Classnotes Podcast (April 3, 2024). Striking inequities in STEM pathways lead to underrepresentation of women and people of color in STEM careers. Many initiatives across the country are looking for ways to turn the tide.

STEM equity must be infused into classrooms across the K-12 pipeline.

IDRA recently named eight teachers in San Antonio as STEM Equity Ambassadors for the 2023-24 school year to support teacher leaders to do just that.

In this episode, IDRA’s Lizdelia Piñón and Michelle Martínez Vega talk with two educators about their experiences as IDRA’s STEM Equity Ambassadors and what they have learned about promoting equity through culturally relevant STEM pedagogy.

Angela Votion, M.S., is a STEM consultant with the Texas Education Service Center, Region 20. With over 10 years of experience in education, her expertise includes curriculum development, instructional design, and professional development facilitation. She holds a master of science in reading from Texas A&M San Antonio.

Alma Ramos, M.A., M.Ed., is a pre-kindergarten through eighth grade instructional coach and fifth grade science teacher. Originally from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, she first became an educator when graduating from Texas A&M University in 2012. Alma holds a master’s degrees in bilingual education and educational leadership.

IDRA Education Associate Lizdelia Piñón, Ed.D., and IDRA Chief Technology Strategist Michelle Martínez Vega help coordinate IDRA’s ambassador program.

The Alamo STEM Ecosystem, co-led by IDRA, is partnering with the other three Defense STEM Education Consortium (DSEC) partners across the country to support over 30 STEM Equity Ambassadors using interactive and experiential teaching methods to support them as they develop a robust STEM action plan for their own school and school district.

Show length: 16:30

Resources

STEM Equity Ambassadors

Theatre of the Oppressed

IDRA STEM Equity – Online Technical Assistance Toolkit

Defense STEM Education Consortium

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The post Ambassador Educators on Promoting STEM Equity – Classnotes Podcast #241 appeared first on IDRA.

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Classnotes is IDRA’s free award-winning podcast series for teachers and administrators that explores issues facing U.S. education today and strategies to better serve every student. Listen from your computer or from an MP3 player, like your phone or iPod. Subscribe for free through iTunes. And if you like our show, please leave a short review for us in iTunes!

Classnotes Podcast Awards and Recognitions

The post Classnotes Podcast Episode List appeared first on IDRA.

Classnotes Podcast (January 19, 2024). Many programs in public schools take a while to bear fruit. This is not surprising since schools are systems, and positive change requires systemic change. But we have also seen change occur quickly when adults shift their perspective about students, particularly students who don’t fit a certain mold.

IDRA is testing such a process through our new Youth Leadership Now project. This field-initiated, research-based program that is federally funded is examining how the program can transform not just participating students but also whole school communities.

We are partnering with the Texas Education Service Center Region 19 to pilot this program in several schools in Texas. Youth Leadership Now combines three key strategies. First, it takes key elements from IDRA’s highly successful Valued Youth Partnership program and adds mentorship of tutors by eighth grade teachers, who help them prepare to transition into high school. And it incorporates IDRA’s family leadership model, Education CAFE, to engage families and tutors in equity action projects.

In this podcast episode, Hector Bojorquez, IDRA’s director of operations and educational practice, who conceptualized this project, had a nice conversation with two guests from Fabens Middle School. Ana Luna is the YLN teacher coordinator who has worked 18 years in the districts as a math and technology teacher. Her assistant, Beatriz Nuñez, joins the discussion as they talk about what they have seen in the students’ first four weeks as tutors. Christie L. Goodman, APR, Fellow PRSA, provides an introduction and overview of Youth Leadership Now.

Show length: 12:07 min

Resources

IDRA Youth Leadership Now

Clint ISD & Youth Leadership Now: 23/24 School Year – IDRA Pilot Program Update

IDRA Valued Youth Partnership

Flier: How VYP transforms student socio-emotional learning and relationships with school

IDRA Education CAFE

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The post Student Leaders Surprise Teachers – Podcast Episode 240 appeared first on IDRA.

Classnotes Podcast (December 14, 2023). In 2023, IDRA celebrated its 50th anniversary with a series of events throughout the year, including a gala highlighting IDRA’s Bold Legacy and Bright Future. This special episode features the remarks by IDRA President & CEO, Celina Moreno, J.D.

