social studies conneCTion

A Connecticut native, William Tong, is the oldest of five children and grew up working side by side with his immigrant parents in their family's Chinese restaurant. He was a litigator for 18 years in both state and federal courts and served for 12 years as a state representative in the Connecticut General Assembly, helping lead the state's efforts against gun violence and domestic violen...

This episode, two students join our hosts to discuss student civic engagement.  Sreenidi Bala, a student of Farmington High School and one of two student members on the Connecticut State Board of Education, she is the founder of code for All Minds, a program that equips educators and families with tools to make tech education accessible for neurodivergent students. She also serves as a youth advis...

Over the last three decades, Stephanie Thomas has dedicated her professional life to career advising and problem solving for nonprofit organizations, running her own business and serving as a state representative of the 143rd district. Sworn in on January 4th, 2023, Secretary Thomas was the first black person to be elected Secretary of the State of Connecticut.  Since taking office, Secretary Thom...

The 2005 Connecticut Teacher of the Year, Julia Miller is a proud New Haven Public Schools teacher, parent, and alumni. Julia is a social studies teacher committed to anti-racist education and project based learning. Her goal for her students is for them to become informed and active community members who feel empowered to make change. 

Greg Frank is a social studies teacher from South Windsor who has taught high school and middle school history for 30 years. Greg used to be a Civil War reenactor and is now Revolutionary War re-enactor.  He met Brian Zawodniak in college, when they were members of Phi Alpha Theta, the national history Honor Society. A teacher at JFK Middle School in Enfield, Brian has taught geography and U.S. Hi...

Rhonan Mokrisi is a native of Connecticut, who graduated from Boston College undergraduate and Southern Connecticut State University as a grad student. For 29 years, he has been teaching at his alma mater, Salisbury School, in the far northwestern part of Connecticut. During Covid, Rhonan made some changes as a teacher, moving from focusing on content to skills to embrace authenticity with student...

Matt Warshauer returns to the podcast.  He's been working as a history professor at Central Connecticut State University, as the host to the Connecticut History Day, and a member of the Connecticut Council for the Social Studies Board of Directors. On this episode, Matt discusses his new book, “Creating and Failing the 9/11 Generation: The Real Story of September 11”. 

Melissa Zablonski  has taught social studies at Putnam High School for nine years, including U.S. History, AP U.S. History, Psychology, Anthropology, and the Black, African-American, Puerto Rican and Latino studies class. In 2022, she earned her doctorate degree in education after completing research on building capacity of teachers to serve English learners in their mainstream classrooms. 

Steve Thornton has spent his adult life as an activist and organizer, working with various groups for social, economic, racial, and environmental justice. He is the author of A Shoeleather History of the Wobblies: Stories of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in Connecticut (Red Sun Press, 2013), Wicked Hartford (The History Press, 2017), and Good Trouble: A  Shoeleather History of Nonviole...

Snigtha Mohanraj is a rising senior and volunteers with local climate groups, conducts independent research regarding water contaminant removal and works on addressing educational disparities in New Haven. She enjoys the intersection of civics with other fields such as environmental science. Yasmeen Galal, who graduated high school in May of 2024, took on various advocacy roles, including serving...

Having taught many secondary social studies courses, Wesley Hedgepeth currently teaches AP U.S. Government, AP Comparative Politics and World History at Collegiate School in Richmond, Virginia. In 2023, he was elected to be the National Council for the Social Studies President. 

Returning to the podcast, Larissa Babij, was born in the United States to Ukrainia-American parents, and attended school in Manchester, CT where she was taught by co-host Steve Armstong. Living in Kyiv, Ukraine since 2005, Larissa chronicled the first year of Russia's unilateral, full scale invasion of Ukraine through vivid dispatches that she posted on her website, now collected and publishe...

Daniel Martinez HoSang is a professor of American studies at Yale and a member of the Anti-Racist Teaching and Learning Collective Steering Committee. Before graduate school, Dan worked as a community and labor organizer for many years, focused in part on student and parent organizing. And nowadays, Dan works with educators in a variety of roles, from leading professional development workshops to...

Irene Parisi is the chief academic officer of the Connecticut State Department of Education. As a chief academic officer, Irene has been working with the team to co-create a renewed ecosystem of support for Connecticut school districts to rewrite the rules for educational design and delivery. She's recognized statewide for her work in designing digital and remote learning environments, develo...

From Fairfield Ward High School, juniors Brady Anderson and Sabrina Cassano discuss studying history at a time when world events are rapidly unfolding before them. A junior student athlete, when Brady isn't studying and admiring the history of the United States, he plays golf as the captain for the Ward varsity golf team. Sabrina Cassano contributes actively to her school community as the cap...

Peter Moran is the project director for Civics Education for Connecticut Students  at the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History. He is an alum of the Public History Program at Central Connecticut State University and has worked as a museum educator at different historical institutions across Connecticut. 

This episode, Maryam Wardak, the Social Studies Teaching and learning supervisor for magnet schools, discuss her passionate commitment to student learning and achievement through the use of research based pedagogical approaches catering to diverse needs, interests and backgrounds . Skilled in designing creative and rigorous standards based curriculum that incorporates technology to support digital...

Lisa Olivere started her professional career in the private sector working for Poland Spring Water, before dedicating herself to 30 years of experience in public education. Currently, she is the director of K-12 Social Studies at Fairfield Public Schools. In 2012, she received the Susan B Anthony Award for Creative Leadership in Women's Rights from the Connecticut Education Association, for c...

Lynn Mervosh is the Site Administrator for the North Central Region for Connecticut Landmarks, which includes historic sites such as the Butler-McCook House & Garden and the Isham-Terry House, both in Hartford, and the Phelps-Hatheway House & Garden in Suffield. Impacted by her youth growing up during the bicentennial celebration year of the United States and witnessing the celebration of...

Having worked in public education for over 20 years, Jessica Blitzer currently serves as the secondary supervisor for history and Social Studies in West Hartford, Connecticut. She supports quality teaching and learning through developing professional learning, evaluating coaching and developing a curriculum in which all students see themselves as history and social studies learners.  She works wit...

Continuing our series to learn more about the hosts of CCSS CONNECTion, the focus turns to co-host and CCSS Board President, Anthony Roy. A passionate social studies educator, Tony discusses how his interest in history began as a student and developed into designing and implementing curricula grounded in inquiry, regional studies, and real-world applications.

The focus turns on regular cohost Steve Armstrong as he reflects on his time growing up in the Manchester Public Schools to eventually teaching in the same school system that educated him. He shares a lifetime of not only teaching social studies, but being witness to some of historical moments. 

During her time in high school, Nicole Jones did not find social studies that engaging. However, through her lifelong love of reading and writing, she used her talents of influence to connect with students and promote education.

Garrett Griffin, Jr. Rayna Walters, and Kurt Zimmermann reflect on their collaboration with the Greater New Haven African American Historical Society through the CCSS school-museum partnership program.

Eira Prakash and Angelina Li, high school students both, join us this week to discuss their experiences with representation and inclusivity in education and the realities of "othering" in the classroom and curriculum.