Street Data Pod: Imagining the Next Generation of Education

Latest Episodes:

Episode 40: "Changing the World Is Possible" with Deborah Meier and Matt Alexander Jun 18, 2026

Show notes

In this rich conversation, Shane and Alcine welcome education icons Debbie Meier and Matt Alexander to explore what democratic schooling has meant across generations — and what it demands of us right now. Debbie traces her path from accidental kindergarten teacher to founder of Central Park East and the Coalition of Essential Schools, sharing stories of children whose ideas revealed what becomes possible when we trust learners and honor their ideas. Matt reflects on growing up in intentionally integrated Columbia, Maryland, and how that blueprint for equity shaped his dissonance with injustice and his commitment to democratic education from the classroom to the San Francisco school board. Together, they wrestle with a hard truth: progressive schools don't survive on pedagogy alone — they need political organizing and community power behind them. And at the center of it all is a deceptively simple principle that threads through Debbie's decades of work, the Coalition of Essential Schools, and the Street Data framework itself: relationships are the foundation of hope, transformation, and the core belief that everyone is truly created equal.

For Further Learning:

Read Debbie’s seminal book, The Power of Their Ideas: Lessons for America from a Small School in Harlem
Read “What Happened to the Coalition of Essential Schools?” by Larry Cuban (one of Alcine’s favorite professors at Stanford) as he talks about the origin and demise of the Coalition of Essential Schools. Be sure to read the comments as well to get a fuller picture of CES as an organization.
Read this 1994 article Debbie Meier and the Dawn of Central Park East: When Teachers Take Charge of Schooling by Seymour Fliegel about the school that Debbie started in Harlem.
Read this 1999 article “A Conversation about Schools with Deborah Meier” where Debbie shares her ideas on key school issues at the time.

[RE-RELEASE] Episode 10: “Learning in the Most Delicious Sense”: The Civil Rights Road to Deeper Learning Jun 04, 2026

Show notes

In this re-release of Episode 10, Alcine and Shane talk with thought leaders, and mother-daughter dynamic duo, Drs. Linda and Kia Darling-Hammond about their new book The Civil Rights Road to Deeper Learning: Five Essentials for Equity (Teachers College Press, 2022). Drawing on their intersections across 25 years in the field of public education, these four educators begin with a retrospective on the seminal Williams v. California lawsuit in which Shane and Linda both served as witnesses, pivoting to explore the next historic fight for equitable access. They dig into the legacy of the test-and-punish era and how testing has served as a barrier to deeper learning, and Linda drops some mind-blowing knowledge about the double discrimination baked into test questions. Finally, they dream together about equitable and just schools that elevate student voice and center performance-based assessments rather than tests.

For Further Learning:

Read Linda and Kia’s book The Civil Rights Road to Deeper Learning: Five Essentials for Equity
Read The Right To Learn by Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond, the seminal book that inspired us to create schools that actually work for learners.
Visit the Learning Policy Institute to learn more about Dr. Linda Darling Hammond’s work to support equitable school reform policies and practices.
To learn more about or work with Dr. Kia Darling Hammond, visit her website
Watch Sherrilyn Ifill, law professor and former president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, explain the Voting Rights Act on a clip from the Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
Enjoy an oldie but goodie: If They’d Only Do Their Work by Dr. Linda Darling Hammond that Alcine would use with her staff every year!

Episode 39: "Black People Keep Showing the World How Brilliant We Are”: Anti-Racist Reading Revolution with Dr. Sonja Cherry-Paul May 07, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, we sit down with the brilliant Dr. Sonja Cherry-Paul — founder of Red Clay Educators, co-director of the Institute for Racial Equity and Literacy, and author of the bestselling Anti-Racist Reading Revolution — for a conversation that is equal parts fire and tenderness. Sonja shares how growing up in Brooklyn shaped her expansive understanding of literacy and community, why she's "irrevocably salty" about the science of reading movement, and how she approached adapting Stamped for Kids and How the Word Is Passed for young readers without watering down the truth. We also explore the dandelion framework at the heart of Anti-Racist Reading Revolution, the deep resonances between Sonja's work and Pedagogies of Voice, and what educators can do right now — even in the most constrained environments — to center student voice, honor the full humanity of Black and Brown children, and keep fighting for the books and histories that belong in every classroom.

