About this episode

Joshua Stamper interviews Thomas O’Brien about empowering school leaders to enhance math instruction and culture.

Why is it still so common for people to say, “I’m not a math person,” and how can school leaders help change that narrative? In this week's episode of Aspire to Lead, Joshua Stamper sits down with Thomas O’Brien to explore why leaders are uniquely positioned to shape math culture, support stronger instruction, and create environments where both teachers and students see themselves as capable math learners. Thomas also shares why leading math instruction does not require a math background, and how the best coaches are not always the best players. Together, they discuss what leaders and coaches should actually look for when walking into a math classroom, how to support teachers in meaningful ways, and what it means to assist with math projects and instructional coaching at a high level. Thomas also highlights his upcoming book, Empowering All Leaders to Be Math Leaders , releasing August 14, 2026 from Routledge with a foreword by Dr. T.J. Vari, and his weekly writing on How Math Saves the World on Substack, where he continues to share practical ideas for math instruction and school leadership. About Thomas O’Brien Thomas O’Brien partners with schools, districts, and after-school…

People in this episode

Host: Joshua Stamper

Guest: Thomas O’Brien

Topics covered

• math education
• school leadership
• instructional coaching
• math culture
• teacher support

Keywords

• math leaders
• instructional coaching
• school leadership
• teacher support
• math culture

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Routledge, Substack

Books & works: Empowering All Leaders to Be Math Leaders

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