Paying it forward: a peer-staffed program for navigating college admissions

Paying it forward: a peer-staffed program for navigating college admissions

Author: Ethical Schools August 26, 2023 Duration: 45:45
We speak with Michael Sanchez, executive director of Circle Match (formerly TCAT), a program that helps students in underserved high schools apply to colleges. Circle Match serves low income students, primarily of color, who are the first in their families to apply to college. Participants in turn assist classmates, thus creating a college-going culture and subsequently on-campus support. Circle Match students have been extraordinarily successful in gaining admission to elite colleges and universities. Overview 00:00-00:43 Intros 00:43-02:14 Michael Sanchez’s own K-12 and college admission experiences 02:14-05:27 How these experiences influenced the concept of Circle Match 05:27-10:34 How Circle Match works 10:34-13:56 The people involved in Circle Match 13:56-15:46 Helping students with culture shock at Ivy league schools 15:46-18:54 Students’ responses to giant differences in wealth, income, expectations 18:54-21:10 Affinity groups of different types 21:10-23:36 Why Circle Match focuses on Ivies and other prestigious schools 23:36-26:21 Working with students who won’t get into Ivies 26:21-28:38 Making connections with other-than-Hispanic communities 28:38-30:22 Next schools to partner with 30:22-33:04 Communication with parents 33:04-34:07 Data on families 34:07-35:45 Admissions success rate 35:45-37:59 Going away to college as an issue for parents

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: en-us Episodes: 100

Ethical Schools
Podcast Episodes
High stakes: Teaching to the tests in K-12 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:16
We continue our conversation with Harry Feder of FairTest. This time, we discuss high stakes tests in K-12 schools. Harry explains how tests and the prep for them came to dominate education and the consequences for stude…
SATs and the illusion of fairness [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:31
We speak with Harry Feder of FairTest, an organization that advocates for fair and open testing, about the reinstitution of standardized test requirements at some “Ivy Plus” colleges, and why it matters. We discuss how t…
Early intervention: Model assessment center reduces youth arrests [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:16
Steve Evangelista, longtime NYC educator, and Anthony Celestine, director of the Office of Juvenile Justice Services at Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, talk about Calcasieu's Multi-Agency Resource Center. MARC, an assessmen…
What Would YOU do? Walling Out or Welcoming In? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:56
What boundaries should a school set on student speech, if any, in order to foster social-emotional learning, civil discourse, and friendship among students? How might they hold themselves and their students accountable f…
Elevating undervalued professionals: Support for substitute teachers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:51
We speak with Megan M. Conklin, who designs and implements professional development for substitutes in Washington state. Substitutes often don’t receive the support and compensation they deserve. Ms. Conklin’s union-back…
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Duration: 31:26
We speak with Dr. Andrea Siegel and Michelle Vitale of Hudson County Community College about the ways they bring art into students’ everyday lives. They’ve assembled a multi-ethnic art collection which is displayed on ro…
Solving teacher shortages: It’s not just pay (Encore) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:19
Drs. Katherine Norris and Kathryn Wiley, colleagues at Howard University’s School of Education, speak about obstacles to recruiting and retaining teachers and increasing diversity. Money matters, but even more, so does e…