In this episode, Spokane Regional Field Director Kenji Linane-Booey interviews Mike Poutiatine, Charlie Wolff, and Eric Jurasin of the Alliance of Innovative Educational Redesign (AIER) about the importance of choice school programs in the Spokane region and the School Choice Fair AIER is hosting on January 18th at The Hive.

In this episode, we interview Blaire Penry, the 2024 Washington state Teacher of the Year, about how career technical education and fine arts can be taught in an equitable way, how her students lead their learning, how to create culturally responsive practices at the school district level, and how she would change Washington state’s education system if she were in charge and there were no budgetary constraints.

In this episode, League of Education Voters Interim Co-CEO / Communications Director Arik Korman interviews Adar Abdi, a senior at Evergreen High School in Highline Public Schools, a Running Start student at South Seattle College, the Director of Community Outreach for the Washington state Legislative Youth Advisory Council (LYAC), and a current King County Equity Cabinet member.Adar discusses her education journey, how she envisions life after high school, and how she would change Washington state’s education system if she were in charge and there were no budgetary constraints.

In this episode, League of Education Voters Interim Co-CEO / Communications Director Arik Korman interviews Jeremiah Audet, a sophomore at Rogers High School in Spokane Public Schools and a member of the Student Potential Youth Advisory Council (SPYAC), part of the Investing in Student Potential coalition that was created to design systems to give every learner what they need, when they need it.Jeremiah discusses his education journey, how he envisions life after high school, and how he would change Washington state’s education system if he were in charge and there were no budgetary constraints.

Isolation and restraint in schools hurts our most vulnerable students. In this episode, League of Education Voters Acting CEO Arik Korman discusses alternatives to isolation and restraint of students, policies that can be implemented at the school district level to support school leaders and staff, and direct impacts of isolation and restraint on students.We were honored to interview:Justin Hendrickson, Principal at South Shore PreK-8 in Seattle Public SchoolsLiza Rankin, Vice President of the Seattle Public Schools Board of DirectorsDorian Taylor, a survivor of isolation and restraint practices who now works to advance disability justice at the county levelChris Baglien, a survivor of isolation and restraint practices who now is a father and a student in a postsecondary automotive program in Skagit County

In this episode, we interview Dana Miles, the 2023 Washington state Teacher of the Year, about why language is so important to students in the deaf community, strategies for preparing students in the deaf community for what comes after high school, her personal education journey, what she would change if she were in charge of our state's education system, and why she loves the Harry Potter saga.

In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman interviews Dr. Brent Jones, Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools, about his priorities for Seattle Public Schools and how he measures success, how the district is supporting student mental health, his personal education journey, and what he would change if he were in charge of Washington state’s education system and there were no budgetary constraints.

In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman interviews former NPR Education Correspondent Anya Kamenetz about the impacts of keeping students out of school as long as we did during the COVID pandemic, why this past school year was so challenging for students and educators, and why it's so important for schools to prioritize relationships and social-emotional well-being moving forward.Anya's new book is The Stolen Year: How COVID Changed Children’s Lives, and Where We Go Now.

In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman interviews Nate Bowling, the 2016 Washington state Teacher of the Year and National Teacher of the Year Finalist, about how to engage students during this time of political upheaval, how to help educators and administrators better engage families, and why it's so important to participate in state and local elections.

In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman interviews Mark Follman, National Affairs Editor for Mother Jones, who discusses which supports and warning signs could prevent mass shootings, how to keep bias out of the threat assessment process, and how to know when is the right time to intervene. Mark's new book is Trigger Points: Inside the Mission to Stop Mass Shootings in America.

In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman interviews Luma Mufleh, the founder of Fugees Family whose TED Talk on educational justice for refugee families has been viewed more than 1.7 million times. Luma discusses what it's like being dropped into a classroom when you don't know English, what supports we should provide to students who are refugees, and how we can focus on the assets that refugees bring to our schools and our society. Luma’s new book is Learning America: One Woman’s Fight for Educational Justice for Refugee Children.

In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman interviews 2022 Washington state Teacher of the Year Jerad Koepp about what supports Native American students need, what worked and didn't work in his own educational journey, and how he would change our education system if there were no budgetary constraints.

In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman interviews adult-child interaction specialist Betty Peralta about what social-emotional learning (SEL) is, how teachers and administrators can benefit from SEL, how the state can support SEL in Washington's 295 school districts, how parents can advocate for SEL in their student's classroom, and more.Betty recently led a training on social-emotional learning for educators and staff at South Shore PreK-8 in South Seattle, a close partner of League of Education Voters. Betty's website is AltaVenues.com

In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman asks Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt, Stanford Psychology Professor and MacArthur genius grant recipient, how to address implicit racial bias in schools, what we can do to help adults overcome bias, and how implicit bias differs from overt racism.

In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman interviews Dr. Marc Brackett, Founder and Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and lead developer of RULER, an evidence-based approach to social and emotional learning that has been adopted by nearly 2,000 pre-K through high schools across the United States and in other countries, including many school districts in Washington state, such the Seattle school district where it was first introduced at South Shore PreK-8, a school in South Seattle that is a key partner of League of Education Voters.

In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman connects with two students from the Washington state Legislative Youth Advisory Council (LYAC) about LYAC's history, how LYAC operates, LYAC's impact on education policy, and what they would change if they were in charge of the state's education system. Priyanka Mukhara is a First-Year Councilmember and Kellen Hoard is a Second-Year Councilmember and the Chair of LYAC.The Washington state Legislative Youth Advisory Council (www.WALYAC.org) is codified in law as the official youth advisory body to the state legislature, and its activities are wide-ranging. Throughout the year, 14-to-18-year-old student members of the council actively lobby legislators, testify in committee, advise various government agencies, host events around the state, collaborate with nearly 200 community organizations, and much more.  LYAC also spends much time conversing with young people in every corner of Washington about their priorities in order to be a more effective advocate to the legislature.

In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman asks Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist, the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities and Founding Director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, contributing writer at The Atlantic, and CBS News correspondent, how we can be anti-racist ourselves, how, in Dr. Kendi’s words, he evolved from internalizing racist thoughts to being an anti-racist, and what we can do to create a more equitable, anti-racist society.

In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman hosts a panel discussion about the Puget Sound Educational Service District's successful Educators of Color Leadership Community (ECLC), in which panelists address why educator diversity is so important, what the barriers are to recruitment and retention of teachers of color, how the Educators of Color Leadership Community supports teachers of color, and how we can scale the ECLC’s work to support teachers of color across Washington state.We were honored to interview:* Brooke Brown, 2021 Washington state Teacher of the Year and Regional Teacher of the Year from Puget Sound Educational Service District 121, who teaches English and Ethnic Studies at Washington High School in the Franklin Pierce School District* Stephanie Gallardo, who teaches social studies at Foster High School in the Tukwila School District* Tamasha Emedi, Assistant Principal at Hazel Valley Elementary School in Highline Public Schools* Denise Daniels, Director of Recruitment, Retention and Workforce Development in the Auburn School District and President of the Kent School District Board of Directors* Brad Brown, Executive Director of Kindergarten through Post-Secondary at the Puget Sound Educational Service District* Eileen Yoshina, Director of Equity in Education at the Puget Sound Educational Service District, who facilitates the Educators of Color Leadership Community