Bellwether's Year, Bellwether's Hiring, And Lakisha Young and Heather Harding Visit Wonkyfolk!

Three items today

From Bellwether, our new annual report is out. Bellwether has grown from four people in 2010 to more than 100 full time employees now. We do more things today but we're still animated by a pretty simple and essential idea: American education needs to dramatically change to work for everyone.

If that mission sounds appealing to you, we're hiring for a development director. This is a great role where you can help design strategy and support our senior leaders through development work. Learn more and learn how to be considered here.

On Monday, Jed Wallace and I had not one but two surprise guests on Wonkyfolk. Heather Harding and Lakisha Young joined to talk education politics, advocacy, and change. We released the podcast today. It was an interesting discussion about theories of change, local versus national action, and some cross currents right below the surface of the education "debate." The only problem was we didn't have enough time.

Listen here or where you get your podcasts.

Watch here:

• Introductions and the state of public education (00.03.00)

• Parent power, the work of The Oakland REACH, and shifting the narrative of the recent Oakland teachers’ strike to focus on the harm done to students (00.06.25)

• Parent power, the work of the Campaign for Our Shared Future, and the 4 aspects of its national campaign (00.23.06)  

• The theory of action, power dynamics, and defining the wins, especially as they relate to urban education (00.29.24) 

• The influence of politics on curriculum, advocacy, and community-driven solutions (00.36.32)

• The Oakland REACHS’ Liberator Model (00.42.16)

• The real threats to public education, a definitional problem, confusion, and distractions (00.47.50)

• Book bans and the sensationalism of social and national media (00.53.40)

• Responding to divisive issues and staying grounded with a focus on a home base of teaching and learning (01.07.13)