Our conversation this week is with Vivian Van Gelder, Director of Policy & Research at the Southeast Seattle Education Coalition, a nonprofit that unites more than 50 community organizations, schools, parents, and caregivers behind advocacy for equitable education policy. Vivian is the lead author of a report called Left to Chance: Student Outcomes in Seattle Public Schools, A forensic history. It’s a sweeping and detailed analysis of one public school district’s leadership and policy choices over more than three decades and how those choices have shaped the educational experience of tens of thousands of students attending more than 100 schools.

In her report, Vivian uncovers the story of how Seattle Public Schools embraced an experiment in local control, allowing parents and students to “vote with their feet” for support of their local schools. In theory, competition drives innovation; in practice, the story was more complicated, and it produced a fractured district with a hundred mini-systems that were unevenly funded, under-supported, and almost invisible to central leadership.

We think there’s a lot to be learned from this report and from researchers like Vivian who are doing the hard work of holding intractable social problems up to the light in a way that can spark progress and ignite momentum behind reform. We spend significant time discussing Seattle Public Schools in this episode, but Katie and I were struck by just how familiar some of these tensions are to what we’ve heard from educators in Appalachian Ohio, or to friends in suburban Maryland and rural Alaska and the Deep South. Vivian’s work addresses universal questions of values and organizational leadership in public schools, and we encourage you to read it (we will link to it in our show notes).

Thanks for listening to 16:1, and don’t forget to sign up for our email newsletter for the latest news, resources, workshop offerings, and episode announcements from Moonbeam Multimedia. For a full list of episode sources and resources, visit our website at sixteentoone.com/archives.

Higher education in the U.S. faces an unprecedented storm of political and financial upheaval, highlighting critical tensions around free speech, academic freedom, and institutional integrity. Columbia University's initial compliance with demands from the Trump administration—banning protest masks, revising protest policies, and ceding departmental autonomy—signals a troubling shift away from protecting academic freedom, but capitulation isn’t the end of the story. Harvard University is resisting similar pressures, fiercely defending the right to independent scholarship against federal overreach under Title VI. Universities like Cornell, Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Pennsylvania are grappling with massive financial disruptions impacting critical research and community programs.

In K-12 education, similar tensions emerge: the past few weeks have brought DHS/ICE interventions in LA schools alongside Maine's successful pushback against federal interference in childhood nutrition programs. Even internationally, students at Netzaberg Middle School in Germany experienced what they perceived as administrative retaliation for peaceful protest, underscoring global stakes in educational autonomy.

In lighter news, this week we are also catching up on Ohio’s pending legislation around school cell phone use and the unresolved struggle over digital boundaries and mental health. Jonathan Haidt’s recent conversations on The Ezra Klein Show highlight the ongoing challenge of balancing protective measures without regressing into outdated moral frameworks. For all of this and more, check out the latest episode. Thanks for listening.

For a full list of episode sources and resources, visit our website at sixteentoone.com/archives.

This week, we’re reexamining old assumptions about merit and fit in higher education admissions with Emily Chase Coleman, co-founder and CEO of HAI Analytics, a company that helps colleges and universities use data to navigate challenges such as shrinking applicant pools, shifts in broader demographic trends, and rising costs. Learn how schools are rethinking what matters (beyond test scores and grades) and using new, data-driven methods to clarify institutional goals and support more equitable education outcomes. Emily draws on more than two decades of higher education leadership experience and holds a PhD in Social Psychology and Statistics from Cornell, which she brings to the challenge of bridging the gap between data science and institutional strategy. Join us for a reflection on the limits of traditional admissions approaches and the potential of predictive modeling, AI, and human judgment to reshape how colleges define and pursue student success.

We’re rounding up and analyzing education news headlines this week on 16:1:

• The U.S. Department of Education is now half its former self—with 1,300 staffers gone and lawsuits brewing over what critics call a systematic gutting of civil rights protections. We’re sorting through the challenges and exploring the fallout on public education.
• Arrests of Palestinian student activists at Columbia have raised fresh questions about academic freedom and the future of the United States’ role in international scholarship. With visa crackdowns and a shaken reputation among U.S. universities, the stakes are higher than ever. Some European universities (like Aix Marseille) are offering safe haven to researchers leaving the U.S. due to concerns over academic freedom.
• We also take a look at Title VI investigations targeting diversity programs and the pushback by parents, students, disability advocates, and more.
• We’re revisiting the Science of Reading with updates on how the literacy movement continues to reshape classrooms nationwide.

For a full list of episode sources and resources, visit our website at sixteentoone.com/archives.

This episode features the story of how a group of more than 700 pioneering women in the UK smashed through barriers to higher education and claimed degrees from Trinity College Dublin. Denied their degrees at Oxford and Cambridge because of their gender despite successfully completing their exams, the “Steamboat ladies” made use of an early 1900s loophole to earn official recognition by making a trip across the Irish Sea. The episode also explores the broader suffrage movement at the turn of the century and profiles figures like Eleanor Rathbone and Margaret Hills, whose efforts paved the way for academic and professional equity for women attending universities in the UK and around the world.

