The Out of the Trenches Podcast

Episode # 374: Eugene Williams

Eugene Williams, Jr. received a B.A. in English from Emory University in 1991, and a M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from The University of Mary Washington in 2007. He is a writer, speaker, educator, and former child actor who has appeared on stage, screen, and television with such celebrities as Ray Charles, Pearl Bailey, and Stephanie Mills. In 1978, he became the first black child in a major, recurring role on the highly acclaimed CBS soap opera, "Search For Tomorrow". Eugene has authored six books including IT'S A READING THING... HELP YOUR CHILD UNDERSTAND, THE RAISIN-IN MILK SYNDROME, REFLECTIONS OF A CONFUSED MIDDLE CLASS BLACK YOUTH, and GROUNDED IN THE WORD. a SAT verbal prep guide based on the vocabulary found in the King James Version of the Bible. Eugene's books and opinions have been featured in JET, BLACK EXCELLENCE, The Washington Post and various national publications. He has also been a guest and contributor on NBC, CBS, CNN, and BET. Eugene spent 27 years as a public school educator. He has served as a teacher in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. He has been an assistant principal at both the middle and high school levels and, most recently, spent five years as a high school principal. Eugene lives in Virginia with his wife Jewel, a former elementary school principal. Their daughter, Paige is a professional artist and entrepreneur with a Master's Degree in Journalism from Georgetown University.

Find Eugene online: https://www.instagram.com/eugwilljr?igsh=NGVhN2U2NjQ0Yg==

https://www.linkedin.com/in/eugene-williams-jr-m-ed-34bb2375

https://www.tiktok.com/@ewill521?t=8kRVvKTzUEg&_r=1

https://www.eugenewilliamsjr.com/ 

Episode #373: Christine Zuppa

Christine is an experienced educator with a wide range of experience in both private and public school settings with a focus in special education. She is passionate about equipping educators with knowledge & confidence to create engaging & welcoming classrooms. She brings her conscientious & ambitious mindset to the Making The Grade team.

Find Christine online: Website: www.makingthegradeproject.com

Instagram/TikTok: @makingthegradeproject and IG: @executivefunctionfix LinkedIn @christinezuppa

Executive Function Info: www.Makingthegradeproject.com/executive-function-for-educators-start with the quiz to learn your learning style.

Episode # 372: Valcine Brown

Dr. Valcine Brown is a veteran teacher of high school English Language Arts serving in public education. Dr Brown holds a BA in English Literature, an MFA in Humanities: Creative Writing, an MFA in English Literature, and a PhD in Education: Curriculum and Instruction. Understanding the connection between literacy and economic prosperity, her passion is increasing literacy in adolescents, an often neglected topic. Dr. Brown was born and raised in So. California where she still resides.

Find her online: FB @valcinebrown  website: 

https://drvalcinebrown.live-website.com/

 

Episode #371: Dr. John Almarode

John is a Professor of Education in the College of Education at James Madison University. In 2015, John was awarded the inaugural Sarah Miller Luck Endowed Professorship. In 2021, John was honored with an Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia. Most recently, he was named a Madison Scholar in the College of Education and awarded the Madison Vision Teaching Award.

At James Madison University, he continues to work with pre service teachers and graduate students, as well as actively pursues his research interests including the science of learning and the design and measurement of classroom environments that promote the greatest gains in student learning. John works closely with John Hattie’s Visible Learning research, The Visible Learning® research base represents more than 2,103 meta-analyses comprising more than 132,000 studies involving more than 300 million students around the world. The Visible Learning research has identified more than 350 factors that influence student achievement.

Find John online: X, FB, website www.johnalmarode.com you can send him an email there. Look him up at JMU website.

Episode # 370: Jill Handley & Lara Donnelly

Jill Handley & Lara Donnelly are the authors of "What Can I Take Off Your Plate? A Structural—and Sustainable—Approach to Countering Teacher Burnout"

Lara Donnelly, EdD, is a veteran teacher and school counselor in Jefferson County Public Schools (Kentucky). She is an education consultant, speaker, and author supporting schools and administrators with burnout, family engagement, and multilingual learners with trauma and mental health concerns. Donnelly has been featured in podcasts, news articles, and televised interviews for her expertise in supporting mental health. In addition, she has presented at numerous national conferences, including ASCD, ESEA, and the Whole School REACH conference.

Jill Handley, EdD, is the assistant superintendent of multilingual learners in Jefferson County Public Schools (Kentucky). Prior to this role, she was the award-winning principal of Kenwood Elementary. During her 16-year tenure as principal, she led her school to be recognized for several achievements, including National School of Character, National Distinguished ESEA School, and the first Family Friendly Certified school in the state of Kentucky.

