Kleinversations: Podcast by Klein ISD Professional Learning

Welcome back to our first episode of Kleinversations for the 2022-23 school year. For this episode, we welcomed Heidi Sebren to the episode to chat about being a new leader, empowering the people she serves, how to stay poised under pressure, and keeping a pulse on organizations when being a leader. I hope you leave this episode reflecting on how you lead your people, whether it’s adults students or both. Being a new leader can be a challenge, but it’s always important to stay connected to your people and serve them with authenticity and empowerment. Until next time, here’s to taking out learning to transform the world!

"I don't think of leadership as a title, I think of the people." -Dr. Jenny McGown In this episode, we welcome our Klein ISD Superintendent to the episode to have a conversation around leading with empathy. We touch on ways to show gratitude, exemplars of people showing kindness, and why it's so important to keep people at the center of our work and leadership. 

Join us for this episode from the book Multipliers by Liz Wiseman as we discuss liberators vs tyrants, how they create an environment of space and intensity to help their people thrive.

In this episode, we join the Fox Destination Imagination kids and their teacher, Lisa Mackey. We talk about what they enjoy about being involved in this club and how they've grown as leaders. This episode is full of creative, talented kids talking about their experience and is sure to bring a joy to your face!  Destination Imagination

Join us for this episode from the book Multipliers by Liz Wiseman as we discuss the difference between Talent Managers vs Talent Magnets, how to make those your serve shine, and why it's so important for leaders to highlight their people's gifts to grow them for their futures.  We barely touch on the content in the chapter and highly encourage you to grab the book to dive deeper into your content! 

Come along with us this year as we dive into Liz Wiseman's book "The Multipliers". This chapter is called the Multiplier Effect and we dive into the five disciplines of a Multiplier leader in this episode. You can purchase the book here if you want more of the content that's rich in research. 

Dr. Jenny McGown, Klein ISD's Superintendent, joins us to talk about moving forward together during these historic times, practicing both optimism and realism , having empathy with our engagement and more.  Show Resources Book: Forged in Crisis: The Making of Five Courageous Leaders by Nancy F. Koehn Peer Review Journal: Managing teamwork in the face of pandemic: evidence-based tips by Scott Tannenbaum, Allison Traylor, Eric Thomas, & Eduardo Salas

In this episode, we have guests Ashley Huff and Grace Erkman, chat with us about how they tacked a student reluctance to writing by thinking outside the box. This teacher and librarian put their heads together to give students a platform to help them grow confidence and let their voices be heard. You will hear about Ashley's experience of being a still-new teacher when the pandemic hit, how Grace keeps an open mind after 21 years of being an educator, and how making this challenge into a success has helped them grow. 

In this episode, we sit down to discuss Riding the Waves of Change which is the next chapter in Elena Aguilar’s book Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators. This book is so timely and the chapter is no different as it addresses feelings about change, how to deal with it when it’s unwanted, the secret to leading the change, and how to have patience and perseverance through it all. Take a listen now! Onward by Elena Aguilar

This episode has three high school students from our district who discuss how the SAT Opportunity Ambassador program has helped refine their leadership skills. However, this episode has SO much more content like what these students care about, their hopes for their futures, and how they've grown as individuals. You will be inspired and encouraged listening to these bright students. 

In this episode, we dive into Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience for Educators Chapter 8 by Elena Aguilar. We focus on the different aspects of play and artistic expression, the health benefits they provide, and how they can make you more productive in everyday life. Another highlight of our conversation is how it takes courage to play and create, and how this can build our resilience in trying times. As stated in the beginning, we are in a large room, 20+ feet away from each other, and wearing masks so thank you for being flexible in your listening. :)

The show guest for this episode is, Jennifer Matus, a Counseling and Student Wellness Coordinator in our district. We dive into pertinent conversation around how to incorporate emotional learning with specific methods, how to be a caring adult in a child's life, trends she’s seeing during this pandemic in connection to student mental health, and tangible ways to help kids while they process this ongoing pandemic.  Show Resources Where the Crawdads Sing book Permission to Feel book American School Counselor Association resources for helping students in troubling times

In this episode, we talk about the next chapter from the book Onward by Elena Aguilar. We talk about chapter highlights like using inquiry and prof. Learning to recharge and reinvest in yourself, the implications of a conscious competence ladder, minding the learning gap, and a little about time management. Show Resources Onward by Elena Aguilar Permission to Feel by Marc Brackett

In this episode, we dive into Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience for Educators Chapter 8 by Elena Aguilar. We do not get even close to all the amazing content in this chapter, but touch on the benefits of exercising compassion towards others, self-compassion, dealing with difficult people, and compassion fatigue.  As stated in the beginning, we are in a large room, 20+ feet away from each other, and wearing masks so thank you for being flexible in your listening. :)

Our guests, Jana Griffin and Danielle Williams, dive into the challenges and celebrations of being a teacher right now, how they stay flexible, what they do to stay positive and more!  Resources Smoky Night Book

In this episode, we dive into Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience for Educators Chapter 7 by Elena Aguilar. We do not get even close to all the amazing content in this chapter, but touch on why it's so hard to focus on bright spots, a few ways to train the brain (for more, read the chapter!), and how diving into sadness is beneficial. Come along with us as we explore retraining our brains.  As stated in the beginning, we are in a large room, 20+ feet away from each other, and wearing masks so thank you for being flexible in your listening. :) 

Join the conversation with Principal Lauren Marti and Digital Learning Specialist Emily Noorduizen as we discuss ways educators have pivoted in our new landscape of education. You will be inspired about the creativity teachers have shown and how these guests stay focused on the bright side of the future.  Those Shoes kid's book

Join this episode as we dive into Onward: Cultivating Resilience in Educators by Elena Aguilar. The book is broken up in chapters by the time of the year and the current month. The content includes the period of disillusionment, how we have a self-care crisis, to heck with martyrdom (and how it can kill you), learning to say no, diving into perfectionism and more!  There is an accompanying workbook if you do purchase the book. There are a ton of resources to help process the information. 

In this episode, we sit down with Aaron Jordan, a current senior, to dive into his perspective of learning in a pandemic. We talk about his greatest fears, the parts of this new environment that are working, and how the implications of this pandemic are affecting student lives. 

Today's guest, Rekina Romes, is no stranger to supporting students who've experience trauma. After you listen to today's episode, you will see that most educators aren't strangers either. One in four children will experience trauma with at least one trauma happening before the age of four. Rekina dives into the complexities of trauma and how educators can extend grace in the classroom to support them. We dive into the difference of opposition and trauma, how trauma literally and biologically alters the brain, and how listening without judgement can be so powerful (and more!).  Resources for the public: Foster Care Support and Services- CoVid 19 Resources Page Several mini sessions to assist in understanding regulation, trauma, coping and skills for implementation for adults and children who may experience emotional regulation and/or trauma. Neurosequential Network- Series on Trauma and Coping