Start the new year with a clean slate and a smarter plan for leading your school. We kick off season two by inviting members to share their best campus ideas on the show and by laying out concrete support you can plug in right away. From statewide cohorts to targeted coaching and a literacy series that finally gives writing the airtime it deserves, the focus is practical help that saves hours and moves student learning.

We explain how our February needs assessment guides next year’s professional learning, then dig into two pillars: the Aspiring Principals Academy and the New Principal Institute. Splitting cohorts north and south opened access across the state, while new leaders in years one through four get a durable network plus face time with voices from the Department of Education, PSC, and GOSA. That mix of peer support and agency insight turns policy into practice and makes it easier to navigate certification, accountability, and reporting with confidence.

Leadership coaching takes center stage next. Our one‑day training with three short follow‑ups walks you through a full coaching cycle focused on adult growth, not compliance. You’ll build listening and questioning skills, practice in a safe setting, and leave with tools you can use with APs, teacher leaders, and teams. We also share time management tactics principals can start tomorrow: time blocking for morning presence and classroom visits, reverse time blocking to reveal hidden patterns, and email sprints that stop constant inbox checking. Round it out with our spring literacy webinar series on writing, plus a weekly Capitol update that keeps you ready to advocate on funding and policy.

Ready to lead with more clarity and less chaos? Subscribe for season two, share this episode with a colleague who needs these tools, and leave a quick review so more school leaders can find us.

Ready for a clear look at what leaders need next? We close the fall season with Cindy Flesher and a practical preview of Winter GAEL, our three-day gathering in Athens that puts member voice at the center. From the first survey response to the final agenda, every session is built to solve problems you face right now—recruiting talent, leading change, raising student outcomes, and reclaiming time.

We dig into four focused strands that make the conference easy to navigate and hard to forget. Building the bench shares how districts grow great educators and future leaders with real systems, not slogans. Leading forward highlights innovation, agility, and strategic change, with examples you can adapt. Driving student outcomes brings proven leadership moves you can use on Monday. Reclaiming time explores practical tools, including AI, to reduce friction and keep attention on what matters most. You’ll also hear why we expanded breakouts in response to your feedback, how we selected 39 sessions from a record 88 proposals, and what materials will be available afterward.

Keynotes bring depth and humanity. Kaitlin Roig-DeBellis focuses on resilience and moving forward after crisis. Joe Sanfelippo, former national superintendent of the year, shares how to champion people and culture. Brandon Fleming, author of Miseducated and a Harvard debate coach, offers a powerful story of second chances and high expectations. We also preview live Q&A opportunities with the presenters from our popular finance webinar series, plus anticipated updates from state leaders and the Department of Education.

If you’re new, we’ve got your back. We talk through how to make the most of affiliate meetings, hallway conversations, and the Sunday reception to build a network that actually helps when the job gets tough. Registration is open, and hotel rooms at the Hyatt and the new Marriott near the Classic Center go fast—book early to stay close. Subscribe, share with a colleague who needs this community, and leave a quick review to help more Georgia leaders find us.

If leadership is a muscle, this conversation is the workout plan. We sit down with the team from UGA’s Fanning Institute to unpack Youth Lead Georgia—a statewide program that starts with a three‑day kickoff in Athens and expands into a year of hands‑on learning, industry immersion, and post‑secondary exploration. From team building and self‑awareness to a multi‑day bus tour across Georgia, we trace how students grow from curious participants into confident contributors who can read a room, read a community, and take action.

What makes this model stand out is its intentional mix of access and relevance. Selection hinges on short‑answer reflections, not GPAs, opening the door to students with emerging potential. Each session pairs leadership skills with local context: visits to technical colleges and universities, insights from the military, and on‑site industry experiences that reveal the jobs powering Georgia’s economy. The Phoenix Air visit in Cartersville—a company that transported Ebola patients and handled a high‑profile repatriation—shows students that global impact can start right here at home.

