IDRA Classnotes

Podcast 248 and video graphic square [https://www.idra.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Podcast-248-and-video-graphic-square-300x300.png]Classnotes Podcast (February 21, 2025) As activities to divert public money to private schools grow across the country and at the national level, the Texas leadership is pushing hard to establish its own voucher program. This is despite public outcry for strengthened and fully funded public education. And it is taking place in the midst of much misinformation about the proposed program. IDRA has been at the forefront of school funding equity work since its founding over five decades ago. Three people from IDRA who testified during a Senate hearing in February 2025 came together for this podcast episode to discuss the truth about the voucher program, how it would divert tons of money from the state’s grossly underfunded public schools and how it would harm Texas students. As a bonus, they share an excerpt from Liz’s daughter’s testimony as she tells how private schools refused to admit her because of her disability. Chloe Latham Sikes, Ph.D., [https://www.idra.org/staff/chloe-latham-sikes-phd/] is IDRA’s deputy director of policy. Kaci Wright is an IDRA Education Policy Fellow. [https://www.idra.org/idra-fellows/] Lizdelia Piñón, Ed.D., [https://www.idra.org/staff/lizdelia-pinon-ed-d/] is an IDRA education associate. Show length: 22:19 min. Send comments to podcast@idra.org [podcast@idra.org] ---------------------------------------- WATCH PODCAST VIDEO PREV 1 OF 1 NEXT * The Truth About Private School Vouchers – IDRA Classnotes Podcast 248 [https://i.ytimg.com/vi/i-kiT2Wm5D0/sddefault.jpg] THE TRUTH ABOUT PRIVATE SCHOOL VOUCHERS – IDRA CLASSNOTES PODCAST 248 PREV 1 OF 1 NEXT ---------------------------------------- RESOURCES Video: Private Schools Didn’t Choose Me – Powerful Testimony from Felicita [https://youtu.be/OBEdrqlx4c0] IDRA’s Stop Vouchers [https://www.idra.org/education_policy/stop-vouchers/] webpage. Data Map: The Big Cost of Proposed Voucher Legislation – IDRA Map and Dashboard [https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/82bbb88e20c94dba87d998e19b34d512] by Texas state senate districts, state house districts, traditional public school districts, and charter school districts Infographic: 5 Reasons Private School Vouchers Would Hurt Students [https://www.idra.org/resource-center/5-reasons-private-school-vouchers-would-hurt-students-infographic/] Subscribe to IDRA’s Texas Education Policy Alert [https://idra.news/SubscribeAlert] Get advocacy resources at IDRA’s SEEN website [https://idraseen.org/making-change/advocacy-news-georgia/] Testimony * Education Savings Accounts are Inefficient and Ineffective for General Diffusion of Knowledge, Student Achievement and School Investments [https://www.idra.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1.28.25-IDRA-Testimony-Against-SB2-CLS.pdf]– IDRA Testimony against SB 2, Submitted by Chloe Latham Sikes, Ph.D., to the Texas Senate Committee on Education K-16, January 28, 2025 * Don’t Prioritize Politics and Profits Over the Families Policymakers Should Be Representing [https://www.idra.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1.28.25-IDRA-Testimony-Against-SB-2-LP.pdf]– Testimony Against Senate Bill 2, Presented by Lizdelia Piñón, IDRA Education Associate, to the Texas Senate Committee on Education (PK-16), January 28, 2025 (Plus testimony by Sixth Grader, Felicita Piñón) * Education Saving Accounts Harm Texas Students’ Access to an Equitable Education [https://www.idra.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1.28.25-TLEEC-Testimony-Against-SB2-KW.pdf]– TLEEC Testimony Against Senate Bill 2, submitted by Kaci Wright to the Texas Senate Committee on K-16 Education, January 28, 2025 ---------------------------------------- LISTEN TO EVERY EPISODE! To ensure you don’t miss a single episode of IDRA Classnotes, sign up to receive an e-mail alert [https://idra.news/SubscribeNow] as soon as a new show is published and subscribe to the podcast in iTunes [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/idra-classnotes/id201222665?mt=2], Spotify [https://idra.news/PodOnSpotify] or Amazon Music [https://idra.news/PodOnAmazon]. The post The Truth About Private School Vouchers – Classnotes Podcast 248 [https://www.idra.org/resource-center/the-truth-about-private-school-vouchers-classnotes-podcast-248/] appeared first on IDRA [https://www.idra.org].

