Classnotes Podcast (August 5, 2026). Stephanie Garcia, Ph.D., talks with educators Angel Watkins and Taylor Ray about how a STEM externship evolved into a community-centered classroom project. They discuss career-connected learning, project-based STEM instruction, industry partnerships, and helping students solve authentic community challenges.

Resource from the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA), a nonprofit advancing education equity.

Students light up when teachers are able to integrate real-world application. IDRA’s work in STEM education helps students and teachers translate real-world application to local STEM careers. IDRA’s summer externship program connects educators with local employers to bring real-world STEM learning into the classroom.

This summer, 10 teachers explored engineering, cybersecurity, manufacturing and more. And industry professionals helped the teachers connect classroom learning to real-world STEM careers by sharing their expertise and day-to-day work. Teachers take those experiences back to their classrooms, helping students connect academic concepts to real careers, real challenges, and real opportunities in their communities.

In this episode, Stephanie Garcia, Ph.D., is joined by two incredible educators, Angelena Watkins and Taylor Ray, who transformed one summer externship experience into a powerful project-based learning experience for their students.

Last summer, one of our guests spent 30 hours working alongside professionals at a local architecture firm. What followed was a collaborative effort between these two teachers that challenged students to reimagine abandoned spaces in San Antonio and design solutions that could strengthen their communities. The project culminated in student presentations, community showcases, and even student pitches before the school district board. It is truly one of the most impactful examples of externship-to-classroom learning we have seen.

Dr. Stephanie Garcia is IDRA’s STEM education specialist and directs the IDRA VisionCoders and DSEC programs. Both at JSTEM Academy in Judson ISD in San Antonio, Taylor Ray teaches seventh-grade math, and Angel Watkins teaches seventh-grade principles of applied engineering.

Show length: 21:02 min.

“Students become architects, designers, problem solvers, communicators and civic leaders. This is exactly what career-connected learning looks like.”

– Stephanie Garcia, Ph.D.

“Being able to bring the knowledge I gained from the externship into my classroom is something so invaluable that I think more teachers need to experience.”

– Taylor Ray

“Hearing the architects describe their work validated everything I’d been teaching my students for the last six months.”

– Angel Watkins

IDRA Externship Program Brings Tomorrow’s STEM Careers into Today’s Classrooms – Teachers Explore Engineering, Cybersecurity, Manufacturing and More Through Industry Partnerships, July 15, 2026

Meet Our 2026 Summer Externs

Infographic: 8 Elements of PBL Lessons

IDRA Student Engagement – Online Technical Assistance Toolkit

Webinar: First Steps in Project-Based Learning – answers some of the most common questions about planning, implementation and best practices for project-based learning.

Webinar: PBL at Home & Across the Curriculum – focuses on how through hands-on experiences, students can explore, create, engage and connect what they are learning to the real world.

To ensure you don’t miss a single episode of IDRA Classnotes, sign up to receive an e-mail alert as soon as a new show is published and subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, Spotify or Amazon Music.

This episode follows how a STEM teacher externship evolved into a community-centered project-based learning experience. Teachers Angel Watkins and Taylor Ray share how they helped students apply STEM skills to redesign abandoned spaces, including a school, near San Antonio.

Teacher externships give educators firsthand experience in STEM workplaces, helping them design lessons and projects that connect academic concepts with real careers and community challenges.

Career-connected learning links classroom instruction with authentic workplace experiences and community problem-solving so students can see how their learning applies beyond school.

This episode is valuable for STEM educators, school leaders, career and technical education teachers, instructional coaches, and community and industry partners interested in career-connected learning.

The post From STEM Externship to Community Impact – IDRA Classnotes Podcast Episode 259 appeared first on IDRA.

Classnotes Podcast (July 21, 2026). How can game design help students become confident problem-solvers and future software developers? In this episode, Stephanie Garcia, Ph.D., and Carol Luckhardt Redfield, Ph.D., discuss how the IDRA VisionCoders program combines computer science, creativity and cross-age mentoring to prepare students for success in school and beyond.

