Episode 9: Stefanie Lachenauer (New Jersey State Teacher of the Year) – The Best of New Jersey Podcast

Amanda Morrison: Welcome to the Best of New Jersey podcast presented by bestofnj.com, the podcast that celebrates New Jersey’s most influential figures and the communities that shape them. Big names, real talk, real Jersey. I’m your host, Amanda Morrison, the influencer behind Don’t Sit Home.

Amanda Morrison: Today’s guest is the 2024-2025 New Jersey teacher of the year as well as an author of Let the Glitter Settle. Welcome, Stephanie Lachenauer.

Stephanie Lachenauer: Thank you so much for having me.

Amanda Morrison: So, Teacher of the Year, that’s, you know, that’s a big honor. How, you know, we’re kind of starting from—we’re going to go backwards in this interview—but what’s the process of even becoming the Teacher of the Year?

Stephanie Lachenauer: Yeah, that was a huge honor, huge surprise. So, it’s actually every school has a Teacher of the Year. And for a long time, our district didn’t participate. And then it just so happened the year they did that, I got it for my school district. And then when your school has it, then all of the Teachers of the Year from their schools, they can apply for county. So, I applied for county and I got Somerset County Teacher of the Year. And I was so thrilled about that. And then from there, you apply for state teacher, and then there’s finalists, and then you do a big interview and you give a speech, and then that was how I got named state teacher.

Amanda Morrison: Do you have any friends who have had the honor of Teacher of the Year before?

Stephanie Lachenauer: Yes. So now I’m actually friends with a lot of the state teachers, but I didn’t know any of them previously. I’d read about them and kind of knew about some of the work they were doing, and now I can say, you know, that I’m good friends with some of the state Teachers of the Year.

Amanda Morrison: So you didn’t have any advice. You did this all on your own. So that’s—congratulations. That’s such a big—that’s a big monument in someone’s career. So, did you grow up in New Jersey and get your education in New Jersey?

Stephanie Lachenauer: Yes, through and through. So, preschool through even graduate school at Rutgers University. So, I am truly like a New Jersey educated, lived in New Jersey my whole life. I’m a Jersey girl.

Amanda Morrison: Where were you born and raised?

Stephanie Lachenauer: I grew up in Nutley, New Jersey. So, actually kind of nearish here. And then I went to school at Rutgers. So, then I moved down to New Brunswick and then New Brunswick then took me further to further central. I won’t say south because now I know that Central Jersey exists, and so I live in Central Jersey now in Lawrenceville and I teach in Montgomery.

Amanda Morrison: Okay. So growing up, did you have any favorite spots in New Jersey you liked to go to?

Stephanie Lachenauer: 100%. Yes. So growing up in Nutley, like we have pizza wars. Like pizza is very serious as it is for most of New Jersey. But my favorite place ever, my favorite pizza is Ralph’s Pizzeria. And even to this day, if someone’s like, “Do you want to go to Nutley for pizza?” like I still go to Ralph’s. It is absolutely, I think, hands down the best pizza.

Amanda Morrison: What about Rutgers? I mean, were you grease trucks or—

Stephanie Lachenauer: Yeah, I totally was totally into the grease trucks. I can’t say the name of the sandwich I liked because that is not appropriate. Fortunately, they’ve renamed a lot of them, so I don’t know what it’s renamed to, but loved those grease trucks.

Amanda Morrison: Did you—so, you said you grew up in Nutley. Did you have any favorite destinations? I mean, in your book, I think I read—I forget the quote—but you said something about the beach. So, do you call it the beach or going down the shore?

Stephanie Lachenauer: Oh, it’s going down the shore. Okay.

Amanda Morrison: I just wanted to clarify because you didn’t say “shore” in the book.

Stephanie Lachenauer: Yeah. I guess I tried to work for a broader audience who might not be Jersey-based, but yes, Jersey Shore.

Amanda Morrison: So, growing up in New Jersey and having your education in New Jersey, did you always aspire to go into the education field?

