BLBS Podcast Articles

Joe LaTorre is a nationally recognized middle school teacher from Oceanside, NY. Known for building powerful classroom culture and eliminating discipline referrals, Joe helps students read 10–15 books a year

Lena Martinez Kalilian is a former classroom teacher who experienced the limits of traditional schooling firsthand.

Jessica Levine is a sixth-grade science teacher who created “ABCDE Days” — a protocol born from pandemic chaos that now transforms how her students learn, reflect, and grow.

Mitch Weathers is a veteran educator, author, and co-founder of Organized Binder. He’s helped thousands of schools rethink their Tier 1 systems and center equity, consistency, and executive function in the classroom.

Dr. Brandi Kelly is a seasoned educator with 20+ years of experience as a school social worker, principal, and superintendent. She’s a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Maxwell Certified Coach who founded Spark HOPE Edu to help leaders cultivate schools

Traditional discipline assumes kids will reflect, reset, and return on their own. Charle Peck and Joshua Stamper expose the myth of self-regulation and offer a proven, trauma-informed framework that transforms behavior systems from reactive to relational.

Dr. Anne Paonessa is a former assistant superintendent, national speaker, and author of Essential Connection Skills. She helps school leaders build connected classrooms that combat disconnection, burnout, and disengagement by focusing on four essential domains of connection.

Jethro Jones coached school leaders around the world and is passionate about rejecting outdated norms, rethinking leadership, and helping principals stop chasing busy and start leading with clarity.

Anna Rita Pergolizzi-Wentworth is building a future-fluent model that fuses AI, global citizenship, and joy — and it’s working.