Podcast – Gabriela Whitemarsh, 2026 WA state Teacher of the Year

by Arik Korman

In our Putting Students First podcast, we interview students, policymakers, partners, and thought leaders to spotlight education policies, research, and practices so that together we can create learning environments where every Washington student feels safe, supported, and a positive sense of belonging, so that they can achieve academically and access the life they choose.

In this episode, League of Education Voters CEO Arik Korman interviews Gabriela Whitemarsh, the 2026 Washington state Teacher of the Year, who teaches Bilingual Math at Pasco High School in the Pasco School District. Gabriela discusses how her bilingual math program came to be, what outcomes and barriers she has seen for her program, what worked and what didn’t work in her personal education journey, and how she would change Washington’s education system if she were in charge and there were no budgetary constraints.

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Podcast – John B. King on the Teachers Who Change Our Lives

by Arik Korman

In our Putting Students First podcast, we interview students, policymakers, partners, and thought leaders to spotlight education policies, research, and practices so that together we can create learning environments where every Washington student feels safe, supported, and a positive sense of belonging, so that they can achieve academically and access the life they choose.

In this episode, League of Education Voters CEO Arik Korman interviews John B. King, Secretary of Education under President Obama and currently the chancellor of the State University of New York (SUNY), the nation’s largest comprehensive system of public higher education. Secretary King discusses how important it is for every student to have at least one caring adult in every school building, how we can shift mindsets so educators believe that every student can learn, what the value is of public K-12 and higher education, and how he would change our nation’s education system if there were no budgetary constraints.

Secretary King’s new book is Teacher By Teacher: The People Who Change Our Lives. Follow him on Instagram @johnbkingjr and on X @johnbking.

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Podcast – Zaretta Hammond on Culturally Responsive Teaching

by Arik Korman

In our Putting Students First podcast, we interview students, policymakers, partners, and thought leaders to spotlight education policies, research, and practices so that together we can create learning environments where every Washington student feels safe, supported, and a positive sense of belonging, so that they can achieve academically and access the life they choose.

In this episode, League of Education Voters CEO Arik Korman interviews Zaretta Hammond, author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain, about how culturally responsive teaching supports students in the classroom, how best to embed equity into education in Washington state, what worked and what didn’t work in her own education journey, and how she would change Washington’s education system if she were in charge and there were no budgetary constraints.

Zaretta’s new book, Rebuilding Students’ Learning Power: Teaching for Instructional Equity and Cognitive Justice, will be published in September. Sign up for her newsletter at CRTandTheBrain.com

 

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Podcast – Dr. Marcus Pimpleton, Chair of the LEV Board

by Arik Korman

In our Putting Students First podcast, we interview students, policymakers, partners, and thought leaders to spotlight education policies, research, and practices so that together we can create learning environments where every Washington student feels safe, supported, and a positive sense of belonging.

In this episode, League of Education Voters CEO Arik Korman interviews Dr. Marcus Pimpleton, Chair of the League of Education Voters (LEV) Board and Principal at Mariner High School in the Mukilteo School District, about how he bridges cultural divides, how he engages students as a leader, how to embed equity into Washington state’s K-12 system, what worked and what didn’t work in his own education journey, and how he would change Washington’s education system if he were in charge and there were no budgetary constraints.

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Podcast – Kelly Guilfoil, 2025 Regional Teacher of the Year

by Arik Korman

In our Putting Students First podcast, we interview students, policymakers, partners, and thought leaders to spotlight education policies, research, and practices so that together we can create learning environments where every Washington student feels safe, supported, and a positive sense of belonging.

In this episode, League of Education Voters CEO Arik Korman interviews Kelly Guilfoil from the Lake Stevens School District, one of eight 2025 Washington Regional Teachers of the Year, about how her students are doing in the wake of the national election, what worked and what didn’t work in her own education journey, and how she would change Washington state’s education system if she were in charge and there were no budgetary constraints.

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Podcast – Kim Broomer, 2025 Washington state Teacher of the Year

by Arik Korman

In our Putting Students First podcast, we interview students, policymakers, partners, and thought leaders to spotlight education policies, research, and practices so that together we can create learning environments where every Washington student feels safe, supported, and a positive sense of belonging.

In this episode, League of Education Voters CEO Arik Korman interviews Kim Broomer, the 2025 Washington state Teacher of the Year, about what inclusion is, why inclusion is important, how inclusionary practices can be implemented, and how she would change Washington state’s education system if she were in charge and there were no budgetary constraints.

