Districtwide decisions: Day to day ethical considerations

Districtwide decisions: Day to day ethical considerations

Author: Ethical Schools January 28, 2021 Duration: 34:00

We speak with Dan Callahan, Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education in Peekskill City School District, 45 minutes north of Manhattan. The low-income district in wealthy Westchester is 70% Latino, including many students from immigrant families. We discuss how the district has adapted to rapid demographic changes and schools’ role in helping students meet challenges. Mr. Callahan reflects on the decisions he and his staff make that impact students’ lives in very concrete ways, and the tension between consistency, applying the same rules for all students, and specificity, looking at the totality of circumstances in each individual case.  

Overview

00:00-00:36 Intros

00:36-02:31 Peekskill and its demographics

02:31-03:36 How Peekskill schools have adapted to changing demographics

03:36-08:15 Ethics-infused decisions—balancing competing needs

08:15-08:48 Student data system

08:48-11:11 Addressing inequities systemically

11:11-13:35 Equity in student competitions with wealthy districts

13:35-15:04 BOCES

15:04-17:37 District equity audit

17:37-20:13 Immigrant family/school relationships

20:13-22:47 Helping to ease family tensions between immigrant parents and their U.S.- raised children

22:47-27:21 Culturally responsive education

27:21-30:18 Reducing suspensions and disproportional suspensions of Black boys/young men

30:18-32:17 Advice to a new superintendent or assistant superintendent

32:17-34:01 Outro

...

Conversations about education often focus on test scores and curriculum, but there’s a deeper layer that truly shapes a student’s experience. Ethical Schools digs into that layer, exploring what it means to build a learning community grounded in integrity and care. Each week, hosts Amy and Jon sit down with educators and innovators who are actively reimagining schools. You’ll hear specific, grounded discussions about the practical work of creating environments where every student feels safe and respected. The dialogue frequently addresses how to support young people dealing with trauma, moving beyond theory to share actionable strategies that teachers are using right now. More than just problem-solving, this podcast highlights how to empower students themselves to become advocates and changemakers in their own communities. It’s a series that connects philosophy with daily practice, looking at the social and cultural structures within schools through a lens of ethics. For anyone invested in the future of education-whether you’re a teacher, administrator, or simply a concerned community member-this podcast offers a thoughtful and necessary perspective on the foundational values that make education meaningful.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 240

Ethical Schools
Podcast Episodes
Translanguaging: Inviting the whole child into the classroom [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:50
We speak with Dr. Cecilia Espinosa and Dr. Laura Ascenzi-Moreno, co-authors of “Rooted in Strength: Using Translanguaging to Grow Multilingual Readers and Writers.” Traditionally, teachers have brought language to studen…
Challenging censorship: Student journalists fight back [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:55
We speak with Hillary Davis, who runs the New Voices program at the Student Press Law Center, and Sara Fajardo, who experienced censorship firsthand at her high school. School administrators frequently prevent students f…
School behind bars: Meeting the needs of traumatized kids [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:00
We speak with Melissa Svigelj-Smith, graduate fellow at University of California at Santa Cruz, about her experience teaching high school students awaiting case outcomes at the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Center.…
Students speak up: NYC Youth Agenda [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:30
We speak with students Eugenia Bamfo, Alexandra Rouvinetis, and Mukilan Muthukumar, members of the NYC Youth Agenda. Using citywide student survey data, Youth Agenda teams aggregated young people’s needs to make recommen…
Abolitionist education: Creating liberatory spaces (Encore) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:14
We speak with Swarthmore’s Dr. Edwin Mayorga, who explains how abolitionist classrooms and schools create “freedom as a place” in contrast to racial capitalism. Dr. Mayorga encourages educators to center joy and healing.…
Gender and sexually diverse students: Creating comfortable schools [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:00
We speak with Dr. Elizabeth J. Meyer of the University of Colorado about ensuring that K-12 schools are welcoming and safe for students with non-normative gender identities and expressions. Dr. Meyer found that these stu…