Identity Talk 4 Educators LIVE

In this episode, we're excited to have Dr. Gholdy Muhammad come on the show to share about her personal journey in education, her new book "Cultivating Genius", the importance of teaching and assessing literacy through a historically responsive lens, and much more!  To learn more about Dr. Muhammad's work, you can visit her website at https://linktr.ee/HillPedagogies or connect with her on Twitter (@GholdyM) and Instagram (@gholdy.m).  

BIO: Dr. Gholnecsar “Gholdy” Muhammad is the associate professor at Georgia State University teaching literacy and language in the Department of Middle and Secondary Education.  She also serves as the director of the GSU Urban Literacy Collaborative & Clinic and is the author of “Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy”.    She began her career as a reading, language arts and social studies middle school teacher in Cahokia, Illinois.  After teaching in the classroom, she served as a school district assistant curriculum director and was responsible for kindergarten through 12th-grade literacy instruction, grant writing, assessments and professional development.  Muhammad received her Ph.D. in literacy, language and culture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. 

Her research interests are situated in social and historical foundations of literacy development within Black communities and the writing practices among Black women and girls. She explores 19th-century Black literary societies to understand literacy development and how the roles of literacy can be reconceptualized in classrooms today.  She became interested in this line of research when she led a summer writing institute with Black girls called, Black Girls WRITE!. She continues to hold summer literacy programs with Black and Brown youth as well as Muslim girls. She explores how historical practices among communities of color can be used with adolescent learners today.  Some of the journals she has published articles in include, Research in the Teaching of English, English Education, Urban Education, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy and Written Communication.  

Additionally, she serves as the director of the Georgia State Urban Literacy Collaborative and Clinic. She strives to shape the national conversation for educating youth who have been underserved. She also strives to support the next generation of educators who are seeking pathways to meet some of the most pressing challenges encountered in urban schools.  She works with teachers and youth across the United States and South Africa in best practices in literacy instruction. She is a former school board president and continues to work collaboratively with local schools across communities in the Atlanta metropolitan area.  Muhammad is the 2014 recipient of the National Council of Teachers of English, Promising New Researcher Award, the 2015 NCTE Alan C. Purves Award, the 2016 NCTE Janet Emig awardee, the 2017 Georgia State University Urban Education Research Awardee and the 2018 UIC College of Education Researcher of the Year.

In this week's episode of #IDTALK4EDLIVE, we welcome our good friend Krystal L. Smith to the show to learn about personal journey as an educator, the importance of teacher self-care, how she evolved into "The RenewED Teacher" and so much more! To learn more about Krystal's work, you can visit her website at renewedteacher.com or connected with her on Instagram & Twitter!  

BIO: Krystal L. Smith is a proud native of Pittsburgh, PA and certified elementary teacher, currently teaching 4th grade Math and Social Studies at the Pittsburgh Public Schools. She also started the RenewED Teacher blog to help teachers keep and renew their passion for teaching by remembering their why and practicing healthy self-care habits to prevent burnout. Here's what Krystal states when asked why teaching is her biggest passion:  "Being a Black Educator Matters. This is one part that motivates me to do this work that I do. For black students, I am a positive role model that looks like them who is living her childhood dreams which goes against much of what mainstream media portrays a Black Woman to be. My presence, my intentional practice of teaching, displaying Black Excellence and Black Joy help fight racism. Teaching allows me to work with children and make a difference in the world. Children fill me up with joy and I believe I bring my scholars joy too. Teaching is my way of leaving a legacy."

In this episode, we are excited to have Debrice Hill come on the show to talk about her personal journey in education, the inspiration behind the founding of "Teacher to Teacher Magazine", and how the targeted media marketing of Black and Brown educators can attract more young Black and Brown people to join the teacher pipeline.  To learn more about Debrice's work, you can visit her website at debricehill.com or you can follow her on Instagram with the handles @sparklesandsprinklesinfirst and @teacher_to_teacher_magazine.  

BIO: Debrice Hill is a first grade teacher and instructional coach based in Deltona, FL.  She is also the founder and CEO of Teacher to Teacher Magazine, an online monthly publication that highlights the great works of educators all over the world!  Additionally, Debrice is an avid crafter, enjoys creating teacher resources, and is passionate about sharing her knowledge in the classroom as a speaker and presenter.  Outside of teaching, Debrice enjoys spending quality time with her husband and two children.

In this episode, we're honored to have the "Revolutionary Principal", Amen Rahh come on the podcast to share about his journey as an educator, his upcoming book, and the revolutionary work he's doing as the Founding Principal of University Pathways Public Service Academy.  You can check out Principal Rahh's "Revolutionary Educator" Apparel website revedx.com or follow @principalrahh on all social media platforms.  

