Head of the Class

What happens when national political battles make their way into the local schoolhouse? Did voters send a message about the future of public education in the 2026 elections? In this episode, Kristi and Christina take a deep dive into the 2026 election results, offering a post-mortem on what happened nationally and, particularly, in local public school board elections. They examine how local races...

Title IX is one of the most important civil rights laws in American education. In this episode, Kristi and Christina continue their examination of changes to Title IX, delving into the failure of the Department of Education to meaningfully investigate complaints during the time period from January 2025 to July 2026. Using data from ProPublica as a guide, the podcast covers what the absence of over...

Title IX is one of the most important civil rights laws in American education. In this episode, Kristi and Christina examine the Trump administration's return to the 2020 Title IX regulations, concerns about the formal sexual assault, sexual harassment, and sexual misconduct complaint process, and reported changes in federal enforcement involving K–12 schools. What do these changes mean for g...

In this episode, Kristi and Christina bring the podcast series on the midterms home, focusing on how state government impacts public education and what you can do to make your vote count during this historic midterm.  The future of public education is on the line. This is the fourth and final episode in a several part series exploring the midterm election impacts at the local, state, and national...

In this episode, Kristi and Christina tackle the school board culture wars greatest hits: curriculum fights, book bans, and religion in public schools.  These culture war issues are on the ballot as well, whether pushed by local school board candidates or new laws being implemented in states across the country. This is the third episode in a several part series exploring the midterm election impac...

In this episode, Kristi and Christina continue their conversation about the importance of these upcoming midterm elections on public education across the country (less than 40 days away).  From school choice to protecting civil rights in our public schools, there is a lot at stake. This is the second episode in a several part series exploring the midterm election impacts at the local, state, and n...

In this episode, Kristi and Christina delve into why the 2026 midterm election matters enormously for public education. When we hear "midterm election," we often think about Congress. But that's only part of the story. In 2026, voters will decide who represents them in Congress. Thirty-six states will elect governors. Voters in 46 states will participate in elections involving state...

In this episode, Kristi and Christina talk about the wide sweeping cuts and changes to the national Head Start program.  If you have a child in elementary school, you may think of Head Start as a preschool program, something that happens before kindergarten. But that's exactly the wrong way to think about it. Head Start is part of the pipeline into public education. And what happens to Head S...

In this episode, Kristi and Christina discuss the Christian nationalist curriculum pipeline: how a network of ideological organizations, private colleges, political operatives, and media influencers are working to reshape what kids learn in public schools. The episode explores why this movement exists, how it is spreading, and how it has rapidly become a multi-million-dollar influence industry tar...

In this episode, Kristi and Christina jump into the first of a series of podcast episodes exploring the forty year plus plan to defund, delegitimize, and, ultimately, privatize public education. This episode is a 101 for those wanting to understand where the chaos started and how got to the now national attack on public education. Visit us at ourschoolsusa.org or on Instagram ( @ourschoolsusa ). S...

In this episode, Kristi and Christina discuss the Trump (err) Project 2025 agenda and how its calls to eliminate the Department of Education are happening in function, if not in form. Visit us at ourschoolsusa.org or on Instagram ( @ourschoolsusa ). Support Our Schools USA. Text OURSCHOOLSUSA at (855) 575-7888 or visit ourschoolsusa.org/donate to donate today.

Head of the Class is back! In this episode, Kristi and Christina reintroduce Our Schools USA and their "origin" story since it has been a beat. If you can relate, this podcast is for you! If this is all new, join Kristi and Christina every week in learning more about the fight for public education. And, of course, for spicy commentary. Visit us at ourschoolsusa.org or on Instagram ( @our...

It has not even been a week since the last podcast, but when the firehose of Executive Orders is at full blast, we got to keep up. In this episode, Kristi and Christina discuss the funding freeze fiasco, the Executive Orders impacting public education, RFK Jr.'s dangerous nomination, the state voucher pushes in Tennessee and Texas, and how none is this is making America great at all. Visit us...

