This special “50-in-50” panel was recorded live at the Innovative Schools Summit in Las Vegas (2025) and moderated by Kevin Stewart from the Innovative Schools Summit team.

👥 Featured Speakers

• Ernesto Mejia – CoolSpeak family member and motivational educator
• Charles Williams – CPS administrator & founder of C.W. Consulting
• Jobi Lawrence – Director of Product Development & Strategic Partnerships, UCLA Crest
• Connie Hamilton – Author, consultant, and former teacher, principal, and curriculum director
• Tracie Berry-McGhee – Founder of the I Define Me Movement, focusing on girl empowerment

🧠 Key Takeaways

✔️ “At-risk” is a label, not a destiny—reframe it as “promise scholars” or “students of potential.”

✔️ Connection precedes instruction. Build authentic relationships before focusing on academics.

✔️ Engagement thrives when students have voice, choice, and purpose in their learning.

✔️ Real-world relevance, creativity, and emotional safety are essential for classroom belonging.

✔️ Family and community partnerships are critical for sustained student success.

💬 Memorable Quotes from the Episode

🗣️“No one rises to low expectations.”
🗣️“Stop calling them at-risk unless they introduce themselves that way.”
🗣️“Use your story as a mirror, not a spotlight.”
🗣️“Our students can’t be what they can’t see—create experiences, not just field trips.”
🗣️“Normalize under-committing. Students don’t have to be 100% sure to participate.”
🗣️“If you want to engage your classroom, read the room’s energy first.”
🗣️“Don’t teach at students—let them teach you what they love.”

🎯 50 Strategies to Engage At-Risk Students

00:00 - Intro

02:11 - Stop calling them “at-risk”

02:45 - Shadow their futureselves

03:23 - The Two-by-Ten Strategy

04:16 - Hire your students as consultants

04:43 - Lyric Therapy

05:05 - Create a Fix-It File

05:40 - Silent Graffiti Wall

06:24 - Hyper-Local Real World Problem Labs

07:09 - Use your story as a mirror, not a spotlight

07:57 - Ask-Me-Anything Box

08:44 - Home Visits & Phone-a-Family Fridays

09:35 - Backstage Passes

10:30 - Create a No-Judgment Zone

10:55 - Create a Game Lab

11:28 - Real-Talk Exit Tickets

11:57 - Relevance Challenge

12:33 - Stop asking “What do you want to be?”

13:14 - Change Field Trips into Experiences

14:02 - Podcast Their Passion

14:44 - Pre-Teaching instead of Re-Teaching

15:38 - Week of Mindfulness

16:44 - Normalize Under-Committing

17:45 - Create-a-Class Challenge

18:47 - Choose-Your-Own Detention (or Consequence)

19:45 - Teacher Trading Cards & Life-Skills Challenges

20:33 - Replace Homework with Home Impact

21:20 - Give-Back Projects

22:28 - Tattoo Summary

23:10 - Paint What You Can’t Say Day

23:39 - Gamify a Worksheet

24:25 - Vision Boards / Future-Me Fridays
25:29 - Build a Personal Brand Portfolio

26:12 - Read the Classroom’s Energy

27:35 - Let Students Teach You

28:30 - Time-Capsule Letters

29:29 - Encouragement & Celebration Envelopes

30:29 - Prescriptions for the Soul

31:03 - Low-Stakes Quizzes

31:59 - Whisper Help Desk

32:58 - Enroll the Family

34:00 - Discover Intrinsic Motivation (The “Three Whys”)

35:10 - AI Mentorship

36:06 - Shadow a Student

37:18 - Kick the “I Don’t Know” Bucket

38:34 - Dear Little Sister / Dear Little Brother Letters

39:28 - Celebrate Questions, Don’t Shame Them

40:27 - Level Up Academic Language

41:34 - Redefine “At-Risk”

42:21 - Don’t Assume Family Dynamics

43:34 Outro / Innovative Schools Summit

📚 Resources and Links

🔗 Learn more about the Innovative Schools Summit at www.innovativeschoolssummit.com

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