In this episode, we tackle a critical yet often overlooked topic: how educators can identify and assist homeless students to thrive in Career and Technical Education (CTE) classrooms. Our special guests Jordan Yaw, Interim Director of Residential RHY Services and Mikayla Koudela, Director of Residential Placement Services for the Centre County Youth Service Bureau—bring their expertise in education, social work, and student advocacy to the conversation.

Together, we explore:
✅ Signs and strategies for identifying students experiencing homelessness.
✅ The unique challenges these students face and how CTE programs can be a lifeline.
✅ Practical tools and resources educators can use to create inclusive and supportive learning environments.
✅ Inspiring success stories of students who overcame barriers to achieve their career goals.

Whether you're a teacher, administrator, or advocate, this episode will equip you with actionable insights to empower every student to succeed.

📢 Don’t miss this important conversation—because every student deserves a path to a brighter future.


Resources:
Mckinney-Vento Act Quick Reference

Homelessness Contacts by region in Pennsylvania

Office of Children, Youth, and Families

Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth, and Family Services

Homeless Education

In this episode, four instructors share their thoughts about helping students become more aware about the world outside the local community and region. Instructors share their teaching strategies that assist students to have a globally connected mindset.

Resources and Links:

CTE Without Borders Policy Playbook

Global Models of Career Pathways

Generation Global

The Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Scholarship

Artificial Intelligence is here to stay! In this episode Beate Brunow and Larkin Hood from Penn State's Schreyer Institute for Excellence, share practical information and insight to assist educators to begin exploring the use of artificial intelligence in the classroom.

This episode includes:

• artificial intelligence explained
• common artificial intelligence platforms
• prompt engineering basics
• common uses for artificial intelligence
• challenges for using artificial intelligence
• advice for getting started with artificial intelligence platforms

Episode Resources and Links:

Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence

ChatGPT

Perplexity

Microsoft Bing/Copilot

Google Bard/Gemini

AI Prompt Library (AI for Education)