Courageous Conversations About Our Schools

School mission statements across the county commonly included language about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. DEI training for educators was also common. But that’s changed in recent years as school culture wars erupted around the books students have access to: how students learn about history, race, and gender identity, and anything that smacks of “woke” ideology.  DEI, as perceived by its advocates, is a unifying concept, but because a growing segment of the population perceives it as a divisive, alienating, and controversial, school officials in many districts have stricken DEI language from their mission statements. Many have eliminated DEI personnel positions and the trainings they once offered.

My two guests, Channa Pitt and Dennis DiMaggio, both with extensive experience with DEI programs, weigh in on the causes of the backlash, and they offer concrete ideas that could lessen the resistance to DEI to the point where educators, parents, and students would embrace it. The key, they say, is to shift away top-down training from DEI “experts,” to authentic and safe engagement where individual identities are not placed in neat categories (e.g., oppressor and “oppressed” or “privileged” and “victims”).  They suggest focusing on personal narratives and memoirs to build empathy and understanding across differences, focusing on shared values rather than divisive political rhetoric, and engaging in open, curious conversations where people feel heard and respected rather than judged.

Let us know what you think with a text message.

One would think that schools are the perfect place for students to learn about elections. What better opportunity to use the critical thinking skills they’ve learned in making sense of what the candidates are saying and to distinguish credible information from what they often encounter on social and mainstream media? These skills would certainly serve them well after the election when there are sure to be protests, claims, and counterclaims about election fraud and tampering.

However, many teachers said they wouldn’t be discussing the 2024 election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, according to a recent survey conducted by EdWeek. Many cited concerns about parent complaints, and others worried that students could not discuss the election respectfully.

My three guests—a college freshman, two university educators, and a communications director—lament that polarization and fear keep politics and healthy conflict out of the classroom. Each one suggests ways to turn this around, and they describe the benefits of doing so for all Americans.

What’s especially interesting about this conversation is that one would be hard-pressed to identify my guests’ party affiliations. You will, however, have to ignore the fact that two of them say early on that they are leaders of young Republican groups in Texas. From my vantage point, this is yet another sign that when we Americans explore their core values, we fundamentally want the same things from our schools.

Let us know what you think with a text message.

This episode will interest anyone interested in what it takes to successfully lead a politically diverse school board (or any such organization) in these highly polarized times. My guest, Dr. Katy Anthes, did just that as Colorado’s Commissioner of Education from 2016 to 2023 by building trust, getting leaders to agree on norms about how they would disagree, and developing a common vision of education that members of her state board could embrace. 

Rather than avoiding sharp disagreements over questions about standardized testing, state standards, and how history should be taught, she leaned into “healthy conflict”— the kind that is productive and allows for progress even among those with opposing perspectives.

Anthes addresses a question, around the 17-minute mark, that she often encounters: When finding a middle ground is needed to move things forward, do we have to compromise our values and beliefs? 

A question she’s still pondering: How to navigate complex and contentious issues in the presence of “conflict entrepreneurs”—those who promote conflict for their own financial or political gain.  Tune in and learn from one of our country's most effective educational leaders. 

Let us know what you think with a text message.

Ever wonder what goes on in the mind of a school shooter? Or, why someone chooses to kill innocent people? My guest, Aaron Stark, was ready to commit mass murder but decided, at the last minute, not to follow through with his plan. He also chose not to kill himself. In this episode, you’ll hear Aaron’s harrowing story of abuse, neglect, and trauma, and you’ll find out what it took to prevent yet another tragedy that would have contributed to America’s epidemic of gun violence. There’s no doubt that mental health services are a vital part of the solution, but in Aaron’s case, it was a friend who extended kindness and compassion - someone who saw Aaron as “a good person with a crap life” - that made the difference. 

So many questions to ponder. Here’s one for educators: In these hyper-polarized times when it’s so easy (and perversely rewarding) to bully others on social media, what will it take to get people to treat others, especially those who are struggling, with kindness rather than cruelty? Tune in to hear Aaron’s harrowing story and what he thinks will make a difference. 