For Further Learning:

To learn more about Dr. Sonja Cherry-Paul’s work, visit her online at sonjacherrypaul.com or Red Clay Ed
To order any of the following books, visit the publications page on her website:
- Antiracist Reading Revolution
- How the Word Is Passed (Adapted for Young Readers): Remembering Slavery and How It Shaped America
- Stamped (For Kids)
- Breathing New Life into Book Clubs
- Flip Your Writing Workshop
- Teaching Interpretation
Here is the podcast with Dr. Milner Episode 7: Science of Reading Interview With H. Richard Milner IV
Read the Executive Summary of Fact-Checking the Science of Reading by Rober J Tierney and P. David Pearson

[RE-RELEASE] Episode 35: “Critical love is always needed”: Exploring Archeologies of Self with Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz Apr 23, 2026

Show notes

Are you ready for another re-release? Season 5 closes with a tender and inquiry-centered conversation between Alcine, Shane, and the luminous Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz who shares that “Critical love is a profound and ethical commitment to the communities you’re serving… to the human flourishing of those young people in your classroom.” Dr. Sealey-Ruiz discusses her powerful Archeology of Self framework, quoted in Shane’s forthcoming book Pedagogies of Voice (PoV), making deep and seamless connections to Street Data and PoV. She invites us into the “Warrior Work” of solidarity, explaining how these respective bodies of work speak to each other, specifically how the 10 toxins in Pedagogies of Voice intersect with her racial literacy development framework. And the conversation ends with an emotional conversation about the 2024 election and the need to “name the suffering” as a condition for healing while also “hospicing grief to make room for something new to be birthed.” Don’t miss this episode, which ties together so many threads of our Season 5!

For Further Learning:

Pre-order your copy of the Archaeology of Self: The Introspective Educator’s Guide to Racial Literacy
Read the article “ An Archaeology of Self™ for Our Times” by Dr. Sealey-Ruiz
Enroll in Dr. Sealey-Ruiz’s virtual Archaeology of Self Certificate Program at the Acosta Institute (Sundays, May 31st-June 28th, 2026)
Learn more about The Acosta Institute: https://www.acostainstitute.com/
Watch Dr. Sealey-Ruiz’s TEDTalk: Truth, Love & Racial Literacy
Read Dr. Sealey-Ruiz’s recent titles:

Episode 38: "Inclusion shouldn't be radical, it should just be" with special education scholars Drs. Leyton Schnellert and Shelley Moore Apr 09, 2026

Show notes

In this energizing conversation, Alcine and Shane sit down with Canadian educators Dr. Shelley Moore and Dr. Leyton Schnellert to explore how their lived experiences with disability shaped their paths as educators. Shelley shares how Leyton was her art teacher in an innovative 90s middle school — a class where she, as a neurodivergent adolescent, finally felt a sense of belonging. Years later, Leyton — raised in the Canadian disability rights movement as the child of blind parents who fought for curb cuts and community-based education — became her mentor and helped her earn her doctorate in special education. Today, both champion radically inclusive, asset-based pedagogy that affirms the brilliance of every learner, especially students with disabilities. Leyton connects radical inclusion, intersectionality, and the First Peoples’ Principles of Learning. Shelley offers a sharp analogy — comparing test prep to preparing for a red-eye flight — as she pushes back against standardization.Their message: there’s nothing radical about inclusion, because inclusion just is.

