Remixing Education Podcast

In today's episode, you'll hear an interview with Lindsay Griendling, a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Virginia. As a former special educator serving students across urban, suburban, and rural middle school settings, she saw firsthand how ambiguous policy terms flow through federal, state, and local systems to perpetuate inequities among adolescents with dis/abilities from minoritized racial/ethnic backgrounds. These experiences inform her research, which centers around supporting effective communication across special education policy and practice to improve schooling experiences and outcomes for multiply-marginalized youth. During the interview, Lindsay shared a wealth of ideas to support the needs of students with disabilities.

You can find the resources Lindsay mentioned in the episode here: 

In this episode, you’ll hear part of a presentation Martin gave to a class of 20 teacher candidates who are planning on getting a teaching license and undergraduate degree in education. Martin discussed the “Success for All Learners Framework.” Basically, the premise of this framework is that by providing differentiation, culturally responsive teaching and culturally sustaining practices, collaboration, and an inclusive environment we can benefit all students. The “Success for All Learners” is at the center of this framework.

In today’s episode, you’ll hear part of a presentation Martin gave to a class of pre-service teachers defining special education and understanding the major events of special education. Also, Martin explains the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (OR IDEA) which is a piece of American legislation that ensures students with a disability are provided with Free Appropriate Public Education that is tailored to their individual needs.

In this episode, Martin interviews Marcy Doud, a soon-to-be superintendent of district 287 in Minnesota. District 287 is a consortium of 11 school districts offering more than 130 programs and services designed to help meet the unique learning needs of students. Currently, Marcy serves as the Assistant Superintendent of Special Services in Saint Paul Public Schools. Marcy discusses the importance of establishing and maintaining models and systems that promote inclusivity, high expectations, belief systems that support students with disabilities, including restorative practices, and the importance for all educators to lean into hard conversations. She also talks about the importance of empowering others through their strengths and passion for their work. 

Melissa Kalinowski is a new principal at Frost Lake Elementary. Melissa and Martin talk about how to create systems and practices that help create and nurture students with disabilities.

Frost Lake is a premier school for students in special education. The building specializes in providing services for students with mild to moderate disabilities. In addition, frost Lake implements co-teaching on every grade level within their general education classrooms. In this episode, you will hear Martin and Melissa discuss mindsets and strategies for building relationships, culturally relevant teaching, and integrating technology in the classroom.

It’s critical for our schools, districts, and policymakers to understand “intersectionality,” which is a way to understand social inequalities by acknowledging how multiple overlapping social identities impact and oppress certain populations. Examples of social identities include race, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and [dis]ability, among others. Each category – race, gender, and [dis]ability – places a student at higher risk of discrimination or oppression. In this episode, Martin talks about how to build an “intersectional perspective,” which requires sensitivity, vulnerability, and a willingness to listen to alternative perspectives. Also, he discusses how to build and maintain strong relationships with our students who have multiple overlapping social identities.

Interested in sharing this Zoom presentation recording with your colleagues? Email martin.odima@gmail.com premium access the video recording.

In this episode, you’ll hear from Dr. Christopher J. Cormier. Dr. Cormier is a former special education teacher and a current postdoctoral fellow in the Center to Support Excellence in Teaching at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. Christopher's research focuses on the professional and socio-emotional lives of minoritized teachers. He also researches the culturally informed practices of minoritized students in special education. Dr. Cormier is the current President of the Division for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Learners (DDEL) of the Council for Exceptional Children.

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