The Integrated Schools Podcast

Hosts, Andrew, a White dad from Denver, and, Val, a Black mom from North Carolina, dig into topics about race, parenting, and school segregation. With a variety of guests ranging from parents to experts, these conversation strive to live in the nuance of a complicated topic.

Kids & Family
Parenting
Education
76
The Power of Privilege: WPLN's The Promise
We're joined by WPLN reporter Meribah Knight to discuss her podcast, The Promise, which looks at the power that those with racial or economic privilege bring to the education system, and what responsibilities should come with that power.
63 min
77
EPIC's "Nothing About Us": Youth Theater on Int...
Theater has the power of individual transformation. Students are the ones most impacted by our segergated schools. EPIC Theatre Ensemble seeks to combine those two forces to change hearts and minds. We're thrilled to share some of their piece, Nothing About Us, as well as a conversation with EPIC's artistic director, and two students who wrote and performed in the piece.
65 min
78
Third Wave School Desegregation: A Call for Rea...
Kicking off season 6 with a call for Third Wave school desegregation. First wave, "court ordered" desegregation, and second wave, "entice the White folks", failed to live up to their promises. What would a third wave look like, and how might it work better. We are joined by IntegrateNYC to talk about real integration. This episode is taken from a webinar from the Black Educator's Initiative speaker series.
34 min
79
Saying Goodbye to Season 5
Finally, after 22 episodes, it's time for Season 5 to end. We'll be taking a short break, but wanted to leaving you with a few thoughts before we go.
10 min
80
Family Engagement and Equity
For decades, the dominant model of parent or caregiver involvement in schools has been one that emphasizes a set of normative, White, middle-class behaviors. What would it look like to transform power through solidarity, in order to improve our schools for ALL kids?
59 min
81
Congressman Bobby Scott on Strength in Diversity
For 30 years congress has ignored the resegregation of our nations schools. On Sept 15th, the House passed the Strength in Diversity Act, which is a step towards addressing segregation. We're joined by one of the sponsors of the bill, and Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor to discuss.
26 min
82
Equity According to Angela Glover Blackwell
For many years, the focus of the fight for justice centered on equality. Angela Glover Blackwell was instrumental in shifting our national focus towards equity. She joins us to discuss the need for an equity mindset not just in our schools, but in our country.
58 min
83
ICYMI: School Colors
School Colors is a narrative podcast from Brooklyn Deep about how race, class, and power shape American cities and schools. We're joined by the hosts to discuss the series, and to hear the 7th episode, New Kids on The Block. From gentrification, to school segregation, to colonization, this episode touches on many of the themes we discuss at Integrated Schools.
62 min
84
Checklists and Merit Badges: JPB Gerald on Whit...
As a Black man who grew up in predominantly White spaces, going to the "best" schools, JPB Gerald brings a unique perspective on Whiteness. We talk about meritocracy, how individual choices make up “THE SYSTEM”, self interest as a justification for racism, and what people can do to push back on all of this now, in the midst of a pandemic, but also after.
49 min
85
Reopening Schools and Equity
As we barrel into the new school year, keeping equity in focus is difficult. From childcare collectives to pandemic pods, the options facing privileged parents can feel overwhelming. Dr. Shayla Reese Griffin helps us center equity as we consider the fall, and asks us to consider what our obligations are to our public institutions and to each other.
54 min
86
Revisiting Not In My Suburbs: Milliken v Bradle...
We revisit our episode on Milliken v Bradley from a year ago. Joined by Michelle Adams, Constitutional Law Professor at Cardozo School of Law, who is writing a book on Milliken v Bradley, we discuss the case that functionally halted the promise of Brown v Board at the city limits, allowing all-White suburbs (created through policies like redlining) to maintain all-White schools.
47 min
87
IntegrateNYC: Youth Voice for Real Integration
IntegrateNYC is a youth led organization fighting for integration and equity in NYC schools. We're joined by two high school students to talk about why integration matters, and what real integration looks like.
39 min
88
White Supremacy and Black Educational Excellenc...