Stephanie Lachenauer: Yes. So, I was one of those kids who like knew I was going to be a teacher. Like, I didn’t just teach my stuffed animals. God gave me two little sisters who were like stuffed animals for me, but better. So, I used to make them play school. So it would be like summertime and like everyone wanted to go outside and play and I’d be like, “Oh, you can go out to play when you’ve finished your work.” And I would give them like assignments to do.

Amanda Morrison: Did you have anyone growing up—I mean, whether it was, you know, high school or college—that inspired you to go into the education field or is it just something that you just felt inside of you?

Stephanie Lachenauer: I think it’s both, right? I think like I kind of always wanted to, but then growing up education was very important in our family. My grandparents had moved here from Germany and both of them were educated up until eighth grade. So like school wasn’t something that was really even an option for them. And both of my grandparents, like their families chose like one person to go to school and it wasn’t them. So my grandmother, when she moved here, she actually got her GED. So not only did she learn English, she then completed high school in a foreign language that she didn’t actually attend school for in her native language. So school was super important and that was like a big motivator for me. Like I knew, “Hey, I have this privilege where I get to learn and get to do this,” and I know that if she could have, she would have been a teacher. So it’s like an extra special honor because I got to do something because of the choices that she made.

Amanda Morrison: Where are you currently a teacher?

Stephanie Lachenauer: I teach in Montgomery Township.

Amanda Morrison: How long have you been there?

Stephanie Lachenauer: This is year 19. Like, I know it’s crazy. I started when I was really, really young. I was 12, actually. So that’s why, you know, 19 could make sense.

Amanda Morrison: So, you’re currently in Montgomery. What other teaching positions did you have before you got there?

Stephanie Lachenauer: So that was my whole career was Montgomery. I student taught in South Brunswick, and then I was a paraprofessional there for a little bit as I was finishing my masters, and then I’ve been in the lower middle school first and then in the upper middle school.

Amanda Morrison: Okay. So what grades do you have right now?

Stephanie Lachenauer: I teach seventh and eighth grade. I teach Global Leadership, Skills for Success, and Learning Strategies.

Amanda Morrison: Okay. What made you go into those subjects?

Stephanie Lachenauer: So, it’s actually really cool. I got to kind of create these courses that I teach. So, I was originally a social studies teacher, which I loved. I really love history. I love learning about how groups of people work together. And I was really kind of inspired by the things that I cared about and wanted to learn more about. And that’s how Global Leadership kind of happened. Like, I love to learn about how we can help support other countries and look at the UN global goals for sustainability. And that was kind of like the Global Leadership piece. And then the other class was like, what are some of the skills I wish I had as a seventh grader? And I was able to start kind of creating this course based on that. So that’s where like mindfulness came in, teaching executive functioning, learning about our personality types, how do we learn, what are our strengths, and how can we apply that for our future.

Amanda Morrison: What made you even go into what grade level you wanted to?

Stephanie Lachenauer: That’s a great question. So, I thought I was going to be an elementary school teacher and then I discovered that as much as I love little kids—I like to hang out and play with little kids—but spending all day in the classroom was like not always the jam. And middle school was just like this magical time of all this transformation that’s happening and all the changes. And I was like, I wish that I had someone that I really felt super safe and comfortable with in that time period. And I was like, I want that. I want to be that person for someone.

Amanda Morrison: Was there anything in particular about Montgomery that drew you in that you’re like, “This is the job for me”?

Stephanie Lachenauer: Yeah. A couple things. So, one, I knew I wanted to be in a school district where they were going to support me in continuing to grow and change as an educator. Like, I didn’t want to be stagnant. I knew I was going to always want to continue to learn, do PD, and learn more. So, that was like a big thing about Montgomery for me. And the second was, at Douglass College, you get to do an externship. So during your winter break, you get to shadow somebody who has a career you’re interested in. So I shadowed Susan Lacey, who is still our principal at Village Elementary School because I was sure I was going to be an elementary school teacher initially, and I got to learn all about Montgomery and I got to see kind of a little bit more of the inner workings, and that was how I learned about it and I was like, “I think that’s where I want to be.”

