The Best of Us

Episodi

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  S4/E9: When You Give Educators the Space to Experiment with AI with Chelsea Waite & Caitrin Wright 07.07.2026 47min

  Chelsea Waite of the Center on Reinventing Public Education and Caitrin Wright of Silicon Schools Fund share what they learned from a cohort of educators who designed and piloted their own AI use cases — and why the most promising results had less to do with efficiency and more to do with strengthening human connection.
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  S4/E8: Sara Scribner on Rethinking Teacher Prep from the Ground Up 09.06.2026 51min

  Sara Scribner shares how a rural New Hampshire district stopped waiting for special education teachers to arrive and built its own pipeline instead, covering tuition, providing housing, and keeping every graduate in the classroom.
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  S4/E7: Allie's Rodman's Case for Personalized Professional Learning and Whole Educators 05.05.2026 53min

  How can districts design professional learning that treats teachers as the adult learners they are?In this episode, Allie Rodman—a former teacher, coach, assistant principal, school board member, and author of two books on professional learning—explains why the field has spent a decade building SEL programs for students but never did the same work for the adults in the building. She shares how sitting on a school board revealed the gap between what districts say they value and what they actually fund, why teacher voice means co-creating from the start rather than asking for input at the end, and what it looks like when over 90% of teachers choose personalized learning—even when it means using their own time.
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  S4/E6: From Lab Scientist to Learning Designer—How Curiosity and Stories Drive Adult Learning with Nadira Singh 07.04.2026 41min

  What if the key to better professional learning is asking more questions instead of giving more answers?In this episode, Nadira Singh shares how she uses curiosity, empathy interviews, and a scientist's mindset to help educators across 142 schools learn and grow.
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  S4/E5: When Students Lead the Change—How Voice and Goals Drive Teacher Retention with Katy Meyers 03.02.2026 44min

  When Katy Meyers' first-year teacher announced she was leaving education, Katy flipped the question: instead of asking why teachers quit, she researched what makes them stay. The answer—being heard matters more than being fixed—transformed how she leads, and it applies to students too.
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  S4/E4: Leading with Vulnerability—Why Self-Doubt Makes Better Leaders with Elizabeth Dampf 06.01.2026 38min

  What if admitting "I'm not sure I'm good enough for this" is actually the most powerful thing a leader can say? Elizabeth Dampf believes that self-doubt isn't a weakness to hide—it's a doorway to better leadership. In this episode, she challenges the myth of the "strong leader" and shares why vulnerability, curiosity, and honest reflection create more effective leaders than projecting certainty ever could.
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  S4/E3: The Success Triangle — 40 Years of Urban District Leadership with Dr. Michael Hinojosa 08.12.2025 51min

  Why do most new superintendents feel overwhelmed by board relations, politics, and finance rather than instruction? In this episode of The Best of Us, Dr. Michael Hinojosa shares his Success Triangle framework for balancing stakeholder relationships, how he developed 50 future superintendents while leading six districts over 40 years, and why incrementalism is innovation's worst enemy in urban education.
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  S4/E2: Teresa Morales-Young on How Fresno Unified Built a Teacher Pipeline That Actually Works 02.11.2025 37min

  Over 15 years, Teresa Morales Young has built something rare in education: a teacher pipeline that actually works. As leader of the Department of Teacher Development at Fresno Unified—California's third-largest district—Teresa has created 12 interconnected pathways that guide educators from high school through their entire career, achieving retention rates that far exceed state averages.
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  S4/E1: Michael McDowell on How Leaders Can Build Collective Instructional Excellence 30.09.2025 49min

  Why does a student's educational experience depend more on which classroom door they walk through than which school they attend? Educational leader and author Michael McDowell explores how schools can move from tolerating isolated brilliance in individual classrooms to building collective instructional excellence through systematic implementation of high-impact practices.
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  S3/E12: Learning Labs — How Job-Embedded Professional Learning Transforms Teaching and Learning 20.08.2025 52min

