People often assume that educators are born walking a linear path toward their profession. Yet William "Coach" Jeffery became the principal at Columbia High School in West Columbia, Texas through an unpredictable journey of self-discovery. In this episode of All Things Marketing and Education, he sits down to reflect on a life of readjustment and learning as he overcame childhood dyslexia, struggled through college, aspired to be an NBA coach, brought technology integration to a low-income school district, and so much more. Here are just a few highlights of Coach’s amazing story.
The Best EdTech Fosters Student Engagement.
As a science teacher in Houston, Coach was among the first in his district to bring EdTech into the classroom. As a principal, he now oversees technology integration schoolwide. From both the teaching and admin perspectives, he's learned to identify the characteristics of what good EdTech is supposed to do.
"Whatever you can do to increase feedback where that learner and that teacher can exchange that basic principle of knowledge exchange between feedback and growth, that's what tools need to be incorporated into a pedagogical cycle, where students are being successful."
Digging a little deeper into pedagogy, he favors tools that encourage active engagement over passive consumption.
"Anything that is multimodal, where students can read, talk about it, write about it, create something from it, those are the things that I would say are high-yield for me."
Podcasters Learn By Podcasting.
As a believer in teamwork, Coach found his way into podcasting when he learned to think of a podcast as a recorded conversation between people who are passionate about their subject matter, shared with an audience who will benefit from hearing that conversation. Coach’s first podcast, I Want to Speak to the Principal, grew out of a collaboration with Dr. Michael Milstead, but his second venture, the Flipboard EDU Podcast, is a solo venture that began when he offered to provide Flipboard with the type of resources that he couldn't find on their site or anywhere else online. He explains how creating podcasts is simply another part of his own learning process.
"That's a part of that becoming an expert in your field. Become an expert at what you like doing, and then get other people's perspectives. And then look for a mentor, somebody who may know a little bit more about you in that particular area. If you really want to hone in your skill, I think that's a really good way to do it."
Educators Grow While Helping Others Grow.
One of the things that we love about Coach is his ability to inspire. Here's his message to leaders:
"It's important to look at the skills that people have and to also be a gardener, to help them to get to places where they can bloom. If you're in the place where you feel you are doing the most work, then that becomes your responsibility to put new people in the environment or create the environment where people can grow."
He also offers these encouraging words for teachers at back-to-school time:
"If you are not having fun with the kids that you are leading, you need to find something else to do. That joy and that happiness come from what you already have inside of you. Because remember, inside of every seed is a forest. And the only way that seed can grow into a forest is if it's in the right environment. Make sure you take care of yourself, collaborate, and communicate so that your education will be powerful. Be the excitement and the joy when students learn something new, and that will invigorate you. Learn something new yourself, test yourself. Becoming expert is hard and fun, and it's good. It's life-changing."
What We Talked About
Use this to jump to parts of the conversation you want to listen to more closely
[00:39] Introducing William "Coach" Jeffery and his journey through education, sports, and leadership
"I have great teachers who I love being a part of. I love working with them. I don't want them to ever say they work for me. We all work together to achieve a goal. And that is to help students become successful."
[14:02] The role of confidence in learning
"In anybody's educational journey, having people who can look at someone's abilities and steer them in a direction where they can be a lot more successful versus bumping a head against the wall, I think that's important."
[16:10] Mentoring and the team mindset
[18:40] Passion and self-acceptance as ingredients of expertise
"I was a special education student, and it took someone with passion to get me to even learn how to be literate. And so that's just something that I've always gravitated towards."
[25:16] Determining the best EdTech from teacher's and principal's perspectives
[31:45] All things podcasting
[37:57] Some back-to-school coaching advice for educators
[44:18] How Coach stays engaged, inspired, refueled
"When I have bad days and I journal the things that I do, and I go back to look at how I got through those situations, it's motivating."
[47:04] How people can get in touch with Coach
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
All Things Podcasting
Flipboard EDU Podcast, hosted by Coach
I Want to Speak to the Principal, Coach's first podcast
Podcast Planner for Students, Coach's handbook introducing students to the world of podcasting
Podcast Planner for Teachers, Coach's guide for helping teachers explore this medium with their students
Tools, Platforms & Communities
Clubhouse, a social audio app that Coach mentions when talking about how many kinds of technology can be adapted for learning
Flipboard, a platform enabling users to create their own news magazines
Flipboard educators blog, one of Coach's favorite online resources
Nourished Teachers Community, a Facebook group for educators that Elana mentions as a place for understanding teachers' day-to-day experiences of their work
Pedagogy
The 5E Model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate), a teaching modality that Coach references when discussing pedagogy
People
Ronnie Courtney, a Texas high school basketball coach who mentored Coach
Chris Miller, Columbia-Brazoria ISD Assistant Superintendent and Coach's leadership mentor
Steven Galloway, Columbia-Brazoria ISD Superintendent and Coach's leadership mentor
Shelly Sanchez Terrell, digital learning specialist and author that Coach cites as an influence and inspiration
Dr. Sarah Thomas, regional EdTech coordinator and EduMatch founder that Coach cites as an influence and inspiration
Brian Romero Smith, EdTech integration leader that Coach cites as an influence and inspiration
Valerie Lewis, an education influencer that Coach cites as an influence and inspiration
Rafranz Davis, a digital learning specialist and leader that Coach cites as an influence and inspiration
Lisa Highfill, a recent LCG podcast guest that Elana mentions when discussing how students can respond to the content they're learning
Bia Valle, a guest who discussed the Clubhouse platform on Coach's podcast
Rachelle Wooten, Fort Bend (Texas) ISD assistant principal whose book about podcasting inspired Coach
Mandy Froehlich, an education consultant who discussed mirrored neurons on Coach's podcast
Gary Vaynerchuk, a social media thought leader that Elana follows for inspiration
Dr. Michael Milstead, Coach's mentor and collaborator on his first podcast
All Things William "Coach" Jeffery
The Cosby Show, Coach refers to the 1989 episode, in which Theo is diagnosed with dyslexia, as his own family's wakeup call about his learning disability
Flipboard at ISTELive with William “Coach” Jeffery, 6/22/22 Flipboard blog in advance of Coach's appearance at ISTE 2022
Elana Leoni, Host
Elana Leoni has dedicated the majority of her career to improving K-12 education. Prior to founding LCG, she spent eight years leading the marketing and community strategy for the George Lucas Educational Foundation where she grew Edutopia’s social media presence exponentially to reach over 20 million education change-makers every month.
William “Coach” Jeffery, Guest
William "Coach" Jeffery received his Bachelor's degree in Biology Pre-Med and a Master’s degree in Counseling Education from Prairie View A&M University. He earned a second Master's in Educational Administration from Stephen F. Austin University. Coach is currently the principal at Columbia High School in Columbia-Brazoria ISD. Additionally, he is an affiliate curator and author of educational content with Flipboard. He is the executive producer and host of two successful podcasts, I Want to Speak to the Principal and Flipboard EDU Podcast, which reach thousands on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Music. Coach’s latest accolades include the Microsoft Innovative Educator Award 2020 and Corporate Vision Magazine Education and Training Awards for Outstanding Educator 2020.
About All Things Marketing and Education
What if marketing was judged solely by the level of value it brings to its audience? Welcome to All Things Marketing and Education, a podcast that lives at the intersection of marketing and you guessed it, education. Each week, Elana Leoni, CEO of Leoni Consulting Group, highlights innovative social media marketing, community-building, and content marketing strategies that can significantly increase reach, relationships, and revenue.
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