Episodes

Monday Jan 15, 2024
Monday Jan 15, 2024
Amy M. Pollack - Coming of Age Book Series by a Retired Teacher and Grandparent: The Adventures of Jelly Bean & The Further Adventures of Jelly Bean. This is episode 635 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.
Amy Meislin Pollack was a teacher for over four decades, raised three children, and loves to play with her seven grandchildren. From her own childhood to the classroom and as a parent and grandparent, she is perfectly positioned to pen her coming-of-age book series.
The Adventures of Jelly Bean, followed by The Further Adventures of Jelly Bean, first came into being when the author's fourth-grade teacher used to ask her to get up in front of the class and tell the stories about this character she would make up as she went along.
Several years later she started writing these stories down and would work on them periodically in any free time she had during her teaching career and raising her three children.
Now retired from a 40-year career in teaching - spanning a wide range of subjects and grade levels - she has embarked on a lively writing career.
The silver lining of the Covid pandemic for Pollack was that she was more or less forced, after approximately 60 years, to finish her Jelly Bean books.
Her books are about a young girl whose life is always changing and how she adapts to these changes. She tries to work out relationships with her friends, her parents, her older brothers, her uncle. Her parents do not want her best friend, who is of mixed race, to visit. Another friend is anorexic. One brother drops out of school. A grandparent dies.
Pollack earned a BA in English from Goucher College in Baltimore and received her Master’s in English from University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. She was certified as a secondary education and reading specialist for grades K-12 and earned a special education teaching degree from NYU, allowing her to teach disabled students.
For six years she was a professor of writing, and a teacher in the tutoring center at Montclair State University in NJ. She lives in central New Jersey with her husband and their dog named Bunny. For more information, please see her website, www.amypollack.com.
About The Adventures of Jelly Bean:
What if the start to your day was falling into the toilet, which caused you to miss your carpool, that in turn caused you to get to school late, that ultimately caused you to miss getting one of the decent parts in the upcoming Thanksgiving play? That is exactly what happens to fourth-grader Jelly. Bean on the day we first meet her. Things only go downhill from there and no one at home seems to have much time for her. Except Roger-Over, her beloved dog.
About The Further Adventures of Jelly Bean:
Jelly Bean in the continuation of her adventures as she seeks solutions to the challenges that confronted her in book 1. Michael, her oldest brother, has dropped out of school and joined the Marines, which usurps much of her parents' attention. Kylie, the new girl in school, faces a medical emergency. And Jelly Bean is still forbidden from going to her best friend's house.
She has to decide how to deal with these dilemmas and more. Along the way she learns about love, death, pain, relationships, the difference between right and wrong and the value of friendship. See the world through the eyes of this forthright fourth grader as she discovers two truths about life - that it is always complicated, and always changing.
Awesome conversation!
Cool books!
Before you go...
You could help support this podcast by Buying Me A Coffee. Not really buying me something to drink but clicking on the link on my home page at https://stevenmiletto.com for Buy Me a Coffee or by going to this link Buy Me a Coffee.
This would allow you to donate to help the show address the costs associated with producing the podcast from upgrading gear to the fees associated with producing the show. That would be cool. Thanks for thinking about it.
Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you!
Okay, one more thing. Really just this one more thing. I mentioned in the opening of the show that you could hear me interviewed on Behind the Mic about my podcast Teaching Learning Leading K12. Click this link Behind the Mic: Teaching Learning Leading K12 to go listen.
You are AWESOME!
Thanks so much!
Connect & Learn More:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-pollack-9b111882/
https://twitter.com/AdvOfJellyBean
https://www.facebook.com/Author.AmyMeislinPollack/
https://www.instagram.com/jellybeanthebookseries/
Length - 50:36

Friday Jan 12, 2024
Friday Jan 12, 2024
Ryan Ross - Founder & CEO - Olivia Technologies: Providing Digital Access for All Students. This is episode 634 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.
Ryan Ross is a determined, innovative, and productive professional with a proven track record in Edtech, emerging Fintech and WiFi edge technologies, as well as early-stage sales and business development. With his impressive skills and experience, Ryan has also secured a patent in his field. He is highly motivated by new and emerging technologies and stays ahead of the curve in his field.
Ryan's in-depth knowledge of go-to-market strategies is impressive. He has extensive experience in IoT edge content, advertising, and services for transit, retail, and enterprise solutions, as well as payment transactions and point-of-sale infrastructure. Ryan is also well-versed in biometric payments, recurring payments, B2B commerce, and consumer e-commerce services.
His exceptional knowledge and ability to deliver revenue and customers make him a valuable asset in strategic thinking and execution, ultimately leading to success.
Ryan's specialties include business development, strategic partnerships, reseller, and alliances, making him a versatile and well-rounded professional.
- B2B Commerce and consumer e-commerce services.
This knowledge base along with the ability to deliver customers and revenue provides a level of strategic thinking and execution that leads to success.
Ryan is the founder & CEO as well as a Board member of Olivia Technologies.
So much to learn!
Great conversation!
Before you go...
You could help support this podcast by Buying Me A Coffee. Not really buying me something to drink but clicking on the link on my home page at https://stevenmiletto.com for Buy Me a Coffee or by going to this link Buy Me a Coffee.
This would allow you to donate to help the show address the costs associated with producing the podcast from upgrading gear to the fees associated with producing the show. That would be cool. Thanks for thinking about it.
Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you!
Okay, one more thing. Really just this one more thing. I mentioned in the opening of the show that you could hear me interviewed on Behind the Mic about my podcast Teaching Learning Leading K12. Click this link Behind the Mic: Teaching Learning Leading K12 to go listen.
You are AWESOME!
Thanks so much!
Connect & Learn More:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rossrr3/
https://twitter.com/OliviaParity
Length - 46:03

