In this episode of the Legend Makers Podcast, Scott Buell sits down with Paul Buckley, founder of Ratio Staffing, for a powerful conversation about purpose, integrity, and why the future of our society begins in preschool classrooms.

Paul shares how his background in process improvement led him into the world of early childhood education. What started as helping a single preschool fix a broken hiring process quickly revealed a larger issue. Traditional staffing models were not built for preschool. They created unnecessary friction, complexity, and stress for both schools and teachers.

Instead of accepting the status quo, Paul built Ratio Staffing to remove barriers and allow direct connection between preschools and educators. His mission is simple: provide flexibility, restore agency, and respect the people doing some of the most important work in our communities.

At the heart of this conversation is a profound belief. What happens inside preschool classrooms reflects the very values we claim we want in the world. Calm. Connection. Collaboration. Empathy. It is already happening in small rooms with young children every day.

Scott challenges Paul on what truly drives him as a founder. His answer goes beyond profit. He speaks about feeling fortunate in life and wanting to give back. He speaks about his three sons and the importance of being able to look them in the eye and feel aligned with the work he does each day. For Paul, building something meaningful is about integrity as much as impact.

The episode closes on optimism. In a time when it is easy to believe the world is divided, Paul sees hope in the number of people who care deeply about children, education, and connection. If we pay attention to what is working in preschool classrooms, we may find a blueprint for building a better world.

This is a conversation about education, but it is also about character, responsibility, and the courage to fix broken systems.

If you care about children, schools, or building something that truly matters, this episode is for you.

https://empathyfirm.com/paul_buckley/

https://www.dronelegends.com/

In this episode of the Legend Makers Podcast, Scott Buell sits down with Julia Gabor, founder of KidGrit and a longtime leader in youth development and educator support. Julia brings more than two decades of experience working with students, teachers, and school systems across the country, with a focus on helping young people develop the skills they need to thrive beyond the classroom.

This conversation explores what it really means to prepare students for an uncertain and rapidly changing future. Julia shares her personal story, including how early life experiences shaped her belief in resilience, creativity, and self-awareness. Together, Scott and Julia examine why skills like adaptability, critical thinking, self-regulation, and perseverance cannot be taught through scripted programs, but must be developed through real challenge, reflection, and connection.

Julia also discusses the evolution of social-emotional learning, the limitations of purely digital solutions, and why authentic human connection remains at the center of meaningful education. The episode offers thoughtful insights for educators who feel burned out, parents who want more for their children, and leaders who are rethinking what success in education should look like.

Key Topics Covered

• Why grit is developed through experience, not instruction
• The difference between teaching content and building life skills
• How challenge and failure help students develop confidence and resilience
• The role of educators in modeling emotional regulation and purpose
• Why timeless skills matter more than ever in an AI-driven world
• Reconnecting education to relevance, meaning, and real life

As schools face increasing pressure to do more with less, this episode offers a grounded and hopeful perspective on what truly helps students succeed. Julia reminds us that while technology and trends will continue to evolve, the foundational skills that shape capable, confident adults remain the same. For anyone committed to developing well-rounded, resilient learners, this conversation provides clarity, inspiration, and practical insight.

About the Guest

Julia Gabor is the founder of KidGrit, an organization dedicated to helping young people and educators build essential life skills through intentional programming and professional development. Her work spans youth development, educator wellness, and leadership training, with a focus on connection, self-awareness, and long-term growth.

Listen and Subscribe

The Legend Makers Podcast is available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and all major podcast platforms.

New episodes feature educators, innovators, and leaders who are shaping the future of learning by helping students unlock their full potential.

Follow Drone Legends

In this episode of the Legend Makers Podcast, Scott Buell speaks with Jason Allen, Executive Director of the Franklin Center for Innovation in Frankfort, Kentucky, about education, community, and what happens when students are trusted with real responsibility.

Jason’s path into nonprofit and education work is unconventional. His background spans military service as a psychiatric specialist, manufacturing and process optimization, and community based innovation. Across every chapter of his career, one theme remains constant: helping people simplify complexity and recognize their own capability.

While drones are a visible tool in Jason’s work, this conversation makes it clear that technology is not the end goal. Instead, drones serve as a gateway to confidence, curiosity, and early experiences of success that reshape how students see themselves.

Key themes from the episode include:

• Why early experiences of success matter more than credentials or outcomes
• How hands on learning builds confidence across diverse student populations
• The importance of trusting young people earlier than traditional systems allow
• Valuing skilled trades and alternative pathways alongside college routes
• Community based education as a source of belonging and opportunity

Jason also shares a remarkable experience teaching drone education in a remote village on the Bering Sea in Alaska. Working with students as young as six years old, he witnessed how quickly hesitation turns into excitement when learners are given the chance to try something new. That experience directly shaped how he now approaches structure, trust, and responsibility in his programs back home.