 

Episode # 369: Casey Watts

Casey Watts is the founder of Casey Watts Coaching & Consulting, LLC, and a Team Leadership Expert. She has over 20 years of experience in education as a classroom teacher, adjunct professor, academic coordinator, and district instructional specialist. She is passionate about empowering teams to move beyond silos and transform into cohesive, vision- driven powerhouses. Through strategic guidance and practical tools, Casey helps leaders cultivate clarity, collaboration, and a collective purpose that drives meaningful results.

Find Casey online: get from her website www.catchingupwithcasey.com @catchupwithcasey on LinkedIn

Episode # 368: Dr. John Chanaca

Dr. John Chanaca is the founder of MJChanacapublishing LLC, a family-owned publishing company dedicated to creating heartwarming, educational stories that emphasize positive family values and parenting. He is the author of several children's books, including The Keymaker, Annie's Flutterflies, Color Your Own Story Books, and the Humor & Heart collection, which earned a Silver Medal in the Global Book Awards 2024. Dr. Chanaca has devoted his career to inspiring and educating both young readers and parents through literature. A Licensed Professional Family Counselor since 1985, Dr. Chanaca has supported countless families and individuals in navigating life’s challenges. This experience led him to author the three-part series A Survival Guide for Parents: Nurturing Super Students in a Modern World, with a follow-up book, Power Parenting: Nurturing Successful Students in the Modern World, soon to be released.

find you online: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089699787125

https://twitter.com/mjchanacapubish

https://www.youtube.com/@mjchanacapublishing/videos

https://www.instagram.com/mjchanacapublishing/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-chanaca-04b7a7175/

www.mjchanacapublishing.com

Free e-book In Canva style:  https://www.canva.com/design/DAFo1cW4Qno/uwNG2Rx_PUjzDOexhQx6kw/edit?utm_content=DAFo1cW4Qno&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

Survival Guide Part 1

https://mjchanacapublishingllc.aiinteractivebooks.com/book-view/1794 

 

Episode #367: Jessica Lee Haxhi

Jessica Haxhi has been the Supervisor of World Languages for New Haven Public Schools in Connecticut since 2013, overseeing 85 teachers of Arabic, ASL, Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Pashto, and Spanish. She also teaches one Japanese class at James Hillhouse High School.

Jessica was President of ACTFL in 2021 and is a past President of the American Association of Teachers of Japanese. She served on the Northeast Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Board from 2006-2010, the ACTFL-NCSSFL Can-Do Statements Committee, and the original National Standards Committee for Japanese.

Previously, Jessica taught Japanese for 20 years in a PreK-5 program and has taught world language methods as an adjunct instructor at local universities in CT. She has received the Milken Family Foundation National Teacher Award (2002), the U.S.-Japan Foundation Elgin Heinz Outstanding Japanese Teacher Award (2008), and the International Women’s Day New Haven Award for Outstanding Public Service (2019).

Find Jessica online: @jhaxhi on Bluesky, X, LinkedIn and via her district website: https://sites.google.com/a/nhps.net/nhpswl/home

Episode #366: Kurtis Hewson

As Lead Leader and Co-Founder of Jigsaw Learning, Kurtis has championed the call for collaborative structures in schools to ensure success for all students and enhance the collective efficacy of those dedicated educators working in classrooms. Kurtis works to establish responsive relationships with districts and system level leaders to design collaborative frameworks for educators and develop leadership capacity at all levels. He has over 25 years of experience in the classroom, including over a decade as an award-winning school administrator. An engaging speaker and facilitator, Kurtis interacts with thousands of educators and educational stakeholders annually to ensure Collaborative Response is foundational to how schools work together to ensure success for all students. Find Kurtis online: http://jigsawlearning.ca/

 https://www.facebook.com/JigsawLearningAB/

https://www.twitter.com/Jigsaw_Learning

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3U_RKp7yxQhckpKaQur7ow

https://www.linkedin.com/company/jigsaw-learning-inc/?viewAsMember=true

https://www.instagram.com/jigsawlearningab/

Episode # 365: Starr Sackstein

Starr Sackstein is a recovering perfectionist who is an assessment reforming enthusiast. Starr just started her role as Massachusetts State Coordinator for Educators Rising and is the COO of Mastery Portfolio, an Edtech Startup committed to helping schools move to Standard-Based communication. Additionally, she works with teacher teams to engage students in the learning process, advocate for personal growth, and effectively use student data to drive instruction. She was a high school English and journalism teacher for 16 years, a lead Humanities learner for 2 years, a publisher and developmental editor, and social media manager. Starr is an author, blogger, and speaker committed to changing the way we do assessment nationally and globally. You can learn more about her work on her website MsSackstein.com. When Starr isn’t advocating for students and educators, she is a mom and partner looking for the next adventure.

Find Starr online: @Starrsackstein LinkedIn, Bluesky

website: www.mrssackstein.com