Field Trip Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Ownership & Student Voice Apr 26, 2019

Show notes

Picture what happens happen when every staff member in your school or district – from substitutes to the superintendent – can articulate exactly how they are connected to your educational mission. When students have a genuine voice in their learning. When everyone feels heard and has ownership in education.

That’s what Mountain Brook Schools in Birmingham, Alabama set their sights on.

Director of Instruction Missy Brooks and junior high principal Donald Clayton share why they were surprised when they asked students if they felt listened to or not, and what they did in response:

How they cast a vision for soliciting student voice
What having a voice does for students – and how it’s possible to get excited about learning grammar
How they build ownership in every staff member across the district so that every single person is invested in making an educational impact
Offering professional development that encourages ownership and leadership
How all of this breaks down barriers between the district office, building leadership and staff

You may also enjoy:
White paper: “The Power of Failure: Encouraging Teachers to Take Risks in a Risk-Free Environment” – what it looks like to foster a growth mindset among teachers and staff.

Professional Development School Apr 12, 2019

Show notes

Kutztown Area School District needed more teachers. So along with several other districts, they offered education majors at nearby Kutztown University the chance to spend time in classrooms — at least 30 hours a year, starting as freshmen.

The goal? A source of amazing, well-trained teachers ready to hire upon graduation. But in the process, they uncovered another gem: the program is tremendously beneficial to teachers as well.

Superintendent George Fiore, high school math teacher Shaylon Krautwald, and Kutztown University education major Georgia Lobb give the details.

More to explore
Infographic: Millennials & Teaching. Why understanding today’s workforce is key to improving instruction and retaining teachers.

English Learners & Restorative Dialogue Mar 29, 2019

Show notes

As the population of English learners grows across the country, Brazosport ISD in Texas is using restorative practices to support ELs’ growth in language, connect them to differing perspectives, and address behavioral issues.

In this interview with Grace Delgado, the Director of Language Acquisition and Lorin Furlow, the Director of Special Services, they dive into:

The concept of oracy
How restorative practices can be used to support language development and overcome behavior issues at the same time
What it has been like to break out of silos and bring two departments together to help students
Impact on school climate

For Further Reading

4 Ways to Support Staff Working with English Learners.
Interactive Map: ELL Population Growth by State. See how the English Learner population is growing on a state-by-state basis.

Field Trip is a podcast from Frontline Education.

Rock Star Principals (Redux) Mar 15, 2019

Show notes

(Rebroadcast)

This week at Insights Summit 2019, our guests Nick Indeglio and Jon Ross are two of our keynote speakers. To celebrate, we're taking another listen to this episode of Field Trip from 2018.

Being a principal can be isolating. Here’s how two principals began to use podcasting, blogging and social media to connect with colleagues around the world — and the impact it had on their schools.

Nick Indeglio and Jon Ross are principals at Downingtown Area School District in Pennsylvania. While carpooling, they would often have conversations about their jobs — being instructional leaders, leading a building, and the impact being principals had on their lives and marriages. Those conversations eventually turned into a regular podcast: The Rock Star Principals.

Our conversation with Nick and Jon looks at how principals and other education leaders are using technology to share new ideas, serve their teachers and staff, and implement world-rocking strategies in their schools.

Field Trip is a podcast from Frontline Education.

The Camera Doesn't Lie Feb 15, 2019

Show notes

When April Strong started teaching, she wanted to be the best. But it wasn’t until she started filming her own lessons and watching them back later at night that she was able to see exactly what she wanted to change about her practice.

It was nerve-wracking at first, but over time, April began to love the growth that came from self-reflecting on her videos. “Any serious athlete watches footage of their performances — why not teachers, too?” she asks.

In this interview, April shares why video is such a compelling self-reflection and coaching tool, and how she is using video to support teachers at Martin County School District in Florida, where she is now an instructional coach. And she has practical, simple steps to take for any school that is interested in taking the first step toward using video to support professional learning.

Also, check out our interview with Dr. Jim Knight about using video to support teaching and instructional coaching in our podcast episode, “See Reality, Get Better.”

Further Reading

For more on this topic, check out this white paper: “Ten Strategies to Improve Teaching with Video.” It includes:

Ten different ways video can be used to improve teaching practice
Best practices for using video as a reflection and coaching tool
Real-life examples of organizations that have successfully used video to support educator growth
Tips for those new to using video in evaluation and professional development settings

Grow Your Own Teachers Jan 04, 2019

Show notes

When leaders at this school district wanted a teacher workforce that reflected the diversity of its student body, the answer was right in front of them.
Jason Olson, Director of Human Resources at Verona Area School District near Madison, Wisconsin, shares why they’re looking to their own students and non-certified staff to help fill their teacher hiring pipeline. It’s more than just a way to combat the teacher shortage (though it is that!) — it’s a way to make a positive impact on students of color.

