158 episodes

Hosted by Leonie Haimson (Class Size Matters) and Daniel Alicea (Educators of NYC)

Talk Out of School Leonie Haimson, Daniel Alicea

    • Education
    • 4.9 • 10 Ratings

Hosted by Leonie Haimson (Class Size Matters) and Daniel Alicea (Educators of NYC)

    NYC's controversial new reading program

    NYC's controversial new reading program

    After a brief recap of local education news, NYU researcher Flor Khan, parent Alina Lewis, and teacher Martina Meijer discuss the problems with the most commonly adopted new reading curriculum in NYC schools, called HMH Into Reading.

    • 1 hr
    The Class Size Law Rally and City Council Hearing

    The Class Size Law Rally and City Council Hearing

    Daniel shared news and analysis about the recent class size rally and the city council hearing that occurred on February 29th which called for accountability by the city for its implementation of the new class size law.

    Hear the rally voices of parents, advocates, public officials and other stakeholders who have concerns about the City not doing everything possible to hit the yearly targets needed to fully comply with the new class size limits.

    In the first segment, he shared the voices at the rally led by Rita Joseph, City Council member and head of the Education Committee; and also, Executive Director of Class Size Matters, Leonie Haimson, the United Federation of Teachers and others.

    In the second segment, listen to analysis of misleading statements shared by the Mayor’s office and the DOE regarding its proposal to comply with the new law. Also, he also shared three hearing testimonies.

    • 56 min
    Conversations with Bennett Fischer and Marianne Pizzitola

    Conversations with Bennett Fischer and Marianne Pizzitola

    Daniel spoke to retired educator, union activist Bennett Fischer. Bennett, along with over 300 retirees, is running on the Retiree Advocate/UFT slate that is seeking to lead the retired teachers chapter within the United Federation of Teachers.

    This upcoming spring retiree chapter election may have an impact on its union leadership in regards to the fight to stave off attempts by the city to force all Medicare eligible city retirees into the highly litigated and much maligned Medicare Advantage plan.

    In the second segment, Daniel interviewed Marianne Pizzitola, president of the New York Organization of Public Service Retirees. Her organization, comprised of NYC retirees from our city’s unions, has been leading the fight against the city and the top establishment union leadership who are partnering in cost savings healthcare givebacks that endanger the healthcare benefits of retired and active city workers.

    She shared updates on the fight the NYC retirees are waging to preserve their hard earned benefits. They also spoke about the upcoming RTC election and the history behind the misuse of the Healthcare Stabilization Fund.

    • 58 min
    Laura Pappano on the rise of right-wing parent groups spreading disinformation about our public schools

    Laura Pappano on the rise of right-wing parent groups spreading disinformation about our public schools

    Leonie interviews Laura Pappano, the author of an important new book, School Moms: Parent Activism, Partisan Politics, and the Battle for Public Education. Laura explains what’s behind the rise of right-wing parent groups who claim that our classrooms have become indoctrination centers for radical ideas, and are intent on on banning books and the discussion of race and gender.

    • 1 hr
    Gov. Hochul’s proposed Foundation Aid budget cuts and the impact on New York State schools

    Gov. Hochul’s proposed Foundation Aid budget cuts and the impact on New York State schools

    Daniel covered the education portion of New York state governor Kathy Hochul's proposed executive budget for the upcoming fiscal year. It's a budget with an overall increase of over 800 million but that drastically cuts and underfunds Foundation Aid to over 44% of state districts -- wealthier and high need ones, alike. These cuts will impact programming, staffing, and much more.

    He interviewed Marina Marcou-O'Malley, the interim executive co-director of the Alliance for Quality Education, or AQE. He shared gripping statements from leaders and advocates: President, Melinda Person, State Senator John Liu, and  Dr. Michael J. Hynes, the Superintendent of Port Washington schools.  They are calling for full funding of our state schools. 

    He also spoke to parent leaders of the Long Beach School district who are concerned about the cuts to district programming and the possible closure of East Elementary school as a result of these cuts.

    • 52 min
    Bill Gates' outsize influence on educational policy

    Bill Gates' outsize influence on educational policy

    Leonie interviews Tim Schwab, the author of an important new book “The Bill Gates Problem: Reckoning with the Myth of the Good Billionaire,” about Bill Gates' profound impact on education policy in NYC and nationwide.

    • 1 hr

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
10 Ratings

10 Ratings

aharidop ,

A must listen!

Commercial free, locally controlled and totally relevant to the on the ground reality of schools.

lhaimson ,

This is a great informative podcast

For anyone interested in public education issues in NYC, or nationally, this is a must-listen. Every week there are engaging discussions and the co-hosts really know how to ask the right questions of their guests.

JWDetroit ,

Voices for public education

Leonie and Carol are lifelong advocates for public school children, and their incisive and data-driven arguments for the public good make for great podcast material!

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