Best Bvsd Podcasts (2025)

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BV Unmuted: Academic Success in Blue Valley 28:41

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1M ago28:41

28:41

What if academic success was about more than test scores—and every student had a team behind them helping them find their path? In this episode of BV Unmuted, Superintendent Dr. Gillian Chapman sits down with Melissa Blevins (Blue River Elementary), Dr. Tyler Alexander (Blue Valley Southwest) and Kelly June (Executive Director of Academic Services)…

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BV Unmuted: A Q&A With Blue Valley's New Superintendent 12:55

3M ago12:55

12:55

By Dr. Gillian Chapman & District Staff

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BV Unmuted: 2020-2025 Strategic Plan 28:33

7M ago28:33

28:33

In this episode, we dive into Blue Valley’s 2020-2025 Strategic Plan, examining the district's progress and impact. We'll highlight advancements in student support, including mental health first aid training and social-emotional learning initiatives. The discussion also covers the district's commitment to staff wellbeing, professional learning and …

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BV Unmuted: Personal Electronic Devices 20:09

9M ago20:09

20:09

Our #BVUnmuted series continues with a focus with an update on the district's personal electronic device policy. Blue Valley Superintendent Dr. Tonya Merrigan is joined by Blue Valley North Principal Dr. Tyson Ostroski, Executive Director of School Administration Scott Roberts and Blue Valley North Social Studies Teacher Jeff Breedlove. #BVTogether…

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BV Unmuted: Bond 2023 Update 18:07

10M ago18:07

18:07

Our #BVUnmuted series continues with a focus with an update on the approved 2023 Bond. Blue Valley Superintendent Dr. Tonya Merrigan is joined by Executive Director of Operations Jake Slobodnik, Director of Safety and Security Dan Carney, and Senior Coordinator of Digital Resources Liz Chopp. #BVTogether…

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BV Unmuted: The Impact of Educators 21:52

11M ago21:52

21:52

Our #BVUnmuted series continues with a focus on the impact of our teachers in the Blue Valley Schools. Blue Valley Superintendent Dr. Tonya Merrigan is joined by three Blue Valley Schools students, Caroline, Arianna and Maverick to discuss the positive impact that our teachers have on their students.…

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BV Unmuted: Legislative Priorities 23:02

12M ago23:02

23:02

Our #BVUnmuted series continues with a focus on the Blue Valley legislative priorities. Blue Valley Superintendent Dr. Tonya Merrigan is joined by School Board President Gina Knapp, Vice President Jan Kessinger, and Chief Financial Officer Jeremy McFadden to discuss these priorities in the upcoming legislative session. #BVTogether…

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BV Unmuted: Why Attendance Matters 21:19

1y ago21:19

21:19

Our #BVUnmuted series continues with a focus on school attendance. Blue Valley Superintendent Dr. Tonya Merrigan is joined by principals Leah Vomhof, Stacey Sperry and Dr. Cory Cox to discuss the why attendance matters. #BVTogetherBy Dr. Tonya Merrigan & District Staff

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BV Unmuted: Understanding Threats and Their Consequences 23:50

1y ago23:50

23:50

Our #BVUnmuted series continues with a focus on school safety, understanding threats and their consequences. Dr. Katie Collier, deputy superintendent for learning, is joined by Interim Chief Simon Happer (Overland Park Police Department) and Dan Carney (Director of Safety & Security) to discuss how Blue Valley ensures a safe and secure environment …

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BV Unmuted: On Elementary Plan & Collaboration Time (Part II) 22:22

2y ago22:22

22:22

Join Blue Valley Chief Communications Officer Kristi McNerlin and Deputy Superintendent Dr. Katie Collier as we follow up on an earlier discussion about plan and collaboration time in our elementary schools. #BVTogetherBy Dr. Tonya Merrigan & District Staff

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BV Unmuted: Community Mental Health 17:48

