MSTA Presents: Recent Episodes
Missouri State Teachers Association
MSTA Presents had the opportunity to speak with Casey's Community Engagement Manager, Angela Wood, about their Cash for Classrooms grants available to schools and educators throughout Missouri. Applications for the 2026 grants will open on October 13. You can find more information by visiting the Cash for Classroom Grants website.
MSTA Presents got the opportunity to speak with Lauren Dachelle, the Founder and CEO of Nimble, and Krista Pfeiffer, Nimble's Teacher Marketing Manager about Missouri's new job board for teachers.
You can find the job board here.
For more information about Nimble check out their Facebook Page and Instagram account.
GIVEAWAY: The first 10 teachers to email the Prosocial Lab at MUProsocialLab@missouri.edu will receive a free copy of Designing a Prosocial Classroom by Christi Bergin.
Dr. Christi Bergin, Research Emerita and Director of the Prosocial Development & Education Research Lab joins MSTA Presents to discuss prosocial behavior, classroom strategies, and research conducted by the Prosocial Lab.
Prosocial behavior is the opposite of antisocial behavior – It is behaving in ways intended to benefit others, like being kind, helpful, polite, respectful, and cooperative. The Prosocial Lab researches how adults help children become prosocial.
Prosocial Education refers to educators intentionally helping students become kinder with each other and more engaged in learning at school. Teachers find that they enjoy teaching more as students become more prosocial. The lab partners with other researchers, teachers, and agencies to provide professional development to teachers.
For more information: Prosocial Development & Education Research Lab – College of Education & Human Development and PAL Classrooms 2.0
To sign up for the project starting August 2025: PAL Classrooms 2.0 Recruitment Form
Contacts: MUProsocialLab@missouri.edu and pal@emints.org
Erica Doennig, Transitional Kindergarten Lead Teacher in the Joplin School District, provides insight into her position as well as her exciting Virtual New Teacher Summit workshop titled, Sneaking Fine Motor Into Your Day.
Find out more about MSTA's Virtual New Teacher Summit here.
On this episode of MSTA Presents, Jason Dieckhoff, Agricultural Instructor and FFA Advisor for the Harrisonville/Cass R9 School District, talks about FFA Week (February 15-22) and Career and Technical Education Month.
Learn more about FFA:
National Organization
State Organization
Career and Technical Education Month
Open enrollment bills, cell phone bans and more in this AI-generated episode summarizing the MSTA Action newsletter.
Tara Link, New Teacher Support and Innovation Coach at Moberly School District, joins MSTA Presents. We discuss her workshop, Classroom Management: +1 Your Toolbox, which will be presented at MSTA's Virtual Teacher Summit on February 19.
You can sign up for the workshop here.
In addition, Tara has co-authored a book with Beth Whitaker titled Teacher Induction That Works: A Lasting Impact from Day 1. You can learn more about the book and purchase it here.
This AI-generated podcast recaps the lastest MSTA Action newsletter, keeping you up-to-date on public education news from Jefferson City.
MSTA Presents speaks with FIRST® in Missouri Executive Director Laura Roth. FIRST in Missouri provides robotic programs to Missouri students, Pre-K-12. You can learn more about FIRST in Missouri by visiting the links below:
FIRST in Missouri website – local support and calendar of events
FIRST - global headquarters website
• You can find more information about the different divisions by choosing the "Programs" tab.• The Educators link can be found under the "Community" tabo Direct link to the educator's page o Free education resources Experiential Robotics Platform
• Low-cost entry into robotics (FIRST is part of the opensource team)• Discounted for educators and FIRST teams Videos
• Not a Robot
• Join FIRST - Get Anywhere
• Coaching and Mentoring with FIRST
• Mark Rober Shares His Excitement for FIRST
Today, MSTA Presents spoke with Sonya Gough, AIMS Facilitator and ELA Educator, and Jay Jarrett, Principal at the Hall McCarter Education Center in the Blue Springs School District. We spoke primarily about the Applied Innovation Middle School Program but also discussed many other programs offered at the Education Center.
You can learn more about Hall McCarter by emailing Jay Jarrett at JJarrett@BSSD.NET.