For Further Learning:

Click HERE or HERE to learn more about Dr. Leyton Schnellert
Watch this info video about Dr. Leyton’s Change Projects, Equality, Co-creation
Watch this info video about Dr. Leyton’s Schnellert’s work in Rural Education
To learn more about Dr. Shelley Moore
- Visit her website and reach out if you’d like to work with her
- Learn about her work here www.outsidepinconsulting.com
- Subscribe and hit notifications for Dr. Shelley Moore’s YouTube channel
- Listen to The Five Moore Minutes Podcast with Dr. Shelley Moore
- Facebook: Five Moore Minutes with Dr. Shelley Moore
Read the short article “Which Should Be Defended: Inclusion or Segregation?” by Kathie Snow
Read the Universal Design for Learning Guidelines 3.0

[RE-RELEASE] Episode 28: “All the Data is Story”: Taking a Pause with Wayi Wah Educator and Author Jo Chrona Mar 26, 2026

Show notes

Get ready for another re-release! In this beautiful conversation with BC-based education leader Jo Chrona, we step into Jo’s childhood as a voracious reader with a love of the land. We visit Jo on the bone-shaped, forested island of Haida Gwaii where she first learned the value of taking a pause to breathe in and out. From there, we visit the First People’s Principles of Learning, which Jo helped to author and describes as a “framework” for instructional decision-making. We engage in an important conversation about how to best use large-scale standardized data as a mechanism for moving toward equity, in which Jo offers guiding principles: it must not be high-stakes or negatively impact students’ wellbeing, and it must be a way to hold ourselves accountable for racialized disparities. We explore the interconnectedness between various parts of the education system, including teacher prep, curriculum, and student learning, accessing a window into the future from BC’s forward-moving approaches. Through this dynamic conversation, Jo helps us reframe the “achievement gap”, emphasizing that it is about the system, not the learner. Finally she challenges us to ensure we never homogenize groups of students, but rather get to know who our learners are through their stories. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss this enlightening glimpse of the future!

For Further Learning:

Visit https://luudisk.com/ to learn more about Jo Chrona’s work.
Explore the First Peoples Principles of Learning (FPPL)
Other podcasts featuring Jo Chrona:
- Brave New Teacher, Ep. 159
- Free Range Humans, Ep 57
Additional Professional Learning Resources for Learning In Indigenous Education:
- Continuing Our Learning Journey: A professional learning experience (videos and workshop facilitator's guide) for educators on how to include authentic Indigenous knowledge, perspectives, and content in BC’s curriculum.
- Pulling Together: A series of resource guides developed to support systemic change in post-secondary education

Episode 37: "Teaching is a Political Act": Disrupting the Pedagogical Statu Quo with Nolan Fossum and Emmanuel Medina Mar 12, 2026

Show notes

In this Season 6 episode of Street Data Pod, Shane and Alcine sit down with veteran math educators Nolan Fossum and Manny Medina for a grounded, urgent conversation about what it means to teach—and to teach math—in this moment. Nolan reflects on decentering teacher voice, redesigning classroom space into circles to disrupt hierarchy, and resisting grading as harm, while Manny shares how he teaches as a proud immigrant and “ambassador” for students navigating hostile systems, building belonging through micro-affirmations, math autobiographies, and joyful translanguaging that turns multilingual students into co-teachers. Together they connect classroom moves to larger political realities—math as a historical gatekeeper, teacher learning as an agency-building practice, and professional development that must be rooted in choice, trust, and safety—culminating in a powerful closing truth: teaching is a political act, and to pretend otherwise is to preserve the status quo.

For Further Learning:

Read more about Nolan Fossum’s classroom and work in Chapter 5: Pillars & Practices from the 2022 NCTM Publication Success Stories from Catalyzing Change.
Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework by Gholdy Muhammad
Unearthing Joy by Gholdy Muhammad

[RE-RELEASE] Episode 32: Navigating the “Groan Zone” of Pedagogical Transformation with Marlo Bagsik and Nina Finci Feb 26, 2026

Show notes

Get ready for another re-release! Get to know transformational teacher leaders Marlo Bagsik and Nina Finci in this beautiful conversation and new episode! Co-hosts Shane and Alcine explore with their guests what it means to “choose the margins” of our classrooms as they hear about Marlo and Nina’s development of a districtwide Humanizing instructional framework. Together, they unpack how to create the conditions for belonging as a core domain of Student Agency for students at the margins. And they conclude with a poignant moment of witnessing Marlo’s experience of collaborating with Shane, Sawsan, and Crystal to develop Pedagogies of Voice: Street Data and the Path to Student Agency, the sequel to Street Data which will be on the shelves the first week of August!

