TLA Stories of Learning

TLA Stories of Learning

The mission of The Learning Accelerator is to connect teachers and leaders with the knowledge, tools, and networks they need to transform K-12 education. We make the 'potential' possible and practical for every teacher and every learner. In TLA Stories of Learning, TLA will share our insights, learnings, and conversations with real-world educators and education leaders as they make effective, equitable innovative learning a reality in their schools. Tune into our leadership series, "What Will We Take With Us?" to hear how education leaders rose to tackling the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, and how they're working to take what they've learned into a future that supports student-centered learning across the K-12 field.

Episodes

September 11, 2023 13 mins

In The Learning Accelerator's new podcast series, Beyond Brick and Mortar, hear from leaders of established virtual and hybrid learning programs from across the U.S. about what makes their programs a success – and what they had to learn along the way.

In this episode, we chat with Justin Louder,  Associate Vice Provost for e-Learning at Texas Tech University K-12 (TTU K-12), about their long history of service to stud...

Mark as Played

In The Learning Accelerator's new podcast series, Beyond Brick and Mortar, hear from leaders of established virtual and hybrid learning programs from across the U.S. about what makes their programs a success – and what they had to learn along the way.

In this episode, we chat with Laurie Wolfe, Chief Academic Officer at Gem Prep Online, about their whole-community approach to preparing students for college, career, an...

Mark as Played

In The Learning Accelerator's new podcast series, Beyond Brick and Mortar, hear from leaders of established virtual and hybrid learning programs from across the U.S. about what makes their programs a success – and what they had to learn along the way.

In this episode, we chat with Jill Rogier, Head of Schools, Digital, and Betsy Fowler, Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives at ASU Prep Digital, about their appro...

Mark as Played

In The Learning Accelerator's new podcast series, Beyond Brick and Mortar, hear from leaders of established virtual and hybrid learning programs from across the U.S. about what makes their programs a success – and what they had to learn along the way.

In this episode, we chat with Matt Bowman, founder and CEO at My Tech High, about their innovative model focused on personalizing education to students' individual ...

Mark as Played

In The Learning Accelerator's new podcast series, Beyond Brick and Mortar, hear from leaders of established virtual and hybrid learning programs from across the U.S. about what makes their programs a success – and what they had to learn along the way.

In this episode, we chat with Rachel Babcock, Co-Director and Co-Founder of Map Academy, about their holistic and student-centered approach to education, designed to add...

Mark as Played

In The Learning Accelerator's new podcast series, Beyond Brick and Mortar, hear from leaders of established virtual and hybrid learning programs from across the U.S. about what makes their programs a success – and what they had to learn along the way.

In this episode, we chat with Dr. Steve Kossakoski, CEO at Virtual Learning Academy Charter School (VLACS), about their mastery-based approach, emphasis on meaningful di...

Mark as Played

In The Learning Accelerator's new podcast series, Beyond Brick and Mortar, hear from leaders of established virtual and hybrid learning programs from across the U.S. about what makes their programs a success – and what they had to learn along the way.

In this episode, we chat with Maxwell Smith, Head of The Forest School Online, about their flexible, student-centered approach to online learning. Employing targeted and...

Mark as Played

In The Learning Accelerator's new podcast series, Beyond Brick and Mortar, hear from leaders of established virtual and hybrid learning programs from across the U.S. about what makes their programs a success – and what they had to learn along the way.

In this first episode, we chat with Megan Palevich, former Head of School at Laurel Springs School about their fully virtual K-12 program that emphasizes personalization...

Mark as Played

On this final episode of What Will We Take With Us?, a series featuring our conversations with education leaders across the United States on how they grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic in K-12 education, we speak with Scott Muri, Superintendent of Ector County Independent School District in Texas, about how leaders worked to make the most of the pandemic to accelerate the implementation of goals that benefitted the entire school c...

Mark as Played

On this episode of What Will We Take With Us?, a series featuring our conversations with education leaders across the United States on how they grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic in K-12 education, we speak with two leaders at Distinctive Schools in Chicago: Mike McCarthy, Executive Director of Student Services, and Stephanie Cardella, Executive Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment. They share with us how Distinctiv...

