The Out of the Trenches Podcast

Episode # 414: Jeanette Mihalchik

Jeanette Mihalchik is a National Board Certified Elementary General Music Specialist with over 2 decades of experience teaching general music, choir, and music ensembles from PreK to 8th grade. She is a certified music educator and has a Master of Science in Elementary Education with a Specialization in Literacy and has her Orff Certification.

Jeanette has spent her career studying and growing as a music teacher. She studied Arts Integration at The Kennedy Center through their CETA program and at workshops through the Florida Alliance for the Arts. She is constantly trying new methods to help create her happy classroom. She has presented at the county and state level at general music, literacy, and arts integration workshops and has also presented at Artie and Denise Symposiums. Jeanette is the author of Stories That Sing and Stories That Sing Too!

Find her online: website: https://thehappymusicteacher.com

@thehappymusicteacher on all Socials & on YouTube. @mrsmsclassroom (has lots of songs there for any teacher). She has word family songs, etc. on her website

Episode # 413: Dr. Paris Woods

Paris Woods is an award-winning education leader and bestselling author of The Black Girl’s Guide to Financial Freedom. Her recently published book, The Student’s Guide to Financial Freedom, speaks directly to a growing concern across K–12 and higher education: how students’ financial instability undermines retention and long-term success.

Dr. Woods has held senior leadership roles across multiple education nonprofits, including College Beyond, where, as Co-Founder and Executive Director, she addressed the critical need for college success among low-income youth. Most recently, she was the Chief Program Officer at Strive Together. She is an adjunct faculty member of educational leadership at Tulane University.

A first-generation college student who grew up working class, Dr. Woods earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from Harvard University and her doctorate in education from The University of Texas at Austin. Her work has been featured in Essence, CNN, and Insider, among others.

Find her online: https://pariswoods.com/media/

Paris Woods, Ed.D. | LinkedIn Paris Woods | Author & Educator (@authorpariswoods) Instagram TikTok & FB @authorpariswoods

Author Paris Woods - YouTube

Transcription

Episode # 412: Craig Randall

Repeat guest Craig Randall is the developer and author of Trust-Based Observations, an Amazon number one best seller in five countries. Craig has spent the last 30 plus years in education working as a counselor, coach, teacher, and principal. Craig spends the majority of his time training school leaders in Trust-Based Observations (TBO), building mastery, and transforming the world of teacher observations to a model of trust and support that fosters growth mindsets, cultures of trust, and creates collective teacher efficacy in action. In addition, Craig speaks at conferences, is working on a new book, and hosts the 20 Minutes of Teaching Brilliance (On the Road with Trust-Based Observations) podcast, where he and some of the amazing teachers he observes engage in meaningful dialog about what makes for good teaching and learning.

Find him online: @trustbasedcraig on all socials

FB: https://www.facebook.com/craig.randall.7311

Website: www.trustbased.com

Episode # 411: Dr. Robb Kelly

Dr. Robb Kelly provides mentorship and guidance to aspiring entrepreneurs. He invests & encourages others to invest in startup ventures. He devotes countless hours sharing his expertise through conferences and workshops, utilizing others who've also overcome the challenges associated with lifestyle changes, habit formation, childhood traumas, startup obstacles, etc. He has created educational programs on business fundamentals. He also fosters a culture of innovation and responsible risk-taking.

Dr. Kelly participated in the Entrepreneur Conference with Ken Joslin in Atlanta, Georgia as a speaker alongside Gary Brecka, John Maxwell, Ed Mylett and other amazing people. Dr. Kelly is a renowned Addiction Expert. Born and raised in Manchester, UK, who is eccentric, no holds bar, successful, and places his patients first kind of man.

Robb is Meadows Trained in Trauma and holds a double Ph.D. It is necessary for the family to work along with the patient- we uncover the family chaos and dynamics to better resolve addiction.

Find him online: https://www.therobbkellyfoundation.org/ https://www.robbkelly.com Dr Robb Kelly Official: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter | on Linktree

Episode # 410: Tim Shanahan

Tim Shanahan is distinguished professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He served as the director of reading for the Chicago Public Schools, is the former president of the International Literacy Association, and served on the advisory board of the National Institute for Literacy under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. In 2007, he was inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame & is a former first-grade teacher. He is the author of the recently published book Leveled Reading, Leveled Lives: How Students’ Reading Achievement Has Been Held Back and What We Can Do About It.

