Coming Back Different with Jacci Cradle

In this episode, of the Exit Interview: A Podcast for Black Educators Yasha Chapman, an accomplished Black educator and CEO of Elementary Education Evolved, shares her experiences and insights about the challenges faced by Black educators and the importance of retaining them in the field of teaching. Yasha discusses her journey in education, from initially wanting to be a pharmacist to becoming a classroom teacher and eventually an instructional coach. She emphasizes the need to amplify the voices of Black educators, involve them in decision-making processes, and compensate them for their expertise. Yasha's consultancy, Elementary Education Evolved, focuses on providing professional development and coaching for new teachers and aims to close the academic achievement gap for Black and Brown students in the K-5 setting. This episode offers valuable insights and strategies for school districts, human resources departments, and school unions to better retain Black educators and create a more inclusive and supportive educational environment.

In this week’s compelling episode, we speak with Dr. Asia Lyons, CEO of Lyons Educational Consulting, co-facilitator of the Black Educator Wellness Cohort, and co-host of The Exit Interview Podcast. With experiences spanning Detroit to Denver, Dr. Lyons shares her journey, from attending a gifted high school and navigating failure in college, to shedding light on the critical role of community colleges and nontraditional pathways into education (#shoutout to those bus routes!). 

After teaching in Atlanta's public schools Brittni had to make a choice, quit teaching or try her hand at teaching in the Middle East.  Take a listen as she shares her experience as an educator both here and abroad, what she feels would improve schools in the United States and what she is up to now that she is back state side. 

In this episode of The Exit Interview, Kev and Dr. Asia sit down with Deidra Fogarty founder of Black Girls Teach an organization that offers Black women educators a supportive environment to openly grow, collaborate, and unite as they demand change in education.  Take a listen as she talks about her transition out of education, strategies she feels could turn the tied of Black women leaving education and how Black Girls Teach is changing the game for education across the U.S. 

Michelle Emmanuelle is a former private school educator turned wellness educator, consultant, and professional speaker.  In her episode, she discusses the ways she navigated pressures from administrators and students.  Michelle also provides our audience with healing practices that they can begin anywhere and in any situation. 

In this episode, we are joined by Lacey Robinson, the president and CEO of UnboundEd and the chair of the Board of CORE Learning. As CEO, Robinson sets the organization’s vision for transforming instruction for students at the margins. She is a former teacher, principal, and professional development specialist who has focused on literacy, equity, and school leadership for more than 25 years. Her life’s work aims to enable educators to disrupt systemic inequities in their school districts and classrooms. 

She shares her journey from a pre-service educator at Marva Collins Prep to her current position in UnboundEd. 

We're back for another episode! In this edition, we have a conversation with Ronda Haynes-Belen, a former family liaison who played a vital role in connecting families with essential resources within a school district in the Denver area. Tune in as she opens up about her encounters with instances of anti-Black sentiment within her department, her choice to step away from that environment, and the self-care and healing she now prioritizes.

In this episode, Mia Street shares her story of working hard to protect Black children while creating her own peace within her community.  Listen as Mia explores anti-blackness in the schools she supported as well as ways that she advocated for herself and the children in her care. 

In this episode of the Exit Interview: A Podcast for Black Educators, we continue discussing what it means to heal from racial battle fatigue in the workplace.  Listen as Dr. Flowers shares her classroom experiences and how she supports the healing of Black educators. 

In our first live tapping, Kevin and Dr. Asia sit down with Dr. Dedrick Sims of the Sims-Fayola Foundation to talk about the importance of retention and recruitment of Black and Brown male educators, his own education story, and what it means to heal while doing the work of educating our youth.