School Choice: Who Does the Choosing?

School Choice: Who Does the Choosing?

Author: Ethical Schools March 12, 2026 Duration: 34:01
We welcome back Dr. Ujju Aggarwal, assistant professor at The New School, to speak about her book, Unsettling Choice: Race, Rights, and the Partitioning of Public Education. In Unsettling Choice, Dr. Aggarwal focuses on the intersection of public education and gentrification. The book is based on her work with mothers at a Head Start center in NYC. We discuss the race and class discrimination the parents faced and whether exclusion is inherent in school choice programs. Overview 00:00-00:56 Intros 00:56-07:13 Working with Head Start mothers in Manhattan’s Community School District 3 07:13-09:15 Connection between school choice and austerity 09:15-19:17 Issues mothers faced in choosing schools for their children and their experiences 19:17-24:06 The “post-Brown realignment” following the Brown v Board of Education Supreme Court decisions 24:06-25:30 Parents as “consumers” rather than as “citizens” 25:30-28:01 Can school choice exist without exclusion 28:01-29:03 NYC Schools Chancellor Samuels and citywide integration 29:03-32:21 Radical municipalism 32:21- OutroTranscriptClick here to listen to see the full transcript of this episode. References Book "Unsettling Choice: Race, Rights, and the Partitioning of Public Education" by Dr. Ujju Aggarwal Listen to our first interview "Ujju Aggarwal on school choice, whiteness as property, and the “right to exclude” published in 2019 Soundtrack by Poddington Bear

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…
Enriching student life: Art for all [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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…
What’s real and who/what matters: Sentientism in schools [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:16
We speak with Jamie Woodhouse, UK educator and thought leader on sentientism. An ethical worldview informed by evidence, reason, and compassion, sentientism prioritizes the well-being of humans and animals other than hum…