2y ago17:48

17:48

Our #BVUnmuted podcast series continues with a focus on mental health support across our district and community. 🧠🩺💙 Dr. Merrigan is joined by Dr. Mindy Wells (Student Support Services), Tim Deweese (Johnson County Mental Health Center) and Karen Mulligan (Children’s Mercy) to discuss how our district works with community organizations and professi…

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BV Unmuted: Elementary Plan & Collaboration Time 20:00

2y ago20:00

20:00

Our #BVUnmuted podcast series continues with a focus on plan and collaboration time at the elementary school level. February Host & Guests Amy Farthing (Executive Director of School Admin, K-5) Dr. Katie Collier (Deputy Superintendent) Shelly Krull (3rd Grade Teacher, Aspen Grove Elem.) Kathleen Cigich (Principal at Lakewood Elem. and BV Parent) Th…

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BV Unmuted: Updated Graduation Requirements 12:51

2y ago12:51

12:51

Our #BVUnmuted podcast series continues with a focus on updated graduation requirements across the district! 🎧🎓📚 Join host Dr. Tonya Merrigan along with guests Scott Roberts (Exec. Director of School Admin) and Dr. Anne Kastelic (Asst. Principal, BVSW) as the group talks through some of the changes and how they will positively impact students in th…

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BVUnmuted: Academic Success in Blue Valley 25:51

2y ago25:51

25:51

Join host Dr. Tonya Merrigan as our #BVUnmuted series continues with a focus on academic success in Blue Valley! Guests Kelly Ott and Adam Wade from Academic Services discuss what success looks like in classrooms at the elementary, middle and high school levels. #ChampionsOfLearningBy Dr. Tonya Merrigan & District Staff

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BV Unmuted: The Kindergarten Experience 19:40

2+ y ago19:40

19:40

Join host Amy Farthing as we discuss the kindergarten experience for students, teachers and families in Blue Valley! Guests: Christy Taylor, Indian Valley Elementary teacher with close to 40 years experience teaching kindergarten Hannah Battleson, IVE parent of a current kindergarten student and former educator Ayla Battleson, current IVE kindergar…

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BV Unmuted: Blue Valley Educational Foundation 12:57

3y ago12:57

12:57

Join host Dr. Tonya Merrigan as she talks with Susan Tideman (Executive Director) and Lisa Austin (Communications Manager) from the Blue Valley Educational Foundation. Hear about some of BVEF's upcoming events, exciting fundraisers and learn how you can make an impact on our schools, staff members and community. #BVTogether…

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BV unmuted - Snow Days: Behind the Scenes 9:11

3y ago9:11

9:11

"One of the things that I hope people are hearing is how much planning and thought goes in to decisions around inclement weather... safety is really what we're looking at. We know it's an inconvenience if we have to cancel school, but if it's not safe to come to school because of the weather, we're going to cancel every single time." - Dr. Tonya Me…

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Bond 2023 - Teaching with Technology 15:10

3y ago15:10

15:10

"It's amazing the number of cyber attacks that come in from outside. We've weathered those very well and it's because we have great systems and up-to-date equipment... Bond funds allow us to refresh this technology, ensure a high level of access for our kids, and maintain our network systems so it's a safe experience." - Kelly Ott, Director of Curr…

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Bond 2023 - Student and Staff Safety 22:19

3y ago22:19

22:19

"We try to make all our security measures work together - put them together like a puzzle - so they offer the best protection for our students and staff." - Dan Carney, Director of Safety and Security There is no single safety measure that will keep Blue Valley safe. But there are many layers of security that, when used effectively, can continue to…

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Bond 2023 - Building a Better Blue Valley 17:24

3y ago17:24

17:24

"I think most people are surprised when they hear that the average age of Blue Valley buildings is 29 years... If you have owned a home, you've probably had to replace a roof or an air conditioner... This bond helps us do that." Jake Slobodnik, Executive Director of Operations As Blue Valley grows and our buildings age, we need to find ways to buil…

