Innocent Classroom

Today we’re joined by Laurie Putnam, Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education, St. Cloud Area School District. Last year, as principal of Kennedy Community School, a K-8 school in the district, Laurie took her staff through Constructing the Innocent Classroom. And now, as Asst. Supt. is supporting her middles schools through the training. Laurie shares the impact that she has experienced Innocent Classroom have, including the transformations that happened with specific students, the innocence that educators began to experience, and how knowing her own good helped her better connect with students.

This is our first episode of Season 4! Welcome back! This week our host, Adebisi Wilson, talks with Jaimee Bohning, Julian Condie, and Tony Orange about why they do this work, the significance of innocence, and strategies to engage a child's good.

In today's episode, we talk with Steve Unowsky, Superintendent of Richfield Public Schools. Richfield Public Schools in Richfield, Minnesota has taken Innocent Classroom district-wide and committed to training all of their teachers in the practice. Today Superintendent Unowsky talks about Richfield Public Schools’ mission to inspire and empower each individual to learn, grow, and excel and how Innocent Classroom supports each teacher’s ability to achieve that goal.

Dr. Charvez Russell on Innocent Classroom by Innocent Classroom

Our guest for this episode is Christina Haddad Gonzalez, Director of Student Support Services at Richfield Public Schools in Minnesota. Christina shares with us how Richfield Public Schools integrates Innocent Classroom into its culture - from working with supporting educators to engaging individual students' good.

On Today’s episode, you’ll hear from Innocent Technologies’ President & CEO Alexs Pate speaking at the first ever Innocent Classroom Conference on August 18, 2018 in Omaha, Nebraska. The theme for the conference was “Connect. Empower. Free Children to Achieve.” Alexs delivers a message of hope, encouragement, and a reflection on the positive impact you all have had on the thousands of students you teach.

This is our final episode of the season. But don’t worry, we’ll be back in the fall and we have a few exciting changes. Our guest on this final episode of the 2017-2018 academic year is Angie Peschel, Curriculum and Instruction Director for Mounds View Public Schools. Angie shares with us her learnings about the importance of relationships as a coach and teacher. She also shares about why Mounds View Public Schools chose Innocent Classroom, the time challenge, how Innocent Classroom supports the Mounds View equity promise, and how kids have to be the focus in order for us to see shifts in academics. I hope that you enjoy listening to Angie as much as I enjoyed interviewing her.

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Matthew Brandt, Vice President at Innocent Technologies. The focus of today’s discussion with him is the transformational power of good. Dr. Brandt discusses what is good as well as specific examples of the impact he has seen it have on educators and their classrooms. Dr. Brandt has been with Innocent Technologies for four years, but connected to Innocent Classroom for over a decade.

In this podcast episode I speak with Kelsey Oakes. Kelsey teaches first and second grade at Lucy Craft Laney Elementary School in the Minneapolis Public School District. The student population at Lucy Laney is 96% students of color, 85% of which are black; and 87% of the students receive free or reduced lunch. Regardless of the demographics, Lucy Laney sees consistent gains in their academic performance year after year. Kelsey went through Constructing the Innocent Classroom with her school in 2015 and has been practicing since then. As she continues to engage the good of each child, she is also preparing for transitioning students in and out of her classroom next year. Kelsey shares with us how she connects with incoming kids and collaborates with colleagues to build relationships with students moving into and out of their classrooms in the fall. She also reminds us that it’s never too late to start connecting with a child.

In this episode of the podcast, we talk with Jesus Ramirez, Equity Specialist with Osseo Public Schools. In this thought provoking and, at times, emotional conversation, Jesus shares about the power of narratives and the impact innocence has on one's success.

Today we talk with Founder and President of Innocent Technologies, LLC and creator of Innocent Classroom, Alexs Pate. In addition to founding Innocent Technologies and Innocent Classroom, Alexs is also an award winning writer and novelist. In this episode, Alexs shares his hope for Innocent Classroom and talks about the issue of preparing for breaks and reconnecting with children after the break.

Aaron Kidd is a fifth grade teacher at Friendship Academy of the Arts, a charter school in Minneapolis, MN. In this episode he talks about how he builds relationships with each student to construct environments of innocence and translate those relationships into learning and growth.

Minnesota Reading Corps member Marietta Ryba shares her story of finding a child’s good, giving it to him, and connecting him with his own innocence. Stephanie Snidarich, the Assistant Director of Innovative Programming for ServeMinnesota, adds additional insight into Marietta’s story. ServeMinnesota works with AmeriCorps members and community partners to meet critical needs throughout Minnesota. Americorps members from ServeMinnesota's largest strategic initiative, Minnesota Reading Corps, a breakthrough program that is changing academic outcomes for students, have gone through Innocent Classroom.

Kiesha Lamb, Family and Community Liaison at John A Johnson Achievement Plus Elementary School in St. Paul, MN, talks about Innocence. She shares her perspective and experience of devaluing, diminishing, and eliminating the weight of guilt a child has uncritically and unwillingly accepted as rightfully hers. As well as how that strengthened the students' existing manifestations of innocence.

Cathy Nelson, Service Learning Coordinator and Teacher Leader at Blackburn Alternative Program in the Omaha Public Schools, shares a story of finding a student’s good and using debate to engage that good.

Welcome to the Innocent Classroom podcast. On this podcast, you'll hear from the Innocent Classroom Community about their experiences integrating Innocent Classroom in their classrooms and schools. In this first episode, we hear from Holly Murphy, English teacher at Burke High School in Omaha, Nebraska. Ms. Murphy shares a personal story of finding a student's good, responding to that good, and the resulting learning and growth for the student. If you would like to be a guest on the podcast, please contact Adebisi Wilson at adebisi@innocentclassroom.com.