Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators

Jeff Utecht & Tricia Friedman
  • 4.9 (68)
  • Courses
  • Updated Semiweekly

Shifting Schools is a thought-provoking podcast that explores the latest trends, strategies, and tools in K-12 education. Hosted by educators Jeff Utecht and Tricia Friedman, the podcast provides a platform for teachers, administrators, and education thought leaders to share their experiences and insights on how to improve teaching and learning. From innovative approaches in classroom management to leveraging technology for personalized learning, Shifting Schools tackles the most pressing issues facing K12 educators today. Whether you are a seasoned teacher or a new educator, this podcast will inspire you to think outside the box and shift your educational approach. Tune in to Shifting Schools to gain new perspectives, share ideas, and join a community of passionate educators who are committed to making a positive impact in the lives of their students. Follow us at @shiftingschools on Twitter and @shiftingschoolspod on Instagram and Tiktok

  1. 1d ago

    Building a Firm Around People Who Need an Advocate

    What does it take to build a firm around the needs of people facing some of life's most difficult circumstances? Tricia welcomes the founder of USA4ALL to explore the purpose behind its work, including serving survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking. The conversation begins with the firm's origin story and the question of what makes its approach distinctive. For educators and community leaders, this episode invites reflection on how compassion shapes the organizations we build—and how we recognize whose needs deserve greater attention.   As you listen, consider: What can an organization's origin story reveal about its values? How does compassion influence everyday decisions about whom we serve and how? Whose needs might be overlooked by the systems we work within? What would it take to strengthen connections between our communities and people who can offer informed support? Learn more about Renata Castro and USA4ALL, and use this conversation as a starting point for thinking about what purposeful, compassionate leadership can look like in practice.

  2. 1d ago ·  Bonus

    You Might Enjoy: On Purpose with Jay Shetty

    Introducing MIKAYLA NOGUEIRA EXCLUSIVE: The Story She’s Finally Ready to Tell from On Purpose with Jay Shetty. Follow the show: On Purpose with Jay Shetty Jay sits down with beauty creator Mikayla Nogueira to go beyond the online persona and share the real story behind her rise. Mikayla opens up about the struggles that shaped her before finding success, the viral moment that changed her life overnight, and the painful reality of a marriage impacted by addiction and divorce. She also shares how she found her way forward, reconnected with her high school first love, and launched her own beauty brand with Sephora. With Love and Gratitude, Jay Shetty Built-in protections for teens. JAY'S DAILY WISDOM DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX Join 900,000+ readers discovering how small daily shifts create big life change with my free newsletter. Subscribe here: https://news.jayshetty.me/subscribe Check out our Apple subscription to unlock bonus content of On Purpose! https://lnk.to/JayShettyPodcast What We Discuss: 00:00 Introduction 00:45 Why Share Your Story Now? 01:31 Beyond The Influencer Persona 02:46 Childhood Memories That Shaped Her 03:45 Bullying & Discovering Makeup At Age 10 05:24 The Insecurities Behind the Confidence 06:48 Expressing Her True Self Online 08:55 The Origin Of Her Passion For Makeup 11:18 Work Ethic And Thinking Big 12:37 Creating Her Very First YouTube Video 13:58 Presenting A 50-Page Business Plan 16:30 Returning To Her Hometown & Donating Makeup 18:00 Getting Hired At Ulta Beauty 23:52 Letting Go of the Future She Planned 28:10 Losing Her Job and Finding a New Path 31:34 The First Viral Video 37:08 Manifesting Success & Building A Content Engine 41:53 Experiencing Her First Cancellation 45:25 Reflecting on Past Controversies 48:56 The Mental Health Toll of Rapid Growth 52:54 The Boston Accent 56:48 Meeting Her Ex-Husband Cody 59:41 Navigating Addiction In A Relationship 01:04:08 Dating An Influencer & Dating An Addict 01:05:56 Marriage Through Addiction and Relapse 01:13:00 A Harrowing Late-Night Emergency 01:18:11 Making the Decision to Divorce 01:33:53 The Path To Divorce 01:40:46 Finally A Fresh Start 01:46:45 Reconnecting With High School First Love, Zach 01:52:21 Building Her Beauty Brand (POV) 01:57:30 Looking Back 01:59:34 Mikayla On Final Five Episode Resources: Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/share/1C43BCLCFi/?mibextid=wwXIfr TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@mikaylanogueira Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/mikaylajmakeup Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices DISCLAIMER: Please note, this is an independent podcast episode not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced in conjunction with the host podcast feed or any of its media entities. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are solely those of the creators and guests. For any concerns, please reach out to team@podroll.fm.

