Little Bits of TLC is a podcast for school-based leaders, practitioners, and specialists supporting students with complex academic, behavioral, social-emotional, and mental health needs. Hosted by Heather Volchko of Threshold Learning, each episode blends behavioral sciences, systems thinking, and real school experience to explore student behavior, special education, classroom strategies, educator well-being, and sustainable systems. Professional learning that is grounded in research, shaped by real school experience, and focused on what you can try tomorrow - this is Little Bits of TLC.
Two Systems, One Student: What Schools Can Learn From Insurance Approval, Oversight, and Secondary Review Processes
In this episode of Little Bits of TLC, Heather Volchko sits down with fellow BCBA Alex Grosso to compare two systems that often serve the same student: school-based special education and insurance-funded ABA services. Alex walks through how outside providers have to justify services to insurers, why those services are expected to step down over time, and why insurers push back when school-based work looks like it duplicates what an IEP already covers. He explains six-month authorization reports, monthly data audits, and what triggers a secondary review by a medical director, including appeals and peer-to-peer conversations. Heather draws parallels to IEP teams and due process, then closes with a challenge for educators to turn worry about oversight into one clear, objective systems question.
Full transcript and Show Notes (https://university.thresholdlearning.org/course/podcast-s8e11) and Companion blog (https://university.thresholdlearning.org/blog/2026-42)
Fund this work. The services Heather talked about in this episode are provided by TLC Nonprofit, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, at a reduced cost to public school districts. Your gift sustains these opportunities. Donate at https://www.tlcnonprofit.co/founding-donors (https://www.tlcnonprofit.co/founding-donors)
Get the newsletter. One email, every Sunday — Heather’s take, an industry update, resources you can actually use, and first look at TLC University offerings and events. https://university.thresholdlearning.org/pages/home#connect (https://university.thresholdlearning.org/pages/home#connect)
Tell us what you think. Have questions about what you just heard or ideas for future episodes? Reach out to podcast@thresholdlearning.org (mailto:podcast@thresholdlearning.org) We read every one and love to hear from you!
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11 Oct 2026
Hard School Conversations: Talking With Families, Admin, and Colleagues When You’re Scared To
Some of the most stressful moments in education aren't with students. They're with adults. In this episode of Little Bits of TLC, host Heather Volchko sits down with Ashly Smith, executive assistant to a CEO and partnerships advisor to the board of TLC Nonprofit, to talk about the hard conversations that come up with colleagues, administrators, and families, and how preparation, curiosity, and candor keep them productive.
Together they explore how to receive critical feedback without taking it personally, how to give it in a way that hands some control to the other person, and how one-on-one check-ins before a group conversation can draw out quieter voices on a team. Heather also shares what happened when she told a board, in the moment, that she wasn't ready for their pushback. The episode closes with a simple practice: script the first three sentences of the conversation you've been avoiding.
Full transcript and Show Notes (https://university.thresholdlearning.org/course/podcast-s8e10) and Companion blog (https://university.thresholdlearning.org/blog/2026-41)
Fund this work. The services Heather talked about in this episode are provided by TLC Nonprofit, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, at a reduced cost to public school districts. Your gift sustains these opportunities. Donate at https://www.tlcnonprofit.co/founding-donors (https://www.tlcnonprofit.co/founding-donors)
Get the newsletter. One email, every Sunday — Heather’s take, an industry update, resources you can actually use, and first look at TLC University offerings and events. https://university.thresholdlearning.org/pages/home#connect (https://university.thresholdlearning.org/pages/home#connect)
Tell us what you think. Have questions about what you just heard or ideas for future episodes? Reach out to podcast@thresholdlearning.org (mailto:podcast@thresholdlearning.org) We read every one and love to hear from you!
Follow us. Never miss an episode on your favorite platform:
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/thresholdlearningtlc)
TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@littlebitsoftlc )
Threads (https://www.threads.com/@littlebitsoftlc )
YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@littlebitsoftlc )
LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/thresholdlearningtlc )
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/thresholdlearningtlc )
Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/37sOcYOFGytUHTABwJBnly )
Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/little-bits-of-tlc/id1663709824 )
4 Oct 2026
When the School Day Goes Off the Rails: Responding to Student Crisis in the Classroom
Every school staff has lived the day when everything falls apart. Heather sits down with school psychologist and behavior analyst Chris Zielinski to walk through what actually happens in a student crisis — from the deep breath and "duty to act" instinct in the first sixty seconds, to why safety and student support aren't competing priorities but two halves of the same response. They dig into what makes debriefing so rarely done well, even though it's often legally required, and why the goal isn't predicting the next crisis but building a system stable enough to absorb it.The conversation turns to what happens after the incident: what real repair looks like when a student returns from a suspension or expulsion, why "giving people space to breathe" can quietly become the least supportive thing a team does, and how a structured reentry plan changes the story a student walks back into. Chris closes with a simple planning exercise — naming your own crisis trigger now, before you're in it, and sharing that plan with one person so you're not carrying it alone.
Full transcript and Show Notes (https://university.thresholdlearning.org/course/podcast-s8e09) and Companion blog (https://university.thresholdlearning.org/blog/2026-39)
Fund this work. The services Heather talked about in this episode are provided by TLC Nonprofit, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, at a reduced cost to public school districts. Your gift sustains these opportunities. Donate at https://www.tlcnonprofit.co/founding-donors (https://www.tlcnonprofit.co/founding-donors)
Get the newsletter. One email, every Sunday — Heather’s take, an industry update, resources you can actually use, and first look at TLC University offerings and events. https://university.thresholdlearning.org/pages/home#connect (https://university.thresholdlearning.org/pages/home#connect)
Tell us what you think. Have questions about what you just heard or ideas for future episodes? Reach out to podcast@thresholdlearning.org (mailto:podcast@thresholdlearning.org) We read every one and love to hear from you!
Follow us. Never miss an episode on your favorite platform:
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/thresholdlearningtlc)
TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@littlebitsoftlc )
Threads (https://www.threads.com/@littlebitsoftlc )
YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@littlebitsoftlc )
LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/thresholdlearningtlc )
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/thresholdlearningtlc )
Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/37sOcYOFGytUHTABwJBnly )
Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/little-bits-of-tlc/id1663709824 )
Who has been a guest on Little Bits of TLC
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Flora
Heather Volchko
Candace
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
592
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 59 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
82
Social presence
0
YouTube
64
Engagement
27
Contact Little Bits of TLC
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Questions about Little Bits of TLC
Who hosts Little Bits of TLC?
Heather and Matthew and Alex and Chris and Claire and Marla host the show. Published by Threshold Learning.
How often do new episodes come out?
The show publishes weekly, based on its RSS feed.
Does Little Bits of TLC take guests?
Yes. Guests have been identified in episode analyses.
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