We also get practical. Hear how Oconee County High School tailored modules, shifted to student‑led group interviews, and balanced grade levels to keep momentum strong. Learn how districts around the state adapt schedules to avoid class conflicts, run leadership councils that span middle and high school, and even introduce K‑5 students to age‑appropriate leadership. The Youth Lead Georgia Summit takes it further by inviting representation from all 159 counties, elevating youth voices on the issues they face today and turning those insights into direction for schools and communities.

Ready to bring this to your campus or district? Connect with UGA Fanning on LinkedIn and social at @UGAFanning, and reach out to Lauren and Jason via the UGA Fanning website to set up a Zoom. If this conversation sparked ideas, subscribe, share it with a colleague, and leave a review so more educators and community leaders can find it.

Want proof that high school leadership doesn’t have to be performative or reserved for a select few? We sit down with the team at UGA’s JW Fanning Institute for Leadership Development to unpack a model that helps teens lead right now—no jargon, no fluff, just practical skills and real opportunities. From the pressures students feel about college and careers to the confidence they gain through strengths-based coaching, we trace how a research-backed framework turns anxiety into agency.

We walk through Youth Lead Georgia, a competitive, zero-cost statewide cohort fueled by philanthropic support, complete with four immersive retreats and a summer bus tour. You’ll hear how the companion summer summit widens access, inviting at least one student from every Georgia county to explore leadership, college pathways, technical education, the military, and the workforce—without prescribing a single “right” future. Then we dive into the school-based Youth Leadership in Action curriculum, a flexible K–12 program that moves students through mastery of self, mastery of relationships, and mastery of action. Think community mapping, conflict skills, and team problem-solving that culminate in student-led projects with measurable impact.

Oconee County High School joins to share how they customized the modules, shifted to peer-led applications and interviews, and saw students ask for encore sessions to push their legacy work further. The thread through it all is facilitation that centers student voice: educators can bring Fanning in to lead, or get trained to run the program themselves. If you care about student belonging, behavior, and achievement—and you want a blueprint that works in both rural and metro districts—this conversation is your roadmap.

Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a quick review to help more Georgia schools discover pathways that turn student pressure into purpose.

Think a teacher salary can’t build real wealth? We invite Danny Kafke back to show how educators can pair the Georgia TRS pension with smart, low-fee savings and the right insurance to create stability that rivals seven-figure portfolios. We start with the simple math of the pension—2% per service year—then connect it to a practical plan that protects your family, fights inertia, and keeps more of every dollar you invest.

Danny explains why protection comes first. Life insurance and long-term disability aren’t just line items; they’re the shield that keeps a lifetime of saving from unraveling after one bad break. From there, we dig into catch-up strategies for mid-career teachers who finally have room to save: how much to contribute, where to trim, and how to let automation do the heavy lifting. We tackle the myth that higher income fixes everything, and show how overspending can sink doctors and superstars just as easily as it derails teachers.

The conversation turns to the Southern Education Retirement Consortium (SERC) and its impact on districts—especially smaller ones. By consolidating into a single-vendor model with transparent oversight, SERC slashes plan fees that quietly erode balances. The result: tens of thousands saved per educator over time, higher participation via auto-enrollment, and more money staying in local communities to build generational wealth. Danny’s personal story anchors it all, reminding us that the greatest return on money is freedom to be present for the people we love.

If you’re a superintendent, HR leader, or educator looking for clarity, this one’s a roadmap: pensions, protection, automation, and lower fees. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review with one question you want answered about your retirement plan—what should we dig into next?

What if a 42K salary could still build a rich, secure life? We sit down with longtime educator and author Danny Kofke to map out the practical money moves that help teachers thrive today and retire strong tomorrow. Danny’s story starts in the classroom—first grade, kindergarten, and a decade in severe and profound special education—and turns into a blueprint for living below your means, creating financial margin, and seizing opportunities that change your future.

