GAEL UnscriptED
GAEL UnscriptED, the podcast that goes beyond the headlines and handbooks to bring you unfiltered insights from Georgia’s top educational leaders, innovators, and changemakers. Hosted by Ben Wiggins, Executive Director of GAEL, this show dives deep into the challenges, opportunities, and unexpected twists that shape education today.
From leadership strategies to policy discussions—and everything in between—GAEL UnscriptED is your go-to source for candid conversations that make an impact. No scripts. No fluff. Just real talk from those leading the way in Georgia’s schools.
Episodes
39 episodes
GAEL Micro-Credentialing Course: Leadership Coaching
Most leadership problems don’t need a faster answer. They need a better conversation. We sit down with Cindy Flesher, Kerensa Wing, and Wanda Law from GAEL to get practical about leadership coaching and why it’s becoming a must-have skill for p...
GAEL UnscriptED S2:E17 | Teacher Retention Starts With Leaders
Teacher retention is often treated like a staffing puzzle, but we keep coming back to a tougher truth: educators stay or leave based on the daily experience of working in a school. That experience is shaped, minute by minute, by leadership. We ...
2026 Georgia Education Legislative Recap
The laws that hit Georgia classrooms rarely start as clean, simple ideas. They start as priorities, get reshaped by amendments and late-night negotiations, and land in districts with real staffing, scheduling, and budget consequences. We sit do...
GAEL UnscriptED S2:E16 | How GLISI Builds Trust Based Leadership
The fastest way to stall school improvement is to treat leadership like a set of tips you can download. Real change asks something harder: adults have to be willing to learn, unlearn, and look in the mirror. We sit down with Leslie Hazel Bussey...
GAEL UnscriptED S2:E15 | Level Up Fulton: with Lisa Steele & Brian Keefer
Turnover doesn’t just drain a district’s budget, it drains trust, momentum, and student support. We talk with Lisa Steele and Dr. Brian Keefer from Fulton County Schools about a different way to approach the problem: build a clear, incentive-ba...
GAEL UnscriptED S2:E 14 | Lose The Title And Go Walk The Halls
The first year as a superintendent can feel like drinking from a firehose, and the pressure to prove yourself fast is real. We sit down with Dr. Robbie Hooker (Retired from Clarke County Schools) and Dr. Philip Brown (Jackson County Schools) to...
GAEL UnscriptED S2:E13 | GLISI Part #1
You can feel it in every school building right now: the pace is relentless, the stakes are high, and even great people can slide into survival mode. We bring in Leslie Hazle Bussey and Jennie Welch from GLISI, the Georgia Leadership Institute f...
GAEL UnscriptED S2:E12 | Why GAEL Matters
Leadership in public education can feel lonely until you find the right people in your corner. We’re joined by former GAEL executive director, Dr. Jimmy Stokes and GAEL COO, Dusty Smith for a fast-moving conversation on how Georgia’s education ...
GAEL UnscriptED S2:E11 | Schools Can Use AI Without Letting Cheating Win with Trek Ai
Students are already using AI for school, whether we approve it or not and that reality is forcing district leaders to make choices fast. We sit down with Erin Burchik of Trek AI and Brent Coleman of GET to get honest about what’s happening in ...
GAEL Unscripted S2:E10 | Cancel School? The Forecast says "You're Facebook Famous"! Part #2 with Mitch Young
Ever wonder what really drives a snow day decision? We pull back the curtain with Superintendent Dr. Mitch Young to map the real playbook behind closures and delays—from scanning multiple forecast models to walking buildings at dawn and keeping...
GAEL UnscriptED S2:E9 | Leading Schools Starts With Trust with Mitch Young
What does it take to lead 43 schools without losing the soul of each community? We brought in Superintendent Mitch Young of Forsyth County Schools to pull back the curtain on a playbook that trades micromanagement for trust, and slogans for a s...
