Back to Freedom School

Vermont Education Equity Project
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The Back to freedom School podcast tackles educational inequities head-on with featured stakeholders from across the state and country, including parents, students, and teachers. The podcast aims to increase awareness of equity issues while co-creating a social and political reality in which the success of Black, indigenous, and children of color, as well as children with learning, social, or economic challenges, becomes central to the cultivation of a robust democracy and to socio-political liberation.

Episodes

  1. The How

    12/23/2021

    The How

    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.

    53 min

  2. 12/15/2021

    Amazingly Hard Work

    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.”

    48 min
  3. Each One Teach One

    12/08/2021

    Each One Teach One

    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.

    29 min

  4. 11/22/2021

    The Amazing Mugabo

    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.

    55 min
  5. Weighting for Equity

    11/08/2021

    Weighting for Equity

    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.

    33 min

  6. 11/02/2021

    Hindsight 2020-2021

    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.

    49 min
  7. The Nerve to Serve

    10/25/2021

    The Nerve to Serve

    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.

    28 min
  8. Eyes and Ears on School Funding

    10/18/2021

    Eyes and Ears on School Funding

    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.”

    44 min

  9. 09/30/2020

    EPISODE 1: Vermont’s Education Equity Landscape

    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

    37 min
  • 9 Episodes

About

The Back to freedom School podcast tackles educational inequities head-on with featured stakeholders from across the state and country, including parents, students, and teachers. The podcast aims to increase awareness of equity issues while co-creating a social and political reality in which the success of Black, indigenous, and children of color, as well as children with learning, social, or economic challenges, becomes central to the cultivation of a robust democracy and to socio-political liberation.

Information

  • Creator
    Vermont Education Equity Project
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    9
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2021 Vermont Education Equity Project
  • Show Website
    Back to Freedom School