Your Podcast Hosts Angela and Davey discuss Dr. Howie Knoff's most recent Project ACHIEVE Blog as the final part of a five-part series, aiming to assemble "the school success puzzle.” This comprehensive series emphasizes that truly effective schools evaluate, strategically plan for, and attend to five interdependent components: Quality Instruction, Discipline and Classroom Management, Multi-tiered Services and Supports, Staff Cohesion and Collaboration, and School Climate and Student Engagement....
Aug 09, 2025•20 min•Season 3Ep. 15
In the newest podcast, co-hosts Angela Jones and Davey Johnson discuss the seven characteristics of staff cohesion and collaboration. Drawing on the themes from Dr. Howie Knoff’s latest blog and research within Project ACHIEVE Educational Solutions, the episode dives deep into why staff cohesion isn’t just a feel-good concept—it’s a fundamental driver of student success and school improvement. With a nod to General Colin Powell’s philosophy that “Leadership is all about people,” the conversation...
Jul 26, 2025•20 min•Season 3Ep. 14
Your Podcast Hosts Angela and Davey discuss Dr. Howie Knoff's most recent Project ACHIEVE Blog on how to analyze the effectiveness of a district, school, or educational setting’s MTSS system. The Podcast first summarizes the organizational characteristics of an effective MTSS system identified by Dr. Knoff: System-Wide Principles and Practices, Collaborative Leadership, Time, and Consistent, System-Wide Procedures. It then provides eight questions so that Educational Leaders (a) can evaluate the...
Jul 12, 2025•20 min•Season 3Ep. 13
Your Podcast Hosts Angela and Davey discuss Dr. Howie Knoff's most recent Blog from Project ACHIEVE Educational Solutions. The Blog discusses the ongoing issues with student behavior and classroom management in schools since the pandemic, highlighting a significant increase in discipline referrals. The Blog emphasizes that student behavior is not improving, citing an Education Week survey where 72% of educators reported increased misbehavior. Angela and Davey discuss how Knoff asserts that blami...
Jun 28, 2025•28 min•Season 3Ep. 12
Podcast Hosts Angela and Davey discuss Dr. Howie Knoff's most recent Blog from Project ACHIEVE Educational Solutions. The Blog and Podcast focus on the importance of strategic summer planning to drive school improvement during the coming new school year. They begin by contrasting two low-performing middle schools in the same school district that approached their time during the summer in significantly different ways. One middle school’s Leadership Team used the summer time to conduct in-depth an...
Jun 08, 2025•34 min•Season 3Ep. 11
Your Podcast Hosts Angela and Davey discuss Dr. Howie Knoff's most recent Blog (Part III of a comprehensive Series) from Project ACHIEVE Educational Solutions. It begins by highlighting how important it is for school personnel to understand students who present with seizures—initially, through the lens of a recent Supreme Court case involving a student with severe epilepsy and the accommodations she was denied. This Podcast (and the Blog) proceeds with a discussion of a number of the most-common...
May 17, 2025•48 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Your Podcast Hosts Angela and Davey discuss Dr. Howie Knoff's most recent Blog (Part II of a comprehensive Series) from Project ACHIEVE Educational Solutions. This Podcast(and the Blog) explains the difference between common headaches and migraines, highlighting how migraines are a distinct neurological condition with more severe and complex symptoms. They then describe the significant academic, social, and emotional challenges students face due to migraines, including cognitive difficulties and...
May 03, 2025•20 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Your Podcast Hosts Angela and Davey discuss Dr. Howie Knoff's most recent Blog from Project ACHIEVE Educational Solutions. This Podcast (and the Blog) emphasizes the crucial connection between students' sensory and neurological functions and their educational experiences. As a school psychologist, Dr. Knoff asserts that educators must understand the biological underpinnings of how vision, hearing, and respiratory/nasal health impact learning and socialization. . . and how they may contribute to ...
Apr 19, 2025•20 min•Season 3Ep. 8
In this new Podcast, Angela and Davey address the concerning trend of declining independence and engagement among middle and high school students since the pandemic. Using Dr. Howie Knoff’s concurrently-released Blog, they discuss five essential "meta-skill" sets that are the foundation to students’ academic success. These Skill Sets focus on: Goal-Setting and Active Learning, Time Management and Study Skills, Interpersonal and Collaborative Learning Skills, Stress Management and Emotional Self-...
Apr 05, 2025•25 min•Season 3Ep. 7
In this newest podcast, hosts Davey Johnson and Angela Jones discuss Dr. Howie Knoff's recent Blog that addresses the significant shifts in education policy under the Trump administration over its first two months in office. These changes include staff reductions and reallocations at the U.S. Department of Education, and relate to school choice prioritization, alterations to DEI and civil rights enforcement, the cancellation of many grants nationwide to states, universities, and school districts...
