Huron Forward Podcast

The beginning of this Podcast celebrates the "Points of Pride" and collective awards and achievements earned by the Au Gres-Sims School District throughout the 2017-18 school year. The second half of the Podcast is a focused conversation discussing Frequently Asked Questions regarding the upcoming August 7th no change to the current tax rate Au Gres-Sims community bond proposal.

Huron Forward hosts Amy Nordin, the North Bay region's local coordinator of the Council for Educational Travel, USA (CETUSA). This podcast discussion highlights the positive benefits of both international student travel and ambassador host family opportunities. While celebrating multiculturalism and diversity, Au Gres-Sims continues to build a globally focused environment to engage higher-order, interdisciplinary experiences for students aligned within their established "Culture of Learning."

This podcast discussion highlights the Au Gres-Sims bond proposal. On Tuesday, August 7, residents living in the Au Gres-Sims School District will vote on a school bond proposal that will not raise the current tax rate. The bond proposal will affect every student, and highly focuses upon student safety and instructional quality upgrades.

With an announced shift of leadership responsibilities, Jeff and John discuss the relevancy of the Huron Forward Podcast as a continuing dialogue that provides an environmental scan for listeners on a local, regional, state-wide, and global stage. The Podcast's audience is connected with an eclectic guest list to provide opportunities that challenge existing perceptions or reveal new ideas for reflection or application. Huron Forward establishes a communication platform to promote, legitimize, and celebrate our locally successful programs, projects, and designs for sustainable, positive community achievement.

Au Gres-Sims High School Valedictorian, Lance Schwiderson, and Salutatorian, Brian Shmina, discuss their academic accomplishments and experiences as academic leaders at Au Gres-Sims School District, along with their future plans and goals.

Dr. Stephen Bigelow, (@stephencbigelow) Superintendent of Bay City Public Schools, joins the Huron Forward discussion in Podcast #72. With John on vacation, Jeff takes the opportunity to hijack the entire episode to talk about educational issues with Dr. Bigelow from the perspectives of two superintendents within the same regional Bay-Arenac Intermediate School District. As the guys converse about educational paradigms within the context of a continual quest to seek excellence in action, topics include; discerning the right leadership "fit" within organizational cultures, embracing social media, the concept of "co-opertition," equitable school funding, and disrupting the existing status quo perception of schools.

Michigan State Senator Jim Stamas, from Michigan's 36th State Senate District, makes his third appearance (Season 1, Podcast #20, and Season 2, Podcast #44) on the Huron Forward Podcast. Senator Stamas references a series of positive indicators of success and progress to express Michigan's new vitality. Discussion topics include a celebration of Michigan's Lake Huron "sunrise side" region, entrepreneurism, Governor Snyder's newly unveiled Marshall Plan, and equitable school funding. http://www.senatorjimstamas.com

Chris Woods (@dailystem), master teacher and host of the STEM Everyday Podcast on remarkablechatter.com, joins this podcast as a featured guest to discuss the relevancy of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) in everyday life. Discussion ensues about the celebratory importance of the acronym as a central and purposeful theme of teaching reasoning, comprehension, and higher-order thinking skills attained through STEM conceptual frameworks and educational practices. Because STEM is literally everywhere, everyday, it must be infused into comprehensive daily instruction and understanding, rather than treated as stand alone "one-hit wonder" moments.

Jeff and John reflect on relevant leadership concepts shared by guests on previous podcast recordings. Dialogue identifies the purpose of the Huron Forward Podcast as a media platform that layers the celebratory story of the greater Au Gres region within a buffet of constituent communication choices, while increasing the capacity to build lasting relationships and partnerships. Linking the podcast concept as a growth model of change for new-age leaders, discussion focuses upon an article by Lou Glazer, titled, "Google finds STEM skills aren't the most important skills," which highlights the need for encompassing the 4Cs: Collaboration, Communication, Critical-thinking and Creativity, into rich blends of STEM and liberal arts experiential education opportunities.

Judith Wilson, a thought-leading certified BrandED trainer with Trish Rubin, Ltd. and education consultant at the Executive Leadership Institute Council of Supervisors and Administrators in New York City, is a featured guest on this podcast to discuss new-age leadership and the power of professional connectivity and communication on social media. Drawing on her diverse experiences as an educational leader, and influenced connections with Eric Sheninger and Trish Rubin, co-authors of the book, BrandED, Judith shares her thoughts about branding, story-telling, and growth-mindset leadership. Engaging dialogue introduces the idea of "Edupreneurs," a concept that challenges new-age leaders to be thoughtful, action-oriented, and creative cultural architects who are able to recognize opportunity, and willing to embrace change.