Too Dope Teachers and a Mic

This week, we are fortunate to bring you a conversation with Denver Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Alex Marrero! It is unusual to break down the walls between leadership and teachers across the system, but our new supah-intendent is game! Listen to his story, as a kid from the Bronx who became a district leader. Hear what he has to say about staff shortages and teacher evaluations. Hear his Top Five Rappers. But most importantly, hear his two invitations and challenges to us! Hope everyone has a good week!

This week, we are fortunate to bring you a conversation with Denver Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Alex Marrero! It is unusual to break down the walls between leadership and teachers across the system, but our new supah-intendent is game! Listen to his story, as a kid from the Bronx who became a district leader. Hear what he has to say about staff shortages and teacher evaluations. Hear his Top Five Rappers. But most importantly, hear his two invitations and challenges to us!Hope everyone has a good week!

We’re back this week with some things on our minds. It’s November, but for so many educators, it feels more like February. We are aging and exhausting quickly. In the first segment, we discuss mental health. The struggles, the challenges before us, and what can be done to protect and heal the spirits of teachers, students, and communities. We shout out the professionals doing the important work, but caution that heroism only goes so far. There is a mental health reckoning that we must face. In the second segment, we discuss another reckoning: the racial one. Using the “two sides of the Holocaust” front of the culture wars, we share ways in which teaching truth and honesty may heal our nation. It is a terrifying time, but we can be a part of this important humanizing work. This episode is brought to you by our amazing patrons, as well as Quetzal Education Consulting! Check them out at quetzalec.com for a free consultation.

We're back this week with some things on our minds. It's November, but for so many educators, it feels more like February. We are aging and exhausting quickly. In the first segment, we discuss mental health. The struggles, the challenges before us, and what can be done to protect and heal the spirits of teachers, students, and communities. We shout out the professionals doing the important work, but caution that heroism only goes so far. There is a mental health reckoning that we must face.In the second segment, we discuss another reckoning: the racial one. Using the "two sides of the Holocaust" front of the culture wars, we share ways in which teaching truth and honesty may heal our nation. It is a terrifying time, but we can be a part of this important humanizing work.This episode is brought to you by our amazing patrons, as well as Quetzal Education Consulting! Check them out at quetzalec.com for a free consultation.

We are so humbled and blessed to bring you this conversation with the inimitable Dr. Gholdy Muhammad, author of Cultivating Genius, a seminal work in antiracist and abolitionist pedagogy. Dr. Muhammad shares with us a new vision of what teaching may look like. Dr. Muhammad discusses the potential to develop living teaching frameworks, and ways to cultivate genius for ALL students. A keeper. And a fire top five. Check. It. Out.

Michael Diaz-Rivera was a brilliant and respected teacher with a reputation for empowering and inspiring his Black and Latinx students. He rose quickly to prominence for his unapologetic radical love for his community and our children. A frequent advocate and organizer for his professional association, school, and district, Michael was featured in local stories across the city for his tireless advocacy and sacrifice for his communities. Things went south, as they often do for Black educators. His outspoken nature landed him under thee microscope and he found his former allies turning from him. He departed teaching this summer. The classic Lauryn Hill lyric “ya might win some, but ya just lost one” springs to mind. Michael will be okay. Maybe even better. But will we?

Michael Diaz-Rivera was a brilliant and respected teacher with a reputation for empowering and inspiring his Black and Latinx students. He rose quickly to prominence for his unapologetic radical love for his community and our children. A frequent advocate and organizer for his professional association, school, and district, Michael was featured in local stories across the city for his tireless advocacy and sacrifice for his communities.Things went south, as they often do for Black educators. His outspoken nature landed him under thee microscope and he found his former allies turning from him. He departed teaching this summer. The classic Lauryn Hill lyric "ya might win some, but ya just lost one" springs to mind.Michael will be okay. Maybe even better. But will we?

We. Are. Back. We follow the wildest school year on record with thee wildest return to school on record. Amid social unrest, some on silly ish like masks, some more insidious, like attacks on educators and communities of color, we're back with students, masked and maintaining flexibility as we live and work on the knife's edge. Things are hard, y'all. And we got jokes.

If you are a Latinx or Chicanx/Xicanx person, you probably remember the very moment you first read Luís J. Rodríguez's Always Running, La Vida Loca: Gang Days in LA. For me, it was when I had just finished college and happened upon a copy at my school. I had just read Monster: The Autobiography of an LA Gang Member, written by Sanyika Shakur, and I was searching, unwittingly, for a way to humanize and process the environment that was my home for my entire childhood and adolescence. Always Running shook me to the core, and I remember thinking how fortunate I was to have stayed away from "that life" as a youth. As I have grown as a writer and educator, I've learned the power of healing, storytelling, and bearing witness to the consequences of systemic racism and capitalism. Don Luís has long given me the words to explain the pain and sadness I feel to this day when I think of where I grew up. I messaged him on Instagram, not expecting any kind of response, but there it was. Almost immediately this brilliant and humble veterano of movements and cells agreed to come on the show and gave me more time than I could have ever hoped for. I have reached out to other towering figures in the arts and scholarship, but Luis will stay with me a long time, because he was so ready to speak. This elder is a gift. Please enjoy this charla.

