While you're waiting for more LITTLE THINGS FIRST, why not try Jim's other podcast with Rachel called YES AND KNOW? It's an educational podcast focused on the binaries that often plague education--and how to deal with them. If you like YES AND KNOW, please subscribe! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tracyandjim/m…

Dr. Sarah Thomas and Dr. Larry Parker collaborated on an article that listens to students and what their experience have been in the secondary setting. They share little things that make a difference in helping our young people feel heard and truly improving education. Additional resources recommended by Dr. Parker: George Theoharis (2009). The sch…

It's important to teach kids writing--teachers everywhere understand this. But what if mastering the art and craft of writing is about more than just learning the associated skills? What if it requires a kind of writing mindset that makes writing possible for all kids? Author and current teacher Chris Hall takes Jim and Rachel into the mindsets tha…

Little Things is back for a temporary time! Joining Jim is guest co-host Rachel Nance to discuss all things education. Mike Anderson returns to the podcast this week with his latest book TACKLING THE MOTIVATION CRISIS that looks at some of the reasons we currently need extrinsic rewards to keep our students going and what works even better. Mr. And…

Little Things is back for a limited time! Tracy Vandeventer (who goes on hiatus after this episode) and Jim Martin visit with the new Superintendent of Sal Lake City School District in an episode recorded last summer but never released. Dr. Gadson discusses his approach to leading an urban district that is majority-minority and closing opportunity …

Stacey Green of Stockton, Kansas was recently recognized as a Distinguished {Principal of the Year through the National Association of Elementary School Principals, after first being recognized as a state principal of the year. Ms. Green talks about her recipes for success, from personal coaching to a move from regular faculty meetings to "stand-up…

What are some little things schools can do to positively impact family engagement? Drs. Mavis Sanders and Claudia Galindo have been studying the topic for years, and their new book REVIEWING THE SUCCESS OF FULL-SERVICE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS IN THE US walks us through the success of community schools throughout the nation. You don't have to have a commu…

Michelle Love-Day has been a teacher and an administrator. She has worked at the district level and now has unveiled a supplemental schooling experience for Black youth that focuses on Black history and culture. This new schooling experience is being called the Rise Virtual Academy. Michele has worked hard to diversify her teaching ranks and to ens…

Dr. Susan Hall has been studying reading for many years now and has started her own company--the 95% Group--focused on improving reading outcomes for all students. Dr. Hall's programs are being used by districts and schools across the country as they transition to a more research-based approach to reading and literacy instruction. After such a vola…

This week, Tracy and Jim talk with Dr. Don Vu, who has released his book LIFE, LITERACY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. A refugee himself, Dr. Vu has learned firsthand and through his scholarship what it takes to support refugee and immigrant youth in their literacy development. He reflects on the little things that will make a difference now as wel…

Dr. Shannon Wanless has written about psychological safety in education, and Tracy and Jim dig deep to find out what exactly it looks like. Dr. Wanless explains that there is fear psychological safety could be overused or misunderstood in education and in general circles. She stresses that our goal is not to create a safe space for everyone but to …

This week, Tracy and Jim chat with the creator of THE MAIN IDEA Jennifer David-Lang. Ms. David-Lang is well-known in leadership circles for her intricate book summaries on every leadership topic under the sun. You don't have time to read that professional book? Don't worry--likely Jen has a summary for it. The summaries also include ways leaders ca…

On today's podcast, Tracy and Jim interview Dr. Mara Tieken, a scholar of rural education. who has published a book called WHY RURAL SCHOOLS MATTER. Here, Dr. Tieken discusses what she has learned about the topic and the little things that make a difference in rural settings. A major misnomer of rural settings is that they are predominantly white; …

Tracy and Jim re-interview Karin Chenoweth, one of our first podcast guests, to discuss her new book DISTRICTS THAT SUCCEED about the role that districts play in systemic change and sustainability. Karin talks about some of the flatlining that has occurred across the nation especially in reading, except for recent rising scores in Mississippi. She …

This week, we interview award-winning middle school principal Jeremy LaCrosse, the principal of Altona Middle in Colorado. In this episode, we discuss the school's move toward inquiry-based learning practices, providing choices to students in their own learning. We also discuss the role of design thinking in making learning more personalized. At Al…

Eric Sheninger is a national coach, author, and educational expert who talks about change in education and how to embrace an environment that might look different from that with which we are comfortable. Tracy, Jim and Eric discuss everything from personalized learning, competency-based grading, cell phones in the classroom (bring your own device),…

Joel Asiala is the award-winning Principal at Horizons Alternative High School in Michigan. In this podcast, he shares how he is using a trauma-informed approach to change the trajectories of his students and how he is influencing the direction of high schools in his area. Mr. Asiala discusses his team;'s student-first approach that really focuses …