How they do it (hint: they found a way to cover college tuition for those in the program)
Why it’s worth the cost
The results they’re seeing — after just one year

Field Guide: Recruiting Millennial Teachers

Men and women in their 20's and 30's are making up an ever-increasing portion of the workforce. Are you fully prepared to attract them to your school or district? In this field guide, you'll learn how to effectively market your job openings to prospective teachers, and strategies for enriching your applicant pool through online recruiting. Download it today!

Field Trip is a podcast from Frontline Education.

How to Do More with Less Dec 21, 2018

Show notes

The financial crisis in 2008 left many school districts scrambling to stay afloat, save jobs and move mountains for teachers and students. Here’s how one district overhauled their onboarding process in the middle of the most difficult crisis they had ever faced — and didn’t spend an extra dime.

In this conversation with Angela Cooper, Chief Human Resources Officer at Lexington School District Two in South Carolina, and with Kevin Smoak, Coordinator for Evaluation and Effectiveness, we examine:

What they did to save teachers’ jobs as the recession hit
The duty Lexington Two’s HR department felt to keep innovating, even in the midst of crisis
Why they chose to move to a virtual, blended learning style of teacher induction — and why teachers prefer it
Why this virtual model of onboarding is now used as a teacher recruitment and retention tool at Lexington Two

For further reading…

Employee onboarding is a great place to slash paperwork. How do you do it? Our white paper, “The Onboarding Opportunity,” looks at how to support strategic human capital management from the day new teachers and staff walk through the door.

Rocking the Paper Boat Dec 07, 2018

Show notes

Heather Stocking wanted to give her Human Resources team more time to be creative and strategic. That meant getting rid of a lot of their paperwork. Sounds great, right? But it wasn’t that simple.

This is the story of how the HR department at Bettendorf Community School District went paperless. But it’s really a story about change management. It’s about getting buy-in from teachers, leaders and the school board. It’s about how Heather and her team at Bettendorf carefully (and successfully!) navigated a massive shift away from “the way things have always been done” — calming fears and addressing concerns along the way.

Field Trip is a podcast from Frontline Education.

Do Teacher Evaluations Make a Difference? Nov 23, 2018

Show notes

Over the summer of 2018, the RAND Corporation released a report on the results of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching Initiative. The big question: Did teacher evaluation reforms move the needle on student achievement? In this interview, we speak with researcher, professor and author Dr. James Stronge about his perspective and reaction to the RAND Corporation’s report.

What he believes the report got right, and where he disagrees with its conclusions
The relationship between teacher effectiveness and student outcomes
What we can learn from the work of the Gates Foundation
His #1 recommendation for action schools can take immediately to maximize the impact of evaluations on teaching practice

Field Trip is a podcast from Frontline Education.

Keeping Great Teachers Oct 12, 2018

Show notes

A large suburban school district. An 18% year-over-year teacher turnover rate. A superintendent who said, “We need to plug the hole in our bucket.” This is how one school district set out to give teachers more voice.

In this interview we speak with Dr. Jeannie Stone, Superintendent of Richardson ISD in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Dr. Stone talks about the factors that contributed to a the highest attrition rate of any district in their area — and what they did to increase teacher retention.

Conducting “stay interviews” with teachers to identify what their district was doing well in teachers’ eyes, and where they could grow
Action steps they took, such as early release days to free up time for teachers to plan and collaborate, and incorporating teacher voice in planning professional development
Incentivizing teachers to teach at high-need schools, transforming the culture in the process

“I have four completely transformed schools right now and we're already seeing all kinds of data that’s showing that it's going to work — and it is working.”

Resources

Stay Interview Questions

When the administration at Richardson ISD conducted the Stay Interviews, the interviews were simple and accessible for teachers, designed to get at what as truly on teachers’ minds. Here are the questions they asked teachers:

How long have you worked on your campus? In the district?
When you think about your job, what do you love most?
How would you describe your campus to a prospective new hire?
In what ways do you or don’t you feel supported in your professional growth?
If you left RISD, what would you miss the most?
If you had a magic wand, what would be the one thing you would change about your work, role or responsibilities?
What would make RISD an even better place to work?
What would lead you to look at opportunities outside of RISD?
What types of recognitions and acknowledgement increase your loyalty and commitment to RISD?
Is there anything else you would like to share?

Teacher Turnover Calculator

Wondering just how much teacher turnover costs your district? Our Teacher Turnover Calculator gives you an estimated dollar figure, taking into account recruiting and hiring costs, processing and onboarding, and signing bonuses — and looks at how much you could save by increasing your retention rate.

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