The LiveSchool Podcast

You want to shift you’re approach to discipline. Suspensions are on the rise but they aren’t improving behavior. Restorative Practices provide schools with a way to create an environment where students feel safe, supported, and valued.

In this episode, Jordan dives into how to not only switch from traditional discipline to restorative practices but also reinforce those practices.

We’ll talk through how restorative practices can serve as an effective alternative to traditional punishment by focusing on the root cause of the incident. We’ll also dive into how it can be paired with your existing structure like PBIS and SEL. Happy listening.

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It might seem that the more independence and maturity your students gain as they age the easier the school would become to manage…that’s just not the case.

There are a whole set of problems as your students age into young adults, mainly, that they develop young adult problems while their social skills are often a work in progress.

PBIS increases student engagement and allows schools to create an environment where students feel supported and are better able to reach their potential.

In this episode, Jordan explains why that is especially true for high schools including five benefits that schools should expect to see during and after a successful PBIS launch.

When we emphasize and reinforce positive behavior, distractions are minimized, and students spend more time doing what they came to school to do in the first place…learning.

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Education is extremely important...but nobody said it couldn't be fun.

When students struggle, we put all sorts of plans into place to intervene and help. But sometimes we tend to take accomplishments and success for granted. No more. It's time to put the fun back in our schools and that's where House Points come in!

In this episode, Jordan details the five reasons that your school should be using House Points today. It goes well beyond rewards, House Points can also serve as a tool for character development, encouraging positive behavior, responsibility, and teamwork.

Listen in and learn how you can improve everything from camaraderie to community with House Points. Happy Listening.🎧

New names, new classes, and new challenges come around every August for teachers.

All of that change can lead to a lot of sleepless nights for educators...but the surest way to combat these late summer nightmares is to master classroom management.

Because you don’t want to just get through the school year…you want to thrive. In this episode, Jordan breaks down the five most important classroom management skills that every teacher needs to master during back-to-school season.

The rules and norms we set with our students exist to create a safe environment for them to explore new concepts, engage with new ideas, and forge new relationships. These are the skills you need to make it happen. Happy listening.

We all want student behavior to improve. Better behavior would potentially lead to fewer distractions and result in higher levels of student achievement.

Sounds great. Problem solved. Right? If only it were that easy. In order to impact student behavior you need to set goals and action plans that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. In other words, you need to set SMART goals.

In this week’s episode, Jordan walks you through how to set SMART goals that will result in real, tangible behavior changes on your campus.

A SMART goal is a framework used to set objectives that are clear and actionable, with specific criteria for success. By breaking down larger goals into smaller, measurable objectives, schools can easily track their progress over time.

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PBIS is a complex system that takes time to implement and sustain. It involves changing the culture of your school community. It will require ongoing effort and dedication to ensure that all students benefit from its implementation.

That’s why school district leaders need to think about PBIS in terms of a multi-year implementation to ensure that the program is sustained long-term and that the desired outcomes are achieved.

In this week’s episode, Jordan breaks down a multi-year approach that allows school leaders to gradually introduce and refine the system, evaluate its progress, and make adjustments to ensure the program meets its goals.

The key to successfully making significant changes lies in the ability of leadership to hit short-term, targeted goals. Or in other words, what’s the only way to eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Happy listening.

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There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to solving your student discipline issues.

No matter how grand your Tier 1 System is…it’s still only designed to meet the needs of roughly 80% of your students. So how do you support the other 20%? That’s where Tier 2 Interventions come in.

Tier 2 behavior interventions provide additional support to students who are not successful with Tier 1 support alone, with the goal of preventing future behavioral incidents and helping those students succeed.

In this week’s episode, Jordan goes through six common Tier 2 Behavior Interventions with some practical advice for implementing the strategies on your campus this fall. Happy listening.

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We hope you are enjoying your “summer teacher era”!

May your pool chair be forever lounging, your Yeti be forever chilled, and your roads be forever winding.

Ah, but alas it will not last forever and your teacher-brain is awfully tough to turn off. That’s why we have put together a comprehensive list of the best ways for educators to relax, progress, and be inspired all summer long.

This week’s episode is full of books, PD, social follows, blogs, podcasts, and live events that Jordan and the team have selected to help you recharge and come back this fall better than ever.