Amanda Morrison: Did you have any doubts that you wanted—you know, as you started your career path—did you have any moments where you doubted that you were like, “Maybe teaching isn’t for me”?

Stephanie Lachenauer: Oh my gosh, yes. I feel like as a teacher, you always have a day where you’re like, “Oh man.” And for me, it was—I had been teaching mindfulness for a while. I had just introduced it to students and I was like, “This is going to be amazing. Like these kids are going to love it. Like this is going to be life-changing. I wish I had this.” And naturally, it was met with like the eye roll and the grumbling and, you know, what typical middle schoolers do. And I was really thinking about it and I was like, “Why am I trying so hard to like push this on them? If they don’t like it, they don’t want it. And clearly it’s not working. So I need to just quit and stop and maybe I should think of something else to do.” So I had kind of made that decision. I’m driving to school. It’s raining really hard. I was living in Somerville at the time. So when it rains, it floods; every road is closed. My 20-minute drive was literally two hours till I got to school. Of course, it was state testing that day, too. So, it made it even worse. I get to school, I’m defeated. I’m exhausted. I’m sort of stressed out and I’m like, “Why am I doing this? Today is the day like I’m quitting. I’m not teaching mindfulness anymore. We’re going to just figure something else out.” I walk into my classroom and they’re like, “Oh my god, thank god you’re here. Where were you? Where were you, Ms. Lachenauer? No one was here to breathe with us.” I was like, “What? What do you mean? Like you were literally eye rolling me yesterday. You were grumbling. You were complaining. Like I felt like I was actually torturing you,” and then here they were asking for it. So that taught me a couple things, right? In teaching, we’re always planting seeds. We never know when those seeds are going to blossom, when it’s going to grow. And sometimes it feels like it’s not making an impact, but there’s stuff happening beneath the surface. And the second thing it taught me was sometimes we just need someone to breathe with us. Like I never really thought about practicing mindfulness that way is like breathing with them. But sometimes we just need someone to just sit there and be with us. Even as adults, we just need someone who’s willing to listen and just be with us as we’re going through life.

Amanda Morrison: So you’re talking about mindfulness. So what is your definition of mindfulness? Why are you so passionate about it?

Stephanie Lachenauer: So mindfulness is present moment awareness. Paying attention on purpose in the present moment and then non-judgmentally. So my quick version is: mindfulness means paying attention on purpose with kindness and curiosity. So I think it became really important to me because the more that I practice present moment awareness, the more I’m able to be in my power, right? Because our power is right here and right now. There’s no power in the past; it already happened. I have no control over that. In the future, it’s not yet here. I can plan for it, but that’s still me practicing being in the present moment now in that planning process. And I had gone through some really stressful—really, I almost can use the word trauma—things in my life and getting through some of those things, I had come to a yoga practice and then I had started mindfulness through that, and I just found that it really was so supportive for me and being able to move through what I was going through. So to me, mindfulness is kind of like step one of all the other things. Like if you want to help kids get regulated, first they have to be aware that they’re dysregulated, like where they are right now. So in order to get anywhere in life, you need to know where you are right now. GPS doesn’t work if you don’t know where you are right now. Like those directions are useless.

Amanda Morrison: So you’ve had a successful career so far and you’re obviously passionate about mindfulness. So that leads me to my next topic of what made you decide that you wanted to add being an author to your resume?

Stephanie Lachenauer: So, I have my students for 22 days. Like that’s it. It’s 22. It’s just a marking period and it’s like so impactful and wonderful and I feel like we just get the ball rolling and we practice all these strategies and then they’re gone. So I really wanted something where they had something to take with them. So that was kind of how I started thinking about the book. And then I was like, gosh, there’s so many kids out there who don’t have this practice at all, who don’t know about mindfulness or maybe they don’t have opportunities to take courses or to learn about it. So, I kind of wrote this book as a way to reach all of those students and it’s kind of like my love letter to my students. Like, there’s something that you can take and keep and continue to use.

