Safe Space

The dramatic exit of the superintendent and changes to school equity policies is cause for concern for Naomi Lopez, a speech therapist in Colorado Springs School District 11. Lopez works with children in special education who require services from the equity department. Without the equity leadership team overseeing the work, she fears her students will miss vital resources that assist in their academic goals. Naomi’s problems grew when two board members expressed transphobic messages on social media, and she feared for the safety of her gender fluid child. We follow Naomi Lopez as she tries to steer the board toward equity policies while addressing her concerns that her gender-fluid child is a target because of the school board's anti-LGBTQ comments.

Host and producer: Jo Erickson
Editor: Erin Jones
Producers: Rebekah Romberg, Kibwe Cooper, Emily Williams
Theme music by Daniel Mescher. (Additional music via Universal Production Music.)
Art: Maria Juliana Pinzón
Executive producers: Brad Turner, Kevin Dale
Additional editorial support: Jenny Brundin, Rachel Estabrook, Sherkiya Wedgeworth-Hollowell, Luis Antonio Perez
Thanks also to Jodi Gersh, Clara Shelton, Mia Rincón, Arielle Wilson, Hart van Denburg.