Kleinversations: Podcast by Klein ISD Professional Learning

In this episode, we join the Fox Destination Imagination kids and their teacher, Lisa Mackey. We talk about what they enjoy about being involved in this club and how they've grown as leaders. This episode is full of creative, talented kids talking about their experience and is sure to bring a joy to your face! 

In this episode, we sit down to discuss Riding the Waves of Change which is the next chapter in Elena Aguilar’s book Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators. This book is so timely and the chapter is no different as it addresses feelings about change, how to deal with it when it’s unwanted, the secret to leading the change, and how to have patience and perseverance through it all. Take a listen now!

The show guest for this episode is, Jennifer Matus, a Counseling and Student Wellness Coordinator in our district. We dive into pertinent conversation around how to incorporate emotional learning with specific methods, how to be a caring adult in a child's life, trends she’s seeing during this pandemic in connection to student mental health, and tangible ways to help kids while they process this ongoing pandemic. 

Our guests, Jana Griffin and Danielle Williams, dive into the challenges and celebrations of being a teacher right now, how they stay flexible, what they do to stay positive and more! 

Join the conversation with Principal Lauren Marti and Digital Learning Specialist Emily Noorduizen as we discuss ways educators have pivoted in our new landscape of education. You will be inspired about the creativity teachers have shown and how these guests stay focused on the bright side of the future. 

Dr. Jenny McGown, Klein ISD's Superintendent, joins us to talk about moving forward together during these historic times, practicing both optimism and realism , having empathy with our engagement and more. 

Today's guest, Rekina Romes, is no stranger to supporting students who've experience trauma. After you listen to today's episode, you will see that most educators aren't strangers either. One in four children will experience trauma with at least one trauma happening before the age of four. Rekina dives into the complexities of trauma and how educators can extend grace in the classroom to support them. We dive into the difference of opposition and trauma, how trauma literally and biologically alters the brain, and how listening without judgement can be so powerful (and more!). 

Resources for the public:

In this episode, we have guest Kayla Shaw, licensed counselor talk with us about navigating the processing of this pandemic, the effect it has on our lives, navigating trauma, and working through our grief as a result of our changed lives. 

Show Resources

You can call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA’s) Disaster Distress Helpline: 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746.

Our episode guest, counselor Meghan Blakey, talks about the world of school counseling, character education, nurturing hearts, and more. Listen to this episode to hear how to connect with others, learning the Nurtured Heart approach of resetting, and focusing on the whole child. 

This episode dives into questions you can ask your students to generate their thinking about their strengths to later apply to post-secondary life and celebrating students' diverse strengths in your classroom. Gordon See, advanced academics program coordinator, dives into his experience working with youth and how to draw out their gifts to better serve them. 

Show resources:

In this episode, guest Allie Martin (Klenk Elementary Principal) brings her knowledge about family engagement on campuses and classrooms. We talk about the four components of the dual capacity framework, specific examples she's implementing that you can use, challenges around involving families, and advice she has for our listeners. Below are the resources mentioned in the episode. 

Rocio Church, the 2019 Klein ISD Elementary Teacher of the Year, sits down with us to talk about the power of positivity, family engagement in student learning, keeping class fun, and staying connected to your why as a teacher. 

On this episode, our 2019 Klein ISD Secondary Teacher of the Year, Tyrone Void, talks about why being cultural responsive is so integral to our teacher student relationships, how leadership forces those who lead to being more humble and pliable, how there are so many crossovers between teaching and coaching a sport, and more. 

Resources from the show:

In today's conversation, Lakita Combs, Metzler Elementary principal, joins us for a conversation centered around the Corwin Visible Learning evaluation and inquiry model. This model is based off of John Hattie's research and has the belief that every student should experience one year's growth each school year. You'll hear how her campus started making learning visible by implementing success criteria, using student voice in the buy in, how her teachers collaborate with each other to make learning meaningful, and how her students have cultivated a love of learning. 

Overview of Visible Learning Model

In this episode, Antoinette Hernandez talks with us about building relationships to help students soar in class. We briefly talk about what AVID class is all about, we go into how teachers can and should incorporate relationship-building in their classes, how students can do goal setting (with self and peer editing!), and how keeping the general welfare of others will make a classroom culture be impact to students. 

Welcome to our inaugural episode where we welcome our first guest, Dr. Jenny McGown, who is the Deputy Superintendent of Klein ISD. In this episode we talk about tangible examples of risk-taking in schools, suggestions for being innovative without forcing it and first focusing on the people, how important self-reflection is in the educational environment, and how we can teach our students to have all of these qualities to be more successful in their lives.