Wednesday Jan 10, 2024
Wednesday Jan 10, 2024
Dave Wakefield - Founder & CEO of Sibme - A.I., Professional Learning, Coaching, and Feedback. This is episode 633 of Teaching Learning Leading K12.
David Wakefield is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sibme. A former educator, Dave believes that with the right support and tools, teachers and school administrators can collaborate with each other to solve their own problems organically.
Sibme is a professional learning and coaching platform.
Lots to learn as we talk about A.I., professional learning, coaching, and feedback.
So much to learn.
Before you go...
You could help support this podcast by Buying Me A Coffee. Not really buying me something to drink but clicking on the link on my home page at https://stevenmiletto.com for Buy Me a Coffee or by going to this link Buy Me a Coffee.
This would allow you to donate to help the show address the costs associated with producing the podcast from upgrading gear to the fees associated with producing the show. That would be cool. Thanks for thinking about it.
Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you!
Okay, one more thing. Really just this one more thing. I mentioned in the opening of the show that you could hear me interviewed on Behind the Mic about my podcast Teaching Learning Leading K12. Click this link Behind the Mic: Teaching Learning Leading K12 to go listen.
You are AWESOME!
Thanks so much!
Connect & Learn More:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/sibme/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmwakefield/
(20) Sibme (@SibmeApp) / X (twitter.com)
Length - 56:16

Monday Jan 08, 2024
Monday Jan 08, 2024
Julie Silverbrook - Senior Director of Partnerships and Constitutional Scholar in Residence at iCivics - Talks with Us about iCivics, the Importance of Civics Education, & National Civics Day. This is episode 632 of Teaching Learning Leading K12.
Julie serves as Senior Director of Partnerships and Constitutional Scholar in Residence at iCivics. She served as Executive Director of The Constitutional Sources Project (ConSource) in Washington, DC, from 2012-2020. She regularly writes and lectures on the United States Constitution and its history, and the importance of civic education to the health of the American republic. Julie has nearly a decade of experience in growth projects for non-profit organizations, cultivating partnerships, fundraising, coalition-building, and business development and management. She holds a J.D. from the William & Mary Law School, where she received the National Association of Women Lawyers Award and the Thurgood Marshall Award and served as a Senior Articles Editor on the William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal. She graduated Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa from The George Washington University with a B.A. in Political Science. Upon graduation, she was awarded the GW Columbian College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Scholar Award, the highest academic award given to a student in the arts and sciences college.
About iCivics:
iCivics is a nonprofit organization working to inspire lifelong civic engagement by providing high-quality and engaging civics resources and advocating for civic education through its CivXNow Coalition of 295 organizational members. Founded by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor to develop free educational video games and lessons that teach young Americans to be knowledgeable, curious, and engaged in civic life, iCivics is the country’s largest provider of civic education content and is currently used by up to 145,000 educators and 9 million students annually. All of its resources are free, nonpartisan, and available online at icivics.org.
What an awesome conversation!
So much to learn and celebrate!
Before you go...
Could you do me a favor? Please go to my website at https://www.stevenmiletto.com/reviews/ or open the podcast app that you are listening to me on, and would you rate and review the podcast? That would be so cool. Thanks!
If you are listening on Apple Podcasts on your phone, go to the logo - click so that you are on the main page with a listing of the episodes for my podcast and scroll to the bottom. There you will see a place to rate and review. Could you review me? That would be so cool. Thank you!
Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you!
You are AWESOME!
Thanks so much!
Connect & Learn More:
https://www.facebook.com/icivics
https://www.youtube.com/user/icivics
https://www.linkedin.com/company/icivics/
https://nationalcivicsday.info/
https://www.facebook.com/NationalCivicsDay/
https://www.instagram.com/nationalcivicsday
Length - 38:04

Thursday Jan 04, 2024
Thursday Jan 04, 2024
Fusion Academy - Joie Laykoff - Senior Director of Instruction and Student Programs at Fusion Academy talks with me about the school and its programs. This is episode 631 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.
Joie LayKoff - Senior Director of Instruction and Student Programs at Fusion Academy - leads initiatives across the organization that strengthen campus’ instructional leadership, classroom application of pedagogy and student programming. Her ISP team creates development opportunities for teachers and leaders that serve to improve educational expertise, and programs for students that inspire connection and engagement.
So much to learn.
Awesome conversation!
Before you go...
Could you do me a favor? Please go to my website at https://www.stevenmiletto.com/reviews/ or open the podcast app that you are listening to me on, and would you rate and review the podcast? That would be so cool. Thanks!
If you are listening on Apple Podcasts on your phone, go to the logo - click so that you are on the main page with a listing of the episodes for my podcast and scroll to the bottom. There you will see a place to rate and review. Could you review me? That would be so cool. Thank you!
Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you!
You are AWESOME!
Thanks so much!
Connect & Learn More:
https://www.fusionacademy.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/american-education-group/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joie-laykoff-a059bb97/
Length - 47:46