Podcasts

As many as one in five students are behind on routine vaccinations, which will complicate school reopenings this fall.  Principals are trusted figures who play a key role in ensuring their schools are safe. Danny Carlson, the associate executive director for policy and advocacy at the National Association of Elementary School Principals, discusses the role of principals and calls for support from advocates and parents.

As the Covid-19 pandemic eases, many students are behind schedule on vaccines to prevent sometimes deadly diseases such as measles, whooping cough, and hepatitis. National PTA President Leslie Boggs shares her thoughts on how educators can reach parents who are relying on their doctors and their educators to give factual information on vaccines.

During the pandemic, more than one in five students has fallen behind on routine, lifesaving vaccinations, such as MMR, TDap, hepatitis and meningitis. Chelsea Prax, an AFT assistant director and children's health expert, discusses ways that educators can remind families and help them obtain vaccinations before the start of the next school year.

Takeru (TK) Nagayoshi, a high school English teacher in New Bedford, Mass., and Sara Medalen, an elementary reading and math interventionist from Minot, N.D., recently received the NEA Foundation's Horace Mann Award for Teaching Excellence for their diligence and dedication to students, colleagues, community, and their profession. In a joint podcast, these exemplary teachers discuss their efforts to reach students and build partnerships with families during the pandemic and beyond.

Professional learning can be a "power tool of transformation," says Leilani Esmond, the director of professional learning in Georgia's Gwinnett County Schools. In this podcast, Esmond discusses how professional learning can help educators have tough conversations on racial equity and social justice, and how she sees ways to bring together dissenting voices to work together for a common goal.

Having worked at nearly every level of a school system, Gustavo Balderas is familiar with what students need.

Nicole Kirby, the incoming president of the National School Public Relations Association, knows that school communications is not just about telling the success stories of public schools. It also entails strategic communications, transparency with the public, advocating for students, and ensuring all employees in the district understand new initiatives and why changes in programs and policies may occur.

NASSP Principal of the Year Richard Gordon never wanted to be a principal, he knew the stresses and limitations of the job, but others saw his potential. Eventually he landed at Paul Robeson High School, a troubled school that nobody wanted to lead, and he worked to make systemic changes instilling safety, emotional and academic supports, college and career readiness, and beliefs to help teachers and students to embody an all-inclusive family atmosphere. He now mentors other principals and teachers to transform schools into high-performing learning environments.

National School Boards Association President Charlie Wilson believes that public education is the most important pillar of our democracy and every community should have strong public schools. As a school board member in Worthington, Ohio, he understand the need for community involvement in those schools and discusses ways that school boards should ensure that parents and guardians can participate in their schools and children's educations.

Leslie Boggs became active in her local PTA in Texas not only because she saw the need as a parent, but as a business owner she saw the need for a strong public education system to benefit students and businesses. Today, she is focused on building a system that provides an equitable education for all students, starting with funding and internet access. "Before, we were able to gloss over some of the inequities in this nation, and we can no longer do that," she says.