Have a Life Teaching

Urban schools are vitially important for ensuring the strength of our overall economy as well as the growth of democracy says Michael Casserly, former executive director and current senior consultant of the Council of Great City Schools, on this week's podcast. On this episode, Casserly discusses his new book - The Enduring Promise of America's Great City Schools (Forward by Arne Duncan) - and how we can ensure that the urban schools we manage today are high quality learning centers for all. We are joined on this episode by Tracey Quarles, principal of elementary school P.S. 150 in Brooklyn, New York, who also shares how she took her school off of receivership and turned it into a learning space where all students thrive. Both guests offer wonderful tips to urban school leaders (really, any school leader) on how to develop the processes and systems that ensure student academic and social growth. Michael Casserly LinkedIn Profile [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-casserly-81863216/] The Enduring Promise of America's Great City Schools Book [https://www.amazon.com/Enduring-Promise-Americas-Great-Schools/dp/1682539318/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1VB5TR0HB1BXG&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.a6hKHrNnoW_qoujX8BhLPhjsts0AgF0ZSsBhj6Dw8MDGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.rLU4JytWyg7FZF3y8hHdeWW0PqYVWaC2x53eTiVxFjE&dib_tag=se&keywords=enduring+promise+of+america%27s+great+city+schools&qid=1733673788&s=books&sprefix=enduring+promise+of+americas+great+city+schools+%2Cstripbooks%2C107&sr=1-1] Tracey Quarles LinkedIn Profile [https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-tracey-quarles-5432012b7/] PS 150 Website [https://ps150k.org/] I Am Principal Today Book [https://www.amazon.com/am-Principal-Today-Tracey-Quarles-ebook/dp/B0BRPHFBZH/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1ZB18UGCQKKKO&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.4kRgVU_IbDVWHptPliZglw.GLEPcvKeJUqbNNZdLx_IpG8yVXAGRuuaC8wiDrsU_KA&dib_tag=se&keywords=Tracey+Quarles&qid=1733673958&s=books&sprefix=tracey+quarles+%2Cstripbooks%2C71&sr=1-1] Music - Aylex

In this episode, we are joined by Leslie Hayes, Vice-President of Education at the New York Historical Society. Hayes discusses how even the simplest item - a Dunkin Doughnuts Coffee Cup for example - can unleash deep and engaging student conversation on what everyday items tell us about the cultures we currently live in as well as about past times. Hayes also tells us about the work of her department at the museum in training educators and teaching students and also walks listeners through the steps that educators should take students through when conducting object based inquiry. She also discusses tips on how teachers can start collecting/using their own artifacts when teaching Social Studies. Hint: This does not need to be expensive or complicated. Leslie Hayes LinkedIn Page [https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslieshopehayes/] New York Historical Society - Objects Tell Stories [https://www.nyhistory.org/exhibitions/objects-tell-stories] Music - Aylex

For too long, schools have been designed using either a top down or bottom up approach; top down where administration makes all system decisions or bottom up where leadership is responsive to parent needs and wishes. However, in each model, important stakeholders are missing from the decision making table - students, families, leadership, teachers, and other community partners. What if, instead, says Wood - Chief Learning Officer at Transcend Education, we implemented a community informed school design model which incorporates the best of the top down model (order) and one that also prioritizes the social emotional needs of the students/families that schools serve? I hope you will listen in to this episode to learn from Wood how Transcend Education helps school communities to design community schools. Wood also offers listeners ideas on how communities might design community schools on their own from her new book - Extraordinary Learning for All: How Communities Design Schools Where Everone Thrives. Jenee Henry Wood LinkedIn Page [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenee-henry-wood-12ba9871] Transcend Education [https://transcendeducation.org/] Extraordinary Learning for All Book [https://www.amazon.com/Extraordinary-Learning-All-Communities-Everyone/dp/1394230540/ref=sr_1_1?crid=32I131A2SOTQ6&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.VyDilmhLWID-9F0Th9CkW5KrJZtvqyWi0r4ORmH10ZhCerkEYx9qjRYUNT-u2D6Iy_93ZT1QllsK0ZOTC7qVFo79xGhXzgwxsthSHDK4SYyYRgpuItjEp3Zg1YuAO8m6N0ftUZw3NUKWXzb7NYHMoI0o025_5R1wYSoN94BrMXHRwWf6LGnf091hTAVh3RaFMQ_y166s-JKNTybjCHORsVPbJ0BsFSbplBES7-HjX2k.TqkwZmn_QemXyc8esFtxWfPuhISs0BFFST5vp9XIdxg&dib_tag=se&keywords=extraordinary+learning+for+all+book&qid=1732375224&sprefix=Extraordinary+Lear%2Caps%2C421&sr=8-1] Music - Aylex

Did you know that two out of every three students will experience a traumatic event before they reach the age of 16? Trying to be clearheaded during a crisis is difficult. As such, schools must therefore be prepared to address the unexpected before the unexpected happens. But how to prepare for all of the unknowns that can befall our students and their families? Join me and my next guests, Geri Parscale and Darcy Kraus, as we discuss their new book - Navigating the Unexpected. In this episode, we discuss, in particular, how to move beyond providing immediate family support (The Caserole Effect) to a more systematic ongoing approach to meeting the long term needs - behavioral, social, and academic - of these students and families; from onset to conclusion of the event. Geri Parscale LinkedIn Page [https://www.linkedin.com/in/geri-parscale/] Darcy Kraus LinkedIn Page [https://www.linkedin.com/in/darcy-kraus-791773315/] Navigating the Unexpected Book [https://www.solutiontree.com/navigating-the-unexpected.html] Music - Aylex

Did you know that November is Children's Grief Awareness Month? Or, that 1/12 U.S. children will experience the death of a parent or sibling by age 18? Grief is a normal part of life, and schools must find ways to support students experiencing it. Join my next guest - Lindsay Schambach , CEO of the NJ based Imagine Grief Support Center - and I as we discuss ways through which teachers and others within school communities can help students process their grief over deaths of people involved in their lives as well as those experiencing grief related to other traumatic events. Lindsay Schambach LinkedIn Page [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsay-schambach-6b634426a/] Imagine Center Website [https://imaginenj.org/] Music - Aylex