A new verse: Redefining Chicago’s school board with Dr. Che “Rhymefest” Smith

A new verse: Redefining Chicago’s school board with Dr. Che “Rhymefest” Smith

What happens when a legendary artist and community advocate takes a seat at the head of the class? In the conclusion of our two-part series, Dr. Che “Rhymefest” Smith—one of Chicago’s first elected school board members—sits down for a poignant conversation on the intersection of activism and administration. We highlight what it actually means to be a modern board member in a city as complex as Chicago, how to create a student-centered strategy, agonizing trade-offs required during budget season and school closures, leveraging public-private partnerships, mobilizing volunteers to drive systemic change, and protecting the community with the heavy impact of immigration actions and ICE on student well-being and community culture. Resources: * A Segregated Connecticut. State + School Finance Project. https://schoolstatefinance.org/issues/segregated-connecticut [https://schoolstatefinance.org/issues/segregated-connecticut] * Che “Rhymefest” Smith, candidate website. https://rhymefestforcps.com/ [https://rhymefestforcps.com/] * Corbett Education Consulting, http://www.corbetteducation.com/ [http://www.corbetteducation.com/] * Cost Sharing (ECS) Formula, State + School Finance Project. https://schoolstatefinance.org/issues/ecs-formula [https://schoolstatefinance.org/issues/ecs-formula] * Lawrence, A. (2024). Rapper Rhymefest on Trump, Kanye and David Cameron: ‘There’s a political realignment happening in the US.’ The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2024/dec/02/rhymefest-rapper-chicago-schools-kanye-cameron [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2024/dec/02/rhymefest-rapper-chicago-schools-kanye-cameron] * Karp, S. (2025). CPS school board votes to require the next leader be an educator, not a CEO. WBEZ Chicago. https://www.wbez.org/education/2025/03/20/cps-school-board-votes-to-require-next-leader-be-an-educator-not-a-ceo [https://www.wbez.org/education/2025/03/20/cps-school-board-votes-to-require-next-leader-be-an-educator-not-a-ceo] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit seatsofchange.substack.com [https://seatsofchange.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Chicago’s school board revolution with Bridget Lee

Chicago is undergoing one of the most significant shifts in its educational history. In Part 1 of our two-part series, Bridget Lee, founding Executive Director of ALL Chicago, joins us to pull back the curtain on the transition from a 7-member appointed board to a 21-member elected powerhouse. In this episode, we explore: moving from a hybrid model to a fully elected board, candidate "preboarding" and why preparing leaders before they take their seats is non-negotiable, strategies for myth-busting and engaging non-citizen stakeholders, and how to build coalitions and stay fiercely nonpartisan in a political world. Stay tuned for Part 2 with Chicago board member Dr. Che "Rhymefest" Smith. Resources: * ALL Chicago, https://localleadership.org/ [https://localleadership.org/] * Corbett Education Consulting, http://www.corbetteducation.com/ [http://www.corbetteducation.com/] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit seatsofchange.substack.com [https://seatsofchange.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Exploring the School Board Ecosystem with Dr. Carrie Sampson

In this episode, Dr. Carrie Sampson, a school board researcher, examines the critical intersections of education research, leadership dynamics, and policy shifts. She highlights how the vital yet under-resourced and under-studied field of school board research faces hurdles due to a decline in federal funding and the disruption of longitudinal data sets. We explore the nuanced, often complex board-superintendent relationship and how its stability—or lack thereof—impacts district success. Using the hyper-competitive landscape of Arizona for context, the discussion analyzes the effects of universal school choice on local democratic governance, family engagement, and community investment. We discuss moving beyond standard metrics to redefine what it truly means to be a successful school in an era defined by market-driven competition and assessment scores. Resources: * ALL Chicago [https://localleadership.org/] * Brookings Institute [https://www.brookings.edu/] * Camarillo, E. (2026). CPS Board calls on Gov. Pritzker to reject federal program that funds private school tuition [https://www.wbez.org/education/2026/04/08/cps-board-calls-on-gov-pritzker-to-reject-federal-program-that-funds-private-school-tuition]. WBEZ Chicago. * The Collaborative on Political Leadership in the Superintendency. [https://ccl-s.org/] * Collins, J. (2021). Does the meeting style matter? The effects of exposure to participatory and deliberative school board meetings. [https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/abs/does-the-meeting-style-matter-the-effects-of-exposure-to-participatory-and-deliberative-school-board-meetings/7AE5240D6C52935BC9E5155EDB2E1C3E] American Political Science Review. * Corbett Education Consulting, LLC [http://www.corbetteducation.com/] * Brookings Institute [https://www.brookings.edu/] * Houston, D. & Hartney, M. (2025). Who’s on board? School boards and political representation in an age of conflict [https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/research/whos-board-school-boards-and-political-representation-age-conflict]. Fordham Institute. * School Board Partners [https://www.schoolboardpartners.org/] * National Student Board Member Association [https://www.nsbma.net/] * Leading Now [https://leadingnow.org/] * Sampson, C. (2019). (Im)Possibilities of Latinx school board members’ educational leadership toward equity. [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0013161X18799482] Educational Administration Quarterly. * Sampson, C. & Bertrand, M. (2022). This is civil disobedience. I’ll continue.”: The racialization of school board meeting rules [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02680939.2020.1778795]. Journal of Education Policy. * Sampson, C., Garcia, D., Hom, M., & Bertrand, M. (2022). Open enrollment and disrupting the political ecology of U.S. public education [https://doi.org/10.1080/0161956X.2022.2026721]. Peabody Journal of Education. * Sampson, C. (2024). Navigating school board politics: A framework for advancing equity. [https://hep.gse.harvard.edu/9781682539378/navigating-school-board-politics/] Harvard Education Press. * Sampson, C. (2026). Why school boards remain a central part of the Black community’s long struggle for equity. [https://www.tc.columbia.edu/berc/blog/content/research-fellows-carrie-sampson-blog.php] Black Education Research Center, Teachers College at Columbia University, blog. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit seatsofchange.substack.com [https://seatsofchange.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Border towns, closures, and relationships with Josh Acevedo

In this episode, Josh Acevedo, a former board member from El Paso, Texas, walks us through the realities of life and governing in border towns, how communities who live on the “other” side of the highway are sometimes treated, the challenges of doing doctoral research in the community you serve, community engagement during school closures, how interest convergence can be used to make policy changes, superintendent and board member relationships, and how every vote really matters in local elections. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit seatsofchange.substack.com [https://seatsofchange.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Identity politics, skullduggery, and COVID with Marco Pérez

In this episode, Marco Pérez from Hamilton County, Tennessee joins us to talk about a heated campaign, identity politics and personal attacks, wonky local laws like skullduggery, the decision-making process during the COVID pandemic, and benefits and challenges to serving as a board member with teachers (and employees in the district) in your family. https://seatsofchange.substack.com/ Resources: * 2024 Tennessee Code, anti-Skullduggery Act (section h). https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-2/chapter-5/part-1/section-2-5-101/ [https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-2/chapter-5/part-1/section-2-5-101/] * TN School Boards Association, Open Meetings and Open Records Act Guide (Sunshine Law), https://tsba.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/2022-Open-Meetings-Records-Guide.pdf [https://tsba.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/2022-Open-Meetings-Records-Guide.pdf] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit seatsofchange.substack.com [https://seatsofchange.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]