Square Pizza

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Welcome back to another episode of the #squarepizzapod. This week, guest host, Kim Perez is in conversation with Ana Silva Rey – CEO, Charlotte Bilingual Preschool, Anacecilia Liberato – Partnership Manager, SmartStart of Mecklenburg County, and Elisa Benitez – Newcomer Services Site Coordinator, Communities In Schools at PACE A Academy @ E.E. Waddell High School. In this episode, these three amazing women discuss the challenges and opportunities faced by newcomer families in Charlotte, especially in education.

 
In this episode:

• Discussing the challenges and opportunities faced by newcomer families in Charlotte, especially in education.
  • Learn about how different organizations are supporting immigrant and newcomer families.
• Insights on community resources and the work being done to support these families.
• Addressing barriers and how educational spaces in Charlotte are adapting to better accommodate newcomer families.
  • Discover how schools and community organizations are preparing to meet the needs of newcomers.

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GIVEAWAY - send us a message and let us know your favorite thing about the Square Pizza Pod. We are giving away SchermCo swag to the first three people that send us a note!

Welcome back to another episode of the #squarepizzapod. This week, Greg is in conversation with Mario Jovan Shaw, Founder & Coaching Consultant, Messy Roots. Messy Roots is a community that offers services to grow current and aspiring coaches of color.

In this episode:

• Shares his Teach For America experience
• Profound Gentlemen 
  • Building from the Ground Up: Mario reflects on the challenges and lessons learned while creating an impactful organization.
  • Effective Leadership: He discusses the importance of leading with intention and authenticity.
    • 1,000 male educators of color 
    • Multi-million $$$ budget
  • Self-Discovery: Personal experiences reveal the transformative nature of leadership.
• Messy Roots
  • Symbolism of the name
    • The intricate connections between a plant's roots and the complexities of leadership.
  • Designed for coaches and organizations
  • Messy Roota Podcast

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GIVEAWAY - send us a message and let us know your favorite thing about the Square Pizza Pod. We are giving away SchermCo swag to the first three people that send us a note!

Welcome back to another episode of the #squarepizzapod. This week, Greg is in conversation with Demetria Gallagher, VP, Innovation Ecosystems, VentureWell. VentureWell fosters collaboration among the best minds from research labs, classrooms, and beyond to advance innovation and entrepreneurship education and to provide unique opportunities for STEM students and researchers to fully realize their potential to improve the world.

In this episode:

• VentureWell
  • Course & Program (C&P) grants program, which provided over $15.2 million to 275 colleges and universities to further their I&E work. 
• Size + Scope of VentureWell
• Position + Responsibilities
  • VP, Innovation Ecosystems
• Innovation work with HBCUs and MSIs
• FLIPspace Advanced Mobility in NW Arkansas
  •  New pilot program focusing on specifically on addressing the transportation challenges of the region, offering participants the opportunity to develop and commercialize new mobility technologies that will shape the future of transportation.

Support the show

GIVEAWAY - send us a message and let us know your favorite thing about the Square Pizza Pod. We are giving away SchermCo swag to the first three people that send us a note!

Welcome back to another episode of the #squarepizzapod. Greg is stepping into the spotlight as the guest of the hour being interviewed by none other than Eric Gorman, the visionary Founder of Wily, as part of their popular Talk Tuesday series. Tune in to this engaging conversation to dive deep into Greg’s professional journey. Discover the behind-the-scenes stories of SchermCo's formative years, including the challenges and triumphs that shaped its evolution, and what is keeping Greg up at night.

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GIVEAWAY - send us a message and let us know your favorite thing about the Square Pizza Pod. We are giving away SchermCo swag to the first three people that send us a note!

The Square Pizza Pod welcomes back a guest who last appeared on July 17, 2020, Mo Green. Mo served as the executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation from 2016-2023. Prior to ZSR, Mo served more than seven years as superintendent of Guilford County Schools – the third largest district in North Carolina. He is now running for NC Superintendent of Public Instruction.

In this episode:

• Reasons for running for the position of NC Superintendent of Public Instruction
  • Current state of North Carolina's public schools
  • Severe underfunding (ranking 48th, 49th, and 46th in various metrics)
• Increased funding for vouchers that divert resources from public education
• His new vision that reveres public educators, enhances parent and community engagement, and addresses systemic challenges like teacher pay and working conditions
• Legal issues affecting education policy in NC
• Personal motivations

Support the show

GIVEAWAY - send us a message and let us know your favorite thing about the Square Pizza Pod. We are giving away SchermCo swag to the first three people that send us a note!

