Podcast

In the business world, company leaders set standards through mission and vision statements and by listing their values. In the education world, it’s all about setting examples and teaching what are called Norms. DCSD’s norms for Culture and Climate are the topic for this episode – our season finale as the school year comes to a close. We’re bookending the season by welcoming back our very first guest: Supt. Erin Kane, along with Alicia Elmore is the director of our Before and After School Enterprise, or BASE, program, and Dion Killingsworth is director of Human Resources. 

On April 21, 2026, the DCSD Board of Education approved a new policy about the use of communication devices in schools. This was the culmination of nearly two years’ worth of district leaders’ work.

In this episode, DCSD Chief of Staff Steve Colella and ThunderRidge High School Principal Liz Walhof discuss the issue, the policy, and most importantly, the practices of students, teachers, parents and district leaders when it comes to communication devices – not just phones. 

Amy Mays is founder of Happy Crew, a Douglas County nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids and families develop the skills they need to thrive emotionally and socially.

Amy brings a thoughtful and uplifting approach to this work, and in this episode, she talks about the mission behind Happy Crew, how they’re supporting students in our community, and some simple, practical ways families can reinforce these skills at home.

Cimarron Middle School Principal Chris Zimmerman piloted CTE classes at his school this year and helped plan the inaugural Career Discovery Camp taking place this June 3-5 at Legacy Campus. It’s a three-day camp to introduce middle school students to CTE options available to them in DCSD. As this episode is released, registration is open – and limited. 

In this podcast episode, two Rocky Heights Middle School teachers, Erika Hamlin and Sarah Lochmiller, talk about teaching science at the middle school level and how good of a job the new movie “Project Hail Mary” does in portraying their reality, how accurately the science was presented, and what they thought about stretching real science into speculative fiction.

WARNING: Spoilers for the book and movie!

State laws and annually adjusted funding formulas, plus extra elections for supplemental tax funds, can make it difficult to understand how and why school districts are financed the way they are. 

All that complexity is why Douglas County School District’s Chief Financial Officer Jana Schleusner is our guest for this episode. She is a budgeting expert who regularly goes to the state capitol to advocate for school funding on behalf of DCSD.

As this episode is released, registration is now open for a pair of important bike safety events coming up this summer. Sgt. Mark Mithuen, a School Resource Officer supervisor in the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, tells us all about the second annual, free Eye Five Transportation and Road Safety events. Even with twice the capacity as last year, space is limited, so parents are encouraged to register their kids early. 

Eye Five:
- June 13 at Chaparral High School: 8 - 11 a.m. and noon - 3 p.m.
- July 11 at Castle View High School: 8 - 11 a.m. and noon - 3 p.m.

Parents have lots of questions about teen nicotine usage – many of them new ones, thanks to technology and social media: 

- What does it look like today? 
- Why are so many young people drawn to it? 
- Most importantly, how can we work together to keep students healthy and informed?

To help guide this conversation, this episode features experts from the Douglas County Health Department, who bring a public health perspective and deep experience working with youth and families in our community. Both are Community Health Educators: Jenny Fisher is also a certified American Heart Association Tobacco Treatment Specialist, and Ashley Scollard is a Mental Health FIRST AID Instructor.

Whether you’re a parent of an elementary student, a middle schooler, or a high schooler, this conversation provides you with practical tools, reassurance, and resources you can use at home.