Deep Dives
140 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 months ago - ★★★★★ - 17 ratings"Deep Dives" brings together national experts to discuss the biggest issues impacting America's schools, diving deep into root causes and exploring innovative solutions.
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Episodes
Last Night at School Committee - February 5th Meeting
February 06, 2020 21:32 - 33 minutes - 46.2 MBThe school committee begins the annual discussion on budget in a 5 hr meeting! Ross and Jill break down the hot topics and complexities from that discussion. Resources: Full Recording of 2/5 School Committee Meeting 2/5 School Committee Agenda and Presentations Upcoming School Committee Meetings
Our Government, Our Food and Ourselves
February 06, 2020 00:01 - 59 minutes - 137 MBA recent survey conducted by the Center for DIsease Control found that approximatley 40% of American adults, 93 million people, are overweight or obese. There is a clear health crisis in the United States that has become increasingly prevalent, now negatively impacting life expectancy, and causing a diabetes pandemic. At the core of this crisis is malnutrition and access to high quality food. In this podcast, we talk with Jerry Mande, M.P.H. in Nutrition and Epidemiology, Professor of Practi...
Ep. 16 Our Government, Our Food and Ourselves
February 06, 2020 00:01 - 59 minutesMande helps explain why we have a growing malnutrition problem in America, and shares his point of view on where we go from here in making healthy food more accessible to all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Last Night at School Committee - January 29th Meeting
January 31, 2020 01:02 - 19 minutes - 26.5 MBJill & Ross recap BPS Superintendent Brenda Cassilius' plan for restructuring schools, and Boston Teachers Union President, Jessica Tang's plan for improved inclusion classrooms, where students of all abilities are taught together. Listen to our 15-minute recap here. Resources: Full Recording of 1/29 School Committee Meeting 1/29 School Committee Agenda and Presentations Upcoming School Committee Meetings
Dr. Mark Hyman on What Kids Should Eat
January 23, 2020 21:01 - 39 minutes - 90.5 MBBoston Public Schools is overseeing a massive transformation of its school food program - away from pre-packaged, processed meals, prepared outside of schools, to whole, real, delicious meals, cooked on-site by BPS employees. Collaboratively, the City of Boston and the BPS have worked together to build or improve kitchens in all schools, and shift menu planning, procurement, hiring, training and logistics operations to support a system that values great tasting, nutrition rich menus that pu...
Ep. 15 Dr. Mark Hyman on What Kids Should Eat
January 23, 2020 21:01 - 39 minutesIn this episode, we talk to Dr. Hyman about provocative data from research currently being done in food and nutrition, and what both unhealthy and healthy meals mean for our youth, including impacting academic performance, and physical and behavioral health. We also press him to help us define what “good food” is - and isn’t. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Last Night At School Committee - A Recap of January 15th
January 16, 2020 21:54 - 24 minutes - 57 MBWe are excited to announce our new podcast: Last Night at School Committee. For three years, on the day after each school committee meeting, our office is abuzz with discussion and debate about the presentations and comments made at the meeting. This new series was created as an easy way for any parent, citizen, or interested party to get the highlights - and our take - on what happened last night at the most recent BPS school committee meeting. School Committee meetings are long and den...
Andrea Campbell's Call for Action
January 09, 2020 19:22 - 53 minutes - 123 MBHappy New Year! Today, we talk to Andrea Campbell, City Councilor of District 4 in Boston. A lifelong resident of Boston and proud graduate of Boston Public Schools, Councilor Campbell has devoted her career to helping others in Boston and advocating for those who need support. While Campbell has focused on issues such as criminal justice and affordable housing among others, she has more recently been focused on education and Boston Public Schools. On June 24th 2019, Councilor Campbell relea...
Ep. 14 Andrea Campbell's Call for Action
January 09, 2020 19:22 - 53 minutesWe talk with Councilor Campbell about her goals for the next two years, her education plan, and what she sees as the most critical needs of her constituents. We also discuss how her past, education, and family have influenced her work to help and inspire others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
On Being #BlackatBLS
December 19, 2019 17:46 - 41 minutes - 95.9 MBIn the winter of 2016, two Boston Latin School students posted a video on YouTube, entitled #BlackAtBLS, aimed at provoking a positive conversation about the growing racial tensions at BLS, and lack of administrative response to many students calls for a more supportive environment for all students. The YouTube video caught fire, leading to local and national media coverage, and an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and Boston Public Schools. These investigations instigated ...
Ep. 13 On Being #BlackatBLS
December 19, 2019 17:46 - 41 minutesToday we talk to Meggie Noel, who, as a senior at Boston Latin, spearheaded the Black at BLS movement, which eventually grew into the Black at BPS movement, illuminating the need for greater awareness and support of diversity and equity for students of color across the city of Boston. This Bostonian of the Year winner in 2016 talks to us about growing up in Boston, her education journey to BLS, and her experience as a student of color in two low diversity schools. Learn more about your ad cho...
What is it like to be a student, or a principal, in an open enrollment school?
December 13, 2019 22:30 - 1 hour - 138 MBIn the new year, students in Boston’s grades 6 and 8 will begin to choose schools for the 2021 school year. About 25% will gain entry into one of the exam schools while 75% of students will choose an open enrollment or admission-based school. In this podcast, we will talk with Gene Roundtree, current headmaster at Snowden International School, an open enrollment high school in the Copley/Back Bay area. We talk to Gene about his efforts at Snowden to create more opportunities for students ...
Ep. 12 What is it like to be a student, or a principal, in an open enrollment school?
December 13, 2019 22:30 - 1 hourToday we talk with Gene Roundtree, current headmaster at Snowden International School, an open enrollment high school in the Copley/Back Bay area. We talk to Gene about his efforts at Snowden to create more opportunities for students and grow the International Baccalaureate college preparatory curriculum to help prepare all of his students for life beyond high school. Gene also looks back at his experiences at Madison Park Vocational Technical High School, and we briefly discuss its future. L...
Does Greater Diversity in High Performing Schools Ensure Better Outcomes for All?
October 24, 2019 18:00 - 46 minutes - 106 MBToday we talk with Lisa Barrow, an acclaimed economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Lisa’s recent work explores the impact of work done by Chicago Public Schools to increase diversity in their schools, as well as the results of this work. Chicago Public Schools faced a problem similar to BPS regarding diversity in their exam schools, and has developed a way to maintain diversity without having racial quotas. After a court mandate in the early 2000s forcing CPS to get rid of r...
Ep. 11 Does Greater Diversity in High Performing Schools Ensure Better Outcomes for All?
October 24, 2019 18:00 - 46 minutesToday we talk with Lisa Barrow, an acclaimed economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Lisa’s recent work explores the impact of work done by Chicago Public Schools to increase diversity in their schools, as well as the results of this work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Prep for the ISEE: Is Every Student Equally Prepared?
October 10, 2019 20:51 - 38 minutes - 88.2 MBBoston Public Schools will offer the ISEE exam to all students during the school day, and free of charge for the first time ever this November. This is a terrific first step in ensuring that all students have a more equitable opportunity to attend one of BPS’ three exam schools. At the same time, it provokes questions about preparation for this test. While some families pay thousands of dollars for ISEE prep tutors and programs, many of our students and families cannot afford to do this, ...
Ep.10 Prep for the ISEE: Is Every Student Equally Prepared?
October 10, 2019 20:51 - 38 minutesThis podcast features a conversation with Kelly Glew, President of The Steppingstone Foundation, and Chris Parris, its Chief Program Officer, who talk about their program, it’s expansion, and the support they offer to students across Boston Public Schools. Steppingstone aims to provide support and tutoring services to diverse students who are working to attend some of the top high schools in Massachusetts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Ep. 10 Prep for the ISEE: Is Every Student Equally Prepared?
October 10, 2019 20:51 - 38 minutesThis podcast features a conversation with Kelly Glew, President of The Steppingstone Foundation, and Chris Parris, its Chief Program Officer, who talk about their program, it’s expansion, and the support they offer to students across Boston Public Schools. Steppingstone aims to provide support and tutoring services to diverse students who are working to attend some of the top high schools in Massachusetts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Why Aren't Boston's Exam Schools Diverse?
September 18, 2019 19:32 - 31 minutes - 72.9 MBIn our first episode on Boston’s exam schools, Examining the Exam Schools, Michael Contompasis, long time Boston Public Schools educator who has served as Superintendent and head of Boston Latin School, discussed equity and opportunity at the Boston Public Schools exam schools. As this series continues, we will be looking at important topics related to the exam schools to get a better sense of the current state of BPS, and share why these issues should be important to the city as a whole, no...
Ep. 9 Why Aren't Boston's Exam Schools Diverse?
September 18, 2019 19:32 - 31 minutesToday we get insight into the ISEE with Associate Professor of Economics at Brandeis University, Joshua Goodman. Mr. Goodman recently published a policy brief on BPS exam schools last year titled Increasing Diversity in Boston’s Exam Schools. We talk about four ways in which BPS might increase its pipeline of qualified Black and Latinx candidates for admissions to the exam schools, as well as discuss other, more systemic changes that could benefit all students and driver performance up across...
