Beyond the Classroom: Dr. Nelson Coulter's Vision for Education and Health in Our Public Schools
Hi, y’all! Johanna here from the TX Soil Sisters.
(The podcast media player is below w/ links to things we talk about. Or listen here.)
In this episode of the Soil Sisters Podcast, recorded on February 2, 2026, the Soil Sisters reconnect with one of our former coaches and teachers, Dr. Nelson Coulter.
Dr. Nelson ‘Coach’ Coulter has held a lot of titles: rancher, educator, author, musician, entrepreneur, coach, mentor, consultant, and professor. He has coached, taught, and been published in many settings. He has served in public schools of all shapes, sizes, and contexts. His most cherished titles, however, are the ones not attached to career identity: son, husband, dad, and granddad.
Connect: http://www.nelsonwcoulter.com/
More About Dr. Nelson Coulter: https://www.lsus.edu/nelson-coulter-edd
Dr. “Coach” Coulter—now interim superintendent at Jayton-Girard ISD—discusses how his “aha” moment around food and health reshaped his leadership in rural Texas schools.
He shares how community conversations in Guthrie, Texas led to the creation of the Guthrie Graduate Profile, shifting focus from test prep to whole-child development, and how elementary teachers replaced the last hour of daily state test preparation with a research-driven school garden program that fed the cafeteria, preserved surplus produce, and served the community.
Coach Coulter explains how concerns about worsening health outcomes among staff and students, along with the influence of functional and integrative health approaches from Dr. Ben Edwards and Dr. Roby Mitchell, prompted changes to cafeteria food—switching to organic produce, grass-fed/non-medicated meats, whole milk, and real butter, while eliminating sweetened cereals and highly processed grains.
He details the process and hurdles of divorcing the National School Lunch Program and describes the costs and budgeting tradeoffs involved for a small district serving about 120 students.
The conversation covers observed impacts such as students wasting less food, steadier energy and performance throughout the day, improved athletic practices, reduced after-school overeating at home, and better behavioral self-regulation.
Coach Coulter also describes his family’s permaculture and regenerative practices on their ranch in Kent County, including rainwater use, composting, produce and livestock production, greenhouse expansion, and resilience through self-sufficiency.
We hope this conversation inspires you to reconsider what’s possible.
Happy farming and healthy living, y’all.
Jo (and Crystal) ❤️
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LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE:
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Time Stamps & Links
00:00 Welcome to the Soil Sisters Podcast
00:26 Meet Dr. Nelson “Coach” Coulter
01:31 Reconnected During a Regenerative Soil Textbook Delivery
03:42 Returning to West Texas & Rethinking What Schools Are For
07:47 Building the Guthrie Graduate Profile (soft skills over test scores) 10:02 Replacing Test Prep with a School Garden
11:58 Health Wake-Up Call: Educator & Student Wellness
19:37 First Steps to Healthier Cafeterias
26:36 Budgeting for Better Food
30:53 Divorcing the National School Lunch Program
36:20 Kids Actually Eat It: Cutting Food Waste With Real Lunches
38:43 From School Garden to Cafeteria: Harvesting, Preserving, Sharing 40:12 Is This Feasible for Average School Districts? Budgets, Policy Shifts & Nutrition Booster Clubs
44:40 Life on the Ranch After Retirement
54:57 What Changed in Students?
01:02:17 Closing Reflections: Gratitude, Guitar, Where to Read More & What’s Next
Soil Matters Radio Hour on KLKT 107.9, Radio Lockhart
If you live in Lockhart, you can catch the Soil Matters Radio Hour live each WEDNESDAY from 5-6p on KLKT 107.9. If you don’t live in Lockhart, you can listen to the livestream at KLKT.org.