This past week was a blur of executive orders and agency actions emerging from the Trump Administration. While some of these actions may have been under your radar, these actions will have deep impacts on the safety of public schools. In this episode, Kristi and Christina discuss school safety, covering how everything from the U.S. leaving the World Health Organization to cybersecurity changes wil...

Come Monday, we are in the second Trump Administration (we are calling it "T2A"). What happens Day 1? What can Trump do unilaterally through Executive Orders? Who will be told "You're Fired?" How will Trump's moves immediately impact public education in America? Kristi and Christina dive into these questions and more. All they know is that it's going to be very u...

Low and behold, the group behind the chaos that has enveloped public schools and that has rejected expertise and education has launched its own university How fitting. In this episode, Kristi and Christina introduce listeners to M4LU. Not to bury the lede, but they did fail the Social Emotional Learning (SEL) "Quiz" provided by M4LU to parents.  Visit us at ourschoolsusa.org or on Instag...

It's Season 3 of Head of the Class , and what a topic to start off with: public schools as a conduit for "increasing the married birth rate." No, we cannot make this stuff up. In this episode, Kristi and Christina discuss the Heritage Foundation's (yes, the Project 2025 architects) education policy reforms, which are to gut pro-college education and programs for public schools,...

In this episode, Kristi and Christina dive into the debate around U.S. immigration policy, American education, and the increasing demand for highly skilled labor. While the recent conflict has been sparked by figures like Elon Musk, Laura Loomer, and Vivek Ramaswamy fighting on the Internet, the Our Schools team explores the impacts of culture wars in U.S. public schools and discusses how these is...

In this podcast, Kristi and Christina discuss the trend of school closures in West Virginia and how what is happening in these rural communities in the state are a sign of what is to come nationally as the far-right Christian Nationalists continues to push the defunding of public education. Visit us at ourschoolsusa.org or on Instagram ( @ourschoolsusa ). Support Our Schools USA. Text OURSCHOOLSUS...

In this episode, Kristi & Christina discuss how public schools are funded from federal, state, and local funding streams, and how cuts to the Department of Education funding to public schools could have deep impacts to your local local public school district. Visit us at ourschoolsusa.org or on Instagram ( @ourschoolsusa ). Support Our Schools USA. Text OURSCHOOLSUSA at (855) 575-7888 or visit...

In this episode, Kristi & Christina introduce listeners to Linda McMahon (yes, that WWE McMahon family), who is Trump's pick to lead the federal Department of Education. If you think the education agenda in Project 2025 is bad, just wait until you get a load of the America First Policy Institute's agenda, of which McMahon is a driving force.  Visit us at ourschoolsusa.org or on Insta...

In this episode, Kristi and Christina discuss whether President-Elect Trump can unilaterally get rid the federal Department of Education (no, he cannot). The team discusses what would be required to get such a proposal through Congress, as well as what would happen inside the Department of Education should Trump not succeed in its disbandment. Visit us at ourschoolsusa.org or on Instagram ( @oursc...

In this episode, Kristi & Christina contrast the education policy platforms of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Spoiler Alert: Not a lot of alignment. Further spoiler alert: One candidate's platform is eerily similar to Project 2025, so they revisit that as well. Visit us at ourschoolsusa.org or on Instagram ( @ourschoolsusa ). Support Our Schools USA. Text...

In this episode, Kristi & Christina discuss a looming issue in education: the inevitable trend of school closures and how America will deal with it. Across the United States, in communities that may not seem remotely similar to one another, local parents and communities are grappling with school closures. For the piece that inspired this podcast, you can read it here . Visit us at ourschoolsus...

In this episode, Kristi & Christina address "Tampon Tim", how menstruation became a discussion topic in the culture wars around public schools, and their hope that a return to common sense and compassion will be the theme of this election cycle. Visit us at ourschoolsusa.org or on Instagram ( @ourschoolsusa ). Support Our Schools USA. Text OURSCHOOLSUSA at (855) 575-7888 or visit our...