Leaders AdvantEDGE

OAESA's podcast giving Ohio’s school leaders the advantEDGE they need for success by bringing them the most up-to-date resources, information, and connections to enable them to be great building leaders. Our goal is to bring you a mix of quick, engaging conversations and some longer, 30-minute episodes—many featuring principals and school leaders who are excited about something meaningful happening in their buildings and eager to share what’s working. Our rotating hosts will bring you honest, practical conversations with exemplary leaders from across the state. These episodes are built for your commute and designed to spark ideas, inspiration, and momentum you can take straight back to your school.

The Midas Touch 03/24/2026

The Midas Touch Joy O'Brien's conversation with Maddux Elementary's head custodian, Mike Abbinante, dives into the heart of school culture — the people and programs that keep our schools thriving. They share some innovative ways that Mike's leadership in the building has positively impacted their PBIS Program and overall culture in the building. /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/40605920

The Principal as Servant Leader 03/05/2026

The Principal as Servant Leader This On the Road with OAESA episode of Leaders AdvantEDGE, features OAESA President-elect and principal of Maddux Elementary in Forest Hills Schools, Joy O'Brien in conversation with Forest Hills colleague, Dan Hamilton, principal of Sherwood Elementary. Dan shares his passion for servant leadership and the history behind why this is the heart of his core value system. Check out this deep-dive conversation that highlights a key service project that Principal Hamilton spearheaded in his school community. Tune in and be inspired! Connect with Principal Dan Hamilton by email (danhamilton@foresthills.edu) or phone 513-231-7565. /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/40326585

Human Connection Matters: A Conversation with Joe Beckman 01/28/2026

Human Connection Matters: A Conversation with Joe Beckman In this episode, OAESA President-elect Joy O’Brien sits down with author and motivational speaker Joe Beckman for a conversation about reclaiming human connection in schools and in life. Joe shares the “why” behind his work, what it really means to “just look up” amid the daily pressures of school leadership, and how adult connection influences student resilience. Joy and Joe also explore the need to find joy in school leadership—and offer a sneak peek at what attendees can expect from Joe’s keynote at the OAESA summer conference, The Principal Influence: Leading Schools that Thrive. Show notes from this episode: Be sure to get registered to see Joe in person at our conference at: Click to check out the swag that Joy and Joe talked about in the podcast. Join others in wearing of of the t-shirts to the conference and win cool stuff! Off-mic, Joe shared a heartwarming story about a student he connected with who wrote and performed "I Love Your Face" because Joe's presentation meant so much to him! Check it out . Don't miss your chance to make amazing human connections and meet Joe Beckman in person at OAESA's Annual Professional Conference . Many thanks to our corporate partner, Lexia, for generously sponsoring this podcast. /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/39900280

Administrators as Lead Learners 08/29/2024

Administrators as Lead Learners Dr. Nick Neiderhouse, Principal at Rossford Local Schools and Federal Relations Coordinator on the OAESA Board of Directors, hosts fellow OAESA administrators, Lori Green, Colleen Mudore, Julie Gulley, and Bob Buck in a conversation sharing their takeaways from the NAESP United Conference. Tune in to learn about the importance of making your professional learning a priority and the value of connecting with colleagues both across the state and throughout the country. Find all OAESA professional development opportunities on the events page of our website: /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/32714977

Why Embark on the Mentorship Journey 05/02/2024

Why Embark on the Mentorship Journey A principal mentorship program is designed to provide guidance, support, and professional development opportunities to new school administrators. Tune in to learn how OAESA/OASSA’s grant-funded Beginning Administrators Mentorship (BAM) Program, has impacted both mentors and mentees with the addition of the Leadership Immersion Institute for mentors through NAESP. Episode Host: T.J. Ebert, principal at Independence Primary School Guests: Abbey Bolton, principal at Davey Elementary in Kent City Schools; Colleen Mudore, principal at Knollwood Elementary in Sheffield-Sheffield Lake Schools, Adam Dugas, principal at Bellflower Elementary in Mentor Exempted Village School District Show notes: Register for the so you can attend the clinic session led by T.J. Ebert, Abbey Bolton, and Colleen Mudore! Inspired by our mentors’ stories? Click to learn more about becoming a mentor. Know of a new administrator beginning their first or second year? Share with them so they can take part in this grant-funded opportunity. Read the that shares more about Abbey Bolton’s experience. /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/31089563

