The Making Schools Work Podcast
Join us each week as we talk to different SREB team members and educators across the country to find out the latest in school innovations. From classroom instruction to school leadership, we are going to examine what it is that makes schools work!
Episodes
Welcome back to Part 2 of our special episode with Richland High School in Mississippi! In this continuation, Principal Marcus Stewart and Assistant Principal Heather Bryan delve deeper into the strategies and systems that have driven their school's remarkable growth.
In this episode, you'll learn about:
- Boosting AP Enrollment and Proficiency: Discover how Richland High School doubled its AP enrollment an...
Welcome to a special two-part episode of the Making Schools Work podcast! In this first installment, we're joined by Richard Morrison, senior leadership coach at SREB, as he discusses his three-year partnership with Richland High School in Mississippi. We also hear directly from Richland High School's principal, Marcus Stewart, and assistant principal, Heather Bryan, about their incredible journey of improve...
In this short announcement, Ashley and Dan sit down to talk about all of the exciting changes coming to the podcast in the fall.
Season 2 has a lot of big changes, but each change is just to make it bigger and better for you.
Plus, we talk about the Season 2 preview episodes we will be releasing during the 2025 Making Schools Work Conference from July 14-18.
The Southern Regional Education Board is a nonprofit, nonpa...
In this final episode of season one, Ashley Shaw and guest Leslie Eaves, SREB’s director of project-based learning, explore Pillar 4 of SREB’s Guidance for the Use of AI in the K12 Classroom: ethical and proficient student use of AI.
Ashley and Leslie discuss why it's not enough for educators to simply use AI—we need to help students use it responsibly, too. From media literacy to writing support to prompt enginee...
Part of our summer series on SREB’s Guidance for the Use of AI in the K12 Classroom
In this episode, Ashley talks with Leslie Eaves, SREB’s director of project-based learning, about how AI can support personalized learning.
They dig into what it really means to differentiate in today’s classrooms and how teachers can use AI tools to give students tools to use at home, create custom learning plans and much more.
Topics co...
Part of our summer series on SREB’s Guidance for the Use of AI in the K12 Classroom
In this episode, host Ashley Shaw is joined by Leslie Eaves, SREB’s director of project-based learning, to talk about Pillar 2: Using AI to streamline teacher administrative and planning work.
This conversation dives into practical, real-world ways teachers are using AI to save time—without giving up professional judgment.
From parent ...
In this episode of Class-Act Coaching, we dive into Pillar 1 of SREB’s Guidance for the Use of AI in the K12 Classroom—using AI to design cognitively demanding tasks that engage students in deep, meaningful learning.
Ashley is joined again by Leslie Eaves, SREB’s project-based learning program director, to talk about what makes a task truly cognitively demanding (hint: it’s about thinking, not just doing), and how AI t...
In this kickoff episode of our special summer series, Ashley Shaw sits down with Leslie Eaves, SREB's project-based learning director and a key member of the SREB Commission on AI in Education, to explore the new, free report: Guidance for the Use of AI in the K12 Classroom.
Whether you’re AI-curious or already experimenting, this episode is your entry point into making AI a helpful tool—not a headache—in your cl...
In the final episode of the school year, the Class-Act Coaching crew is back together! Ashley is joined by co-hosts Jason and Dan to reflect on the biggest takeaways from this semester’s episodes — and this time, Dan takes the reins as host.
Together, they dive into three powerful themes that kept coming up in coaching conversations:
- Collective Teacher Efficacy: What it really looks like in action — and how to tell ...
In this episode, Jason and Dan sit down with Kanisa Williams, an instructional coach from a large Georgia district, who coaches other instructional coaches. They talk about how coaching cycles are implemented not just with teachers, but with coaches, and the importance of modeling, trust-building and communication.
Kanisa shares how she supports new coaches in clarifying their role, planning productive coaching cycles...
In this episode of Class-Act Coaching, Ashley is joined by Marty Sugerik, an instructional coach with a passion for project-based learning (PBL). Marty shares practical coaching strategies to help teachers design or refine classroom projects that connect to real-world skills.
Whether you’re a coach supporting teachers in PBL or an educator looking to strengthen your own projects, this conversation is packed with hands-...
Getting students to truly engage can be one of the hardest parts of teaching—but this episode is here to help! Ashley is joined by two instructional coaches, Kari Meldrum and Sharon Moehle, who share two powerful, easy-to-implement strategies that promote deeper student engagement across all content areas.
Whether you teach math, ELA, science or social studies, these techniques are designed to get every student partici...
Planning comes up in nearly every episode of Class-Act Coaching—so this week, we’re giving it the spotlight it deserves. Ashley teams up with guest instructional coach Michelle Harada, who shares practical tips and research-backed strategies for improving the quality and efficiency of lesson planning, especially through collaborative planning.
Michelle draws from years of experience supporting teachers across grade lev...
This week, we’re doing something a little different! In this special episode of Class-Act Coaching, we take you behind the scenes of a real coaching conversation between SREB Coach Jason Adair and Jen Zelena, a reading specialist and literacy coach at Broughal Middle School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Jen has been leading an initiative called microteaching, where teachers film and reflect on their own lessons to make s...
Why do some students naturally engage in learning while others seem uninterested? In this episode, Ashley is joined by Dan Rock, who takes on the role of coach, to dive deep into the power of curiosity and motivation in learning. Dan breaks down the research behind cognitive interest cues—simple yet powerful techniques teachers can use to increase student engagement, deepen learning and make lessons more memorable.
Key...
We’re back with Part 2 of our conversation with Christi Edwards, where she shares her final two strategies for ensuring students don’t just succeed on class assignments but can apply their learning in future assessments and beyond.
In this episode, Christi focuses on helping students regulate their own thinking and communicate their ideas effectively—two key skills that build confidence and deeper understanding.
Key To...
Ever had a student ace all the assignments, but then struggle on a final essay or a state assessment? In this episode, Ashley and special guest co-host Jason Adair sit down with instructional coach Christi Edwards to tackle a key challenge in education: helping students transfer their learning beyond the classroom. Christi shares the first two of her four key strategies for ensuring students not only succeed in class ...
In this episode, Ashley and Dan sit down with Juliana Coleman, an experienced science educator and instructional coach, to discuss how to effectively teach to a standard while ensuring students develop deeper understanding rather than just memorizing facts.
Juliana breaks down common misconceptions about rigor, explains how to analyze standards to scaffold learning, and shares practical strategies for helping students...
In this special end-of-semester wrap-up, Ashley and Dan reflect on the four major themes explored in this semester's podcast episodes: Planning, Creating Authentic Work Experiences, Collaborating, and Building Connections with Students. They share key insights from their conversations with instructional coaches, highlight strategies that resonated, and discuss practical applications for teachers and coaches alike...
Rodriquez "Rod" Leonard, a coach with extensive experience in K-12 education, shares valuable insights on building a positive and productive classroom culture.
He emphasizes the importance of getting to know students as individuals, using those insights to inform instruction, and fostering student achievement.
He encourages teachers to try one of his tips, starting with making a genuine effort to connect with...
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