In this powerful episode of Identity Talk 4 Educators LIVE, I sit down with educator, author, and equity leader Shane Safir and and street data practitioner Marlo Bagsik to explore how their bestselling book, "Pedagogies of Voice: Street Data and the Path to Student Agency", can radically transform our classrooms and schools. Drawing from their groundbreaking work, Shane and Marlo unpack what it truly means to center student voice not as a buzzword or performative gesture, but as a driving force for liberation, agency, and deeper learning. To learn more about Shane and Marlo's work, you can visit the brand new Pedagogies of Voice website at pedagogiesofvoice.com. You can also follow each of the co-authors on the following platforms: 👉🏾 Shane: Instagram (@shanesafir_author), LinkedIn 👉🏾 Marlo: Instagram (@marlobagsik), LinkedIn To learn more about Identity Talk Consulting and the professional development services that we offer, visit our website at https://identitytalk4educators.com. STAY CONNECTED WITH KWAME: 👉🏾 Instagram: / https://instagram.com/kwam_the_identity_shaper 👉🏾 YouTube: / @kwamesarfo-mensah5785 👉🏾 LinkedIn: / https://linkedin.com/in/kwame-sarfo-mensah LISTEN TO THE PODCAST: 👉🏾 Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/identity-talk-4-educators-live/id1509599570 👉🏾 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/23k0HRkXxi1OJSahtqS7xO SIGN UP FOR AN E-COURSE WITH KWAME! 👉🏾 https://eduspark.world/profile/9312b128-7573-440d-8d78-fb24cc4fa066/creator SUBSCRIBE TO THE IDENTITY TALK NEWSLETTER! 👉🏾 https://identitytalk.kit.com/9e744003e9 READ MY BOOKS! 👉🏾 “Learning to Relearn” - https://www.routledge.com/Learning-to-Relearn-Supporting-Identity-in-a-Culturally-Affirming-Classroom/Sarfo-Mensah/p/book/9781625316226 👉🏾 “Shaping the Teacher Identity” - https://www.amazon.com/Shaping-Teacher-Identity-Lessons-Define/dp/1723480835 VISIT THE IDENTITY TALK APPAREL SHOP! 👉🏾 https://the-identity-talk-apparel-shop.creator-spring.com/ JOIN THE FORUM TODAY! 👉🏾 https://identitytalk4educators.com/pricing-plans/list TO SEND A DONATION: 👉🏾 CashApp - https://cash.app/$idtalk4ed 👉🏾 Venmo - https://venmo.com/u/kwamesm 👉🏾 PayPal - https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/kwamesm ________________________________________________________________________________________ Timestamps: 0:00-1:01 - Welcome to IDTALK4ED LIVE 1:02-3:30 - Podcast Subscription Reminders & Learning to Relearn Promo 3:31-6:06 - Introducing Shane Safir & Marlo Bagsik 6:07-18:26 - Shane and Marlo's Start in Education & K-12 Schooling Journey 18:27-21:07 - Shane's Leadership Journey 21:08-25:37 - Marlo's Introduction to Street Data 25:38-26:37 - Identity Talk Consulting Promo 26:38-36:56 - Pedagogies of Voice 36:57-45:07 - Teacher Entry Points for Combating Systemic Barriers 45:08-48:54 - How to Incorporate Student Voice with Fidelity 48:55-49:54 - The Forum Promo 49:55-53:14 - What keeps you hopeful about the future? (Shane) 53:15-54:37- How do you stay true to the teacher in you? (Shane) 54:38-56:46 - What keeps you hopeful about the future? (Shane) 56:47-58:07 - How do you stay true to the teacher in you? (Marlo) 58:08-59:25 - How to connect with Shane & Marlo 59:26-1:00:34 - Thank Yous & Goodbyes BIO: Shane Safir has worked at every level of the education system, from the classroom to the boardroom, for 25 years. In 2003, after teaching in San Francisco and Oakland and organizing in the community to launch a new school, Safir became the founding co-principal of June Jordan School for Equity (JJSE), an innovative national model identified by leading scholar Linda Darling-Hammond as "supporting the success of low-income students of color.” Since 2008, Safir has provided equity-centered leadership coaching, strategic planning, and professional development for schools, districts, and organizations across the U.S., Canada, and beyond. She is the author of The Listening Leader: Creating the Conditions for Equitable School Transformation (Jossey-Bass: 2017) and the bestselling Street Data: A Next-Generation Model for Equity, Pedagogy, and School Transformation (Corwin, 2021), coauthored with Dr. Jamila Dugan. Since 2013, Marlo Bagsik has dedicated his career to advancing equity and social justice in education, with a focus on ensuring the highest quality education for historically oppressed groups. His work, rooted in English Language Arts, extends to Restorative Justice, Trauma-Informed Care, Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), and adult learning. With degrees from UC Berkeley and USC, Marlo has been a leader in transforming schools into antiracist, inclusive environments. Currently, as the District Professional Learning Coordinator in the SF Bay Area, Marlo continues to champion systemic change that honors the dignity and humanity of every student and educator. He’s a forever educator, facilitator, equity strategist, author and speaker.