To find out more about the AIMS program you can visit a similar program based in Iowa: Iowa Big.
Morgan Dennehy, District Manager for Junior Achievement in Central Missouri, joins MSTA Presents to discuss Junior Achievement and the organization's K-12 programs.
You can contact Morgan here.
Central Missouri Junior Achievement website: https://centralmissouri.ja.org/
Junior Achievement St. Louis website: https://greaterstlouis.ja.org/
Today, we speak with Jenni Ryan, the Missouri Arts Council's arts education program specialist. Jenni outlines the A+ Schools Network and a new whole-school arts integration training program available for Missouri schools.
To find out more information, contact Jenni:
Phone: 314.340.6857
Email: jenni.ryan@ltgov.mo.gov
Here are some links for other established state programs:
Oklahoma A+ Schools:
Louisiana A+ Schools:
North Carolina A+ Schools:
On Tuesday, the Governor signed SB727, an education bill covering several areas, including the small schools grant, vouchers, early childhood education, and an increase in teacher salaries. You can read more about the bill here. This audio from a video can also be found at the previous link.
Brian Latkowski, Executive Vice President of Sales for New Benefits, joins MSTA Presents to discuss MSTA's newest offering for members, Wellbeing Access and Wellbeing Access Plus.
Click here to learn more about New Benefits
MSTA Presents is joined by Robyn Haug, Ladue Instructional Coach as well as EdcampSTL Planning Member, and Chris McGee, Chief Executive Officer for Connected Learning and Assistant Superintendent at Maplewood Richmond Heights.
We discuss Connected Learning's upcoming event, EDcampSTL 2024: Seeking Balance. Edcamp will take place Saturday, March 9 from 8:30 - 12:00 pm. at Clayton High School.
To find out more information and register, head to www.clstl.org and click on, "Upcoming Events."
I spoke with staff member, Darbie Valenti Huff about MSTA's Virtual New Teacher Summit, February 7, 5:00 - 8:00 pm.
Sign up for the summit here.
View the flyer here.
Sneak peak of the platform being used for the summit can be seen here.
Ursulla Wadley, JAG Coordinator at an alternative high school in Cape Girardeau, and Jennifer Moore, Project 180 Coordinator at Union High School, will be presenting 2 workshops at the MSTA Convention: "Challenging behaviors, not challenging students," and "In the trenches: Proactive and reactive measures."
Jennifer Kidwell teaches at De Soto 73, and serves as the chair for the foreign language department. Her workshop is titled, "Flipping forward: Bringing flipped classroom to 21st century problem solving."
Candace Kluba, an educator in the Washington School District, shares information about her MSTA Convention workshop, "Balancing Act: Empowering educators and nurturing students - strategies for classroom well-being."
Kristie Zorn, 8th grade science teacher at Fort Osage, gives us some insight into her MSTA convention workshop, "School should be FUN! Brain breaks, transitions, and fun in the classroom."
Dr. Deana Ogden, Professional Learning Manager for MSTA and Dr. Jason Adams, Assistant Superintendent for Learning, Webster Groves School District and President - Missouri Learning Forward and Team Member - National Learning Forward Conference Planning Committee join the podcast to discuss Learning Forward and the upcoming Learning Forward Conference.
www.learningforwardmo.org
www.learningforward.org
Dr. Brooks Gibbs, Resilience Educator with a PHD in social psychology joins Todd and Dr. Deana Ogden to give a preview of his Keynote presentation and his Deep Dive workshop at MSTA's 2023 Convention.
You can learn more about Dr. Gibbs here.
Click here to learn more about his MSTA convention presentation.
Click here to register for the Deep Dive.
Today we are joined by Chief Borrower Advocate for Savi, Lindsay Clark. MSTA has partnered with Savi Student Loan Repayment to help members navigate student loan forgiveness. Lindsay discusses the timeline for payments restarting as well as what MSTA members can do to make sure they are prepared for the repayment process.
https://msta.bysavi.com/
www.studentaid.gov
Today we introduce MSTA's Extended Book Study Series and speak with facilitator and JAG Specialist, Ursulla Wadley about the first book, Fostering Resilient Learners.