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Podcast – Blaire Penry, 2024 Washington state Teacher of the Year

by Arik Korman

Blaire Penry, the 2024 Washington state Teacher of the YearIn our Putting Students First podcast, we interview policymakers, partners, and thought leaders to spotlight education policies, research, and practices so that together we can create a brighter future for every Washington student.

In this episode, League of Education Voters Interim Co-CEO / Communications Director Arik Korman interviews Blaire Penry, the 2024 Washington state Teacher of the Year, about how career technical education and fine arts can be taught in an equitable way, how her students lead their learning, how to create culturally responsive practices at the school district level, and how she would change Washington state’s education system if she were in charge and there were no budgetary constraints.

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Partners in Action – The Spokane Future Teachers of Color Consortium

by Arik Korman

By Maria Esther Zamora, English Language Development teacher at Spokane Virtual Academy
Guest Blogger

 

How can we reduce the disparity between the number of students of color in our community versus the educators of color across the K-12 and higher education systems? This has been the question that I have posted to colleagues, administrators, and community leaders when having courageous conversations.

I have been a proud educator of color in Spokane for 26 years. I am a first-generation immigrant from Mexico, who has worked in various educational systems, from being a professor at Graduate School and University level to now being in the K-12 public education system. I had to reinvent myself when I moved to this area, learn English, and go back to graduate school to get my Teaching Certification credential while raising my family and working full time. It was a difficult endeavor, but not as challenging as to survive in a predominantly white professional field. I have persevered through all kinds of barriers to achieve my most important professional goal, which has been to inspire my students to believe in the power of education to achieve freedom.

I have always felt that there is no better way to transcend than to teach what you know, which is how to maintain your cultural values and contribute to building a multicultural community that embraces minorities in this noble professional field. As a mother of bicultural children and an advocate for immigrants and refuge students and families, I have believed that it is imperative to have more role models and educators that look like us. Furthermore, I have seen the greatness that comes from demonstrating our excellent standards and work ethics to collaborate hand in hand to educate our community. Read More

Recap: Washington state Teachers of the Year on Reimagining Education after COVID

by Arik Korman

By Lizzeth Mancilla
Engagement and Policy Intern

 

As we enter the final quarter of this historic and challenging school year, students, families, and educators across Washington are navigating remote, hybrid, and modified in-person learning environments. But what should education look like when all schools reopen?

In this webinar, Washington state Teachers of the Year Brooke Brown (2021), Amy Campbell (2020), Robert Hand (2019), Mandy Manning (2018, and the 2018 National Teacher of the Year), Camille Jones (2017), Nate Bowling (2016), and Lyon Terry (2015) shared what they are hearing from students, families, and colleagues in their community on how the 2020-21 school year is going, how they recommend reimagining education based on what they have learned from teaching during the COVID pandemic, and answered your questions.
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Podcast – The Educators of Color Leadership Community

by Arik Korman
From Top Left: Brooke Brown, Stephanie Gallardo, Tamasha Emedi, Denise Daniels, Brad Brown, Eileen Yoshina

In our Putting Students First podcast, we interview policymakers, partners, and thought leaders to spotlight education policies, research, and practices so that together we can create a brighter future for every Washington student.

In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman hosts a panel discussion about the Puget Sound Educational Service District’s successful Educators of Color Leadership Community (ECLC), in which panelists address why educator diversity is so important, what the barriers are to recruitment and retention of teachers of color, how the Educators of Color Leadership Community supports teachers of color, and how we can scale the ECLC’s work to support teachers of color across Washington state.

We were honored to interview:

Brooke Brown, 2021 Washington state Teacher of the Year and Regional Teacher of the Year from Puget Sound Educational Service District 121, who teaches English and Ethnic Studies at Washington High School in the Franklin Pierce School District

Stephanie Gallardo, who teaches social studies at Foster High School in the Tukwila School District

Tamasha Emedi, Assistant Principal at Hazel Valley Elementary School in Highline Public Schools

Denise Daniels, Director of Recruitment, Retention and Workforce Development in the Auburn School District and President of the Kent School District Board of Directors

Brad Brown, Executive Director of Kindergarten through Post-Secondary at the Puget Sound Educational Service District

Eileen Yoshina, Director of Equity in Education at the Puget Sound Educational Service District, who facilitates the Educators of Color Leadership Community

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