The Unbridled Crew explores Teacher Leadership with Dr. Trevor T. Ivey, founder of Liberty STEAM Charter in Sumter County, South Carolina. Now in its fifth year, Liberty STEAM is transforming education and opportunity in the region with a focus on innovation, social-emotional learning, and career-ready pathways in business, health, engineering, and technology. A proud Sumter County public school graduate, Dr. Ivey is a National Board Certified Teacher, former Peace Corps Volunteer, and recognized leader in education innovation, earning accolades like Sumter’s Top 20 Under 40 and the 2024 Yass Prize. With nearly two decades in education, he’s dedicated his career to creating meaningful change and preparing the workforce of tomorrow.

On this episode, Ann Marie and Todd discuss teacher recruitment and retention with Dr. Ann Byrd. Ann is the executive director of SC-Teacher, an organization that provides comprehensive research about South Carolina’s educator workforce. Through her work with SC-Teacher, Dr. Byrd partners with researchers, educators, district administrators, and other state education officials across South Carolina to transform data into actionable insights that guide policy, strengthen practice, and address educator pipeline challenges. Her work focuses on bridging the gap between research and practice, ensuring that decision-makers and education leaders have the evidence they need to support teacher recruitment, preparation, and retention.

In this episode of Unbridled, Ann Marie and Todd talk with Matthew Bowerman about creating trauma-sensitive spaces.

Bowerman is a trauma-responsive, culturally competent servant leader who prioritizes collaborative, discovery-based learning for K-12 and higher education staff, students, and families; also a passionately creative, critical thinker and solution-maker with over thirty years in education and the arts who seeks to balance equitable, social emotional supports with empowering student resilience, compassion, mindfulness, and academic exploration.

Read more from Matthew here:

Edutopia (https://www.edutopia.org/profile/matthew-j-bowerman)

➢ Trauma-Responsive Leadership in K-12 Schools

➢ Addressing Cyberbullying and Bullying in Schools

➢ Integrating Culturally Responsive Teaching and Trauma-Informed Practices

➢ How School Leaders Can Guide the Work of Paraeducators: Trauma Responsive Supports

➢ 3 Tips for Using Trauma-Informed Practices As A School Leader

➢ The School Leader-Counselor Alliance

➢ A Guide to Psychological Safety for Educators

➢ How To Safely Manage A Student In Crisis

➢ A School Administrator’s Strategy for Calming Disruptive Students

➢ 3 Types of Engagement

➢ Approaching Student Data Holistically

➢ Building Trauma-Sensitive Spaces in Schools

TeacherGoals

➢ Bridge-building: Keys to supporting equitable and authentic school-family

engagement

(https://teachergoals.com/bridge-building/?v=7516fd43adaa)

➢ Trauma-Responsive Living

(https://teachergoals.com/trauma-responsive-living/?v=7516fd43adaa)

National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP)

➢ Trauma-Responsive, Trauma-Informed School Safety in PreK-8 Schools

➢ 7 Tips to Restore the Hearts and Minds of Students

(https://www.naesp.org/resource/7-tips-to-restore-the-hearts-and-minds-of-students/)

Teach Better (https://teachbetter.com/author/matthew-j-bowerman/)

➢ Remove the Guardrails: Facilitate a Productive Struggle

➢ Carrying Heavy Things: Support Students

➢ Additional material: https://teachbetter.com/?s=matthew+j.+bowerman

Association of Middle Leaders in Education (AMLE)

➢ Navigating the Gray: Trauma in the Middle Grades

(https://www.amle.org/navigating-the-gray-trauma-in-the-middle-grades/)

Stronger Together with Dr. Matthew X. Joseph

➢ School and Life on Spin Cycle

(https://mxjedu.net/spin-cycle)

Principal’s Project

➢ Three Ways to be Rigorous With Our Care for Our Teams

(https://principalproject.org/3-ways-to-be-rigorous-with-our-care-for-our-teams/)