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BV unmuted - Building Culture and Community 14:27

3y ago14:27

14:27

"When you walk in to Leawood Elementary, you're going to see so many familiar faces because it's our parents who have stepped up and are in here helping us day after day." - Jenny Hayes, principal at Leawood Elementary It's one thing to build a school building, but it's an entirely different task to build a school community and culture. In our firs…

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BV unmuted - Moving On Up 10:26

3+ y ago10:26

10:26

"I'm looking forward to meeting my new teachers and classmates... and I'm also looking forward to my elective classes and joining clubs in middle school." - Amber Gao, 5th grade student For many students, the end of the school year is also the end of an era. Our 5th grade and 8th grade kiddos will be moving up to middle school and high school, whil…

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BV unmuted - More Than A Game 17:47

3+ y ago17:47

17:47

"I think the lifeblood of our school system is the athletics and activities side of things... it's an important aspect of the development of our kids. It's learning how to work with others and have big wins or big defeats because that's life. We're teaching them life lessons on a daily basis." - Anthony Orrick, head football coach at BVSW. Athletic…

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BV unmuted - TLC Performing Arts 28:19

4y ago28:19

28:19

"I get to see my fifth graders every single day... and that means they retain what we do really well. I had a fifth grader tell me 'I just want you to know that I look forward to this class all day!' and I replied 'Well, that's really cool, because we get to do it again tomorrow!'" - Michael Arbucci, strings teacher Blue Valley’s performing arts pr…

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BV unmuted - TLC Digital Citizenship 25:23

4y ago25:23

25:23

"We need to be careful to be consumers of technology, but not let technology consume us." - Heather Jones, Blue Valley parent The internet is a wonderful place for learning and entertainment, but like the world around us, it can pose dangers if precautions are not taken. Through digital citizenship, Blue Valley students learn how to responsibly use…

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BV unmuted - The Learning Connection (TLC) 19:17

4y ago19:17

19:17

The Learning Connection will be a resource for all families, from those with children entering early learning to those with graduating seniors. The resource allows Blue Valley to engage with the community on a regular basis and serve as an additional platform to expand families’ knowledge about the district’s learning and teaching initiatives and o…

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BV unmuted - The Heart Of The Arts 14:49

4y ago14:49

14:49

"I think with all of the arts, it's learning to perform and to handle performance anxiety, which is a natural anxiety to have... that's normal. So normalizing that anxiety and having a professional who knows how to help you with that and coach you through that. That's an amazing skill to have because we all face that in life." - Janelle Brower, Per…

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BV unmuted - Accelerated Learning: Slowing Down To Catch Up 15:45

4y ago15:45

15:45

"This is a year, if you will, of recovery. There may be times that our curriculum calls for certain skills to be taught. But we may realize... that our students aren't quite ready for that content. We're trying to communicate the need to slow down and back up." - Dr. Katie Collier, Deputy Superintendent. Sometimes, it's important to slow down befor…

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BV unmuted - #ZeroReasonsWhy In Blue Valley And Beyond 15:07

4+ y ago15:07

15:07

"Quite frankly, I've worked in this community for 30 years and I've never seen anything like it - people coming together, for a common cause, led by students." - Tim DeWeese, Director of Johnson County Mental Health Center. Our 2021-22 season of BV unmuted starts off with one of the most important topics out there - student mental health. Blue Vall…

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BV unmuted - Ready For Normal: Students Reflect On A School Year Like No Other 18:17

4+ y ago18:17

18:17

"I'm excited to get everybody back for sporting events and all that stuff. I'm really excited to get back to the normalcy of school. I feel like everyone deserves to have that high school experience." - Gage Roach, junior at Blue Valley West. We close out our third season of the Blue Valley Schools podcast with a look back at a school year unlike a…

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On Call with Doc J - COVID-19 vs Flu 30:39