Amanda Morrison: So, not to give too much away, but describe what your book is about.

Stephanie Lachenauer: So, my book is made up of different parts of mindfulness practices. So, there’s a number of different practices that are in it and then journaling prompts that go with it. But there’s also like some fun concepts with mindfulness that are things that were student driven and led, like important things like the mindfulness of farting—stuff like that.

Amanda Morrison: I know that you have it geared toward a certain age group, but why did you choose to do that? Because I feel like these are tips that could help someone at any age.

Stephanie Lachenauer: Absolutely. I really picked the middle school and teen years because there’s not a lot of books written for mindfulness for teens. There are just a handful out there. There’s not a lot of resources that are written specifically for the age group, and teens are less likely to pick up something that is of this topic in general. So I figured if I was writing it directly to them, it would be a resource that would be helpful for them.

Amanda Morrison: So what do you think are maybe your top three tips or practices that you have in the book for someone?

Stephanie Lachenauer: Okay, so I think my top three—one of my most favorite practices is the finger touch. So for that practice, you literally just touch each finger to your thumb and then you put together an affirmation with it. So I like to use the word “strong” because we usually want to feel strong, right? Strong in ourselves. So it’s “I am so strong.” And then you just do that on repeat. And you can have your hands in your pocket. You can, you know, use your breath to go with it. So breathing in on the four and then exhaling on the four. And I like it because it’s tactile, it’s tangible, and our hands are always with us, and then you just stick your hands in your pocket and no one knows that you’re doing it. So that’s one that’s like my students—usually their top favorite one every time. So I’d say that’s number one. A second one is listening to sounds. So when we think about mindfulness, we often think about like focusing on our breath. But sometimes when life feels particularly overwhelming, the breath can be hard to really access and to follow and to stay with. So listening to sounds can help because it’s outside of our body. So noticing sounds that are farther away, sounds that are in our room, and then noticing sounds in our body. And then I think the last one would be tense and release. And that’s instead of doing like a full body scan, you can just squeeze each muscle of your body going all the way up and then release it. So sometimes we hold tension and we don’t realize we’re holding it. I think about this when I go to get my nails done, right? And she’s like, “Relax your hands.” I’m like, “No, no, this is relaxed,” but really my hands are like straight out. So sometimes we don’t know we’re really tensing a muscle. So if we intentionally squeeze it and tense it, then we can know when we let it go, so we can feel that difference.

Amanda Morrison: Those are your favorites. Have you had any feedback of what your reader’s favorites are?

Stephanie Lachenauer: I’ve heard a whole bunch of things across the gamut. Mostly it’s actually the finger touch has come up a lot. That one in class has been a favorite, too. In terms of the book, a favorite has been the chapter actually on farting because, I mean, how many times do you get to read a book about farting and mindfulness? That doesn’t always come up often. So, thinking about how we can bring mindfulness into, you know, present day everyday life.

Amanda Morrison: You don’t have to explain it completely, but what is that chapter about?

Stephanie Lachenauer: So, I talk about how my students really help me to think about mindfulness in, well, I guess in a more teen-friendly way, right? And they started to get really curious about it, and so we were having a mindfulness lesson and a kid was like, “Ms. Lachenauer, is farting mindful?” And I was like, “You know, that’s a great question. Like, is it? Is it mindful?” And so I kind of explore that a little bit in the book and thinking about—so things can be mindful or unmindful depending on how we approach it, right? So it can be mindful to fart if you’re at home and that’s like a safe place, right? But if you’re in public and you’re at the dining room table or on your first date, you’re definitely not going to want to. You’re going to be mindful of maybe the sensations, but you’re going to choose maybe to keep that moment to yourself.

Amanda Morrison: You also—you sent me a copy of the book and you sent a recipe card for the glitter jar. Do you want to explain what that is?