Mark as Played

On this episode of What Will We Take With Us?, a series featuring our conversations with education leaders across the United States on how they grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic in K-12 education, we speak with three school leaders from Meriden Public Schools in Connecticut: Mark Benigni, Superintendent of Schools;  Barbara Haeffner, Director for Teaching and Innovation; and Susan Moore, Supervisor of Blended Learning Director fo...

Mark as Played

On this episode of What Will We Take With Us?, a series featuring our conversations with education leaders across the United States on how they grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic in K-12 education, we speak with Dr. Keri Randolph, Executive Officer of Strategic Federal, State and Philanthropic Investments at Metro Nashville Public Schools in Tennessee about how the district created innovative initiatives to build relationships wit...

Mark as Played

On this episode of What Will We Take With Us?, a series featuring our conversations with education leaders across the United States on how they grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic in K-12 education, we chat with David Quinn, the Director of Technology Innovation at Mendon-Upton Regional School District in Massachusetts about how, in spite of the challenges posed by the pandemic, the district was able to leverage opportunities that ...

Mark as Played

On this episode of What Will We Take With Us?, a series featuring our conversations with education leaders across the United States on how they grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic in K-12 education, Dr. Suzanne Newell of Austin Independent School District in Texas details how the district focused on supporting students and teachers by providing instructional blueprints with prioritized standards to help guide instructional time, as...

Mark as Played

On this episode of What Will We Take With Us?, a series featuring our conversations with education leaders across the United States on how they grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic in K-12 education, PK Diffenbaugh of Monterey Peninsula Unified School District in California shares with us how the district integrated inclusive communication, collaboration, and transparency with critical stakeholders in their school community, ensurin...

Mark as Played

On this episode of What Will We Take With Us?, a series featuring our conversations with education leaders across the United States on how they grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic in K-12 education, Bob Ettinger of Renton School District in Washington shares with us how district leadership prioritized both staff and student wellness, facilitated opportunities for authentic engagement through choice and voice, and tackled challenges...

Mark as Played

On this episode of What Will We Take With Us?, a series featuring our conversations with education leaders across the United States on how they grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic in K-12 education, Dr. Tina Owen-Moore of the School District of Cudahy highlights how the district focused on proactive and open communication, feedback, and trust-building with teachers, students, and the community to accomplish what at times felt impos...

Mark as Played

On this episode of What Will We Take With Us?, a series featuring our conversations with education leaders across the United States on how they grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic in K-12 education, Ann Ertl of Hopkins Public Schools details the innovations made by this Minnesota school district, including the use of outdoor learning spaces, inquiry-based learning models, partnerships with community organizations, and an ongoing fe...

Mark as Played
August 11, 2021 2 mins

The Learning Accelerator envisions a future in which each student receives the effective, equitable, and engaging education they need to reach their full and unique potential. As we work to build bridges across the K-12 education field, we're incredibly excited to announce the launch of our first podcast: TLA Stories of Learning, to share the stories, learnings, and insights we've heard from real-world educators and leade...

Mark as Played

On this episode of What Will We Take With Us?, a series featuring our conversations with education leaders across the United States on how they grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic in K-12 education, Kristen Watkins of Dallas Independent School District shares with us the creative ways they developed to engage students through project-based learning, community partnerships, and family connections, as well as how they refined their p...

Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    Dateline NBC

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

    The Burden

    The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.

    SmartLess

    "SmartLess" with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, & Will Arnett is a podcast that connects and unites people from all walks of life to learn about shared experiences through thoughtful dialogue and organic hilarity. A nice surprise: in each episode of SmartLess, one of the hosts reveals his mystery guest to the other two. What ensues is a genuinely improvised and authentic conversation filled with laughter and newfound knowledge to feed the SmartLess mind. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of SmartLess ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

    The Breakfast Club

    The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2026 iHeartMedia, Inc.