Built By Educators: A CollabED Podcast

Educator Development & Collaboration Alliance Inc.

Built by Educators is a podcast about teaching, learning, and the real work that happens inside classrooms every day. Hosted by members of the CollabED community, each episode brings honest conversations between K-12 educators about the topics that matter most — from trauma-informed teaching and special education inclusion to student mentoring, life skills instruction, and educator wellness. This isn't scripted professional development or top-down advice. It's real dialogue between classroom teachers, school leaders, and education professionals who are doing the work. Together, we explore practical strategies, research-backed approaches, and hard-won lessons learned across grade levels and subject areas. Whether you're a new teacher looking for guidance, a veteran educator seeking fresh perspectives, or an instructional leader building a collaborative school culture — this podcast is for you. Topics include: classroom management, student engagement, social-emotional learning (SEL), teacher self-care, curriculum design, mentoring, collaboration, and professional growth. Built by Educators is a CollabED podcast — built by teachers, for teachers. Learn more at bbepodcast.org

  1. 7 Oct

    Thank a Sub Today: What Substitute Teachers Wish You Knew With Baylee Secore

    Most teachers have never been a substitute, and most have no idea what their sub walks into. Baylee Secore does. She has been a substitute teacher in Michigan since 2022, mostly in middle and high school, and she is CollabED's Deputy Director of Communications and Storytelling. Baylee sits down with host Daniel Torres-Rangel to talk about what makes a sub day work: the lesson plan template that saves everyone time, what should be in the sub folder, and why schools should hand every sub a room key. She also shares the long-term position she took after a beloved teacher passed away, the kids who got her through it, and the line from her seventh grade teacher that she now wears as a tattoo. If you are a teacher with a sub you count on, this one ends with a simple ask: thank them today. Chapters 00:00 Welcome and Meet Baylee 02:26 The Teacher Who Inspired a Tattoo 04:38 Making One Day Count as a Sub 07:58 How Baylee Became a Substitute Teacher 10:55 The Sub Plan Template Every Teacher Needs 12:49 What's Really in the Sub Folder 15:01 Her Morning Routine Before a Sub Day 16:41 What Schools Can Do: Room Keys, Logins and Information 19:04 The Stigma Around Substitute Teachers 21:40 A Long-Term Sub Role After a Teacher Passed 24:38 Fighting for a Mentor 26:11 An Invincible Summer: The Kids Who Got Her Through 29:04 The Car Story and Why Middle Schoolers Are the Best 31:09 Deep Relationships Aren't Needed to Make an Impact 33:21 Greet Every Student at the Door 34:50 Thank a Sub Today Mentioned in this episode Dr. Jane Shore, who Daniel shouts out at 31:09 "In the depths of winter, I found within myself an invincible summer." Albert Camus Built by Educators is a CollabED podcast. Free, like everything we build. Listen and subscribe: bbepodcast.org Join the community: collabed.org

  2. 30 Sept

    Shelle Howard on How to Help Kids Get Into College

    This was supposed to be pushed two weeks ago, I am sorry!

  3. 28 Aug

    Daryl Williams Jr. on Teacher Retention

    Daryl Williams Jr. started his teaching career getting students' test scores to go backwards. Literally. His seventh graders entered at a fifth grade level and left at a fourth. He was asked not to come back. Then he became a two-time teacher of the year. In this episode, Daryl joins me to talk about what actually drives teacher retention, and it is not what most districts are focused on. His core belief is simple and a little uncomfortable: new teachers don't quit because they can't teach. They quit because they stop believing they can. We get into his System Before Strategy framework, which breaks teacher retention down into three drivers: how leaders see their teachers, how teachers see themselves, and how the school feels to be a part of. When all three are strong, attrition stops being a problem. When even one is weak, you start losing people you can't afford to lose. Daryl also talks about the difference between belief and confidence, why burnout tends to set in right before competence has a chance to activate, and what school leaders can do right now to stop the bleeding. This one hit close to home for me. I think it will for you too. Daryl is the founder of Pursuit of Excellence and the author of the Impact Playbook for New Teachers. More here!

  4. 19 Aug ·  Bonus

    Happy Birthday, CollabED - 1st Year Birthday Podcast!

    This was supposed to be live - but, technology, so, we will just release it as such. What a bummer too, because I really enjoyed talking about CollabED, and I hope that our message can get out there. Anyway, for your listening pleasure.