For a full list of episode sources and resources, visit our website at sixteentoone.com/archives.

This week’s news headline roundup covers the following stories:

• Proposed Ohio Senate Bill 1 higher education legislation targets DEI initiatives, faculty rights, and funding, sparking fierce debates across campuses.
• New research warns that leaning on generative artificial intelligence tools might be eroding our cognitive muscles, raising questions about AI tools in educational contexts.
• A NY Climate Change Education Bill would embed age-appropriate climate change lessons in K-12 curricula.
• Partially in response to recent data deletions, Harvard Law School’s Library Innovation Lab steps in to preserve over 300,000 federal public datasets for future research.

For a full list of episode sources and resources, visit our website at sixteentoone.com/archives.

Explore the life and work of Jerome Bruner, a pioneering psychologist, multidisciplinarian, and educator who transformed the study of learning. 

• Discover how Bruner’s early experiences, including his corrective surgery for cataracts and his upbringing in New York City, influenced his path in education and cognitive psychology.
• Learn about Bruner’s role in moving psychology beyond rigid behaviorist frameworks, setting the stage for a deeper exploration of mental processes in learning. Explore Bruner’s belief that learners construct their own understanding through active discovery, and how this philosophy supports student-centered teaching methods.
• Hear about practical implications of scaffolding and spiral curricula in the classroom.
• Hear how Bruner’s work on narrative psychology informs our understanding of learning as a process of constructing and sharing stories.

For a full list of episode sources and resources, visit our website at sixteentoone.com/archives.

This week in education news headlines, we cover:

• Australia has banned teenagers under 16 from using social media apps, with a one-year grace period for platforms to implement age verification measures.
• Disgraced college admissions advisor Rick Singer tries to stage a comeback with a new consulting venture.
• To boost incoming class sizes in a difficult economy, institutions like the University of Providence adopt direct admissions to streamline enrollment and promote diversity.
• A major data breach at K–12 software provider PowerSchool has affected numerous districts, emphasizing the growing need for robust cybersecurity and transparent safety protocols in schools.
• Higher education faces shifts as Boston University suspends humanities PhD admissions due to budget pressures, while Purdue University introduces the Cornerstone Integrated Liberal Arts program to revitalize cross-disciplinary learning.

For a full list of show sources & additional resources, visit sixteentoone.com/archives.

In our first episode of 2025, we’re talking with special guest Jeremy C. Young, the director of state and higher education policy at PEN America, a nonprofit organization that unites writers and their allies to defend the freedom of expression nationwide. He oversees PEN America’s state policy and advocacy work across all US free expression programs and directs the Freedom to Learn program fighting government censorship of colleges and universities. His commentary on issues of academic freedom, higher education, and American democracy appears frequently in media outlets, and he speaks regularly on these topics before national and international audiences. A historian by training, Young is the author of The Age of Charisma: Leaders, Followers, and Emotions in American Society, 1870-1940 (Cambridge University Press, 2017). He holds a BA in history and music from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and an MA and Ph.D. in U.S. history from Indiana University.

We spoke with Jeremy about censorship and academic freedom, educational gag orders, the primacy of local communities in political communication, the role of charisma in political persuasion, and more. Thanks for listening, and please rate, review, and subscribe to help us grow!

Sources & Resources:

PEN America

Jeremy C. Young - PEN America

Kanawha County Textbook War - Wikipedia

Keyishian v. Board of Regents | 385 U.S. 589 (1967) | Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center

Karen M. Dunak - NYU Press

In our final episode of 2024, the 16:1 hosts share reflections and takeaways from the 2024 NCTE National Conference held in Boston, Massachusetts. The event was inspiring and energizing, featuring notable figures such as Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, comedienne Kate McKinnon, social justice advocate Bryan Stevenson, and beloved authors such as Jo Knowles. Though exhausting, the conference left us re-energized and brimming with ideas! Join us as we cover:

• Nationwide initiatives to protect intellectual and academic freedom, combat book bans and censorship, and prioritize student mental health.
• Classroom-focused discussions on the ethical and practical applications of artificial intelligence in education.
• Innovative uses of games, podcasts, and other “new” media to create compelling and accessible learning experiences.
• Solutions journalism as a tool to de-escalate political discourse and empower student journalists.

Thank you for listening to 16:1. Your ratings and reviews help us reach teachers and learners around the world, so please consider leaving a note for us in your favorite podcasting app. If there’s a story from your educational community that you would like us to cover in 2025, please write to [email protected] to get in touch with our editorial team. See you in the new year!

The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science | Anderson's Bookshop Naperville

Bryan Stevenson | Equal Justice Initiative

The Supreme Court: Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson

Great Molasses Flood - Wikipedia

How to Fight Book Bans: Proactive Tips for Educators - PEN America

K. A. Keener Headquarters (NCTE Presenter on Narrative & Gaming)

News Literacy Project

Solutions Journalism Network

USS Constitution Museum