Stephanie Lachenauer: Yes. So, the book is named from glitter jars, because that’s one of my favorite ways to teach mindfulness from the beginning, like just the concept. So that jar can represent our mind and the glitter inside like our thoughts, our feelings, our emotions. And stuff happens in our life that might shake our jar. Like maybe today hitting a little bit of traffic on our way here, right? Might shake our jar a little bit. Running into that traffic, maybe you don’t get your coffee in the morning or maybe the coffee spills—shakes our jar. Maybe you forgot your homework or you forgot something you needed on your way to the office—shakes our jar. Right? So when our jar is shaking, that glitter is swirling everywhere. And while it’s beautiful, we can’t see clearly through it. So when we practice a mindfulness practice, a breathing strategy, we can let that glitter settle to the bottom. And then we can see clearly. So the glitter, it’s still there. It’s in the bottom of the jar, right? We still have those thoughts, feelings, emotions, but now we’re in a clearer headspace. Now we can make a choice. We’re like, “Oh, I was overwhelmed. So what am I going to do now about that?” instead of feeling overwhelmed by all those feelings and letting that control us.

Amanda Morrison: How long did the book take you to write?

Stephanie Lachenauer: Oh my gosh. I started writing in 2016. Well, actually that’s when I had the initial thought. So I knew this for like a long time, like “I’m going to do this and this is the title.” I kind of had that moment of like, “This is what I’m going to do.” And then it wasn’t until 2021 that I sat down and I was in a writing group and we would write together on our own individually every day, every Saturday. And so really since 2016, but 2021 was a time when the book was really fleshed out more.

Amanda Morrison: You mentioned an example that a student inspired you for one of your chapters. Did you take more of the summertime or did you do it all through the school year?

Stephanie Lachenauer: It was mostly during the school year, actually, but it was on Saturday mornings. That was like—my Saturday mornings were like the writing time.

Amanda Morrison: Okay. Do you have another book in your future?

Stephanie Lachenauer: Yes, I’m working on a picture book right now. So that’ll be the next one coming up.

Amanda Morrison: Okay. Any hints to what that’s about?

Stephanie Lachenauer: Still on theme. We’re definitely on a glitter jar theme, so there’ll be some glitter involved in this one. And the main character in it is actually a student that I work with outside of school. She’s the inspiration behind this one.

Amanda Morrison: So, let’s go back to even working in Montgomery. And you know, this is the Best of New Jersey podcast. So even—what are some of your favorite places now? Even maybe around Montgomery, whether you go for lunch or after work. Do you have any fun spots there?

Stephanie Lachenauer: Yes, we love Ricky’s Thai. We also love Paris Baguette. In fact, today we just had a really beautiful cake that was delivered for someone’s retirement party. So love it there. And then Kasia Food Market. That’s one of our students’ favorite places, too. But I always run into kids when I’m there.

Amanda Morrison: What do you do for fun when you—you know, obviously being a teacher is such hard work. What do you do just to relax?

Stephanie Lachenauer: I’m really big into yoga and, you know, all the self-care kind of things. I’m a spa girl. Like I love that kind of stuff. In fact, the Edgewater Spa—speaking of best in New Jersey—that’s one of my favorites to go to. And yeah, and I like to travel. So, as much as I love New Jersey, I also like exploring and seeing other places in New Jersey and then out of New Jersey.

Amanda Morrison: Are you able to really shut your brain off or are you always kind of thinking, maybe even about your picture book or about, you know, a certain class or a certain student?

Stephanie Lachenauer: I am always thinking. I’m always thinking. So, for me, it’s actually like a mindfulness practice in itself to be like, “Okay, I’m noticing that I’m constantly thinking about this. If I’m going to keep thinking about this, am I going to do work on this or do I need to do something else to help me shift that energy?” right? Because otherwise it’s not helpful if my brain is in one place but I am somewhere else. So that is definitely why I’m a mindfulness teacher and believer because I have to practice it so much for myself.