When I first learned of the "I notice/I wonder" approach, I was not aware that the concept had really gained traction as a math practice in the work of Annie Fetter. Fetter, who trained to become a teacher but quickly became one of its most humanistic and revolutionary trainer-experts, had revealed that allowing students the space and freedom to simply describe what they see in a math lesson deepened their learning, made the work relevant, and yielded positive results. I always had a feeling about this; traditionally I used "notice and wonder" in my history classes, but far from the 10-15 minutes it was supposed to take while I took attendance, handed out graded work, and provided materials for the "real" lesson, 45 minutes would go by until I finally ended the discussion to get to the "real work." When Kevin and I interviewed LaChanda Garrison for the Too Dope Teachers and a Mic podcast, she shared Annie's name to illustrate a humanizing and culturally responsive method for teaching math. I went to YouTube immediately and found a treasure trove of presentations, workshops, and articles. "What do you notice/what do you wonder" was the praxis I always wanted and never knew it. A couple of Twitter and Zoom conversations later, here we are. Annie, brilliant, unique and determined, joins me for a conversation that will disrupt all your long-held assumptions about math instruction and schooling more generally. Do not miss this one!

Jaer Armstead-Jones is the definition of persistent. He has experienced life's struggles and beauty alike. He has found healing through spirituality and creativity. And over the past few years, he has been writing tirelessly, consistently, and patiently to put a story into the universe. Drawing on experiences lived both by him and others, My Invisible Father asks important questions of fatherhood, masculinity, intersectionality, forgiveness, and healing. We have the distinct honor and privilege to hear Jaer's story and life path, as well as reflect on our own. Plus a fire top five.

Just wanna tell you that the mixtape doesn't have a specific order. Track 2, the one we did SECOND, is very meta and reflective. In the winter of 2020, Asia approached us with an idea. Having been forced from her teaching position a few years before, Asia was keenly aware of the conditions faced by Black teachers in these schools. This has been the basis of some of her research around Dr. William Smith's work on Racial Battle Fatigue, and she had decided that these stories MUST be told. Thus was born the wildly successful Exit Interview series. We wanted to examine ways in which this work has impacted Kevin and Asia. How have these stories impacted them? Do you feel inspired? Upset? Disappointed? All of the above? As we return to the classroom this fall, we know that there are fewer Black teachers for the reasons outlined in this series. Plus a fire Top Five.

Owen is a quintessential disruptor. Owen is punk rock. Owen radiates love and revolution, which is why he is the Michigan Teacher of the Year for 2021. If you haven't had the please of hearing his ideas, learning about his message and platform, you are truly missing out. He is funny, brilliant, and ready to burn some things down for justice. Since recording this episode, we did indeed attend Space Camp, and it was a blast and we did disrupt some stuff!

We are beyond blessed and fortunate to bring you our much-anticipated interview with the venerable and brilliant Angela Watson, who has been working to abolish the notion of the teacher as martyr for years. Her 40 Hour Teacher Workweek program saved Gerardo's teaching career, ultimately helping him to be named the 2021 Colorado Teacher of the Year, and she stands poised, in the wake of her recent book publication, to roll out the Cornerstone for Teachers, a wide-spanning and comprehensive effort to make the work of the teacher sustainable. But far from being the Marie Kondo of education, Angela also shows up daily as a co-conspirator looking to abolish White Supremacy in education. In this lively and inspiring episode, Angela chats with Gerardo and Guest host Brooke Brown, 2021 Washington State Teacher of the Year about the state of education today. This episode is a must listen, with a towering yet humble figure in education today.

Since coming to Colorado and hoping to become an educator, Jenny Medrano has been at the forefront of change and liberatory thinking and youth development. We first crossed paths when she mentored youth leaders as a part of Building Bridges, later Shift, and has recently struck out on her own, in a world desperate for a new kind of healing. In this expansive conversation, we discuss healing advocacy, and listening to one's inner child. We discuss disruption for social justice and human development deeply and in new ways. And we get a fire top five!

