Dr. Matthew Woods has served for more than 12 years assisting students, educators, and schools in a variety of roles. His professional experience includes being a high school social studies teacher, a middle and high school assistant principal, a middle school principal, a director of student support services, an adjunct professor, and a field instructor for student-teachers. Additionally, Dr. Woods hosts an education podcast, Leading Out The Woods,  and is the author of Digital PD for Educators, and the children’s book series, I Wanna Be…

Dr. Woods’s leadership and innovative approaches have brought him recognition from numerous organizations, including ASCD (Emerging Leaders Class of 2021) and the LG Happiness League. He earned a B.S. in History and Social Studies from Ferrum College, an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership and Administration from Virginia Tech, a graduate certificate in Education Law and Policy and an Educational Specialist in Middle Grades Education from the University of Georgia, and an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Administration from Radford University.

Trench story: When he was AP, there was an after-school event situation. A parent got called up to present an award. Parent started talking about a teacher demeaningly. Caught ppl off guard. Everyone in auditorium was shocked. Thought he needed to do the right thing. First time he dealt w/ a situation where you thought of politics behind it.

Talk about your current role as director of student support services: jack of all trades. Liaison to law enforcement. Truancy, expelling officer. District lead for counselors, point of contact for athletics, crisis/safely, etc. If you’re watching a football game sitting in booth coordinating it. Lots of districts combine it w/ sped dept. Keeps him sharp when it comes to “crazy” calls. He tried to be proactive.

Talk about your book  Digital PD for Educators,published in March. Dr. Samantha Fes(?) co-author came from premise of helping educators understand how to use digital spaces for PD. Fear is when you don’t know how to utilize it. Everything you do now is in a digital space. Book is like a workbook. Could use a podcast for PD.

Talk about children’s book series I wanna be, which came out of you writing to represent bi-racial children. 7 different books w/ various occupations. Stars his son Hilton. Difficult to find books that represent biracial kids. Got under his skin. Wife ordered a “do it yourself” book. Dude in book they made didn’t look like him. Great fdb. Kids can see themselves & others. Has linked up w/ an artist who illustrates. Pic of him & son.

What is LG Happiness League? An award he got related to SEL work. Got selected with a stipend with his picture in Times Square- 4 or 5 selected. LG had selected a variety of educators across country. Picture w/ superhero cape.

Why did you start your podcast Leading Out The Woods? He’s from SW Virginia, so bad grammar on his part. Podcast is his way to disconnect. On a variety of topics edu are struggling with. He knew a lot of influencers before and got started w/ podcast. Scheduled way to much early on. Is at episode #90, going on 2 yrs. releases every 2 wks.

Out of everything? Stay encouraged, know you’re making a difference. Always stay true to yourself. True to your compass. Click To Tweet

Where can ppl find you online? Twitter:  @woodfromawoods

 FB: Leading Out The Woods

Website: www.leadingoutthewoods.com has a master course as well.

View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZfsyjVcpiX4