Beth is a mom of two grappling with race, parenting and her own privilege in America. Looking back over the past year, we follow Beth as she learns how the choices she makes for her daughters’ schooling shapes how she lives in her city… where she belongs, who she calls “WE.” In part 3, we look back at a year that has been transformative for Beth — but not necessarily in the ways she expected. From thinking about her role in the PTA, to her racial identity, to how she relates to her former school...
Oct 16, 2019•26 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Beth is a mom of two grappling with race, parenting and her own privilege in America. Looking back over the past year, we follow Beth as she learns how the choices she makes for her daughters’ schooling shapes how she lives in her city… where she belongs, who she calls “WE.” In part 2, we find Beth two months into the school year grappling with the differences between the new school and the former one, trying to make sense of how she and her family fit into these two communities. Advertising Inq...
Oct 15, 2019•33 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Beth is a mom of two grappling with race, parenting and her own privilege in America. Looking back over the past year, we follow Beth as she learns how the choices she makes for her daughters’ schooling shapes how she lives in her city… where she belongs, who she calls “WE.” In Part 1 - Something feels very wrong… Beth wonders about her choice to send her two kids to the highly sought after school in her neighborhood. What does it mean for one family to make a different kind of decision? Music i...
Oct 14, 2019•29 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Today, July 25th, is the 45th anniversary of the SCOTUS ruling on the Milliken v. Bradley case. We’re joined by Michelle Adams , Constitutional Law Professor at Cardozo School of Law , who is writing a book on this important and under-appreciated case. Based in Detroit, this case functionally halted the promise of Brown v Board of Education at the city limits, allowing all-white suburbs (created through policies like redlining) to maintain all-white schools. We talk about the history of the case...
Jul 25, 2019•47 min
We’re joined by Matt Delmont . He’s the Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Professor of History at Dartmouth College, and he wrote the book on busing – 2016’s Why Busing Failed: Race, Media, and the National Resistance to School Desegregation . Given the prominence “busing” has had in discussions about school desegregation, particularly in light of the exchange between Kamala Harris and Joe Biden at a recent democratic presidential primary debate, we thought we’d take a break from taking a break, a...
Jul 17, 2019•43 min
The Duke Center for Documentary Studies produces as podcast called Scene On Radio . From February to August of 2017, they released a 14 part series called Seeing White . Many discussions of race focus on anyone who isn’t White, leaving Whiteness as the default, or the norm. This series, as they say, turns the lens around to look at Whiteness directly – what does it mean? where did it come from? We are thrilled to present some highlights from their series here, with some additional discussion of ...
Jul 10, 2019•59 min
While we are off preparing for a new season starting in the fall, we wanted to share a few of our favorite podcasts, so you don’t forget about us. We regularly hear that we should include student voices, and, while we are working on that for a future episode, in the mean time, we’re thrilled to be able to bring you an episode of The Miseducation Podcast . This is a student driven podcast from New York City, and we’ve been blown away by the insight these students have on the issues of segregation...
Jun 26, 2019•29 min
In this final episode of the series Brown v. Board at 65: The Stories We Tell Ourselves , we take some time to grapple with the stories we have heard. Reflecting on what our guests have shared ( Dr. Rucker Johnson , Dr. Noliwe Rooks , Dr. Amanda Lewis , David Hinojosa , Greg and Carol), we talk with Anna about what we have learned and where we go from here. For the path forward, why does it matter to distinguish between desegregation and integration, to decenter Whiteness, and to think about the...
May 22, 2019•51 min•Season 3Ep. 23
In the fifth episode in our Brown v. Board at 65: The Stories We Tell Ourselves series, we step away from scholarship to take a moment to listen. I Hope They Hear it in Our Voices is a conversation with two Black parents who live in different parts of the U.S. and who have had very different -- yet very similar -- school experiences. Greg and Carol tell us a lot about how far we have (not) come since Brown v. Board, about how much work we still have to do, and the very real costs of “access to r...
May 15, 2019•52 min•Season 3Ep. 22
For the fourth episode in our Brown v. Board at 65: The Stories We Tell Ourselves series, we talk with Civil Rights attorney David Hinojosa . School segregation is too often painted as binary issue between Black and White people; learning other histories shows that this is far from true. Complicating the picture of what preceded and came as a result of Brown v. Board, David shares a history lesson on the segregation of Latinx communities across the US since the late 1800s. We discuss the politic...
