"We need to ensure staffing needs are met, we need to look at master schedules, and we're going to go hand-by-hand through all of our student's schedules to make sure things are right. In order to get all of that done and still give our staff a winter break, we need time to get that accomplished." - Kelly Ott, Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Innovation The deadline is quickly approaching for families and students to change their learning mode selection for second semester. In this episod...
Nov 11, 2020•10 min•Season 3Ep. 4
"We don't need to be perfect. Every moment isn't going to be Instagram-able. What is it that we can do so that when our head hits the pillow at the end of the day, we as parents can say 'Hey - that was hard, but we did it.' " - Tracy Foster, Co-Founder of START In this episode of BV unmuted, Superintendent Dr. Tonya Merrigan invites our District Coordinator of Student Support Services Tara Walrod, along with START co-founders Krista Boan and Tracy Foster, to talk about helping our kids manage th...
Oct 29, 2020•19 min•Season 3Ep. 3
"Trust your gut. We are facing so many changes and there are so many different ways that our kids are under stress. If you, as a parent, just have that sense that something doesn't feel quite right, please reach out to us." - Karen Mulligan, Social Worker Manager The challenges of this upcoming school year are unprecedented - and while that may feel like an understatement, it is simply accurate. In this episode of BV Unmuted, Superintendent Dr. Tonya Merrigan visits with District Coordinator of ...
Sep 04, 2020•18 min•Season 3Ep. 2
"This is a pandemic. I've never been a superintendent before, but I've certainly never been a superintendent in a pandemic. I've never been an educator in a pandemic. It's going to take all of us - working together - to ensure that we have a safe, sound and sincere quality of education for our Blue Valley students." - Dr. Tonya Merrigan, Blue Valley Schools Superintendent In our inaugural episode of BV unmuted , Superintendent Dr. Tonya Merrigan joins a team of Blue Valley educators on the front...
Jul 31, 2020•28 min•Season 3Ep. 1
"If we're going to be ready for students in August, we need to get back to some semblance of normal - but the new normal is going to look very different." - Dr. Tonya Merrigan, Incoming Superintendent For our team here at Blue Valley Schools, it feels like a lifetime since we shared our last podcast with you and, in some ways, it has been. Some things will be the same after the COVID-19 pandemic passes and some things will change. But one thing that will never waver is our commitment to the heal...
May 19, 2020•38 min•Season 2Ep. 13
"I have parents tell me that their children are coming home and teaching them about what is happening in the classroom... the parents can see the progress the children are making and that we are establishing a love of reading for them." - Alaina Talley, reading specialist at Heartland Elementary In this episode of Toddcast², we continue our conversation about literacy in the classroom. Reading specialist Alaina Talley and second grade teacher Julie McInerney share their strategies for supporting...
Mar 12, 2020•16 min•Season 2Ep. 12
"Students leaving our system, prepared for the world in which they will live and be citizens, is largely based on being literate - being able to read and meet the demands of whatever the future holds for them." - Jennifer Luzenske, Director of Curriculum and Instruction From the building blocks of reading and writing, to the integration of content and discipline, literacy is at the heart of learning. In this episode of Toddcast², Superintendent Dr. Todd White visits with Director of Curriculum a...
Feb 27, 2020•16 min•Season 2Ep. 11
"The careers that are available to students who have an associates degree have doubled over the last several years. At the same time, in the last 20 years, the cost of going to college has risen at a rate that is 19 times higher than the annual family living wage." - Katie Bonnema, Director of Career-Ready Programs. Blue Valley strives to provide learners with the knowledge and skills they need to be prepared for college and careers. In this latest episode of Toddcast², Superintendent Dr. Todd W...
Jan 13, 2020•19 min•Season 2Ep. 10
"When we think about reimagining our spaces, we first and foremost think about what it means to be a student this day and age in Blue Valley. We often say that we're preparing our students for their tomorrows, not our yesterdays."- Katie Collier, Chief Learning Officer With any bond election, it's important to understand how those funds benefit our students, staff and the entire Blue Valley community. In this episode of Toddcast², Superintendent Dr. Todd White visits with Chief Learning Officer ...