YALL READY FOR THIS?? Track 3 of the mixtape is FIRE, pure and simple. We sit with Elijah Wright and Hasadiah Israel for an encompassing, energetic, funny, engaging and convicting conversation. It is rare for authentic cross-generational exchange to occur, especially for teachers. We often act on the assumption that because we are in the presence of young people, that we engage in such exchange, but in this forum, we are truly on equal ground. Hasadiah and Elijah bring brilliance, commitment, humor, and passion to this track of the mixtape. We are reminded of how crucial it is to struggle toward liberation, and to take joy in the struggle, and trust that the community sees our work, not only our words. To be free is to be one's authentic self, and these young men practice freedom at every turn. A note: If you have young children around, you may not find some of the language to be age-appropriate. We are committed to providing space for Black and Brown thinkers, creators, innovators and activists to be their authentic selves, and sometimes that means that they will use profanity.

Space Camp was soooooo much fun. Gerardo made new friends, solidified relationships with old ones, and the general feeling of the 2021 State Teachers of the Year was positivity, solidarity, joy, and a newfound exuberance about what education and educators could be. Though not every Teacher of the Year could be present, it was a special gathering of special spirits that could have lived on as a pristine moment of joy and perfection in an increasingly traumatized, frightened and uncertain world. Until departure day, when American Samoa 2021 Teacher of the Year Sabrina Suluai-Mahuka learned that her flight home was canceled. She was told abruptly and in no uncertain terms that there was no hotel provided, no ground transportation, no meal vouchers (it seems relevant to state here that the only restaurant in the Huntsville airport had its kitchen closed). Disappointed and discouraged, Sabrina braced herself for a long night ahead, probably sleeping with one eye open as she awaited a flight home. Moments later, she learned that our colleague Anthony Coy-Gonzalez, the Ohio Teacher of the Year with a sweet smile and even sweeter disposition, was offered hotel, transport, and meal vouchers "before I even had a chance to ask." Good friends, the two of them shared experiences and both realized that implicit bias had once again reared it's ugly head. After a flurry of social media posts and DM exchanges between American Airlines and Sabrina and her allies, a brief "investigation" yielded a borderline insulting result. Sabrina, however, has remained resolute in her determination to see systemic change happen. With Kev out of town, Gerardo is joined by guest host Brooke Brown, 2021 Washington State Teacher of the Year, to share Sabrina's story. Please listen to the end, as there are ways that you too may #StandWithBrina.

Kevin and Asia have been hosting The Exit Interview for the last few months. The Exit Interview is a TooDope Production that was formulated by Asia as part of her doctoral work around Racial Battle Fatigue, Dr. William Smith's concept of the labor and burden that is disproportionately shouldered by educators of color, especially Black teachers. The Exit Interview is profound, emotional, and authentic. There are enough stories to fill a book. Kevin and Asia open up about their own learning as a part of gathering these stories, and share the implications of anti-Blackness across the system personally, professionally, and systemically. To support work like the Exit Interview, go to www.patreon.com/toodopeteachers.

Kimberly Dickstein-Hughes, the 2020 New Jersey State Teacher of the Year, brings joyous and disruptive energy to her work, both in her school and the teaching community at large. Whether helping students think critically about Shakespeare or facilitating their own engaged and authentic work, "Kimmy D" is a transformative force in the lives of her students, and for public school educators everywhere. Join us for a fun conversation that we simply did not want to end! To support this TooDope Production, head over to patreon.com/toodopeteachers.

Asia and Kevin's interview with Dr. William Smith of the University of Utah was so saturated with wisdom that we brought him back for a part II! Dr. Smith has probably forgotten more about racism and education than we currently know, and for that reason, we decided that a single conversation cannot hold him! In this conversation, Dr. Smith shares his wisdom, doing a deep-dive into Racial Battle Fatigue. He discusses a litany of topics, including his rebuttal of the notion that Racial Battle Fatigue is analogous to post-traumatic stress disorder and the various manifestations of RBF, behavioral, psychological and physiological. He reveals that addressing racism as it is experienced by Black educators and their communities requires an honest look back over centuries, as opposed to reading a book or having a community circle in professional development. Get out your notebooks; Dr. Smith is going to take you to school with this one.

The 2021 Summer Revolution Mixtape is here! Track 1 features the brilliant, insightful, funny and honest Desmond Williams, author of The Burning House: Educating Black Boys in Modern America, founder of Nylinka Educational consulting and former principal. This conversation is in-depth, so pace yourself! We discuss, well, everything, from trauma to institutional racism to self-employment to hip hop. If you are looking for new ways to imagine education, this episode is IT.

And in the blink of an eye, we have reached 100 episodes. In this season finale, we reminisce about the good times, the funny times, the difficult times, and the moments of inspiration. As we help you reflect on this, the wildest and most difficult year that anyone can remember, we take a look back as we look forward. We have each made a list: Our ten most memorable moments since December 2016, when the podcast went live. Some of these are episodes and interviews, other items are places we have gone and people with whom we have connected. But there is a catch: we did not share our lists with each other ahead of time. Listen as we reflect and close the year. Thank you for staying dope with us for yet another season.