She pays tribute to the legacy, audacity and strength of the advocates who organized five decades ago to challenge injustice in their schools. And she emphasizes a bright future where, at IDRA, we will never stop dreaming of and fighting for a world where all believe in the truth we have long known: all children are valuable; none is expendable.

Show length: 12:10 min

Resources

Watch this speech on YouTube

IDRA 50th Anniversary Highlights

IDRA 50th Anniversary Video Gallery

Gala program (PDF)

Commentary: Civil rights icon Dolores Huerta, 93 and ‘still raising hell,‘ by Nancy M. Preyor-Johnson, San Antonio Express-News

IDRA President and CEO Celina Moreno | ¡Nosotros! with Elaine Ayala, November 17, 2023

Latinas in Education, ¡SALUD!, KLRN-TV, September 28, 2023

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The post Standing on the Shoulders of Giants – Podcast Episode 239 appeared first on IDRA.

Classnotes Podcast (November 9, 2023). At IDRA we often say “everyone is a policy advocate.” This means that everyone has the right and responsibility to be involved in the policymaking processes that influence education. This especially is true for communities of color who are often intentionally left out of this process.

Our IDRA Education Policy Fellows each brought their unique talents and abilities to influence policy and advocate at the Texas and Georgia Legislatures. With this program, IDRA set out to change the landscape of state education advocacy by training advocates with a commitment to and experience with communities of color to influence state laws and lead a powerful network of impacted communities.

Mikayla Arciaga, M.A.Ed., IDRA Georgia advocacy director, led a conversation with fellows: Steve Kemgang, Diana Long, Jonathan Peraza Campos, M.S., Alisha “Tuff” Tuff, and Ruth M. Youn. In this last installment of the three-part series, the fellows describe the reason they applied to the fellowship, their new knowledge gained, and post fellowship plans.

The IDRA Education Policy Fellows Program that operated from November 2022 through July 2023 was generously supported by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Kresge Foundation.

Show length: 32:02 min.

Resources

IDRA 2022-23 Fellows – Bios and writings

IDRA Education Policy Fellows Program

Post-fellowship evaluation report of the program’s first cycle

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To ensure you don’t miss a single episode of IDRA Classnotes, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, (download iTunes free if you don’t have it) or sign up to receive an e-mail alert as soon as a new show is published.

The post A Bright Future in Education Advocacy – Podcast Episode 238 appeared first on IDRA.

Classnotes Podcast (October 2, 2023). Access to technology and the Internet are not luxuries. They are critical to life today, especially in education. But that access is limited in low-income communities and their schools. Solutions require us to consider all facets, from broadband policy at the state level to community input and action. IDRA’s conversation around the digital divide starts by analyzing the issue of equitable broadband infrastructure from the perspective and expertise of local industry leader, chief strategy officer and co-founder of Lit Communities (based in San Antonio), Rene Gonzalez, and Thomas Marshall III, M.Ed., and Christina Quintanilla-Muñoz, M.Ed., of IDRA. The conversation is facilitated by IDRA chief technology strategist, Michelle Vega.

Note that this episode was recorded during the 2021 Texas legislative session. For an update on what happened with policies they mentioned, see Texas Legislature Takes Some Steps Toward Addressing the Digital Divide, Thomas Marshall, June-July 2021.

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Resources

IDRA 2022-23 Fellows – Bios and writings

IDRA Education Policy Fellows Program

Post-fellowship evaluation report of the program’s first cycle

Listen to every episode!

To ensure you don’t miss a single episode of IDRA Classnotes, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, (download iTunes free if you don’t have it) or sign up to receive an e-mail alert as soon as a new show is published.

The post Perspectives on Broadband Infrastructure for Students – Podcast Episode 237 appeared first on IDRA.

Classnotes Podcast (August 30, 2023). Decisions about education made by state-level lawmakers impact millions of students. But few people have input into those decisions, especially those in communities of color. IDRA’s groundbreaking Education Policy Fellows Program set out to change that dynamic. With this program, IDRA trains advocates with a commitment to and experience with communities of color to influence state laws and lead a powerful network of impacted communities.

