School leadership

Cultivating layups, confidence, and community

Amy Halpern-Laff 00:31:31 Comments Off

We speak with Dave Crenshaw, founder and coach of Team Dreamers NY in Washington Heights; Blanca Battino, retired principal of PS 128; and Dr. Robert Fullilove, professor and associate dean at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Team Dreamers is a life-changing out-of-school-time program. Deeply embedded in the community, it builds leadership and mutual support among students. Dr. Fullilove’s public health interns serve as mentors and role models while they learn from the youth and their families.

Opening up: Recreating schools as a community

Amy Halpern-Laff 00:40:00 Comments Off

Drs. Landon Mascareñaz and Doannie Tran, co-authors of “The Open System: Redesigning Education and Reigniting Democracy,” talk about co-creating and co-producing school initiatives with parents and community members. “Openness” is a radical departure from legacy closed systems, and begins with “openers,” those committed to ensuring that all stakeholders, especially those traditionally far from power, are full participants. The opening process can start in one classroom, one school, or one district, and can be adapted in other settings.

Gender and sexually diverse students: Creating comfortable schools (Encore)

Jon Moscow 00:30:13 Comments Off

We speak with Dr. Elizabeth J. Meyer of the University of Colorado about ensuring that K-12 schools are welcoming and safe for students with non-normative gender identities and expressions. Dr. Meyer found that these students thrive in schools that center student-directed learning and interdisciplinary exploration as opposed to schools that replicate society’s toxic hierarchies. Generally, students are much more…

Students speak up: NYC Youth Agenda

Jon Moscow 00:34:30 Comments Off

We speak with students Eugenia Bamfo, Alexandra Rouvinetis, and Mukilan Muthukumar, members of the NYC Youth Agenda. Using citywide student survey data, Youth Agenda teams aggregated young people’s needs to make recommendations to policymakers in five areas — housing security, food justice, mental health support, economic mobility, and leadership and civic engagement. Among the findings: large numbers of students are unaware of existing youth programs, many don’t trust the “trusted adults” in their schools, and Department of Education “student voice” efforts are tremendously understaffed.

National Sex Ed Standards: Equity and expanded comfort zones

Amy Halpern-Laff 00:32:00 Comments Off

We speak with Brittany McBride, Associate Director, Sexuality Education at Advocates for Youth, who partners with schools to provide the complete sex education that all students deserve. Though parents, students, and teachers largely agree on sex ed’s importance, few teachers (other than health teachers and PE coaches) have any formal training, and many parents haven’t had sex ed themselves.

Radical care: Leading with love

Amy Halpern-Laff 00:47:15 Comments Off

We speak with Dr. Rosa Rivera-McCutchen, associate professor of leadership studies at Lehman College, CUNY, about the importance of school leaders and teachers practicing radical care, including listening with intent and addressing skill gaps with honesty. Dr. Rivera-McCutchen talks about the importance of teachers getting to know the life of the neighborhoods around their schools.