Putting Students First

In this episode, League of Education Voters CEO Arik Korman interviews Ben Shuldiner, Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools . Ben discusses what drives him, how he measures success for his priorities, what his strategy is for closing longstanding opportunity gaps, how he is implementing student and family engagement, what worked and what didn't work in his personal education journey, and how he...

In this episode, League of Education Voters CEO Arik Korman interviews Michelle Whitney, the 2026 Washington state Superintendent of the Year , who has served as Superintendent of the Pasco School District for the past 10 years. Michelle discusses what makes Pasco's dual language, highly capable, and career technical education (CTE) programs special, what worked and what didn't work in her persona...

In this episode, League of Education Voters CEO Arik Korman interviews Gabriela Whitemarsh, the 2026 Washington state Teacher of the Year , who teaches Bilingual Math at Pasco High School in the Pasco School District. Gabriela discusses how her bilingual math program came to be, what outcomes and barriers she has seen for her program, what worked and what didn't work in her personal education jour...

In this episode, League of Education Voters CEO Arik Korman interviews  John B. King , Secretary of Education under President Obama and currently the chancellor of the  State University of New York  (SUNY), the nation’s largest comprehensive system of public higher education. Secretary King discusses how important it is for every student to have at least one caring adult in every school building,...

In this episode, League of Education Voters CEO Arik Korman interviews Zaretta Hammond , author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain , about how culturally responsive teaching supports students in the classroom, how best to embed equity into education in Washington state, what worked and what didn't work in her own education journey, and how she would change Washington’s education syste...

In this episode, Dr. Marcus Pimpleton , Chair of the League of Education Voters (LEV) Board and Principal at Mariner High School in the Mukilteo School District, discusses how he bridges cultural divides, how he engages students as a leader, how to embed equity into Washington state's K-12 system, what worked and what didn't work in his own education journey, and how he would change Washington’s e...

In this episode, we interview Kelly Guilfoil from the Lake Stevens School District, one of eight 2025 Washington Regional Teachers of the Year, about how her students are doing in the wake of the national election, what worked and what didn't work in her own education journey, and how she would change Washington state’s education system if she were in charge and there were no budgetary constraints...

In this episode, we interview Kim Broomer, the 2025 Washington state Teacher of the Year , about what inclusion is, why inclusion is important, how inclusionary practices can be implemented, and how she would change Washington state’s education system if she were in charge and there were no budgetary constraints.

Yale School of Management professor Ebony Reed , a seasoned journalist who is also the Chief Strategy Officer at  The Marshall Project , a news outlet focused on the justice system, discusses the intersection of race and money, how the current Black/white wealth gap compares to the gap after the Civil War, and how we should talk to our kids about wealth. Ebony’s new book, co-authored with Louise S...

Game-changing disability rights attorney Bill Dussault discusses how Washington state’s special education law came to be, how Washington’s law impacted federal policy and the creation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, what needs to happen next with Washington’s special education system, and what we in the community can do to help make the necessary changes happen.

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah , New York Times bestselling author and Adjunct Assistant Professor at Columbia University, discusses whether you can be a fan of consumer sports like the NFL and still criticize them, how we can disrupt America's systemic racism, unchecked capitalism, and mass incarceration, and why it's important to value and respect the leadership of our youth.

In this episode, Spokane Regional Field Director Kenji Linane-Booey interviews Mike Poutiatine, Charlie Wolff, and Eric Jurasin of the Alliance of Innovative Educational Redesign (AIER) about the importance of choice school programs in the Spokane region and the School Choice Fair AIER is hosting on January 18th at The Hive .

In this episode, we interview Blaire Penry, the 2024 Washington state Teacher of the Year , about how career technical education and fine arts can be taught in an equitable way, how her students lead their learning, how to create culturally responsive practices at the school district level, and how she would change Washington state’s education system if she were in charge and there were no budgeta...

In this episode, League of Education Voters Interim Co-CEO / Communications Director Arik Korman interviews Adar Abdi , a senior at Evergreen High School in Highline Public Schools, a Running Start student at South Seattle College, the Director of Community Outreach for the Washington state Legislative Youth Advisory Council (LYAC), and a current King County Equity Cabinet member. Adar discusses h...

In this episode, League of Education Voters Interim Co-CEO / Communications Director Arik Korman interviews Jeremiah Audet , a sophomore at Rogers High School in Spokane Public Schools and a member of the Student Potential Youth Advisory Council (SPYAC), part of the Investing in Student Potential coalition that was created to design systems to give every learner what they need, when they need it....

Isolation and restraint in schools hurts our most vulnerable students. In this episode, League of Education Voters Acting CEO Arik Korman discusses alternatives to isolation and restraint of students, policies that can be implemented at the school district level to support school leaders and staff, and direct impacts of isolation and restraint on students. We were honored to interview: Justin Hend...

In this episode, we interview Dana Miles, the 2023 Washington state Teacher of the Year, about why language is so important to students in the deaf community, strategies for preparing students in the deaf community for what comes after high school, her personal education journey, what she would change if she were in charge of our state's education system, and why she loves the Harry Potter saga.

In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman interviews Dr. Brent Jones, Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools, about his priorities for Seattle Public Schools and how he measures success, how the district is supporting student mental health, his personal education journey, and what he would change if he were in charge of Washington state’s education system an...

In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman interviews former NPR Education Correspondent Anya Kamenetz about the impacts of keeping students out of school as long as we did during the COVID pandemic, why this past school year was so challenging for students and educators, and why it's so important for schools to prioritize relationships and social-emotional wel...

In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman interviews Nate Bowling, the 2016 Washington state Teacher of the Year and National Teacher of the Year Finalist, about how to engage students during this time of political upheaval, how to help educators and administrators better engage families, and why it's so important to participate in state and local elections.

In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman interviews Mark Follman, National Affairs Editor for Mother Jones, who discusses which supports and warning signs could prevent mass shootings, how to keep bias out of the threat assessment process, and how to know when is the right time to intervene. Mark's new book is Trigger Points: Inside the Mission to Stop Mass S...

In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman interviews Luma Mufleh, the founder of Fugees Family whose TED Talk on educational justice for refugee families has been viewed more than 1.7 million times. Luma discusses what it's like being dropped into a classroom when you don't know English, what supports we should provide to students who are refugees, and how we...

In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman interviews 2022 Washington state Teacher of the Year Jerad Koepp about what supports Native American students need, what worked and didn't work in his own educational journey, and how he would change our education system if there were no budgetary constraints.

In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman interviews adult-child interaction specialist Betty Peralta about what social-emotional learning (SEL) is, how teachers and administrators can benefit from SEL, how the state can support SEL in Washington's 295 school districts, how parents can advocate for SEL in their student's classroom, and more. Betty recently led...

In this episode, League of Education Voters Communications Director Arik Korman asks Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt, Stanford Psychology Professor and MacArthur genius grant recipient, how to address implicit racial bias in schools, what we can do to help adults overcome bias, and how implicit bias differs from overt racism.