Lutheran Education Podcast
Introducing the Lutheran Education Podcast, brought to you by Lutheran Special Education Ministries. In this podcast we’ll explore trends, issues and events surrounding Lutheran education. In each episode we’ll invite educational experts to shed light on topics that support educators, administrators and staff.
Episodes
Richard Schumacher and President and CEO, Stacy McGhee, are joined by LSEM Programs & Services Consultant, Kathy Krause, to talk about her career in Lutheran special education. Kathy has served numerous roles throughout her years of ministry with LSEM and now looks forward to her upcoming retirement. The three also talk about some of their fun hijinks along the way. Join us in congratulating Kathy on her second retirem...
Angela Swazey, the 2025 Charles A Winterstein Administrator of the Year award recipient and principal at St. Michael Lutheran in Wayne, MI, joins the podcast to share her feelings on being nominated and winning the award. She talks about her philosophy behind the special needs program at her school and the benefits that her families and students gain from having LSEM in their school. She also has some words of wisdom and ...
Chris Singer, president and CEO of Lutheran Church Charities Canine Comfort Dogs program, joins the podcast to talk about the importance and role of comfort dogs in their ministry. They’ll help in the wake of a disaster or emergencies and get an opportunity to respond and help people deal with trauma and tragedy. They currently have 128 teams in 30 states.
A teacher for over 28 years, Larry Sand joins the podcast to talk about teacher unions and government’s involvement in education. Sand, who writes about education issues, founded the California Teacher Empowerment Network in 2006 to help teachers get information that they may not be able to obtain from their unions and districts.
Trip Rodgers, Education Executive for the Central Iliinois District returns to the podcast to talk about the latest research on trauma as well as some of the residual effects as we look back on the Covid pandemic.
In this episode Dr. Lisa Joyner, from Veritas Baptist College, and Dr. Bunnie Claxton, founder and CEO of Dissertation Research Specialists, talk about individualized education plans in private school settings.
Patti Bartsch, PhD.,, founder of Naturally Unbridled Wellness, a holistic therapy center in Onalaska, WI, and Tori Yocum, a Biophotonic and Brainergy Specialist with Naturally Unbridled Wellness talk about nutrition and food choices in our schools and how they affect learning and brain development in our students.
Pastor Todd Bentz, pastor at Emanuel Lutheran Church in Hamburg, MN, and Pastor Rich Steensma, senior pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Jefferson City, MO, join the podcast to talk about how they each made a significant change in ministry and what went into those decisions. Both pastors shifted from education to a pastoral role and chat about how God pressed this change upon their hearts.
Three LSEM teachers from across the country — Erin Muth (Minnesota), Rebekeh Symank (California) and Kasey Mathews (Illinois) — join Dr. Tracie Salgado for a roundtable conversation and talk about and share their journeys and paths in becoming special education teachers. They discuss some of the challenges in their profession as well as their successes and their unique approaches in working with their students.
Mick McCoy is the creator of Holidays in Scriptures (HIS) Songs, a curriculum of scripture songs for children. In this podcast, McCoy, who goes by Grampa Ralph in his songs, talks about how he came to Christ in 1971 while working at a coffee house in Hawaii. He left everything behind to follow Christ but soon came back to music when he realized that music was one of his gifts from God. You can find his curriculum at script...
Travis Grulke, assistant to the president in education and superintendent of schools at the Michigan District, and Sean Martens, assistant to the president in education at the Minnesota South District, join the podcast to talk about the state of education in their respective states. Each touch on the amazing growth they’re experiencing in their districts as well as the importance of the local Concordia Universities in the...
Kevin Creutz, Executive Director of the Lutheran Schools Partnership in Fort Wayne, IN, is a former teacher and principal. While he didn't always envision working on the administration side of education, Kevin talks about how his professional journey was encouraged by fellow administrators throughout his career. The Lutheran Schools Partnership provides services and resources to Lutheran schools.
Richard Schumacher, Senior Director of Operations at Lutheran Special Education Ministries and host of the podcast, recaps the year, talks about the state of the ministry and what’s ahead in the coming year at LSEM. Richard also reflects on some of 2024's podcast highlights.
Dr. Drew Gerdes, Assistant Professor of Education, Early Childhood Education Program Director, Director of Student Teaching, Department of Education at Concordia University Nebraska, has served as an Early Childhood Teacher and Administrator at schools in the United States and Asia for nearly three decades. Noted as a professional who loves to share and develop other educators, Dr. Gerdes has been a sought-after speaker on...
Andrew Monkemeyer, Principal at Concordia Lutheran School in Peoria, IL, joins the conversation with Dr. Tracie Salgado and talks about the relationship between his school and Lutheran Special Education Ministries. After 14 years as a teacher at Concordia, Andrew became principal last year and stepped into the role of navigating the special education needs in his school. He talks about challenges that all Christian schools...
Dr. Thomas Wrege, a frequent contributor to the podcast, joins this episode and talks about his new endeavor as a School Funding Executive at DAST Consulting. A former teacher and principal, Wrege recently earned his doctoral degree in innovation and continuous improvement from Concordia University. In his new role, he helps school administrators find and access funding that they may not have realized is available to them.
...LSEM’s Dr. Tracie Salgado talks with Annie Palmer, owner and literacy coach at Annie Palmer Consulting, about the importance of being proficient in writing. A parent and teacher, Annie knows what it takes to work with parents and educators in better equipping them to guide their children and students to become better writers.
Matt Dery, a sports radio broadcaster turned teacher, joins the podcast for a conversation about how he took a non-traditional path to becoming an educator and the ways he was able to connect with and bring a different perspective to his students and parents in the classroom. He talks about some of the approaches he used in getting on his students level and come across as equals. There are some great points in this podcast...
Rebecca Friedrichs, author of Standing up to Goliath, has spent her career fighting within the school system to protect her students and parents from the darkness and grief that the teachers' unions have caused. Friedrichs wrote an editorial that was featured in her local newspaper. That piece started the wheels in motion in challenging the union and eventually led to their case appearing before the U.S. Supreme Court. By ...
Rev. Joel Kaiser, Associate Pastor at St. Lorenz Lutheran Church in Frankenmuth, MI, talks with Richard Schumacher on the role he plays in welcoming new students and families to their Lutheran school. With enrollment increasing during the pandemic, a wonderful opportunity presented itself to evangelize to these new students and families. Kaiser is involved with the school in working with staff and faculty on how to maximiz...
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