How do schools often unintentionally create race? In this week's episode, we speak with Dr. Laura Chávez-Moreno, scholar, educator, and author of the multi-award-winning book, "How Schools Make Race: Teaching Latinx Racialization in America", to unpack the ways that everyday policies, labels, and interactions shape racial identities and perpetuate inequities for Latinx and multilingual students. Drawing from years of ethnographic research in elementary schools, Dr. Chávez-Moreno reveals how language classification, “neutral” school practices, and deficit-based narratives contribute to the racialization of students. The conversation also delves into the intersection of race, language, and immigration, exploring the impact of anti-Blackness, policy rollbacks, and immigration enforcement on school communities and what educators can do to resist these harmful systems. To learn more about Dr. Chávez-Moreno's work, you can visit her website at laurachavezmoreno.com or follow her on LinkedIn. To learn more about Identity Talk Consulting and the professional development services that we offer, visit our website at https://identitytalk4educators.com. STAY CONNECTED WITH KWAME: 👉🏾 Instagram: / https://instagram.com/kwam_the_identity_shaper 👉🏾 YouTube: / @kwamesarfo-mensah5785 👉🏾 LinkedIn: / https://linkedin.com/in/kwame-sarfo-mensah LISTEN TO THE PODCAST: 👉🏾 Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/identity-talk-4-educators-live/id1509599570 👉🏾 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/23k0HRkXxi1OJSahtqS7xO SIGN UP FOR AN E-COURSE WITH KWAME! 👉🏾 https://eduspark.world/profile/9312b128-7573-440d-8d78-fb24cc4fa066/creator SUBSCRIBE TO THE IDENTITY TALK NEWSLETTER! 👉🏾 https://identitytalk.kit.com/9e744003e9 READ MY BOOKS! 👉🏾 “Learning to Relearn” - https://www.routledge.com/Learning-to-Relearn-Supporting-Identity-in-a-Culturally-Affirming-Classroom/Sarfo-Mensah/p/book/9781625316226 👉🏾 “Shaping the Teacher Identity” - https://www.amazon.com/Shaping-Teacher-Identity-Lessons-Define/dp/1723480835 VISIT THE IDENTITY TALK APPAREL SHOP! 👉🏾 https://the-identity-talk-apparel-shop.creator-spring.com/ JOIN THE FORUM TODAY! 👉🏾 https://identitytalk4educators.com/pricing-plans/list TO SEND A DONATION: 👉🏾 CashApp - https://cash.app/$idtalk4ed 👉🏾 Venmo - https://venmo.com/u/kwamesm 👉🏾 PayPal - https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/kwamesm ________________________________________________________________________________________ Timestamps: 0:00-1:03 - Welcome to IDTALK4ED LIVE 1:04-3:43 - Podcast Subscription Reminders & Learning to Relearn Promo 3:44-6:06 - Introducing Dr. Laura Chávez-Moreno 6:07-12:45 - Dr. Chávez-Moreno's K-12 Schooling Journey 12:46-15:37 - Dr. Chávez-Moreno's Early Years as a Spanish Teacher 15:38-17:33 - How Schools Make Race 17:34-18:33 - The Forum Promo 18:34-23:03 - How Schools Make Race (cont.) 23:04-27:47 - Unpacking Anti-Blackness & Parents' Reaction to Research Behind "How Schools Make Race" 27:48-33:56 - Evaluating Teacher Prep Programs in the Context of ABAR Work 33:57-34:54 - Identity Talk Consulting Promo 34:55-38:20 - The Impact of Anti-Immigrant Sentiment on Racialization Practices 38:21-45:43 - Action Steps for Dismantling Racialization Practices 45:44-46:32 - How do you stay true to the teacher in you? 46:33-47:43 - How to connect with Dr. Chávez-Moreno 47:44-48:27 - Thank Yous & Goodbyes BIO: Laura C. Chávez-Moreno is an award-winning researcher, qualitative social scientist, and assistant professor at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in the Departments of Chicana/o & Central American Studies and Education. She received her PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education in Curriculum & Instruction. Dr. Chávez-Moreno’s research has been published in top-tier journals such as Review of Educational Research, Educational Researcher, American Educational Research Journal, Research in the Teaching of English, and Journal of Teacher Education. She has earned multiple awards, including from the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Division G Social Contexts in Education; AERA Latinx Research Issues Special Interest Group (SIG); AERA Bilingual Education Research SIG; American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education; and National Association of Bilingual Education. Notably, she was awarded a 2022 National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship. The National Council for Teachers of English awarded the 2023 Alan C. Purves Award to her article in Research in the Teaching of English, “The continuum of racial literacies: Teacher practices countering whitestream bilingual education.” She served as a high school teacher of Spanish in the School District of Philadelphia for five years, wrote district curriculum, and served on boards of community organizations. She grew up in Douglas, Arizona, and Agua Prieta, Sonora, México.