Amanda Morrison: I was going to say, do you have any tips? Because I’m definitely guilty of not being able to shut my brain off. So what is one tip that you would be able to give for someone who has a stressful job or anything? What is one tip you could tell them that could help them just shut out the world for just even maybe an hour?

Stephanie Lachenauer: I think first step is when we try to like block stuff and push it away, I feel like it comes back on stronger. So noticing like, “Okay, I’m thinking about this whatever that one thing is,” and then what can I do that’s going to help me to feel like I don’t have to think about, worry about, or do that right now—unless I do need to do that. And so for me, sometimes it’s like if I write that thought down and then I can come back to it. So, I love the post-it note strategy, right? Like, I write it out so it’s not in my brain anymore and I can put it somewhere and when I’m done my time relaxing, it’s there and I can come back and I know to do that, but now it’s done. It’s out of my brain, on the paper, waiting for me for later.

Amanda Morrison: Okay. So, what else are you involved with professionally? I know that you’re very busy in the classroom. What are you doing outside the classroom?

Stephanie Lachenauer: So, I’m on the board for the Attachment and Trauma Network. So, that’s one of my favorite things that I get to do. So thinking about how to help educate other educators to become trauma-informed and trauma-sensitive. I do a lot of PD around that, so doing trainings and certifying staff members, teaching about mindfulness and regulation strategies. I actually just got to work with the 988 people who answer the phones for the 988 number. So that’s the number to call for suicide prevention or if you’re feeling really worried and stressed, and they were phenomenal. So that was a really cool thing I got to do. And then I do a lot of work with teens. I work with the Youth Action Board. So, it’s a group of high school students and they care a lot about mental health and how to support mental health for their peers. And so, they come up with different types of programming. We have an Instagram page that they help fill out and share resources for them and they really kind of tap into what is the feeling and what’s going on right now for teens and then what can we do to support them.

Amanda Morrison: I mean, that’s amazing. Do you have any advice for—I mean if someone wanted to go into the education world, what advice would you have for them, especially if they’re going into your field?

Stephanie Lachenauer: Um, I think teaching is one of the best careers that you could possibly have. So, I always recommend talking to other teachers, getting your foot in the door—like is there a place where you can sub so you can kind of see a little bit about what that experience is like? And then also the Teach Inspire New Jersey campaign is on right now. So, if you look it up, you can see there’s lots of different resources and ways to help you get started.

Amanda Morrison: Okay. What have been some of the highlights of your career? I know obviously Teacher of the Year is—I mean, I don’t—is it the highest award? But what are some of your favorite highlights of your career so far?

Stephanie Lachenauer: Oh gosh, that day was really inspiring. But I think the biggest highlights really are—they’re really the little moments, right? It’s like the little moments where when kids come to your class and they’re like excited and happy to come to your class, like that is the biggest win. For a 12, 13, or 14-year-old to be happy to see me and to want to be in the room with me, like to me, that is just a highlight. And to be excited about the content that we’re doing, when I get to see kids make connections about who they are and then what they want to do with their lives, oh my gosh, that’s like heaven. That’s what magic’s made of.

Amanda Morrison: I was going to say, I know that you have an impact on your students, but what about the parents?

Stephanie Lachenauer: So, one of my favorites actually is one of the parents came back and told me about how they were having a hard time with something at home and their child was like, “Hey, I think you could really benefit from this mindfulness practice,” and taught something that we had learned about at school. So that was like a really cool moment because it’s one thing for a kid to like listen to it, maybe do it in class, but then to internalize it enough that they practice it on their own and then can teach someone else—but not just anyone else, it’s like their own parent. That’s really cool. That’s one of my favorite stories about how mindfulness has impacted.

Amanda Morrison: Do you ever see yourself shifting to a different age level?

Stephanie Lachenauer: I do some work with younger children also. I teach kids yoga and I’ve done some workshops with that and I’ve done stuff with older kids—I’ve spoken at colleges and things—so I could see that happening. I love branching out and doing all those different things. I think mindfulness can benefit everybody. So whenever there’s a place where I feel like I can be useful, I’m always happy to jump in and do it.

Amanda Morrison: For 2026, what are some of your goals for the year?

Stephanie Lachenauer: A big one. Okay. So, one of them is I’m starting another graduate program on trauma-informed and neuroscience. So, being trauma-informed and using neuroscience in the classroom. So, that’s one of them—I’ll be finishing that by 2027, so starting that this year. Another big goal is finishing that second book and then there’s a journal that I want to finish that will go along with our book. So, that’s another big goal. And then of course, just really enjoying my classroom, being as present as possible because when lots of things are happening and my mind is sometimes in other places, I’ve recognized, you know, after being on sabbatical last year, how much I miss being with the kids. So that new perspective of really soaking in and just being with them in the classroom.

Amanda Morrison: What is one thing about you that people would be surprised about?

Stephanie Lachenauer: Oh my gosh. I’m going to say it out loud, but sometimes I say bad words. Like, I actually sometimes I do. And I think when people hear it come out of my mouth, they’re like, “Oh my gosh.” But in the privacy of my own home and with, you know, not kids, I sometimes say bad words. I think people would be shocked to know that.

Amanda Morrison: What’s your favorite part about teaching in New Jersey?

Stephanie Lachenauer: There’s so many things but one, I think our NJEA is amazing. We do such amazing work with professional development and just in supporting educators. So that’s one of the things. Another is our NJ DOE—having had an opportunity to have a cubicle at the DOE was really cool to see all the things that happen behind the scenes. So, the way that things operate and run, I’m just so impressed with. And then, of course, it’s the people. The coolest people come from New Jersey.

Amanda Morrison: I can agree with that. What’s your favorite part about living in New Jersey?

Stephanie Lachenauer: I think the schools—I mean, we just have these great communities and schools are really the heartbeat of a community and I just feel really grateful that I get to be a part of that.

Amanda Morrison: So, has the Teacher of the Year award opened up any new doors that you didn’t expect to or was it taking you on a path you wanted?

Stephanie Lachenauer: Oh my gosh, it was all unexpected. Like just being named was a huge surprise and honor, and then the whole experience. So, when you become the New Jersey State Teacher of the Year, you get a sabbatical from January to June. So, from January to June, I had a cubicle at the Department of Education and then I got to kind of create my schedule. So while I was still working, I wasn’t in the classroom. So that was completely new to me. I had my first cubicle—it was like the most exciting thing until I realized that I am not really a behind-the-desk kind of worker all the time. And I loved being in the field. So that was really eye opening for me and I was like, “Okay, so I chose the right profession; I’m doing what I’m supposed to do.” And then I got to go do assemblies all over New Jersey. I got to teach lots of professional developments, give speeches—I got to keynote speeches, like 45-minute to an hour-long keynotes which I had never done before, and it’s a very different skill set than being in the classroom. So that was so eye opening for me. I had taught PD before, but this was all like—it was like I did it a little bit here and there and all of a sudden now this was my daily kind of experience. So, I had these really cool opportunities to do things I didn’t normally get to do and step a little bit outside of my comfort zone.

Amanda Morrison: What was one of your favorite keynote speeches?

Stephanie Lachenauer: Um, so one of my favorites, it was actually for an award ceremony and it was for the Distinguished Clinician award. So, instead of—we call it student—so it’s like the student teaching awards. People can win that award and I got to give a little keynote. So, I got to share a story about what it was like for me when I was doing my student teaching. And we talked about that moment when you almost give up. That’s actually the story I should have told because there was a moment where I actually almost gave up teaching before I even really officially began.

Amanda Morrison: What would be your biggest piece of advice for someone who wants to give up teaching?

Stephanie Lachenauer: That there’s always tomorrow and it gets better. But also I think for me with those particular moments, it’s really like a soul searching—in your heart you know if that’s what’s meant for you. So like if it’s time to retire, you also know that, but there’s always tomorrow and when there’s a rough day, that’s often the times when we’re like, “I think I’m done now,” but tomorrow brings new things.

