speaker in Northern California. Having taught for ten years as an elementary school teacher in

This week’s guest, Lindsay Lyons, shares how by including student voice and enhancing the curriculum to include opportunities to discuss important topics, the culture of the classroom increases equity and inclusiveness.  In this episode, we discuss: Curriculum Design for Difficult Topics  Student Partnership Opportunities And her podcast, Time for Teachership! About Lindsay Lyons: Lindsay Lyons (she/her) is an educational justice coach who works with teachers and school leaders to inspire educational innovation for racial and gender justice, design curricula grounded in student voice, and build capacity for shared leadership. Lindsay taught in NYC public schools, holds a PhD in Leadership and Change, and is the founder of the educational blog and podcast, https://www.lindsaybethlyons.com/blog (Time for Teachership).  Follow Lindsay Lyons: Website: http://www.lindsaybethlyons.com (www.lindsaybethlyons.com)  Twitter: https://twitter.com/lindsayblyons (https://twitter.com/lindsayblyons)  L

This week’s guest, Jorge Valenzuela, shares his journey of how he was introduced to Emotional Intelligence in his personal life and how he used his action research to help districts implement sound SEL practices on their campuses.  In this episode, we discuss: “Learning Walks” to Provide Feedback  The Importance of Gathering Data for Action Research And his new podcast, SEL in Action Podcast! About Jorge Valenzuela: Jorge Valenzuela is an education coach, author, and advocate. He has years of experience as a teacher, curriculum specialist, and consultant. Using action research methodology, his work helps school leaders and teachers reach their unique success paths to innovation in school leadership, tiered instruction, project-based learning, computer science and STEM education, and social and emotional learning across the curriculum. Jorge is an adjunct professor at Old Dominion University and the lead coach at https://www.lifelonglearningdefined.com/ (Lifelong Learning Defined). He is an https:

This week’s guest, Kevin J. Butler, shares how he lost his passion to teach and how he transformed his teaching style to become more engaging. While teachers don’t train to be entertainers, teaching must capture students’ attention and at times entertain them. This doesn’t mean that every lesson has to be a Broadway musical number, but it does require educators to be intentional when engaging students in active learning. We discuss Kevin’s new book, Lights, Cameras, TEACH!, and how he brings the magic of the movies to the classroom, presenting a scene-by-scene script packed with film-inspired ideas for educators. In this episode, we discuss: Community Building Strategies Reigniting your Passions as a Teacher. And his new book, Lights, Cameras, TEACH! About Kevin Butler: Kevin began teaching in 2002 in New York at a suburban public school on Long Island. He relocated to California to  consult and teach at a startup charter school. For the last six years, Kevin taught fifth grade at an independent

In this 26th Aspire Mailbag episode, Jeff Gargas and I answer questions on different leadership topics provided by the listeners. Please join us for this episode as we answer questions on new initiatives by new leaders, abandoning campus programs, leadership advice, the Teach Better conference, and the latest news with the Teach Better Team! Featuring Jeff Gargas and Joshua Stamper Teach Better Conference: https://teachbetterconference.com/ (https://teachbetterconference.com/) AspireTB2022 for $50 off Follow Jeff Gargas: Twitter:https://twitter.com/jeffgargas ( https://twitter.com/jeffgargas) Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/_jeffgargas/ ( https://www.instagram.com/_jeffgargas/) Follow Joshua Stamper: Contact:https://joshstamper.com/contact/ ( https://joshstamper.com/contact/) Twitter:http://www.twitter.com/Joshua__Stamper ( www.twitter.com/Joshua__Stamper) Instagram:http://www.instagram.com/joshua__stamper ( www.instagram.com/joshua__stamper) Linkedin:http://www.linkedin.com/in/

This week’s guest, Kyle Hill, shares how his role as a Special Education Lead and parent has uncovered a huge gap in the communication and relationship between the school, parents, and the student. Kyle provides wonderful advice and resources to help all parties succeed in creating an effective plan for our struggling students. In this episode, we discuss: Strategies to help students with their classroom behavior Resources for parents to assist their special education meetings And his podcast, Xhausted Educators! About Kyle Hill: School was a struggle for Kyle Hill.  In fact, as someone with undiagnosed ADHD, school was more of a chore than an opportunity.  Due to his own experiences with academic and behavior challenges, Kyle decided to become an elementary, special education teacher to support students with their own unique needs.  He served in this role for 19 years in both co-taught general education classrooms and self contained special education classrooms.  Since then, he has become a dist

This week’s guest, Carl Hooker, shares how to tackle the challenge of creating innovation in the classroom and he provides ideas for both teachers and leaders with new ways to motivate learners of all ages and open up their creative pathways. In this episode, we discuss: Enhancing skills beyond technology  The future of education and online learning And his book, Ready.Set.FAIL!  About Carl Hooker: Carl Hooker is an educational consultant and speaker from Austin, TX. He spent the past 24 years as a teacher and administrator building successful blended learning programs for schools. He also serves as an advisor for multiple ed tech companies and is the co-founder of the social media platform K12Leaders.com.  He has written 6 books on mobile learning as well as being a named a National Faculty Member Emeritus for Future Ready Schools out of Washington, D.C. He hosts three podcasts (ISTE’s Learning UnLeashed, The UnDisruptED podcast, and the Forward to Different podcast) and his latest book Ready,

