Olivia Wahl
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olivia-wahl.bsky.social
Olivia Wahl
@olivia-wahl.bsky.social
My expertise is in PreK-12 leadership, coaching, and culturally responsive practices. I partner with administrators, coaches, and teachers to align research and beliefs with daily practices, using data-driven decision-making to ensure all students thrive.
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"Craft a path toward that third thing—the beautiful content—that students can drive and explore on their own."

Sarah Zerwin on Parker Palmer's wisdom: student-driven learning means knowing your content BETTER, not less.
December 9, 2025 at 12:25 PM
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#schoolutionspodcast S5E15 Launching Students into High-Level Work They Care About with @sarahmzerwin.bsky.social

📣 New Podcast Episode Alert!

🎧🎙 Listen: pod.fo/e/361fbb
📺🎙 Watch:
youtu.be/bsiNQiIn5DQ
December 8, 2025 at 10:10 AM
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#schoolutionspodcast S5E14 BONUS: One Skill Art Teachers Say Matters More Than Technique

In my latest bonus episode, I unpack why this simple approach could transform any classroom—art, math, or anything in between.
December 5, 2025 at 7:56 PM
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Two teachers nearing 30 YEARS in education who still show up excited about their content and their kids every single day.

One sees teaching as solving puzzles - conveying history's story while being responsive to each group.
December 4, 2025 at 11:24 AM
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Kate Driscoll, an art educator, on why she prioritizes Australian contemporary artists over historical "masters":

When students study living, local artists instead of distant historical figures, art transforms from something untouchable to something possible.
December 4, 2025 at 10:04 AM
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Why Local Art Matters for Kids!

🎧🎙 Listen to the Full Episode: www.buzzsprout.com/1890886/epis...
📺🎙Watch the Full Episode: youtu.be/wWpZsQCFHvI
December 3, 2025 at 10:18 AM
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Kate Driscoll, an art educator, captures what truly matters in teaching:

"If there's one thing that I want the kids to be able to do when they leave me is to notice how many colors are in that leaf... art's all around us."
December 2, 2025 at 1:23 PM
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After flying home from NCTE 2025, my brain is buzzing. Three practices teachers are using to reclaim responsive teaching.

The power of "confianza" between families and schools.

And why we need to see the world through children's eyes again - with wonder and curiosity.
December 2, 2025 at 1:58 AM
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#schoolutionspodcast S5E14 Why This Art Teacher is Making Kids LOVE Creating

📣 New Podcast Episode Alert!

🎧🎙 Listen: pod.fo/e/35d7ae
📺🎙 Watch:
youtu.be/wWpZsQCFHvI
December 1, 2025 at 10:00 AM
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Why "doing less" creates more learning.
✔️Kate Driscoll opens eyes to art everywhere
✔️Sarah Zerwin creates student-driven spaces
✔️MJ Murray Vachon, LCSW teaches calm through noticing
✔️Sarah Tesar breaks free from traditional schooling constraints
✔️Chrissy Beltran coaches with flexibility
November 30, 2025 at 4:31 PM
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#schoolutionspodcast S5E13 BONUS: How to Raise a Kind, Empathetic Child

That kid laughing during your serious lesson isn't being disrespectful. They're dysregulated.

Eli Harwood taught me:
• Nervous laughter = body's response to horror
• Use reaction journals, not forced empathy
November 28, 2025 at 3:52 PM
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“Confidence believes YOU deserve good things AND so does everyone else. Arrogance believes in a hierarchy of deserving.”

This distinction from Eli Harwood is everything. True confidence isn't zero-sum - it's abundant. You can believe in your worth without diminishing others'.
November 28, 2025 at 1:43 PM
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Mind-blowing insight from attachment expert Eli Harwood: Babies literally don't have consciousness of self.

They're born 100% dependent, experiencing life only through who touches & feeds them.
November 25, 2025 at 1:26 PM
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#schoolutionspodcast S5E13 What Kids REALLY Need When They Act Out

📣 New Podcast Episode Alert!

🎧🎙 Listen: pod.fo/e/358c6f
📺🎙 Watch:
youtu.be/PdSf9T4zmQg
November 24, 2025 at 12:57 PM
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#schoolutionspodcast S5E12 BONUS: Why Students Are So Tired & How to Fix It

New episode reveals: when students see they're 2/3 through a task (like minute 13 of 20), they don't GET tired - they EXPECT to be tired.

Their brains literally prepare for exhaustion that isn't real.
November 21, 2025 at 12:04 PM
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Another pattern in every expert teacher's practices: They pay attention to connections.

Not just teacher-to-student, but:
• Student to student
• Student to self
• Student to curriculum
• Classroom to real world

Sam Bennett visualizes this as a square with hearts at each corner.
November 20, 2025 at 10:51 AM
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For 400+ years since Descartes, we've treated the mind and body like they're divorced.

In classrooms, this looks like:
"Sit still and think."
"Stop fidgeting and focus."
"Your body is a distraction from your mind."
November 20, 2025 at 8:48 AM
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Why Students Remember 76% More When They Move While Learning

🎧🎙Listen to the Full Episode: www.buzzsprout.com/1890886/epis...
📺🎙Watch the Full Episode: youtu.be/4-mosH0raZg

Gravity Goldberg shares why students who move while studying retain 76% more information...
November 19, 2025 at 11:49 AM
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🧠 "Movement isn't the distraction from learning. It is the learning."

Dr. Gravity Goldberg drops this truth in "The Body Brain Connection"—and it changes everything we thought about kids who can't sit still.
November 18, 2025 at 12:56 PM
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#schoolutionspodcast S5E12 The Secret Connections Between Your Body & Brain

🎧🎙 Listen: pod.fo/e/35424d
📺🎙 Watch:
youtu.be/4-mosH0raZg

Students get mentally fatigued at the 2/3 mark of any task—not because they're actually tired, but because they EXPECT to be tired.
November 17, 2025 at 1:55 PM
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#schoolutionspodcast S5E11 BONUS: Why Every Student IS a Math Person

We became teachers to help but what if making math too easy is actually stealing our kids' mathematical identity?

In this bonus episode, I'm unpacking my conversation with Mona about why struggle is the secret ingredient.
November 14, 2025 at 3:37 PM
I've been in classrooms with incredible teachers & jumping on late-night Zooms for my book project.

One pattern: the best educators meet people where they are while maintaining sky-high expectations.

@stenhousepub.bsky.social

#Schoolutions #OliviaWahlCoachingConsulting #ForeverGettingBetter
November 13, 2025 at 6:04 PM
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Your 4-year-old is already a mathematician, and formal schooling might actually be getting in the way.

“Little kids have an ability to solve problems without formal schooling. We can reason about the world and make sense of the mathy things going on around us.”

@stenhousepub.bsky.social
November 13, 2025 at 1:24 PM
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Why Math Education Needs a Revolution

🎧🎙 Listen to the Full Episode: www.buzzsprout.com/1890886/epis...
📺🎙Watch the Full Episode: youtu.be/HO0l_eyKZPw

@stenhousepub.bsky.social
November 12, 2025 at 10:01 AM
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The uncomfortable truth about teaching math:

Most teachers give problems that are too easy because we're wired to be helpers.

But if kids solve it before you finish explaining? You've just wasted 25 minutes.
November 11, 2025 at 2:31 PM