Here’s a clue:  Convince people “to give love to the ones that you think deserve it the least because they need it the most.”

Let us know what you think with a text message.

One day after interviewing clinical psychologist Hayley Watson for Part 1 of this two-part series about the need for better mental health support in schools, Colt Gray, a 14-year-old student at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia walked onto campus with a military-style rifle and killed two other students and two math teachers. He also injured at least 8 others before he was taken into custody. 

According to the shooter’s aunt Annie Brown, had been “begging for help from everyone around him.” Colt’s father, who has now been charged with several serious crimes, said that his son was “getting picked on at school,” and that other students “just ridiculed him day after day after day.” 

Key takeaways from my conversation with Dr. Watson:

• The need to understand the shooter's perspective and the factors that may have contributed to his actions, rather than simply labeling him as "evil."
• The lack of adequate mental health resources and support for students who are struggling, and the importance of preventative measures such as teaching coping skills and promoting social-emotional learning.
• The trauma experienced (not just in Georgia but across the country) by the entire school community, including students, teachers, and families, and the need to provide spaces for processing and healing.
• The importance of ongoing conversations and emotional support, rather than focusing exclusively on security measures or avoiding the issue altogether.

Let us know what you think with a text message.

Immediately following the fatal shooting of two students and two math teachers at Apalachee High School in Georgia, the predictable debate over gun laws ensued. Less prominent were calls for another remedy for school gun violence that can have an immediate impact and, surprisingly, is not politically polarizing: mental health support. 

Colt Gray, the 14-year-old shooter had been “begging for help from everyone around him,” according to his aunt Annie Brown. It appears he was unable to find it.

Unfortunately, students like Gray are not alone. As the need for students’ mental health support has grown, mental health services in schools have declined sharply in recent years.  Just 48 percent of the nation’s public schools report that they can meet their students’ mental health needs, according to a recent EdWeek report. 

My guest for this episode is Dr. Hayley Watson, a clinical psychologist with deep and personal knowledge of the mental health challenges students face. In this, the first of two episodes with Dr. Watson, she describes some of the factors, including bullying, that contribute to poor mental health, the effects it can have on student well-being and academic performance, and the skills that students can learn to better cope with emotionally challenging situations. 

Dr. Watson also shares the harrowing story from her own childhood that led to trauma that she kept secret for many years. This story ultimately instilled a passion for helping young people facing similar experiences. 

The school shooting at Apalachee High School occurred just one day after I recorded this interview. Dr. Watson joined me again for a follow-up conversation just a few days later to talk, specifically, about what educators can do to prevent gun violence and how they can help students, families, and their colleagues cope with the fear and the trauma so many across the country are feeling in the wake of this unspeakable tragedy.    

Let us know what you think with a text message.

Rich Harwood knows a thing or two about depolarizing communities. He’s been doing it—successfully—for over 30 years, which is why I wanted to probe his thinking about the widening divides and the worrisome rise of culture wars that are threatening our public schools.

Let me simply say, Rich rocked my world! Despite the extensive reading I’ve done on the subject and the interviews I’ve conducted with several conflict experts, I learned something new about the dynamics of conflict. And, more importantly, I learned some practical strategies one could use to help build stronger, healthier school communities—even prevent culture wars in deeply divided communities.     

A key takeaway for me is where to start conversations with school stakeholders. Rich suggests not jumping in around the hot issue that is dividing them (like Critical Race Theory, or DEI, library books, or race), but by having people share their dreams and aspirations for their children—by reframing the conversation around what they are for rather than what they are against. Amazingly, this can sometimes cause a hot issue, the type that can rapidly escalate into a full-blown culture war, to simply dissolve away (or be taken up later under better conditions) as those at odds with one another re-focus their collective energy on what they want to build together for their children. 