Podcast 247 cover [https://www.idra.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Podcast-247-cover-300x300.png]Classnotes Podcast (November 25, 2024). María “Cuca” Robledo Montecel, Ph.D., [https://www.idra.org/staff/maria-cuca-robledo-montecel-ph-d/] and her son Xavier Montecel, Ph.D. [https://www.stmarytx.edu/academics/faculty/xavier-montecel/], have embarked on an oral history project in the form of their own podcast, Cuentos de mi familia. In Episode 108, they focus on Cuca’s professional life with IDRA, which spanned 48 of IDRA’s now 51 years. For 26 of those years, she served as IDRA’s President & CEO. She is now President Emerita. We are honored to share this specific episode with our Classnotes Podcast listeners. In this conversation, Cuca reflects on her professional life and the course of her career. She remembers what it was like to transition from her childhood in Laredo to young adulthood as a college student in San Antonio. She and Xavier talk about the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA) and its vision to, as she says, create a world where all children have opportunities in life that come from a great education. She shares stories of what that work looked like and accomplished for students, families, teachers, and community advocates – all who care deeply about equity and excellence in public education. Xavier is director of the graduate program and assistant professor of catholic theological and social ethics at St. Mary’s University. Show length: 1:08:32 min. Send comments to podcast@idra.org [podcast@idra.org] RESOURCES Cuentos de mi Familia [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cuentos-de-mi-familia/id1738965182], podcast series Corazón [https://www.idra.org/resource-center/corazon/], A Poem for María “Cuca” Robledo Montecel, by Laurie Posner, MPA Tribute video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue0QE9gLOm0] to Dr. María “Cuca” Robledo Montecel, 2019 Reflections on IDRA Work Across 50 Years – A Story of Innovation, Connection and Faithfulness [https://www.idra.org/resource-center/reflections-on-idra-work-across-50-years-a-story-of-innovation-connection-and-faithfulness/], by Dr. María “Cuca” Robledo Montecel, 2023 Three Decades of Groundbreaking Dropout Research – Reflections by Dr. Robledo Montecel [https://www.idra.org/resource-center/three-decades-of-groundbreaking-dropout-research-reflections-by-dr-robledo-montecel-an-excerpt/], interview by Bricio Vasquez, Ph.D., IDRA Newsletter, November-December 2018 LISTEN TO EVERY EPISODE! To ensure you don’t miss a single episode of IDRA Classnotes, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/classnotes-podcast-idra/id201222665?mt=2] and Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/7pyH6UgVmwWhMHKBeZPsM0], or sign up to receive an e-mail alert [https://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=idra] as soon as a new show is published. The post Introducing Cuentos de mi familia – Podcast Episode 247 [https://www.idra.org/resource-center/introducing-cuentos-de-mi-familia-podcast-episode-247/] appeared first on IDRA [https://www.idra.org].

Podcast 246 square [https://www.idra.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Podcast-246-square-300x300.png]Classnotes Podcast (October 28, 2024). Several of the IDRA STEM Equity Ambassadors [https://www.idra.org/services/stem-equity-ambassadors/] want to give back to their hometown of San Antonio. The STEM Equity Ambassadors program hosted by IDRA gave educators the opportunity to use interactive and experiential teaching methods and showcase their ideas in equity plans to support underperforming and first-generation college-going students in their respective fields. In this episode, Anavi Prakash talks to two STEM Equity Ambassadors about what it means to be educators and fight for equity in the city where they were once students. Their answers reflect a desire to make education better for the next generation of students by giving them the support they need to thrive and pave their own paths. James Hernández, Ph.D., is a technology teacher at Harlandale ISD. He is also a member of the Edgewood ISD school board, the district where he went to high school. Dr. Hernández believes a quality education is the key to empowering communities to be content, politically engaged and earn higher-paying jobs. Dr. Hernández earned his doctorate. in interdisciplinary learning and teaching from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Amanda Roberts, Ph.D., is the math academic program director at St. Philip’s College Southwest Campus. She also has experience as a U.S. Air Force research scientist, assistant professor of chemistry, and middle school science teacher. She aims to mentor and inspire students at all levels, from kindergarten to graduate school. Dr. Roberts earned her doctorate in biomedical sciences from the University of North Texas Health Science Center. Dr. Hernández and Dr. Roberts are among the eight teachers in San Antonio IDRA named as STEM Equity Ambassadors for the 2023-24 school year. Anavi Prakash [https://www.idra.org/idra-interns/] is a student at Northwestern University who served as an IDRA communications intern in the summer of 2024. Show length: 17:21 min. Send comments to podcast@idra.org [podcast@idra.org] RESOURCES STEM Equity Ambassadors at IDRA [https://www.idra.org/services/stem-equity-ambassadors/] STEM Equity Ambassadors eBook – Cultivating STEM Equity Ambassadors to Address the Barriers to Equity in STEM Education [https://www.idra.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/eBook-STEM-Eequity-Ambassadors-Oct-24-rev.pdf] STEM Equity – Online Technical Assistance Package [https://www.idra.org/support/support-stem-equity/] LISTEN TO EVERY EPISODE! To ensure you don’t miss a single episode of IDRA Classnotes, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/classnotes-podcast-idra/id201222665?mt=2] and Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/7pyH6UgVmwWhMHKBeZPsM0], or sign up to receive an e-mail alert [https://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=idra] as soon as a new show is published. The post Teachers on STEM Equity for Students – Podcast Episode 246 [https://www.idra.org/resource-center/teachers-on-stem-equity-for-students-podcast-episode-246/] appeared first on IDRA [https://www.idra.org].

