Back to Freedom School

Season 2, episode 8 – Netdahe Stoddard (Part 2) – In this second recording, Netdahe speaks to how the work of Building Fearless Futures continues to evolve, along with the different levels of self reflection, internal communication, support, accountability and trust building that is required to grow as individuals and as an organization. The conversation then transitions into some of the cultural dissonance within all the different communities we navigate.

Season 2, Episode 7 – Netdahe Stoddard (Part 1) – In this multi-part conversation, Netdahe and Infinite go deep into some of the complexities of trying to dismantle white supremacy culture in Vermont – especially for people who categorize themselves as white. “It feels like…   “being responsible for whiteness, I feel like white people are taught that it has to go hand in hand with shame, that you have to feel diminished somehow, and to me it’s like a part of being grown, it’s a part of being the same kind of person that cares about my child and wants there to be clean air.”

Season 2, Episode 6 – Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Lydia Diamond shares stories from her journey and struggles with adjusting to Vermont. She reflects on what it's been like to advocate for her family, organizing for mutual aid, while addressing and overcoming racism in schools. 

Thierry Mugabo Uwilingiyimana, Winooski's first Black classroom teacher (who is no longer with the organization) shares his family's journey from Rwanda, why are there so few Black educators in our public schools, ways of getting to equity, the challenges and opportunities of personalized learning, creating high expectations for students, measuring progress for students, and what he considers to be the “tragedy” of Winooski.

Season 2, episode 4 – Infinite and Steph Yu discuss some of the looming questions raised by the “Pupil Weighting Factors Report” prepared by the University of Vermont for Vermont's Agency of Education, including; What's the best way to get resources to the kids who need them? and What does improving outcomes/success look like? Their discussion also explores broader questions about who gets to decide how funds are used at the local level, the paradox of the “magnet” elementary schools in Burlington's Old North End neighborhood; how much we can realistically expect from schools to meet the needs of our children with the highest needs; and larger systemic steps toward taking collective responsibility for getting children's needs met. 

Season 2, Episode 3- Recent high school graduate, Saja Almogalli, breaks down the realities on the ground for young people moving through Vermont's public education system, the challenges of family engagement, youth voice, some of the tensions that exist around addressing racism, and how she learned how to read by listening to rap music and Rhianna. 

Season 2, Episode 2– Aden Haji and Infinite discuss why reading and writing is still fundamental to student success, “student voice”, diversifying representation on school boards as a means of overcoming inequities in public education, and some of the challenges that come with achieving that diversity. 

Season 2, Episode 1 – A conversation with Paul Cillo, who shares his perspective on funding public education in Vermont, which “is the only state service mentioned in the constitution… it's a critical state function. Despite it's warts, we do have the most equitable school funding system in the country… and there's improvements to be made.”

Hosted by Infinite Culcleasure Back to Freedom School – Ongoing conversations about education equity in the State of Vermont If you fail our students, you fail our society… This week on Back to Freedom School, a little bit of a throwback to this past summer when I spoke with one of my neighbors, Cathy, about her family's educational experience in Burlington. These can be vulnerable conversations to have, so I am truly grateful for Kathy's honesty and authenticity. In our discussion she acknowledges “a huge divide between the school community and the makeup of the school community, and those parents that have the means and the resources and the ability to support their students in ways that other families will not. And there goes the whole picture, it just cuts to the heart of the matter. And I'm just really worried.”

Hosted by Infinite Culcleasure Back to Freedom School – Ongoing conversations about education equity in the State of Vermont Missing Metrics & Students at the Center – in 2 parts Part 1: At the end of this past summer I sat down Mike McRaith, the Assistant Executive Director at the Vermont Principals Association and we discussed some of the complexities of how to achieve racial equity in Vermont – in the midst of a global pandemic. “To my mind, the pandemic has sharpened inequities for some folks,” Mike observes. When asked why we should be trying to achieve racial equity in the second whitest state in America, he responded, “to me that's more reason to.” When it comes to measuring a student's success, he suggests that there might be some missing metrics, and that a step in the right direction may be having our metrics designed with, by and for students. “I'm always reminded that when we think about how to measure things, or how we're going to do things, we should ask kids because they probably know.” Part 2: In the second part this episode Emily Baker, a senior at Randolph Union High School, sat down with one of her classmates, Grace Brock, and reflected on her learning experience under covid. The biggest takeaway from their conversation for me, is how much Grace affirms the importance of personalized learning. A lot of students are different types of learners, maybe they are not the type of learner that reading and writing is their strong suit and math is something they can excel at, or doing something hands on like in the technical career program where you need to remember certain measurements… it should be about figuring out what each student needs and what their learning style is and then trying to work that into the collective as a classroom.”