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Beach-Worthy Books:

It’s time to look at the school calendar and pencil in some fun! In this week's episode, Jordan shares 12 fun school event ideas for class incentives, student rewards, spirit weeks, theme days, and community builders.

12 ideas you and your team can put together to incentivize and celebrate your school communities. The best part is they are all quick, easy, and super budget-friendly!

We have included three ideas for fall, winter, and spring, and a few that can work any time of the year. Feel free to use these as inspiration and build upon them to make something great on your campus.

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Why should you consider launching a House System in your school? Well, think about the things you’d like to change in your school.

You’d like to spend more time recognizing positive student behavior. You want less of your time tied up dealing with discipline. You want your students to be engaged and you’d like to find ways to make your building a happier place for teachers to teach.

That may sound like asking for the moon…but one program can accomplish all of those things: House Systems.

Good attendance is essential for student success.

Students who attend school regularly are more likely to earn higher grades, graduate, and go on to college or other post-secondary education.

They are also less likely to drop out, commit crimes, or receive ODR’s while they are in school.

Even though we know this…many students still **struggle with attendance.

There are many reasons for this and some aren’t within the school’s control…but several of them are.

This episode is dedicated to pulling the levers you can pull to improve your school’s attendance rate.

This week we are diving into ways that schools can improve attendance:

• Providing a safe and orderly environment
• Celebrating and rewarding student accomplishments
• Providing opportunities for students to get involved in school activities

And guess what…we even broke it down by grade level so feel free to skip ahead to the section of the pod that benefits your students and your school the most.

• Elementary Ideas: 7:40
• Middle School Ideas: 9:50
• High School Ideas: 11:50

Happy Listening. 🎧

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Ahh, the school year is almost over. Testing is behind us, the weather outside is great, and you, my teacher friend, are quickly running out of curriculum.

It. Is. Party. Time.

No, we aren’t talking about teacher happy hour. At least not in this episode. This week is all about planning classroom parties that are guaranteed to end your year on a high note.

This week, Justin McElwee joins Jordan to discuss end-of-the-year class party ideas that teachers can use to reward their students for a great school year.

This episode covers everything from exciting party themes to creative ways to celebrate the end of the school year. Listen in for some great ideas for rewarding and saying adios to your students for the summer.

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A rewards store can be a major component of a school’s behavior system. Students see that the positive behaviors they show throughout the day can lead to a reward and that encourages them to continue making positive choices.

But, for the staff, running a store can become a major headache as they shoulder more and more responsibility...But it doesn’t have to be that way!

You can make rewarding students for positive behavior both effective and sustainable by putting the students in charge!

In this week's episode, Jordan provides your school with a step-by-step guide to building your own student-run reward store. We cover the benefits of the program, including increased student motivation and engagement. As well as potential drawbacks, such as the need for careful monitoring and management.

Tune in for everything you need to know to make your student reward store efficient, student-focused, and sustainable. Happy Listening. 🎧

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Classroom management is partly a learned skill and partly mastered art. This is why the two best ways to improve your classroom management are repetitions in your own classroom and collaborating with your experienced colleagues.

This episode is the latter. Deiera Bennett joined Jordan on the show today to talk through classroom stories and share the classroom management ideas that they used to survive and thrive in their own classrooms.

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This episode is all about behavior interventions. We are going to focus on one intervention that you can roll out in your school that allows you to leverage the resources you already have: Check-In/Check-Out.

Check-in/Check-out (CICO) is an effective behavior intervention because it’s built on relationships, accountability, and data.

But you may not know where to begin when it comes to making the program fit your school.

Have no fear, we got you.

In this episode, Jordan breaks down 6 steps to implementing CICO in your school as well as some helpful advice to ensure your implementation is a success.

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Great schools are great because they employ and support great teachers. No other variable can impact student learning like providing high-quality teaching.

That’s why our teachers deserve to be praised, respected, and recognized. They deserve to be rewarded all year round…not just during teacher appreciation week.

In this episode, we discuss 15 ways to reward teachers all year long. From simple gestures like handwritten notes to hour-long lunches, listen in for a wide range of ideas to show your appreciation for the hard work and dedication of your teaching staff.

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This episode features an interview with stand-up comedian Gaspare Randazzo, who talks about why teachers make the best comedians.