Pie-in-the-sky, Pollyanna fluff? Not really. As Rich explains, this is precisely what happened in Reading, Pennsylvania where mounting tensions over school policies dissipated after he and his team reframed the conversations around their shared visions for the future. And, as you will hear in one of the stories I share, I stumbled on the same phenomenon when I was invited in by a superintendent to defuse tensions among the district’s board and its administrative team. 

This insight about conflict and change is just one of several I learned during my interview with Rich. You will have to tune in to the whole episode to hear the others. You won’t be disappointed. 

Ken Futernick (Host)

Let us know what you think with a text message.

In the final episode of this series, several people reflect on the lessons learned from Middletown’s successful efforts to avoid a costly culture war and to unify around an inclusive vision of education that all of its students. In addition to Middletown’s community leaders who share their takeaways from this story, Amanda Ripley, an internationally recognized expert on conflict, provides powerful insights into the less visible dynamics at play. Trudy Palmer, the Christian Science Monitor’s cover story editor, explains why this story offers “credible hope" for communities looking for tangible ways to unify and discover common ground. Finally, we hear from Dr. Carl Cohn, an experienced urban superintendent who explains why the lessons learned from the Middletown story are vital for school leaders across the country.

Key lessons:

• Building and maintaining healthy relationships within a community, especially before a crisis occurs, is crucial to preventing and managing conflicts. 
• Creating ongoing opportunities for authentic dialogue among educators, board members, parents, and students is essential to fostering trust and healthy conflict. 
• Journalists and media outlets should strive to go beyond reporting exclusively on conflict and outrage and to cover stories, like this one in Middletown, that provide “credible hope” for change. 

Let us know what you think with a text message.

In this second of three episodes about a culture war simmering in Middletown, Ohio, we learn how Superintendent Styles responds to allegations of racism and violations of students’ rights because of health mandates. 

Hint: He didn’t fight back.  Instead, he listened to his critics. He then asked for help from the community’s “quiet majority,” a group he called “the Positive Gossipers,” and members of the Middletown Area Ministerial Alliance  These counterintuitive steps helped to defuse the conflict and ultimately enabled the district to focus on serious challenges affecting student learning. The current administration, the Board recently launched “Middie Minutes Matter,” an initiative designed to reduce the high levels of chronic student absenteeism in the district. And they are receiving assistance from the same group of community leaders that supported the district was faced with a polarizing conflict. 

Tune in to the third and final episode to hear from Middletown’s community leaders and several outside observers who reflect on the tangible lessons this story teaches. One of these observers is Amanda Ripley, author of the New York Times bestselling book, High Conflict - Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out, who said, “I love the story because we desperately need examples of how people and communities manage to get out of dysfunctional conflict.”

Let us know what you think with a text message.

This is the first of three episodes about the unusual steps school leaders in Middletown, Ohio took to defuse tensions over race issues and health policies. These tensions could have led to a full-blown culture war - the kind of knock-down, drag out clashes that have pitted educators, parents, and even students against one another in a growing number of school districts across the country.  

In this episode you will hear why police had been called in to maintain order at a pivotal school board meeting in 2021. You’ll hear the voices of angry parents accusing Marlon Styles, the district’s first Black superintendent, of promoting racist practices in the district’s schools. And, you’ll hear others condemn the school board for violating students’ rights with their mandatory mask policy. 

In the second episode, you will learn about Superintendent Styles’ unusual response to the allegations. Instead of fighting back, he listened to his critics, asked for help, and rallied the city’s “quiet majority.” These counterintuitive steps defused the smoldering culture war, enabling the district to focus on other serious challenges affecting student learning.

In the third episode, you will hear from Middletown’s community leaders and several outside observers who reflect on the tangible lessons this story teaches and the “credible” hope it offers to school and community leaders across the country. One of these observers is Amanda Ripley, author of the New York Times bestselling book, High Conflict - Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out, who said, “I love the story because we desperately need examples of how people and communities manage to get out of dysfunctional conflict…The only way to learn is by finding these outliers of ‘positive deviance,’ communities that managed to not implode in conflict and learn from what they did.”

Let us know what you think with a text message.