Straight Chalk: Podcast for Busy Educators

3.10: Anchors Up! Professional Learning Built to Sail

Love what you hear, or have a suggestion for a future episode? 💖 Send me a text. 💌 [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2234450/fan_mail/new] In this episode, we sit down with Technology Support Specialist, Jessica Gutierrez, to explore how professional learning can move with purpose by honoring teacher voice, choice, and real classroom needs. Using Summer Summit as a case study, we examine how one thoughtfully designed, conference-style day can boost teacher confidence, strengthen connections across SLPS, and lead to meaningful classroom follow-through. What began as a response to real challenges—teacher schedules, summer timing, and access—has evolved into an engaging learning experience built around flexibility and relevance. From personalized registration pathways to a wide variety of sessions—including Canvas, instructional strategies, ESE support, and ELL-focused practices—teachers are empowered to choose learning that matters to them. The conference-style design brings energy and collaboration, while intentional session structures create time for reflection, planning, and immediate application. We also highlight key design decisions, including the one-day format that maximizes attention and momentum, as well as sneak peek sessions that introduce new resources and tools. Learning continues beyond the event through Lounge and Learn opportunities and the professional learning catalog, ensuring sustained impact. If this conversation resonates, share the podcast with a colleague—and join us again next month, wherever you get your podcasts.

3.9: From InnovatED to Innovated - Teacher Takeaways

Love what you hear, or have a suggestion for a future episode? 💖 Send me a text. 💌 [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2234450/fan_mail/new] What happens when teachers lead the learning—and actually make it stick? In this episode, we tap into the energy of InnovateEd, our first teacher-led conference, and turn those moments into practical moves you can try right away. From strategies that blend playful rigor with real thinking, to simple protocols that bring student ideas to the surface, this conversation is all about keeping powerful ideas alive long after the session ends. Join the conversation together with guests Melanie Larsen, Amelia Turner, and Stephanie Dean to learn what made the learning land, why teacher voice matters more than ever, and how small shifts—done well—can transform the classroom. If you’ve ever left a great professional learning session wondering how to make it stick, this one’s for you. Pick one idea. Try it within 72 hours. Then pass it on.

3.8: Different by Design - Reframing Professional Learning

Love what you hear, or have a suggestion for a future episode? 💖 Send me a text. 💌 [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2234450/fan_mail/new] “Sit and get” professional development is easy to schedule and hard to defend. What busy educators actually need is learning that respects their time, connects to their students, and leaves them with something they can use tomorrow. We’re joined by St. Lucie Public Schools instructional specialist Kimberly Wadsworth and Teacher Leader Dr. Trevor Sparacio to unpack a different approach: differentiated professional learning built around choice, relevance, and teacher voice. We talk through Innovate Ed, a first annual teacher-led conference designed by teachers for teachers, where sessions are created and facilitated by educators who are testing strategies in real classrooms every day. From the opening keynote energy to the time-block structure that lets you personalize your day, the goal is practical application, not passive compliance. We also dig into what shows up inside the sessions: classroom management moves, literacy strategies, student engagement, technology integration, and support for diverse learners. Trevor shares concrete examples of how to use data in a meaningful way with tools many teachers already have, including iReady, IXL, and Performance Matters, turning diagnostics and item analysis into targeted warmups and small-group plans. Kimberly highlights interactive design elements like modeling, movement, and collaboration so teachers leave equipped, not overwhelmed. Last, we get honest about the part that matters most: implementation. We discuss follow-up coaching, PLC reflection, peer modeling, and district resources that help new learning stick over time. If you’re local, we share registration details; if you’re outside the district, you’ll still walk away with a blueprint for building teacher-led learning where you are. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review, then tell us: what kind of professional learning would actually work best for you?

3.7: Purposeful Practice: Small Groups for Big Learning in the K-5 ELA Classroom

Love what you hear, or have a suggestion for a future episode? 💖 Send me a text. 💌 [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2234450/fan_mail/new] The biggest shifts in learning often happen in the smallest moments—at a back table, over a shared text, with a clear purpose and timely feedback. We sit down with Samantha Lamora, K–5 ELA curriculum specialist, to unpack how intentional small groups can transform reading and writing growth without overwhelming your day. From decoding breakthroughs in primary grades to rich text analysis in upper elementary, we map out what responsive, student-centered instruction looks like when it’s focused, flexible, and grounded in evidence. We walk through the heartbeat of effective small groups: aligning to the gradual release of responsibility and bringing the You Do Together phase to life. You’ll hear how to spot readiness signals, set a single learning target, and keep the cognitive lift on students while you calibrate supports in real time. Samantha shares concrete strategies for foundational skills—explicit modeling, repeated opportunities to respond, and immediate corrective feedback—as well as tools for comprehension and writing, including sentence frames, structured discussion, and quick checks that make thinking visible. The conversation tackles the questions teachers ask most: How do I group students without labels? How do I fit it all in? Most importantly, we center student identity and confidence, ensuring groups address needs without defining learners. If you’re ready to teach the learner, not the label, and make small groups the most responsive part of your ELA block, this conversation will give you clear steps to start tomorrow. Enjoyed the episode? Follow the show, share it with a colleague, and leave a quick review to help more educators find these strategies.

3.6: Sensemaking in Science: Shifting Student Thinking

Love what you hear, or have a suggestion for a future episode? 💖 Send me a text. 💌 [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2234450/fan_mail/new] Join me this month as I chat with Zulay Garcia, Science Curriculum Specialist in St. Lucie Public Schools, to unlock the power of sensemaking in your science classroom! In this new episode, we unpack simple, high‑impact ways teachers can help students think deeply, connect ideas, and make meaning. It’s a quick, energizing conversation you won’t want to miss—tune in and spark curiosity from day one!