Podcast 245 graphic [https://www.idra.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Podcast-245-graphic-300x300.png]Classnotes Podcast (October 4, 2024). Anavi Prakash speaks with students Carlos and Ashly and youth leader Gabriela Benitez about their experience in the IDRA Digital Ambassadors program [https://www.idra.org/services/idra-digital-ambassadors-program/]. This program supports communities in the Texas Rio Grande Valley through youth-led technology training. Participating students first engaged in comprehensive participatory action research to identify the most pressing technology needs within their community. Then, after a rigorous learning journey to master the identified technology skills, they planned and led a community training event to provide vital technological training to community members. The program is co-led by ARISE Adelante [https://ariseadelante.org/], an organization that aims to empower immigrants in low-income communities in south Texas. ARISE and IDRA piloted the IDRA Digital Ambassador program in early 2024. The program will continue with additional students during the fall of 2024 with the generous support from Methodist Healthcare Ministries and from Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation. In this episode, participants discuss the importance of student-driven programs in the community and how the IDRA Digital Ambassadors benefitted communities and the students themselves as leaders. As the students looked to help others, they also gained skills in public speaking and teaching adults with a diverse set of backgrounds and skill levels. Carlos and Ashly are high school students in South Texas. Gabriela Benitez is a youth leader and community organizer with ARISE Adelante. Anavi Prakash is a student at Northwestern University who served as an IDRA communications intern in the summer of 2024. Show length: 8:35 min Send comments to podcast@idra.org [podcast@idra.org] RESOURCES Students Bridge the Digital Divide in Colonias – Highlights from IDRA’s Pilot Student Digital Ambassadorships [https://www.idra.org/resource-center/students-bridge-the-digital-divide-in-colonias-highlights-from-idras-pilot-student-digital-ambassadorships/], by Michelle Vega & Aurelio Manuel Montemayor, M.Ed., IDRA Newsletter, June-July 2024 IDRA Digital Ambassadors Program [https://www.idra.org/services/idra-digital-ambassadors-program/] Story by Connect Humanity: South Texas colonia students step up as tech connectors – A showcase of the Rio Grande Valley Digital Ambassadors Program [https://idra-resource.center/DigAmbStory24] Story by the Rio Grande Guardian: Digital Ambassadors teach computer literacy skills to colonia residents [https://riograndeguardian.com/digital-ambassadors-program-teaches-computer-literacy-skills-to-colonia-residents/?vgo_ee=%2FAqYTX22oIek3IjnLiked4c3sfkypu%2BFnTiSjr%2FKgcl4u6S%2BFhKp%2B1g%3D%3APGHG6GoCmTi4GtbAwl0QGnc0oAdlDKZy] ARISE Adelante [https://ariseadelante.org/] IDRA Student Research & Activism [https://www.idra.org/support/student-research-activism/] IDRA Student Programs [https://www.idra.org/support/student-programs/] LISTEN TO EVERY EPISODE! To ensure you don’t miss a single episode of IDRA Classnotes, sign up to receive an e-mail alert [https://idra.news/SubscribeNow] as soon as a new show is published and subscribe to the podcast in iTunes [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/idra-classnotes/id201222665?mt=2], Spotify [https://idra.news/PodOnSpotify]. Amazon Music [https://idra.news/PodOnAmazon] or Google Podcasts [https://idra.news/PodOnGoogle]. The post IDRA Digital Ambassador Students Lead Community Technology Training – Classnotes Podcast 245 [https://www.idra.org/resource-center/idra-digital-ambassador-students-lead-community-technology-training-classnotes-podcast-245/] appeared first on IDRA [https://www.idra.org].