Welcome back to another episode of the #squarepizzapod. This week, Greg and Jia are in conversation with Kim Perez, SchermCo, Family Empowerment Associate. Kim has been a part of the team for over 6 months now!

In this episode: 

• Who is Kim Perez
• What brings her to this work
  • K-12 journey
• Why SchermCo
• Surprises about Schermco / being on this side of the work
  • Vulnerability with both school staff and community members
• Lessons learned over the past 6 months

Meet the team :)

Support the show

GIVEAWAY - send us a message and let us know your favorite thing about the Square Pizza Pod. We are giving away SchermCo swag to the first three people that send us a note!

Welcome back to another episode of #squarepizzapod. This week, guest host and Associate Director of Family Empowerment, Mathu Gibson, sits down with Cherie Graham (Chief of Instructional Support and Family Engagement) of Sugar Creek Charter School. Sugar Creek Charter School is one of the oldest charter schools in Charlotte, NC. 

Their mission is to eradicate generational poverty in the lives of their students by providing a rigorous education from kindergarten through 12th grade, focusing on academic preparation, college and career readiness, and life skills for success. On this episode, we discuss Graham's journey to education and the work she and Sugar Creek Charter are doing to empower families at their school.

In this episode: 

• Influence and story: 
  • Education journey
• Sugar Creek Charter School and communities 
  • What challenges families at SCCS face, + how is SCCS working to help families overcome them
• Vision and hope 
  • How she sees herself making a difference in the lives of families

Support the show

GIVEAWAY - send us a message and let us know your favorite thing about the Square Pizza Pod. We are giving away SchermCo swag to the first three people that send us a note!

Jia Lin-Bothe, our Director of Family Empowerment, is in conversation with three special guests from SchermCo's family empowerment work. The focus of this episode is to share insights + reflections from Innovate Public Schools’ Leadership Institute (April 2024).

• Parents from SchermCo’s family empowerment work
  • Governors’ Village STEM Academy: Deneka Sampson, Ayesha Scott
  • Ridge Road Middle School: Lisa Divers

In this episode:

• Intros 
• Innovate Public Schools + Leadership Institute
  • SchermCo has partnered with Innovate Public Schools and sent many parents and parent leaders to this training 
  • Training focused on community organizing, advocacy, civic leadership, and more
  • LI in February 2024 - 6 parents from our network completed this training
  • LI in April 2024 - another 20 parents from our network completed this training
• Reflections
  • Opportunity and experience
  • Expectations 
  • What has happened since then?
    • DS + AS - February LI
    • LD - April LI 

Check out Innovate Public Schools' work here: https://innovateschools.org/. 

Support the show

GIVEAWAY - send us a message and let us know your favorite thing about the Square Pizza Pod. We are giving away SchermCo swag to the first three people that send us a note!

Welcome back to another episode of the #squarepizzapod. This week, Greg and Taylor James are in conversation with Dr. Adrian Mims, Founder & CEO, The Calculus Project. The Calculus Project partners with school districts, parents, teachers, and partners to accelerate learning in mathematics for Black, Hispanic, and low-income students beginning in grade 7.

Fun fact: Taylor is an alum of The Calculus Project, and she went through the program in Boston when she was growing up. 

In this episode: 

• Dr. Mims + TCP
  • History + Context
  • Scope and scale of TCP
  • Outcomes of TCP
• Taylor + TCP
  • Her experience growing up and attending schools in Boston
  • Why she joined TCP
• SchermCo + TCP Partnership 
  • Earned Revenue Model(s) + Strategy
  • Reflections on process + outcomes
  • Wins 

Support the show

GIVEAWAY - send us a message and let us know your favorite thing about the Square Pizza Pod. We are giving away SchermCo swag to the first three people that send us a note!

Jia Lin-Bothe, our Director of Family Empowerment, is in conversation with two special guests from SchermCo's family empowerment work. Keiba Young is a parent from one of our partner schools last year and attended the Parent Leadership Institute training in March 2023.
 
In this episode:
This episode features Keiba's insights and reflections from this powerful training. Arleen Vargas joins us from Innovate Public Schools to share more about the upcoming Leadership Institute, taking place April 11-13, 2024.

Check out Innovate Public Schools' work here: https://innovateschools.org/. 

Support the show