Making School Safety a Daily Habit 11/30/2023

Making School Safety a Daily Habit In this episode, Dr. Becky Hornberger has a conversation with school safety experts, Dr. Amy Klinger and Amanda Klinger, about their approach to helping schools address the topic of school safety. Tune in to dive deeper into why you should shift from a ‘response’ mindset to a mindset of prevention and learn ways to integrate school safety into your daily building culture. To learn even more, sign up for where today’s guests will present a session and share even more about this important topic. Resources from the conversation: Visit the Educator's School Safety Network Website, Learn more about their training opportunities: Check out the School Safety Free Period podcast: /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/28872223

The Science Behind Personalized Ed-Tech School Solutions 08/02/2023

The Science Behind Personalized Ed-Tech School Solutions With so many ed-tech options available, this episode focuses on the importance of evaluating the efficacy of these digital resources. Dr. Becky Hornberger’s conversation with Hee Jin Bang, VP of Efficacy, Research, and Evaluation at Age of Learning—OAESA’s newest corporate partner— and Carmen Alvarez, Early Childhood director at Harlingen Consolidated Independent SD in Texas shares details about an opportunity for Ohio educators to take part in a research study evaluating Age of Learning’s unique resources My Reading Academy and My Math Academy. Episode Resources: on My Math Academy and My Reading Academy Informational flyer with link to Informational flyer with link to /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/27639837

Use Your Gifts 05/25/2023

Use Your Gifts As the school year draws to a close, we hope you are as excited as we are for our upcoming Annual Professional Conference, . To share in this excitement, Dr. Becky Hornberger sits down with current OAESA Board President and opening keynote speaker for our summer conference, Carrie Sanchez. In this conversation, Carrie shares insights on her leadership journey, the importance of being involved with your professional associations, and key takeaways from her upcoming keynote at this year’s Professional Conference, Stay Gold. Thank you to our corporate sponsor, Horace Mann, for supporting this podcast. /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/26947854

The Magic of Coaching: Programs to Build Your Inclusive Instructional Leadership Practices 05/11/2023

The Magic of Coaching: Programs to Build Your Inclusive Instructional Leadership Practices This episode highlights Inclusive Instructional Leadership – or IIL - programs offered through the University of Cincinnati Systems Development & Improvement Center, also known as the UC-SDI Center. These programs include OLi4, AIPL, and the Central Office Project, all of which are focused on the importance of inclusive leadership practices from the top down. Dr. Becky Hornberger is joined by Dr. Rodney Harrelson of RTH Strategic Planning and Consulting, and Dr. Libby Wallick, Research Associate at the UC-SDI Center, both of whom are deeply involved in all three IIL projects. Their rich conversation with participants, coaches, and facilitators shares how these programs have increased their knowledge and skill in the use of inclusive instructional leadership to engage ALL students more effectively—regardless of classroom or school assignment—in strong core instruction. OLi4 –– Colleen Kornish, OLi4 coach and consultant at State Support Team Region 9 and Ashley Weber, Lexington Elementary School Principal in Marlington Local Schools, join the conversation to share their experience with the program. Click for more details and registration information for OLi4. AiPL –– Paula Ekis, AiPL coach, Dave Purins, Poland Middle School Principal, and Nick Henry, Poland MS 4th grade teacher, join the conversation to share their experience with the program. Click for more details and registration information for AiPL. Central Office Project –– Rodney Harrelson shares his experience working with the Central Office Project and insights on the importance of developing central office leadership. Click for detailed information about the Central Office Project. /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/26810958

Building a Community Fan Base 04/07/2023

Building a Community Fan Base What is the story behind the Savannah Bananas and what the heck does a minor league baseball team have to do with educational leadership?!? Find out more about the Thursday afternoon keynote speaker at the Professional Conference in June in this conversation with TJ Ebert, OAESA Zone 6 Director, and Jared Orton, keynote speaker and president of the Savannah Bananas baseball team. Many thanks to Curriculum Associates for generously supporting this podcast. /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/26476395

Building Bridges of Support with OABSE 02/28/2023

Building Bridges of Support with OABSE Audrey Staton-Thompson, OAESA Minority Representative, discusses key issues that the Ohio Alliance of Black School Educators is working on with educational partners across the state. Her conversation with Thanda Maceo, OABSE President, and Tyrone Olverson, co-chair of the Superintendent Commission for OABSE, highlights the mission and work of OABSE to address equity issues and long-term funding, literacy and literacy skills, mental health and establishing positive learning cultures, and the educational leadership pipeline. Show notes: Join in the conversation with OABSE leaders at OAESA’s upcoming spring meeting on March 14th via Zoom. Click for more information and registration. Plan to attend OABSE’s conference, April 20-22 at the Columbus Hilton at Polaris! Learn more about their work and register for the conference at their website, . Tyrone Olverson shared his book, Beyond Theory: Practical Strategies making a Difference in Schools. Click to get your copy on Amazon. Many thanks to for their generous support of this podcast. /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/26078034

