For this last episode of the OEA Grow Podcast, member co-producers Beth Aydelott and Leonne Bannister discuss what the podcast has meant to their own professional growth and that of educators, not only in Oregon, but around the world. With 135 episodes and over 20,000 downloads and streams, the podcast has built union member community and addressed educator concerns from conflict resolution strategies to incorporating art and innovation in the classroom; from creating welcoming and inclusive school communities to maintaining a healthy work/life balance. Topics for each conversation have arisen from educators’ needs, interests, and expertise, living up to the goal of amplifying educator voice. This podcast has always been by OEA members for OEA members.   This episode also features clips from the following episodes:   Season 1 episode Compassion Fatigue and Burnout with host Jesse Bray and guest Talia Akre Season 3 episode Special Education and Inclusion with host Leonne Bannister and guest Niels Pasternak Season 4 episode What I Wish I Knew During My First Year with host Kayla Potter and guest Malik White Season 5 episode Co-regulation with host Alexis Hennessey and guest Mary Michael Season 9 episode Survival Guide for BIPOC Educators with host Malik White and guest Gregory Dunkin Season 10 episode Challenges of Language Learning with host Sakura Hamada and guest Gaby Aguilar-Lopez Season 10 episode Avid and High School with host Sakura Hamada and guest Ethelyn Tumalad Season 10 episode Supporting Newly Arrived Elementary Students with host Sakura Hamada and guest Jocelin Morales Season 11 episode Educator Wellness with host Amy Yillik and guest Sandi Washburn Season 11 episode Interoceptive Strategies and Co-regulation with host Amy Yillik and guest Katie Diez Season 11 episode Trauma Informed Practices with host Amy Yillik and guest Jessica Reamon Season 11 episode Restorative Justice and Practices with host Amy Yillik and guest Sorahi Harati Season 11 episode Introduction to Culture of Care part b with host Amy Yillik and guests Amber McGill and Erin Taylor Season 12 episode Career and Technical Education with host Toni Myers and guests Nicole Merchant and Bibiana Gifft   

What happens when school design is inspired by students and collaboratively run by a group of teachers? Wendy Salcedo-Fierro, Director of Teacher-Powered Coaching, explains how shared leadership works in the teacher-powered public schools that thrive in 27 states. Equity-minded educators in these schools share power with students, families, and the full educator team. Decision-making is accomplished by those directly affected, resulting in strong relationships and rich learning. Students feel that their voices are heard and become agents of change. Educators become learners as they listen and respond. Educators who are interested in this model of school governance are encouraged to consult the resources listed below. The goal is to create spaces where everyone feels as if they belong and as if they matter.   Resources -  Teacher-Powered Schools and Student-Centered Learning Teacher-Led Schools: They’re Here and More Are on the Way When Teachers Take Charge  Steps to Creating a Teacher-Powered Schools

How can schools engage families in their children’s education? This episode’s guests offer concrete suggestions for supporting dialogue between parents and educators. Rebecca Honig, Director of Content and Curriculum with Parent Powered, and Ilana Steinhauer, Executive Director of Volunteers in Medicine (VIM), explain how both organizations offer educators strategies for partnering with their students’ families. At the core of these efforts is building trust through communication in whatever form meets the families’ needs.  Rebecca and Ilana stress that parents want to know that their feedback matters. Suggestions for engaging families include contact in different ways throughout the year and asking directly about specific needs. Educators can offer support for families and show them how to partner with their children’s school.

This episode examines the connections between schools and the families and neighborhoods they serve. Tiffany Koyama-Lane, a third-grade teacher at Sunnyside Environmental School in Portland, discusses place-based and environmental education, using students’ local communities as educational resources. Part of the learning experience happens beyond the walls of the actual school building. Natural spaces and gardens, local neighborhoods, even the students’ own school yard - these locations provide a context for the core curriculum and help children make meaning of the world and environmental concerns around them.  As an educator with fifteen years of experience, Teacher Tiffany, as she likes to be called, realizes that the challenges of the surrounding community also show up in the classroom. She extends her role beyond traditional education to support families in the often-complicated processes of life in America. She feels lucky to live in the neighborhood where she teaches, but she suggests ways for all educators to communicate with families and discover how best to meet their needs. Teacher Tiffany is taking her passion for engaging the community to a new level this year by declaring her candidacy for Portland City Council.    Resources -  Sunnyside Environmental School Place-Based Learning: A Multi-Faceted Approach Close Your Textbooks and Go Outside OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network

What can alternative education programs teach us about welcoming and engaging students with diverse experiences and needs? This week Lauren and Angela discuss programs serving students whose ways of learning might not fit the traditional school structure. Their guests are Gretchen Mollers, Janine Weir, and Eric Passes from the Merlo Station campus in the Beaverton School District. All three educators advocate listening to students as they express their needs and silencing the din of what education “should” be. The Passages Re-Engagement Program for high school students and the UpGrade Program for middle school are based on centering the student voice and recognizing that it’s impossible for a single model of education to work for everyone. Both programs work toward helping students gain confidence in themselves, navigate non-academic barriers, and rebuild their trust in education. The question is how can educators help students where they are, rather than how can the students be fitted into the system. The result may look messy on the surface, but the programs are removing barriers to accommodate different ways of learning and to give students the time and respect to develop their individual plans for the future.    Resources -  Passages Reengagement Program UpGrade Program William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick, Motivational Interviewing: Preparing People for Change   

Playful Inquiry - that’s the student-centered approach discussed in this episode about re-imagining curriculum. Angela and Lauren welcome Soobin Oh, Co-Director of Teaching Preschool Partners (TPP), a nonprofit that engages with schools to nurture inclusive, inquisitive, and collaborative school communities. In the playful inquiry promoted by TPP, educators are encouraged to let go of control and instead to be flexible and listen, responding to each child’s interests, aspirations, cultural background, and linguistic capabilities. Classrooms become places for curiosity, joy, and possibility to thrive. Families are ideally involved in this concept of curriculum with the cultural wealth that they can bring in dialogue with the classroom. The result is a curriculum that revolves around collaboration, a culturally relevant curriculum for all grade levels.  Resources -  Teaching Preschool Partners Soobin Oh Discusses Anti-Bias Education in Early Childhood  Soobin Oh, an Early Childhood Teacher Nerd on YouTube Funds of Knowledge, Norma Gonzalez, Luis C. Moll, and Cathy Amanti, editors Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy, Gholdy Muhammad

How can a school become a community school? Hosts Angela Vargas and Lauren McCartney talk with Christine Schuch and Karen Alford of United Community Schools, who work with interested schools in New York City and offer suggestions for schools everywhere. United Community Schools is a teacher-inspired nonprofit that seeks to expand the traditional sense of a school as merely a place for students to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic. Christine and Karen explain how community schools arise out of a collaboration of educator, parent, and community stake-holders to provide health and wellness resources, extended learning time with a seamless after-school component, educator and academic support, and educational justice - equity, access, and possibility. Learn from this episode how schools across the country are using the community school model to support student success, teacher retention, and community engagement.    Resources -  What are Community Schools? United Community Schools  Schools Uniting Neighborhoods (SUN) in Portland Transforming a School, a Neighborhood, and a System in Cincinnati OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network

Does your school focus on the whole child, emphasizing not only academic learning, but also wellness and community engagement? Tune into Season 15 of our OEA Grow podcast to learn about Community Schools in Oregon, public schools that provide integrated services and support to meet the needs of students, families, and communities. Our hosts for the season are Angela Vargas and Lauren MCartney, both educators in the Beaverton School District and leaders on state and national levels in racial and social justice efforts in education. Angela is an Early Learning TOSA (Teacher on Special Assignment), who partners with teachers to develop a practice of student-centered inquiry. Lauren teaches Humanities and Social Studies at Meadow Park Middle School.  In the coming weeks, Angela and Lauren will talk with a number of educators whose efforts lead to strong connections between schools and the communities that they serve. Listeners will learn ways to serve our students both in and outside the classroom.  Educators interested in learning more about community schools are encouraged to consult the resources below. They may contact Dave Greenberg at dgreenberg@new.org and Angelia Ebner at aebner@nea.org for more information.  Resources: Angela Vargas, OEA Member Spotlight  What are Community Schools? 5 Steps to Kickstarting Community Schools in Your District Institute for Educational Leadership Community Schools Coalition  NEA Community School work  OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network

How exactly does art fit into the classroom, and how can educators make this happen? Host Colleen Arriola wraps up this season’s podcast with ideas and suggestions for expanding the classroom curriculum through art. Summing up Season 14 guests’ observations, Colleen reminds us that art provides students ways to communicate thoughts, feelings, and personal experiences that might otherwise be difficult to articulate. Art can complement the standard curriculum by allowing students alternate ways to show what they know. Colleen notes that we don’t experience life in separate subjects, and our learning can also be a mixture of forms of understanding and communicating. Educators who don’t consider themselves artists should not be discouraged. Colleen describes several simple ways to engage students through art - maybe commenting on a painting related to a subject, sketch notes instead of written notes, collages to pull together aspects of a topic. Educators can access a number of resources for support in these efforts. As Colleen and her guests this season remind us, art massages the brain, helping students learn how to think, not merely what to think.  Resources -  Oregon Arts Education Standards “Goodbye ‘Core Subjects,’ Hello ‘Well-Rounded Education’”   What Does a Global Arts Classroom Look Like?  Local art museums are usually great resources for educators. The Portland Art Museum offers a number of educator resources for schools across the state.  OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network

Art education can create a space for excitement and joy in learning according to Colleen’s guest, Shannon Johnson, Arts Education Specialist at the Oregon Department of Education (ODE). Colleen, a visual artist herself, explains the crucial role that art plays in Transformational Social-Emotional Learning (TSEL) by playing to individual strengths, building confidence, and encouraging students to express themselves in their own unique ways.  Among the many resources discussed in this episode, Shannon highlights the Arts, Care & Connection Project for elementary grades in which teaching artists provide videos integrating the Core Art Standards in dance, music, theater, and visual arts with Oregon’s TSEL standards. Educators, regardless of their own artistic experience, become co-learners with their students as they incorporate various ways of self-expression in their explorations. Integrating art into the curriculum involves finding connections between various art forms and subject content. Shannon points out multiple sources where educators will find ideas and support for adding an artistic aspect to their classroom. Resources -  Arts for Learning Northwest - connecting teaching artists with schools for educational arts programming, workshops, performances, and artist residencies   Arts, Care & Connection Program - arts integration lessons and professional learning for educators   Young Audiences Arts for Learning - the nation’s oldest and largest arts-in-education learning network     Oregon Department of Education resources -  Arts Education Resources Oregon Open Learning Hub Chronicles of Oregon Open Learning - a monthly newsetter Arts Access Toolkit Arts Education Newsletter       OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network

Makerspaces offer support and encouragement for educators who want to incorporate art into the curriculum. Colleen’s guest is Dr. Erin Beard, the Programs Director for Talent Maker City, who describes a makerspace as a community learning lab that furnishes materials and equipment in arts and technology to make learning a hands-on experience. Imagine a place with a 3D printer, a wood-working shop, a ceramics studio, and people to help you use them all.  With twenty previous years of experience as a middle and high school teacher, Dr. Beard emphasizes the importance of STEAM-based adventures (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) to guide student inquiry and critical thinking. She offers several suggestions for using all forms of art to revive the inherent love of learning that may have been shut down through traditional methods.  Educators are encouraged to find a nearby makerspace for learning opportunities, use of equipment, and advice for adding a tactile dimension to their teaching. In a makerspace they will find camaraderie and shared knowledge to turn their ideas for the classroom into reality.    Resources -  Talent Maker City What is a Makerspace and where is one near me?   OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network

Art can complement any academic subject. That’s the message from Collen’s guest, Jeanne Lauck, a Visual Arts teacher at Alice Ott Middle School in the David Douglas School District. Speaking from twenty-seven years of experience as an educator, Jeanne discusses how art can appeal to several of the different learning styles, with, for instance, students making posters or flip books to illustrate their learning. Jeanne tells of a math instructor who cuts up pictures for his students to reassemble using grids and measurements.  Art by itself encompasses many subjects: the mathematical use of compasses, exploring symmetry, and learning about different countries and cultures through their art and music. Jeanne views art classes as an arena where students can discover their own creativity and learn along with their teachers. The experience can strengthen their performance in core classes.    Resources -  Visual Thinking Strategies - the nonprofit discussed in this episode that encourages the thoughtful, facilitated discussion of art, leading to transformational learning accessible to all.  What Does a Global Arts Classroom Look Like? - integrating cultural competencies through art  OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network