In this week's episode, I sit down with Dr. Sheldon Eakins, founder of Purposeful Teaching Academy and host of the Leading Equity Podcast, to unpack his educator journey, the urgent need for equity-centered leadership, and his forthcoming book “What Are You Bringing to the Potluck?: How School Leaders Set the Table for a Community of Belonging?” We also discuss what it means to bring your full, authentic self to the educational table, the current attacks on culturally responsive teaching, and how school leaders can navigate today’s political tensions without compromising their values. To learn more about Dr. Eakins' work, you can visit the Purposeful Teaching Academy website at purposeful247.com or follow him on Instagram (@sheldoneakins) and LinkedIn. To learn more about Identity Talk Consulting and the professional development services that we offer, visit our website at https://identitytalk4educators.com. STAY CONNECTED WITH KWAME: 👉🏾 Instagram: / https://instagram.com/kwam_the_identity_shaper 👉🏾 YouTube: / @kwamesarfo-mensah5785 👉🏾 LinkedIn: / https://linkedin.com/in/kwame-sarfo-mensah LISTEN TO THE PODCAST: 👉🏾 Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/identity-talk-4-educators-live/id1509599570 👉🏾 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/23k0HRkXxi1OJSahtqS7xO SIGN UP FOR AN E-COURSE WITH KWAME! 👉🏾 https://eduspark.world/profile/9312b128-7573-440d-8d78-fb24cc4fa066/creator SUBSCRIBE TO THE IDENTITY TALK NEWSLETTER! 👉🏾 https://identitytalk.kit.com/9e744003e9 READ MY BOOKS! 👉🏾 “Learning to Relearn” - https://www.routledge.com/Learning-to-Relearn-Supporting-Identity-in-a-Culturally-Affirming-Classroom/Sarfo-Mensah/p/book/9781625316226 👉🏾 “Shaping the Teacher Identity” - https://www.amazon.com/Shaping-Teacher-Identity-Lessons-Define/dp/1723480835 VISIT THE IDENTITY TALK APPAREL SHOP! 👉🏾 https://the-identity-talk-apparel-shop.creator-spring.com/ JOIN THE FORUM TODAY! 👉🏾 https://identitytalk4educators.com/pricing-plans/list TO SEND A DONATION: 👉🏾 CashApp - https://cash.app/$idtalk4ed 👉🏾 Venmo - https://venmo.com/u/kwamesm 👉🏾 PayPal - https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/kwamesm ________________________________________________________________________________________ Timestamps: 0:00-1:03 - Welcome to IDTALK4ED LIVE 1:04-3:55 - Podcast Subscription Reminders & Learning to Relearn Promo 3:56-11:08 - Introducing Dr. Sheldon Eakins 11:09-20:41 - Dr. Eakins' Start in Education & K-12 Schooling Journey 20:42-21:41 - The Forum Promo 21:42-29:42 - The Making of "What Are You Bringing to the Potluck?" 29:43-34:08 - "Dishes" That School Leaders Forget to Bring to the Potluck 34:09-40:21 - "Condiments" That School Leaders Forget to Bring to the Potluck 40:22-41:00 - Thaddeus' Nature Notebook Promo 41:01-43:20 - School Leaders' Role in Activating Student Voice 43:21-53:23 - Fears That School Leaders Have about Engaging in Equity Work 53:24-56:28 - Purposeful Teaching Academy 56:29-57:47 - How do you stay true to the teacher in you? 57:48-58:43 - How to connect with Dr. Eakins 58:44-59:18 - Thank Yous & Goodbyes BIO: Sheldon L. Eakins, Ph.D., is the Founder of the Purposeful Teaching Academy. Dr. Eakins is also the host of The Art of Advocacy Livestream and the Leading Equity Podcast. Furthermore, Dr. Eakins is the author of "Leading Equity: Becoming an Advocate for All Students" and his upcoming book, "What Are You Bringing to the Potluck?: How School Leaders Set the Table for a Community of Belonging?". With over 15 years in education, he has served as a teacher, school principal, adjunct professor, and Director of Special Education. Dr. Eakins is passionate about helping educators accomplish equitable practices in their schools. He has earned a B.S. degree in Social Science Education, an M.S. degree in Educational Leadership, and a Ph.D. in K-12 Education.