Podcast – Ben Shuldiner, Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools

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 Ben Shuldiner, Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools. Ben discusses what drives him, how he measures success for his priorities, what his strategy is for closing longstanding opportunity gaps, how he is implementing student and family engagement, what worked and what didn’t work in his personal education journey, and how he would change Washington state’s education system if he were in charge and there were no budgetary constraints.

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Podcast – Michelle Whitney, 2026 WA Superintendent 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 Michelle Whitney, the 2026 Washington state Superintendent of the Year, who has served as Superintendent of the Pasco School District for the past 10 years. Michelle discusses what makes Pasco’s dual language, highly capable, and career technical education (CTE) programs special, 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 – 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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Washington Game Changers Podcast – Joe Hunter, Jr. and Tony Allison, founders of RARE (Roosevelt Alumni for Racial Equity)

by Arik Korman
Joe Hunter, Jr. (L) and Tony Allison

Washington Game Changers with Lauri Hennessey features leaders who give back to our community, drive innovative solutions, and inspire others in making our state more equitable and just. This podcast is a one-on-one conversation with these powerful leaders in a time when we need to hear about more good in the world.

In this episode, League of Education Voters CEO Lauri Hennessey talks with Joe Hunter, Jr. and Tony Allison. They were classmates at Roosevelt High School fifty years ago. But looking back all of these years later, they and many of their peers realized we have not progressed in truly creating schools that are equitable. They created RARE (Roosevelt Alumni for Racial Equity) to give parents and community members everywhere – not just at Roosevelt – a chance to face these difficult issues together, creating a documentary and participating in discussions such as this one.

 

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Washington Game Changers Podcast – Critical Race Theory Scholar Edwin Lindo

by Arik Korman

Washington Game Changers with Lauri Hennessey features leaders who give back to our community, drive innovative solutions, and inspire others in making our state more equitable and just. This podcast is a one-on-one conversation with these powerful leaders in a time when we need to hear about more good in the world.

In this episode, League of Education Voters CEO Lauri Hennessey talks with Edwin Lindo, a Critical Race Theory scholar at the University of Washington. Professor Lindo addresses the controversy around Critical Race Theory, clarifying what it is and also how incredibly important it is that students learn about our true history. You can find more about him on Twitter @edwinlindo.

 

Book recommendations from Estelita’s Library:

 

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Washington Game Changers Podcast – Dr. Ben Danielson

by Arik Korman

Washington Game Changers with Lauri Hennessey features leaders who give back to our community, drive innovative solutions, and inspire others in making our state more equitable and just. This podcast is a one-on-one conversation with these powerful leaders in a time when we need to hear about more good in the world.

In this episode, Dr. Ben Danielson, formerly the Director of the Odessa Brown Clinic at Seattle Children’s and now with UW Medicine, talks about his personal and career journey, and his work to advance racial equity.

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The Time for Action on Racial Equity Is Now

by Arik Korman

By Raymond Fenton
Guest Blogger

 

Across Washington state, most students have already completed little over a month of remote learning. As some adjust to this new normal and begin to settle, others are faced with adjusting to a little more than virtual classrooms and limited social interactions with peers. While we endure COVID-19, we are also witnessing, perhaps, the largest civil rights movement in America’s history.

As protests for Black lives intensify our focus on race and racism, and the pandemic increases strain on our economy and healthcare system, social inequalities across the nation could not be more visible. So where does that leave our most vulnerable in the education system?

That was the topic of Thursday’s virtual event: Racial Equity in Education, where the uniqueness, opportunity, and gravity of this pivotal moment was distinguished. “Now is the time.” That was the charge from Brooke Brown, 2021 WA state Teacher of the Year, as she addressed the audience yesterday. Read More