Extracurricular with Stephanie Vanos and Eddie Geller

Dr. Hector Maestre Is Fully Invested — The Life Of A High School Principal

Eddie and Steph recognize and reflect upon ten years since the Pulse tragedy here in Orlando. They then discuss Equal Ground’s excellent tour stop in Orlando and the overwhelming number of audience questions relating to public schools and public education.   The guest this week is Dr. Hector Maestre, a wonderful human and OCPS graduate who also happens to be the principal at Boone High School. Like Steph, he was on the podcast unofficially and not in his professional capacity as an OCPS employee. Dr. Maestre begins by sharing his journey to becoming a teacher and then principal (16:17) and why the Class of 2026 is a special one to him (25:28). He discusses how he helps students who are struggling (29:31) and the importance of building relationships (35:16). He shares what a day in his life might look like (38:32) along with some misconceptions about his job (44:09). We learn how he manages the power of being a principal (51:04) and how he responds to the climate surrounding public education right now (55:18). Dr. Maestre then dismisses the notion that the purpose of school is to prepare students to become workers, and reiterates that his goal is to prepare students to be responsible, civically engaged, impactful people in the real world (1:02:01). They then talk about how OCPS can better support all schools (1:06:24) and how he responds to and works with concerned parents (1:08:36). Finally, Dr. Maestre shares he rests and recharges (1:11:28).  * Dr. Hector Maestre [https://www.instagram.com/aquaguard21?igsh=MTU0dWxhNHo0cDF1bg==] * Extracurricular Podcast [https://www.instagram.com/extracurricular_podcast/] * Stephanie Vanos [https://www.instagram.com/votevanos/] * Eddie Geller [https://www.instagram.com/gellered/]

How Florida’s 2026 Property Tax Ballot Initiative Will Devastate Local Government And Send Even More Power To Tallahassee

It’s June, graduations are (nearly!) done, and Steph and Eddie are back to the work of podding. They begin the show talking about fundraisers, bittersweet improv shows, and the AT&T corporation. This week, they welcome Jason Garcia of Seeking Rents back to the podcast. Jason starts out by giving an overview of the opaque budget process in Tallahassee and then a primer on how devastating the new property tax ballot initiative could end up being if it is passed (13:46). Next they walk through some of the items that made it through this year’s budget and how it speaks to the broken/corrupt nature of our state legislature (36:05). They also touch the slow degradation of higher education in the state of Florida and how a bipartisan consensus on protecting our top universities has seemingly gone by the wayside (53:07). Finally, Jason fires off a couple of book recommendations and explains how he isn’t recharging but he really should (1:03:01). * Seeking Rents [https://jasongarcia.substack.com/p/coming-soon] * Extracurricular Podcast [https://www.instagram.com/extracurricular_podcast/] * Stephanie Vanos [https://www.instagram.com/votevanos/] * Eddie Geller [https://www.instagram.com/gellered/]

“This Is A Numbers Game And The Math Isn’t Adding Up.” A High School Senior’s Perspective On High School, America’s Youth, and Democracy.

Should this podcast become a food podcast? Eddie and Steph debate as they recount their visit to Francesco’s. They decide against it and Steph provides some clarity on the one mil referendum vote and shares some of her graduation remarks before welcoming special guest, Elizabeth Vanos (16:48). Elizabeth talks about how it feels to be a nearly 18-year-old in this world (18:00) and how she often finds that a basic knowledge base and factual arguments are missing in debates with her classmates (21:09). She touches on the unresolved impact of Covid (26:41) and gives us a young woman’s perspective on what’s going on with the boys (29:14). Eddie and Steph learn what a FOID is (33:11) before Steph steers the conversation to how Elizabeth would improve the student experience in high school (40:00). Elizabeth shares what it’s like to have a mom who is a School Board Member (57:29) and contextualizes current events from a historical perspective (1:01). They then discuss A.I. (1:14:17) and Elizabeth provides predictions for herself (1:25:32). * Extracurricular Podcast [https://www.instagram.com/extracurricular_podcast/] * Stephanie Vanos [https://www.instagram.com/votevanos/] * Eddie Geller [https://www.instagram.com/gellered/]

“The Voting Rights Act As We Knew It—It’s Done.” Fighting For Voting Rights With Equal Ground FL’s Genesis Robinson.

This week, Steph and Eddie power through their intro because Steph is busy! They do get a little time to talk about weddings, work retreats, daughters, and movie clubs, but it’s all business after that. Today’s guest is Genesis Robison, the Executive Director of Equal Ground Education Fund and Action Fund, Florida’s preeminent Black-led voting rights organization. Genesis began by explaining the work that Equal Ground does in fighting for voting rights and how Genesis himself got into the work (11:28). Then, we jump right into what is happening now with Florida’s egregious gerrymander and how Equal Ground is using the courts to fight back (17:27). We also walk through a few of the other ways Florida is suppressing the vote with the newest legislation coming out of the most recent legislative session (28:55). We then look through the national lens at the gutting of the Voting Rights Act in the Louisiana v. Callais Supreme Court Decision, and how state-based voting rights legislation may be the next move (37:11). Finally, Genesis shares how folks can support the work of Equal Ground and fight back against these relentless attacks on voting rights in Florida and across the country (51:06). * Equal Ground FL [https://www.instagram.com/equalgroundfl/]  * Extracurricular Podcast [https://www.instagram.com/extracurricular_podcast/] * Stephanie Vanos [https://www.instagram.com/votevanos/] * Eddie Geller [https://www.instagram.com/gellered/]

Understanding The Lawsuit That Could Upend Florida’s Education System

Wow, we totally missed this, but the Extracurricular Podcast (neé TBD) is over a year old! We celebrated by dedicating nearly two minutes to commemorate the occasion. (No but really we’re quite proud.) Today we spent our time digging into the blockbuster of a lawsuit: Spar vs Kamoutsas. Eddie begins by asking Stephanie what this lawsuit is all about, why she joined, and what it means to be a plaintiff (13:52). We then followed up by discussing what’s next and the implications of the suit (29:08). Finally, Steph and Eddie switch gears by discussing Florida’s new plan to roll out an alternative to A.P. U.S. History—which is both laughable and completely unnerving (39:19).  * Extracurricular Podcast [https://www.instagram.com/extracurricular_podcast/] * Stephanie Vanos [https://www.instagram.com/votevanos/] * Eddie Geller [https://www.instagram.com/gellered/]