He shares his own experiences of being a teacher by day and comedian by night. As well as how that unique combination has helped him to become a better teacher and a better comic.

Gaspare talks with Jordan about the unique challenges that come with being a teacher and how life in the classroom can translate so well to comedy on the stage! Like how the complexities of school and things like lunch and principal observations can produce great comedy.

Gaspare also dove into how social media stardom has affected his school day and how teachers can balance their personal and professional lives.

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This episode is sure to be a hit for teachers, administrators, students, and parents alike and serves as a great 10-minute PD session on student reward events.

We’ll start with a recap of a visit to Del Valle Elementary, and discuss how they successfully designed their “Level Up” event to ensure maximum engagement from all their stakeholders.

Join us as we explore the importance of incorporating fun and meaningful activities into the event, as well as how to engage parents in the process.

Stick around until the end of the show and we’ll share three ways you can not only make your event more fun...but turn them into full-on community-builders.

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The Flywheel Effect is now producing bite-size PD for school leaders! In our introductory episode, Jordan is climbing the PBIS Pyramid to discover how PBIS Tiers can improve student behavior in your school.

We'll look at the basics of PBIS Tiers. As well as how they can be used to create positive school environments including examples from schools all around the U.S. that are enjoying the fruits of a well-structured PBIS program.

We'll also explore the rationale behind PBIS Tiers and discuss how school leaders can use it as a tool to support student success. Tune in to learn how you can use PBIS Tiers in your own school community.

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Welcome back to The Flywheel Effect! In this episode, we explore the power of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) to help students succeed in school and life. Our guest today is Cathy Emerson, a school psychologist, and MTSS expert.

Join us as she explains the basics of MTSS and shares examples of effective interventions like Check In/Check Out. Cathy will talk us through the three tiers of MTSS, the importance of data-driven decision-making, and how to identify which interventions can best meet the needs of individual students.

She’ll also discuss how to implement MTSS and some of the common challenges that districts may face. This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to get the most out of MTSS in their schools.

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Would you recommend teaching as a career path? Be honest.

Right now, would you convince others to follow your path? You might not.

As things currently stand, we wouldn’t blame you for feeling that way either. It’s been a rough stretch.

But it doesn’t have to stay that way.

Our guest today is Dr. Crystal Thorpe, former Principal of The Year for the state of Indiana. She feels all the internal and external pressures you are probably feeling in your school. Sub shortage, teacher shortages, masks, no masks, student behavior disruptions, and a myriad of political strife continuously falling on our schools. It’s been a lot. What’s different about Crystal and her school is what she decided to do about it.

She’s on the pod today to chat with Jordan about those challenges and how she’s protecting the profession by asking her teachers to do less.

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Shouldn’t school be a bit more like an adventure? No, we don’t mean you need your students swinging on ropes over snake pits like Indiana Jones or using the force to take down the evil empire like Luke Skywalker. But we do want our students to be as engaged in their educational journey as those fictional heroes are in their own adventures.

This episode is all about instilling a culture of adventuring in your school. It’s the art of instilling in your students an uncommon interest in what would otherwise be very commonplace.

Our guest today is Professor Colin Jones who is here to discuss exactly how you can use the philosophy of adventuring to guide your students to a happier, fuller, more satisfying education and how you can better prepare them for a workforce that is increasingly more freelance and entrepreneurial.

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In this episode, we are joined by Dedeeh Newbern who is the Chief Student Support Officer for Fayette County Public Schools in Lexington, Kentucky. She’s here to explore the essential role of district behavior support, social media, and SEL in creating positive learning environments.

We will also dig a little deeper into restorative practices, community support, and educational partnerships that can promote positive school climates. Join us as we dive into how these topics are related and how they can help us build better school communities.

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If you want to collaborate with Dedeeh you can reach out via email: dedeeh.newbern@fayette.kyschools.us

Imagine a school district that doesn’t just issue edicts from on high. An organization that learns together, plans together, analyzes data together, and problem-solves together. A district like that can create an environment necessary for all schools to succeed.

Kim Wood is a District Behavior Coach for Placer County Schools and she's here with us today to help you create that kind of district.

