On this episode of The Conversation, hosts John and Rachel chat with Marnie Hallet Szymanski, a history teacher at Margaretta High School who attended the 2025 Smithsonian National Education Summit. She’ll share the insights she gained from the conference and how those strategies are transforming learning for her students.Welcome to Season 3 of The Conversation! This season we’re exploring how educators can rediscover joy, cultivate hope, and reconnect with the educational journey. Join us for a season filled with inspiring stories and meaningful insights that celebrate the power of education.Marnie Hallet Szymanski is a teacher at Margaretta High School. This is her 27th year in the classroom. She currently teaches 8th grade history, psychology, sociology and AP psychology. She is constantly striving to find creative and fun ways to teach her students. In addition to being a classroom teacher she is also the RE Program Coordinator, social studies department head, 8th grade Washington, D.C, trip advisor, student government advisor, senior class advisor, varsity cross country coach, varsity swim coach and JH track coach.Contact the Guest: mhallettszymanski@margarettaschooldistrict.com Links: Smithsonian Newsletter Sign Up: https://si.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=ef149f26b899566ccc91c2354&id=78ccd8b27aThe Smithsonian Educator Resources: https://www.si.edu/educators

Spring is right around the corner which means prom season is about to commence! On this episode of The Conversation, John and Rachel sit down with ESC Intervention Specialists, Kathy Meterko and Rachel Junge to talk about the ESC’s Campus-Based Transition Program and their main event—prom! They'll dive into the planning and logistics behind the event, this year’s theme, and why their prom is such a meaningful and hope-filled experience for CBT students, families, and educators alike. Let’s dive in!This season we’re exploring how educators can rediscover joy, cultivate hope, and reconnect with the educational journey. Join us for a season filled with inspiring stories and meaningful insights that celebrate the power of education. Our Guests Rachel Junge is an Intervention Specialist in the CBT program. She has taught at WINGS for 19 years. Her favorite part of prom is seeing the prom develop from sketches on paper to the finished product and spending the evening with current and former students at the dance.  Kathy Meterko is an Intervention Specialist and is in her 19th year of the CBT program. She and Rachel taught together at WINGS for 11 of those years and now she leads the Step class at OSU. Her favorite part of prom is the week of prom because she likes seeing all of the decorations come together, feeling the excitement build, and then enjoying the night with her current and former students.Contact the Guestsrachel.junge@escco.org kathleen.meterko@escco.org

On this episode of The Conversation, hosts John and Rachel sit down with Olentangy Local Schools English teachers Andrea Vescelius and Hannah Rust to explore how their practice of not grading reshaped mindsets and renewed hope for both students and educators.Welcome to Season 3 of The Conversation! This season we’re exploring how educators can rediscover joy, cultivate hope, and reconnect with the educational journey. Join us for a season filled with inspiring stories and meaningful insights that celebrate the power of education.Contact the Guests:Andrea_Vescelius@olsd.usHannah_Rust@olsd.us 

Welcome to Season 3 of The Conversation! This season we’re exploring how educators can rediscover joy, cultivate hope, and reconnect with the educational journey. Join us for a season filled with inspiring stories and meaningful insights that celebrate the power of education.On this episode of The Conversation, hosts John and Rachel sit down with Adam Philpott, a science teacher from Pickerington Local Schools. Adam shares how his externship aboard a research vessel reignited his passion for teaching.Adam Philpott is an Environmental Science Teacher at Pickerington High School North. He graduated with a Master's in Science Education from the Ohio State University. He’s a dad to 5 kids and outdoor enthusiast. He’s a huge believer in having students learn about the natural world by being in it, because as Gandalf says: "The world is not in your books and maps, it's out there."

On this episode of “The Conversation”, John and Rachel sit down with Andreya Veintimilla, Design Research Lead at Smart Columbus, to explore the world of human-centered design. Together, they discuss how this approach shapes project development, the importance of designing with people in mind, and how it drives innovation within communities. This episode of “The Conversation” is a continuation of our series “Emerging Technologies”. This series aims to highlight new technologies that are transforming our everyday lives and local communities. Andreya Veintimilla is a designer and human-centered urban development leader. Her approach to design is grounded in research and systems thinking to connect innovation initiatives to organizational and community goals. She has over 10 years of experience designing and delivering collaborative solutions across public, non-profit, and private sectors including product and service innovation, digital transformation, architecture, and urban planning. Currently, Andreya is the Design Research Lead at Smart Columbus where she leads design initiatives from discovery through implementation phases across an evolving portfolio of community innovation projects. Andreya is passionate about co-designing equitable and sustainable urban futures  Links Andreya Veintimilla Recommends to Learn More:Connectcentralohio.com/digitalskillshubFranklincountydigitalequity.org