Back to Freedom School – Ongoing conversations about education equity in the State of Vermont From Trusting in the System, to Homeschooling Out of Desperation – with special host Brittany Lovejoy Melissa Hunt Culver is from Essex Town in Chittenden County, works as a licensed clinical mental health and addiction counselor and shares some of her familys’ experiences with literacy in Vermont’s public schools. When asked about her experience with homeschooling in particular, she observes, “I do think that this unfortunate pandemic is giving us a chance to really look at what are the educational needs of our children, and it’s a great opportunity for us to reevaluate how we're delivering educational services, content and use of technology, and bringing, in my opinion, an antiquated model of education into today's world.” The interviewer in this episode is Brittany Lovejoy, the mother of four children with dyslexia, a writer, a private tutor, and a dedicated advocate for students. She has served as a special educator and has a graduate degree in the Foundations of Education with a concentration in Dyslexia Studies. Brittany pursues literacy truth by studying the Science of Reading. PODCAST HOMEPAGE

Back to Freedom School – Ongoing conversations about education equity in the State of Vermont Sources Say – with special host Brittany Lovejoy Whether it’s the fear of retaliation, or a fear of being stigmatized, “Matt and Laura” decided that their interview should be anonymous. While they could not bring themselves to speak candidly about the educational experience of their family under their true identity, they still thought it was important for their story to be shared. The fact that the interview responses in this episode is depicted by actors should tell us something. Interestingly, there were no extreme views expressed in this conversation. For example, there were positive and negative experiences shared such as, “some things I thought went really well was that the classroom teacher not only supporting our daughter but also that she established a strong family connection and connection with her students… stronger than when they were in school.” In terms of what didn't go well particularly, it was the specialized instruction, from our perspective it was nonexistent. To the point that we had to hire an outside tutor to support our daughter.” The interviewer in this episode is Brittany Lovejoy, the mother of four children with dyslexia, a writer, a private tutor, and a dedicated advocate for students. She has served as a special educator and has a graduate degree in the Foundations of Education with a concentration in Dyslexia Studies. Brittany pursues literacy truth by studying the Science of Reading. PODCAST HOMEPAGE

Hosted by Brittany Lovejoy Back to Freedom School – Ongoing conversations about education equity in the State of Vermont Moving On – with special host Brittany Lovejoy and guests Marilynne Kane Strachan and Dr. Kelly Sandman-Hurley This week on Back to Freedom School, our special host, Brittany Lovejoy, sits down with Marilynne Kane Strachan, and Dr. Kelly Sandman-Hurley, to discuss their perspectives on some of the literacy challenges many of our schools were facing before the current global pandemic, and also explore some of the possibilities for achieving equity in accessing quality instruction and curriculum. Brittany Lovejoy is the mother of four children with dyslexia, a writer, a private tutor, and a dedicated advocate for students. She has served as a special educator and has a graduate degree in the Foundations of Education with a concentration in Dyslexia Studies. Brittany pursues literacy truth by studying the Science of Reading. Marilynne Kane Strachan packed up and moved her family out of Vermont in the midst of a global pandemic because her child didn't have access to quality instruction and curriculum. “The risks and benefits of health and the social-emotional (moving to a place with higher rates of Covid-19 infections) and having my daughter now going into 4th grade, lose that traction, we all know what happens in 4th grade, we know after 3rd grade what the statistics are.” In regard to equity, Marilynne observed in her own experience, “I was the closest person on that board to anyone that had dealt with inequity, and that's a shame because I come from, not privilege but I don't have to worry about when food is coming, our jobs, we're white, so we don't have a race inequity, we don't have any socioeconomic barrier so to speak, and I was the biggest voice there had to deal with inequity? It was really eye opening to me.” Teaching and learning about how to read is Dr. Kelly Sandman-Hurley's business, so she goes deep into the nuances of how our brains respond to reading, spelling and the meaning of letters and words. “When you are able to spell a word it means you understand the underlying structure of the word, if you understand the underlying structure of the word enough to be able to spell it when you come to it in reading you're going to be able to read it because you've already analyzed it enough to spell it.” When asked what happens to students who fall behind, she lamented, “school is very traumatizing for kids who struggle.”