Resource from the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA), a nonprofit advancing education equity.

Today’s fastest-growing careers are tech-driven, and two-thirds of all new STEM jobs are in computing. But in many regions, fewer than 1% of adults work in computer-related fields. The IDRA VisionCoders program is helping build the next generation of software developers.

In this podcast episode, Stephanie Garcia, Ph.D., welcomes Carol Luckhardt Redfield, Ph.D., professor of computer science at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. Dr. Redfield partnered with IDRA for the past five years to co-develop the VisionCoders curriculum.

VisionCoders is a middle school computer science and leadership course where students design educational games for elementary school students. This asset-based college readiness program serves students who are in at-risk situations. Nearly 80% of VisionCoders students report greater confidence in technology and career pathways; 70% now see tech as key to their futures.

Game design is about more than coding. It helps students become creative problem-solvers, collaborators and confident learners. Dr. Garcia and Dr. Redfield discuss how the IDRA’s VisionCoders program uses game design and cross-age mentoring to build computational thinking, strengthen student engagement, and prepare young people with skills that matter in school, future careers and beyond.

Dr. Stephanie Garcia is IDRA’s STEM education specialist and directs the IDRA VisionCoders and DSEC programs.

Show length: 14:30 min.

“When students are given opportunities to create, design, and solve problems through technology, they’re not just learning computer science. They’re discovering their own potential as innovators, as leaders.”

– Stephanie Garcia, Ph.D.

“Wherever AI goes, we’re still going to need to be able to understand how coding works.”

– Carol Redfield, Ph.D.

“The skills that they’re learning through this program will prepare them for any career path.”

– Stephanie Garcia, Ph.D.

“VisionCoders helped me believe in myself. I’ve realized that I can do hard things as long as I don’t give up. It’s inspired me to keep exploring technology, and I’m even thinking about a career in coding now.”

– VisionCoders student, Danna Rico Granados

IDRA VisionCoders, program webpage

VisionCoders: Many Levels of Game-Based Learning, by Redfield, C., Garcia, S., Bojorquez, H., & Puente, A. (2026). In Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 3188-3193). Philadelphia: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).

Curriculum Poster: VisionCoders – Many Levels of Game-Based Learning, by Redfield, C., Garcia, S., Bojorquez, H., & Puente, A.

How video game coding is helping middle schoolers on San Antonio’s South Side, by Xochilt Garcia, San Antonio Report, May 25, 2026

Students Share How VisionCoders Changed Their Future in STEM – IDRA Honors Six Students in IDRA VisionCoders Reflection Contest, May 2026

To ensure you don’t miss a single episode of IDRA Classnotes, sign up to receive an e-mail alert as soon as a new show is published and subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, Spotify or Amazon Music.

The post VisionCoders Students Learn Through Game Design – IDRA Classnotes Podcast Episode 258 appeared first on IDRA.

Classnotes Podcast (July 1, 2026). Research shows that girls’ confidence in STEM subjects often begins to decline during elementary school. In this episode, Stephanie Garcia and Lea Rosenauer discuss how mentorship, representation, family engagement and supportive learning environments help girls develop STEM identities and pursue STEM pathways. Drawing on research and practical experience, they explore strategies that schools, families and community organizations can use to help girls thrive.

Resource from the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA), a nonprofit advancing education equity.

By about fifth grade, girls’ confidence in STEM subjects starts to fall. As a result, girls are less likely to take higher-level math courses in high school or choose STEM fields in college. But something can be done about it.

In this second recent podcast episode about encouraging girls in STEM courses and fields, Stephanie Garcia, Ph.D., welcomes guest Lea Rosenauer, M.A., President & CEO, Girls Inc. of San Antonio. They discuss key strategies like mentorship, putting positive female role models in girls’ lives and intentionally talking about women who are in STEM fields.

Like IDRA, Girls Inc., starts with the premise that all girls have strengths. Lea describes Girls Inc.’s programming in the out-of-school time space where making mistakes is celebrated.