In January, controversy rocked the quiet school district of Murray Utah as a student asked his teacher to read one of his books to the class. The book happened to be one of Kyle Luckoff's Max adventures featuring a child identifying as transgender. The move sparked a controversy that threatened to challenge an equity book program in Murray School D…

Dr. Kevin Leichtman spent years teaching and collected many stories of impact through those years. While many educators keep those stories locked away, Dr. Leichtman decided to use them for good. He interviewed ten of his former students to discuss how schools made a difference for them. In this journey, Dr. Leichtman discovered the importance of s…

Tracy attended the ESEA Conference and walked away with inspiration from principal colleagues Lynn Allen and Meaghan Jerr. The two principals have found ways to enact little, inexpensive changes that make a huge difference. Sound familiar? We thought so too, making Principals Allen and Jerr the perfect guests! Find out what they have discovered tha…

Today, Tracy and Jim interview Dr. Tron Young, the middle school principal of the year out of Illinois. Dr. Young tells us about the little things that make the difference, especially in the formative middle school years. Listen to what he does to turn the first teacher day back into something special, for his staff and his students. Also, Dr. Youn…

Last week, Tracy and Jim discussed the text TRUST MATTERS, which helps schools and leaders prioritize the building of trust in their work to improve schools. Tracy and Jim shared their thoughts about the book, but what does the actual author have to say? This week, Dr. Megan Tschannen-Moran talks about her book which is now in its second edition. S…

It's time for another book club! We hope you will join us for TRUST MATTERS, a book by Megan Tschannen-Moran, that explores how to go beyond relationships to deep and lasting trust. Without trust, nothing else matters. Tracy and Jim chat about the book this week and chew on the deep concepts it presents. Next week, we talk to the author to see if o…

Dr. Julian (Joe) Elliott has been studying dyslexia for decades and has come to the realization that we simply don't have any solid ways of determining if a child is in fact dyslexic. The response to students diagnosed with dyslexia is the same as a child identified as having reading difficulties. According to Dr. Elliott, more quality time is serv…

Coutney Monterecy is a state principal of the year and national distinguished principal in Providence, Rhode Island who has a unique way of addressing the needs of English Language Learners in her school. In addition, she discusses her efforts, along with her district, of ensuring that school partnerships (with businesses and agencies from the comm…

Dr. Amy Lyon has been researching and writing about grit for several years now. What are the little things that a teacher and school can do to build, strengthen , and/or promote grit? What about kids who already come with gritty backgrounds and experiences? How can we use what they already know to enhance their academic grit? Reach out to Dr. Lyon …

Are you wondering if you should and how to bring up the recent Capitol riots with students in your class? As an educational leader, how do you we support teachers to safely explore politically-charged issues? Robert Austin, who works as a Program Specialist in K-12 Social Studies at the Utah State Board of Education, discusses some of the resources…

Dr. Howard Fields is a national distinguished award-winning principal who is described in his biography as a "courageous" leader. He tells Tracy and Jim what this means to him. He also talks about his attempts at centering student passions in the schooling experience. He and his staff sponsored several Passion Days throughout the year, a break from…

Amy Denney is an award-winning principal from Sioux City, Iowa who details her experience bringing three separate schools together as one and how she built cohesion between three separate communties. She also discusses some of her efforts, along with the district, to create model classrooms and professional learning opportunities for teachers throu…

Matthew (Matt) Moyer is the Pennsylvania Distinguished Principal of the Year. We talk to him about his success as a sixteen-year principal in the same school he attended as a child! He discusses relationships and his philosophy of "every classroom, every day" where he tries to visit every classroom every day even if it's just for a momentary check-…

Rusty Mathis is a new principal in Texas, although she is not new to administration having served for many years as an assistant principal. Rusty tells us about her experiences leading in this unique time, what she has learned, and what supports new principals like her need to be successful. littlethings1st.com --- Send in a voice message: https://…

Dr. Doug Fisher and his colleagues have been at the forefront of the latest educational research including working with Nancy Frey and John Hattie on books about teacher clarity and assessment-capable learners in all subject areas. Most recently, he and his colleagues have turned to distance learning and how we can take what we know about pedagogy …

Drs. Kylene Beers and Robert Probst have been working together for years. Listeners may be familiar with some of their previous works like NOTICE AND NOTE and DISRUPTING THINKING. Out new today, their latest book is a departure of sorts as they look at the purposes and passions of reading and how we can get young people excited about reading. Dr. B…

Carrie Weldon never intended to be the principal of an elementary school. A secondary specialist, Carrie was surprised when her district asked her to take over Ashley Elementary. Carrie probably had little idea at the time how much of an impact she would have on the school. Ashley Elementary is located in a rural area of Utah called Vernal and is a…