Find him online: https://www.shanahanonliteracy.com/ -has literacy blogs w/ teachers’ comments.

FB, X, Linkedin, Bluesky @shanahanonliteracy

Episode # 409: Patty McGee

Patty McGee is a nationally recognized literacy consultant, speaker, and educator with a passion for transforming classrooms into spaces where language and learning come alive. With decades of experience as a teacher, coach, and advocate for delightful literacy practices, Patty has worked alongside educators across the country, partnering to unlock the full potential of their students through innovative and practical teaching strategies. "Not Your Granny’s Grammar" is her third book.

Connect with Patty at www.pattymcgee.org or on LinkedIn & IG: @pmgmcgee

Episode # 408: Brig Leane

Brig Leane is an education consultant and former principal of Fruita Middle School in Colorado, which under his leadership became a national Model Professional Learning Community. A veteran of the United States Coast Guard, he began his 2nd career as an educator in 2000, and has served as a principal, assistant principal, and teacher at the middle and high school levels in inner-city, suburban, and rural schools. He has also been an adjunct professor at Colorado Christian University.

Brig's work has been published in Phi Delta Kappan, Principal Leadership, and elsewhere, and he's the author of Singletons in a PLC At Work as well as the new book The PLC Dashboard: Implementing, Leading, and Sustaining Your Professional Learning Community at Work.

Visit Brig's website, www.BrigLeane.com Follow Brig on X, IG @BrigLeane

Episode # 407: Andrea Bitner

Return guest Andrea Bitner is an English Language Learner (ELL) educator, author, and speaker based in Philadelphia, PA. With 25 years in public education, she has taught K–12 students from around the world. Her debut book, Take Me Home (2021), shares the powerful true stories of 11 former EL students navigating bilingualism in America, while her second book, When Niagara Falls, inspires resilience, belonging, and growth for students and educators alike.

Andrea also co-authored The Impact of Influence – Volume 3: 100 No-Nonsense Things ALL School Leaders Should STOP Doing, and contributed to Culture First Classrooms and other works by Dr. Andrea Honigsfeld. Recognized by the state of Pennsylvania for her innovative teaching, she was featured in PSEA’s The Voice for her work with EL learners.

Currently, Andrea teaches EL students daily while traveling nationally to train educators on confidently supporting EL learners, connecting with families, and creating inclusive school communities.

Find her online: Connect with Andrea at www.andreabitnerbooks.com or on LinkedIn, IG and Twitter @andreabitnerbooks

Episode # 406: Jen Otte

Jen Otte is an innovative educational leader with over 20 years of experience as both a teacher and an administrator. After teaching high school social studies for 17 years, Jen stepped into her current role as a high school associate principal. In both positions, and as a stepmom of two teenagers for over a decade, Jen began to realize there was a lot that she - and her fellow educators - needed to learn and understand about the teenage brain. She is the founder of The Teenage Brain Thing, a resource and professional development framework and action plan to help educators tap into the potential of the teenage brain. Jen believes that if teachers understand and embrace the unique needs of the teenagers sitting before them, then they will increase their job satisfaction, fall in love with teaching again, and see more academic success from their students.

Find Jen online: www.theteenagebrainthing.com @the_teenage_brain_thing on IG

Episode # 405: Decoteau Irby & Ann Ishimaru

Decoteau J. Irby, PhD's life work focuses on creating and sustaining organizations that contribute to Black people’s self-determined well-being, development, and positive life outcomes. He is Professor at University of Illinois at Chicago in the Department of Educational Policy Studies. He is the author of Stuck Improving: Racial Equity and School Leadership.

Dr. Ann M. Ishimaru is an award-winning scholar, writer, educator and the Killinger Endowed Chair and Professor of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Policy at the University of Washington College of Education. Through her work, she cultivates the leadership and solidarities of educators, organizational leaders and racially minoritized youth, families and communities to realize more transformative futures. In addition to many peer-reviewed articles in top-tier educational research journals, she is also the author of Just Schools: Building Equitable Collaborations with Families and Communities. They are the editors of the new volume Doing the Work of Equity Leadership for Justice and Systems Change.

Find them online: Visit Dr. Decoteau Irby's website, www.DecoteauIrby.com IG, LinkedIn, Fb @decoteauirby IG @decoteaublack

Visit Dr. Ann Ishimaru's website, www.AnnIshimaru.com LinkedIn, IG, Bluesky @prof_ishimaru for IG/bluesky