Throughout the episode, Jason challenges conventional ideas about success and education. He shares stories of students who discovered confidence through hands on programs and went on to build meaningful futures in unexpected ways.

At its core, this conversation is about belief. It is about creating environments where students feel safe to explore, fail, succeed, and grow. This episode will resonate with educators, nonprofit leaders, parents, and anyone committed to helping young people realize what they are capable of becoming.

In the first episode of 2026, Scott Buell sits down with Sunaina Talwar, former educator, instructional leader, and lifelong advocate for student confidence and purpose.

Sunaina’s story is deeply personal. As a first generation student balancing two languages and two cultures, she struggled early in school. Everything changed in sixth grade when a small group of teachers took the time to truly see her. That moment shaped her belief in herself and ultimately led her into education.

This conversation explores what it really means to be a legend maker. Not just teaching content, but building confidence, fostering belonging, and helping students discover who they are capable of becoming.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Why confidence often matters more than curriculum
• How small moments from teachers can create lifelong impact
• What great educators do differently when building trust with students
• Why purpose is essential for sustaining a career in education
• How hands on learning and student ownership transform classrooms
• The role of self care and boundaries in avoiding educator burnout
• Why belief must come before learning

Key Themes:

• Student confidence and identity
• Purpose driven teaching
• Relationship centered classrooms
• Hands on and experiential learning
• Supporting the whole child
• Educator mindset and resilience

This episode is a powerful reminder that educators change lives in ways they may never fully see. If you are a teacher, school leader, or someone who believes in the power of education to shape futures, this conversation will resonate deeply.

🎙️ Legend Makers Podcast Hosted by Scott Buell

📅 New episodes weekly 🎧 Available on YouTube and all major podcast platforms.

📱DroneLegends.com

Inside every child lives a legend™

This week on the Legend Makers Podcast, Scott sits down with Tony Tegtmyer, a high school engineering and technology teacher whose path to the classroom is as remarkable as the work he does inside it. With a career that began in aerospace engineering on projects for the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station, Tony later moved into global manufacturing leadership before an unexpected pivot led him to education. Today, he teaches engineering, physics, robotics, and aerospace while leading one of the largest high school competitive rocket clubs in the United States. He also founded a thriving Girls in STEM program and oversees a rapidly growing drone engineering club that now requires applications due to high demand.

Tony shares how real-world engineering challenges shape his classroom culture. His senior capstone students build solutions to authentic problems, from prototype ocean-cleaning systems to full-scale autonomous lawnmowers. He explains how constraints, ambiguity, and iteration teach the habits of mind that engineers need to thrive. Students routinely write back years later to tell him how his courses gave them an advantage in college engineering programs.

He also discusses the evolution of his drone program, the importance of hands-on failure, and how competitions in Texas helped elevate his teams. His current aerospace engineering initiative pairs student-built rovers with drones that map classroom obstacles, inspired by NASA’s Perseverance and Ingenuity missions.

Scott and Tony spend time reflecting on the realities facing schools today, including the long-term impact of COVID on student habits, the changing expectations around rigor, and the rapid acceleration of artificial intelligence. Tony explains how he integrates AI thoughtfully in engineering contexts, helping students use it as a tool for debugging, ideation, and iteration without replacing original work. He also highlights the importance of teaching students to evaluate what is real in an age of synthetic media.

The conversation closes with an honest discussion about grit, challenge, and preparing young people for a world that does not always provide perfect conditions. Tony’s students ask to be challenged, and he believes that structure, expectations, and meaningful struggle build confidence that lasts well beyond high school.

Listeners will come away with insight into how engineering education can foster resilience, creativity, and purpose. Tony’s story is a reminder that great teachers change lives, often in ways that students recognize only years later.

This episode of the Legend Makers Podcast features Jeffrey Riley, former Massachusetts Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education and current leader at Day of AI, a nonprofit launched out of MIT. After more than three decades in public education, Jeff believes AI can usher in a new era of learning if schools use it wisely and protect what must remain human in the classroom.

Scott and Jeff discuss the promise and risks of AI, the lessons learned from the rise of social media, and why educators must establish boundaries and policies that keep students safe. Jeff explains how AI can help teachers personalize instruction, reduce administrative burdens, and reclaim the creative work that drew them into teaching.

If you want a clear, practical, and honest look at how AI will shape the future of teaching and learning, this episode provides essential insight.

In this episode, you will learn:

• How Jeffrey’s journey from Teach For America teacher to state commissioner shaped his views on equity and opportunity.

