College & Career Readiness Radio

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Dr. Christopher Nesmith.

The episode starts with a conversation about trust between schools and industry partners, and Dr. Nesmith is candid about the need for schools to understand what the partner needs and not just what the school (and students) can get from a partner. This was a reminder of our episode with Kristy Volesky.

Chris says that the best case scenario is when the schools and the industry partners are united on a clear and common vision for what they’re seeking to ac...

The guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Dr. Matthew Woods.

Dr. Woods starts by telling the audience about his children’s book series, which is dedicated to helping K-5 students understand and explore careers that they might not otherwise learn about.

Not only did he want students to see a representation of different careers, he wanted them to see representations of themselves in the characters.

Don’t miss his line of thinking around how he designed each book to be able to help students uncover the language regarding careers and...

The guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Dr. Tyler Love from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

The show starts with Tyler explaining the pathways for non-traditional teachers, including CTE teachers, to become certified to teach. He describes the types of courses that CTE teachers take in the State of Maryland.

Tyler talks about the value of a state wide program that supports CTE teachers so that they can learn from one another regarding the different initiatives across the state rather than just in the districts local to them.

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Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Kristy Volesky.

Kristy starts by defining work-based learning and explaining why other definitions might be too broad, limiting the outcomes of a specific WBL experience.

Don’t miss what she says about the “before, during, and after” of WBL that educators and business partners should be clear about to prepare students for the experience.

She says that we ought to implement WBL in elementary schools, and she gives some detailed examples of how to do that.

Project-based learning in schools is a g...

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Sylvester Chisom.

Sylvester says that experiential learning is the future of career and technical education.

He tells listeners that interest assessments are critical to help students think about career options, and using assessments and other exploration tools should start in elementary school.

Sylvester brings up the concept of skills-based hiring, and schools can train and verify students in skills that they can use in their career path. The answer is not the grading system but rather a portfolio of work and competency-based...

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Don Wettrick.

Don starts the show by giving credit to Dan Pink, who was one of the pioneers of the motivation movement–exploring what motivates people to learn new things.

He explains the 20% theory in terms of giving students time to work on things that they care about that might not necessarily be aligned to a school-based unit of study.

Don’t miss what he says about school getting in the way of learning and the difference between how C and D stud...

Our guests for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl.

Alli starts by talking about what it means to disrupt education, which she says is all about how to reach learners in the 21st century.

Peter says that innovative schools are changing the narrative of what schools are and what they can provide for students.

Don’t miss what Alli says about the work-based learning program that Jason Van Nus runs in Georgia.

Peter says that “durable skills” should be taught “K through gray.”

Alli tel...

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness is Jeannie Burlowski.

Jeannie starts off the episode with her passion for getting students through college without debt. She has been an academic strategist for the last 25 years.

Don’t miss what she says about her clients who have $180K worth of debt with time left in school.

Her advice for students and families is priceless–helping students to avoid loan debt.

She tells listeners that a lot of what students are told about college is simply a lie.

Jeannie says...

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Cyekeia Lee.

Cyekeia starts by explaining the work she does in 58 high schools with the Detroit College Access Network (DCAN). She wants to ensure that “despite zip codes, students get what they need.”

DCAN does professional learning with school counselors so that they’re aware of opportunities for access to college and universities for their students.

Cyekeia emphasizes the fact that school counselors are often pressed for time and their focus is not always on college and career readiness, which is why DCAN i...

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness is Adam Welcome.

Adam starts with the fact that technology is ubiquitous and every profession from a mechanic to a medical doctor uses it. That’s why it’s so important to learn by using technology tools in school.

He tells listeners that technology use in schools has to be effective because it’s typically not effective in the home.

He says that school leaders need to rethink how they run their school and the types of technological advancements that are available to students at lea...

Our guest for this podcast episode is Bill DeBaun from NCAN.

Bill starts by telling us about the work of the National College Attainment Network (NCAN), including the conference in 2025.

Bill says that districts and states can use frameworks of success to ensure that students are reaching their postsecondary goals.

We must treat college and career exploration as a subject matter like any other subject in schools, including exploration, lesson plans, and curriculum resources, so that every student has equal access to the knowledge and experiences they need for postsecondary planning.

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Our Guest for this episode is Dr. Jennifer Winward from Winward Academy.

Jennifer starts with her number one tip for parents and students as they prepare for postsecondary success, which is to embrace mistakes. The best way to learn how to learn is to be open to learning from your mistakes.

Jennifer discusses the benefits of skill formation, including the durable skills that were featured in Episode One of College & Career Readiness Radio.

Don’t miss what she says about the risks associated with college scholarships.

Jennifer provides guidance on exactly ho...

Our guests for this episode are Dr. Sharon Pepukayi, Superintendent of Talbot County Public Schools (TCPS) in Maryland, and Robin Werner, Director of Teaching and Learning in TCPS.

Robin tells us about a career counseling initiative in Maryland and Talbot’s unique response.

The Talbot plan for career counseling is innovative and inspiring; listeners who are interested in implementing a career counseling model in 6-12 schools will enjoy this conversation.

Sharon provides a big picture vision of student achievement as it relates to their career counseling initiative.

Pay close attention to th...

Our guest for this podcast episode is Mitch Weathers.

Executive functioning skills are the transferable durable skills that students need to be successful in school and life, including organizational habits, time management, goal setting, self-regulation, and more.

The two main reasons that schools leave these skills to chance is time and know-how. Especially in secondary schools, the focus is on content and not necessarily the skills to access the content. Mitch is on a mission to change that so that kids are better prepared for college, career, and life in general.

Mitch talks...