The stories we tell about past efforts at desegregation often overlook the excellence in Black schools prior to Brown v. Board, and the organized, grassroots work from White women to maintain White superiority at the local level despite federal efforts towards desegregation. In an edited version of the NCSD 2020 Conference Keynote, we hear from Dr. Vanessa Siddle- Walker and Dr. Elizabeth McRea, in a conversation facilitated by Dani McClain. In opening remarks from Courtney Martin, and closing remarks from Andrew Lefkowits, we are asked to conjure the late Integrated Schools founder, Courtney Everts Mykytyn, and to reflect on her impact on the integration movement.
60 min
89
Raising White Kids with Jennifer Harvey
What is a healthy racial identity for a White person, and how do we help our White children develop one? We're joined by Dr. Jennifer Harvey to discuss her book, Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America, as well her personal journey towards anti-racist organizing, educating, and child rearing.
58 min
90
Brown v Board at 66 (BONUS)
Today, May 17th, is the 66th anniversary of the Brown v. Board decision. Last year, we created a 6 part mini-series to commemorate the 65th anniversary, and we're going to be revisiting that mini-series over the next 6 weeks.
3 min
91
COVID-19: Matt Gonzales on Equity
We're joined by Matt Gonzales, the founder and director of the Integration and Innovation Initiative at the NYU Metro Center to discuss what equity looks like in the midst of this crisis, and how we can leverage community, relationships, and vulnerability to improve our educational system on the other side.
51 min
92
COVID-19: Teacher Check-In
We're joined by two teachers, Zoe Rooney and Kara Cisco, who are grappling with what remote learning means for students already facing educational inequities. As we all have to balance and juggle and re-prioritize due to circumstances outside our control, can we learn to have greater empathy for the families who have always had to cope with so many factors outside their control? And can we translate that lesson into a will to make systemic changes when our children return to their classrooms?
55 min
93
COVID-19: Finding Community in Isolation
We find ourselves in the most segregated school environment imaginable - quarantined at home. The inequities are glaring and the needs of our communities are all too real. We discuss making this time at home reflective of our values with Garrett Bucks - an anti-racist organizer, writer, and father of two.
50 min
94
Choosing a School: Values, Privilege, and Respo...
Choosing a school, as a white and / or privileged person can feel overwhelming. If you are prepared to set aside test scores and school ratings, what should take their place? We're joined by two moms who are thinking through this decision for their soon-to-be elementary school kids.
53 min
95
The Impacts of Testing Our Kids and Ranking Our...
Nearly every public school in the country gets a rating from GreatSchools.org. What goes into these ratings, and what is the impact of having a national school rating system. Matt Barnum (Chalkbeat) joins us to discuss the ways these ratings can nudge families away from schools with higher concentrations of Black and Brown students.
56 min
96
The Impacts of Testing Our Kids and Ranking Our...
The first of a two-part series looking at how we assess school quality, and how that impacts our decisions around where to live and where to send our kids to school. How we define “good” and “bad” schools is a huge part of the smog we often talk about at Integrated Schools - and these two episodes get into the problems with the data we’re using, and the implications of that on the larger education system, and society as a whole.
39 min
97
Educational Justice Through Reparations with Ju...
Our history of segregation has left a breach in education that may require a reparations lens to repair. We're joined by Professor Justin Hansford, from Howard Law School, to discuss.
38 min
98
Tragedy Strikes the Integrated Schools Family
Our hearts are heavy over the loss of our founder, director and friend, Courtney Mykytyn.
5 min
99
All I Want for Christmas is 3.5%
Before we head off to spend the holidays with our friends and families, we want to end 2019 on a hopeful note. Creating enduring political change -- like an end to school segregation -- begins with just 3.5% of actively engaged participants. Can we do it?
21 min
100
Gifts We Didn't Expect: Family, Faith, and Inte...
Albert, a Taiwanese American father of three, found himself in crisis. Honoring his parents and the ways they sacrificed to get him a "good" education, while also honoring the way his faith called him to justice seemed impossible. He shares his story.
52 min