As we closed our second cycle of the program, we sat down with our five fellows to reflect on their experiences. Morgan Craven, J.D., IDRA National Director of Policy, Advocacy and Community Engagement, led the conversation with fellows: Steve Kemgang, Diana Long, Jonathan Peraza Campos, M.S., Alisha “Tuff” Tuff, and Ruth M. Youn. In the second of three episodes, they describe the challenges of being advocates of color working in policymaking spaces and the changes they would make to make the policy process more accessible for communities.

The IDRA Education Policy Fellows Program that operated from November 2022 through July 2023 was generously supported by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Kresge Foundation.

Show length: 31:44 min.

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Resources

IDRA 2022-23 Fellows – Bios and writings

IDRA Education Policy Fellows Program

Post-fellowship evaluation report of the program’s first cycle

Listen to every episode!

To ensure you don’t miss a single episode of IDRA Classnotes, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, (download iTunes free if you don’t have it) or sign up to receive an e-mail alert as soon as a new show is published.

The post Advocates of Color and Community Power – Podcast Episode 236 appeared first on IDRA.

Classnotes Podcast (July 30, 2023). Jonathan Peraza Campos, M.S., speaks with Dr. Jyoti Kaneria and doctoral candidate Emily Lemon about their community-engaged research and the implications it can have in the classroom and policymaking spaces. In their conversation, they discover similarities in how their own experience was central to their work. Based in Georgia, both have been organizers, educators, and researchers pertaining to Latino youth, multilingual learners, culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies, ethnic studies, immigration policy, and mental health.

Emily “Em” Lemon, is a doctoral candidate in behavioral, social, and health education sciences in the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. A. Jyoti Kaneria, Ph.D., is a Remezcla-IDEI Postdoctoral Fellow, in the Institute Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Georgia Institute of Technology. Jonathan Peraza Campos, M.S., is a Georgia educator-organizer who served as an Education Policy Fellow with IDRA in 2022-23.

Show length: 28:06 min.

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Resources

Student Research & Activism – IDRA Webpage

Cultural and Ethnic Studies – IDRA Webpage

MAS for All – Student Researchers Explore the State of Mexican American Studies, IDRA project

Report Highlights: Student Researchers Report on Struggles their Peers Face During COVID-19, by Jacqueline Campos, Monica Cruz, Alejo Peña Soto, Fatimah Rasul & Ana Ramón, IDRA Newsletter

Article: Steps for Helping Students Become Activists – A Teen’s Advice, Melivia Mujia, IDRA Newsletter

Infographic: Steps to Promoting Student Activism

Your feedback

We welcome your comments and questions to the podcast. Use IDRA’s online form, or send an e-mail to [email protected]. 

Listen to every episode!

To ensure you don’t miss a single episode of IDRA Classnotes, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, (download iTunes free if you don’t have it) or sign up to receive an e-mail alert as soon as a new show is published.

The post Learning from Latino and Multilingual Youth – Podcast Episode 235 appeared first on IDRA.

Classnotes Podcast (July 16 2023). As IDRA’s groundbreaking Education Policy Fellows Program closed its second cycle, we sat down with our five fellows to reflect on their experience. With this program, IDRA set out to change the landscape of state education advocacy by training advocates with a commitment to and experience with communities of color to influence state laws and lead a powerful network of impacted communities.

Morgan Craven, J.D., IDRA National Director of Policy, Advocacy and Community Engagement, led the conversation with fellows: Steve Kemgang, Diana Long, Jonathan Peraza Campos, M.S., Alisha “Tuff” Tuff, and Ruth M. Youn. In this first of three episodes, they describe the challenges of working in policymaking spaces as advocates for communities of color

The IDRA Education Policy Fellows Program that operated from November 2022 through July 2023 was generously supported by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Kresge Foundation.

Show length: 22:06 min.

Send comments to [email protected]

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Resources

IDRA 2022-23 Fellows – Bios and writings

IDRA Education Policy Fellows Program

Post-fellowship evaluation report of the program’s first cycle

Your feedback

We welcome your comments and questions to the podcast. Use IDRA’s online form, or send an e-mail to [email protected]. 

Listen to every episode!

To ensure you don’t miss a single episode of IDRA Classnotes, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, (download iTunes free if you don’t have it) or sign up to receive an e-mail alert as soon as a new show is published.

The post The Good, Bad and Ugly of Legislative Advocacy – Podcast Episode 234 appeared first on IDRA.

