Sparkwheel

Special Ep. Part 2: Student Voices on School Safety

If you haven't already, we encourage you to listen to part 1 of this special episode on school safety. Students are often the ones most impacted by decisions adults make in schools and many times don’t have a seat at the table. In part 2 of this special episode, we continue the conversation with three current and former Minneapolis students who have been working with staff as they develop a new model for school safety without the use of school resource officers.

Special Ep: A Vision for School Safety Without SROs

Safety in schools without the use of School Resource Officers (SROs). Is this the right approach and what exactly does this look like? We spend an hour unpacking the policy and system changes needed with 3 experts in school safety: Jason Matlock Director, Emergency Management, Safety & Security at Minneapolis Public Schools Mel Duncan founding Executive Director of Nonviolent Peaceforce Michael Rozin President and a founding Partner at Rozin Security We'd like to preface this episode with a real moment of learning we've had since it’s recording. We unintentionally and yet mistakenly left extremely important voices out of this conversation. Black, indigineous and other communities of color have for too long been unfairly impacted by institutional racism in education, law enforcement and so many other systems in our society. In a follow up episode, we’ll have perspectives from those who will be most impacted by this change - especially students.

Stan Alleyne

Stan Alleyne is a national leader in school communications. Previously the Chief of Communications for Minneapolis Public Schools and the Vice President of Diversity Engagement for the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA), Stan Alleyne offers over 20 years of experience in school communications. Currently, he works as Chief of Communications atVitals™ Aware Services [https://captivatemedia.acemlna.com/lt.php?s=6701d7c858a893627c24a82e155d2b94&i=30A94A2A322], a Twin Cities-based company building technology for social good. In this episode, Stan shares his insight and experience regarding race, student voice and education reform.

Sal Bagley and Vaughn Dierks

In this episode, Sal Bagley and Vaughn Dierks of Wold Architects and Engineers share predictions on how the shift across the country to distance learning has opened up a wider array of possibilities and considerations in designing educational buildings and learning spaces. Read Vaughn's recent article, "A Chance to Evolve" [https://www.woldae.com/insight/a-chance-to-evolve/]

Ambar Hanson

Since Ambar Hanson moved to the United States in 1997, she has been dedicated to promoting and advocating for communities of color and other historically underserved communities through her experience with non-profit and K-12 education organizations. In this episode, Ambar provides great insight into creating meaningful relationships and partnerships with and for communities through strength-based community engagement efforts.   Ambar currently works as the Community Relationship Officer at Mortenson Family Foundation overseeing the Expanding Opportunities for Children and Families grant program. She is a deserving recipient of the Mano Amiga Award from the Minnesota Latino Economic Development Center for her commitment and generous contribution of time and work on behalf of the Latino community.