Examining Boston’s Exam Schools: Admissions, Race, Equity, and the Future of Boston’s Public Schools
September 05, 2019 20:19 - 1 hour - 138 MBOn November 7th, 2019, thousands of sixth and eighth graders in Boston Public Schools will head to school and sit for the three hour ISEE (Independent School Entrance Exam) test that will help determine their chances of attending one of Boston’s three public exam schools, prided as some of the best schools in the city as well as in the state. Traditionally given on a Saturday morning, the change to administering the admissions test during a weekday at school reflects the push for changing th...
Ep. 8 Examining Boston’s Exam Schools: Admissions, Race, Equity, and the Future of Boston’s Public Schools
September 05, 2019 20:19 - 1 hourToday we talk with Michael Contompasis: long-time authority in BPS and current overseer of a turn-around of the Devers school in Dorcester. He talks with us today about running a low-performing elementary school, and the efforts underway to transform it into a successful and high-performing one. We also discuss how he feels race and income play into outcomes and readiness for academic success, and what will need to happen in the future for all schools in BPS to provide equal experiences to al...
Ep. 7 Alternative Ed: Career and Technical Education
July 24, 2019 19:00 - 48 minutesOur guest this week is Tony Benoit, Benjamin Franklin Institute for Technology's President. The Career Pathways Working Group focused specifically on giving students access to CTE experiences through internships and opportunities like the one that BFIT offers, and there is much that the district can leverage from what has already been a successful dual enrollment partnership with BFIT. The question now is how to make such a partnership sustainable and scalable in the future. Learn more about...
Alternative Ed: Career and Technical Education
July 24, 2019 19:00 - 48 minutes - 111 MBIn this edition of Catalysts for Change, we have two new and important acronyms to add to the alphabet soup of education jargon: BFIT = the Benjamin Franklin Institute for Technology, an institution of higher education in Boston with a mission to prepare students for careers in technology fields. It also happens to have some of the strongest graduation and job placement rates in the city for first-generation college goers. CTE = “Career and Technical Education,” which is a revamped and re...
Ep.6 Alternative Ed: Boston's Alternative High Schools
July 10, 2019 21:18 - 45 minutesIn our last podcast, we learned about the work that’s being done by Manny Allen and his team to re-engage students by helping them find purpose in their education. This week we are joined by Tommy Welch, the Academic Superintendent who oversees the schools and programs that are set up to operationalize Manny’s message. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Alternative Ed: Boston's Alternative High Schools
July 10, 2019 21:18 - 45 minutes - 105 MBWho are the students that attend alternative high schools in Boston? To name a few... A 17 year old who is repeating 9th grade for the third time. A 16 year old who is just returning from a year of DYS lock-up. A 19 year old who is back in school after having dropped out for two years. A 20 year old who just arrived to the U.S. with limited English skills. The journey for these students to receive a high school diploma will not be made any easier by one-size-fits-all solutions. The...
Ep. 6 Alternative Ed: Boston's Alternative High Schools
July 10, 2019 21:18 - 45 minutesIn our last podcast, we learned about the work that’s being done by Manny Allen and his team to re-engage students by helping them find purpose in their education. This week we are joined by Tommy Welch, the Academic Superintendent who oversees the schools and programs that are set up to operationalize Manny’s message. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Alternative Ed: Re-Engaging Boston's Disengaged Students
June 26, 2019 19:00 - 55 minutes - 127 MBManny Lopez was a Boston Public Schools drop out because of life circumstances that forced him to de-prioritize a school system that didn’t serve him as a youth. Today, with a high school degree, a college degree, and an MBA, Manny runs the BPS Re-engagement Center, which he helped found ten years ago. Manny joins us to talk about being a marginalized youth in Boston, the brilliant and effective work of the REC, and his ideas for continually improving our alternative education options in Bo...
Ep. 5 Alternative Ed: Re-Engaging Boston's Disengaged Students
June 26, 2019 19:00 - 55 minutesManny Allen was a Boston Public Schools drop out because of life circumstances that forced him to de-prioritize a school system that didn’t serve him as a youth. Today, with a high school degree, a college degree, and an MBA, Manny runs the BPS Re-engagement Center, which he helped found ten years ago. Manny joins us to talk about being a marginalized youth in Boston, the brilliant and effective work of the REC, and his ideas for continually improving our alternative education options in Bost...
Ep.5 Alternative Ed: Re-Engaging Boston's Disengaged Students
June 26, 2019 19:00 - 55 minutesManny Allen was a Boston Public Schools drop out because of life circumstances that forced him to de-prioritize a school system that didn’t serve him as a youth. Today, with a high school degree, a college degree, and an MBA, Manny runs the BPS Re-engagement Center, which he helped found ten years ago. Manny joins us to talk about being a marginalized youth in Boston, the brilliant and effective work of the REC, and his ideas for continually improving our alternative education options in Bos...
