JFYNetWorks Podcast

DECEMBER 2021 PODCAST -- This month's podcast features members of the JFYNetWorks Board of Directors, who come from a variety of backgrounds and provide their insight and expertise to staff. Their dedication to JFYNetWorks adds up to over 75 combined years of service. Chairman Otis Gates, along with Treasurer Kevin Macdonald and Secretary Susan Dunningan, discuss with Executive Director Gary Kapla...

OCTOBER 2021 PODCAST -- This month’s podcast features Mossik Hacobian, the Executive Director of Higher Ground , a JFYNetWorks partner. Higher Ground was founded in 2010 to address the reasons for the historical lack of improvement in health and educational outcomes for children and families in Boston’s low-income neighborhoods despite the wealth of resources available in the city. It envisions a...

SEPTEMBER 2021 PODCAST -- This month’s podcast features students from Durfee High School in Fall River and Needham High School as they respond to the return of full, in-person instruction for the 2021-2022 school year. The Durfee students also share their excitement on entering a brand new, state-of-the-art building, while students from both schools express their hope that health and safety protoc...

AUGUST 2021 PODCAST -- This month’s podcast features Dr. John Brown, Clinical Associate Professor at the UMass Lowell School of Education, and his journey within the vast world of instruction. Professor Brown is an instructor of both graduate and undergraduate education courses at UMass Lowell, after earning his doctorate from the same institution. He is also the founder of the Teacher Leadership...

JULY 2021 PODCAST -- This month's podcast features a conversation with Heidi Heinlein, grants manager at the Cummings Foundation, one of the leading foundations in the Boston area and the state, along with JFY Executive Director Gary Kaplan and Deputy Director Paula Paris. The Cummings Foundation was founded by Joyce and Bill Cummings of Winchester in 1986. Bill and Joyce provided the foundation’s...

JUNE 2021 PODCAST -- Our June podcast features Dr. Michelle Holmes, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, as she discusses how widespread vaccination for Covid-19 will have a positive effect on school openings in the fall. Dr. Holmes answers many questions on the minds of students, parents, and teachers, including the safety of extra-curricular parti...

MAY 2021 PODCAST -- This month's podcast features an early college information session held at BMC Durfee High School in Fall River, which is supported by JFYNetWorks. The session, hosted by Director of Counseling Andrew Woodward and Durfee Counselor Kerry Bulk, highlights the experiences of both faculty and students involved in the program. Early College at Durfee High School is a student-outcome...

APRIL 2021 PODCAST -- April's podcast features a conversation with teacher Crystal Seawood and her student Takaria, both from JFYNetWorks partner Kingsman Academy Public Charter School in Washington, DC, as they discuss how some students may be more focused working in the online version of school. Kingsman Academy Public Charter School is an open-enrollment school that welcomes all students into a...

FEBRUARY 2021 PODCAST -- Our celebration of Black History Month continues with today’s podcast featuring an analysis of the poem The Hill We Climb presented by Amanda Gorman during the inauguration of President Joe Biden. It features Quincy College English Professor Steven Dooner’s analysis of the rich allusions, references and, wordplay woven into the texture of this densely patterned tapestry of...

‘How Teachers Adjusted in 2020’ A Compilation JANUARY 2021 PODCAST -- During this past year, we have explored relevant and topical educational issues each month. In today’s podcast, we’ll take a look back at some of the memorable moments from our 2020 podcasts. Our focus will be on how teachers adjusted to the school shutdown. This compilation podcast features the following: ADMINISTRATORS: MICHAE...

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed a lack of access to technology for some Boston families. DECEMBER 2020 PODCAST - This month's podcast is the second part of the conversation between Executive Director Gary Kaplan and Kevin McCaskill, the Executive Director of Madison Park Technical Vocational High School, the only Vocational High School in the Boston Public School system. Mr. McCaskill has been worki...

Technology could be the great equalizer for underserved populations. OCTOBER 2020 PODCAST - This month's podcast features a conversation between JFY Executive Director Gary Kaplan and Kevin McCaskill, the Executive Director of Madison Park Technical Vocational High School, the only Vocational High School in the Boston Public School system. Mr. McCaskill has been working in education for over 30 ye...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Gary Kaplan, JFYNetWorks, 617-338-0815 ext.224, gkaplan@jfynet.org JFYNetWorks offers online content and data serve as the anchor of instruction and accountability. BOSTON – JFYNetWorks, the Boston-based nonprofit pioneer of online education, is offering middle and high school teachers support in the practice of online instruction. With every school district in Massa...

Dr. James Weaver, Director of Performing Arts and Sports AUGUST 2020 PODCAST - This podcast features Dr. James Weaver, the director of performing arts and sports of the National Federation of State High School Associations. Based in Indianapolis, Indiana, the Federation is the national leader and advocate for high school athletics, as well as fine and performing arts programs. Dr. Weaver has been...

Kingsman Academy Public Charter School Presents in DC; JFYNet Partner School JULY 2020 PODCAST - This month's podcast features excerpts from a presentation by Kingsman Academy Public Charter School in Washington, DC, a JFYNet partner school. The presentation to the DC Public Charter School Board took place on June 20th, and describes the process begun shortly after the school's opening in 2015. Th...

Once an at-risk student himself, Jorge Santana now leads his students towards success JUNE 2020 PODCAST - This month's podcast features Jorge Santana, the Executive Director of the PACE Career Academy Charter School in Pembroke, New Hampshire, a JFYNet partner school. In this episode, you'll hear how Mr. Santana was an at risk student while growing up, worked early in his career to find systemic s...

Teacher Perspectives: Shifting to Remote & Distance Learning MAY 2020 PODCAST - This podcast features educators from Durfee High School in Fall River, Mindess Elementary School in Ashland, and Newton South High School discussing how the shift to remote learning due to the Covid-19 shutdown has impacted daily schedules, allowed some students to thrive, thrown other students off stride, and may crea...

Student Perspectives: Effect on Educational Programs APRIL 2020 PODCAST - Our April podcast features students from Needham High School, Durfee High School in Fall River, Bridgewater State University and UMass Amherst as they discuss how the statewide school shutdown has affected their educational programs, their extracurricular activities, and how the Covid-19 virus may create a “new normal” in th...

JFYNetWorks College and Career Readiness through Blended Learning MARCH 2020 PODCAST - Dr. Michael Marrapodi, Dean on Online Learning at Cambridge College, shares tips and ideas for instructors who suddenly find themselves transitioning from face-to-face to online classes. Dr. Marrapodi assures instructors this transition is more "crisis education" and the expectations should not be quite the same...

Lessons taught during Black History Month FEBRUARY 2020 PODCAST - Settenah Wright is a graduate of Madison Park Technical Vocational High School , where she now teaches English as a Second Language. She grew up in Roxbury, MA, attending the Boston Public Schools and spent two years living in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which is where her ESL teaching career began. In this episode, Ms. Wright shares her...

JFYNetWorks College and Career Readiness through Blended Learning JANUARY 2020 PODCAST - Covering the origins of JFY. For nearly 40 years, JFYNetWorks, a Boston-based nonprofit organization, has served high-need populations in Massachusetts by developing and delivering education and job training programs that equip young people with the skills needed to succeed in our changing economy. Gary Kaplan...