May 08, 2019•50 min•Season 3Ep. 21
Amanda Lewis ( Despite the Best Intentions: How Racial Inequality Thrives in Good Schools , co-authored with John Diamond ) joins us for this third episode of our Brown v. Board at 65: The Stories We Tell Ourselves series. Dr. Lewis’s research takes her to a school that is desegregated on paper but segregated within the building. It is a school, like many, with “race neutral” policies that hide the very real racialized practices in the building. Add to that a dose of opportunity hoarding, and eq...
May 01, 2019•48 min•Season 3Ep. 20
For the second episode in our Brown v. Board at 65: The Stories We Tell Ourselves series, we talk with Dr. Noliwe Rooks (Cornell). Her book, Cutting School: Privatization, Segregation, and the End of Public Education , as well as some of her more recent research around the pushback to school desegregation from communities of color and the decimation of the Black teaching corps following Brown v. Board, provide context in which to understand the full range of outcomes from Brown v Board. While Dr...
Apr 24, 2019•48 min•Season 3Ep. 19
As we approach the 65th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education (1954), we are pleased to present a special series looking at the stories we tell ourselves about Brown v. Board. The way we understand this case and its legacies do the work of making sense of our past and mapping out our future. With the brilliance of some amazing guests, we unpack some of these popular narratives and the ways in which they have undermined our ability to deal with racial and edu...
Apr 18, 2019•45 min•Season 3Ep. 18
For the finale of Season 2, we’re joined by Dr. Shelly Arsneault, Professor of Political Science & Public Administration at California State Fullerton, who is collaborating on an upcoming book called Our Kids, Our Money, and Our Schools: The Persistence of Inequality in Public School Finance. We discuss the many ways in which private money is funneled into public schools – which schools get it, what they use it for, and what the impact is on the overall system of public education. From PTAs ...
Mar 20, 2019•46 min•Season 2Ep. 17
In this episode we bring Anna back to grapple with a few things that have been on our minds of late. We discuss the David Kirkland episode (Ep. 14 — be sure to listen if you haven’t!) and answer some listener questions. Dr. Kirkland cautioned us around the centering of Whiteness in the work of integration. We dig in to that, as well as discuss the power of language in this work. Taking on a few listener questions, we grapple with whether a school is ever “too bad” and whether our kids being “jus...
Mar 13, 2019•47 min•Season 2Ep. 16
Dr. Allison Roda (Molloy College) joins us to discuss Gifted and Talented programs and segregation. Gifted programs (sometimes called G/T, GATE, TAG, etc) have long been criticized for serving a disproportionately large percentage of White and/or privileged students. Dr. Roda’s research looks at how access to these programs is often ‘gamed’ by White/privileged families. In this episode, we discuss this research along with the the perceived importance of the label of “gifted” (and the stigmas of ...
Mar 06, 2019•40 min•Season 2Ep. 15
A thought leader on educational justice, Dr. David Kirkland (NYU) joins us for a meta discussion around school integration. He shares a powerful vision of integration from a racial justice framework; it is one that is grounded in democratic participation and the sharing of resources and one that involves us all in the deliberation of what counts as knowledge, the language of curriculum, and the fundamental design of education. Dr. Kirkland also encourages us to consider that integration is about...
Feb 27, 2019•56 min•Season 2Ep. 14
Dual Language programs are exploding in popularity across the country — and particularly among White &/or privileged families in gentrifying communities. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Sofia Chaparro about her research following the establishment of one such program. Providing some overview of Dual Language issues, this conversation looks at the potential for these spaces as well as the ways in which things can go wrong. LINKS: Connor Williams on white families in bilingual schools. The W...
Feb 20, 2019•47 min•Season 2Ep. 13
In this episode we’re joined by Kelly from NYC to talk about how we as white &/or privileged families show up in integrating schools. What does ‘colonizing’ mean in this context and, most importantly, how can we be thoughtful about not centering whiteness? We dig in to some of the ways integration can go sideways because of how integrating parents see things as “right” when they are often just “white” (&/or privileged). And we talk, of course, about nachos. LINKS: Tema Okun on White Supr...
Feb 13, 2019•52 min•Season 2Ep. 12
Professor and author, Dr. Elizabeth McRae, discusses her new book - Mothers of Massive Resistance: White Women and the Politics of White Supremacy. This is a compelling history of the everyday work that White women have undertaken to promote and reinforce racial segregation in America’s public schools. While legislation dominates the discourse, Dr. McRae reveals the many ways that White women have been segregation’s “constant gardeners” We talk with Dr. McRae about what her research tells us abo...
