MindShift Podcast

Inspired by Finland’s student-first approach, Copper Island Academy in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula prioritizes inclusion, early intervention, and teacher autonomy to create a learning environment where support is built into the classroom rather than siloed in separate rooms.

This episode explores how Copper Island blends Finnish pedagogy with local culture, showing what’s possible when schools design systems around people, not paperwork.

This season we explore the ecosystems of support that shape student success. At a time when schools are facing staffing shortages, disruptions to the Department of Education, and shifting public trust, this season asks: who sustains the people responsible for sustaining students?

Across six episodes, we'll move from teacher support and relationship-centered learning to technology, workforce preparation, and postsecondary pathways.

Follow MindShift wherever you get your podcasts or visit https://www.kqed.org/podcasts/mindshift

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KQED’s Ki Sung talks to health educator Shafia Zaloom about her book Getting Real About Sex Ed: What Today's Students Need. Zaloom shares advice for parents and educators wondering how to navigate authentic conversions with young people.

KQED's Ki Sung talks with clinical psychologist and author Ross Greene about why traditional discipline strategies often fail students, and what educators can do instead. Greene explains his Collaborative & Proactive Solutions model, which shifts the focus away from rewards and punishments and toward identifying the unmet needs and unsolved problems behind student behavior.

KQED’s Marlena Jackson-Retondo reports from Bellevue Elementary in Santa Rosa. Abrupt cuts to AmeriCorps funding last year impacted the school-based tutoring there. Principal Nina Craig explains how the loss of tutors affected instruction and student relationships, while new AmeriCorps members, Maya Nurse and Elena Zeoli, describe stepping into classrooms with limited time and resources. This episode explores how even a few missed months of literacy support reduces how many students can be served.