A recent report by the National Girls Collaborative Project shows that 86% of girls want to be in helping professions. As Lea and Stephanie discuss, when classroom and out-of-school programs make connections between STEM and service along with problem solving, girls see their place in these fields. In addition, family-centered programming helps parents support their daughters as they explore STEM pathways.

Girls belong in STEM. The question is whether we’re building systems that really reflect that truth.

Dr. Stephanie Garcia is IDRA’s STEM education specialist and directs the IDRA VisionCoders and DSEC programs.

“Girls, as early as age 9, don’t believe that they are brilliant enough to have their dream job.”

Lea Rosenauer

“Talent may be universal. Girls have talent and skills. But access and opportunity are not.” 

Lea Rosenauer

“Confidence isn’t a personality trait. It’s built through experience, belonging and affirmation.”

Stephanie Garcia, Ph.D.

“The question is not whether girls belong in STEM. They do. The question is whether we’re building systems that really reflect that truth.”

Stephanie Garcia, Ph.D.

“When girls see women who look like them in STEM, that abstract becomes attainable”

Stephanie Garcia, Ph.D.

Changing the State of Girls in STEM Through Access, Culture and Confidence, by Stephanie Garcia, Ph.D.

The State of Women & Girls in STEM Report, by National Girls Collaborative Project

STEM Equity – Online Technical Assistance Toolkit, IDRA

Student Engagement – Online Technical Assistance Toolkit, IDRA

Building an Ecosystem for Latina Prosperity. Latinitas Conversando podcast featuring Stephanie Garcia, Gabriela Kane Guardia, Johanna Moya Fábregas & Jaime Puente. South by Southwest Edu

STEM Ecosystems Foster Community Engagement for a Strong Future – Partner with a STEM Learning Ecosystem Near You!, August 31, 2022

Meaningful Strategies for Making STEM Accessible, October 30, 2020

Five Best Practices that Add Women to the Equation – Preparing K-12 Girls for Mathematics, May 29, 2019

To ensure you don’t miss a single episode of IDRA Classnotes, sign up to receive an e-mail alert as soon as a new show is published and subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, Spotify or Amazon Music.

The post STEM Environments where Girls Thrive – IDRA Classnotes Podcast Episode 257 appeared first on IDRA.

Classnotes Podcast (May 15, 2026). Three generations of women educators share how Brown v. Board of Education shaped their lives. Hear personal stories of school desegregation, sacrifice and opportunity, and how one family’s legacy continues to influence education today.

Resource from the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA), a nonprofit advancing education equity.

In this special Mother’s Day episode of the IDRA Classnotes Podcast, three generations of the Russaw family share how the legacy of Brown v. Board of Education lives on in their own lives.

IDRA staff attorney Makiah Lyons, J.D., is joined by her mother, award-winning educator and former principal Jocelyn Mills, and her grandmother, lifelong educator Janet Russaw. Together, they reflect on growing up during school desegregation in Jefferson County, Tenn., and the choices, sacrifices and courage that shaped their family’s path in education.

Through personal stories, they explore what desegregation looked like beyond the headlines – from stepping onto a bus to integrate schools to navigating loss, opportunity and community change. Their conversation highlights how one generation’s barriers became the next generation’s opportunities.

This episode honors the “seeds” planted by Black families and educators – and the lasting impact of those efforts on today’s students and schools.

Show length: 50:54 min.

Send comments to [email protected]

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“We got their old textbooks, we got their old typewriters… when they got new stuff, we got their old stuff.”

Janet Russaw

“It’s very interesting to have this conversation, especially for me, because you realize where you were standing in your place in history. Because… from where I came through, I literally was in the middle of all of that transition.” 

Jocelyn Mills

“I feel like every student deserves a chance to learn. The expectations for our kids, and especially our boys, was very, very low. I felt like that needed to change.”

Janet Russaw

Brown v Board of Education – The Law in Education, by Makiah Lyons, J.D., & Paige Duggins-Clay, J.D.