Classnotes Podcast (March 20, 2023). In the 1960s, students across Texas walked out of their schools to demand a strong education made possible by fair funding of schools. Some of those students were in Edgewood ISD, where parents then came together and decided to take on the system. They had a huge win when the district court ruled that the Texas system of school finance was inequitable and unconstitutional. But while the U.S. Supreme Court agreed on many fronts, it ultimately handed down a disastrous ruling, wiping its hands of any federal responsibility and forcing decades of state-level litigation.

This case is also pivotal for IDRA. Dr. José A. Cárdenas was actively involved in the school finance reform efforts since the early days of the Rodríguez vs. San Antonio ISD litigation when he was superintendent of the Edgewood ISD. As the U.S. Supreme Court considered the Rodríguez case, Dr. Cárdenas resigned from Edgewood ISD to establish IDRA to advocate school finance reform and improved educational opportunities for all students.

Dr. Albert Cortez came to IDRA two years later and worked with Dr. Cárdenas to pioneer school finance reform in Texas. Before coming to IDRA, Celina  Moreno, IDRA’s President and CEO, directed policy and litigation for the Southwest Regional Office for MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund), the nation’s leading Latino legal civil rights organization that litigated the school finance cases that followed Rodríguez against the state of Texas.

In this special, 50th anniversary edition of the IDRA Classnotes podcast, Celina met with Cortez, who is now retired from IDRA, to discuss the history of the Rodríguez case, its impact, the litigation that was forced to follow, and how the case led to IDRA’s founding.

Show length: 46:27 min

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Resources

Texas School Finance Reform: An IDRA Perspective, literally, the textbook, Dr. José A. Cárdenas

Destined to Get an Equitable System of School Funding, interview with Dr. Cárdenas, by Anna Alicia Romero, IDRA Newsletter, September 2001

Fair Funding of Schools- Why and With What Results, by Albert Cortez, Ph.D., IDRA Newsletter, May 2009

Equalizing Funding of Texas School Facilities– A Long-Standing, Long-Neglected Need, by Albert Cortez, Ph.D., IDRA Newsletter, February 2007

Ensuring Fair School Funding for All Students, IDRA website

Conversation: Albert Kauffman and David Hinojosa on Texas School Finance, NowCastSA, May 18, 2016

Your feedback

We welcome your comments and questions to the podcast. Send an e-mail to [email protected]. 

Listen to every episode!

To ensure you don’t miss a single episode of IDRA Classnotes, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes (download iTunes free if you don’t have it) or sign up to receive an e-mail alert as soon as a new show is published.

The post The Law in Education – Rodríguez vs. San Antonio ISD – Podcast Episode 233 appeared first on IDRA.

Classnotes Podcast (February 6, 2023). Public school investment has largely mirrored investment in parts of communities or certain neighborhoods. The discriminatory practice of redlining occurred when particular neighborhoods were marked as risky investments. Those neighborhoods had significant populations of people of color and families with low incomes. The redlining is illegal, most communities have not recovered or experienced new investment.

Digital redlining carries forward these inequities among marginalized groups through real access to affordable technology, digital content and broadband Internet. In this episode, Thomas Marshall III talks with Jordana Barton, vice president of community investments with Methodist Healthcare Ministries, about digital redlining and the fact that scarcity is a false assumption. The problem affects everyone and can be solved today.

Show length: 25:26 min

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Resources

IDRA’s Digital Equity – Online Technical Assistance Toolkit

In the Red – Drawing the Line on Digital Redlining Practices – Webinar

Digital Destination – Texas Needs Broadband Connectivity for All Students & Families, report by Thomas Marshall & Christina Quintanilla-Muñoz

The Parallel Roads to Digital and Racial Justice, article by Christina Quintanilla-Muñoz, M.Ed., IDRA Newsletter, October 2022

Your feedback

We welcome your comments and questions to the podcast. Use IDRA’s online form, or send an e-mail to [email protected]. 

Listen to every episode!

To ensure you don’t miss a single episode of IDRA Classnotes, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, (download iTunes free if you don’t have it) or sign up to receive an e-mail alert as soon as a new show is published.

The post Educational Impact of Digital Redlining – Podcast Episode 232 appeared first on IDRA.