Leading Voices Podcast

Phonics is key to developing literacy, but the practice of reading isn’t just about getting the words right; it’s about making meaning with and from texts. How can elementary schools teach children foundational skills while making literacy feel more meaningful for and useful to students? 

In this episode of Leading Voices, literacy expert Misty Sailors discusses how school leader...

In recent years, more schools have expanded healthcare, offering everything from vaccines to mental health support. But many schools launched these services with one-time funding, like COVID relief dollars, and are now asking, “How do we sustain school-based healthcare?”

In this episode of Leading Voices, Lisa Eisenberg, Child & Youth Health Financing Project Director at WestEd, unpacks the complex intersection...

In 2023, 540,000 infants and toddlers with developmental delays and disabilities received early intervention services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Part C, but significant gaps remain. Only half of the children referred to early intervention services ultimately enroll, and fewer than one in four children eligible for services under IDEA Part C actually access services.

In this episode of the Leading Voices ...

Although opioid overdose deaths have recently declined, tens of thousands of families still lose loved ones to the epidemic each year. Overcoming the epidemic requires a comprehensive approach that spans education and prevention, treatment and recovery, justice reform, cross-sector collaboration, and supportive policies. How can communities integrate these areas effectively to save lives and support long-term recovery? 

In th...

Education and job training can lead to good jobs and living wages; but for many adult learners, that path to greater prosperity is anything but straightforward. Structural barriers, disconnected systems, and outdated models often make it difficult for individuals to gain the skills and credentials they need to advance their careers. How can we modernize education and workforce systems and create opportunities for all learners?

In ...

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an effective framework for creating flexible learning environments by designing learning experiences that give students choices in how they learn, what materials they use, and how they show their understanding. But can this framework be applied beyond the classroom as an engaging and innovative approach to solving enduring challenges within systems?

WestEd’s UDL Lab and "UDL Jams”...

Placement into accelerated mathematics courses can open doors for students, paving the way toward advanced high school coursework, college readiness, and future career opportunities. But ensuring students are placed accurately requires a rigorous, evidence-based approach. 

In this episode of the Leading Voices podcast, host Danny Torres talks with Scott Firkins, Director of Assessment Content at WestEd, and leaders from the P...

Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) have expanded across the United States in recent years. These accounts provide state education funds, originally allocated for students to attend public school, to be redirected to families to use for educational services of their choice.

These programs enable parents to use these funds for a wide range of educational services, such as private school tuition, tutoring, distance learning options, an...

How can district and state leaders identify signs of school distress long before they are designated as in need of improvement by state accountability systems?

In 2020, WestEd partnered with the National Charter School Resource Center (NCSRC) to develop and conduct a portfolio of  research (listed below) that identified signs of early distress in schools, or "indicators of distress," and described an approach to support school...

Gun violence impacts families, first responders, and communities in profound and lasting ways. In 2023, more than 18,000 persons died by homicide in the United States. And on June 26th, 2024, the U.S. Surgeon General declared gun violence a public health crisis. 

In this episode of the Leading Voices podcast, host Danny Torres talks with experts from WestEd’s Justice and Prevention Team and developers of the Vi...

Early childhood practitioners face various challenges in the field, including staffing shortages, lack of funding for programs and professional development, and insufficient cultural representation in the workforce.

In this episode of the Leading Voices podcast, host Grace Westermann talks with Monica Mathur-Kalluri, Project Director within WestEd’s Early Childhood Intervention, Mental Health, and Inclusion team. As a Project...

In this episode of the Leading Voices podcast, host Danny Torres talks with Angela McGuire, Project Director within WestEd’s Early Childhood Intervention, Mental Health, and Inclusion team under Early Childhood Development and Learning. Angela leads the Comprehensive Early Intervention Technical Assistance Network (CEITAN), which has supported the professional growth of early childhood intervention professionals for more than...

With national literacy scores in decline and with the loss of instruction time during the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for effective literacy professional learning for teachers and engaging students equitably is more important than ever. For over 25 years, Reading Apprenticeship at WestEd has improved teaching practice and helped thousands of students achieve high levels of academic literacy across multiple disciplines.

In this epis...

States are working to build and modernize integrated data systems to help public agencies better understand and respond to the needs of students, families, and communities, which is critical in the post COVID-19 era. To integrate data from across sectors effectively, states need to consider many legal and technical challenges as well as data privacy concerns and system security.

In this episode, host Danny Torres talks with Baron R...

Teachers are leaving the educator workforce at alarming rates, and the trend has intensified in recent years. Why are teachers leaving and what are some ways state education leaders can help districts retain them and attract new teachers?

In this episode, host Marley Arechiga talks with Caitlin Beatson, Deputy Director of the Region 2 Comprehensive Center at WestEd, and Kate Wright, Director of the Region 15 Comprehensive Center, a...

In this episode, Danny Torres talks with WestEd’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Jannelle Kubinec, and former CEO Glen Harvey, who stepped down in 2023 after 26 years at the helm.

Jannelle Kubinec brings over 24 years of experience transforming outcomes for children, youth, and their families through research, policy, and technical assistance. Her insights on WestEd’s whole-person approach and her steadfast commitme...

In this episode, Danny Torres talks with Dr. Katie Drummond, Director of the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Northwest, and Dr. John Rice, Director of the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) West.

Their conversation covers a range of topics, including:

• Addressing effects of the pandemic in the REL West and REL Northwest regions
• Partnering with community-based organizations and state and local education agencies
• Adv...

Many schools are working to better support students’ physiological, social, and emotional growth in addition to their cognitive development as a part of their school improvement efforts. Moreover, students are playing a key role in helping education leaders develop and implement new policies and practices.

In this episode, Danny Torres (host) and Grace Westermann (co-host) talk with Rebeca Cerna, Director for the California C...

“We've essentially created a blueprint for these state education agencies to get a sense of how they could improve their data systems, how they could think through changing or modifying their current accountability frameworks, and how by identifying particular student groups who have been historically underserved and getting a better sense of their experiences and their outcomes in schools, all those things can really team to...