This week, Andy and I are talking with Lakisha Young, the Founder and CEO of The Oakland REACH, and Heather Harding, Ed.D, the Executive Director of the Campaign for a Shared Future. Our conversation focuses on the difficult judgment calls parents and advocates are having to make as they attempt to retain focus on the learning needs of students amid proposed book bans and curriculum changes. A theme running through the discussion was the critical need for advocates to have “a home base” of policy priorities to anchor their efforts amid a political context that is becoming ever more mired in controversy and polarization.

And for those of you who would prefer a video recording, we provide a link to YouTube as well.

This week some of the topics we discuss include the following:

• Introductions and the state of public education (00.03.00)
• Parent power, the work of The Oakland REACH, and shifting the narrative of the recent Oakland teachers' strike to focus on the harm done to students (00.06.25)
• Parent power, the work of the Campaign for Our Shared Future, and the 4 aspects of its national campaign (00.23.06)
• The theory of action, power dynamics, and defining the wins, especially as they relate to urban education (00.29.24)
• The influence of politics on curriculum, advocacy, and community-driven solutions (00.36.32)
• The Oakland REACHS’ Liberator Model (00.42.16)
• The real threats to public education, a definitional problem, confusion, and distractions (00.47.50)
• Book bans and the sensationalism of social and national media (00.53.40)
• Responding to divisive issues and staying grounded with a focus on a home base of teaching and learning (01.07.13)

You can use the following links to access

• An Ipsos poll for ParentsTogether, “Most parents want classrooms to be places of learning, not political battlegrounds”: https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/news-polls/most-parents-want-classrooms-be-places-learning-not-political-battlegrounds
• The Oakland REACH’s Liberator Model: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BQ0vHa9Nr-Tej6Pb0KhEijwwjXT9c-rv/view
• Reclaiming Math through our Liberator Model: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15pvOsW0b4yVv1eucw5P0WCDkoftdLCVt/view?ts=64ee73bb&pli=1
• Andrew Rotherham’s article, “A Definitional Problem: Please try to be a little more precise.” https://eduwonk.substack.com/p/a-definitional-problem