Jefferson County, Tennessee, Black in Appalachia

Black History Month Features, IDRA

To ensure you don’t miss a single episode of IDRA Classnotes, sign up to receive an e-mail alert as soon as a new show is published and subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, Spotify or Amazon Music.

The post Seeds We Planted – A Family Legacy of Brown v. Board of Ed. – IDRA Classnotes Podcast Episode 255 appeared first on IDRA.

Classnotes Podcast (April 30, 2026). Corporal punishment is still used in U.S. schools, with harmful and disproportionate impacts on Black students, students with disabilities and children in the South. This episode explores how schools can move toward discipline rooted in dignity, relationships and student well-being.

Key takeaways

Resource from the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA), a nonprofit advancing education equity.

Corporal punishment in schools remains legal in 20 states, disproportionately harming Black students, students with disabilities, and children across the U.S. South. In this episode, IDRA’s Morgan Craven, J.D., and Aurelio Montemayor, M.Ed., examine why physical punishment persists in schools, the lasting harms it causes and what communities can do instead.

Through a conversation on restorative practices, family engagement and culturally-sustaining discipline, they explore how schools can move away from fear-based punishment and toward learning environments rooted in dignity, accountability and student well-being.

Morgan Craven, J.D., is IDRA’s National Director of Policy, Advocacy and Community Engagement. Aurelio Montemayor, M.Ed., is IDRA’s Family Engagement Coordinator.

Note: The audio version of this podcast episode is not out yet. But we released the video version on April 30, which is the International Day to End Corporal Punishment.

Show length: 15:51 min.

Send comments to [email protected]

Sign up to receive free e-mail notices when new episodes are available.

“If we rely on fear, we’re really destabilizing school environments rather than investing in what we know works to keep kids safe.”

Morgan Craven, J.D.

“Corporal punishment sometimes may produce a moment of silence, but it doesn’t produce understanding. It doesn’t produce responsibility or trust and too often it leaves lasting harm, especially for students who are already carrying the weight of inequity.” 

Aurelio Montemayor, M.Ed.

“What we want to do is have systems in place that encourage strong relationships where people understand what’s going on with the young people in the school. They are connected to them. They know their families. And they have those strong relationships. Positive, strong relationships are the root of learning.”

Morgan Craven, J.D.

End Corporal Punishment in Schools, IDRA webpage

Hitting Hurts – The Case for Ending Corporal Punishment in Texas, IDRA Issue Brief, by Morgan Craven, J.D., and Joanna D. Sánchez, Ph.D., April 2023, updated 2024 (available in English and Spanish)

Restorative Practices Can Prevent and Heal Bias-based Harm, by Paige Duggins-Clay, J.D., IDRA Newsletter, August 2024

IDRA Family Leadership in Education Model, IDRA webpage

IDRA School Discipline – Online Technical Assistance Toolkit 

To ensure you don’t miss a single episode of IDRA Classnotes, sign up to receive an e-mail alert as soon as a new show is published and subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, Spotify or Amazon Music.

The post Ending Corporal Punishment Starts With Community – IDRA Classnotes Podcast Episode #256 appeared first on IDRA.

Classnotes Podcast (April 28, 2026). Dr. Lizdelia Piñon and Dr. Stephanie Garcia examine why women and girls remain underrepresented in STEM, highlighting how access, culture and policy shape pathways. They also share practical solutions to expand opportunities and strengthen STEM ecosystems.

Resource from the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA), a nonprofit advancing education equity.

Why are women and girls still underrepresented in STEM? In this episode, Lizdelia Piñón, Ed.D., talks with Stephanie Garcia, Ph.D.,  about what the latest data reveal, including in a new report by the National Girls Collaborative Project.

Drawing from recent research and her own experience as a Latina STEM educator, Dr. Garcia explains why the issue is not about ability but about systems. Dr. Piñon and Dr. Garcia discuss how access, culture and confidence shape who participates and persists in STEM, and how recent anti-diversity, equity and inclusion policies are dismantling critical support programs.