5y ago30:39

30:39

"With COVID-19, you get exposed and may not have symptoms for up to 14 days. You can spend 14 days potentially exposing everyone wherever you go. With the flu, often times it's only 2 days from when you get exposed to when you show symptoms and get sick." - Jenna Miller, MD, FAAP We've had a lot of questions from our listeners about the differences…

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On Call with Doc J - COVID-19 Q&A 23:43

5y ago23:43

23:43

"We've had a lot of great questions from our parents, students and staff regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and these questions are important... We wanted to hit them head-on and share the results with you." - Dr. Chris Jenson, Blue Valley Medical Consultant When circumstances are changing fast, sometimes you've got to change gears. That's why we've t…

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BV unmuted - Learning Mode Selections: Deadline Nov. 16, 2020 10:12

5y ago10:12

10:12

"We need to ensure staffing needs are met, we need to look at master schedules, and we're going to go hand-by-hand through all of our student's schedules to make sure things are right. In order to get all of that done and still give our staff a winter break, we need time to get that accomplished." - Kelly Ott, Director of Curriculum, Instruction an…

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BV unmuted - Screen Time Sanity: Parenting In A Digital World 19:36

5y ago19:36

19:36

"We don't need to be perfect. Every moment isn't going to be Instagram-able. What is it that we can do so that when our head hits the pillow at the end of the day, we as parents can say 'Hey - that was hard, but we did it.' " - Tracy Foster, Co-Founder of START In this episode of BV unmuted, Superintendent Dr. Tonya Merrigan invites our District Co…

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BV unmuted - Social-Emotional Learning While Social-Distancing 18:54

5+ y ago18:54

18:54

"Trust your gut. We are facing so many changes and there are so many different ways that our kids are under stress. If you, as a parent, just have that sense that something doesn't feel quite right, please reach out to us." - Karen Mulligan, Social Worker Manager The challenges of this upcoming school year are unprecedented - and while that may fee…

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BV unmuted - Return To Learn: Planning In A Pandemic 28:09

5+ y ago28:09

28:09

"This is a pandemic. I've never been a superintendent before, but I've certainly never been a superintendent in a pandemic. I've never been an educator in a pandemic. It's going to take all of us - working together - to ensure that we have a safe, sound and sincere quality of education for our Blue Valley students." - Dr. Tonya Merrigan, Blue Valle…

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Toddcast² - COVID-19: The Present, Our Progress, and a Plan for the Future (Season 2, Episode 13) 38:23

5+ y ago38:23

38:23

"If we're going to be ready for students in August, we need to get back to some semblance of normal - but the new normal is going to look very different." - Dr. Tonya Merrigan, Incoming Superintendent For our team here at Blue Valley Schools, it feels like a lifetime since we shared our last podcast with you and, in some ways, it has been. Some thi…

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Toddcast² - Literacy In The Classroom (Season 2, Episode 12) 17:01

6y ago17:01

17:01

"I have parents tell me that their children are coming home and teaching them about what is happening in the classroom... the parents can see the progress the children are making and that we are establishing a love of reading for them." - Alaina Talley, reading specialist at Heartland Elementary In this episode of Toddcast², we continue our convers…

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Toddcast² - Literacy For Life (Season 2, Episode 11) 16:57

6y ago16:57

16:57

"Students leaving our system, prepared for the world in which they will live and be citizens, is largely based on being literate - being able to read and meet the demands of whatever the future holds for them." - Jennifer Luzenske, Director of Curriculum and Instruction From the building blocks of reading and writing, to the integration of content …

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Toddcast² - Career-Ready Programs (Season 2, Episode 10) 19:18

6y ago19:18

19:18

"The careers that are available to students who have an associates degree have doubled over the last several years. At the same time, in the last 20 years, the cost of going to college has risen at a rate that is 19 times higher than the annual family living wage." - Katie Bonnema, Director of Career-Ready Programs. Blue Valley strives to provide l…

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Toddcast² - Benefits Of The Bond (Season 2, Episode 9) 17:51

