Ed Allies is a Minnesota-based organization that partners with schools, families, and communities to ensure that all Minnesota students have access to a rigorous and engaging education. This podcast, Amplified, is a way for EdAllies to dig into the issues of the day, the opportunities and challenges facing students, educators, and families, and the ways policy, advocacy, and collaboration can ensure better outcomes for us all. In this episode, co-hosts Margaret Sullivan and Josh Crosson give a background on Ed Allies and what they do, including advocating for underserved students, removing barriers to successful schools and programs, and fostering an inclusive conversation.
Josh and Margaret both share a passion for making a difference in education. Josh was a Policy Director at Sanctuary, and they had a parent outreach session about suspensions and expulsions, emphasizing that parents are not alone in their experiences, as it is a systemic issue for kids of color in Minnesota schools. To make sure education is transformed for all kids, especially those from historically underserved communities, they suggests centering policies around kids of color, kids with disabilities, low income kids, and kids from underserved communities.
In this conversation, Margaret and Josh discuss the journey of understanding trauma and how it affects children. They discussed how when children cannot express their emotions, they often act them out, which can lead to suspensions and expulsions in school. One example given was of a student visiting the historic site of Fort Snelling, and feeling the emotions of being both enslaved and free, which caused him to kick his shoes. Initially, he was going to be suspended, but instead, the counselor talked to him to understand why he had acted out. This conversation highlighted the need to understand trauma and its effects on children, instead of punishing them for expressing their emotions.
Timestamps
0:00:01
Introducing Ed Allies and Our Mission
0:03:50
Conversation on Education Equity and Black History Month with Josh
0:06:13
Dedicating This Podcast to Our Ancestors in Honor of Black History Month
0:09:12
Reducing Suspensions and Expulsions in Minnesota: A Story of Trauma and Emotions at Fort Snelling
0:11:23
Discussion on Navigating Minnesota's Language and Culture
0:13:26
Conversation Summary: Ed Allies and the Quick History of the Organization
0:15:10
Conversation on Education Equity and Accessibility
0:16:54
Exploring the Role of Financial Access in Education and Race
0:18:35
Advocating for My Son in a Daycare Situation
0:22:17
A Conversation on Supporting Prospective Teachers of Color
0:26:14
Conversation on Racial Inequality and the Need for Change
0:28:23
Education Equity Policy Discussion
0:31:04
Solutions, Not Suspensions Coalition: Lunch Shaming and Suspension Ban
0:36:59
Banning PreK Expulsions in Minnesota: A Conversation with Leaders of the Coalition
0:38:41
A Conversation with Education Advocates
0:40:02
Staying Connected with Ed Allies
Highlights
We actually have a hearing on that coming up with a lot of the opposition there is saying suspensions and expulsions are just a tool in the toolbox. And I always say if suspensions and expulsions are a tool in the toolbox, that's like building a house with the carrot doesn't work and just makes a whole lot of mess. We have a lot of other policies that we're working on. I'm not going to go through those because this podcast is not that long, but you're going to hear from us throughout the future episodes about what else we're working on.
Yeah, we need a better title for it. Solutions, not suspensions, Coalition. We're a part of that. We're leaders within that coalition. But we were able to ban PreK expulsions, which Margaret was talking about, PreK schools, daycare centers, what have you. They are not allowed to expel your students. I could see people out there. Are we expelling three and four year olds? Yes. Conservative estimates are saying that pre K students are being expelled at three times the rate of K. Twelve students.
The other thing, kids need to be ready for college. Regardless of what kids are going to be doing after high school, they need to graduate high school ready and prepared for college. And then the last thing that we're going to be talking about through these podcasts is we got to give parents and students of color, students with disabilities the power back to control their own minds and their own bodies.. We have historically, as a state, as a country, taken away the power of black, brown and native people, of people with disabilities and said, we'll control you. We'll get to decide what schools you get to go to. We'll get to decide what hospitals you can go to. We get to decide where you can live. And education, our education system is not exempt, is not immune to the white supremacy that has developed over generations.
So put that money to work for our kids, recruit and retain black, brown and native teachers. Minnesota has the worst teacher diversity rate in the nation. Actually, no, that's a lie. We are behind North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin. We have a lot more kids of color in our state. So we want more black, brown and native. Deal. There's no silver bullet in our education system. If there were, this podcast would be one episode, but there is a close one and that's recruiting diverse educators.
And we had a long conversation about the barriers that he's experienced or trying to be educator and stuff like that. And there are being these programs out there that are supposed to be for black educators. Then there's still even barriers and obstacles with that. And so I'd spoken to one of our other Cohort members, and they're a writer and they want to write children's books. And so it's just really like I just love the versatility. And so one of the things we're doing, for example, over the course of the next few months and we'll be meeting and we have different lessons and assignments to really reflect upon why we're in this work and what we want to see come out of this. So right now, one of the lessons is working on your story, your self story.
At EdAllies, we partner with schools, families, and communities to ensure that all Minnesota students have access to a rigorous and engaging education. We advance policies that put underserved students first, remove barriers facing successful schools and programs, and foster an inclusive conversation about what's possible for students.
In the AmplifiEd podcast, we dig into the issues of the day, the opportunities and challenges facing students, educators, and families, and the ways policy, advocacy, and collaboration can ensure better outcomes for us all.
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