  What happens when professional learning moves from conference rooms into classrooms, with teachers, coaches, and principals learning together in real-time with actual students?In this episode, Elham Kazemi from the University of Washington and Jessica Calabrese, a former principal and district leader, share how Learning Labs revolutionize professional development by embedding it directly into classroom practice. Unlike traditional PD that separates learning from teaching, their approach brings teams of educators into classrooms together to collaboratively plan, teach, observe, and reflect—all while working with real students on authentic problems of practice.Drawing from their partnership that began in a federally-designated "persistently low-performing" school in South Seattle, Elham and Jessica reveal how this model shifts principals from evaluators to lead learners, transforms isolated teaching into collaborative inquiry, and positions students as the most important teachers of all. They discuss how focusing on student thinking rather than test scores creates the conditions for both academic growth and teacher retention.
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  S3/E11: Taking Things Off Teachers' Plates — How School Leaders Can Combat Burnout Before It Starts 18.08.2025 58min

  What if the solution to teacher burnout isn't asking teachers to fix themselves, but building systems that lighten their load?In this episode, Laura Donnelly and Jill Hanley, co-authors of "What Can I Take Off Your Plate?", challenge the conventional approach to teacher burnout that places the burden on individual educators. Instead of telling overwhelmed teachers to practice more self-care, they argue that school leaders must create intentional systems that remove unnecessary weight from what's already on teachers' plates.Drawing from their experience transforming a high-need elementary school with 82% free and reduced lunch and 44% English language learners, Laura and Jill share practical strategies for building sustainable systems. From crafting master schedules that prioritize collaboration to establishing consistent behavior support protocols, they reveal how thoughtful operational decisions become powerful cultural statements about what a school truly values.Through the story of "Mrs. Wilson" and other composite teacher experiences, they demonstrate how common pain points—unclear communication, inconsistent feedback, and lack of behavior support—can be systematically addressed through better leadership practices, not individual teacher resilience.
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  S3/E10: Teacher Agency at Scale — How M3T is Revolutionizing Professional Learning in West Virginia 10.08.2025 44min

  What happens when you give teachers the power to identify their own problems and work together to solve them?In this episode, Joanna Burt-Kinderman and Adam Riazi from the Mountaineer Mathematics Master Teacher (M3T) network share how they've built a statewide system that puts teacher agency at the center of professional learning. Unlike traditional top-down professional development, M3T empowers 32 teacher leaders across 27 West Virginia districts to form local improvement teams, identify classroom "bugs" that frustrate them, and test solutions collaboratively.From addressing students' "first step questions" to building productive struggle, Joanna and Adam reveal how small, teacher-driven changes can have outsized impact when supported by a network of peers. They discuss the challenges of scaling teacher leadership, the importance of compensating educators for their expertise, and why this approach is fundamentally about retention—keeping brilliant teachers in the classroom where they belong.
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  S3/E9: From Lab Bench to White House — Why Steve Robinson Believes in Coaching as Policy 23.06.2025 46min

  How does a molecular biologist-turned-middle school teacher end up shaping national education policy from inside the Obama White House?In this episode, Steve Robinson—a former university professor, public school teacher, and White House education advisor—walks us through his untraditional journey into education and his evolving belief that every teacher deserves ongoing support. From navigating the culture shock of his first middle school classroom to pushing for the STEM Master Teacher Corps at the federal level, Steve shares the moments that taught him that good teaching is a craft, and improvement requires trust, coaching, and real-time feedback.Now back in the classroom, Steve reflects on how he became a better teacher after leaving the White House—and what it will take to build systems that support teacher growth nationwide.
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  S3/E8: Sneakers on the Ground — How Dr. Tiffany Anderson Leads from the Classroom Up 09.06.2025 43min

  How can a superintendent who teaches middle school weekly—and wears sneakers with suits—transform an entire school district?In this episode, Dr. Tiffany Anderson, Superintendent of Topeka Public Schools and a nationally recognized education leader, shares how embedding leadership within the lived realities of students, families, and teachers can reshape entire systems. As the first Black woman to lead the historic Topeka district, Dr. Anderson has built a blueprint for sustainable transformation—one rooted in equity, proximity, and purpose.From establishing trauma-informed schools and wraparound services to developing teacher pipelines that begin in high school, Dr. Anderson demonstrates how leadership that stays grounded—literally—builds trust, raises achievement, and reimagines professional learning.
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  S3/E7: How AI Is Rewriting PD: A Conversation with Dyane Smokorowski 26.05.2025 36min