Ep. 4 Understanding MassCore: The Opportunity Myth
June 12, 2019 19:00 - 41 minutesIn the final installment of our series about MassCore, Jill Shah interviews Orin Gutlerner about the challenges of scaling rigorous and engaging curriculum and teaching practices. They dissect a report called “The Opportunity Myth,” which attempts to answer the question of whether K-12 schools are fulfilling the fundamental promise that if students put in the effort and succeed with their work, they will be prepared for higher education. The short answer: It's not even close. Learn more about...
Understanding MassCore: The Opportunity Myth
June 12, 2019 19:00 - 41 minutes - 94.6 MBIn the final installment of our series about MassCore, Jill Shah interviews Orin Gutlerner, the Shah Family Foundation’s Director of Education, about the challenges of scaling rigorous and engaging curriculum and teaching practices. Prior to joining the foundation, Orin spent over 20 years as a teacher, teacher educator, and school leader. In this interview, Jill and Orin dissect a report called “The Opportunity Myth,” which was recently issued by the education non-profit, TNTP. Diving de...
Ep.4 Understanding MassCore: The Opportunity Myth
June 12, 2019 19:00 - 41 minutesIn the final installment of our series about MassCore, Jill Shah interviews Orin Gutlerner about the challenges of scaling rigorous and engaging curriculum and teaching practices. They dissect a report called “The Opportunity Myth,” which attempts to answer the question of whether K-12 schools are fulfilling the fundamental promise that if students put in the effort and succeed with their work, they will be prepared for higher education. The short answer: It's not even close. Learn more about...
Ep. 3 Understanding MassCore: Why Adopt?
May 29, 2019 19:00 - 32 minutesIn part 2 of Understanding MassCore, Jill talks with Paul Reville, a key architect and advocate for MassCore, about topics that are key to understanding the intentions and context for this policy, such as: The role of globalization and the standards movement in the crafting of the MassCore policy; How and why the state viewed it through a lens of educational equity; Why it was a recommended—rather than required—framework for a high school diploma; And, the challenges of its adoption, particul...
Understanding MassCore: Why Adopt?
May 29, 2019 19:00 - 32 minutes - 44.9 MBPart 2 of our mini-series on MassCore features a podcast with Paul Reville. Paul is the Francis Keppel Professor of Practice of Educational Policy and Administration at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), where he is the founder of HGSE's Education Redesign Lab. As the former Chair of the state Board of Education, and later Secretary of Education under Governor Deval Patrick, Paul was a key architect and advocate for the state-wide adoption of the MassCore framework in high scho...
Ep.3 Understanding MassCore: Why Adopt?
May 29, 2019 19:00 - 32 minutesIn part 2 of Understanding MassCore, Jill talks with Paul Reville, a key architect and advocate for MassCore, about topics that are key to understanding the intentions and context for this policy, such as: The role of globalization and the standards movement in the crafting of the MassCore policy; How and why the state viewed it through a lens of educational equity; Why it was a recommended—rather than required—framework for a high school diploma; And, the challenges of its adoption, particul...
Understanding MassCore: Academic Standards in BPS
May 15, 2019 20:20 - 26 minutes - 36.4 MBOn April 30 the Boys and Girls Club, BPS, and we hosted an event to support BPS’ High School Working Groups, established by Interim Superintendent Laura Perille to bring BPS High Schools to the next level. Collaborative sessions were guided by a BPS leader of each working group, and there was great energy and enthusiasm in the room to stay connected to this work. In the spirit of enrichment and connectivity, we offer this three part series on the topic of MassCore. Part 1 features a blog ...
Ep. 2 Understanding MassCore: Academic Standards in BPS
May 15, 2019 20:20 - 26 minutesIn the spirit of enrichment and connectivity, we offer this three part series on the topic of MassCore. Part 1 features a blog post: Understanding MassCore, and a podcast that looks at the current context of graduation requirements in BPS High Schools. Stay tuned for parts two and three that will be released over the next two Wednesdays in podcast form, and include a fascinating discussion with Paul Reville. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Taking Acting: An Education Panel Event
May 01, 2019 01:11 - 30 minutes - 41.8 MBThe Shah Family Foundation supports innovative and transformative work in education, healthcare and the community. We believe that interesting and lasting solutions sit where these intersect. Our primary work and support is centered in Boston, with the goal of sharing broadly the programs and innovations that prove successful in our home town. Here, we discuss issues and topics that we are digging into and share conversations we have with experts in the field.
Ep. 1 Taking Acting: An Education Panel Event
May 01, 2019 01:11 - 30 minutesIn this episode we share with you a live event, recorded at our offices. We invited a team from Boston Public Schools, local funders, non profit leaders, and elected officials to come together and discuss how we can use recent reports that were written as tools for taking action. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices