The narrative of “failing public schools” has long been used to justify privatization. This episode offers a different story: the community school.
We begin with a conversation with kindergarten teacher Kelly McMahon about what “community school” actually means in practice, then widen out to the people building and supporting these schools coast to coast and border to border. We hear from NEA policy specialists who support thousands of community schools nationwide, and from organizer Jitu Brown about the Sustainable Community Schools movement in Chicago, where Mayor Brandon Johnson announced an expansion to 36 community schools. The throughline: community schools are not a stopgap, but the future of public education.
Guest Information
- Kelly McMahon is a kindergarten teacher at Hoover Community School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
- Jitu Brown is a community organizer and a member of the Chicago Public Schools Board.
- Angelia Ebner and Dave Greenberg are senior policy analysts and community schools program specialists at the National Education Association.
Show Notes & Recommendations
- NEA community schools resources and measurement guidance
- Chicago’s Sustainable Community Schools initiative
- Ghosts in the Schoolyard (Eve Ewing)