The conversation moves beyond the problem to practical solutions: mentorship, hands-on learning and cross-sector partnerships that create real pathways for students. Together, they reimagine what a strong STEM ecosystem can look like – one with multiple entry points where all students can see themselves and succeed.

Dr. Stephanie Garcia is IDRA’s STEM education specialist and directs the IDRA VisionCoders and DSEC programs. Dr. Lizdelia Piñon is an IDRA education associate and a bilingual special education expert.

Show length: 16:35 min.

Send comments to [email protected]

ign up to receive free e-mail notices when new episodes are available.

“Talent is evenly distributed, but opportunity isn’t.”

Sameeha Rizvi

“I don’t see it as a leaky pipeline. That’s a deficit way of looking at it… A really healthy ecosystem looks like a river, or a highway system, with multiple entry and exit points, where students – no matter their age or grade – can jump in, explore and come back to it again later. There’s not a one-size-fits-all approach with STEM education.”

Chloe Latham Sikes, Ph.D.

“All of the anti-diversity, equity, inclusion laws and policies… have dismantled and defunded, high-quality programming. Those support systems are critical to STEM persistence for women and girls, and it’s under attack. It’s just a significant, massive loss of potential talent, ideas and perspectives.”

Alex De Jesus

Changing the State of Girls in STEM Through Access, Culture and Confidence, by Stephanie Garcia, Ph.D.

The State of Women & Girls in STEM Report, by National Girls Collaborative Project

STEM Equity – Online Technical Assistance Toolkit, IDRA

Student Engagement – Online Technical Assistance Toolkit, IDRA

Building an Ecosystem for Latina Prosperity. Latinitas Conversando podcast featuring Stephanie Garcia, Gabriela Kane Guardia, Johanna Moya Fábregas & Jaime Puente. South by Southwest Edu

STEM Ecosystems Foster Community Engagement for a Strong Future – Partner with a STEM Learning Ecosystem Near You!, August 31, 2022

Meaningful Strategies for Making STEM Accessible, October 30, 2020

Five Best Practices that Add Women to the Equation – Preparing K-12 Girls for Mathematics, May 29, 2019

To ensure you don’t miss a single episode of IDRA Classnotes, sign up to receive an e-mail alert as soon as a new show is published and subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, Spotify or Amazon Music.

The post What Shapes STEM Pathways for Girls – IDRA Classnotes Podcast Episode 254 appeared first on IDRA.

Classnotes Podcast (April 24, 2026) – Students, advocates and researchers examine how Texas Senate Bill 17 and related policy changes are affecting college access, campus climate and student support systems. The episode highlights student experiences, emerging research and efforts to sustain opportunity.

Resource from the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA), a nonprofit advancing education equity.

As diversity, equity, and inclusion policies in education face political backlash, Texas has become ground zero for some of the most sweeping changes. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to end race-conscious college admissions in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, Texas enacted Senate Bill 17, which bans diversity, equity and inclusion offices and programs at public colleges and universities. These moves, alongside additional state and federal actions, are already reshaping the educational landscape and putting college access further out of reach for many Texas students.

In this episode, IDRA education law intern Adiba Chowdhury and IDRA Deputy Director of Policy, Chloe Latham Sikes, Ph.D., are joined by Alexander De Jesus and Sameeha Rizvi, who both members of the Texas Students for DEI Coalition. They dissect the nature of recent legislative changes and their impact on Texas students. As a bonus, Dr. Sikes shares recent findings from IDRA’s ongoing study on the impact on SB 17, and Adiba shares testimony from college advisors who participated in the study.

Show length: 43:13 min.

Send comments to [email protected]

Sign up to receive free e-mail notices when new episodes are available.

“DEI didn’t appear out of nowhere. It’s because students had the guts… demand that fair access.”

Sameeha Rizvi

“We’ve heard high school students, advisors and parents say they’re worried about how their student can actually academically succeed in college if they don’t feel they even belong.”

Chloe Latham Sikes, Ph.D.

“What chilling effect is coming next? Where is the university going to silence me?”