We break down compound interest in plain English using the Rule of 72, then show exactly how small, automatic contributions to a 403(b) or 457(b) can grow into six figures. You’ll hear why a teacher pension can mirror the income of a million‑dollar portfolio, how matches are real “free money,” and what changes when a district doesn’t pay into Social Security. For new teachers, we offer a simple on‑ramp: start with a percentage, set it to auto-increase, and let raises boost your savings without extra effort. For mid‑career educators feeling behind, we outline a realistic reset with budgets that actually stick and a clear plan to kill debt.

Debt gets a hard look: the true cost of minimum payments, why credit card rewards are a distraction, and how to choose between the debt avalanche and snowball. We also draw the line between short‑term and long‑term savings so emergencies don’t derail retirement. Finally, we make the case for districts to teach financial literacy to staff—an overlooked but powerful recruitment and retention tool that helps educators make better decisions with pensions, matches, and benefits.

If you’re ready to turn money stress into a steady plan, this conversation gives you the steps, the math, and the mindset. Subscribe, share this with a colleague who needs a win, and leave a review with the money question you want us to tackle next.

A deepfake with a boss’s voice. A viral post that turns a school into a headline. A teacher’s split-second decision in a chaotic classroom. We dive into the real frontiers of K-12 HR and the practical systems that keep leaders steady when everything moves fast.

Stephanie Dobbins (Executive Director, GASPA) and Tyler Gwyn (Executive Director of HR, Cherokee County Schools; GASPA president-elect) open the playbook on modern school HR: ethical guidance for AI, investigation readiness for synthetic media, and smart social media response when community emotions run high. We talk through the power of the GASPA network—conferences, the Gaggle forum, and monthly webinars—where HR pros swap vetted handbooks, sample letters, policy templates, and real-world advice that saves time and reduces risk.

We also tackle employee well-being with a focus on access and prevention: state health benefits, EAP programs, and how districts are normalizing mental health support. On recruitment and retention, Tyler shares a sharper strategy than perks alone: analyze behavior trends post-COVID, retrain on the code of ethics, and design immediate supports that help teachers de-escalate and avoid career-ending mistakes. It’s a candid look at how data, community, and preparedness create stability for students and staff.

If you lead people in schools—HR, principals, superintendents, finance, or curriculum—this conversation offers concrete steps, credible resources, and direct access points to PSC, DOE, and TRS guidance. Subscribe, share with a colleague who needs stronger HR support, and leave a review with one question you want us to tackle next.

What if professional learning actually counted twice—toward your graduate degree and your district’s biggest challenges? We sit down with Dr. Mike Dishman, dean at the University of West Georgia, to unpack a practical blueprint for educator growth, retention, and real results. From SummerGale’s community heartbeat to the nuts and bolts of a redesigned doctorate, this conversation focuses on what moves the needle for Georgia’s schools.

Dr. Dishman explains why West Georgia now treats the EDS as the first half of a doctorate, cutting needless hours and cost, and how a professional capstone replaces the traditional dissertation with a thousand-hour, team-based project that tackles problems of practice. Think VR efficacy studies, policy-aligned analysis, and solutions districts can deploy immediately. It’s rigor with relevance—grounded in data and built for working educators.

We also dive into Georgia’s Best—Building Educator Success Together—a partnership model born after the state’s burnout report. Here’s the math districts can’t ignore: replacing a single teacher costs $14,000 to $28,000. Redirecting that spend can fund 2–4 graduate degrees, lock in top talent for five years, and align learning to high-need areas like special education and instructional technology. Programs run in cohorts, use local policy and data, and are often taught by the district’s own top practitioners, so coursework doubles as targeted professional development.

Along the way, we talk culture—why Family Fun Night matters to educator families—and the deeper loyalty that comes from being seen and invested in. Big district or small, urban or rural, the model scales because it starts with listening: define workforce needs, credit prior learning, and design programs that fit the work. If you care about educator retention, practical leadership development, and degrees without debt bloat, you’ll find a roadmap here.

If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a colleague, and leave a review to help more educators and leaders find it.