6y ago17:51

17:51

"When we think about reimagining our spaces, we first and foremost think about what it means to be a student this day and age in Blue Valley. We often say that we're preparing our students for their tomorrows, not our yesterdays."- Katie Collier, Chief Learning Officer With any bond election, it's important to understand how those funds benefit our…

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Toddcast² - Bond 2020 (Season 2, Episode 8) 25:47

6y ago25:47

25:47

"We'll also be reinvesting in mechanical, plumbing and electrical needs - the things people don't talk about until they need it. You want that stuff to work. We don't want leaky roofs or rooms that are too hot or too cold - that's important and we're going to invest in those things." - Kyle Hayden, Chief Finance and Operations Officer The Blue Vall…

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Toddcast² - CAPS 10 Year Anniverary (Season 2, Episode 7) 28:26

6y ago28:26

28:26

"We're up to 16 states that have at least one CAPS program. There's actually a program in Mumbai, India, that launched in August 2019 and is running an entrepreneurship strand of CAPS. It's meant a few nights where I've had to call them at 9pm because it's 8am out there, but it's working really well." - Corey Mohn, CAPS Executive Director As our Ce…

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Toddcast² - Activities And The Weather (Season 2, Episode 6) 16:19

6y ago16:19

16:19

"On a snow day, why do we sometimes allow the kids to come in during the afternoon for activities? The basic reason is sometimes those weather conditions that prevented us from being able to go to school in the morning no longer exist in the afternoon and evening." - Lane Green, Director of School Administration We're talking activities and incleme…

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Toddcast² - Snow Days And Late Starts (Season 2, Episode 5) 16:08

6y ago16:08

16:08

"With a lot of our employees coming from outside the Johnson County area, it's always a concern for us on mornings where there might be some slick spots. Even if it might not be so slick here in the metro area, getting those support staff to work safely is always a big concern for us." - Dr. Mike Slagle, Deputy Superintendent Winter is almost here,…

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Toddcast² - The New Elementary Report Card (Season 2, Episode 4) 18:01

6y ago18:01

18:01

"Both our students and families will be able to see how a student is doing on a specific standard... so instead of just looking at writing, we can talk about how is your student doing with organizing their thoughts, developing a main idea, or even the basic conventions such as capital letters, periods and commas. We feel this will help our students…

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Toddcast² - The Vaping Epidemic, Pt. 2 (Season 2, Episode 3) 28:59

6+ y ago28:59

28:59

"One thing I learned is some students aren't even exhaling the vape cloud any more - they're calling it 'zeroing' it. They swallow the vapor so there's no trace of it. The dangers of that in itself is just astounding to me." - David Stubblefield, Executive Director of Administration - High School We continue the conversation around the battle again…

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Toddcast² - A Student Perspective On Strategic Planning (Season 2, Episode 2) 23:33

6+ y ago23:33

23:33

"No matter how good our school district gets, there will always be some issues to deal with and it's something that we - as a community - can work to perfect. We can make every single child feel that they have a home within their school." - Rabiya Shoaib, student at Blue Valley Southwest. Continuing our discussion on the strategic planning process,…

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Toddcast² - Strategic Planning (Season 2, Episode 1) 16:31

6+ y ago16:31

16:31

"We already have a strategic plan and it's called 'Vision 2020.' Guess what? It's 2020 next year! So it's time for us to take a fresh look at our future and what we want to do here at Blue Valley." - Dr. Tonya Merrigan, Incoming Superintendent In our season premier of Toddcast², we talk about our journey to reimagine learning and change the world w…

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Toddcast² , Episode 9: A Look Back And A Look Ahead 31:39

6+ y ago31:39

31:39

Thank you!!! Yes - you - reading this right now. Because of you, our inaugural season of the Blue Valley Schools podcast was a huge success. While discussing topics that ranged from screen time to student safety - from virtual learning to vaping - we have engaged with our community in a way that we've never done before. In our Toddcast² season fina…