Alex De Jesus

“It’s going to be exhausting, but this is a long-term movement. It’s not a moment. We have to keep on fighting. It didn’t start here. It doesn’t end here.”

Sameeha Rizvi

Texas Students for DEI website

Texas Students For DEI Mutual Aid Fund for Undocumented Students

IDRA infographic – Understanding Texas’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion Ban at Public Universities

Info on IDRA’s study – College Access Study on the Impact of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Restrictions

Practical tools schools can use now to help students transition to college –  IDRA’s Community-Based College Access – Online Technical Assistance Toolkit

Final research report – Staying on Course When Schools Steer Clear: A Community-Based Study on the Impacts of Texas’ Diversity Policy Change on High School Students and Tools to Expand their College Pathways, by Chloe Latham Sikes, Ph.D.

Research brief – Beyond the Bans – How Legal and Policy Changes Limiting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Practices Compromise Student Opportunity, by Chloe Latham Sikes, Ph.D., and Adiba Chowdhury

IDRA preliminary report – A Community-Based Study on the Impact of Texas’ SB 17 on Marginalized College-Going Students, by Chloe Latham Sikes, Ph.D.

To ensure you don’t miss a single episode of IDRA Classnotes, sign up to receive an e-mail alert as soon as a new show is published and subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, Spotify or Amazon Music.

The post Student Voices After DEI – The Law in Education – IDRA Classnotes Podcast Episode 253 appeared first on IDRA.

Classnotes Podcast (October 22, 2025). In the final episode of the series, IDRA Education Policy Fellows share what gives them hope and what comes next. After nine months of intense legislative advocacy, relationship building, and personal growth, they offer advice to others entering this work and reflect on how the fellowship changed their trajectories. Their stories are a powerful reminder that advocacy isn’t a moment, it’s a movement.

Mikayla Arciaga, M.A.Ed., Georgia Advocacy Director & Education Policy Fellows Coordinator, led the conversation with fellows: Vivek Datla, MPA, IDRA Education Policy Fellow – Regional, DeAndrea Byrd, IDRA Education Policy Fellow – Georgia, Isabelle Philip, IDRA Education Policy Fellow – Policy Communications, and Kaci Wright, M.Ed., IDRA Education Policy Fellow – Texas.

The IDRA groundbreaking Education Policy Fellows Program is changing the landscape of state education advocacy by training advocates with a commitment to and experience with communities of color to influence state laws and lead a powerful network of impacted communities. The 2024-25 cycle of this program is being generously supported by the Trellis Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Kresge Foundation.

Show length: 21:16 min

Send comments to [email protected]

IDRA 2024-25 Fellows – Bios and writings. Plus profiles brochure

IDRA Education Policy Fellows Program

Policy Whiplash in Georgia – The 2025 Session Delivered Education Gains, Losses and Looming Threats, with Terrence Wilson, J.D., Mikayla Arciaga, M.A.Ed., Isabelle Philip & Makiah Lyons, J.D., IDRA Newsletter, June-July 2025

Legislature Dances the Texas Three-Step: Defund, Demonize, Privatize Public Education, with Vivek Datla, MPA, IDRA Newsletter, June-July 2025

Student Voices on Public Policy, video feature by Trellis Foundation, May 2025

IDRA Education Policy Fellow Feature, video feature by Trellis Foundation, August 2025

Post-fellowship evaluation report of the program’s first cycle

To ensure you don’t miss a single episode of IDRA Classnotes, sign up to receive an e-mail alert as soon as a new show is published and subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, Spotify or Amazon Music.

The post The Work Ahead and the Hope That Fuels It – IDRA Classnotes Podcast Episode 252 appeared first on IDRA.

Classnotes Podcast (September 23, 2025). What does it take to turn passion into impact? In this episode, IDRA Education Policy Fellows reflect on what led them to apply for the fellowship, how they built new skills in education policy and what they learned along the way. From analyzing legislation to testifying in hearings, fellows explain how the program gave them tools to navigate power, center community voices and bring their lived experience to bear on real policy outcomes.