This week’s guest, David Frangiosa, shares how he used multiple grading procedures to discover a process that revolutionized his classroom and shifted the focus to learning, which was going gradeless. We dive into this structure of feedback, student self pacing, and the misconceptions of this system.  In this episode, we discuss: Utilizing an Accountability Checklist  The differences of going gradeless vs. Standards Based Grading And his book, Going Gradeless: Shifting the Focus to Student Learning!  About David Frangiosa: David Frangiosa is a high school science teacher from Northern NJ and the co-author of Going Gradeless: Shifting the Focus to Student Learning, Corwin Press. Over the past seven years, he has been performing action research on grade reform and the impact of various instructional approaches. He is an educational blogger who maintains his own blog at ReimaginedSchools.com, as well as contributes to the TeachBetter blog, SchoolRubric  and Teachers Going Gradeless. He also hosts th

This week’s guest, Katie Miglin, shares how to create an interdisciplinary learning experience in the classroom, while using the Grid Method to enhance student voice and ownership of the content.  In this episode, we discuss: New Teach Better Course on Interdisciplinary Learning New Opportunities to Provide Student Feedback And the Teach Better 22 Conference!  About Katie Miglin: Katie Miglin was a former classroom teacher of 13 years in the middle school setting. She taught 7th grade for all thirteen years with a few sections of 6th and 8th grade sprinkled throughout. Her experience includes teaching Writing and Math. During her time in the schools, Katie has held a variety of roles including Fellowship of Christian Athletes Huddle Leader, Curriculum Chair, Drama Club Director, and PBIS Tier 1 Coach. She has also been a part of the building leadership team, community outreach team, and before school program. Katie is now working for the Teach Better Team as the Director of Curriculum and Instru

This week’s guest, Dr. Marcus Belin, shares how a difficult start to his role as a Principal allowed him to appreciate, learn, and not regret the hard lessons of his leadership experience.    In this episode, we discuss: Setting Fire to the “Comfort Box” Showing Vulnerability and Transparency to your Staff And his podcast, Unapologetic Leadership About Dr. Marcus Belin: Born and raised on the Southside of Chicago, Dr. Belin learned the value of education at a very young age. That belief has carried him into my career as an educator and my commitment to making an indelible mark on the lives of my students and colleagues.  He attended Bradley University, where he received his bachelor’s in elementary education followed by a master’s in education administration. He completed his doctorate at National Louis University in July 2020. His career as a 5th- and 6th-grade social studies teacher at Quest Charter Academy, a brand new charter school that was opening its doors in Peoria.  He then became the

This week’s guest, Elijah Carbajal, shares how to be the best version of ourselves to create an environment that is inviting, caring, and accepting of all students. If you are looking to improve your classroom culture, this is the episode for you!   In this episode, we discuss: Leading With Service  The Shut Up and Teach Podcast And his soon to be released book, A Place They Love: Creating Healthy School Culture and Positively Impacting Students About Elijah Carbajal: Elijah is a Title I Reading Interventionist who has been teaching for 9 years, all in the state of NM. Teaching runs in his family. He’s married to a teacher, Tracey Taylor. Elijah is the host of “Shut Up And Teach” and he wrote a book that is being published by EduMatch Publishing this fall. Follow Elijah Carbajal: Twitter: https://twitter.com/carbaeli (https://twitter.com/carbaeli)  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carbaeli/?hl=en (https://www.instagram.com/carbaeli/?hl=en)  Shut Up and Teach Podcast: https://podcast

In this bonus episode, Starr Sackstein shares her exciting announcement about Hacking Assessment and we discuss how to shift the “Grades Mindset”, change your grading system, and improve the feedback process.  In this episode, we discuss: A No-Grade Classroom Rebranding Assignments as learning experiences Project based learning - Teaching the Reflection Process Ditching the Traditional Gradebook And her new edition, Hacking Assessment: 10 Ways to Go Gradeless in a Traditional Grades School About Starr Sackstein: Starr Sackstein is a recovering perfectionist who is an assessment reforming enthusiast. Currently, she works with teacher teams to engage students in the learning process, advocate for personal growth, and effectively use student data to drive instruction with the Core Collaborative. She also works as publisher for Mimi & Todd Press.  In her past lives, she was a high school English and journalism teacher, a lead Humanities learner, and social media manager.  Additionally, Sta

This week’s guest, Dwight Carter, shares how the motto “Be GREAT” changed his mindset, school culture assessment, and trajectory of his leadership journey. Join us as we explore Dwight’s new district position and new book, Be Great!   In this episode, we discuss: Assessing School and District Culture Gratitude Techniques And his new book, Be Great: Five Principles to Improve School Culture from the Inside Out About Dwight Carter: Dwight Carter is a nationally recognized school leader from Central OH. Because of his collaborative and innovative leadership, in 2010, he was inducted into the Jostens Renaissance Educator Hall of Fame. He was also named a 2013 National Association of Secondary School Principals Digital Principal of the Year, the 2014 Academy of Arts and Science Education High School Principal of the Year, the 2015 Ohio Alliance of Black School Educators Principal of the Year, and the 2021 Columbus Africentric Early College Sankofa Emerging Leader.  He is currently the Director of Stud

This week’s guest, PJ Caposey, shares how experiencing a tragedy at a young age shifted his mindset on the value of time and how time management is key in any successful leader’s skill set. In this episode, we discuss: The Reflection Process Valuing Coaching from Others Preparing our Students for their Future.  About PJ Caposey: PJ Caposey is a dynamic speaker and a transformational leader and educator. PJ began his career as an award-winning teacher in the inner-city of Chicago and has subsequently led significant change in every administrative post he has held. PJ became a principal at the age of 28 and within three years was able to lead a small-town/rural school historically achieving near the bottom of its county to multiple national recognitions. After four years, PJ moved to his current district, Meridian CUSD 223, as superintendent and has led a similar turnaround leading to multiple national recognitions for multiple different efforts. PJ is a best-selling author and has written 8 books