Creating Joy 01/19/2023

Creating Joy In this episode, sponsored by FranklinCovey, we speak with Principal Navigator author, Jolene Reinhart, who writes about ways to choose and create joy. She is a former teacher, principal, ESC consultant, and leadership coach, having served 39 years in the Summit and Cuyahoga County area. Her vast opportunities to be a leader and to research leadership are some of her greatest gifts of the profession. She is now semi-retired, still passionate about being a lead learner, and choosing joy every day. Recommended Reading: Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl () The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey (view on ) More 7 Habits resources on Informational brochure about . /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/25658094

An Attitude of Gratitude 12/01/2022

An Attitude of Gratitude As November comes to a close, we have gratitude fresh on our minds, and with all of the research out there about the benefits of gratitude practice on our emotional well-being we would like to encourage our listeners to extend this practice beyond the month of November and create a process in your lives. So for all of you out there wondering how a busy administrator can fit this beneficial practice into your hectic schedule, we have invited OAESA member and former NAESP state representative on the OAESA board, Cathryn Rice to share how she made gratitude a daily dose of self-care vitamins rather than first aid for feeling bad. Sponsored by Lexia. /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/25187892

Supporting Ohio's Principals 10/05/2022

Supporting Ohio's Principals In this episode, Dr. Becky Hornberger has a conversation with Scott Hunt, Executive Director of ODE Field Relations, to thank Ohio’s principals and share some updates and resources from ODE to support the important work of educational leaders. Tune in to learn how the Office of Field Relations is working to build a bridge between the Department and practitioners. Scott Hunt also shares how ODE has used their key priorities to build the Future Forward Ohio initiative. Resources shared in this episode: Future Forward Ohio: : School and district leaders, share your story! Schools and districts that have used emergency relief funds to launch promising practices are invited to share their stories by . Plan to address literacy: ACE Educational Savings Account Program: /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/24582933

Featuring OLAC's "Prioritizing Teaching and Learning" 06/01/2022

Featuring OLAC's "Prioritizing Teaching and Learning" "Prioritizing Teaching and Learning" Featuring Jim Gay, OLAC Project Co-Director In lieu of a new episode of Leaders AdvantEDGE, OAESA is highlighting an episode of OLAC's Lead the Way podcast that is the perfect lead up to our summer conference. Equity is a core value to Ohio’s strategic plan, Each Child Our Future and to Each Child Means Each Child, Ohio’s plan to improve outcomes for students with disabilities. In episode 17 of OLAC's podcast, "Prioritizing Teaching and Learning," three educators discuss how equity is defined in their work. Two regional state support team consultants and a district superintendent share their views on how the prioritization of teaching and learning impacts equity in a variety of settings. /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/23295362

Equity Begins with Inclusion 05/11/2022

Equity Begins with Inclusion Dr. Hornberger’s conversation with Dr. Deborah Telfer, Director of University of Cincinnati Systems Development & Improvement Center, and Oli4 and AIPL participants highlights the benefits of these programs and the importance inclusive leadership practices from the top down. Participants will share how these programs have increased their knowledge and skill in the use of inclusive instructional leadership to engage ALL students more effectively—regardless of classroom or school assignment—in strong core instruction. Thank you to our guests: Katie Dean, Junior Research Associate at the UC SDI Center, Herneika Johnson, Principal at Grove Patterson Academy, Dr. Deb Telfer, Director of the UC SDI Center, and Karen Winston-Carpenter, Lead Teacher/Instructional Coach at East Cleveland City Schools. To learn more about OLi4, click . To learn more about OH-AIPL, click . /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/23076140

It Takes a Village: Highlighting ODE's Center for Student Supports 03/31/2022

It Takes a Village: Highlighting ODE's Center for Student Supports In a conversation with Jessica Horowitz-Moore, Executive Director of ODE’s Center for Student Supports, Becky Hornberger and Mark Jones will uncover the great resources that are available to help you serve the ‘whole child’ needs of your students. Horowitz-Moore shares an overview of what her center does, highlights the key resources she most wants administrators to know about, and gives an introduction to the workshop topics that her group will be sharing at our Professional Conference this summer. Resources shared in this episode: ODE's email resource, Center for Student Supports : OAESA Professional Conference Whole child framework BetterLesson's "I Wish My Teacher Knew" /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/22636679