Mikayla Arciaga, M.A.Ed., Georgia Advocacy Director & Education Policy Fellows Coordinator, led the conversation with fellows: Vivek Datla, MPA, IDRA Education Policy Fellow – Regional, DeAndrea Byrd, IDRA Education Policy Fellow – Georgia, Isabelle Philip, IDRA Education Policy Fellow – Policy Communications, and Kaci Wright, M.Ed., IDRA Education Policy Fellow – Texas.

The IDRA groundbreaking Education Policy Fellows Program is changing the landscape of state education advocacy by training advocates with a commitment to and experience with communities of color to influence state laws and lead a powerful network of impacted communities. The 2024-25 cycle of this program is being generously supported by the Trellis Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Kresge Foundation.

Show length: 22:48 min

Send comments to [email protected]

IDRA 2024-25 Fellows – Bios and writings. Plus profiles brochure

IDRA Education Policy Fellows Program

Policy Whiplash in Georgia – The 2025 Session Delivered Education Gains, Losses and Looming Threats, with Terrence Wilson, J.D., Mikayla Arciaga, M.A.Ed., Isabelle Philip & Makiah Lyons, J.D., IDRA Newsletter, June-July 2025

Legislature Dances the Texas Three-Step: Defund, Demonize, Privatize Public Education, with Vivek Datla, MPA, IDRA Newsletter, June-July 2025

Student Voices on Public Policy, video feature by Trellis Foundation, May 2025

IDRA Education Policy Fellow Feature, video feature by Trellis Foundation, August 2025

Post-fellowship evaluation report of the program’s first cycle

To ensure you don’t miss a single episode of IDRA Classnotes, sign up to receive an e-mail alert as soon as a new show is published and subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, Spotify or Amazon Music.

The post From Lived Experience to Policy Change – Classnotes Podcast 251 appeared first on IDRA.

Classnotes Podcast (August 22, 2025). In this episode, IDRA Education Policy Fellows share their personal experiences as advocates of color in southern legislatures. They reflect on how their cultural identities shaped their work and how they found strength and clarity in the face of systemic exclusion, microaggressions, and performative policymaking.

With courage and community, these fellows turned marginalization into motivation and transformed policy spaces with authenticity and purpose.

Mikayla Arciaga, M.A.Ed., Georgia Advocacy Director & Education Policy Fellows Coordinator, led the conversation with fellows: Vivek Datla, MPA, IDRA Education Policy Fellow – Regional, DeAndrea Byrd, IDRA Education Policy Fellow – Georgia, Isabelle Philip, IDRA Education Policy Fellow – Policy Communications, and Kaci Wright, M.Ed., IDRA Education Policy Fellow – Texas.

The IDRA groundbreaking Education Policy Fellows Program is changing the landscape of state education advocacy by training advocates with a commitment to and experience with communities of color to influence state laws and lead a powerful network of impacted communities. The 2024-25 cycle of this program is being generously supported by the Trellis Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Kresge Foundation.

Show length: 24:32 min.

Send comments to [email protected]

IDRA 2024-25 Fellows – Bios and writings. Plus profiles brochure

IDRA Education Policy Fellows Program

Policy Whiplash in Georgia – The 2025 Session Delivered Education Gains, Losses and Looming Threats, with Terrence Wilson, J.D., Mikayla Arciaga, M.A.Ed., Isabelle Philip & Makiah Lyons, J.D., IDRA Newsletter, June-July 2025

Legislature Dances the Texas Three-Step: Defund, Demonize, Privatize Public Education, with Vivek Datla, MPA, IDRA Newsletter, June-July 2025

Student Voices on Public Policy, video feature by Trellis Foundation, May 2025

IDRA Education Policy Fellow Feature, video feature by Trellis Foundation, August 2025

Post-fellowship evaluation report of the program’s first cycle

To ensure you don’t miss a single episode of IDRA Classnotes, sign up to receive an e-mail alert as soon as a new show is published and subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, Spotify or Amazon Music.

The post Still We Show Up and Speak Out – Classnotes Podcast 250 appeared first on IDRA.