Dr. Paul Gorski has been writing about equity and social justice for years. His latest article in "Educational Leadership" takes a look at how schools might reinforce trauma through practices that are meant to be trauma-informed. In our interview, Dr. Gorski discusses some of the little ways educators might avoid the trap of hurting rather than hel…

Shonielle Roberson and her staff at New Stanley Elementary have found a recipe for success. One of their strategies is use of an electronic data board. They also use PLCs strategically as a way of building teacher capacity through intentional work and practice. Using the text LEVERAGE LEADERSHIP (Bambrick Santoro) as a guide, the New Stanley facult…

WE'RE BACK! After a two week break, we have some terrific guests lined up in the coming weeks including talks with Douglas Fisher, Paul Gorski, and Kylene Beers and Rob Probst of NOTICE AND NOTE fame! Stay tuned! This week, we talk with Dr. Dana Winters. This episode is a follow-up to the interview we did with Dr. Junlei Li of the Fred Rogers Cente…

We are taking a two-week break as we prepare some awesome upcoming episodes and will be back on November 10th to share those with you. Thanks for your support! See you soon! Littlethings1st.com--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tracyandjim/messageSupport this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tracyan…

Journalist Natalie Wexler has uncovered what may be wrong with our comprehension reading instruction. She contends that a focus on comprehension skills has led us down the wrong path. There is something far more profound that can be used to address comprehension difficulties in schools, that some reading programs have already started to address. Fi…

Tracy and Jim are both in new positions this new school year--Tracy in a state level position and Jim as a principal/teacher in a rural district. They both share some learning in this season of distance education models and their hybrids. Jim is currently teaching his students in a virtual format while his school is out for two weeks. Tracy is tryi…

Tracy and Jim chat and chew today over the long-standing topic of professional development. PD may be falling out of favor as a term, but some of the ancient practices are still around, even when they fail to produce measurable results. Tracy and Jim grapple, literally, with this topic and explore a way of looking at professional learning using a T…

This week, we interview blogger, educational leader, teacher, and author Rachelle Dene Poth who has dabbled in just about everything teaching and learning with an emphasis on engaging students through augmented reality, virtual reality, and project-based learning. Ms. Poth discusses how we can use these mediums regardless of the delivery model to m…

Debbie Drummond has been around for awhile. She had seen it all, or so she thought. And then she was introduced to Assessment to Achievement, a seemingly simple approach to professional learning and school reform that is being implemented in schools across the country. A2A, as it is called, takes elements of the past and repackages them in a system…

Dr. Doris Santoro has written. book called DEMORALIZED about the ways that teachers are marginalized in education improvement efforts and how we can re-moralize them with very specific school actions. It isn't hopeless! Tracy and Jim visited about the book three weeks ago and now get to ask all their questions of Dr. Santoro herself. Join in and co…

Brad Larrabee is the principal of two successful schools, one a nationally-recognized Title I school. Mr. Larabee shares with Tracy and Jim his formula for success, which relies an awful lot on culture and relationships. In addition, he has a five-year strategic plan developed with district leadership to prioritize additional high-leverage activiti…

Dr. Kevin Kumashoiro talks about a very important topic for a very important time--what would education for democracy look like? How do educators navigate the liberatory and oppressive tensions that co-exist within the very existence of democracy? Dr. Kumashiro explores these topics and more, which are particularly relevant in 2020. Dr. Kumashoro r…

For the second time, Tracy and Jim discuss a book on the podcast. This time, it is DEMORALIZED by Dr. Doris Santoro. Tracy chose the book because of her concern over teacher retention. In the past, Tracy and Jim have discussed concerns over morale, stress, and psychological safety, and they continue that discussion today. What are your thoughts abo…

*This is part of our series on rural schools.* Chad Prewitt is the principal of Davenport middle and high schools in Davenport, Washington. His schools are ESEA award-winning places where culture and student needs are prioritized. Chad shares some of his insights gleaned from eight years of service, that have contributed to his success. Join Chad, …

Dr. Russell Skiba is a an education Professor who has studied disproportionate discipline in schools for decades. Now retired, Dr. Skiba talks to Tracy and Jim about what he has learned from his and others' research about the little things we can do to be more compassionate in our discipline efforts. littlethings1st.com --- Send in a voice message:…

Latricia Reeves is an award-winning principal out of Georgia who talks about leadership as a central focus, for staff and students. They use the Leader in Me program to build student leadership and social emotional skills. In addition, there is an emphasis on collective teacher efficacy and relationships. Ms. Reeves has been at the school for 15 ye…