Shows / Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
Through our work at Learning Lab Wichita, we get a front-row seat to innovation in personalized, kindergarten-through-12th-grade learning. On this podcast, we share stories of how educators and parents are helping kids discover their passions—so you can do the same for a child you love.
Episodes
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
Balancing Act: A Division I Athlete's Journey to Becoming a Teacher
Student teaching is a rite of passage for most aspiring teachers, but for Wichita State University high jumper Matte Swartz, it looked a little…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
Never Stop Innovating: A Conversation with USD 259's Rob Dickson
As chief information officer for Wichita Public Schools, Rob Dickson oversees technology decisions that impact nearly 50,000 students. In more than 25 years in…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
5 Myths About Innovative Education
Choosing a school used to be simple. For most families, the options were public school, homeschooling or private school.Today, the education landscape is…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
Growing Up Online, Hosted by Learning Lab Kids
Think kids are glued to their phones with no understanding of the risks of being online? Think again.As part of our Creators and Changemakers Week, Aleeya…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
Engineering a Different Dream, with STEMusic LLC's Roy Moye III
A career pivot sometimes helps you toward your destiny.Roy Moye III achieved his dream of becoming an aerospace engineer, but once he got there, he realized…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
The Confidence to Lead, with Audra Dinell, Founder of The Thread
Self compassion is at the root of growing into the best version of ourselves, says Audra Dinell, founder of The Thread and host of A LOT with Audra.In this…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
FutureReady: Connecting Students to Careers
How are schools tangibly preparing students for the future workforce?Four years ago, Wichita Public Schools partnered with WSU Tech to launch its first…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
More Than Books: Inside Wichita Public Library with Savannah Ball
As the literacy services librarian at the Wichita Public Library, Savannah Ball combines her deep commitment to helping people access the resources they need…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
When Isabel Peine Coaches, Every Kid Belongs
Isabel Peine's background is impressive. She earned degrees in biomedical engineering and mathematics while competing as an NCAA Division I cheerleader.But at…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
Finding the Right Fit: Lauren and Learning Lab
Lauren Mason is often the first face families see when they walk into Learning Lab Wichita, and her warmth, organization and care help set the tone for a…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
The Power of Child Entrepreneurship
Leah Ellis believes the only thing standing in the way of kids achieving extraordinary success is limitations placed on them by adults. Ellis is the founder of…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
Building Community Through Education and Culture with Shane Carter
When Shane Carter came to Wichita in 2025 to start his role as executive director of The Kansas African American Museum, he was no stranger to educational…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
Teaching High School Students to Lead Now
Everyone can lead, and high school students are no exception.That idea is at the heart of Lead Now, a new curriculum from Kansas Leadership Center designed to…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
What It Takes to Start a School – And How Learning Lab Helps
Ever think about starting your own school?At its core, Learning Lab Wichita is designed to support educators and founders starting new K-12 education models…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
From Division I Basketball Coach to Family & Community Impact
Conner Hampton is a former Division I basketball coach, a fundraising consultant, a national speaker – and he is Learning Lab Executive Director Lydia's…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
The Power of Community-Driven Change
Joe Woodward, Director of Wichita Operations for Stand Together Foundation, leads local efforts to advance bottom-up solutions for economic mobility. His work…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
Why All the Kids Love Molly
Molly Brown came to Wichita to become a zookeeper, but she stayed because she loved the city. Today, Molly serves as the events and program manager at Learning…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
The Bug Lady's Journey to Building the Unimaginable
Glass cases filled with cockroaches. Birds that speak English. Tortoises and ferrets roaming free.This is not your typical kindergarten classroom.In fact, it’s…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
Why This Former Teacher Chose to Homeschool
Melissa Lair's son knew his alphabet by the time he was 18 months old. As a former kindergarten teacher, Melissa knew he would be ahead of the curve in a…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
Beyond the Classroom: A New Path to Helping Students Thrive
Ashley Watkins left her career as a high school journalism teacher to pursue a deeper calling: academic coaching that supports the whole student.Blending her…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
The Heart Behind Sunflower Learning Community
Darby Breaux-Vickers is an education entrepreneur and the founder of Sunflower Learning Community, a learning model designed to nurture children’s curiosity…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
Built to Empower: Leadership Lessons from Lindsay Schroeder
Empowered CEO Lindsay Schroeder's career in the education industry began when she applied to serve as a high school dance coach. She ended up working 10 years…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
Leading with Emotional Agility
With so much attention on AI, it’s easy to overlook one skill that might matter even more: emotional intelligence.In this episode, Learning Lab Wichita…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
Inside the Design of Learning Lab Wichita
This week, we switch gears and explore the role of space design in learning. Lisa Shaffer, principal at Alloy Architecture, shares how she designed the…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
School From Every Angle: A Second Grade Teacher's Story
Angela Dooling has seen education from just about every angle. A second-grade teacher at Wichita Collegiate School, Dooling shares her experiences with public…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
How Simulation is Changing the Way Students Learn CTE Skills
This week we’re joined by Niti Singh from Skillveri to talk about how simulators are changing the way students learn skilled trades. From welding to painting…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
Innovation, Implemented: A 2025 Learning Lab Recap
Lydia and Kristin reflect on Learning Lab Wichita's biggest wins of 2025 – and get honest about what it really took to create a first-of-its-kind education…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
An Effort to Support All Students in the Largest School District in Kansas
Wichita Public Schools Director of Partnerships and Belonging Corinthian Kelly started his new role in October 2025, and he has big goals. Kelly shares how he…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
Taking Action: How One Woman is Impacting the Microschool Movement
Dalena Wallace is a woman on a mission. Over the last five years, she founded Wichita Innovative Schools & Educators, a network of microschools and education…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
Arts Organization Helps Kids Through Arts Integration and Exposure
Ellamonique Baccus, executive director of non-profit Arts Partners, has spent her life exposing young people to the arts. The organization she runs today in…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
Helping Young People Discover Strengths for Better Career Discernment
True Compass is a business that helps young people discover their strengths to determine the best path forward after high school. Kristi Windish, founder and…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
Learning Together: How Lily Lake Offers Flexibility for Homeschool Families
When she could not find the type of facility for homeschool families she wanted to utilize, mom and local business owner Cassie Tinsmon and her husband Stewart…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
How a Wrestling Academy Helps Kids Succeed: Setting Goals in Sports and School
Noel Torres, founder of Wichita Training Center Academy, won a DII National Wrestling Championship while attending Newman University (Wichita, KS) as a…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
From Academic Coach to School Director: Kim Hett’s Journey of Innovation
Kim Hett started in fall 2025 as Khan Lab School Wichita's second director. This small school located inside Learning Lab Wichita focused on mastery-based…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
Learning Happens Everywhere: A Homeschool Group Offers Enrichment and Community
This homeschool group leaves the academics to individual families, but group members join together for experiential learning and social time. Kammi Altig and…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
Reimagining the School Day: A Project-Based Learning Microschool with Olivia Sumner
At Creative Minds vertical classroom, a Wichita Public Schools microschool inside Learning Lab Wichita, students in grades K–6 learn through hands-on…
- Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
What if School Looked Different? The Story of Learning Lab Wichita
Get to know Lydia and Kristin as they dive into the importance of personalized learning. Learn more about how Learning Lab Wichita came to exist and how it…