Equity is the goal for nearly every diverse school district in the country. As the ripple effects of generational trauma and systemic oppression continue to be felt in communities of color, especially Black and Brown communities, districts like the Denver Public Schools have created positions and offices of equity, inclusion, or both. Dr. Darlene Sampson, equity specialist coordinator at the Western Educational Equity Assistance Center and a clinical field faculty in the Department of Social Work at Metropolitan State University of Denver, was once the director of Culturally Responsive Education in Denver Public Schools, bringing with her three decades of experience to a vitally important office, especially as the district sought to end generational inequity and trauma within the school system. In 2006 she stepped into the position, confident and excited to begin the work that not only was she was she passionate about, she had lived it, growing up in Pueblo, Colorado where "there were not that many of us." Soon, she discovered that her employer was not prepared to do the work. They were not ready for her greatness, which is to say that they did not establish the conditions under which true Culturally Responsive Education could grow. Instead of building a space for liberation, she describes her daily work as a battle ground, and even finds the term "Racial Battle Fatigue" to fall short in describing what she experienced. It was a plantation experience. Today, Dr. Sampson shares with us her experiences fighting the good fight, the correct fight, and the work in which she is currently engaged. She harbors no ill will; she simply realizes that her employers were simply not prepared for what Culturally Responsive work required.

Welcome to the Habitually Disruptive podcast, hosted by me, 2021 Colorado Teacher of the Year Gerardo Muñoz. This TooDopeProduction aims to celebrate and amplify folx disrupting traditional education in favor of liberation and change for ALL students. In this pilot episode, I interview Aspen High School's Tameira Wilson, a seventeen year veteran who has dedicated her career to teaching multicultural curriculum to her students, who are more diverse than you may realize. We talk racism, COVID-19, Black Lives Matter, and law enforcement, plus a fire top five. Read more about Tameira Wilson's journey: aspentimes.com/news/black-educator-works-to-bring-more-multicultural-learning-perspectives-to-aspen-schools/ Royalty-Free music composed by Ketsa.

About 14 months ago, COVID-19 brought school as we knew it to a grinding halt. In the weeks and months that followed, the US education system scrambled to adapt, modernize, move all school operations online and generally attempt to continue business as usual over video calls and virtual learning platforms. We struggled with this. If you caught our episode "Pump the Brakes" in the spring, we expressed concern about this rush to continue schooling in the manner. In July, the Education for Liberation Network broadcast a webinar titled "Repurposing Our Pedagogies" and among the brilliant voices sharing wisdom was the brilliant and loving Marylin Zúñiga, who declared that she "would not participate in business as usual." She declared, along with other voices in the space that it was time to "decolonize time" and to maintain home as "a sacred place for healing." Marylin has moved with authenticity, spirituality, and swiftness since being a little girl who frankly, did not like school, to being a transformative and spiritual abolitionist voice in a wilderness that seeks only economic recovery and capitalist salvation at all costs. This conversation will move you, because it isn't just about school, and it isn't just about struggle and abolition and justice. It is about a humanizing "place of love" that transcends our fleeting institutions and dares to imagine a life worth living, with healing, in community. You can check out the work of Marylin, Dani, and Anna at Quetzal Education Consulting, and you can follow Marylin and Quetzal on Instagram for regular inspiration. And you can support their organization by spreading the word about this great work.

It has been a long time coming, mostly because scheduling has been a steep learning curve for Gerardo. In this interview, we compare notes on being state teacher of the year, leading authentically, and tying the mental health needs of our students directly to the work we do in our classrooms.

This week, we bring you the amazing story of Somali-Muslim-Canadian educator and children's book author Hodo Hussein. She joins us from a lockdown in Canada, where she describes the situation as 'uncertain' and 'indecisive.' During the course of a wonderfully insightful interview, we discuss representation of Muslim educators and communities, creativity, and following one's dreams in hard times. It should be noted that Hodo did not set out to become a writer, but when she was separated from her students at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, she decided to take a creative approach to keeping a connection, affirming their sadness at no longer having school, and even improving their math skills. Her wonderful debut book, Manal Mahal and the Double Cookie Party is an affirmation of children's feelings and willingness to go on in hard times. Plus good laughs and a fire top five!

This is a real special episode of the Exit Interview! Asia and Kevin talk with Dr. William A. Smith, professor of Education and Ethnic Studies at the University of Utah. Dr. Smith, who developed some of the most profound research around the concept of Racial Battle Fatigue, shares his research, insights and experiences tracking this phenomenon. In this profound and wide-ranging conversation, Dr. Smith discusses a veritable library of topics, so many that we decided to expand this conversation to two parts (Part II will be out this summer--stay tuned!). He shares his perspectives on the positioning of school leaders and teachers in regard to revolutionary action. He shares his thoughts on Black representation in film as a pacifying force. He names the genocidal actions taken against Black people both past and present. Throughout this conversation with this next level scholar, the learning is strong, the struggle In contextualized, and the inspiration is total. Tune in!

Zaira Najera is a graduating senior at Eagle Valley High School in Gypsum, Colorado. Her family comes from Mexico and she is a first generation American, as well as a first generation college student. She co-founded and currently serve as co-chair for a club called SPICE (Students Promoting Inclusion and Civic Engagement) at EVHS, as well as a member of Youth Celebrate Diversity’s Student Virtual Board and YouthPower365 with their Leadership Team at Eagle Valley High School. Zaira was recently awarded the prestigious Princeton Prize for Race Relations, which honors a handful of high school students across the country for their efforts to improve race relations in the communities. In 2021, only 29 high school students across the country won the award. Zaira speaks with Gerardo about her commitment to social justice, her own experiences with racism and discrimination, and her desire to continue to work in community with others, as well as an excellent top five.

Marianna Lucero really didn't have any interest in the arts, or in drama class. But she had a teacher who insisted. As Marianna continued through her education and adult life, she found that she could not cut the arts out of her life. She became a teacher, responsible for teaching ALL the arts at her Southwest Denver elementary school. And as she connected with students, their families, and their communities, something special started to happen. Students who had gone on to middle school visited, telling her how much they missed her class, how much they missed her, and playfully suggesting, "Miss, why don't you just keep teaching us?" In fact their enthusiasm was so real that it inspired her to pursue a Moonshot fellowship and establish In Lak'ech Denver Arts. In this dynamic and inspiring episode, Marianna talks to Gerardo about her path to the arts, and her eventual arrival to a place where she was poised to make a real difference in the lives of kids and her community. Plus a FIRE top five.

After months and months of discussion, community listening, planning, and research, the Denver Public Schools Board of Education stands poised to make a decision that could improve the future prospects of countless young people of color in our city. With the support of Ednium, the non-profit alumni collective organized by TeRay Esquibel, Denver could have graduation requirements in Ethnic Studies and Financial Literacy as early as 2023. All that remains is an important Board vote in June, and it could happen. Ednium threw up the TooDope Bat Signal, and we are here to amplify this work. Listen to this episode, and then tweet or post using the hashtag #ifihadknown, followed by your story of how you would have benefitted from Ethnic Studies, Financial Literacy, or both. Be sure to tag @tayandersonco, @drolson4dps, @anhelacob, @revbrad, @bacon4co, @obrien4co, @scott4schools. Be sure to include @edniumalumni, @teray_esq and of course, @toodopeteachers when you do!

Heavy day yesterday. We reluctantly and ambivalently process the day after former police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted on all counts in the murder of George Floyd in 2020. We listen to each other, share honest reflections and come to you in all our uncertainty and emotion. We hope you are processing in a healthy way, in a good way, and we understand if you feel you must skip this episode. Much love to you all. We have so long to go, and we have to keep going.

Do you find yourself weary of the "self-care" pronouncements made in education? How many Starbucks gift cards before I feel relaxed, positive and enthusiastic? How many baths before the grinding sense of defeat fades away and I can show up like a Hollywood movie teacher? If I practice mindful breathing until I hyperventilate, am I doing it wrong? And why do I feel uncontrollable hostility to people who work out every morning, and proceed to tell, like EVERYONE about it? The fact is that self-care is only a small part of the issue of social and emotional wellness in education. We have attended professional development sessions, taken steps to address our students' social and emotional needs, and some schools and districts have even stated that they will adopt SEL curriculum for the foreseeable future. So why don't educators feel any better? In an illuminating roundtable discussion with the Center for Cognitive Diversity's Emily Santiago, school leader Dr. David Gutierrez and doctoral student Paulina Whitehat, Gerardo seeks a deeper understanding of the social and emotional needs of teachers, and how school leaders may better create the conditions for true social and emotional wellness and support. By sharing their own research-based insights, experiences, and specific programs and practices, the panel delves deeply into a neglected and understated issue. With over 40% of teachers stating that they will depart the profession in 2021, this episode is a must-listen.

One of the understated stories of the 2020 election cycle was the rising tide of youth activism and participation in what was considered a crucial election. Beyond the top of the ticket, a number of state and local resolutions had massive implications for young would-be voters. Across the country, electorates have been considering lowering the voting age. While this is not a new effort, various cities across the United States have considered a change to the electorate. In some places, voters sixteen and up would be allowed to vote in certain circumstances, like school board elections. In others, there were proposals to allow young citizens sixteen and up to vote in any and all elections. In Colorado, some of Kevin and Gerardo's students voted in the 2020 election, because they would be 18 by election day. However, part of the fallout from November 3 was the passage of Amendment 76. While the amendment was regarded as uncontroversial by some, it has dire implications for historically disenfranchised voters, as well as young voters. Project VOYCE, whose motto "Nothing About Us Without Us" brilliantly characterizes its ethos, philosophy, and commitment, has been working on campaigns to expand youth voice across the system, including Student Voice Student Vote (SV2). These brilliant young activists and policymakers have worked hard to amplify a dynamic and needed demographic: the youth of our community. Amendment 76 represented a gut-punch for Malachi Ramirez and the rest of the young activists at Project VOYCE and they found that a lot of their could be nullified by this amendment. They were forced to regroup, and the result has been the SV2 Listening Campaign, in which youth are invited to share their experiences, struggles, dreams, and concerns as they not only approach adulthood, but as they face and address issues TODAY. Kevin and Gerardo sit down with Malachi to learn more. To participate in this campaign, please complete this survey! Listen and support at https://www.studentvoicestudentvote.org/. More information can be found at https://www.studentvoicestudentvote.org/

Rodney has over 20 years experience as an educator with Richmond Public Schools. He graduated from King William High School in rural Virginia in 1996. He received a bachelor’s degree in history from Virginia State University in 2000 and a master’s in educational administration and Supervision from VCU in 2011. He started teaching at Virgie Binford Education Center in 2015, a school inside Richmond Juvenile Detention Center, in an effort to better understand the school to prison pipeline. His classroom is a collaborative partnership between him and the students. He provides a civic centered education that promotes social-emotional growth. The knowledge he is gaining from his students is also helping develop alternative programs to keep students from becoming part of the school to prison pipeline. His accomplishments in education vary from his professional growth to his students’ personal growth. He has been published four times by Yale University. He has received numerous awards for his accomplishments in and out of the classroom, most notably the R.E.B. Award for Teaching Excellence. He has worked with Pulitzer winning author James Foreman to develop curriculum units on race, class, and punishment as a part of the Yale Teacher’s Institute. He was named the 2019 National Teacher of the Year by the Council of Chief States Schools’ Officers. He used his time as teacher of the year to advocate for cultural equity to make sure students have teachers and administrators who look like them and value their culture. He was recently named HBCU male alumnus of the year by HBCUdigest.com. He was also named #8 on the Root magazine’s Top 100 influential African Americans of 2019. Last December he was named Richmonder of the Year by Richmond Magazine. He is currently a senior advisor with Richmond Public Schools. He has started the RVA Men Teach Program to recruit and retain male teachers of color in Richmond Public Schools. He is also working with the district to implement anti racist policies and pedagogy. His passion is helping the underprivileged and underrepresented populations in America. We get a chance to chill with Rodney, laugh, get deep and of course, a fire top five rappers. Follow Rodney on Twitter @RodRobinsonRVA and on Instagram @rodrobinsonva, and at https://rodrobinsonrva.com/

Welcome to Episode 4 of the Exit Interview with Asia Lyons and Kevin Adams! This week we hear Shalelia Dillard share her story. It is a similar refrain for Black educators who have experienced institutional alienation and rejection within the education system. We invite you to listen and take in her story of optimism, belief in schooling as an equalizer and in her own brilliance and talents to provide a quality education for children generally, only to see her confidence and professionalism come under attack by the same forces that permeate our system. But, as we have seen during the life of this podcast, the process has been liberatory while still painful. Shalelia has discovered that most dangerous of discoveries: that it is possible to continue to be an educator without teaching in a school. She shares her inspirational path and reminds us of what it means to be not an industry artist, but an artist in the industry. Catch the Exit Interview monthly in the Too Dope Teachers and a Mic feed. The Exit Interview is a production of Too Dope Media. Music composed and performed by Kevin Adams

This week, Kevin and Gerardo connect with Dr. Apryl Alexander, professor and researcher of Forensic Psychology at the University of Denver. Initially, we hoped to discuss Social/Emotional Learning and Trauma-Informed practice as we prepare for a possible increase in in-person teaching and learning, as well as a potential full return to in-person schooling in the fall. What we got was so much more. Dr. Alexander challenges prevailing notions around trauma and sexual violence, comprehensive sex education, and her assertion, as articulated in her writing and TED Talk, that "sexual violence is preventable." We discuss all that not only as it pertains to a return to in-person schooling, but as it pertains to education more generally going forward. Plus a FIRE top five.

In this emergency episode, Gerardo hosts a roundtable with five Asian American/Pacific Islander-identifying educators from across the United States to discuss the horrific murders of eight Asian and Asian American people in Atlanta a few days ago. Carla, Erika, Tran, John, and Kim share their stories of struggle, triumph, purpose, pain, and invisibility as this threat of violence and death hangs over them, as is has over all Asians since they first came to these shores. In this episode, they express pain, anger, frustration, disappointment, and more than any other emotion, numbness. The draw critical connections to a larger AAPI Civil Rights struggle, acts of murder and violence faced by their community, and ways in which anti-Asian hate and violence are acceptable in our world, as they have always been. This episode is heart-wrenching and inspirational. Listen today and stand in solidarity with our AAPI neighbors and friends.

