COMMUNITY SOUP: A Podcast Powered by Community Schools

I sit down with two Community School Coordinators Robbie Teel (Lincoln Avenue Elementary School) & Jenna Smith (O.W. Holmes) who lead transformation efforts at their respective sites in Milwaukee, WI. We get a deep and introspective look into how these two community leaders take on transformation at their schools.

State wide coalition efforts lead to deep and meaningful conversations on what makes Community Schools so special to the communities where it exists and supported.

• Sarita Foster, Community Schools Manager Madison Metropolitan School District
• Jamie Racine, Community Schools Program Coordinator Sun Prarie School District
• Pancho Sanchez, Director, Milwaukee Community Schools Partnership - United Way

Witness the work in real time! Episode 11 is a unique experience in which we are sharing highlighted snippets taken directly from MCSP's TRANSFORMATIVE YOUTH VOICE presentation in which we led in Atlanta, GA during the Annual National Community Schools & Family Engagement Conference (May 28 - 30) co-facilitated by:

• Dr. Julissa Ventura, Professor School of Education, Marquette University 
• Gianna Holschbach, Community School Coordinator, Browning Elementary - SSNC
• Peter Hulbert, Community School Coordinator, JMAC High School - YWCA
• Dom Portis, Community Schools High School Manager, United Way 

Recorded in August of 2023; I sit down with James Wilbern, Assistant Executive Director at the Silver Spring Neighborhood Center and lead agency manager for Milwaukee Community Schools Partnership at Browning Elementary located on Milwaukee's Northwest side. Our first sit down with a MCSP lead agency to discuss SSNC programming, history of the Westlawn neighborhood and how synergy and collaboration within the community schools model has helped transform both Browning and the surrounding community.

What better way for the Community Schools Youth Council at AUER AVENUE to close out their year than inviting both myself and MCSP Director Glenn Carson into their space to interview us on our current journeys and our outlook on what it means to be a good leader. Youth Leaders - Eniya Gomez, Malaki Brooks, Ta'Laylia Tatum, Merikale Gomez, and Shauntayvia Mitchell-Terry with the support from Community School Coordinator Kim Bikulcius lead us through an engaging intergenerational conversation on leadership.

June 7th - June 9th the National Community Schools & Family Engagement Conference took place in Philadelphia, PA where the Milwaukee Community Schools Partnership showed out in large numbers but also had the opportunity to present at the national level some of the great work that is happening right here in Milwaukee. 
Briana Fox
Glenn Carson
Pancho Sanchez
Dom Portis

Sabrina Sheikh holds the title Immigrant and Refugee Leadership Coordinator with the Institute for Educational Leadership; IEL is an organization based in Washington D.C that provides backbone support and technical assistance to Community Schools transformation initiatives throughout the country. Really lending her expertise in supporting youth voice and advocacy, Sabrina joins us to talk through her personal relationship with Advocacy, and what role does IEL play in supporting Community Schools networks.

Francisco "Pancho" Sanchez is the Community Schools K - 5 Manager with United Way overseeing 6 (six) elementary schools within the Milwaukee Community Schools Partnership. He additionally supports initiative level strategies Policy & Advocacy, and Teacher Training & Retention. We chat about his calling to Community Schools, what the transformation model has the power to change about education and his own educational journey that prepared him to lead transformation for 6 schools.

Gianna Holschbach serves as the Community Schools Coordinator at Browning Elementary by way of the Silver Spring Neighborhood Center. Gianna talks the historic Westlawn Gardens neighborhood, highlight the synergy and collaboration between school and SSNC, shares the origin story to the Walking School bus initiative and more in our candid conversation.

How Milwaukee Community Schools Partnership is strengthening neighbors families, students, and the community. 

A unique episode; we captured the audio from a live event. In partnership with United Way's EMERGING LEADERS volunteer network Community Schools led a panel conversation that really drives home how the COMMUNITY SCHOOLS model uplifts partnership, collaboration and synergy of community, neighboring and partners, families and school personnel to strengthen our schools and the larger community.

Moderator: 

• Glenn Carson, Director Milwaukee Community Schools Partnership

PANELISTS:

• Michael Anderson
  Youth Programs Manager, Wisconsin Bike Fed
• Mr. Gregory Coleman
  Principal, Clement J. Zablocki Elementary School
• Cherise Myers
  Director of Community Partnerships, Journey House 
• Brittney Stevenson
  School Social Worker, Hopkins Lloyd Community School, MPS
• Dr. Raymond Unanka
  Principal, Browning Elementary School
• James Wilbern
  Assistant Executive Director, Silver Spring Neighborhood Center