The Making Schools Work Podcast

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Join us each week as we talk to different SREB team members and educators across the country to find out the latest in school innovations. From classroom instruction to school leadership, we are going to examine what it is that makes schools work!

  1. Creating a School Culture of Love: Accountability and Data With Marck Abraham

    قبل ٤ أيام

    Creating a School Culture of Love: Accountability and Data With Marck Abraham

    Send a text How do you move a high school graduation rate from 60% to 87% in a few short years?  In this high-energy episode, Senior Instructional Coach Daniel Rock and Leadership Coach Erin Anderson-Williams sit down with Dr. Marck Abraham, CEO of MEA Consultant Services and author of What Success Looks Like. Abraham challenges the traditional, "mushy" definition of school culture, replacing it with a "Culture of Love" rooted in high expectations, objective data and a relentless focus on student results. From closing achievement gaps for Black male students to navigating "low vibration" conversations with staff, this episode provides a strategic roadmap for any leader looking to move the needle in their building. Key Discussion Points The Mechanic Shop Analogy: Why "feeling good" in a school is meaningless if the "car" (the student's education) isn't actually fixed.The "ABC" Data Buckets: A deep dive into the three metrics that truly matter: Attendance (student and teacher), Behavior and Course passing data.Teacher Attendance as Culture: Why teacher attendance is the primary indicator of whether you have built a culture where people feel seen and valued.Hard on Data, Soft on People: Strategies for using objective rubrics and report card audits to hold courageous conversations without making them personal.Shedding the Sugar: Why a quiet classroom isn't necessarily a learning classroom, and how to shift the heavy lifting of instruction from the teacher to the students.Featured Guest Dr. Marck Abraham is a renowned educator, author and speaker who has served as a community mentor, school counselor and principal. He is recognized for his work with organizations across the country, such as the Obama Foundation, and his ability to drive significant gains in graduation rates and attendance across diverse school districts. The Southern Regional Education Board is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with states and schools to improve education at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education and the workforce. Follow Us on Social: Facebook Instagram X

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  2. Creating High-Functioning Teams in Schools

    ٣ فبراير

    Creating High-Functioning Teams in Schools

    Send a text Teaching is often viewed as a "solo gig," but the work of student learning is far too heavy for any one person to carry alone. In this episode, SREB Senior Instructional Coach Daniel Rock sits down with Leadership Coaches Erin Anderson-Williams and Susan Simpson to discuss the transition from isolated classrooms to collaborative school cultures. Our guests dive into the essential traits of high-functioning teams, the difference between intentional and organic collaboration and how leaders can intervene when team dynamics turn toxic. Key Discussion Points: The Power of Self-Awareness: Why every team member must understand their specific role, strengths and blind spots to reach a common goal.Organic vs. Intentional Teaming: Exploring how teams form naturally through proximity and how leaders can intentionally design groups to build teacher capacity and retention.Avoiding "Team Fails": Identifying common pitfalls, such as mandating meetings without a clear "why" or assuming teachers instinctively know how to collaborate without modeling.Intervention Strategies for Toxic Teams: How to use norms, common purposes and conversation protocols to rebuild professional respect and ensure equity of voice.Distributed Leadership: The benefits of rotating leadership roles and allowing those with the best skillset—not just the most seniority—to "run the play." The Southern Regional Education Board is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with states and schools to improve education at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education and the workforce. Follow Us on Social: Facebook Instagram X

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  3. Taylor Swift Clubs, Data Rooms, and Teacher-Led PD: The Best of Fall 2026

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    Taylor Swift Clubs, Data Rooms, and Teacher-Led PD: The Best of Fall 2026