    You Might Enjoy: On Purpose with Jay Shetty

  3. 5d ago

    When Should Students Use AI? Let Them Design a Game

    What if your next assessment asked students to pitch a board game—and explain when they chose to use AI? In this episode, Tricia Friedman explores how game design can bring together research, persuasive writing, creativity, collaboration, and AI literacy. The central challenge: help students make thoughtful decisions about where AI supports their learning and where they want to work without it. You don't need time to develop an entire board game. Tricia introduces a smaller game-pitch challenge, using the history of the Spokane River as an example that educators can adapt to their own curriculum and local context. Together, we explore: A task that asks students to choose three moments to use AI and two to work without it—and justify those decisions. How matching game mechanics to a researched theme creates opportunities for testing, feedback, and revision. Connections to ELA, humanities, art, and mathematics through persuasive pitches, visual design, pricing, and material costs. How game reviews, playthrough videos, and crowdfunding pitches can become texts worth studying. What it means to approach assessment redesign with both boldness and humility. A question to bring to your next planning meeting: How could an assessment make students' judgment about AI as visible as their final product? Explore Tricia's free GAMES framework and consider where a game-pitch challenge could fit into an upcoming unit. https://shifting-schools-games.netlify.app/ Reach out: tricia@shiftingschools.com

  4. Sep 28

    From Research to Collective Action: Dr. Camille Busette on Healthcare Advocacy

    What happens when the cost of healthcare forces someone to delay a doctor's visit, skip a prescription, or take on debt? Tricia Friedman welcomes Dr. Camille Busette, executive vice president of Programs at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to discuss One Nation, Overcharged. The nationwide campaign brings people together to call for more affordable healthcare. The challenge is widespread, but it is not shared equally. In this conversation, Tricia and Dr. Busette examine what the data reveals about healthcare costs, whose experiences are too often overlooked, and how sharing those experiences can help communities push for change. Learn more about the campaign: https://onenationovercharged.org/

  5. Sep 21

    Beyond Screen-Time Bans: Student Safety in the Age of AI

    School districts are reaching a turning point in how they manage classroom technology. After years of rapid device adoption and policies that often responded to one risk at a time, leaders are asking a harder question: How can schools protect students from cyberbullying, data theft, AI-enabled scams, distraction and online harm without cutting them off from the learning, creativity and connection technology can provide? In this episode, Tricia speaks with Harrison Parker, Executive Vice President at Linewize, about the shift from reactive restrictions toward a more coordinated approach to student digital safety and well-being. Harrison explains why this work cannot sit solely with a district's technology department. Effective digital safety connects IT leaders, educators, safeguarding teams, administrators, students and families. It also brings together prevention, early detection, intervention and education rather than treating each new platform or threat as a separate problem. Their conversation examines three changes taking place across K–12 education: • Moving beyond screen-time bans toward digital-health strategies that address distraction and burnout while preserving useful learning • Replacing panic-driven AI bans with practical guardrails for privacy, safety and classroom use • Managing the "3 PM hand-off" by helping families understand and supervise what happens on school-issued devices after students leave campus Harrison also discusses how districts can identify concerning online behavior earlier, understand which applications students are actually using and give families greater visibility into children's digital experiences. In this episode: • Why banning the latest technology rarely provides a lasting solution • What schools need to know about student screen time and app use • How AI is changing online risks for students and districts • Why data privacy must be part of classroom AI decisions • How schools can distinguish productive technology use from distraction • What early detection and intervention can look like • Why digital safety should not belong exclusively to the IT department • How responsibility shifts when students take school-issued devices home • Ways schools and families can develop a more coordinated approach • How districts can protect students without abandoning technology-supported learning Questions for your leadership team: • Who owns digital safety in our school or district right now? • How well connected are our technology, safeguarding, instructional and family-engagement teams? • Do we know which digital tools students are using and how they are using them? • Are our policies teaching students to navigate digital environments, or only restricting access? • What happens to our duty of care when a school-issued device goes home? • Are our AI policies based on specific risks, or on a general fear of the technology? • How quickly could our current approach respond to a new digital threat? About Harrison Parker Harrison Parker is Executive Vice President at Linewize, the K–12 online safety division of Qoria. He works with district leaders across North America on digital safety, student well-being, technology management and family engagement. Learn more: Linewize: https://www.linewize.com/ Harrison Parker on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrison-parker-02951921 Subscribe to Shifting Schools for more conversations about AI, technology and the changing needs of learners. Topics: student digital safety, screen time in schools, AI in education, cyberbullying, student mental health, online safety, data privacy, school-issued devices, digital citizenship, family engagement, educational technology and K–12 leadership #StudentSafety #AIinEducation #DigitalCitizenship #SchoolLeadership #EdTech

