Do you ever wonder whether teachers leave the profession because of the job itself or because of where they're asked to do it? Denver principal Sheldon Reynolds says there is no teacher shortage, only a shortage of schools where teachers want to work, and he explains how he builds schools around agency, purpose, and treating teachers as artists instead of rule-followers. He shares why he stopped relying on numeric goals, what he listens for in everyday conversations with staff instead, and how he separates leading from managing. You'll also hear his take on the difference between talent and passion, which may change how you think about your own path in education. Sheldon Reynolds is the Executive Principal of Denver Montessori Junior/Senior High School and a proud product of Denver Public Schools. He has devoted his career to public education and to creating schools where students are known, valued, challenged, and given the opportunity to discover and develop their unique talents. In 2022, Sheldon was named Colorado Outstanding Elementary Principal of the Year, an honor recognizing his innovative leadership and commitment to equity, inclusion, and student success.

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Ever had a coworker suddenly become your boss, and watched the whole dynamic shift overnight? Robin Whitacre has, and she's got the gorilla story to prove it (yes, an actual gorilla, raised by chimpanzees, is involved). In this warm, funny, and reflective conversation, Robin joins Jody, Esther, and Allison to talk about the moment she realized her ideas as a new principal suddenly carried more weight than they used to, and what it took to hand that power back to her teachers. She shares the six-month listening tour (and surprise Native name) that helped turn around the lowest-performing school in the state, plus the staff meetings teachers actually looked forward to. It's equal parts belly laugh and lump in the throat. Robin’s work in K-12 education spans 35 years, as a classroom teacher, building principal, leadership coach, and professional learning designer and facilitator. In addition to being employed by school districts in Missouri and Colorado, she has built long-term relationships in diverse communities through her extensive coaching work with schools in Denver, Boise, Boston, and the Bureau of Indian Education in the Southwest, as well as her recent work with the Loyola Marymount University Center for Urban Resilience Restorative Justice Project. Robin’s passion is to support educators in bringing creativity, joy, and innovation to their schools and classrooms as they prepare learners for a future that is uncertain, complex, and evolving every day.

For books, resources, and events, visit: theteacherleader.org Thank you to our sponsor(s): Math and Movement

A first-grader kept missing every other Friday and Monday. The school decided he was defiant and filed a petition to bring him into truancy court, a six-year-old standing in front of a judge. It took his court-appointed attorney about two minutes to find out why: his parents had split up, and on his dad's weeks, dad wouldn't drive him to that school. Nobody had ever asked him. That attorney was Kris Ferrell, and that story is the heart of this episode of The Teacher Leader Podcast. Kris has spent years representing Colorado kids in juvenile and truancy court, and she came on to dismantle almost everything schools assume about the students who don't show up. They're not the kids from The Outsiders. They're kids managing anxiety, bullying, safety, custody schedules, and younger siblings whose dismissal bell doesn't line up with theirs. Roughly 98% of them told her they actually want to be at school. Kris walks through why Colorado's truancy law, still on the books from 1963, catches kids after just four absences in a month, why truancy court makes things worse for nearly everyone it touches, and why she'd get rid of it entirely. Along the way: the Hot Cheetos eating contest that earned her trust in a juvenile detention center, why "help me understand" opens kids up when "why weren't you in class?" shuts them down, why student athletes miss far more school and somehow never end up in court, and the reminder that you can't build a real relationship with 125 kids, but you can build one with one, and that one spreads. Kris Ferrell is an attorney, writer, and investigator best known for her work as a Child Welfare Law Specialist and Guardian ad Litem, with a Hot Cheetos tolerance that rivals her teenage clients. She spent the majority of her legal career representing children in dependency and neglect, family drug court, juvenile delinquency, and truancy court as a defense attorney and guardian ad litem. She now spends her time helping families and children understand and navigate the judicial system as a child and family investigator. A semi-native to Colorado, she lives in Denver, CO and spends her time getting into good trouble.

For books, resources, and events, visit: theteacherleader.org Thank you to our sponsor(s): Math and Movement