Just the fellas today. This harrowing adventure of schooling during a pandemic is fraught with contradiction, anxiety, frustration, joy, disappointment and doing one's best with what one has. We engage in some real talk around returning to in-person schooling, including our own experiences, as well as across the country. Additionally, we shout-out our financial supporters with nicknames (can you find yours?) and look ahead to the final weeks of school. Don't call it a comeback! Actually, call it a come back. Because we're literally coming back...to school buildings...

To talk with LaChanda Garrison, the 2021 Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA), is to be taken to school by next-level brilliance, compassion and intellectual and spiritual depth. Her story is unique and fascinating, and reminded us that each person has a unique path and set of experiences. A self-proclaimed "military kid," LaChanda shares her story of racial insecurity and a desire to "be received" and be seen for who she is. We could not be prepared for the deeply honest and open experiences that LaChanda shared. She shares stories of her biracial identity, her work in the "family business" of DODEA teaching, and living in Bahrain. She shares her praxis of student-centered, relationship-driven mathematics instruction, and takes us to school. And finally, a wonderfully constructed Top Five rappers/performers that gives us even more of a glimpse into this amazing spirit. A longer episode, and worth every second.

Being a Black educator in the American system of schooling will test the faith of the strongest. In this powerful episode, Doctoral candidate Donna Druery (who has her defense the day after this episode!) shares the long journey through education that ultimately ended with her departure. She shares upsetting experiences, ranging from the hostile to the absurd. An excellent educator once highly recruited and touted as exceptional in her context, she experienced what so many Black educators experience. Her professionalism was not simply questioned, but outright attacked. She was the subject of gossip among White teachers. For over a decade she found herself in a textbook abusive relationship with her job. At times, she felt that "we were turning a corner" only to find herself attacked again. Listeners will find resonance with Donna's story. The "constant strategizing" simply to be heard in her community the physical manifestations of her racial battle trauma. Through it all Donna's faith carried her to a degree that is jarring and powerful. Don't miss this episode of the Exit Interview!

Juliana Urtubey's family came to the United States to escape the Civil War in Colombia. Their transition was aided by existing citizenship, and Juliana has made the most of her opportunity, not only in her own educational attainment, but as a highly skilled and accomplished elementary educator. She brings a different energy, one that is completely consistent with her nickname "Ms. Earth" a moniker given her by a student. She is a person of many worlds, who crosses borders daily in her quest to humanize the schooling process in Nevada, where she is the first Latinx educator to be named Nevada Teacher of the Year. She is also one of the four national finalists for National Teacher of the Year, and this interview tells you only SOME of what you need to know about this well-deserved distinction. Over the course of an energetic, healing and fun conversaton, Juliana shares her experiences with community gardening at the school, National Board Certification, grassroots teaching and learning, humanizing pedagogies, and teaching to thrive in a space where multiple worlds meet. You will love her insights and stories!

As a young college student, LaGarrett King knew somethin was up. A student of history who had a profound understanding of himself as a complex human being, he knew that the version and framework of history he was being offered in his program was limiting and myopic. "I didn't have the language" he explains, "but I knew there was more to it." As a teacher, "I was on the traditional track for a Black male educator," which meant administration, but after a few months "checkin hall passes" he decided that he wanted to dig more deeply into the work of studying and understanding Black Historical Consciousness. Now Associate Professor of Social Studies Education at the University of Missouri and founder of the Carter Center for K-12 Black History Education, Dr. King is setting schools ablaze with powerful abolitionist ideas around the importance of Black Historical Consciousness. He dives deep into contentious, unsettling historical study and drops so many gems we thought we'd just robbed a museum! Gerardo and Kevin had the experience of hearing Dr. King teach at professional development, and now you get to hear his ideas. Get a pencil and paper, because class is in session!

The systematic attack on Black teachers continues across education, and the great city of Denver is no exception. The ways in which Black and Brown teachers are often scapegoated and experience proxy attacks on the communities from which we come and which we serve. The designation of schools with Black and Brown student populations, and those which employ Black and Brown educators as "low performing," "not meeting" or, locally, "red" is a well-established and researched problem in our system. We sit down with secondary teacher Neelah Ali, one of the founding members of Denver's Black Educators Caucus, about the continued marginalization of Black teachers within our system and the caucus' recent #dpssoracist campaign. Neelah speaks at length about stories shared with the caucus regarding atrocities committed against Black teachers, especially in the form of stereotypes, professional bullying and other microaggressions felt keenly in most schools which employ Black and Brown educators. Follow the BEC, the hashtag on Facebook, and support Denver's Black educators!