Matt Michelson and Todd Fuller talk to Dearld Snider about Senate Bill 75 and 20, critical shortage changes, work after retirement and the COLA.
Find out more about PSRS/PEERS here.
If you have a question or a podcast idea, email Todd here.
We had the opportunity to speak with Allyson Apsey, author of Leading the Whole Teacher: Strategies for Supporting the Educators in Your School. You can find out more about Allyson by visiting her website. You can find out more about Leading the Whole Teacher here.
Today we revisit the 2023. legislative session and talk about what we think the 2024 session may bring. Click here for more information about MSTA's Department of Education Policy.
MSTA Professional Developer, Darbie Valenti Huff joins Todd to discuss current professional learning opportunities as well as future workshops and events.
You can find out more about MSTA's Professional Learning services here.
If you have ideas for professional learning topics or you're interested in presenting for MSTA, you can send an email to professional_learning@msta.org or directly to Darbie at darbieh@msta.org
MSTA sits down with PSRS/PEERS Executive Director, Dearld Snider to discuss the board, the market, retirement trends, and what you can do to prepare for retirement.
https://www.psrs-peers.org/
1-800-392-6848
MSTA's Senior Staff Attorney discusses what educators can and can't do when it comes to school board elections, and statewide elections. In addition, we spend some time discussing the Sunshine Law and how it pertains to district email as well as other methods of district communication.
If you have any questions about either topic please email Todd Fuller.
MSTA Director of Education Policy, Matt Michelson joins Todd Fuller to discuss the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset, otherwise known as WEP/GPO.
Social Security Information concerning WEP/GPO
Social Security Website
Recently, MSTA had the opportunity to interview the Public School & Education Employee Retirement Systems of Missouri Board of Trustees newest member, Katie Webb. Katie is an MSTA leader and teacher from Hannibal. Hear what Katie has to say about getting involved with MSTA and serving as a PSRS/PEERS Trustee.
On MSTA Presents, Todd speaks with MSTA Professional Developer, Darbie Valenti Huff about the February 8, Virtual New Teacher Summit. In addition, Darbie gets us caught up on all of MSTA's upcoming professional learning opportunities.
Virtual New Teacher Summit
February 27 - Understanding Trauma and Challenging Behaviors One Day Event
If you have an idea for a workshop or presentation email us at professional_learning@msta.org.
MSTA Presents speaks with Mick Jackson, President and Dean of Faculty for VESi about MSTA's newest benefit - reasonably priced, online graduate courses. Up to nine credit hours for $200 total. If you have any questions about the benefit, you can email Todd Fuller at tfuller@msta.org.
Go here to learn more.
Todd Fuller is joined by Director of Education Policy, Matt Michelson to discuss the 2023 legislative session as well as MSTA's January 31, Capitol Day. You can find out more information about Capitol Day here.
This is the last in our series of MSTA Convention workshop discussions. Today, Co-Presenters, Jennifer Moore and Ursulla Wadley share insight on their workshop, Challenging Behaviors, Not Challenging Students: Practical Solutions for Teachers. You can attend their presentation Thursday, November 17 at 3:30 - 4:30 or 4:45 - 5:45.
On this episode of MSTA Presents, Mallory McGowin, Chief Communications Officer for Missouri's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, discusses the Blue Ribbon Commission as well as Missouri's certification process for substitute teachers.
More information about Missouri's Blue Ribbon Commission.
If you have a topic for MSTA Presents, you can email Todd here.
Today, MSTA Presents had the opportunity to speak with MSTA Convention presenter, Robyn Haug about her workshop with Co-Presenter, Kimberly Gutchewsky entitled, Word Work That Works.
This week MSTA Presents begins a multipart series focusing on 2022 convention presenters. Our first presenter, Mackenzie Thompson is a teacher at Kelly High School in the Scott County R-IV School District. Mackenzie will be presenting a workshop titled, Setting Students up for Self-Efficacy.
