Teacher Talk Series | Stronger relationships. Stronger students. Stronger schools.

Walking Alongside Families

About This Teacher Talk

National Life Group’s LifeChanger of the Year program invites you to a discussion on building better engagement with students and their families. Stronger relationships don’t happen by chance. They are built through trust, communication, and partnership. Join educators from across the country as we explore practical strategies for strengthening teacher, parent, and student relationships that support academic success and student well being.

Why it Matters

Regular communication between teachers and families yields positive results. Research consistently shows that parent engagement is associated with higher academic
achievement, better student behavior, stronger social skills, and improved student health and well being.¹

Meet Our Moderator

Ekuwah Moses
2023-2024 LifeChanger Grand Prize Winner

Ekuwah Moses is a Family Learning Facilitator and educator with more than 25 years of experience fostering family engagement and strengthening connections between home and school. She also teaches Engineering to K-5 students at D. L. “Dusty” Dickens Elementary School and is the author and illustrator of two nonfiction picture books, including “My Name Is My Address”, an Amazon #1 New Release featured in School Library Journal.

Joined by:

Jodie Woodruff

Jodie is the Director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at The Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center (The Met), where she founded the first freestanding public high school entrepreneurship center in the United States. She has spent more than two decades empowering students through innovative, real-world learning.

Sydney Hebel

Sydney is an adapted physical education teacher with the Detroit Public Schools Community District, where she creates inclusive opportunities for students of all abilities and helps inspire a lifelong love of health, fitness, and sports. A passionate athlete and leader, she also plays for the Detroit Prowl women’s tackle football team, helping lead the team to an undefeated season, a national championship, and a world title in her rookie year.

¹Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (November, 2024). Parent Engagement in Schools. https://www.cdc.gov/healthy-youth-parent-resources/parent-engagement/

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