Shifting Schools is a thought-provoking podcast that explores the latest trends, strategies, and tools in K-12 education. Hosted by educators Jeff Utecht and Tricia Friedman, the podcast provides a platform for teachers, administrators, and education thought leaders to share their experiences and insights on how to improve teaching and learning. From innovative approaches in classroom management to leveraging technology for personalized learning, Shifting Schools tackles the most pressing issues…
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The beginning of a school year often arrives with a familiar message: do more, organize more, and somehow become a brand-new person before the first bell rings. This episode offers a different invitation. Instead of attempting a total wellness overhaul, we explore four small anchors that can help educators, students, colleagues, and families start the year feeling a little more grounded: sleep,…
What can ELA teachers learn from a bestselling suspense novelist who begins writing without knowing who the villain is? In this episode of Shifting Schools , Tricia Friedman speaks with Lisa Gardner about the habits, questions, and research behind her novels. Their conversation offers ELA teachers a fresh way to think about character development, suspense, inquiry, and the creative conditions…
What can a board book offer a baby who cannot yet speak or even hold it independently? Award-winning author, illustrator, and art therapist Sandra Magsamen joins Tricia to discuss Hello, Baby , her new board book created for children from birth to age three. With bright illustrations, melodic language, playful terms of endearment, and a mirror that places the baby inside the story, the book is…
When schools picture a student leader, they often imagine the confident speaker, the high achiever, or the student who already understands how to succeed within existing systems. But what about the students who are rarely invited to lead? In this episode, Tricia speaks with educator and author Rachel Thrash about expanding student leadership beyond the familiar few. Her book, Let the Learners…
What happens when historical research uncovers a truth you are not sure you want to know? In this episode of Shifting Schools , Tricia speaks with author Christine Kuehn and her husband and research partner, Mark Schiponi, about Family of Spies: A World War II Story of Nazi Espionage, Betrayal, and the Secret History Behind Pearl Harbor . Christine's investigation began with a startling discovery:…
Christopher Nolan's Odyssey just earned nearly $300 million retelling a 3,000-year-old story — so what actually separates imitation from transformative interpretation? In this episode, Tricia makes the case that cover songs are the perfect entry point into the AI and creativity conversation for educators. You'll trace how Aretha Franklin re-authored Otis Redding's "Respect," why translator Emily…
You know him as Dani Rojas on Ted Lasso. He's also a professional footballer with El Paso Locomotive FC, a filmmaker, and now the author of a bilingual picture book, Fútbol Is Life! / ¡Fútbol es vida! , illustrated by James Rey Sanchez. But before all of that? He was a life insurance salesman who sold nothing for a year. This conversation is about what happens between the dream and the arriving.…
When Alex Campbell set out to teach sociology through true crime, he wasn't trying to catch a murderer. He was trying to make the stakes real. Nine years later, his high school students in Appalachia have restored names to victims of the "redheaded murders," helped families, and become the subject of a limited series with a perfect critic score. But as Alex tells it, the thing that mattered most…
Every team has communication habits, but how many of those habits have ever been discussed out loud? In this episode, Tricia introduces The Shared Kitchen , a free reflection and facilitation tool designed to help teams understand how each person prefers to communicate, receive feedback, make decisions, ask questions, and work through a project. Using stories about getting fired from a bartending…
Award-winning author Christina Diaz Gonzalez joins Tricia to discuss Offside , her new bilingual middle-grade graphic novel about soccer, friendship, ambition, identity, and finding the courage to use your voice. Although soccer brings the characters together, Offside is also a story about young people learning to form their own opinions rather than simply inheriting the assumptions of the adults…
