AASA Learning 2025 Professional Learning Series: Podcast Title: The Secret to School Climate

Guest: Horacio Sanchez

Bio: A national speaker and author, Horacio Sanchez is also an educational consultant to many organizations focused on improving formal education. He is recognized as one of the nation’s leading authorities on resiliency and applied neuroscience. His expertise helps schools overcome the impact of poverty, improve school climate, engage in brain-based instruction, and address issues related to implicit bias. He is the author of the best-selling books The Education Revolution and The Poverty Problem. The Yale Center for Educational Improvement says his new book, Unlocking School Bias, is “simply brilliant.”

AASA Learning 2025 Professional Learning Series: Podcast Description:

Join us for an enlightening 45-50 minute episode of The Secret to School Climate with Horacio Sanchez, where we delve into the fascinating ways our brain’s chemistry and subconscious reactions shape our interactions and influence the atmosphere in our schools.

In this episode, we’ll uncover how the brain’s “preattentional system” constantly assesses people and environments in the blink of an eye—often without us even realizing it. This subconscious processing happens in just 200 milliseconds, meaning our minds have often reacted before we consciously process a situation. We’ll explore how understanding these automatic responses helps school leaders, educators, and staff intentionally shape a positive school climate.

Together, we’ll discuss:

The brain’s preattentional focus: What our brain is hardwired to notice and why it matters.
Simple behavioral adjustments: How minor shifts in behavior can calm the brain’s emotional center (the amygdala), fostering stronger social connections.
Disproportionate patterns: How repeated imbalances in school environments shape students’ and staff perceptions, impacting overall behavior.
Social influences: How societal patterns subtly mold our thoughts and actions.
Practical steps for positive impact: Ways to consciously guide the brain toward a more supportive, productive school climate.

This episode also offers a sneak peek into concepts from the upcoming book, Unlocking School Bias by Horacio Sanchez (release date: March 14, 2025), providing a deeper dive into this science-based approach to nurturing school environments. Whether you’re an educator, administrator, or simply curious about the science of social interactions, tune in to uncover the brain’s role in shaping the school climate.