Amanda Morrison: Well, one of the challenges you might have or benefits would be technology and social media. Have you seen it impact students whether with learning, with socializing, or doing their work?

Stephanie Lachenauer: Yes. So that’s been—there’s been a huge uptick, I think, in just in general with mental health and with how kids are feeling in terms of stress and overwhelm, and a lot of that stems from that social media, from their phones, from all the technology that they’re on. So I’ve seen that kind of change and shift and become a little bit more intensified. That’s something that our Youth Action Board works on a lot. So, we talk about that constantly—how it’s also like this push and pull for them because these are kids who are really aware of mental health and they want to be taking care of themselves and they’re really thinking about it all the time, but there’s also this pull where they still want to be doing those things, right? They still want to be checking their phone. They want to know what’s going on. They want to be up to date with their friends, but they’re also realizing like, “Ah, it doesn’t always make me feel the best.” So trying to find that happy balance where they’re still in touch but also really taking care of their own mental health.

Amanda Morrison: I feel like your book is needed now more than ever because obviously every day we turn around there’s a new social media platform. So being able to be at one and not think about looking at your phone or social media. One of the other problems—or not problems—but do you see any challenges with ChatGPT? I mean growing up I wasn’t able to type in, “summarize this book for me.” So as a teacher for any subject, do you find a challenge with AI and ChatGPT?

Stephanie Lachenauer: Yeah. So that’s a great question. As technology changes, I feel like we have to kind of change a little bit along with it, too, and there are great things that come with that and then there’s also these challenges like, “Oh my gosh, are students now just using this to cheat?” and how do we integrate it? And I think that’s something that we’re all still grappling with in education is how much of this do we start to incorporate and in what ways do we incorporate it? And then as a school district, coming up with what our protocols are. So right now I don’t see so much of it, but also the questions that I’m asking students aren’t really lent to using something like that for a response because I’m asking a lot more like, “How did this mindfulness practice make you feel?” or “What are your personality types and how does that connect to you?” So a lot of it’s more personal, but I definitely see kids talking about that more and trying to figure out where that all fits in.

Amanda Morrison: I was going to say, has it fit into how you’re teaching, too? I mean it’s nice because you have the option of being able to kind of get an answer from technology, but have you used it yourself in teaching practices? I mean you’ve been a teacher for 19 years now so—

Stephanie Lachenauer: No, that’s a great question. For sure, I’ve definitely used it as a thought partner, right? So recently I actually did a lesson in Halloween and I was trying to think of how can I teach a cool executive functioning lesson. I knew I wanted to use play-doh and I knew I wanted to have little pieces to have them make monsters, but I wanted it to be about executive functioning and I had certain ideas and I was like, “I need a little more.” And so I used ChatGPT as a thought partner and I kind of went back and forth to get different ideas and then I ended up making a game because I got all these different pieces from ChatGPT and I was like, “Oh, if I put that together and that, this could be like a game,” and I ended up making this amazing executive functioning game that I used in the classroom and the kids loved it. So that was like a double win.

Amanda Morrison: Have you made your kids make glitter jars?

Stephanie Lachenauer: Absolutely. So, we have a little club after school; we call it the Reflections Club. It’s formerly our Yoga Club and we do all sorts of stress relief strategies, and one of them is glitter jars. Yeah.

Amanda Morrison: Well, I want to thank you for being here. How can everyone find you on social media and find your book?

Stephanie Lachenauer: Yeah. Thank you so much for having me. So, if you want to know more, you can check out either stephanielachenauer.com or lettheglittersettle.com and my book is there. It’s also on Amazon, but I have tons of freebies on there. So, if you want like coloring pages or a little journaling or some prompts—there’s videos on there, too. So, you can check that out.

Amanda Morrison: Thank you for listening. Make sure you check us out wherever you listen to your favorite podcast and follow us at Don’t Sit Home and the Best of NJ podcast on social media.