Passing the Torch 12/29/2021

Passing the Torch After 16 years of service to OAESA, Dr. Julie Davis retires on December 31st, 2021. In her final episode on Leaders AdvantEDGE, she introduces our listeners to OAESA's new executive director, Dr. Becky Hornberger. They share a conversation about the legacy of sustainable leadership, the mission and vision of the organization, and personal stories of their 'why'. /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/21624059

Building Great People Systems 11/29/2021

Building Great People Systems Have you noticed the 'help wanted' signs in virtually every business you pass lately? Principals are essential to their district’s human capital system through their role in hiring, growing, and retaining staff, yet with the job market as it is, many principals are wondering what they can do to recruit and retain a great team to support the students in their buildings. In this episode, Dr. Julie Davis talks with Tony Bagshaw about developing great people systems, as he likes to call human capital. /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/21313082

Overcome Overwhelm 10/27/2021

Overcome Overwhelm Dr. Julie Davis talks with Dr. Jim Gay, Ohio Leadership Advisory Council (OLAC) Co-director, about the OLAC resources and Dr. Becky Hornberger, SAIL/CUC Department Chair, about how these resources are utilized within the content of the Ohio Instructional Leadership Academy, as well as our licensure and degree programs with CUC. The show notes below link to many of the resources discussed and you might find it helpful to click through them as you listen. /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/20957258

Keeping Kids Central 09/29/2021

Keeping Kids Central This episode of Leaders AdvantEDGE, Keeping Kids Central: Behind the Scenes at Central Office, brought to you by Equitable, features a conversation between Dr. Julie Davis and five central office administrators who are active members of OAESA. Our guests share how they, in their unique roles as district administrators, work every day to keep the students at the center of everything they do. /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/20634992

Demystifying Dyslexia: Instilling a Love of Reading in ALL Learners 08/24/2021

Demystifying Dyslexia: Instilling a Love of Reading in ALL Learners Dr. Julie Davis has a conversation with Dr. Melissa Weber-Mayrer, LaMonica Davis, and Maggie Oliver. Their enthusiastic conversation gives a behind the scenes look at Ohio’s recent dyslexia legislation, the work ODE is doing to help educators implement the legislation and how practitioners are embracing multi-tiered systems of reading instruction and using this as a great opportunity to instill a love of reading in ALL learners. /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/20245145

Liberty and Justice 05/26/2021

Liberty and Justice Dr. Davis facilitates a discussion with Ohio principals, Felecia Evans and April Knight, on how we move forward from the challenges presented to educators by the pandemic and our nation's reckoning with systemic racism. Rather than just admire the problems of inequities revealed, they discuss the importance of really having those uncomfortable, sometimes very difficult, conversations in order to move more closely to a nation which not just promises, but delivers LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/19251716

Power of Partnerships 04/28/2021

Power of Partnerships A conversation on understanding ESSER III funding and how to maximize partnerships to efficiently use these funds for afterschool and summer learning. Dr. Julie Davis talks with afterschool program advocates, Michele Ritchlin and Dr. Terry Peterson, to help you understand how to access these funds in order to partner with community programs in your area. /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/18882026

Meet Me in the Middle 03/26/2021

Meet Me in the Middle It has been more than a year since Ohio’s schools were closed due to COVID and we are ready to get back to normal. Or, are we? In this episode, Meet Me in the Middle, Dr. Julie Davis talks with Carrie Sanchez, Principal of Port Clinton Middle School and Matt Bradley, Principal of Highland Middle School about “COVID silver linings” and the opportunity to make some important changes to create a new, improved normal. /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/18468698

Unstoppable Principals 02/24/2021

Unstoppable Principals Dr. Julie Davis shares a conversation with the 2020 and 2021 Ohio NAESP National Distinguished Principals, Kati Mann and Bonnie Kubec. They discuss the importance of leveraging systems of support in order to develop as a building leader. /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/18062930

Welcome to Leaders AdvantEDGE 02/02/2021

Welcome to Leaders AdvantEDGE An introduction to OAESA's new podcast giving Ohio’s educational leaders the edge they need to be successful by bringing them the most up-to-date resources, information, and connections to enable them to be great building leaders. Our goal is to intentionally connect our members and give them the resources they need to take personal responsibility for improving the lives of those entrusted to their care. /episode/index/show/oaesaleadersadvantedge/id/17726162

Leaders AdvantEDGE

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