Every month, editor and host, Craig Williams, will join members of Ottawa Elementary School District 141’s school community in a series of interesting discussions about what’s happening within our schools, how we can better support our students, educational teams, and one another. Produced as part of the District’s community engagement Journey12 initiative, this podcast is available on Apple Podcast, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and other platforms. If you have a suggestion for an episode topic, please email us at info@journey12.com.
I Chose This Career TWICE! Rosie Walker, First Grade Teacher, McKinley Elementary School
Today, I have the privilege of speaking with Rosie Walker, a professional educator who has been making those kinds of differences in individual lives for nearly a quarter of a century. She has taught at the middle school level and now helps to prepare first graders for what lies beyond. As the father of a first grader, myself, I have a profound appreciation for the work Rosie Walker does everyday. Brick by brick, and day by day, she is helping her students lay important foundations in math, r...
26 Jan 2023
Jen Lawsha: A Very Special Educator, Indeed
Today, I get to sit down with Ottawa’s Jen Lawsha, someone who has made a life’s work in Special Education. She is deeply committed to our students, their families, and to her profession. She’s got a great sense of humor and is, frankly, kind of a big deal. The profundity and outright importance of the work educators do on a day-to-day basis is often misunderstood and is, I think, especially so in the realm of Special Education. Without the efforts of strong professional educators like Jen La...
17 Nov 2022
A Discussion with Superintendent, Dr. Michelle Lee
Today, I have the privilege of speaking with a professional educator who has been making those kinds of differences in the lives of students for more than 34-years. She has taught in widely ranging environments, she has served as a groundbreaking administrator, she has simultaneously served two under-resourced Western Illinois districts by filling both superintendencies at the same time, and now she very capably leads Ottawa’s Elementary School District 141. I met Dr. Michelle Lee late last s...
25 Oct 2022
A conversation with Jerry Castelli — A helper’s vantage point
Join me in my conversation with Custodian Jerry Castelli, District 141 parent and alumnus, lover of nostalgic Ottawa eateries, mid-80’s guide to historical downtown, and a genuinely nice guy. There are few professional opportunities we have as adults that provide a deeper sense of fulfillment than working with kids. There is something inherently rewarding about knowing you made a difference in the life of a young person. Fred Rogers, longtime host of the public television program, Mr. Rogers’...
30 Aug 2022
Meet Murphy, the Therapy Dog
We chat with Nate Pinter, Principal at Jefferson, and Alecia Ruiz, District Social Worker, about the addition of a very special student this year— Murphy, the Facility Therapy Dog! So often view education through a rather standard lens; perhaps the very lens we looked through during our own time at school. But the truth is, there is no absolute in the approach to the education of a child. Every child is unique and every generation has a different set of environmental backdrops during their ti...
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