Podcast: Making Schools Work Podcast

In this episode, we’re joined by Aimee Wyatt, SREB’s director of leadership and professional learning, and our special guests from PENCIL: Alayna Cate, director of partnerships, and Bob Kucher, chief partnerships and programs officer. PENCIL is a Nashville-based non-profit dedicated to connecting businesses and the community with Metro Nashville Public Schools. 

Welcome to a special two-part episode of the Making Schools Work podcast! In this first installment, we’re joined by Richard Morrison, senior leadership coach at SREB, as he discusses his three-year partnership with Richland High School in Mississippi. We also hear directly from Richland High School’s principal, Marcus Stewart, and assistant principal, Heather Bryan, about their incredible journey of improvement.

Part of our summer series on SREB’s Guidance for the Use of AI in the K12 Classroom.

In this episode, Ashley talks with Leslie Eaves, SREB’s director of project-based learning, about how AI can support personalized learning.

They dig into what it really means to differentiate in today’s classrooms and how teachers can use AI tools to give students tools to use at home, create custom learning plans and much more.

In this episode of Class-Act Coaching, we dive into Pillar 1 of SREB’s Guidance for the Use of AI in the K12 Classroom—using AI to design cognitively demanding tasks that engage students in deep, meaningful learning.

Ashley is joined again by Leslie Eaves, SREB’s project-based learning program director, to talk about what makes a task truly cognitively demanding (hint: it’s about thinking, not just doing), and how AI tools can help teachers brainstorm, plan and scaffold rich learning experiences.

In the final episode of the school year, the Class-Act Coaching crew is back together! Ashley is joined by co-hosts Jason and Dan to reflect on the biggest takeaways from this semester’s episodes — and this time, Dan takes the reins as host.

Together, they dive into three powerful themes that kept coming up in coaching conversations:

In this episode of Class-Act Coaching, Ashley is joined by Marty Sugerik, an instructional coach with a passion for project-based learning (PBL). Marty shares practical coaching strategies to help teachers design or refine classroom projects that connect to real-world skills.

Whether you’re a coach supporting teachers in PBL or an educator looking to strengthen your own projects, this conversation is packed with hands-on strategies for making learning more engaging and meaningful.

Planning comes up in nearly every episode of Class-Act Coaching—so this week, we’re giving it the spotlight it deserves. Ashley teams up with guest instructional coach Michelle Harada, who shares practical tips and research-backed strategies for improving the quality and efficiency of lesson planning, especially through collaborative planning.

Why do some students naturally engage in learning while others seem uninterested? In this episode, Ashley is joined by Dan Rock, who takes on the role of coach, to dive deep into the power of curiosity and motivation in learning. Dan breaks down the research behind cognitive interest cues—simple yet powerful techniques teachers can use to increase student engagement, deepen learning and make lessons more memorable.

Ever had a student ace all the assignments, but then struggle on a final essay or a state assessment? In this episode, Ashley and special guest co-host Jason Adair sit down with instructional coach Christi Edwards to tackle a key challenge in education: helping students transfer their learning beyond the classroom. Christi shares the first two of her four key strategies for ensuring students not only succeed in class but can apply their knowledge in future learning situations.