  How can district leaders use AI to deepen professional learning and reimagine instructional design?In this episode, Dyane Smokorowski, Coordinator of Digital Literacy at Wichita Public Schools, shares how her team supports over 40,000 students by empowering educators to become “learning experience designers.” She explores how AI can enhance clarity, creativity, and connection in both teaching and PD—without losing sight of pedagogy or equity.
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  S3/E6: Women in Education Leadership, with Dr. AK Prerara 11.03.2025 35min

  In this episode of The Best of Us, Superintendent of Lancaster ISD Dr. AK Perera shares her journey to educational leadership and the differences between male and female superintendents’ experience. Women make up nearly 75% of the country’s classroom teachers, but only 14% of superintendents. Dr. Perera leveraged her experience into the creation of the Sister Supes Network, an affinity group of female superintendents that aims to provide support with a culture of trust and confidentiality.As we delve into the specific challenges women face in educational leadership, Dr. Perera also digs deep on empowering women into leadership roles, introvert/extrovert challenges, and the surprising ways superintendency is like a gumbo.
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  S3/E5 The Equity Trap, with Jennifer Ahn 18.02.2025 42min

  In this episode of The Best of Us, Jennifer Ahn of Lead By Learning delves into collaborative inquiry and professional learning as a critical tool for improving educational outcomes in marginalized populations. The conversation focuses on equity-centered teacher evaluation, which assesses the impact of classroom practices on vulnerable students, and the four “equity traps” Ahn identifies as common organizational pitfalls.We also talk over the case of Bayview High, exploring specific challenges that one campus faced when it came to tackling disproportionate outcomes. Other key topics include overcoming equity traps, fostering a culture of reflection, and engaging BIPOC students and families to create a more equitable educational environment.
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  S3/E4: Supporting Non-Teaching Educators, with Dr. Danica Brown 28.01.2025 37min

  In this episode of The Best of Us, we’re proud to host researcher and educator Dr. Danica Brown to discuss the "hidden half" of educators—non-teaching staff like counselors, instructional coaches, and paraprofessionals. Dr. Brown shares insights from her research on college-going culture in New Orleans high schools, emphasizing the crucial role of collaboration among all school staff to support students' higher education pursuits. We also talk over addressing the unique challenges faced by counselors, building organizational structures to support whole-building growth, and professional development for non-teaching staff to foster equitable educational opportunities.
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  S3/E3: Fostering Adult Learning Environments as a Leader, with Dr. Jen Cheatham 07.11.2024 49min

  System-level leaders are charged with evaluating instructional quality and nurturing an environment where teachers can flourish in their careers. But those skills don’t come intuitively: they must be learned. In this episode of The Best of Us, Jeremy and Jen Cheatham delve into Jen's course "Leaders of Learning" at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Dr. Cheatham is an expert on fostering adult learning and mindset change in educational settings, and shares a wealth of practical tips for education leaders seeking to transform their practice. Join us as we navigate the ins and outs of helping educators see themselves as change agents. We also explore avenues of growth, personal reflection techniques, specific practices for creating adult learning conditions, and much more.
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  S3/E2: National Teacher of the Year Missy Testerman on Bottom-Up Educator Leadership 04.09.2024 46min

  In this episode of "The Best of Us," we talk with National Teacher of the Year Missy Testerman, a master educator who gives us a look at teacher professional learning from the classroom perspective. Missy gives us a ground-level look at what makes for excellent teacher PD, sharing insights and telling stories of how school leadership can become courageous leaders for continuous improvement. We go also go through the art of DIY professional learning, why two weeks is too darn long for lesson planning, and ways to save educators that most precious resource: time. Her story is also a testament to the power of educator voice, with examples and tips for successful advocacy from the principal’s office to the Senate. (Step 1: Always come with a solution.) Listen now: