Leading Voices Podcast

How do we better prepare principals for the adaptive challenges they face on the job? In this episode of Leading Voices, WestEd’s Ayele Dodoo explores the human side of school leadership and why interpersonal skills are essential for improving teaching and learning and cultivating healthy school communities. Dodoo… Read more

Today’s high school students are entering an increasingly data-driven world, one in which skills in data literacy, quantitative reasoning, and integrated statistics are becoming more important for college, careers, and everyday life. On this episode of Leading Voices, Amy Getz, Senior Program Associate of Mathematics… Read more

Time is one of the most valuable resources in education, especially in an uncertain funding landscape that demands more with less. Yet many teachers, principals, district leaders, and higher education administrators spend countless hours responding to reporting requirements that are often duplicative, fragmented, or… Read more

Phonics is key to developing literacy, but the practice of reading isn’t just about getting the words right; it’s about making meaning with and from texts. How can elementary schools teach children foundational skills while making literacy feel more meaningful for and useful to students? In this episode of Leading… Read more

In recent years, more schools have expanded healthcare, offering everything from vaccines to mental health support. But many schools launched these services with one-time funding, like COVID relief dollars, and are now asking, “How do we sustain school-based healthcare?” In this episode of Leading Voices, Lisa… Read more

In 2023, 540,000 infants and toddlers with developmental delays and disabilities received early intervention services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Part C, but significant gaps remain. Only half of the children referred to early intervention services ultimately enroll, and fewer than one in… Read more

Although opioid overdose deaths have recently declined, tens of thousands of families still lose loved ones to the epidemic each year. Overcoming the epidemic requires a comprehensive approach that spans education and prevention, treatment and recovery, justice reform, cross-sector collaboration, and supportive… Read more

Education and job training can lead to good jobs and living wages; but for many adult learners, that path to greater prosperity is anything but straightforward. Structural barriers, disconnected systems, and outdated models often make it difficult for individuals to gain the skills and credentials they need to advance… Read more

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an effective framework for creating flexible learning environments by designing learning experiences that give students choices in how they learn, what materials they use, and how they show their understanding. But can this framework be applied beyond the classroom as an engaging… Read more

Placement into accelerated mathematics courses can open doors for students, paving the way toward advanced high school coursework, college readiness, and future career opportunities. But ensuring students are placed accurately requires a rigorous, evidence-based approach. In this episode of the Leading Voices podcast,… Read more

Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) have expanded across the United States in recent years. These accounts provide state education funds, originally allocated for students to attend public school, to be redirected to families to use for educational services of their choice. These programs enable parents to use these… Read more

How can district and state leaders identify signs of school distress long before they are designated as in need of improvement by state accountability systems? In 2020, WestEd partnered with the National Charter School Resource Center (NCSRC) to develop and conduct a portfolio of research (listed below) that… Read more

Gun violence impacts families, first responders, and communities in profound and lasting ways. In 2023, more than 18,000 persons died by homicide in the United States. And on June 26th, 2024, the U.S. Surgeon General declared gun violence a public health crisis. In this episode of the Leading Voices podcast, host… Read more

Early childhood practitioners face various challenges in the field, including staffing shortages, lack of funding for programs and professional development, and insufficient cultural representation in the workforce. In this episode of the Leading Voices podcast, host Grace Westermann talks with Monica Mathur-Kalluri,… Read more

In this episode of the Leading Voices podcast, host Danny Torres talks with Angela McGuire , Project Director within WestEd’s Early Childhood Intervention, Mental Health, and Inclusion team under Early Childhood Development and Learning . Angela leads the Comprehensive Early Intervention Technical Assistance Network… Read more

With national literacy scores in decline and with the loss of instruction time during the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for effective literacy professional learning for teachers and engaging students equitably is more important than ever. For over 25 years, Reading Apprenticeship at WestEd has improved teaching practice… Read more

States are working to build and modernize integrated data systems to help public agencies better understand and respond to the needs of students, families, and communities, which is critical in the post COVID-19 era. To integrate data from across sectors effectively, states need to consider many legal and technical… Read more

Teachers are leaving the educator workforce at alarming rates, and the trend has intensified in recent years. Why are teachers leaving and what are some ways state education leaders can help districts retain them and attract new teachers? In this episode, host Marley Arechiga talks with Caitlin Beatson , Deputy… Read more

In this episode, Danny Torres talks with WestEd’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Jannelle Kubinec, and former CEO Glen Harvey , who stepped down in 2023 after 26 years at the helm. Jannelle Kubinec brings over 24 years of experience transforming outcomes for children, youth, and their families through research,… Read more

In this episode, Danny Torres talks with Dr. Katie Drummond , Director of the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Northwest, and Dr. John Rice , Director of the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) West. Their conversation covers a range of topics, including: Addressing effects of the pandemic in the REL West and… Read more

Many schools are working to better support students’ physiological, social, and emotional growth in addition to their cognitive development as a part of their school improvement efforts. Moreover, students are playing a key role in helping education leaders develop and implement new policies and practices. In this… Read more

“We've essentially created a blueprint for these state education agencies to get a sense of how they could improve their data systems, how they could think through changing or modifying their current accountability frameworks, and how by identifying particular student groups who have been historically underserved and… Read more

“I hope that after engaging in this conversation, folks are thinking about the systemic work that needs to be done. It is not just left to the principal to figure out how she can decompress and do self-care. There are real systemic gaps and challenges that will continuously make her job unbearable. And so, what can we… Read more

“At the heart of formative assessment is a belief in the students and the communities that we partner with and their ability as a system to learn and grow. This idea that learning is for all of us is something that’s central to our belief system. That learning is something that we share as humanity — a desire to… Read more

In recent years, educators have faced unprecedented upheaval and stress. While ensuring student well-being, self-care often becomes less of a priority. However, self-care is critical for educators. In this episode, Dr. Christina Pate , Deputy Director of the U.S. Department of Education’s Center to Improve Social and… Read more