Preparing and Sustaining Social Justice Educators with Dr. Annamarie Francois and Dr. Karen Hunter Quartz

Dr. Annamarie Francois and Dr. Karen Hunter Quartz join Mike Palmer to talk about their experience as educators and leaders in social justice education and community schooling. Annamarie is the Executive Director of UCLA Center X and Karen is the Director of the UCLA Center for Community Schooling. Together they edited and authored chapters in Preparing and Sustaining Social Justice Educators from Harvard Education Press.

After hearing our guests’ origin stories, Annamarie describes the history of Center X and its founding by Jeannie Oakes in 1994 in response to the Rodney King verdict and subsequent unrest in Los Angeles and beyond. Then Karen explains how community schools like the two she leads in LA take an asset-based approach to engaging and leveraging the unique strengths and character of the community in which they are based.

What does Annamarie mean by the beloved community? Why is now such a critical time for social justice educators and community schools? What other trends do Karen and Annamarie see on the rise? And how do grassroots movements in education grow through a local focus and a different model of teaching, teacher training, and the role of schools as instruments of “good trouble” in these challenging times? Listen in to find out and get inspired by the mission and promise of the work Annamarie and Karen are doing.

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