Season 4 Trailer

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I'm on my way to pick up my son from his second grade classroom. As I approach the classroom, I notice that a desk has been placed outside in the hall on the wall adjacent to the classroom. As I entered the classroom, I noticed my son standing in the spot where his desk would have been. I asked his teacher, a European American middle aged woman, why his desk was not in the classroom. She commented that his desk was so messy that it became dangerous for her to walk down his aisle. I asked her if she realized the implication on the child, my son, by placing his desk outside the classroom. She replied that frankly, she had not thought about that she was mainly concerned with safety and order in her classroom. I strongly conveyed to her that when I returned to retrieve my son from her classroom the next day that his desk be placed back inside the classroom in its assigned position. The next day his desk was in the classroom in its usual place. Three years later, my son is in the fifth grade. His teacher, a young European American woman, has sent a note home that indicated that my son had stolen a pen off her desk. Although she had not seen him actually remove any items from her desk as she indicated in her note. Apparently his proximity to her desk allowed her to assume that he had absconded with her pen. I met with this teacher the following day and she recounted the incident to me. I asked her whether her accusations were were based on fact or assumption. I further inquired how my son, one of 25 students in the class, would have been the only one she chose to accuse of stealing. Looking surprised by my questioning, she had no reasonable explanation for her accusation. We both knew why she had done so. As I quite vocally conveyed my angst with this incident to the vice principal of the school, she listened politely and responded only a little bit. I simply became another detailed reporting of a parent interaction. There was no real resolution. Incidents such as these have propelled my quest to understand the underlying implicit racial structures within the school setting. These two situations, both real life experiences which occurred at two different middle class elementary schools that were comprised of predominantly European American staff and teachers in an urban Southern California school district, are a very small sample of the types of issues faced by many African American parents in similar school settings. My name is Dr. Kim J. Fields and I'm the host of the K12 Public Education Insights Empowering Parents of Color Podcast the podcast that converges at the intersection of educational research and parental actions. It's about making the trends, topics and theories in public education understandable so that you can implement them into practical, actionable strategies that work for your children's academic progress. I got into this space after dealing with some frustrating interactions with school educators and administrators, as well as experiencing the microaggressions that I faced as an African American mom raising my two kids who were in the public school system. I got a bird's eye view of how teachers were trained when I worked on my doctorate in education because I really wanted to understand how teachers were trained and what the research provided about the challenges of the public education system. Once I gained the information and insights that I needed, I was then equipped to be able to successfully support my children in their educational progress. This battle tested experience is what I provide as action step steps for you to take. It's like enjoying a bowl of educational research with a sprinkling of mother wisdom on top. This podcast is all about the convergence of educational research with parental action. So if you're looking to find out more about the current trends, tactics and topics, as well as relevant issues in K12 public education that could affect you or your children, and the action steps that you can take to give your children the advantages they need, then this podcast is for you. Especially if you've had similar experiences and frustrations in your interactions with your child's teachers, administrators and staff, and you want to know what you can do about it in an assertive way. Each episode of the K12 Public Education Insights Empowering Parents of Color podcast explores relevant topics such as the rise of racism in today's public schools, how boys are lagging behind girls in academic success, the critical skills needed for students to succeed in the 21st century, the rise of micro schools, making the best of IEP meetings, advocating for 504 services, the impact of digital devices on student achievement, CTE and career readiness, navigating the school district, and more. These were just some of the topics I discussed in season three. Each week I share the latest discourse on K12 public education research, how it affects you and your kids, and what you can do to practically implement a particular topic. My aim is to arm you with the information and or resources you need to confidently advocate for your child's academic achievement, well being and equitable treatment in the K12 public school environment because you are your child's best advocate. After all, no one knows your child better than you. Season 4 is set to explore updates on these issues as well as other areas including how the closing of the Department of Education impacts families of color and what to expect from states now that education policy and accountability have been placed in their laps, the value of productive struggling, the white backlash of African American educational progress, and other subjects that are a priority for you to understand. Because I know that being a parent is a never ending full time job, I provide one episode at the end of each month that helps to personally support you by addressing a personal development topic such as managing multiple roles, defining success at different life stages, and staying motivated in spite of circumstances. These episodes tend to be quite popular based on download metrics, and part of the reason for that is because of the personal stories that I share in these episodes. You get a better picture of of who I am and what I'm about from these episodes. Whether you're a first time listener to the K12 Public Education Insights Empowering Parents of Color podcast or you've been a listener since season one, the goal and mission of the podcast remains the same to provide pertinent information that affects parents of color with Children in the K12 public education system so that you stay informed and motivated into taking action. All previous episodes are freely available at k12publiceducationinsights.buzzsprout.com Together let's build a community that ignites a movement that transforms what our children learn, why they need to learn, and the value of becoming lifelong learners. So be sure to subscribe on whatever service you listen to my podcast, including Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Echo and YouTube so that you don't miss a single episode. It's to going going to be another insightful and exciting season, so stay tuned.

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