February 12, 2024munozUncategorizedComments Off on Chicanologues 08. The Vibes and Brilliance of Zandra Jo Galván, ALAS Superintendent of the Year
Zandra Jo Galván joins me for a fun and inspirational conversation on this week’s Chicanologues! Celebrated by the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS), Zandra Jo now leads the school district that raised her, Greenfield Union in the Central Coast region of California.
Growing up the youngest child of Mexican immigrants, Zandra Jo was inspired to become a teacher by her older sister. At just 10 years old, Zandra Jo knew she wanted to take this journey. When she was elevated to serve as superintendent of the district that educated her, 90% raza, she became everything that a leader should be: joyous, engaged, motivational, and creative.
But she is not simply a “big energy” leader. She is a problem-solver who acts on data in meaningful ways. She shares with us her biggest successes, and reminds us that educational justice that is culturally sustaining and empowering is possible from the superintendent’s office.
January 24, 2024davidUncategorizedComments Off on Chicanologues 08. Cielito Lindo Books Founder Leticia Ordáz and Sharing NUESTRAS Historias
Leticia Ordaz is a Publisher, Award-Winning Bilingual Children’s Book Author, Literacy Advocate, and Television News Anchor/Reporter.
Leticia is the founder of the bilingual publishing house Cielito Lindo Books and a ten-time award-winning children’s book author at the International Latino Book Awards, the largest Latino Book Awards in the world.
A proud Mexican-American, Leticia is an Emmy Award-winning anchor/reporter in Sacramento, California, where she’s covered some of the biggest stories in the country.
Leticia is the author of The Adventures of Mr. Macaw, That Girl on TV Could Be Me! The Journey of a Latina News Anchor, Mr. Macaw’s Paleta Adventure, The Carousel King and the Space Mission, Mr. Macaw Lost in the Big City, and 2024 release Super Peanut and the Big Bully: The Power of Kindness.
As a literacy ambassador, she is excited to share bilingual stories with children around the world. The mother of two young Latino boys is working hard to break barriers and change statistics that currently show only 7 percent of American children’s books feature Latinx characters or subjects, and only 10 percent of authors and illustrators in the US are Latinx.
She recently teamed up with the Antelope Valley Union High School District to publish the Anthology, We Come From Greatness. The heartfelt project shared the stories of 88 migrant youth from Los Angeles County and transformed students into published authors. All of the proceeds benefit a scholarship program for the district.
When Leticia is not on the news being a voice for her community, she is busy visiting schools, hospitals, and orphanages to spread the love of reading in English and Spanish.
Reach out to bring her to your school for a dynamic assembly.
January 23, 2024davidUncategorizedComments Off on “Belonging is the Outcome” Carney Sandoe’s Kim Garner and Brandon Jacobs Discuss Forum DEIB
We are partnering with Carney, Sandoe & Associates to bring you cutting-edge insights and opportunities to learn from and with members of their communities. In today’s episode, Kim Garner and Brandon Jacobs join us to discuss DEIB (the B stands for Belonging), the importance of DEIB work across all educational spaces, and the chance for folx in the Philly area to attend their Hiring Forum DEIB event this coming Friday!
Kim graduated from Suffolk University with a B.A. in International Business. She began working at Carney, Sandoe & Associates in 2000 as an Operations Associate, and became Associate Director of Operations in 2005, Director of Operations in 2006, and Director of Operations and Conferences in 2010. Kim was promoted to Managing Associate in 2012.
As Chief Operating Officer, Placement Group, Kim manages operational budget, oversees operations staff, and explores new technologies to optimize efficiency within the Placement Group. She coordinates hiring, training, and onboarding for new employees, and plans and coordinates all aspects of faculty recruitment conferences, located in cities each year across the country.
Kim has also spearheaded the development of CS&A’s Women’s* Institute (which held its inaugural event in 2017) which focuses on empowerment, professional and personal development, and mentorship of women in education at all stages of their careers. Kim is extremely passionate about the importance of women supporting other women and providing safe space to learn from one another.
Brandon is Practice Leader, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB) Consulting Practice, Search & Consulting Services and also supports our Head of School, Key Administrator, Catholic Schools, and Diversity Leadership Search Practices. Brandon has been instrumental in growing our DEIB Search and Consulting Practices. He has worked with dozens of independent schools, colleges and universities, and education organizations, running retained searches for DEIB practitioners and leading consulting engagements around implicit bias, equitable hiring, BIPOC faculty and staff retention, and other topics.
Thanks to financial assistance from New Jersey SEEDS, a nonprofit organization that places high-achieving students from low-income families at selective day and boarding schools across the country, Brandon and his three younger brothers were able to attend The Hill School (PA). At the predominantly white boarding school, Brandon served as the first Black All-School President and, seven years following his high school graduation, would return to his alma mater to assume the dual roles of Director of Inclusion and Diversity and Student Activities Coordinator. While at The Hill School, Brandon was also Director of Student Activities, Class Dean, and Assistant Director of College Advising.
Before joining CS&A, Brandon served as the Director of Diversity and Inclusion at The Shipley School (PA) where he led the development and implementation of policies, procedures, and programs that sustained an inclusive school community and curriculum and fulfilled the School’s diversity and inclusion goals. Working closely with school administrators, he directed recruitment and retention initiatives to broaden the diversity of the student body and among faculty and staff.
