From the latest TikTok trends causing chaos and the increasing push to limit cell phones in middle schools, to continuing rates of chronic absenteeism, Phyllis and Jessica are back and they’re talking all the trends they’re seeing as we head back to school for the 2024-2025 year. They also discuss innovative approaches schools are taking to improve kids’ engagement in school and how to use all the data available to schools to better support school staff and understand root causes. They dig into starting middle school advisory programs off on the right foot, including how to support teachers who are new to or unsure of how to lead an advisory group. Finally, that share how they’re planning to strengthen systems and routine processes as the year gets underway.

Whether or not you've begun to explore the capabilities of AI, your students certainly have. How can educators help students leverage AI to deepen their learning, instead of just using it as a shortcut? Megan Vosk, Joe Pizzo, Dustin Purdy, and Marri Bayour, middle grades educators and members of AMLE's Teacher Leaders Committee, stop by the podcast to talk emerging trends and why AI represents both a practical and philosophical issue teachers can no longer ignore.

What does it mean for a student to have an academic identity? Miriam Plotinsky, author of Writing their Future Selves and Teach More, Hover Less, stops by the podcast to talk how teachers can value kids brains as well as their identities as people. Phyllis, Jessica, and Miriam dig into a range of topics, including how to celebrate mistakes as pathways to learning, how to help students break down stereotypes about themselves, the best professional development for teachers, and why being afraid of AI is not a good strategy.