If middle school band feels like triage some days, this episode is for you.

Lesley Moffat sits down with Florida middle school band director Tim Ostrow, who has spent 19 years building a thriving program and collecting the kind of practical, real-world tools most of us wish we had on day one. Tim shares the story behind his “Middle School Band Director Help List”, a curated framework packed with links, templates, and editable resources designed to make running a band program smoother, more engaging, and way more sustainable.

You’ll hear Tim break down the three big buckets his list focuses on: management, curriculum and assessment, and performance, plus why he insists recruitment and retention still matter even when you’re putting out fires.

In the management section, Tim walks through why a clear band handbook matters (especially for grading policies and expectations), and how a band room procedures video plus a quick follow-up quiz can save your sanity. He shares favorite tools and “band room hacks” that streamline daily operations, including seating chart strategies, classroom screen tools (timers, agendas, widgets), and systems that keep routines consistent even after long breaks.

Then Tim digs into curriculum and assessment, including how he handles instrument selection, his instrument listening “scoreboard,” and a mastery-based “pass-off” approach that teaches kids to practice until they can’t get it wrong. He also explains his bead achievement system, why middle schoolers will do anything for a bead, and how tracking growth over multiple years helps keep assessment fair and motivation high.

This episode is a gold mine for brand new teachers, teachers moving into a new program, and veteran directors who want systems that help them teach more music and do less spiraling.

Link to Middle School Director Help List.

In this episode of Band Director Boot Camp, Lesley Moffat brings wellness down to the practical fundamentals with fitness innovator and X Gym founder PJ Glassey. If you’ve ever thought, “I don’t have time,” this conversation is for you. PJ shares a simple, science-backed approach to getting stronger and healthier without the traditional “hour-a-day gym” expectation.

You’ll hear how PJ’s 21-minute, twice-a-week full-body training model was built specifically for busy people, and why he also teaches “exercise snacks” which are three-minute mini-workouts you can squeeze in without changing clothes or getting drenched in sweat. The big idea: consistency beats perfection, and even a minute of movement can help reset your body and brain.

The conversation also dives into stress regulation and performance readiness through breathwork, specifically box breathing (4 in, hold 4, out 4, hold 4). Lesley connects this directly to the band room, sharing how daily guided breathing helps her students shift from chaos to calm, improves focus, supports healthy breath for playing and singing, and reduces performance nerves before concerts.

Finally, PJ explains a simple brain-training strategy for habit formation using emotional “declarations” (similar to affirmations but said with conviction and feeling) to retrain the subconscious and make wellness behaviors easier to maintain. They wrap up with a real-world reminder that delegation and “good enough” can be powerful wellness tools too, for band directors and everyone else.

In this episode of Band Director Boot Camp, Lesley Moffat talks with Brittany Valente, the no-nonsense teacher you’ve probably seen on TikTok serving up fast, practical advice for music educators. This one is especially for brand new band directors, or anyone walking into a new teaching situation and feeling like a first-year teacher all over again.

Brittany shares the real steps to take before students even walk through the door, starting with identifying your go-to people for questions, then tackling the big-ticket items in a sane order: instruments and rentals, music library, curriculum expectations, schedules, calendars, and systems that keep you from drowning. She also gives a reality check many of us needed early on: don’t cling too tightly to a perfect yearlong plan before you even meet the kids.

Once the year begins, the focus shifts to building non-negotiable routines, setting up efficient procedures, and creating a classroom culture rooted in relationships and team-building, not constant crisis management. Brittany also talks about protecting your own energy by planning your prep blocks with intention, understanding your “best brain” time, and leaning on mentors and trusted colleagues (even outside your building) to cut decision fatigue and remind you you’re not alone.

The lightning round is full of gold: lower the bar, forgive yourself, remember that mistakes are part of gaining confidence, and learn how to reset after a brutal day without letting it steal your whole evening. If you want a cheat sheet for sustainable teaching in today’s band world, this is the episode to queue up.