Dec 09, 2019•17 min•Season 2Ep. 9
"We'll also be reinvesting in mechanical, plumbing and electrical needs - the things people don't talk about until they need it. You want that stuff to work. We don't want leaky roofs or rooms that are too hot or too cold - that's important and we're going to invest in those things." - Kyle Hayden, Chief Finance and Operations Officer The Blue Valley community will have an opportunity to invest in facilities, safety and technology through an upcoming bond election. In this episode of Toddcast², ...
Nov 25, 2019•25 min•Season 2Ep. 8
"We're up to 16 states that have at least one CAPS program. There's actually a program in Mumbai, India, that launched in August 2019 and is running an entrepreneurship strand of CAPS. It's meant a few nights where I've had to call them at 9pm because it's 8am out there, but it's working really well." - Corey Mohn, CAPS Executive Director As our Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) celebrates it's 10 year anniversary, Superintendent Dr. Todd White sits down with their Executive Direct...
Nov 11, 2019•28 min•Season 2Ep. 7
"On a snow day, why do we sometimes allow the kids to come in during the afternoon for activities? The basic reason is sometimes those weather conditions that prevented us from being able to go to school in the morning no longer exist in the afternoon and evening." - Lane Green, Director of School Administration We're talking activities and inclement weather on this episode of Toddcast². Superintendent Dr. Todd White and Director of School Administration Lane Green answer your questions about ho...
Oct 28, 2019•16 min•Season 2Ep. 6
"With a lot of our employees coming from outside the Johnson County area, it's always a concern for us on mornings where there might be some slick spots. Even if it might not be so slick here in the metro area, getting those support staff to work safely is always a big concern for us." - Dr. Mike Slagle, Deputy Superintendent Winter is almost here, and with it comes winter weather. In this episode of Toddcast², Superintendent Dr. Todd White talks with Deputy Superintendent Dr. Mike Slagle about ...
Oct 14, 2019•16 min•Season 2Ep. 5
"Both our students and families will be able to see how a student is doing on a specific standard... so instead of just looking at writing, we can talk about how is your student doing with organizing their thoughts, developing a main idea, or even the basic conventions such as capital letters, periods and commas. We feel this will help our students and families know what is going really well, as well as the areas where we continue to practice, work and learn." - Jennifer Luzenske, Director of Cu...
Sep 30, 2019•17 min•Season 2Ep. 4
"One thing I learned is some students aren't even exhaling the vape cloud any more - they're calling it 'zeroing' it. They swallow the vapor so there's no trace of it. The dangers of that in itself is just astounding to me." - David Stubblefield, Executive Director of Administration - High School We continue the conversation around the battle against vaping in this episode of Toddcast². Blue Valley Schools Superintendent Dr. Todd White discusses the district's efforts with Executive Director of ...
Sep 23, 2019•28 min•Season 2Ep. 3
"No matter how good our school district gets, there will always be some issues to deal with and it's something that we - as a community - can work to perfect. We can make every single child feel that they have a home within their school." - Rabiya Shoaib, student at Blue Valley Southwest. Continuing our discussion on the strategic planning process, Dr. White visited with BVSW sophomore Rabiya Shoaib to get a student's perspective on not just where the school district is performing well, but also...
Sep 09, 2019•23 min•Season 2Ep. 2
"We already have a strategic plan and it's called 'Vision 2020.' Guess what? It's 2020 next year! So it's time for us to take a fresh look at our future and what we want to do here at Blue Valley." - Dr. Tonya Merrigan, Incoming Superintendent In our season premier of Toddcast², we talk about our journey to reimagine learning and change the world with the help of our entire Blue Valley community. This strategic planning process will ensure that our energies and resources are being invested in th...
