Currey Ingram Podcast

What are your thoughts on jigsaw puzzles? Currey Ingram leaders find them to be extremely valuable...and educational! Co-hosts Dr. Mitchell and Courtney Gallaher invite Lower School Assistant Division Head, Catherine Thomson, and Lower School student, Baylor Burk, to discuss the value of a good jigsaw puzzle. Listen and find out why we find them to be meaningful as well as how they can be helpful for students with learning differences.

Co-hosts Dr. Mitchell and Courtney Gallaher welcome educational leaders from Spring Valley School in Birmingham, Ala. to share their experiences about educating students with learning differences. Hear them speak into the value of a school that is focused solely on serving students with learning differences. They share meaningful stories, discuss the value of vulnerability in education, and express the joy of creating a safe learning environment for students. Spring Valley says it well when they say “a school is not just a building, it is what is inside.” We enjoyed the opportunity to exchange ideas with fellow LD professionals and know you will, too. 

Trying to define a learning difference is complex. Co-hosts Dr. Mitchell and Courtney Gallaher sit down with Currey Ingram Academy Division leaders, Dr. Barton (Lower School), Mary Ragsdale (Middle School), and Dr. Clodfelter (Upper School) to dive into the concept of what a learning difference truly is.  Listen as they discuss the difference between formal diagnosed learning disabilities and learning differences that impact academic development. There is valuable insight for anyone wanting to expand their understanding of learning differences. 

Listen as co-hosts Dr. Jeff Mitchell and Courtney Gallaher engage in conversation with Currey Ingram parents Macy Keen and Stephanie Korn. They come together to share their reflections on Currey Ingram's Back to School Event with Rob Evans about raising healthy children in challenging times. A few highlights include the encouragement for parents to step back, the value of quality time, the beauty of hard moments, and that kids are more resilient than we think.  

Join co-hosts Dr. Mitchell and Courtney Gallaher as they kick off the year with Kelly Fish to talk about Currey Ingram Academy’s 22-23 school year theme, “We Can!” Earlier this year, Kelly Fish was promoted from Currey Ingram’s Athletic Director to Assistant Head of School for Advancement and Strategic Initiatives, and she played a pivotal role in creating the "We Can!" theme. Listen to all three Currey Ingram leaders talk about the upcoming school year, share what “We Can!” really means, and dive into the value of having an all-school goal for everyone to rally around and support in everything we do.  

Co-hosts Dr. Mitchell and Courtney Gallaher sit down for the first time with long-standing Currey Ingram parents, Jennifer and Greg Bays. The Bays open up and share their unique story of being parents of two Currey Ingram students, Joey and Theo. Listen as they share their unique journey to choosing Currey Ingram and how Currey Ingram has guided, supported and blessed not only their children, but their family.  

Dr. Jeff Mitchell and Courtney Gallaher meet up with Tara Miller, the Upper School Director of College and Career Counseling at Currey Ingram, to discuss all things college as they relate to students with learning differences (LDs). Listen and hear how “changemakers” are what colleges are seeking, how students with LDs need to turn the tables and interview prospective colleges, and how starting the college conversation early on in high school years can be valuable for students with LDs.  With the right support, students with LDs can definitely be college-bound! 

Listen to co-hosts, Dr. Mitchell and Courtney Gallaher, discuss the value of a school’s hidden curriculum. They will explain what hidden curriculum means and share real examples from Currey Ingram. In their conversation, hear how the hidden curriculum truly enhances the academic curriculum and educational experience. Finally, Dr. Mitchell and Division leaders, Dr. Danielle Barton, Mary Ragsdale and Jared Clodfelter, will each share their 2022 resolutions for Currey Ingram. 

It has been said that 80 percent of New Year’s Resolutions fail by February. Not true with Currey Ingram Academy. In this podcast, co-hosts Dr. Mitchell and Courtney Gallaher check in on the 2021 Currey Ingram resolutions.  Overall, Currey Ingram beat the norm, and each resolution achieved some level of success. Hear how Currey Ingram improved the affordability gap, how a teacher completed his novel, how the Upper School Dean of Students even conquered War and Peace, and more. Hopefully it provides you with just the inspiration you need to start 2022 on the right foot!

Co-hosts Dr. Jeff Mitchell and Courtney Gallaher dive into a conversation with Ginann Franklin, director of libraries and educational technology at Currey Ingram, about social media as it relates to students. They discuss everything from TikTok challenges, to being a social media creator, the importance of being a social media “upstander," and more issues affecting students today. Listen and find out how Currey Ingram promotes positive technology within the classroom, how we support student self-regulation, and what you can do at home to ensure your child uses social media in the smartest ways.