This week MSTA spoke with Tracey Blaue, College and Career RootEd Advisor from Spokane H.S. and Kara Tinklepaugh, RootEd Regional Director about the RootEd program in Missouri and its focus on students in rural locations throughout the state.
Links mentioned in the show:
-
U.S. News and World Report article written by Margie Vandeven, MO Commissioner of Education
-
RootEd Website
We had the chance to talk to Tara Martin, our 2022 Convention Keynote Speaker and Deep Dive Presenter. You can find out more about Tara at her website and make sure to sign up for the Deep Dive here. You won't want to miss this energetic and insightful presentation.
MSTA had the opportunity to talk to MOREnet Project Manager, Andy King about MOREnet's professional learning opportunities, the Missouri High School Cybersecurity Challenge and the recently launched Open Educational Resources Hub.
Other links for topics discussed in the show:
Blog announcement for the OER Hub
Cybersecurity Challenge FAQ
Cybersecurity Challenge Registration
Computer Science Training - more to come after the first of the year
CYBER.org curriculum
CYBER.org PD
Reading Circle Committee members Jenn Baldwin, Brenda Steffens, Lysha Thompson and Kayla Gilmore discuss how Missouri teachers can use the Reading Circle program in their classroom and share some of their new favorite books for the year for everyone from Pre-K to high school.
Today MSTA was fortunate to get the opportunity to interview author and retired classroom teacher, Phillip Done about his new book, The Art of Teaching Children. Mr. Done taught elementary school for thirty-three years and was the recipient of the prestigious Charles Schwab Distinguished Teacher Award, a Teacher of the Year in California, and a nominee for Disney's American Teacher Award. You won't want to miss this conversation.
In this previously recorded webinar, MSTA's Professional Learning Manager, Dr. Deana Layton-Ogden, talks with Shannon Berghoff from Jackson R-2 Schools about the concept of morning meetings and restorative circles. In addition, they discuss how to conduct both activities in the classroom.
For more information, you can read Shannon's May 10 article on the topic here.
We speak with MSTA Professional Learning Manager, Dr. Deana Layton-Ogden and MSTA Digital Strategist, Kara Potter about back to school ideas and tips for teachers at any point in their career. In addition, several MSTA members share their tips for heading back to the classroom.
Msta.org/success-guide
Msta.org/new-teacher
Share your own advice for new teachers:
https://www.videoask.com/ffge5bo0n
Today, Jon Turner joins MSTA Presents. Jon is an Associate Professor in the College of Education at Missouri State University. Jon is a former educator and lifetime member of MSTA. Jon is also well versed in the history behind Missouri's four-day school. We discuss the inception of the four-day week in Missouri, some misconceptions about four-day weeks, and where four-day weeks are now and where they might be headed.
Below is the link discussed in the show as well as Jon's email address and Twitter account.
fourdayweek.us
JonSTurner@MissouriState.edu
Twitter: @JonTurnerEdD
MSTA Senior Staff Attorney, Kyle Farmer joins today's episode of MSTA Presents. Kyle discusses MSTA's legal services for members as well as the value of having access to MSTA attorneys.
Today's guests are MSTA Professional Learning Manager, Dr. Deana Layton and Lee's Summit 5th Grade Teacher and MSTA Leadership Workshop Presenter, Nicole Nowlin. They talk about what to look forward to at the July 18-19 conference as well as specifics about Nicole's workshops. In addition, they discuss the best time to get signed up next year if you aren't able to make it to the conference this year.
This week’s podcast is a replay of one of our 30-minute-webinars from January. Lisa Toebben from Troy R-3 talks about how Action Planning can help you be more productive and make time for the things that are most important to you. This is an interactive webinar, so be prepared to pause as you listen so you can work along. The resources she references are all on our website, and you can find them at msta.org/vibe.
Matt Michelson, MSTA's Director of Education Policy, joins Todd for the first episode of MSTA's reintroduction back into the world of podcasting. They discuss primary candidate endorsements, the 2021-2022 legislative session and DESE's Blue Ribbon Panel.
This is the first episode for Missouri State Teachers Association's newest podcast platform. Look for shows that focus on education news, professional learning, legislative activity and more.