For Further Learning:

Pre-order your copy of Pedagogies of Voice: Street Data and the Path to Student Agency today HERE
Watch this powerful video of educators from across the country sharing their thoughts about about student and teacher agency.
Learn more about the Bridge Program, where Nina teaches
Learn more about the Youth Legacy Project by Carlos Hagerdon, where Nina first learned about the Heartifacts task
Visit your local library or bookstore to find some of Marlo Bagsik + Nina Finci’s favorite books that have help them teach and lead from the heart:
- Everything We Never Had- Randy Ribay
- On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous – Ocean Vuong
- The Bluest Eye – Toni Morrison
- All About Love – bell hooks
- Community at Work - Sam Kaner
- Antiracism and Universal Design for Learning – Andratesha Fritzgerald

Episode 36: LIVE From FullScale in NOLA: "A Room Full of Geniuses" Feb 12, 2026

Show notes

In our first-ever LIVE podcast, recorded between Oakland and New Orleans, Shane and Alcine engage in a heartful conversation with Pedagogies of Voice co-author Marlo Bagsik. They excavate stories from how Marlo and Shane became collaborators and co-conspirators to how PoV came to be to what a focus on pedagogies of student voice mean to all three of the humans in dialogue here. Honoring the FullScale (formerly Aurora) Institute's focus on competency-based education, they explore what pedagogies are worthy of being paired with authentic competency-based education so that young people and educators alike feel empowered and excited about their futures. The energy in the room is abuzz as the hosts close with audience questions and from the gut, truthful reflections about why, how, and in what ways to navigate this work in these critical and often-hostile conditions.

For Further Learning:

Visit Corwin Press to your copy of Pedagogies of Voice or Street Data
Visit https://symposium2025.fullscalelearning.org/ to learn more about the FullScale 2025 Symposium where we recorded this episode
To learn more about competency-based education, visit FullScale’s website
Read Dr. Asa Hilliard’s essay, “No Mystery: Closing the Achievement Gap Between Africans and Excellence” in Young, Gifted, and Black: Promoting High Achievement Among African-American Students
Read Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Davis

[RE-RELEASE] Episode 18: CULT OF PEDAGOGY! “A Seat at the Table” with Jennifer Gonzalez and Amanda Liebel Jan 29, 2026

Show notes

Get ready for a re-release to kick off season 6! In this delightful dialogue with the wizard behind Cult of Pedagogy, Jennifer Gonzalez, and middle school drama teacher Amanda Liebel, Shane and Alcine walk alongside two brilliant educators to think about service, street data, and pedagogy. You’ll learn the origin story of the magical blog and podcast called Cult of Pedagogy. We’ll think about what it means to have a “heart of service”, as Amanda characterizes the deep work of teaching as always a reflective practice. We’ll also discuss how Shane, Jamila, and Jennifer came together to create a 9-hour free video series that tracks two teams of teachers as they move through the messiness and richness of the Street Data process! Finally, this episode offers vibrant one-inch windows into a pedagogy of student voice, including:

How to receive difficult street data from students with an open heart
How to take deeper risks in the classroom (for example, to “indigenize our learning spaces”)
Why being a perfectionist works against you as a teacher
And what it means to “walk alongside students” and listen to what they want

Enjoy this priceless conversation!

For Further Learning:

Visit Corwin Press to get your copy of Pedagogies of Voice
Listen to 7 Teaching Practices that Nurture Student Voice, an episode on Jennifer Gonzales’ Cult of Pedagogy podcast where Crystal, Marlo, Sawsan, and Shane talk about Pedagogies of Voice, a “seed store” of practices that describes small, replicable moves that educators can use to center student voice, nurture agency, and create space for meaningful learning
Check out Jennifer Gonzales’ Cult of Pedagogy podcast and blog on The Big List of Class Discussion Strategies
Access 9 hours of free professional learning in Street Data Cult of Pedagogy video series

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