    Send a text As the Fall 2026 semester comes to a close, it is time to look back at the schools and strategies that challenged our thinking. In this special wrap-up episode, Daniel is joined by SREB’s Jason Adair and Ashley Shaw to interrogate the "Best Of" ideas from the last few months. From a high school in South Carolina that lets teachers design their own professional development to a "Taylor Swift Club" that solved an attendance crisis, the team breaks down why these innovations worked and how other leaders can replicate them. They also tackle the big debates: Is a physical "data room" actually better than a digital dashboard? And does teaching "workplace skills" mean we have to sacrifice the humanities? What You'll Learn in This Episode Teacher-Led PD: How West Side High School flipped the script by giving teachers time to plan and lead their own professional learning, creating true peer-to-peer buy-in.The Leader’s Role: Why a principal needs to be a "gardener" (preparing the soil for growth) rather than a "chess master" (controlling every move).Selling the Process, Not the Content: How academic teachers at the Career Academy of Decatur infuse workplace skills into core subjects—like teaching email etiquette during an English writing lesson.The Power of Niche Clubs: Why letting a teacher host a "Taylor Swift" or "Play-Doh" club isn't a waste of time—it's a critical tool for humanizing teachers and building attendance-driving relationships.The Great Data Wall Debate: The team discusses the pros and cons of physical data rooms (like those at Floyd Johnson Tech Center) versus digital dashboards, and why a data wall only works if it is "The Thing" rather than "Just Another Thing." Featured Schools & Concepts West Side High School (SC): Visible Learning TeamsRichland Middle/High School (MS): Teacher Autonomy & Flex Time ClubsCareer Academy of Decatur (AL): Infusing Workplace SkillsFloyd Johnson Tech Center (SC) & Indian Valley Elementary (AL): Data Rooms The Southern Regional Education Board is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with states and schools to improve education at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education and the workforce. Follow Us on Social: Facebook Instagram X

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  4. Surviving the First Year: The "Productive Struggle" of Mentorship

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    Surviving the First Year: The "Productive Struggle" of Mentorship

    Send a text The "first-year teaching blues" are real, but they don't have to be a career-ender. In this episode, Daniel explores the impact of the GREAT Grant (Georgia Residency for Educating Amazing Teachers), a program designed to turn career-changers into thriving educators through a paid residency model. We sit down with Jillian Degan, a former "problem child" student who swore she’d never teach, and Amelia Ellison, the veteran mentor who guided her. Together, they pull back the curtain on what a successful mentor-mentee relationship actually looks like—moving beyond "signing the paperwork" to building a partnership based on vulnerability, trust, and the freedom to fail. What You'll Learn in This Episode The Non-Traditional Path: How both Jillian (Healthcare) and Amelia (Business) transitioned into education and how their outside perspectives shape their classrooms.The "Productive Struggle": Why Jillian had to learn to stop "hating group work" and allow her students to struggle together to find the right answers.Reverse Mentorship: How a veteran teacher learned to embrace new technology and creative "anchor charts" by watching her mentee take risks.Management vs. Relationships: Why rigid systems (like "the clipboard") often fail new teachers, and why emotional intelligence works better than calling parents every day.The "Vibe" Check: Why it is critical for a new teacher to speak up and request a different mentor if the personality fit isn't right.The Power of Constructive Feedback: How to give feedback that builds a new teacher up rather than just telling them "fix your classroom management" without explaining how. The Southern Regional Education Board is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with states and schools to improve education at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education and the workforce. Follow Us on Social: Facebook Instagram X

    ٤٤ من الدقائق

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    From 74% to 96%: How Tuscaloosa Built a K-12 Career Plan That Actually Works

    Send a text What really happens to students after they graduate? Does a diploma equal a plan? In this episode, Daniel Rock and Susan Simpson sit down with the innovative College and Career Readiness team from Tuscaloosa City Schools  to find out how they answered their superintendent's single, powerful question: "How do we know they're ready?" The answer was a comprehensive, K-12 plan built on three E's (Exposure, Exploration, and Engagement) and a simple, guiding question for every student: "What's Your E?" (Enroll, Enlist, or Employ). Learn how the TCS team—John Walker, Kelly Norstrom and Andrea Markham—used data, career coaches and powerful community partnerships to drive a 22% increase in students graduating with a college and career readiness indicator and ensure that 85% of their graduates are still on that confirmed path one year later. What You'll Learn in This Episode The "What's Your E?" Framework: How TCS ensures every student graduates with a confirmed post-secondary plan to Enroll, Enlist, or be Employed.Key Structures That Work: Why dedicated Career Coaches are essential and how they serve as "boots on the ground" to guide students.The 3 E's: How to build a K-12 pipeline that starts with Exposure in elementary school (like the "Mini-WOW" program), moves to Exploration in middle school, and culminates in Engagement in high school.Data-Driven Strategies: How the team used transcript audits to discover that students were "hopping in and out" of pathways and how they fixed it.The Power of Partnerships: How TCS gets industry leaders out of their silos and into the schools to build relevant curriculum.The Impressive Results: Hear the hard data, including a jump from 74% to 96.3% of students graduating with a CCR indicator and the metrics they use to track graduates one year after they leave the system.Guests Kelly Norstrom: Director of College and Career Readiness for Tuscaloosa City Schools.John Walker: Coordinator of Testing and former Instructional Specialist for CTE.Andrea Markham: Data Analyst and Counseling Administrator for Tuscaloosa City Schools. The Southern Regional Education Board is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with states and schools to improve education at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education and the workforce. Follow Us on Social: Facebook Instagram X

