Ep13 Dr. De'Shawn C. Washington, Ed.D., Statewide Teacher of The Year: Leadership Development

HOST: Ovi Vasquez, Inspirational Leadership Keynote Speaker. Fatherless farm boy from rural Guatemala—Inspiring teams to peak performance. He challenges teams to embrace change and step into bold leadership. He grew up in a village off-the-grid, migrated to the U.S., learned English in two years, graduated from high school in three years, earned a B.A. in management, in two years. Ovi has worked for Apple, Tesla, Salesforce, and Uber. He is a TEDx speaker, author, and a social entrepreneur.

GUEST: Dr. De’Shawn C. Washington is the 2024 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year and Founder of Cultivating Changemakers, LLC. He is an educator, author, and national speaker focused on literacy, financial education, and equity, helping schools create joyful, student-centered learning environments.

Find our guest at: https://www.cultivatingchangemakersllc.org
Find our host at: https://www.ovinspires.com

Keywords: education leadership, classroom management, financial literacy, CRAZY framework, equity, Gen Z, restorative circles, teacher support, mentorship, storytelling, growth mindset

Summary: Dr. De’Shawn Washington shares his journey from being raised by his grandmother in Boston to becoming a statewide Teacher of the Year. He reflects on the hard lessons from his first year teaching, the mentors who believed in him, and how he now trains educators to build high-performing classrooms. Dr. Washington explains why schools must include financial literacy in their curriculum and how he uses storytelling, morning routines, and restorative practices to empower students. He also introduces his signature CRAZY Framework—giving new teachers a clear system to follow.

Takeaways
✅ Reading was foundational to his leadership and student success journey
✅ First-year struggles required intervention from his school’s principal
✅ Mentors played a key role by modeling strong classroom systems
✅ Educators must offer both supportive and constructive feedback
✅ Financial literacy is essential and under-taught in most states
✅ Only 11 states mandate financial education, Massachusetts isn’t one of them
✅ Predictable classroom routines support emotional safety
✅ Student voice should dominate classroom dialogue (80/20 ratio)
✅ Canva is free for teachers, but district accounts limit content ownership
✅ New teachers need systems like the CRAZY Framework to avoid burnout

Titles
✅ From the Back of the Class to Teacher of the Year
✅ Why Financial Literacy Should Be Taught Like Reading
✅ How the CRAZY Framework Helps New Teachers Lead with Confidence
✅ The Joy of Learning and Leading: Dr. Washington’s Mission

Sound Bites
🗣 “My first year, the principal had to teach my class while I sat in the back taking notes.”
🗣 “Financial literacy is knowledge. And knowledge is power.”
🗣 “You need two mentors—someone 10 years older and someone 10 years younger.”
🗣 “The classroom should be 80 percent student voice, 20 percent teacher voice.”

Chapters
00:00 – Meet Dr. De’Shawn Washington
03:00 – Bringing Financial Literacy to 4th Grade
07:00 – His Grandmother Taught Him to Read
09:00 – Leaving a Big 4 Accounting Firm to Teach
11:00 – Classroom Struggles and Mentor Support
13:00 – Building a Culture of Feedback and Trust
22:00 – Becoming Teacher of the Year
31:00 – The CRAZY Framework for New Educators
35:00 – Books, Tools, and Lessons for Leaders
43:00 – The Substitute Teacher Hack
46:00 – Closing Reflections

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