I had no idea that January was National Mentoring Month, but this is perfect timing. At a critical moment in my life, donnie l. betts, legendary actor, director, playwright and filmmaker, but most importantly, mentor to so many.
I was fifteen when I met donnie, and he changed my life. He showed me that men of color from my neighborhood could be artists and movers, and that art could matter. We have remained in touch for over thirty years, and it is my profound honor to bring him and his story to you.
In this episode, you will hear how donnie came to the arts, the people he has met and learned from, and his undying conviction that art can make a difference. As in his new film, Stop Resisting, which, in the wake of unending police violence visited on Black communities in Denver and beyond. donnie continues to leverage art and stories to affect change, and he shares his passion with us.
For nearly fourteen weeks, genocidal events have been brought upon Gaza. To be honest, we struggled with how to best show support. We are a podcast that centers Teachers of Color and issues of Human Rights and Justice for all. So we have chosen to bring you stories of Palestinian American teachers. These stories are long-form, so they defy the sound-bite 24-hour news cycle. We ask participants to tell their stories with authenticity and courage. So yeah, this episode is longer.
Amal is a teacher in California who is proud to be Palestinian. She knows that her perspective is different, living stateside and not in Gaza, which has been described as of January 7 as “uninhabitable” by the United Nations. The days drag along as Amal tries to teach and support students. The courage to teach while your world burns is something Kevin and I cannot fathom.
But know that this story has emotion, passion, and knowledge. You will learn things that have not made it into the news cycle. You will learn how one teacher sees and experiences this horror.
Gerardo and Kevin are here to accompany you through this holiday season! Whether you celebrate or not, we gotchu, and we hope to bring some affirmation and encouragement to you in these times that defy description.
As you know, Kevin has moved into school leadership, halfway through his first year as an assistant principal. He shares the highs, the lows, and reflects on being positioned to make a greater impact for the students in his community. Gerardo shares the hard-earned lessons of sixteen months as a central office manager, and shares the encouragement he has found in his work.
But ya boys haven’t forgotten what it’s like to be a classroom teacher. Teaching is our mother tongue, and no matter what other jobs we learn and become proficient, conversant, even fluent in, our hearts and minds will always be those of teachers. We hope we can encourage you to rest, reflect, and appreciate yourself.
It is no secret that the teaching profession has become increasingly challenging, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. For those of us who taught before and through the pandemic, it was never easy. Always challenging, always demanding, always underpaid. Kevin and I have both left classroom roles (although being an administrator is also difficult), and we are both still a little, what’s the word, surprised? When folx choose teaching in these times.
Filmmaker Adam Gacka, founder of Production House in Chicago, was hired to make a promotional video for the ambitious Chicago Teacher Residency and during the course of filming, got to know many of the teachers in the school. In particular, as he learned about Nkanga Nsa, a resident in the program, he felt that her story needed to be shared. So the result was Teacher, a film that would document her journey through her residency, as well as that of the community around her. As Adam boldly declares, saving our teachers will save our democracy.
Adam and Nkanga join us for an in-depth conversation on one teacher’s experience, the ongoing work to ensure that our American teaching corps better reflect children in most classrooms, and the ambitious dream to become “an island beyond oneself” in Nkanga’s words.
For over two months, violence has raged on the Gaza Strip. Since the world snapped to attention on October 7, just under 20,000 Palestinians and 1300 Israelis (around 400 IDF soldiers) have died in the so-called “Israel-Hamas War” a carefully curated framing of the violence. This is an awful moment, and has led a number of experts to name the actions visited upon Palestinians as genocidal.
Kevin and Gerardo join the conversation. Perhaps later than some would hope. But we wanted to learn, listen, and elevate before seizing a social media moment.
Enter Abeer Shinnawi, our friend, a Palestinian teacher in the United States. Abeer calls upon us to teach the Palestinian struggle as a social justice/civil rights movement. She shares with us the privilege she has by living in the United States, but the pain she feels, as the Palestinian experience has been largely minimized, demonized, and erased. But in the midst of it all, she still believes that teachers can make a difference, to help students see that there is a civil rights imperative at work here.
This episode was supposed to come out during AANHSAPI Heritage Month (Asian-American Native Hawaiian South Asian Pacific Islander) but for a host of reasons, it did not. Hear Gerardo break down his ambivalence about heritage months and why we actually decided to put the episode out.
John Arthur is the 2021 Utah Teacher of the Year, and a finalist for National Teacher of the Year for the same year. In the two years since being announced, John has found a new level of advocacy and activism, speaking out for the dignity and value of teachers and public education, students and families from marginalized and minoritized communities, and taking every opportunity to stand up for all kids.
In addition, John is sunshine personified. You cannot be in his presence without feeling his warmth. Enjoy this episode, it is full of joy and motivation.
Deepali Vyas is the Founder and CEO of Fearless+, an EdTech platform that is on a mission to empower the younger generation. Deepali is a serial entrepreneur, advisory board member, career strategist, and executive search consultant with a recognized eye for spotting talent, rising trends and breakout business models. Deepali has over 20 years of experience in executive recruiting, having reviewed more than 100,000 resumes and placed thousands of executives in Fortune 500 companies. She has advised companies like Disney, JP Morgan, Uber, Google, IBM and the NFL to name a few.