Not an artist yourself? No budget for art supplies? Students who aren’t aspiring artists of any kind? This week’s episode explains how and why to integrate art into the classroom under any circumstance. Colleen’s guest is Abigail Steichen of the Corbett Program with Spanish (CAPS), housed in the historic Springdale School in Corbett. CAPS is not an art academy, but the school encourages the infusion of art into the regular curriculum. Students may dance their understanding of cells or perform a skit about punctuation marks. The goal is not a finished performance or artwork to be displayed, but rather a joyful means for students to communicate their understanding of a subject in their own unique ways. The emphasis is on the process rather than the product.    Abigail urges educators in all school settings to incorporate art into their curriculum. She does not consider herself an artist, but she is convinced that students value learning more when it ceases to be merely passive and when they are encouraged to create. Tune into this episode for a treasure trove of suggestions that require neither expertise nor funding to keep the joy in learning.    Resources   Corbett Arts Program with Spanish   Arts Education Newsletter from the Oregon Department of Education    Encouraging a Growth Mindset Through Art  OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network

Art in the classroom helps to keep learning active - that’s the subject of this week’s conversation between Colleen and her guest, Ben Minnis, Arts Education Program Coordinator with the Lane Arts Council in Eugene. With fifteen years as an early childhood educator, a BFA in Theatre Performance, and ongoing work in ceramic sculpture, acting, and playwriting, Ben speaks from experience when he explains that art in all forms allows students to approach school work as participatory rather than passive memorization. Drawing on his experience with the inquiry-based Reggio-Emilia approach to learning, he advises educators to explore the different ways that students can communicate knowledge and understanding. Students are able to construct their own unique ways of learning by using art as well as the usual oral and written formats.    Ben explains how the Lane Arts Council supports Lane County educators in these efforts to integrate art in their curriculum. Artists are paired with educators not only to teach specific art forms, but also to augment classroom learning with hands-on creative work. Educators are urged to contact the Arts Council for more information about the Creative Link, the Artist Residence, and the Design Arts Apprenticeship programs.    Resources   Encouraging a Growth Mindset Through Art    Lane Arts Council   The Reggio-Emilia Approach - an educational philosophy discussed in the episode  OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network

How important is Art in a school curriculum? Colleen Arriola, host for OEA Grow’s fourteenth season, feels that art plays an essential role in education at all levels. A fifth-grade teacher at Guy Lee Elementary in Springfield, Colleen brings her experience as both an artist and an educator to discuss how art can enhance the traditional courses of study, provide alternative ways of learning, and celebrate the individuality and uniqueness of each student. Her guests this season are Oregon educators from a variety of disciplines and grade levels who will share the ways in which they integrate art in their classrooms and school environments.    Tune in to this season as we reevaluate the role of art in the educational experience and discuss how it can be used to engage students in any subject area.     Resources -  A Snapshot of K-12 Arts Education in Oregon   More Than Drawing and Coloring: Art (and Art Teachers) Has Power  OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network

Blaine ends this season with veteran educator Brad Rogers, who shares what he has learned from his years of teaching, first in Alaska and for the last seventeen years at Stanfield Secondary School. Summing up the wisdom of all of this season’s guests, Brad offers three key suggestions for educators at all stages of their careers: Maintain a healthy work-life balance. As a new educator, Brad spent long hours at school in addition to his normal teaching schedule, until he realized that no one can do it all in one day. The best advice he received was to make time for family and friends. Recognize that life as an educator is like a roller coaster with its ups and downs. We learn and grow from our mistakes.  Realize the lasting impact that you as an educator have on your students. Establishing a relationship to help a student succeed in a single class can spread to that student’s entire educational experience. It matters. Students remember and express gratitude sometimes years later.  Brad draws on his years of experience to share insight on each of these areas. This is definitely an episode for all educators, regardless of how long they have been in the field.    Resources -  Little Steps Toward Big Change (and Less Stress)    Make Educator Well-Being a Priority Now  OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network

