PEP (Public Education Policy) Talk: An AASA Podcast

PEP Talk Episode 25: Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) Survey Report

On this special episode of PEP Talk, producer Kat Sturdevant interviews AASA policy analyst Tara Thomas all about rural schools and the findings in the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) Survey Report released on November 15, 2023.

Check out the report here.

PEP Talk Episode 24: Student & Child Privacy

AASA's Advocacy team interviews Amelia Vance, chief counsel, and Morgan Leftwich, project director from AASA's Student & Child Privacy Center to get us up to speed about current privacy laws, the landscape, and more!

PEP Talk Episode 23: Congressional Appropriations

AASA's Advocacy team interviews Sarah Abernathy, executive director of the Committee for Education Funding (CEF) about how education funding is procured in Congress, how a budget is set, and outlooks for FY2024.

AASA and PDK Decennial Survey Podcast: Women in Leadership

AASA and PDK International have partnered in a series of podcasts to coincide with the availability of the American Superintendent 2020 Decennial Study. The second episode features CEO of PDK International Josh Starr, Almudena (Almi) G. Abeyta, superintendent, Chelsea (Mass.) Public Schools; Deb Kerr, retired superintendent and AASA immediate past president; and, Carol Kelley, superintendent, Oak Park Elementary (Ill.) School District 97 in a conversation about women in school leadership. 

AASA and PDK Decennial Survey Podcast: Race & Equity

AASA and PDK have partnered in a series of podcasts to coincide with the availability of the American Superintendent 2020 Decennial Study. The first episode features chief executive officer of PDK International Joshua Starr, Gregory Hutchings, superintendent of Alexandria (Va.) Public Schools and Jennifer Cheatham, senior lecturer, Harvard Graduate School of Education, in a conversation about race and equity in K-12 public schools.

PEP Talk Episode 19: All Things COVID

AASA's advocacy team gets into the nitty gritty of the COVID pandemic, its impact on schools (As well as what to expect in terms of a fiscal downturn), and what the federal response to COVID will mean for your schools. 

PEP Talk 18: Why Rural Matters

Today's podcast features Alan Richard, board member and journalist of the Rural School and Community Trust. Richard talks about the Trust's 2018-2019 Why Rural Matters report which analyzes cthe contexts and conditions of rural education in each of the 50 states and calls attention to the need for policymakers to address rural education issues more effectively. AASA has been proud to partner with the Rural School and Community Trust since 2017 because they are the go-to resource on the latest research and trends in education students in rural districts. Alan joins Sasha Pudelski for a discussion of some of the key findings from their signature report. 

 

Pep Talk Episode 17: Supreme Court Voucher Case

Our latest PEP Talk Podcast features Heather Weaver, Senior Staff Attorney at the ACLU, who will discus the major school voucher case that will be argued before the Supreme Court in January known as Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue. A ruling in favor of voucher proponents could dramatically change the school voucher landscape in states. 

PEP Talk Episode 16 Lead in Schools

This Week's Episode of PEP Talk features John Rumpler, Clean Water Program Director at Environment America and AASA Policy Analyst Chris Rogers. In this episode, viewers will get a chance to hear our conversation about the newly announced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the Lead and Copper Rule and its impact on school districts. Specifically, John and I delve into the prevalence of Lead in public school water systems, the difficulties of testing for leads, and steps LEAs can take to solve the problem.

PEP Talk Episode 15: Healthy Schools Campaign

We're back with the latest episode of PEP Talk- AASA's policy podcast. This week's episode features a conversation between Alex Mays, Senior National Program Director Director for the Healthy Schools Campaign and AASA Advocacy Director Sasha Pudelski. Alex discusses the important work that the Healthy Schools Campaign is doing with district leaders as part of the Healthy Students Promising Future Learning Collaborative and in particular, what's happening in States that are pursuing opportunities to expand healthcare services for children. Check out our discussion to get the latest developments on what's happening at the federal and state level in terms of Medicaid as well as how the Healthy Schools Campaign is helping districts reduce chronic absenteeism.