Homeroom Attendance
You know that look teachers give each other in the hallway? The one that says everything without saying a word?
That's what this show is.
Homeroom Attendance is the podcast for educators who are done with the watered-down professional development and ready for real talk about what it actually takes to show up, lead well, and build a culture that doesn't burn people out.
Every episode, host Edward DeShazer brings lived experience, practical tools, and honest conversation straight to the teacher lounge. Whether you're a classroom teacher, a school leader, a counselor, or an administrator, there is something here for you.
No Pinterest PD. No corporate buzzwords. Just the kind of conversation educators actually need.
Each episode delivers a clear takeaway, a mindset reframe, and one action step you can use today or tomorrow. Because the best professional development doesn't make you feel talked at. It makes you feel seen.
Pull up a chair. Attendance is being taken.
Episodes
79 episodes
What Student Behavior Is Actually Telling You
Before the relationship recession shows up in grades or attendance, it shows up in behavior.The kid who stops asking for help. The one testing you a little further each day to see if you'll still show up for them. The student who goes co...
Home Alone As A Lesson In Teacher Boundaries
Kevin McAllister didn't get left behind because his family didn't love him. He got left behind because everyone was moving too fast to notice he was still standing there.That happens in schools too. The reliable teacher who handles the f...
You Either Die a Hero
Before anything bad happens to Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight, he says the truest thing about himself out loud. And then the story never gives him a way back to it.Educators make a version of that same statement when they start this work...
Three Non Negotiables For Teacher Wellness
There's a teacher listening right now who drove to work with the radio off just to get the only silence they'd have all day. Who got home exhausted and immediately started grading papers. Who has a boundary they believe in and a list of reasons...
The Relationship Recession in Schools
It happens every year in every school. The August energy fades, the novelty wears off, and somewhere around week five or six, the culture that felt alive starts running on backup power.Edward calls it the relationship recession. And most...
How To Build School Culture In The First 30 Days
When does your school year actually begin?Before you say the first day of school — think harder. Because the first 30 days aren't a warm-up. They're the window where norms get established, relationships get formed, and the unwritten rule...
The Four Functions Of Student Behavior
Every behavior a student shows you serves one of four functions: escape, attention, tangible, or sensory. That's it. And when you can identify which one is driving what you're seeing, you stop asking what's wrong with this kid and start asking ...
Student Behavior Is A Message, Not A Problem
Picture the student who disrupts your classroom. The one who talks back, refuses to sit still, and has a reputation that travels the hallways before they ever walk through your door.What was the first word that came to mind?In thi...
5 Summer Actions That Will Change Your School Culture by October
School culture doesn't wait for September. The decisions you're making right now, the conversations you're having, the things you're letting slide — that's your culture being built. August doesn't fix it. July builds it.Last week Edward ...
What We've Been Ignoring In Education
There's a gap in education between what people know and what they're willing to say out loud. That gap is where a lot of the dysfunction lives.In this episode, Edward names four things that people inside school buildings have been walkin...
What Are You Practicing This Summer?
Here's a question worth sitting with this summer: what are you actually practicing?Not what you're planning. Not what's on your reading list. What you're doing, repeatedly, in the weeks between June and September — because that's what sh...
The Quiet Lie of Educators
Two or three weeks into summer, when the June exhaustion finally starts to lift, something else shows up. The quiet. And in the quiet, a voice that starts second-guessing everything — the students you didn't reach, the lessons that didn't land,...
Stopping Isn't the Same as Restoring
You made it to summer. But surviving the school year and being ready for the next one are two different things.In this episode, Edward gets honest about what burnout actually looks like in education — not the dramatic version, but the qu...
Reacting vs. Leading: The Real Difference for School Leaders
We draw a sharp line between reacting and leading when disruption hits schools, and we name the hidden habits that turn stressful moments into lasting dysfunction. We choose clarity over fake certainty, and we ground leadership in values and pr...
Preparing to Disrupt the Disruption in Education
We launch Homeroom Attendance by asking a simple question with sharp edges: are we truly present in our schools or just physically in the room. We challenge the addiction to new initiatives and make the case that trust and culture, not binders ...
The Final Bell For Teachers Ed Podcast
The Teachers Ed Podcast ends today and it’s personal. I’m not dropping an announcement and walking away; I’m sitting with you for an honest thank you, a clear apology for the times I went quiet, and the real reason I can’t keep building this th...
Fueling School Culture With Growth And Recognition
We challenge the idea that growth means titles and argue for growth as trust, feedback, and purpose. We show why recognition must highlight effort and progress, not just results, to build durable school culture that lifts students.• def...
You Don’t Owe Teaching Your Exhaustion
We reframe tired as a sign of giving and walk through three practical moves to protect energy, mindset, and morale. We also challenge school leaders to streamline instead of piling on “one last thing” so staff can breathe and sustain the work.<...
Midyear Reset For Educators
January can feel like a 94‑day month, especially in schools. We open the door to a real midyear reset by naming the weight of this season and shifting from hype to honesty. Instead of treating wellness like a program, we walk through how staff ...
Educator Wellness: Five Lessons Every Educator Needs
We share five hard lessons on self-care that keep educators from burning out and help us show up with energy for students and family. The conversation is honest, practical, and direct, with clear steps to set boundaries, ask for help, and make ...
Your School Team Isn’t Broken, It’s Just On Airplane Mode
We redefine collaboration as a choice built on trust, healthy conflict, and accountability, not simple proximity. We map five levels of team trust and share concrete steps to repair culture so schools can pull together with purpose.• co...
From Silos To Strong School Teams
Ever feel like your team works in the same building but on different islands? We unpack how schools move from silos to strong, connected teams that share the load and multiply results. If you care about culture, teacher wellness, and student su...
Leadership That Lands: Communicating Across Four Styles In Schools
We break down why leadership communication fails when it assumes everyone listens the same way and show how adapting to four distinct styles turns messages into momentum. The goal is simple: connect clearly, build trust, and strengthen culture ...
Fixing School Culture Through Leadership And Communication
We lay the foundation for the Building Bridges Blueprint by showing why most problems are communication problems, not performance problems. We share concrete steps to lead with clarity, consistency, and care so trust grows and culture thrives.<...