She joined Jordan and Hannah on the podcast this week to share how school districts all across the country can decrease exclusionary discipline events and increase their staff's capacity to navigate behavior concerns.

She was also kind enough to share her blueprint for a district-wide approach to behavior management that you can take back to your leadership team!

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We teach with a real-world curriculum so that our students can make connections that lead to deeper learning.

Why can’t we do the same for behavior?

Today's guest has done just that. Jason Haniger created a Token Economy that reflects the real-world economy we live in.

The result? Students at Barry School improved their behavior while developing financial literacy skills they'll use for the rest of their lives.

In this episode, we talk with Jason about how you can utilize behavior points to teach students about interest, stocks, taxes, and budgeting AND how to improve behavior through your extra-curricular programs.

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What if we asked our students to help design the way their school functions? At St. Vincent Ferrer, that's exactly what they do. Our guest today is their Dean of Students, Eric Keiper.

He’s here to tell us all about their House System and how student leadership has meant success for the Houses and the individual students. But it’s also meant much more than that, it’s helped to create the kind of culture we all should be striving for:

• A school culture, led by students, that is both competitive and empathetic.
• A culture that celebrates servant leadership and brings out the best in the individual.
• A culture that pushes all of those within it, to rise above mediocrity and accept nothing short of greatness.

If you’re looking for a way to change the culture within your school, Eric just might have the key you’ve been searching for.

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Congratulations! You’ve just accepted a job as the Principal of a new school! Your new home comes with some concerns though. Student attendance is low, the school has a tough time keeping staff, and student behavior is off the charts.

If you’re thinking those conditions sound familiar you are not alone. Those are 3 of the most common concerns in schools all across the country coming out of the pandemic and that's why we chose those specific circumstances for a hypothetical exercise with our guest AJ Bianco.

AJ is a father, husband, assistant principal, and podcast extraordinaire who was kind enough to join Jordan on the show today to create the playbook for new leaders at new schools. If you are a school leader, an aspiring school leader, or a teacher who would like some insight into the thought processes behind leadership actions then this is an episode you don’t want to miss!

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Welcome to our School Spotlight Series! In this series, we will be dropping episodes dedicated to sharing the good works, special programs, and unique culture wins that are happening all around the country so you can take them back to your school community!

This week we are joined by Kanetha Callahan, who is the Community Achieves Site Coordinator for Margaret Allen Middle School in Nashville, Tennessee. Kanetha shared the great ways they are supporting international students, building community partnerships, and how they are aligning MAMS’s behavior expectations with the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People using LiveSchool.

Community involvement is so much more than hosting an open house and scheduling parent-teacher conferences. Your school is uniquely positioned to bring positive, measurable change to your community. But how do you unlock that potential? Today’s guest is Principal Rashaad Pitt and he's here to share some helpful advice on how you can unleash that potential to close the gap between your school and the community it serves.

In addition to community engagement, Principal Pitt also chatted with Anna and Jordan about behavior solutions like restorative practices, mediation, and family outreach.  We finished up the discussion by chatting about climate walks and Rashaad even gave us a rundown of his favorite tech tools in the classroom.

If you're going to be a very successful school leader you need to not only be comfortable living in the gray, you also need to be comfortable leading in the gray. That means not only being comfortable solving complex problems but it also means leading others through complex situations. Today's guest on the show is a leader who is not only comfortable leading his school but has also developed 22 Principals from within his own admin team.

Gary Davison is the Principal of Lambert High School in Suwannee, Georgia as well as the host of The Lodge of Leaders Podcast. Gary joined Jordan and Anna to chat about new schools, parent involvement, student centered schools, and why developing leadership within your school is the best thing you can do for the students in your school.

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We have all studied the importance of the first days of school when it comes to classroom management and student behavior. If you get it right early, you can set yourself up for a successful year. That makes sense.

But what if you don’t? What if you’re several months into the year and your class has veered totally off the rails? 

If you're a teacher whose class has ever gotten out of hand in October or November, this is the episode for you!

Katie is an Interventionist and Instructional Coach who is here on the pod today to give you some sound advice that just might help you win back a lost class and save your educational year.

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For more Classroom Intervention Ideas from Katie, you should check out: www.whyliveschool.com/authors/katie-Neumeier

And as promised you can find Katie's famous pup on Instagram by following boomer_not_sooner