Hosted by Infinite Culcleasure Back to Freedom School – Ongoing conversations about education equity in the State of Vermont The State of Literacy in Vermont: If Reading Is Fundamental, How Does It Work? – Emily Baker and Blanche Podhajski Emily Baker is from “Vermont, Vermont.” She is a senior at Randolph Union High School, where she is a leader with the Racial Justice Union, on the volleyball team, and more importantly, a staunch advocate for her own educational needs. When asked if she could wave a magic wand how would public schools be different, she responded, “magic wand… more inclusivity, less pointing out of a student's “disabilities”, challenges, struggles, destigmatizing the need for assistance, and support… more training for the teachers on how to teach children with different challenges, things that interest kids in learning, a happy positive environment that gets kids interested in reading and writing.” It is inspiring to partner with Emily and her predominantly white peers in their commitment to racial justice at their school whenever possible. I hope that the first annual Vermont School Against Racism Conference that they organized in 2019 becomes a trend throughout the State of Vermont. Blanch Podhajski is the founder and president of the Stern Center for Language and Learning in Williston, Vermont, and a Clinical Associate Professor of neuroscience at the Larner College of Medicine at University of Vermont. She brings a lot of nuance to our conversation about literacy and comprehension When asked how remote learning might affect a student's learning she points out that “it's not so much the medium, it's what's being transmitted through the medium… we have come children who are excelling in live instruction with no learning problems, who didn't do well in online instruction… if we're teaching structured literacy, which is explicit, systematic teaching, we can see outcomes for both children in remote learning, and children in live learning.” Blanche expresses concern about children not doing well in decoding and language comprehension, which are fundamental skills required in reading well. “We have only one 1/3 of fourth graders at a proficient level, that is not a good thing, its an equity issue, not just for children who are considered marginalized, ot children with disabilities, our children in poverty and children of color, but for all children who have not had an opportunity to learn.”

Back to Freedom School – Ongoing conversations about education equity in the State of Vermont Achieving Education Equity in Vermont, Let Us Count the Ways – Elijah Hawkes and Jay Diaz There are several ways to pursue and achieve educational transformation, including grassroots organizing/activism from the ground up, courageous leadership from the top, inside-outside approaches based on relational organizing, and adversarial approaches that may involve legal challenges. Randolph Union high is pretty lit right now, in a good way, with great leadership and student organizing/activism. In the land of the “Galloping Ghosts” [a mascot that resembles a KKK member riding on a horse] there was an awakening to combat racism before the murder of George Floyd. Their first annual “VT School Against Racism” conference in 2019 was the first of its kind in the state to originate in the public schools and led by students. They continue to address racism at their school head on. “The curriculum needs to mirror the reality of our lives, so that we are better able to change those realities for the better,” says the principal at Randolph High School.With one of the most brilliant legal minds in the State of Vermont, Jay Diaz isn’t afraid to take on the system in the face of injustice. We live in a society with a compulsory education system, where everyday people with limited means are legally obligated to have their kids enrolled in school, regardless of how undesirable the experience is, or how poor the outcomes are. As long as this is a reality, there will always be a need for a legal apparatus to counter the power imbalances that exist between the families whose needs are not being met by the current system, and the local and state authorities that require them to be a part of that system. Diaz’ position is that “we need more access to data… privacy issues are always balanced, never absolute. privacy should not be used as a shield to prevent us from understanding the gross inequities in any system, especially our education system.” That might be an understatement, given the current state of our “data driven” approach to education equity. Note: (the acronym FERPA is referring to Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) PODCAST HOMEPAGE

Back to Freedom School – Ongoing conversations about education equity in the State of Vermont Vermont's Education Equity Landscape (Pre-COVID) – Judy Dow In this episode of Back To Freedom School, French-Indian Vermont native, educator, and grandmother Judy Dow offers a historical context for Vermont’s socio-political landscape that is generally inaccessible from a white normative perspective, and connects societal transgressions from the past to some of our current challenges and opportunities. Our discussion includes some of the fundamental concepts used to teach young people to read, and “basic essential understanding” of the cultural and political social location of students (in terms of pedagogy) which enable educators to deliver effectual personalized learning to students from different backgrounds. Note to listeners: PBIS is an acronym for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. According to PBIS.org, “PBIS is an evidence-based three-tiered framework for improving and integrating all of the data, systems, and practices affecting student outcomes every day.” PODCAST HOMEPAGE

Hosted by Infinite Culcleasure Back to Freedom School – Ongoing conversations about education equity in the State of Vermont Vermont's Education Equity Landscape (Pre-COVID) – Judy Dow In this episode of Back To Freedom School, French-Indian Vermont native, educator, and grandmother Judy Dow offers a historical context for Vermont's socio-political landscape that is generally inaccessible from a white normative perspective, and connects societal transgressions from the past to some of our current challenges and opportunities. Our discussion includes some of the fundamental concepts used to teach young people to read, and “basic essential understanding” of the cultural and political social location of students (in terms of pedagogy) which enable educators to deliver effectual personalized learning to students from different backgrounds. Note to listeners: PBIS is an acronym for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. According to PBIS.org, “PBIS is an evidence-based three-tiered framework for improving and integrating all of the data, systems, and practices affecting student outcomes every day.”