BIO: Amen Mandela Rahh is known as the Revolutionary Principal for how he has built and founded University Pathways Public Service Academy “The U”, an urban public school in South Central Los Angeles. Principal Rahh distinguished himself in the classroom and as a school leader. As an middle school teacher in Watts, CA, he was selected as the turnaround teacher which ultimately helped him obtain his position as dean of students.   As a principal, he founded one of the most highly-regarded schools in the area by students and parents. Currently, Principal Rahh is one of the most engaging speakers for transforming the way schools serve their at-promise student populations in America. He is a published author of a chapter he wrote in the book titled Restorative Practices Meets Social Justice.  He is also the recipient of many educational, professional and community awards. He was born and raised from Compton, California in which he takes pride in saying. Amen received Associates Degree from Compton Community College, his Bachelors of Arts Degree in Black Studies, from Cal State University, Dominguez Hills. He holds two Master degrees in Education and in Special Education from Cal State University, Dominguez Hills.   Amen is a certified trainer of trainers in Restorative Justice by the Institute of Restorative Practices (IIRP).  Amen began his Professional career as a Special Education Assistant. Principal Amen Rahh was selected by to be the Founding Principal of University Pathways Public Service Academy “The U”. The U is currently in its second year and the school is already a model school for building a Restorative Community as well as establishing school-wide system to improve student achievement.

In this episode, we have the honor of speaking with award-winning educator, speaker, and author, Erica Buddington. In our conversation, Erica shares her inspiration behind the founding of Langston League, her company's new partnership with Flipgrid, her current journey of starting her own school, and much more! To learn more about Erica's work, you can visit the Langston League website at langstonleague.org or her personal website at mostfireteacher.com. You can also connect with Erica and Langston League on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

BIO:

Langston League specializes in teaching educators how to design and implement culturally sustaining instructional material through professional development, curriculum design, facilitation and coaching. Since inception, she has served clients across multiple states and two countries, with clientele including Google Code Next, Achievement First Schools, Medgar Evers College R.O.L.L. Program, Up Academy and Because of Them We Can. In 2021, she will be launching a middle school academy.

Throughout her career, she has developed mastery in educational consulting, EdTech, instruction, restorative justice, social-emotional learning, and creative writing. Erica has authored two fiction books and through her trailblazing work in education, sparked international media attention, with features on The Steve Harvey Show, MTV's TRL, Forbes Magazine, Buzzfeed, and Black Enterprise. She was the recipient of the 2015 Harlem Children's Zone Innovation Award, 2017 WeWork Creator Award, 2018 Hampton University Most Notable Hamptonian in Hip-Hop, and 2019 Nike X WeAreCultivator Sneaker Designer.

Erica attended Hampton University to pursue English/Performing Arts and received recognition during that time for spoken word performances, earning her performances with the likes of HBO's Def Poetry, Arrested Development, Mos Def, Dead Prez, and Lupe Fiasco.

As a natural storyteller and performer, Erica uses responsive strategies, and vast knowledge of pop culture, to create engaging and transformational human learning experiences, like no other.

In this episode , we're honored to have Dr. Tia Lites come on the show to share her personal journey as an educator and the importance of Black school leadership in urban schools! To learn more about Tia, you can connect with her on LinkedIN and Instagram (@flashinglites).

BIO:

She also prioritizes building the school's cultural climate and expanding the pipelines between middle school students to historically Black colleges & universities. Tia is also responsible for the implementation of her school's restorative justice action plans, teacher evaluation modules, cultural development & advocacy workshops and social-emotional student seminars. She sat on the 2018-2019 team that created the revised Action Plan for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for her charter.

Holding her Doctorate in Education, Tia's primary practice is utilizing the "culturally responsive school leadership framework," which she uses to support the growth of Black administration in schools that serve a majority population of students of color. Her dissertation and first book is entitled, “The Influences of Black School Leadership on Supporting Positive Outcomes for Black Students in Urban Schools.” She continues to research the pathways for Black students based on Black representation in schools and plans on creating a series of educational materials in regards to proactive measures to support Black learners (Kindergarten through grade 12).