GAEL UnscriptED S2:E8 | How Georgia 4-H Helps Kids Become Beyond Ready For Work And Life
What happens when a trusted school partner meets a statewide youth movement with real pathways to growth? We sit down with Georgia 4-H leaders Melanie Biersmith and Mandy Marable, plus alumna Alyssa Haag, to trace how classroom access, summer c...
GAEL UnscriptED S2:E7 | Teach in the Peach
Georgia wants teaching to be a first‑choice career, not a fallback—and we brought in the right guide to show how. We sit down with Selena Blakenship, veteran teacher, beloved principal, district HR leader, and now the voice behind Teach in the ...
GAEL UnscriptED S2:E6 | How Executive Coaching Transforms Georgia’s School Leaders
Leadership feels different when someone is asking the right questions instead of handing you quick fixes. We sit down with co-directors Kerensa Wing and Rickey Edmond to unpack how executive coaching is reshaping growth for Georgia’s school lea...
GAEL UnscriptED S2:E5 | How Ag Education Changes Lives with Rachel Kinsual, Georgia TOTY
What happens when a teacher treats a classroom like a launchpad? We sit down with Georgia’s Teacher of the Year to explore how agriculture education, FFA, and work-based learning give students real skills, real mentors, and real chances to lead...
GAEL UnscriptED S2:E4 | From Safety To Instruction: How Kloud-12 Transforms K-12 Teaching
What if the same video that protects teachers also helps them teach better? We sit down with Kloud-12’s Brent Coleman and Kelly Martinez to unpack how classroom cameras and a modern intercom can turn daily practice into measurable growth while ...
GAEL UnscriptED: S2:E3 | TRS Part #2: Retirement Math That Actually Matters
Ready to turn career choices into retirement confidence? We sat down with Georgia’s Teacher Retirement System leadership to decode the rules that matter most: how promotions interact with anti-spiking safeguards, why your highest 24 months driv...
GAEL UnscriptED S2:E2 | TRS Part #1: How Georgia's TRS Powers Educator Retirement Security
A bus route to the boardroom isn’t a cliché here—it’s the real path two former superintendents took before stepping into leadership at Georgia’s Teacher Retirement System. We open with their unexpected journeys, the mentors who nudged them forw...
GAEL UnscriptED S2:E1 | Build Networks & Lead with Confidence
Start the new year with a clean slate and a smarter plan for leading your school. We kick off season two by inviting members to share their best campus ideas on the show and by laying out concrete support you can plug in right away. From statew...
Season Finale: Big Thanks & Big Things Coming at Winter GAEL
Ready for a clear look at what leaders need next? We close the fall season with Cindy Flesher and a practical preview of Winter GAEL, our three-day gathering in Athens that puts member voice at the center. From the first survey response to the ...
How A Statewide Program Turns Teens Into Community Leaders: Part #2
If leadership is a muscle, this conversation is the workout plan. We sit down with the team from UGA’s Fanning Institute to unpack Youth Lead Georgia—a statewide program that starts with a three‑day kickoff in Athens and expands into a year of ...
Inside UGA Fanning’s Blueprint For Youth Leadership That Works: Part #1
Want proof that high school leadership doesn’t have to be performative or reserved for a select few? We sit down with the team at UGA’s JW Fanning Institute for Leadership Development to unpack a model that helps teens lead right now—no jargon,...
Part 2: Danny Kofke: Building Long-Term Wealth on a Teaching Career
Think a teacher salary can’t build real wealth? We invite Danny Kafke back to show how educators can pair the Georgia TRS pension with smart, low-fee savings and the right insurance to create stability that rivals seven-figure portfolios. We st...
Danny Kofke: Your First Steps to Financial Confidence as an Educator
What if a 42K salary could still build a rich, secure life? We sit down with longtime educator and author Danny Kofke to map out the practical money moves that help teachers thrive today and retire strong tomorrow. Danny’s story starts in the c...
Networks Beat Chaos: How Community Strengthens K-12 HR
A deepfake with a boss’s voice. A viral post that turns a school into a headline. A teacher’s split-second decision in a chaotic classroom. We dive into the real frontiers of K-12 HR and the practical systems that keep leaders steady when every...