Who better to discuss the importance of separating home from work than Blaine’s guest this week, Lucas Tynkila, whose home life actually overlaps his school life - three children who have all been his students at Stanfield Secondary School and his wife who teaches at the same school. It makes for an easy carpool, says Lucas. And he has enjoyed having his children as students; he gets to spend more time with them as individuals. Having his wife, Tracy, as a first-grade Stanfield Elementary teacher adds the benefit of a spouse who shares his educational ideologies and can relate to the stress of the job.  Even with the strong connections between his home and school life, though, Lucas stresses the importance of a healthy work-life balance. The best advice he received early in his career was simply to go home at the end of a work week, spend time with family and friends, and avoid being a perfectionist at school. He suggests that new educators take care of themselves to avoid burnout. The job gets easier and the rewards greater, he promises, as relationships are formed with students, who are able to learn only when they feel safe and comfortable asking questions. Advances in technology may have affected the education process in the sixteen years that Lucas has been teaching, but student-educator connections and trust remain essential to student success.    Resources 5 Tips to Maintain a Healthy Work-Life Balance   Life Outside of the Classroom   Importance of Self-Care as a Teacher  OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network

Two different views on careers in education? Blaine welcomes Michelle and Travis Reeser from the Stanfield School District for this especially delightful episode about differing approaches to lives in education. These two guests, while married, are at opposite ends of the education spectrum with Michelle early in her career of teaching kindergarten and Travis nearing retirement as a high school PE teacher. Travis began coaching at 18 and teaching right after college, whereas Michelle didn’t become a teacher until after their children were born. But even with the contrast of grade level and years of experience, the two learn from each other and advise educators to ask questions and listen to the ideas of others in the field, regardless of where they are in their career lifespan. Being open to various points of view is key in the education field. From their differing perspectives, Michelle and Travis agree that education is a difficult career path, requiring hard work and learning how to meet students where they are. The reward can be watching a student succeed at something the student didn’t know was possible and realizing that your work doesn’t go unnoticed. Students remember and sometimes reach out after years have passed to say thank you.  Resources: Travis Reeser named 2023 Intermountain Regional Teacher of the Year   When Teachers Marry Teachers    OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network

Blaine discusses educator experiences from a mid-career perspective this week with his guest Sarah Burke, a middle-school science teacher at Stanfied Secondary School. In her tenth year of teaching, Sarah is still in awe of the impact educators have on students and their lives. She admits that the work can be frustrating, especially when students don’t seem to appreciate the demands of the job, but she encourages educators to take students’ sometimes negative attitudes as challenges rather than personal insults. After all, this might be the year when you help that resistant student discover an interest in learning.  Sarah advises educators to take care of themselves, too, with a healthy work/life balance. She has learned over the last decade that the old adage is true - you can’t fill anyone’s cup if yours is empty. She credits OEA for helping our state’s educators maintain healthy work hours, and she counsels educators to be careful of extra time commitments that take them away from home, family, and friends. Sarah’s personal self-care includes a special memorabilia box where she keeps emails and letters from students and parents, a reminder of why she continues her career as an educator.    Resources 6 Ways to Create Work-Life Balance OEA Introduction to Mindfulness webinar on May 1st with Talia Akre (Multnomah ESD EA) OEA Self-Paced Module Stress Management: Using Body Wisdom to Calm the Stressed Brain OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network

This episode offers the wisdom of a seasoned educator as Blaine welcomes Anna Halsey from Stanfield Secondary School as his guest. Anna brings a wealth of experience to this conversation, having begun her career as an elementary teacher and now, twenty-four years later, thoroughly enjoying her role as a math teacher for sixth, seventh, and eighth grades (she admits to loving her days with quirky middle-schoolers). Anna discusses frankly how her life as a teacher has evolved as her own life circumstances have changed. In her decades as an educator, Anna has also seen the profession grow to include more than simply the classroom exchange of information from teacher to student. Educators value connections with students’ lives both in and outside of school, involving entire families and social/emotional learning. We realize that students need to trust us before they can learn anything from us. And they need to be convinced of the value of that knowledge. Anna’s advice to educators at all stages of their careers - we learn to educate by actually educating. Students teach us how to teach them. Don’t worry if some days, or even years, are not as successful as others. Remember that the career path you have chosen is difficult and so very important. And the most sobering realization - always assume that you will be the topic of someone’s dinner table conversation.  Resources -  Support for Early Career Educators OEA Professional Learning Opportunities to help educators grow in their professional practice  OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network