  5. 14 Aug

    We're Learning This Together: Randi Neglia on 25 Years in the Classroom and Technology That Teaches

    Randi Neglia has been teaching for 25 years. She is Google certified, a STEM ambassador, and one of the most tech-forward educators you will find in any elementary classroom. She will also be the first to tell you: there is no such thing as a tech expert. In this episode, Daniel sits down with Randi to talk about what it actually looks like to use technology with purpose. Not for the sake of using it. Not to check a box. For learning that sticks. They get into the shift from teacher-facing AI to student-facing AI, and what happened when Randi's fourth graders used an AI image generator to bring their mythical creatures to life at 6 AM on their own time. They talk about vibe coding with nine-year-olds, why analog skills matter more than ever, and how Randi thinks about screen value versus screen time long before the American Academy of Pediatrics caught up. They also get into the real stuff. Teachers in overdrive. Curriculum nobody owns. Parents who are skeptical. And the quiet students who finally have a voice when their writing gets heard in their own words. The last question Daniel asks is a good one: if you are not the expert, what are you? Randi's answer is worth the whole conversation. Randi is a channel captain on CollabED's Balanced Tech Classrooms channel. If this conversation sparked something for you, come find her there at collabed.org.

  6. 24 Jul

    Project Based Learning with Shane Ogden

    First, a confession. Your Executive Director read 9:00 PM as 9:00 AM, so this recording started with me apologizing before anyone said a word. We preach failing forward at CollabED. Apparently I lead by example. Worth every scramble though. Daniel sits down with Shane Ogden, superintendent of a pre K through 12 school of under 100 students in Meeteetse, Wyoming, where project based learning is not a pilot program. It's the whole school. Shane gets real about what it took: diving into the shallow end and coming up bruised, parents in tears at the first board meeting, apologizing and asking how do we do this better. And the payoff: their lowest scoring students posted the biggest gains he's seen in 10 years. A veterinarian teaching art. A NASCAR machinist teaching trades. Students on every committee. This one is for anyone who's ever thought PBL sounds great but where do I even start. New episode of Built By Educators, out now wherever you listen.

  7. 26 Jun

    Meet Your New Host: Daniel Torres-Rangel on Built By Educators

    In this special episode of Built By Educators, host Mike Williams introduces Daniel Torres-Rangel, the new host of the show. Daniel is an educator, instructional leader, and creative learning designer, the son of two career teachers who spent nine years teaching high school math and ESL before moving into school leadership and systems change work across public, charter, and private schools. Daniel shares how he set out to be an aerospace engineer and found his way back to teaching, why he believes the classroom and the theater rehearsal room are the same kind of space, and what teaching English learners taught him about culture, relationships, and the affective filter. He and Mike talk about treating teachers as the professionals they are, building habits that make the profession sustainable, and what he hopes educators take away from the conversations ahead. A warm, honest conversation for teachers, school leaders, and anyone who believes the people in front of the classroom matter most. 🎧 Listen to Built By Educators on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and YouTube. #Teaching #Education #BuiltByEducators #TeacherPodcast #EducatorVoices

  8. 19 Jun

    Why Music Belongs in Every Classroom, with Wayne Splettstoeszer

    In this episode of Built By Educators, host Mike Williams talks with Wayne Splettstoeszer, Director of Instrumental Music and Music Technology at Torrington High School in Connecticut, about nearly thirty years in music education and the real impact music has on students of every age. Wayne shares how a simple classroom website grew into a music technology curriculum now used by 100 schools across the United States, Canada, and Australia. He talks about why music reaches every kind of learner, from all-state musicians to students who rarely come to school, and tells the story of a special education student who found his voice through podcasting. The conversation covers choice boards, student engagement, teaching with technology, preparing new teachers, and why music and arts programs deserve protection when budgets get tight. A practitioner-led conversation for music teachers, classroom teachers, school leaders, and anyone who believes the arts belong at the center of a child's education. 🎧 Listen to Built By Educators on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and YouTube. #MusicEducation #Teaching #BuiltByEducators #EdTech #TeacherPodcast

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About

Built by Educators is a podcast about teaching, learning, and the real work that happens inside classrooms every day. Hosted by members of the CollabED community, each episode brings honest conversations between K-12 educators about the topics that matter most — from trauma-informed teaching and special education inclusion to student mentoring, life skills instruction, and educator wellness. This isn't scripted professional development or top-down advice. It's real dialogue between classroom teachers, school leaders, and education professionals who are doing the work. Together, we explore practical strategies, research-backed approaches, and hard-won lessons learned across grade levels and subject areas. Whether you're a new teacher looking for guidance, a veteran educator seeking fresh perspectives, or an instructional leader building a collaborative school culture — this podcast is for you. Topics include: classroom management, student engagement, social-emotional learning (SEL), teacher self-care, curriculum design, mentoring, collaboration, and professional growth. Built by Educators is a CollabED podcast — built by teachers, for teachers. Learn more at bbepodcast.org

Information

  • Creator
    Educator Development & Collaboration Alliance Inc.
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Educator Development & Collaboration Alliance Inc.