  6. Sep 14

    Why the World Has Always Been Weird — and Why That Matters

    Uncle John's All-Knowing Bathroom Reader, Curiosity, and the Weirdness of Human History Brian Boone joins the show to talk about why the world has always been weird—not just now. The conversation ranges from animal history and television oddities to fact-checking, collaboration, and why curiosity is the engine behind good stories and human wisdom. In this episode, Tricia and Brian Boone discuss how access to information can make the present feel stranger than the past, even though human behavior has always been full of surprises. They also explore the storytelling and editorial work behind Uncle John's All-Knowing Bathroom Reader, including how the team verifies claims, chooses topics, and turns obscure facts into accessible reading. Key topics Why the world has always been weird, even if modern media makes us more aware of it Why dogs have so many breeds while cats have comparatively few How horses helped shape agriculture, travel, trade, language exchange, and city states Why fact-checking is more important—and more difficult—in an age of copied information The story of J. Fred Muggs, the chimp who co-hosted Today in the early days of television How risk-taking and strange ideas contribute to human innovation Why fads are much older than mass media How writers, editors, designers, and marketers collaborate on the bathroom reader How colleagues' different passions can make unfamiliar subjects fascinating Why curiosity may be the engine behind wisdom and connection Timestamps 00:00 — Why the world feels weirder now than it used to 00:42 — The case for "the world has always been weird" 01:55 — Why cats have far fewer breeds than dogs 03:18 — How horses helped shape the modern era 05:23 — Why fact-checking is harder in an age of copied information 06:41 — The strange story of J. Fred Muggs on Today 08:42 — Why risk-taking and weird ideas are part of human progress 10:23 — Fads are older than mass media 12:51 — How the bathroom reader team collaborates 14:21 — Learning from coworkers with radically different interests 15:46 — Curiosity as the engine of wisdom Learn more https://bathroomreader.com/

  7. Sep 7

    From Super Bowl Champion to Literacy Champion | Malcolm Mitchell

    What if readers and writers received the same attention, celebration, and investment as star athletes? In this episode, Tricia speaks with Super Bowl champion, children's author, and literacy advocate Malcolm Mitchell about his new picture book, My Super Duper Me. They discuss the lasting effect of a few encouraging words, the role librarians can play in helping children see their own possibilities, and why adults should never underestimate the power of simply showing up with a positive message. Malcolm shares his own journey from struggling reader to member of the Silverleaf Book Club, published author, and founder of Share the Magic Foundation. He explains why reading is not only an academic skill, but also a source of confidence, community, opportunity, and belonging. The conversation also considers what schools and communities could learn from the cultural power of sports. If young people see athletes celebrated everywhere, how might their aspirations change if readers, writers, books, and libraries were made just as visible? Malcolm also offers a candid look at his writing practice and the connection between athletic and creative training: show up, make the most of each repetition, and be willing to try again tomorrow. In this episode: • Why brief words of encouragement can stay with a young person • The librarian at the heart of My Super Duper Me • Malcolm's journey from struggling reader to passionate literacy advocate • How a welcoming book club helped change his life • Why reading can build confidence, connection, and belonging • What it would mean to celebrate literacy as loudly as sports • How educators can participate in free Share the Magic reading challenges • What football taught Malcolm about writing, practice, and persistence Learn more about Malcolm Mitchell, Share the Magic Foundation, and its free reading programs at readwithmalcolm.com. We also talk about: 📚 Librarians as guides, bridges, and heroes 📚 Reading as a source of confidence, community, and belonging 📚 What schools can learn from the visibility and cultural power of sports 📚 Why creative practice is not so different from athletic training 📚 The willingness to show up and try again

  8. Aug 31

    Never Underestimate a Young Reader

    What do young people understand that adults mistakenly believe they have hidden from them? Award-winning author Tiffany D. Jackson returns to the podcast to discuss Ghost in the Night, her haunting middle-grade novel set against the ghost tours, buried histories, and complicated beauty of Savannah, Georgia. Tiffany invites educators to take young readers—and their capacity to confront difficult subjects—seriously. We explore why children sometimes attach themselves intensely to a particular interest while processing grief, and what educators might discover if they look beyond the fascination and ask what need it may be meeting. We also discuss the importance of grief literacy, the trust created when adults acknowledge what children already know, and the difference between protecting young people and underestimating them. The conversation moves beyond the ghosts of Savannah to examine whose histories become tourist attractions, whose stories remain untold, and how literature can inspire students to investigate the overlooked histories of their own communities. Tiffany also shares why young characters need opportunities to form friendships without constant adult choreography, how she calibrates horror for middle-grade readers, and the deceptively simple practice she recommends to every aspiring writer: read closely enough to notice how a story works. This episode explores: Why educators need to take children's inner lives seriously How intense interests can sometimes help young people process grief The role of grief literacy in schools and classrooms How honest conversations can build trust between adults and children Why young people need agency in friendship and problem-solving Whose histories are preserved, promoted, ignored, or buried How place can function as a character in a novel What horror offers middle-grade readers How students can learn the craft of writing by reading like writers At its heart, this conversation asks educators to consider what becomes possible when we stop assuming young people cannot handle the truth—and begin giving them stories that honour their intelligence, curiosity, and humanity.

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Shifting Schools is a thought-provoking podcast that explores the latest trends, strategies, and tools in K-12 education. Hosted by educators Jeff Utecht and Tricia Friedman, the podcast provides a platform for teachers, administrators, and education thought leaders to share their experiences and insights on how to improve teaching and learning. From innovative approaches in classroom management to leveraging technology for personalized learning, Shifting Schools tackles the most pressing issues facing K12 educators today. Whether you are a seasoned teacher or a new educator, this podcast will inspire you to think outside the box and shift your educational approach. Tune in to Shifting Schools to gain new perspectives, share ideas, and join a community of passionate educators who are committed to making a positive impact in the lives of their students. Follow us at @shiftingschools on Twitter and @shiftingschoolspod on Instagram and Tiktok

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