    ٤٧ من الدقائق
  6. Teaching with Purpose: How Academics and CTE Work Together at Career Academies of Decatur

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    Teaching with Purpose: How Academics and CTE Work Together at Career Academies of Decatur

    Send a text What happens when English and social studies teachers join a career academy — and every lesson connects to the real world? In this episode of the Making Schools Work podcast, SREB’s Daniel Rock and Debra Cullen talk with Angie Maples and Wes Stephenson, teachers at the Career Academies of Decatur (CAD) in Alabama. They share how academic teachers are helping students build essential workplace and life skills — from writing professional emails to conducting interviews with local employers — all while meeting state standards. You’ll hear how CAD teachers: Bring career and technical education concepts into every lessonUse standard operating procedures (SOPs) to teach structure and responsibilityCreate projects that blend academic content with real-world applicationBuild student confidence and communication through authentic assignments and presentationsDevelop a schoolwide showcase where students present to local business and community leadersThis episode shows how academic teachers can make every class career-relevant — and how CAD is helping students see purpose in every assignment. The Southern Regional Education Board is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with states and schools to improve education at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education and the workforce. Follow Us on Social: Facebook Instagram X

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  7. How Career Academies of Decatur Redefined High School: Building a CTE-Focused Model for Every Student

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    How Career Academies of Decatur Redefined High School: Building a CTE-Focused Model for Every Student

    Send a text What happens when a school flips the script — and lets career and technical education lead the way? In this episode of the Making Schools Work podcast, SREB’s Daniel Rock and Debra Cullen talk with Ressa Chittam, director of the new Career Academies of Decatur in Alabama, and assistant director Tyler Stevenson. Together, they share how this innovative school became a full-time high school that blends academic courses with career pathways, giving students more time for hands-on learning, early graduation, and real-world readiness. You’ll hear how the school: Built a full-time high school within a CTE center — so students learn academics and technical skills in one placePartnered with SREB and local industry to align teaching with workforce needsHelped academic and CTE teachers learn to “speak each other’s language” through business visits and collaborationCreated five core career-readiness pillars that guide all instructionDesigned authentic, project-based learning experiences — including a year-end student showcase that impressed local employersCareer Academies of Decatur is showing what’s possible when educators, businesses, and communities work together to make learning relevant — and to help every student find their purpose. The Southern Regional Education Board is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with states and schools to improve education at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education and the workforce. Follow Us on Social: Facebook Instagram X

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  8. How Student Talk Doubles Learning: Making Classrooms More Socratic

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    How Student Talk Doubles Learning: Making Classrooms More Socratic

    Send a text What if the key to doubling student learning is simply getting them talking? In this episode, Daniel Rock and Jason Adair unpack research showing how student discussion can double the rate of learning — and why most classrooms still rely on teacher talk 80% of the time. Together with Ashley Shaw, they explore how teachers can create classrooms that sound more like Socratic seminars and less like lectures. You’ll hear: Why teachers often default to “funneling” questions — and how to ask focusing questions that spark real thinkingSimple moves to reduce teacher talk and build student ownershipHow turn-and-talks, sentence stems and discussion structures help every student’s voice be heardTips for supporting English learners and shy students during class discussionThe importance of reflection and metacognition for both teachers and studentsBy the end, you’ll have practical tools to make your classroom a place where students don’t just listen — they learn by speaking, thinking and questioning like Socrates. The Southern Regional Education Board is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with states and schools to improve education at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education and the workforce. Follow Us on Social: Facebook Instagram X

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Join us each week as we talk to different SREB team members and educators across the country to find out the latest in school innovations. From classroom instruction to school leadership, we are going to examine what it is that makes schools work!

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