Aug 26, 2019•16 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Thank you!!! Yes - you - reading this right now. Because of you, our inaugural season of the Blue Valley Schools podcast was a huge success. While discussing topics that ranged from screen time to student safety - from virtual learning to vaping - we have engaged with our community in a way that we've never done before. In our Toddcast² season finale, we take a look back at these topics, as well as a look forward at things to come. Superintendent Dr. Todd White sits down with our Executive Direc...
May 20, 2019•31 min•Season 1Ep. 9
"I know that this is a gift... there are not many people who get an opportunity to work along side someone for a whole year knowing that you'll eventually take that position over... I absolutely cherish and appreciate that." - Dr. Tonya Merrigan, Incoming Blue Valley Superintendent In Dr. Merrigan's words, she bleeds Blue Valley blue. Since joining the district in 1999, Tonya has served in many different capacities, from school counselor to Deputy Superintendent. Soon, in the 2020-21 school year...
May 06, 2019•20 min•Season 1Ep. 8
"It's so easy to use that toddlers can pick it up. You may have an older child in your house who is using a vape device. Perhaps a younger kid, five or six years old, finds it in a drawer. We've seen an astronomical increase through poison centers and emergency rooms across the United States of nicotine overdoses in children of the age seven and under." - Dr. Chris Jenson, medical doctor and BVSW science teacher You may have heard how prevalent vaping is amongst our children. You may have heard ...
Apr 22, 2019•38 min•Season 1Ep. 7
“We need to open up and work on those relationships between adults and students in the building, so that students will come to us when they’re feeling bad… whatever it might be, that they have someone they can go to who they trust in the building.” - Dan Carney, Executive Director of Safety and Security Blue Valley Schools is committed to promoting and fostering a safe environment in and around all of our schools. In our sixth episode of Toddcast², we speak with Executive Director of Safety and ...
Apr 08, 2019•35 min•Season 1Ep. 6
We have a special third episode in our series on mental health. In this podcast, Superintendent Dr. Todd White is invited to join the BV Father’s Club as they discuss how to promote mental health awareness in our schools and the community. We’ll hear from club co-founder Brad Holdhusen and Netsmart COO Tom Herzog, along with Blue Valley High students Lauren Huck and Colin Wood.
Mar 25, 2019•33 min•Season 1Ep. 5
"Open the dialogue - not just in school, but with families too. It's important that moms and dads have the same discussion with their kids (about mental health.) It needs to be open to where kids can tell their families what's wrong." - Rory Swenson, student at Blue Valley North. Our fourth episode of Toddcast² continues the conversation on mental health and suicide prevention. Our guest Rory Swenson, a junior at Blue Valley North High School, talks with host Dr. Todd White, Blue Valley Schools ...
Mar 11, 2019•23 min•Season 1Ep. 4
“The worst thing we can do is not talk about it. When we do funerals at the church when there’s a suicide, I always ask the parents ‘Would you please let me talk about this? Can we be honest with the kids? You’re going to have a thousand kids at this funeral and I promise you there’s 50 of them thinking about the same thing. If we don’t talk about it, they’re going to keep thinking about it. Help me make a case for them for why there is hope. Let’s bring something good out of this tragedy.’” - A...
Feb 25, 2019•27 min•Season 1Ep. 3
"We're trying to blend the old world and new world while making sure we don't lose that human piece of learning... the 'I'm still the teacher here to build relationships with my kids.'" - Diana Tate, ABM Principal. In episode two of "Toddcast²", we continue our discussion on blended learning with Aubry Bend Middle School principal Diana Tate. Diana chats with Blue Valley Schools Superintendent Dr. Todd White about how blended learning looks in the classroom, as well as the advantages and obstacl...
Feb 11, 2019•20 min•Season 1Ep. 2
"Blended learning is not all about technology - it's all about learning and students. It's about using the tools when they're needed and putting the tools away when they're not needed." - Brad Moser, Director of Blended Learning In our inaugural episode of Toddcast² , Superintendent Dr. Todd White chats with Brad Moser, our Director of Blended Learning. The conversation includes an explanation of blended learning, how it enhances the learning of our students and staff, and what we're doing to k...
Jan 17, 2019•23 min•Season 1Ep. 1
