Deep in the heart of a small Louisiana town sits a building that simply doesn't look like it belongs—a striking, century-old structure with sharp peaks and dark, gothic arches looming right over the courthouse square. They call it the Hanging Jail, a place built around a massive central spiral staircase that holds secrets most people only dare to whisper about. From the legendary, tragic events of 1928 to the chilling generations of jailers' families who lived directly alongside the cells, this isn't just an empty historic site; it's a living archive of intense emotion, unexplainable footsteps, and lingering echoes. If you have ever wanted to step right out of your ordinary routine and experience the heavy, gripping energy of the mid-Atlantic's dark history up close, you might want to stand at the bottom of that staircase—just promise us one thing when you get there: don't look up.

In this episode of The Principal’s Handbook, we dive into the mindset patterns and leadership habits that lead to principal burnout. I walk through the story of a burned-out assistant principal and break down the hidden patterns that keep school leaders overwhelmed, emotionally exhausted, and constantly reacting. You’ll learn how thoughts create emotions and actions through the TEA Cycle, and how shifting your mindset can help you lead more sustainably. We also talk about boundaries, perfectionism, urgency, and over-responsibility—and why burnout doesn’t go away on its own. If you’ve been feeling exhausted, disconnected, or like leadership is becoming unsustainable, this episode will help you start identifying the root causes and resetting the way you lead.Get the Burnout Toolkit HERE. Get the free Confidence Scorecard HERE to discover your current confidence level as a school leader.

In this episode, host Dr. Erin Bailey welcomes Dr. Aimee Ketchum, a pediatric occupational therapist and founder of Aimee's Babies, and Dr. Crystal Loose, a former teacher, reading specialist, and professor of early learning at West Chester University. Together, they co-host the Plant the Seed of Learning podcast and co-authored The Early Childhood Promise: Sparking Change for Parents, Early Childhood Professionals, and Policy Makers. The conversation dives into what it truly means to be kindergarten-ready — spoiler: it's less about knowing the alphabet and more about self-regulation, fine motor skills, and the ability to function in a group. Dr. Ketchum and Dr. Loose emphasize that language and literacy development begins at birth through talking, narrating, and reading aloud, and that play is not separate from learning — it is learning, building everything from executive function to memory retention. The guests also address the growing concern around screen time, sharing research on developmental delays linked to early and excessive use, while offering practical, judgment-free guidance for busy families. The episode wraps with a call for systemic change, including paid parental leave, childcare subsidies, and universal pre-K, as essential investments in America's youngest learners.About Dr. Aimee Ketchum:Founder of Aimee’s Babies, LLC,  Dr. Aimee Ketchum is a newborn massage instructor, mom, yoga instructor, and doctor of pediatric occupational therapy with over 25 years experience working with children from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) through high school.Aimee's BabiesAbout Dr. Crystal Loose:Prior to joining the faculty at West Chester University, Dr. Crystal Loose spent 22 years in public education as an elementary teacher, reading specialist, instructional coach, administrator, and curriculum director. Her research interests include teacher professional development, relational leadership, and early learning practices that support school readiness for children and their parents. She currently teaches child development and graduate courses in leadership, educational change theory, play, and curriculum implementation.  Dr. Loose enjoys supporting area elementary schools on early learning transition practices that educate parents on brain development and developmental milestones prior to the start of school.Crystal Loose - WCU of PA Links:The Early Childhood Promise bookPlant the Seed of Learning podcast: Plant the Seed of Learning - Podcast - Apple Podcasts

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast, Zach sits down with Brett Hinson, Vice President of Information Technology and Chief Information Officer at Lipscomb University, to discuss what it takes to lead technology transformation in higher education. With decades of experience across multiple industries, Brett brings a practical and refreshing perspective on balancing innovation, security, and institutional trust.At the center of the conversation is a simple but powerful idea: technology should serve people, not the other way around. Brett explains how Lipscomb has approached AI adoption by creating a culture of “maybe” instead of “no,” encouraging experimentation while maintaining the safeguards necessary to protect students, faculty, and institutional data.The discussion also explores how successful AI implementation requires more than selecting the right tools. It depends on collaboration between IT, faculty, administrators, legal teams, and academic leadership. By focusing on simple guardrails instead of excessive bureaucracy, institutions can create environments where innovation can flourish without sacrificing security.For higher education leaders, this episode offers valuable lessons on building trust, reducing fear, and creating pathways for responsible AI adoption that put student success at the center of every decision.

In this episode of Make It Mindful, Seth talks with Dr. Maggie Broderick — academic program director of the Master of Arts in Social Emotional Learning at National University's Sanford College of Education — about teacher dispositions, the classrooms inside schools where marginalized students find belonging, and what's happening to teacher attrition when emotion labor goes unsupported. Maggie's current qualitative research centers on what she calls "hidden oases" — music rooms, art classrooms, and specialist spaces — and builds on her published work integrating SEL into the formative development of educator dispositions.Together, Seth and Maggie explore why SEL became politicized and why Maggie chose not to rebrand around the backlash, how critical thinking and perspective-taking sit alongside SEL as facets of the same whole-human education, the link between teacher emotion labor and the attrition crisis, and the role of arts and specialist classrooms as belonging infrastructure for students who don't feel at home in the rest of the building. Maggie shares an early finding from her in-progress study: many of the teachers she's interviewed told her no one had ever asked them about the students who came to school primarily because of their music or art class.Key topics"Hidden oases" — specialist classrooms as belonging infrastructureSEL across the full age span, including adult and doctoral learnersTeacher emotion labor and the attrition crisisPerspective-taking and critical thinking as parts of SELEducator dispositions and how they're formedStarting small with vetted SEL resourcesLinks & ResourcesDr. Maggie Broderick — National University faculty page: https://www.nu.edu/degrees/teacher-education/faculty/margaret-broderick/Maggie on ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Maggie-BroderickMaggie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maggie-broderick-19321414/International Journal of Online Graduate Education (Maggie, editor): https://joge.scholasticahq.com/Email: mbroderick@nu.eduCASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning): https://casel.orgHarmony Academy: https://harmony-academy.orgAmerican Educational Research Association (AERA): https://www.aera.netWorld Savvy (referenced in conversation): https://worldsavvy.orgBroderick, M., & Lyn, A. E. (2022). "Integrating Social Emotional Learning Into the Formative Development of Educator Dispositions," in Dispositional Development and Assessment in Teacher Preparation Programs (S. Clemm von Hohenberg, Ed.). IGI Global. https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/integrating-social-emotional-learning-into-the-formative-development-of-educator-dispositions/308385Broderick, M. "Development and Evolution of Teacher Dispositions Framework and Assessment." IGI Global. https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/development-and-evolution-of-teacher-dispositions-framework-and-assessment/308394Guest Bio: Dr. Maggie BroderickDr. Maggie Broderick is an academic program director and dissertation chair at National University's Sanford College of Education, where she leads the Master of Arts in Social Emotional Learning and directs the Advanced Research Center — an online hub supporting faculty and graduate-student scholarship. Her research examines educator dispositions, SEL across the full age span of learners, and the role of specialist classrooms — music, art, theater, language — as "hidden oases" for students who feel marginalized elsewhere in their schools. She holds a Ph.D. in Foreign Language Education from the University of Pittsburgh and is the editor of the International Journal of Online Graduate Education.About the Host: Seth Fleischauer is the founder of Banyan Global Learning and host of Make It Mindful: Insights for Global Learning. Through Banyan, he designs live virtual programs that connect K-12 classrooms to global peers and expert facilitators — building the kind of structured, human-centered learning the podcast explores. See https://banyangloballearning.com/