Feb 06, 2019•44 min•Season 2Ep. 11
We’re back! After a break over the holidays, we’re kicking off Season 2 of the Integrated Schools Podcast with a basic question – why does one person’s choice matter? What impact does your choice have for your kid, for your school, and for the system. We’ve got Denise from Santa Fe back, and we try to dig in – does your choice change anything? If so, for whom? Is it integration when we are talking about ONE kid? And if it moves the needle towards integration, why does that even matter? It also b...
Jan 30, 2019•45 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Last week we talked about the fear we often hear around your kid being the “Only One” from the perspective of parents with kids who are currently in that position. In this episode, we look at it a little differently. Andrew looks back on his experience as the Only One White kid in his elementary school in a conversation with Erin, who reflects upon her experiences as the Only One Black kid in her schools. The discussion, as adults with the perspective of time, highlights the ways that race impac...
Dec 19, 2018•43 min•Season 1Ep. 9
The Smog – is all of the things that we hear and say about schools and parenting that push us towards greater segregation. “I don’t want my kid to be the only one” is one of these. It’s a tricky subject, so we’re going to break it up into two parts. Part 1- today’s episode – is from the perspective of parents with kids who are currently the Only One . It can be challenging to navigate. We talk with Lauren from Pennsylvania about the experience for her, her two kids, and her family. It’s not alwa...
Dec 12, 2018•42 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Good intentions don’t always feel so good. In this episode, we talk with Vicky, a Mexican mom whose kids attend an integrated school in a gentrifying neighborhood. Vicky shares what it feels like to be “saved” by some of the White &/or privileged families at her kids’ schools (spoiler: not so great). Relationships are hard and trust takes time to build. And privilege, especially privilege unexamined, shows up in unexpected places. Join our Patreon to support this work, and connect with us an...
Dec 05, 2018•45 min•Season 1Ep. 7
We couldn’t pull off a full episode this week, but we did want to update you on all the other things happening at Integrated Schools. The Two Tour Pledge – sign on here. Mapping of how White &/or Privileged Families Interact with School Integration – our video overview. Parent to Parent Program – get connected with someone who is sending their kids to an integrating school. Or, just visit our website . Join our Patreon to support this work, and connect with us and other listeners to discuss ...
Nov 28, 2018•6 min
There are lots of great schools without many White kids, however, when White parents start to integrate a global majority school because they think they've found a hidden gem, it can lead in some troubling directions. Anna from LA (you may remember her from Ep 1) joins us to discuss the problems that arise when we come to integration just looking for a hidden gem. We touch on the narrative around what makes a "good" school, and we discuss how the Hidden Gem story encourages resource hoarding and...
Nov 21, 2018•34 min•Season 1Ep. 6
A lifelong activist and 20 year veteran of nonprofit work, Chris Stewart has served as the former Director of Outreach and External Affairs for Education Post, the Executive Director of the African American Leadership Forum (AALF), and an elected member of the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education where he was radicalized by witnessing the many systemic inequities that hold our children back. He is the current chief executive of the Wayfinder Foundation , and an outspoken critic of many ...
Nov 14, 2018•45 min•Season 1Ep. 5
The Smog - is all of the things that we hear and say about schools, often without realizing the ways those things are racialized. “I don’t want to sacrifice my kid on the altar of social justice“ is just one of many. The podcast will occasionally feature smog-conversations; the only way the smog changes is if we engage with these ideas directly. We're joined today by Denise from Santa Fe, who has been a key contributor to this podcast already, and who you'll be hearing more from in future episod...
Nov 08, 2018•23 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Professor and author, Dr. Margaret Hagerman, discusses her new book - White Kids: Growing Up With Privilege in a Racially Divided America. Dr. Hagerman conducted an ethnography of a community in the mid-west. She spent two years living in a community and interviewing white, wealthy families and their middle school aged children on their ideas about race, education, privilege, etc. We discuss her work, and what it tells us about the importance of the types of environments in which we raise our ki...
Oct 30, 2018•51 min•Season 1Ep. 3
We're joined by the Bordon family - Jenny (mom), Scott (dad), and Olivia (10th grade). In choosing a school for their daughters, they started out following the narrative of how people with the privilege of choose a school should go about it. After a conversation with their school district about who has has that privilege and the segregation that results from it, they made a change and sent both of their kids to global majority schools. Many years later, they reflect on that journey and how it ha...
Oct 30, 2018•43 min•Season 1Ep. 2
