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 – Journalist Ebony Reed on the Black-White Wealth Gap

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.

Black-White wealth gapIn this episode, League of Education Voters CEO Arik Korman interviews Yale School of Management professor Ebony Reed, a seasoned journalist who is also the Chief Strategy Officer at The Marshall Project, a news outlet focused on the justice system, who discusses the intersection of race and money, how the current Black/white wealth gap compares to the gap after the Civil War, and how we should talk to our kids about wealth. Ebony’s new book, co-authored with Louise Story, is Fifteen Cents on the Dollar: How Americans Made the Black-White Wealth Gap.

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Podcast – Bill Dussault on Special Education Law and Next Steps

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 game-changing disability rights attorney Bill Dussault, who discusses how Washington state’s special education law came to be, how Washington’s law impacted federal policy and the creation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, what needs to happen next with Washington’s special education system, and what we in the community can do to help make the necessary changes happen.

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Podcast – Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah on the Power of Student Voice

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 Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, New York Times bestselling author and Adjunct Assistant Professor at Columbia University, who discusses whether you can be a fan of consumer sports like the NFL and still criticize them, how we can disrupt America’s systemic racism, unchecked capitalism, and mass incarceration, and why it’s important to value and respect the leadership of our youth.

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Podcast – The Alliance of Innovative Educational Redesign (AIER)

by Arik Korman

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 Spokane Regional Field Director Kenji Linane-Booey interviews Mike Poutiatine, Charlie Wolff, and Eric Jurasin of the Alliance of Innovative Educational Redesign (AIER) about the importance of choice school programs in the Spokane region and the School Choice Fair AIER is hosting on January 18th at The Hive.

 

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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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