Analise Harris embodies Black genius, Black ingenuity, and a resilience. Always socially conscious and connected to her community, Analise entered the education system through alternative means after studying sociology in college. Having worked with the NAACP and other advocacy organizations, we in education were bless to have her join our ranks and work with children every day. She was impactful immediately and beloved by her students and parent community. Then, as occurs so often with Black women teachers, things went south. The gossip. The microaggressions that became outright hostility. In a wrenching conversation that lays bare the pain shouldered by Black women educators, Analise shares in stark and unapologetic detail her harrowing journey from star teacher to persona non grata. Even today, she expresses bewilderment at the ways in which she was treated, as she re-lives the trauma of being run out of the classroom. But she never wavered in her commitment, her goals, and her certainty that she was doing right by her students. Listen as she turns her pain and struggle into one of the most exciting STEAM programs in the area. She now looks to "corner the market" that schools simply refuse to see. This is a powerful, painful, but ultimately inspirational story of healing and creative genius. Do not miss this one! Hosted by Asia Lyons and Kevin Adams Produced by Gerardo A. Muñoz

It's mid-season, and we got so much on our mind that we just can't recline. This podcast has its roots in brain dumping the things we see, feel, and experience over the course of a year. It's a necessary catharsis, release of anxieties, celebrations, frustrations that is frenetic and healing all at once. Plus Kidz Bop M.O.P.

Ki Gross is clear on many things. They are here to serve Black and Brown children, their families, and communities. They center healing and radical love of Black and Brown babies. They create spaces for all manner of Black, Brown, and LGBTQIA+ folx. We've been excited about Ki's work since we first heard of Woke Kindergarten on the Abolitionist Teaching Network's podcast hosted by Dr. Bettina L. Love, and are deeply honored and humbled to conversate on the show with them. We were not prepared for the deeply spiritual and healing conversation that ensued. They started by asking us not how we were doing, but "How are you nurturing your spirit today?" And that set the tone. Ki pushes us with passion and love to develop deep learning of the spaces we occupy. Before teachers put a curriculum in place, we must form relationships with our students, their families, and communities. We engage in the practice of education as a community, setting priorities as a collective. Among the most powerful statements Ki makes to students that "you exist in the future" and that Black and Brown lives are precious. Yes, there are resources shared here, like the Tenets of Woke Kindergarten, the Nap Ministry, 60 second stories, Little Revolutionary, and Black Children Play. But really the power of their ideas is in causing us to reconsider ways in which we may center healing in our work. This conversation was mind-altering, and we hope it gives you the chills of possibility as it did for us. Please consider attending the Bank Street Early Childhood Symposium TODAY, February 4, 2021!

When she came into the teaching game, Sataira Douglas was a highly regarded rising star in teaching. In a profession that struggles to recruit, let alone retain, Black teachers, Sataira was sought after by multiple school districts. The situation decayed quickly. Microaggressions and macroaggressions. Gaslighting. Frozen out by colleagues. Rumors. Blamed for colleagues health problems. Invisible labor. The stress on family and community members who watched her struggle and still hold her head high. Belittled publicly in front of colleagues. And still, Sataira came to work. Told herself "it could be worse." Worried what would happen to her students if she left. Staying for a community of parents and children that she felt a bond with. Hold your head down. Just do your job. And yet, "I knew I was going to quit by October." But through the pain and professional harm done to her, Sataira found a way to rise. To discover her power. To learn exactly how much was too much.

This one is a history-making episode, y'all, and instant classic. We go for an energetic and inspirational ride with Eric Hale, the 2021 Texas Teacher of the Year. The first Black man to earn this award in the history of Texas. We cover a wide range of topics, from serving your community and meeting its needs to raising the achievement of his students who come from historically marginalized communities, to raising money in the wake of a tornado that devastated his community. Also, we discuss his critical perspective on the TooDope Top Five MCs .He has appeared on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, as well as the Kelly Clarkson show, and now he is with us! Fasten your seatbelts and enjoy this conversation! It left us ready to run through a wall, honestly.

This week we have a fun, insightful, and heartfelt conversation with Julio and Daniell, two queer educators of color in our city. In this honest and direct conversation, they explain the spaces they inhabit, their process of accepting and celebrating themselves, and the daily identity negotiation that comes with working closely with students and their families. Our podcast has not done nearly enough to bring stories of LGBTQ educators of color to light, and we are grateful that these two brilliant and energetic educators shared their stories with us. The discuss their childhood, the impact of adults, the influence of educators and mentors, and their hope that they can be role models for LGBTQIA students, students of color, and students who live in those intersections. Plus top five rappers. You will not want to miss this episode.