Dr. Jeff Mitchell, Head of School at Currey Ingram Academy, states early on in this podcast episode that executive functioning (EF) is almost everything. Executive functioning is a significant component of an individual’s overall development and achievement. Listen to co-hosts Dr. Jeff Mitchell and Courtney Gallaher have a conversation with Dr. Regan Humphrey about executive functioning in greater depth. They share their own personal EF strengths and weaknesses, provide a detailed definition of EF, speak into the connection between EF challenges and learning differences, and share the importance of knowing an individual's “executive functioning age.”  

It is well known that ADHD is more common in boys, but ADHD also significantly impacts girls. Understanding how ADHD manifests in females not only increases awareness, but also prevents girls from getting lost under the radar. Listen to co-hosts Dr. Jeff Mitchell and Courtney Gallaher as they engage in conversation with Miranda Pool, the Frist Chair of Social-Emotional Learning at Currey Ingram Academy. They discuss the common symptoms of ADHD in girls, elaborate on emotional dysregulation, and even share how anxious compensations can develop in girls with ADHD.

Tune into this episode to hear how the right enrollment numbers enhance the school’s mission, how our staff’s professional development is critical to our school’s success, and how Currey Ingram looks to expand our community outreach beyond our campus. You will walk away with an understanding of how Currey Ingram is putting its vision and goals into practice. Listen to podcast co-hosts Dr. Mitchell and Courtney Gallaher share the strategic initiatives for the 2021-22 school year. 

As Currey Ingram launches into a new school year, the mindset on campus is best encapsulated by the theme of “Onward.” Listen to podcast co-hosts Dr. Mitchell and Courtney Gallaher discuss the meaning of "Onward," provide reasoning for the new COVID-19 protocols, and share how the past year has influenced the view for the new school year. The goal is to keep moving forward, acknowledge the past, and most importantly to always “do it together.”

No one could predict what the 2020-21 school year would hold. In this episode, podcast co-hosts Dr. Mitchell and Courtney Gallaher reflect on the past school year and discuss the impact the pandemic had on independent schools nationally, and within the walls of Currey Ingram. Listen as they share the challenges, pleasant surprises and silver linings of the year. You also will hear how continuity was sustained at Currey Ingram as staff and students navigated this challenging year and why Dr. Mitchell calls it a “buggy” year.

The teen years are complex. They present challenges that can be difficult to understand. Cohosts, Dr. Mitchell and Courtney Gallaher, are joined by Levi Hamilton, Upper School Dean of Students, in a conversation about teens. They dive into topics about the value of being bored, the need to understand perspective taking, and the purpose of allowing teens the time to rebound, rest, and recover.

Summer is a great time for students to play outside, have fun, and in some cases, get needed intervention through programs like our ADHD and ASD Summer Treatment Programs. Listen as camp program directors Regan Humphrey and Nick Quijano join podcast co-hosts Dr. Mitchell and Courtney Gallaher to discuss Currey Ingram's many different summer programs. Listeners also will hear an unexpected new fact about Dr. Mitchell as he shares a favorite summer camp memory.

In this week's episode, three Upper School students join our co-hosts as they spend some time reflecting on the deeper meanings of superheroes. In March, the Upper School students had the privilege of hearing from Bill Rosemann, Vice President and Creative Director for Marvel Games, as he provided an inspiring webinar about how he turned his love of comics into a meaningful career, the value of pursuing your passions, and the meaningful messages within superhero characters. Marvel superheroes entertain us, but they also celebrate diversity, promote inclusion, and inspire connection. Our Upper School students resonated with Rosemann’s message, and reflect on the messages they walked away with, including the belief that anyone has the power to be a superhero.

Co-hosts Dr. Mitchell and Courtney Gallaher welcome Currey Ingram alumni, Ben Davis and Jackson Short to reflect about their time at Currey Ingram Academy. They share the importance of small classroom environments and not being afraid to ask for help. In this episode, we also introduce a new and recurring topic that covers what students and parents around Currey Ingram are saying, such as a Lower School student's favorite things about the school and an impactful story from a Middle School family.

In this inaugural episode, "Shout Outs," Head of School Dr. Jeff Mitchell and Eric Vinson, Lower School Assistant Division Head and Director of Residential Life, discuss the school's response to the current worldwide pandemic, specifically highlighting the efforts of many within the Currey Ingram community.