Mar 23, 2025•24 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Hosts Davey Johnson and Angela Jones discuss Dr. Howie Knoff's March 8th Blog post that uses the "Peanuts" comic strip saga of Lucy pulling away the football from Charlie Brown to illustrate the current political climate's impact on education. Knoff argues that the Trump administration is employing"Ready-Fire-Aim" tactics, particularly concerning DEI initiatives, creating fear and confusion. This approach is leading some schools and districts to make hasty policy changes based on fears that they...
Mar 08, 2025•14 min•Season 3Ep. 5
In this newest “Improving Education Today: The Deep Dive” podcast, hosts Davey Johnson and Angela Jones discuss Dr. Howie Knoff's recent Blog post focusing on the importance of the recently-updated Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to better align it with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Blog highlights how Section 504 protects individualsfrom discrimination based on disability, emphasizing that disabilities often arise from chance events. Hence, anyone could potentially need...
Feb 22, 2025•13 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Angela and Davey discuss a new Blog by Dr. Howie Knoff about the impact of various external political and internal classroom distractions on education, and how they undermine good instruction and student learning. They review recent studies showing that students proficient in reading and math in eighth grade, and who takeadvanced courses in high school are better employed and more financially secured in their later lives. They then reference the dreadful recent NAEP reading and math results, and...
Feb 08, 2025•19 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Angela and Davey describe a recent nationally-representative Education Week Research Center survey of educators across the country that found that student discipline and classroom management continues to get worse post-pandemic. They then assert, using Dr. Howie Knoff's recent Blog, that students are not going to fix themselves, that there truly are no quick fixes, and that everyone in an affected school—especially teachers and administrators—needs to be part of the problem analysis and strategi...
Jan 25, 2025•19 min•Season 3Ep. 2
In the first Podcast of the new year and new volume (2025; Volume 3), Davey and Angela summarize the January 11, 2025 blog by Dr. Howie Knoff. He reminds educators that--even though the current school year is half over, NEXT year's activities and budget are already being prepared. In this context, as Students with Disabilities (SWD) comprise 14% of the entire student population in the average district, it is important to determine the staffing, resources, and funding that these students need nex...
Jan 11, 2025•18 min•Season 3Ep. 1
In this podcast, Davey Johnson and Angela Jones analyze Dr. Howie's end-of-year Blog that revisited the 24 blogs he published in 2024. Listen to Davey and Angela as they discuss how the Blog's four themes were critical to the "state of education" this past year, and how education needs to address them in the new year relative to student, staff, school, and systems-level improvement and success.
Jan 01, 2025•22 min•Season 2Ep. 24
Davey and Angela use the 20th anniversary of the signing of the last reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004), and the coming second Trump administration to analyze, critique, and make recommendations on how to improve special education services in our country’s K-12 schools. Using the December 7, 2024 blog post by Dr. Howie Knoff, your Hosts critique the state of special education in the United States. They highlight the persistent problems that continue to...
Dec 07, 2024•19 min•Season 2Ep. 23
Davey and Angela discuss the fact that many districts or schools are budget-restricted and/or have a current curriculum or program that is not working, and they are looking for a change. Using Dr. Howie Knoff's November 23, 2024 blog post as a guide, they suggest the need for school leaders in these situations to--first--apply a "Moneyball" approach to the school improvement needs. Using the movie “Moneyball” as a metaphor, they suggest that many districts and schools are locked into antiquated ...
Nov 23, 2024•17 min•Season 2Ep. 22
Angela and Davey do a "Deep Dive" discussing shared leadership in schools, and how to avoid staff resentment when they are asked to participate on committees and in school improvement decisions. Based on Dr. Howie Knoff's November 9, 2024 blog post, your Hosts outline a shared leadership school model that involves seven components--each supported by six school-level committees--all to improve student, staff, and school outcomes. A key to this model is the effective delegation of duties and decis...
Nov 09, 2024•23 min•Season 2Ep. 21
Angela and Davey discuss the importance of the speed of implementation when change processes in districts or schools. Using a blog message posted on October 19, 2024 by Dr. Howie Knoff, your Hosts emphasize that the optimal speed of implementing school reforms depends on a number of factors. They contrast last year's rapid, systemic overhaul led by Superintendent Mike Miles in the Houston Independent School District with the more gradual change approaches typical in less dysfunctional or stresse...
