Show Notes

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Cris Slotoroff, a former high school English teacher and administrator who found himself at a crossroads. He was at the "apex" of his teaching career: tenured, writing curriculum for AP Lang, coaching a championship-winning team, and working in a district he loved. But despite this success, he was still "never going to be able to afford having a kid or like a house".

Cris shares his journey from the classroom to his current role at The Juice Learning, a company that felt tailor-made for his background. We discuss the financial realities that push great teachers out, how his new role is still all about *teaching*, and the single biggest communication adjustment he had to make when leaving the "captive audience" of a classroom.

• What is "The Juice"? Cris explains The Juice Learning, an ad-free, non-partisan daily news platform for grades 5-12. It provides five new stories each day, rewritten at four different reading levels, to help students build the "in-between knowledge" (like civics and geography) they often miss.
• The "Apex" Problem: Cris gets candid about why he left a job he loved. It wasn't burnout; it was the financial reality of pay freezes and the "existential expectation for teachers, which is do more with less every single year".
• A Job That's Still Teaching: In his role, Cris "teaches people how to teach with this" and "teaches administrators how to lead with this". He notes that "any great teacher looks at the Juice one time and it's like, 'Oh, yeah, I know what I'll do with this'".
• "Nobody Has to Listen to Me": Cris shares the biggest lesson he learned after transitioning. As a teacher, "you're not talking to a bunch of 17 year olds like, you know, be concise". He had to learn to shift from speaking to a "captive audience" to the more economical communication style of the private sector.
• Selling Hemingway to Children: Cris's background as an AP Lang teacher made him a natural salesman. He jokes, "I used to sell Hemingway to children with iPhones in their pockets. So, you know, I mean, I do have some experience with sales".

Episode Article

What do you do when you’re great at your job, you love your job, but your job just doesn't pay? This is the dilemma many educators face, and it's the exact position my guest, Dr. Cris Slotoroff, found himself in. As a former high school English teacher, Cris was at the "apex" of his career. He was tenured, taught AP Lang, wrote