Advocacy for Equitable Funding and Integration with Brown's Promise

Advocacy for Equitable Funding and Integration with Brown's Promise

Author: Andrew Lefkowits, Val Brown, Courtney Mykytyn November 27, 2024 Duration: 59:24
Finding a school where your children can thrive, while avoiding contributing to the ongoing segregation we see today, can feel like a tough issue for socially conscious parents. Check out our guide on how you can start engaging with the education system to achieve just that - https://bit.ly/3V4wzz1 ------------------------------------------ The way we fund schools in this country often results in haves and have nots. We have some districts with immense wealth, often bordering districts that are severely under resourced. The work of creating more equitable funding formulae is important and ongoing. At the same time, we have district lines that make for school districts deeply segregated by race and class. The work of desegregating our schools is also important and ongoing. And yet, the people working on these two seemingly separate problems rarely work together. Brown's Promise was created to bring these conversations together with the belief that both are important, and neither can be solved without addressing the other. We will never equitably resource segregated schools, and school desegregation is a key tool towards providing equitable opportunity for all kids. Saba Bireda (who we met at our live show back in May), and Ary Amerikaner met working on these separate issues in the Obama administration. Their frustration with the slow pace of progress led them to start Brown's Promise early last year. Their work focuses on advocating for well-resourced, integrated schools that actually serve all of our children. From state level litigation to a policy agenda to a community engagement, Brown's Promise is committed to fulfilling the promise of the Brown v Board decision. Believing that separate is inherently unequal, they believe that giving all students an equitable education requires fully-funded, integrated schools for all. They join us to discuss their work, how parents and caregivers can get involved in advocacy work, and what the world might look like if we could solve these two, interrelated issues. The Integrated Schools Podcast was created by Courtney Mykytyn and Andrew Lefkowits. This episode was produced by Andrew Lefkowits and Val Brown. It was edited, and mixed by Andrew Lefkowits. Music by Kevin Casey. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It’s easy to talk about school integration in the abstract, but what does it actually look like on the ground for families navigating these choices every day? The Integrated Schools Podcast moves beyond theory into the messy, personal realities of race, parenting, and educational equity. Hosted by Andrew Lefkowits, a White dad from Denver, and Val Brown, a Black mom from North Carolina, along with co-author Courtney Mykytyn, this podcast centers conversations that deliberately sit with discomfort and complexity. Each episode brings in voices from across the spectrum-parents making tough school decisions, educators in the trenches, researchers, and community organizers-to explore why our schools remain so segregated and what it truly means to work toward integration. You’ll hear candid stories about navigating predominantly white spaces, confronting personal bias, and the small, daily actions that either challenge or uphold systemic inequities. This isn’t a podcast offering easy answers; instead, it provides a necessary space to listen, reflect, and engage with the nuanced layers of a deeply entrenched issue. The dialogue here is built on the belief that honest, sometimes difficult talk is a prerequisite for meaningful change, both in our schools and in ourselves.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

The Integrated Schools Podcast
Podcast Episodes
Reflections on Season 12 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:41
As we wrap up another school year, we're taking a moment to reflect on the conversations, challenges, and lessons that shaped Season 12. This year, we explored what it means to build belonging, strengthen community, advo…
REVISIT: Calling In with Loretta Ross [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:11:40
We're revisiting our conversation with Dr. Loretta Ross because her book, Calling In: How to Start Making Change with Those You’d Rather Cancel, is the Integrated Schools book club pick for this month. You can register f…
REVISIT: Finding Hope in Solidarity with Heather McGhee [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:54
We’re going back to the archives today to revisit a conversation with Heather McGhee. In February of 2021, Heather McGhee’s book, The Sum of Us came out. With a focus on the ways in which racism harms everyone, and the p…
Seeds of Resistance: The Lemon Grove Legacy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:07
We're joined by YA author, María Dolores Águila to uncover the largely untold story of the 1931 Lemon Grove Incident—the first successful school desegregation case in California, led by Mexican and Mexican American famil…
Spatial Injustice: School Closures as a Form of Educational Redlining [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:03
What happens when we stop thinking about schools as buildings—and start seeing them as the ecosystems that hold our communities together? In this episode, we sit with Dr. Mara Tieken to explore school closures not as iso…
Legacy and Community: Bridging Generations through History [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:52
In this episode, Andrew and Dr. Val are joined by Logan Tilton, a history student at North Carolina Central University and one of the Levine Museum of the New South’s fellowship students. Together, they reflect on what i…
Staying Power with Danielle Wingfield [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:42
What does it mean to outlast backlash? In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Danielle Wingfield—legal historian, law professor, and public education advocate—whose work sits at the intersection of history, civil rights, d…
Demystifying Disability with Emily Ladau [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:35
Join the conversation by registering for one of our upcoming Book Club sessions! The Integrated Schools Podcast returns with a great conversation with Emily Ladau, disability rights activist and author of Demystifying Di…