• Why he believes the country mishandled the social media era and how those mistakes should guide AI adoption.

• How Day of AI trains teachers and administrators, assists districts with policy, and builds AI literacy curriculum for students.

• What true personalization looks like with AI, including practical classroom examples.

• Why AI will not replace teachers and how it can instead restore time for lesson design, creativity, and student engagement.

• The policy questions schools must confront, including student data privacy, academic integrity, and the limits of surveillance tools.

• How to teach students AI literacy through simple, hands-on lessons that build precision, reasoning, and safe usage habits.

• Why foundational skills like writing, thinking, and spatial awareness must remain part of a student’s education even as AI advances.

• Why Jeff believes AI can bring joy back to classrooms, reduce burnout, and draw more people into the profession.

About Jeffrey Riley

Jeffrey Riley spent 32 years in public education as a teacher, principal, receiver of Lawrence Public Schools, and Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education in Massachusetts. At Day of AI, he works with MIT technologists and veteran educators to help schools implement AI safely and effectively. Learn more at dayofai.org or connect with him on LinkedIn.

Be sure to subscribe to the Legend Makers pod here and follow Drone Legends on X, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

In this inspiring episode of The Legend Makers Podcast, host Scott Buell sits down with Sadaf Siddiqi, a passionate biology teacher at Birla High School in Kolkata, India, whose warmth, humor, and philosophy on teaching remind us that education is as much about the heart as it is about the mind.

A self-described introvert who believes that “when one teaches, two learn,” Sadaf shares her journey from mimicking her teacher mother as a child to becoming an educator who now transforms classrooms into spaces of empathy, laughter, and growth. She discusses the unpredictability of teaching, calling it her daily “Mission Impossible,” and reflects on how every challenge and every child makes the work meaningful.

Throughout the conversation, Sadaf reveals the power of small moments — the joy in a student’s transformation, the lessons learned from children themselves, and the contagious energy of kindness. Her “3 R’s” for avoiding burnout — Rhythm, Rest, and Reset — offer a simple yet powerful framework for teachers everywhere.

Together, Scott and Sadaf explore:

• Why listening can be more powerful than speaking
• How introverted teachers can inspire confidence in their students
• The importance of humor and humanity in the classroom
• The universal challenges educators face, from parental pressures to burnout
• How happiness, presence, and gratitude sustain great teachers
• Why Sadaf believes that Human Intelligence (HI) — empathy, creativity, and connection — will always triumph over Artificial Intelligence

Sadaf’s reflections on finding purpose, resilience, and joy in the unpredictable world of teaching will leave educators everywhere inspired to “smile and fly the plane, even while building it.”

Memorable Quote: “Challenges are what make life interesting, and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” – Sadaf Siddiqi

Connect with Sadaf Siddiqi on LinkedIn

Listen, learn, and be reminded that inside every teacher lives a legend and be sure to follow Drone Legends at www.dronelegends.com and @wearedronelegends on FaceBook and Instagram. @Drone_Legends on X

In this inspiring episode of the Legend Makers Podcast, Scott Buell sits down with Todd LaVogue, an award-winning educator from Palm Beach County, Florida, whose classroom looks more like an innovation lab than a traditional middle-school setting.

Todd was named one of Microsoft’s 15 Most Innovative Educators in America and represented the U.S. at Microsoft’s Global Education Forum in Prague, finishing third worldwide out of more than 260,000 entries. He’s advised the King of Spain, collaborated with the Japanese Ministry of Education, and created projects that have been recognized on the floor of the U.S. Congress.

But what really sets Todd apart is how he transforms learning into something unforgettable. From rap videos about ancient civilizations and custom-painted sneakers that tell historical stories, to student-built chateaus, lasers, and drone arenas, Todd’s students learn by creating, connecting, and caring. His project Write a Letter, Save a Life even helped free prisoners of conscience through Amnesty International.

Scott and Todd explore:

• How to bring your personal passions into the classroom
• Building community engagement through exhibitions and project-based learning
• Ways teachers can carve out creative autonomy in traditional schools
• Preparing students for future jobs that don’t yet exist
• Why curiosity, collaboration, creativity, and communication matter more than ever

Todd’s story is proof that when teachers take risks, kids discover their potential—and education becomes magic.

Follow Todd LaVogue

Website: kidacademy.org

X (Twitter): @ToddLaVogue

Instagram: @ToddLaVogue

BlueSky: @ToddLaVogue

LinkedIn: Todd LaVogue

Watch all episodes of the Legend Makers Podcast on YouTube and follow for new conversations with extraordinary educators redefining what’s possible in the classroom.