Oct 20, 2024•17 min•Season 2Ep. 20
Angela and Davey discuss the often-present "wall" between general education teachers and special education teachers, and how this impacts students with disabilities. . . who are often more general education students than those with dramatic special needs. Based on an October 5, 2024 blog post by Dr. Howie Knoff, your Hosts address the long-standing conflict between general and special education in schools, likening it to a "Cold War." Five key barriers between the two groups of colleagues are di...
Oct 05, 2024•23 min•Season 2Ep. 19
Davey and Angela discuss the current state of students' mental health across the country, and the challenges that schools face relative to addressing these students' social-emotional needs. Based on a September 21, 2024 Blog by Dr. Howie Knoff, your hosts discuss (a) the characteristics and concerns with social-emotional screening tools; (b) the use of the ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences (screening tool in particular; and (c) the importance of understanding the results social-emotional scree...
Sep 21, 2024•32 min•Season 2Ep. 18
Davey and Angela examine the detrimental effects of adopting ineffective educational fads and programs on school staff and relative to student outcomes. Based on the September 7, 2024 blog by Dr. Howie Knoff, they note how many schools do not sufficiently evaluate new programs or interventions before purchasing and/or implementing them. They especially highlight the lack of rigorous methodology and the resulting negative impact on teacher morale and student outcomes. Your Hosts emphasize the imp...
Sep 07, 2024•15 min•Season 2Ep. 17
Angela and Davey address the alarming mental health and social-emotional challenges facing U.S. students, citing a CDC report showing significant increases in sadness, hopelessness, violence, and bullying. Building from Dr. Howie Knoff's August 24, 2024 blog, they advocate for a comprehensive, evidence-based social skills program, implemented from preschool through high school, as a foundational element for addressing these issues. Your Hosts discuss why applications using cognitive-behavioral a...
Aug 24, 2024•16 min•Season 2Ep. 16
Davey and Angela compare the success of the U.S. Women's 2024 gold-winning Olympic Gymnastics team to what schools need to do to attain comprehensive levels of school success. Using Dr. Howie Knoff's August 10, 2024 blog as a jumping off point, your Hosts emphasize that creating a "winning" school requires teamwork, coordination between staff, and a focus on student well-being. They additional note that successful schools maintain high-quality instruction at every grade level, seamless transitio...
Aug 10, 2024•13 min•Season 2Ep. 15
Angela and Davey discuss one of the most concerning topics in education today: Students' school and classroom behavior and interpersonal interactions. Anchored by Dr. Howie Knoff's July 27, 2024 blog, our Hosts analyze a National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) survey revealing widespread student behavioral issues in U.S. schools, including lack of focus, classroom disruptions, disrespect, bullying, and substance abuse. Angela and Davey caution that many schools are implementing ineffecti...
Jul 27, 2024•37 min•Season 2Ep. 14
Davey and Angela discuss school improvement, and the "Seven Sure Solutions". . . the evidenced-based components. . . that have been proven to facilitate school success in schools across the country. Guided by Dr. Howie Knoff's July 13, 2024 blog post, your Hosts critique the narrow definition of school success that is solely based on standardized test scores. In doing this, they highlight the significant number of students that are still struggling academically, socially, emotionally, and behavi...
Jul 14, 2024•35 min•Season 2Ep. 13
Davey and Angela take on the topic of teaching students social skills in school and how to do this. They do this by critically reviewing the June 22, 2024 blog post by Dr. Howie Knoff. Dr. Howie advocates for a behavioral approach to teaching social skills in schools, particularly to pre-K through 3rd-grade students. Your Hosts echo Dr. Howie noting that current social-emotional learning (SEL) programs often lack the necessary behavioral instruction and practice to produce lasting change. They e...
Jun 23, 2024•24 min•Season 2Ep. 12
In today's Program, Angela and Davey summarizes a June 8, 2024 Blog post by Dr. Howie Knoff explaining Title IX's requirements regarding sexual harassment in schools. They highlight the frequent lack of awareness among school officials regarding Title IX's specific procedures and responsibilities--even though it is Federal law. Their discussion details Title IX's definitions of key terms, such as sexual harassment and formal complaint, and they outline the required steps for handling Title IX Se...
Jun 09, 2024•21 min•Season 2Ep. 11
Angela and Davey tackle the challenging topic of increasing student engagement. Using Dr. Howie Knoff's May 25, 2024 Blog message as a guide, they advocate for proactive measures to address student disengagement. They also emphasize the importance of planning interventions well in advance of the new school year, beginning even the prior April and May. They discuss Dr. Howie's suggestions for a multi-faceted approach to improving student engagement, including defining specific disengagement behav...
May 26, 2024•21 min•Season 2Ep. 10