In this episode, we had the honor of interviewing Yolanda Plear, founder of New Teacher Bestie!! In our conversation, Yolanda shared her personal journey from disgruntled classroom to her new mission as an advocate for new teachers! To learn more about Yolanda, you can visit her website at newteacherbestie.com or connect with her on the following platforms:  

FACEBOOK & LINKEDIN - Yolanda Plear                 INSTAGRAM - @newteacherbestie                          TWITTER - @TeachYoYo  

BIO: Yolanda Plear, M.Ed, also known as the "New Teacher Bestie", is a full time New Teacher Coach and entrepreneur. Yolanda has 9 years of classroom experience, including 1st grade and Kindergarten, in the Traditional Bilingual and Dual Language 50/50 settings. She has presenter experience as a speaker at the Georgia Association of Multilingual Educators Conference. Yolanda served as Campus Induction Coordinator for her campus for three years and successfully on boarded over 30 new teachers during that time.  Yolanda is fluent in Spanish, with a Bachelors Degree in Bilingual Education from Sam Houston State University and a Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Houston Baptist University. In 2020, Yolanda was awarded Teacher of the Year for her campus and was honored by the Houston Area Association of Black School Educators (HAABSE). Throughout her time as Campus Induction Coordinator, Yolanda’s passion for helping new teachers grew tremendously. She saw not only a need, but a want for closing the achievement gap of effective new teachers, and began to devote her time to being a coach and mentor. She facilitates a new teacher Cohort of Collaboration on her website newteacherbestie.com which is open for enrollment at this time.

In this week's episode of #IDTALK4EDLIVE, we have the honor of speaking with Charles Clayton Daniels Jr., co-founder and CEO of Fathers' Uplift, Inc. In our conversation, he shares about the importance of black fatherhood, the founding of Fathers' Uplift, his experience as an Obama Foundation Follow, and much more! To learn more about Fathers' Uplift, you can visit the website at fathersuplift.org or connect with them on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter.

BIO:

Charles holds a Bachelor’s degree from Bethune-Cookman University, a Masters of Social Work (Simmons University), a Master of Divinity (Boston University), and is a Ph.D. candidate in Social Work at Simmons University. While on the journey of founding and operating Fathers’ Uplift, Charles has taught at the college level (e.g. Harvard University and Simmons University), has been a national speaker and writer, and has appeared on numerous television and radio programs, including CNN, ABC, Good Morning America, and WBUR.

In 2019, Charles was chosen by the Obama Foundation as one of 20 Fellows selected worldwide as a civic innovator creating transformational change and addressing some of the world’s most pressing problems. He is also a Gerson Lehrman Group Fellow and a past Fellow of the Albert Sweitzer Fellowship. Charles is married to Samantha Fils-Daniels, who co-founded Fathers’ Uplift with him. Samantha is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and the person Charles calls his Rock. Together, they have one son, Clayton Charles Daniels.

In this episode, we're excited to have Eghosa Obaizamomwan Hamilton and T. Gertrude Jenkins, co-founders of Making Us Matter, on the show! In our conversation, the two educators will share about their doctoral work at the University of San Francisco, the creation of Making Us Matter, how anti-Blackness manifest itself in school systems across the United States, and much more! To learn more about Making Us Matter, you can visit the school's website at www.makingusmatter.com or you can connect with the school on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

BIO:

Eghosa Obaizamomwan Hamilton is a first generation Nigerian. She is originally from Sacramento but currently resides in Oakland, CA. She has a Master’s Degree in Education and is currently a Doctoral student in the International and Multicultural Education program at the University of San Francisco. She is moving towards her 13th year of teaching with a focus on social justice and anti-bias curriculum. Her research is centered on the experiences of Black girl learners and the cultural and ideological disconnects of educators in predominantly white secondary institutions. As a social justice educator, she seeks to give voice and visibility to those who have been left in the margins. Creating Making Us Matter was a necessary step in taking action towards combating anti-Blackness in schools and decolonizing curriculum through counter narratives.

In this episode, we welcome college & career planning consultant Amber Peters to the show.  In our conversation, Amber will discuss the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the college admissions process for high school seniors and ways that students can prepare for careers in the aftermath of the pandemic.  To learn more about Amber's work, you can visit her website at www.mizzp.nyc or you can connect with her on the following social media platforms:  

FACEBOOK - Mizz P.                                           INSTAGRAM - @ontrackwithmizzp                                TWITTER - @mizzpnyc  

BIO: Amber Peters, popularly known as "Mizz P", is a certified Jill of All Trades. She is an Educator, App Developer, Author, and education consultant straight out of the Boogie Down Bronx. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from CUNY-Lehman College and her Master's degree in Urban Education from Mercy College. The main goal of her work is to motivate and inspire young people to achieve beyond their wildest dreams, while giving them the tools they need to advocate for themselves and their future. Her brand promises to create a new wave in education and hopes to bring widespread change to the area of college and career planning.