Youth

What teens deserve: A creative out-of-school program

Jon speaks with Dr. David Penberg, who ran the Liberty  Partnership Program at Bank Street College in the 1990s, and two of the participants, Madelyn Baez, and Tara Crichlow. Three decades later, Madelyn, Tara, and David explain how the program changed the trajectory of their lives. The Liberty Partnership was created as a college prep intervention for underserved and marginalized middle school students.   For the participants, it was a safe place of “uncomfortable empowerment” where their opinions were taken seriously in a simultaneously supportive and challenging environment.

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Middle schoolers as scholars: Critical participatory action research

We speak with Dr. Sam Finesurrey, assistant professor of history at Guttman Community College, and three 2024 graduates of School in the Square (S2), a charter middle school in Washington Heights, Manhattan. Dr. Finesurrey worked with 14 students on a research project studying S2 students’ social emotional learning, including reactions to the pandemic and faculty turnover. Dr. Sam and the students talk about the process, what they found, and how the school modified policies in response to the study’s findings.

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Equity by design: residency-focused teacher education

We speak with Dr. Diana Turk, Chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning and Director of Teacher Education at NYU. Students in NYU’s unique teacher residency program work full-time in classrooms, for which they are paid, making it possible for students without a lot of money to attend. By design, the program attracts BIPOC students. Students receive support from NYU faculty, both on location in their schools and online. They attend classes in the evenings, virtually. The program is uncompromisingly justice- and equity-centered.

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Undocumented students: Keeping secrets, navigating obstacles

Dr. Gerardo Mancilla, associate professor in the School of Education at Edgewood College and host of Educators and Immigration podcast, reflects on his experiences as an undocumented student in the ‘90s. We discuss what has changed, and what hasn’t. Overview 00:00-00:40 Intros 00:40-09:15 Experiences as an undocumented student 09:15-12:03 Changes for undocumented students since the…

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