Podcast 244 graphic [https://www.idra.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Podcast-244-300x300.png]Classnotes Podcast (September 16, 2024) 2024 marked the 30th anniversary of the federal Gun Free Schools Act of 1994 – a landmark bill that promised to bring about an end to gun violence on school campuses. But schools are no safer now than they were when the law went into effect. Policymakers and school leaders have used the law’s underlying policy rationales to justify harmful discipline and school safety measures. These include hardening school facilities, surveilling students and families, investing in school policing and security, and relying on so-called “zero tolerance” punishments that push students out of school and into the criminal justice system. Paige Duggins-Clay, J.D., [https://www.idra.org/staff/paige-duggins-clay-j-d/] talks with colleague, Morgan Craven, J.D., [https://www.idra.org/staff/morgan-craven-j-d/] and Andrew Hairston, J.D., [https://www.texasappleseed.org/staff] from Texas Appleseed about how, three decades after the Gun-Free Schools Act’s passage, these policies and practices continue to harm students – particularly Black students, other students of color, LGBTQ+ students, and students with disabilities. This podcast episode continues our series of episodes on education and the law, where IDRA works to uplift the stories behind landmark cases and laws impacting education civil rights. Show length: 47:37 min Send comments to podcast@idra.org [podcast@idra.org] RESOURCES Thirty Years Later, the 1994 Gun-Free Schools Act Continues to Harm Students and Communities [https://idra.news/nlMar24c], by Rebekah Skelton, IDRA Newsletter, March 2024 What Safe Schools Should Look Like for Every Student: A Guide to Building Safe and Welcoming Schools and Rejecting Policies that Hurt Students [https://www.idra.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Safe-Schools-IDRA-Issue-Brief-2022-June.pdf], by Morgan Craven, J.D., IDRA 33 Years Later, Tough on Crime Still Bad for Students [https://www.idra.org/resource-center/33-years-later-tough-on-crime-still-bad-for-students/], by Makiah Lyons, J.D., Knowledge is Power, February 24, 2023 Commentary: Texas bills offer illusion of school safety [https://www.expressnews.com/opinion/commentary/article/commentary-texas-bills-offer-illusion-of-school-17999845.php], Paige Duggins-Clay, San Antonio Express-News, May 2, 2023 Willful Defiance: The Movement to Dismantle the School-to-Prison Pipeline [https://books.google.com/books?id=kS5CEAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_book_other_versions_r&cad=2#v=onepage&q&f=false], by Mark R. Warren (Amazon [https://www.amazon.com/Willful-Defiance-Dismantle-School-Prison/dp/0197611516]) Joint Testimony in Opposition to SB 245 [https://www.idra.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Joint-Testimony-in-Opposition-to-SB-245_IDRA.pdf], submitted by IDRA, Texas Center for Justice and Equity, and Texas Appleseed Against SB 245, to the House Committee on Public Health, April 12, 2023 – See video [https://idra.news/TxSB245Vid] Zero Tolerance Policies Push Students Away – High Attrition Rates of Black Students and Hispanic Students Are Linked to Exclusionary Discipline [http://www.idra.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/IDRA-Attrition-Study-2016.pdf], Supplemental analysis in 2015-16 IDRA attrition study, by Roy Johnson, M.S., IDRA Listening Session on Federal Relief – The Next Steps for our Children, Teachers and Parents in Uvalde [https://www.idra.org/resource-center/listening-session-on-federal-relief-the-next-steps-for-our-children-teachers-and-parents-in-uvalde/] – Testimony by Morgan Craven, J.D., IDRA National Director of Policy, Advocacy, and Community Engagement Presented before the U.S. Congressional Children’s Caucus, September 26, 2022 – See video [https://www.idra.org/resource-center/congressional-childrens-caucus-listening-session-in-uvalde-livestream/] Commentary: It’s past time for corporal punishment to end in schools [https://www.expressnews.com/opinion/commentary/article/corporal-punishment-texas-education-schools-18402535.php], Morgan Craven, San Antonio Express-News, October 6, 2023 LISTEN TO EVERY EPISODE! To ensure you don’t miss a single episode of IDRA Classnotes, sign up to receive an e-mail alert [https://idra.news/SubscribeNow] as soon as a new show is published and subscribe to the podcast in iTunes [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/idra-classnotes/id201222665?mt=2], Spotify [https://idra.news/PodOnSpotify]. Amazon Music [https://idra.news/PodOnAmazon] or Google Podcasts [https://idra.news/PodOnGoogle]. The post The Law in Education – Gun Free Schools Act – Classnotes Podcast 244 [https://www.idra.org/resource-center/the-law-in-education-gun-free-schools-act-classnotes-podcast-244/] appeared first on IDRA [https://www.idra.org].