For more information:
Dr. Deanna Townsend-Smith
Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity & Opportunity
dtownsend-smith@ncforum.org
919-781-6833 x114
Raleigh, NC (March 28, 2024) – The Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity & Opportunity (Flood Center) is excited to announce the expansion of the Student Voices Program to a podcast. The Student Voices Podcast continues the Flood Center’s legacy of centering student voice in discussions and the co-creation of a path forward in education. The podcast, co-created and hosted by students, features students and education stakeholders from across the state sharing their experiences and thoughts on pressing issues facing our educational system.
“Sustainable change stems from empowering stakeholders to advocate for themselves. Student Voices promotes critical collaboration between educators and students in school districts, ensuring that education’s key beneficiaries have an active role in improving their environment.” – Rotimi Kukoyi, Student Voice Podcast host
In 2020, the Flood Center created the Student Voices initiative to demonstrate the capacity of K-12 students from across North Carolina to discuss and provide perspective about their experiences within the educational system. This initiative provides a space where educators, policymakers, and legislators not only engage with students but also learn from them to create solutions for education. In the inaugural Student Voices series, students were able to discuss topics such as the need for Culturally Responsive Pedagogy and Curriculum, access to rigorous coursework, and diversity in STEM courses and careers. Since 2020, the initiative has expanded to include students participating in a semester-long fellowship where students engage in learning experiences and opportunities to develop policy recommendations to local school board members.
Since its inception, the Student Voices program has collaborated with over 30 students and educators from more than ten districts across the state. Students in the program have been featured as authors in book chapters presented at conferences, provided feedback to policymakers on the state and local levels, and sessions from the webinar have been used in professional development opportunities for educators across the state. If you are or know a K-12 student who would be interested in participating in our program, please visit our website at https://floodcenter.org/student-voices/ for more information.
To learn more about the Flood Center and to see a list of events and resources, please visit https://floodcenter.org/ and join us in the fight for equity, access, and opportunity in education.
For media inquiries, please contact Deanna Townsend-Smith at 919-781-6833 x114 or dtownsend-smith@ncforum.org.
###
About the Flood Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity
The Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity & Opportunity (Flood Center) serves as a hub to identify and connect organizations, networks, and leaders to address issues of equity, access, and opportunity in education across North Carolina. The Flood Center works collaboratively to take action toward addressing issues of systemic racism by advocating for structural changes in policy and practice to build an equitable education system that meets the social, emotional, and academic needs of NC’s diverse student population. Specifically, the Dudley Flood Center exists to create an equitable education system by addressing the systemic inequities plaguing the educational system, which limit opportunity and access for PK–12 students and educators. Follow the Flood Center on Twitter @DudleyFloodCtr and visit our website at https://floodcenter.org/.
About the Public School Forum of North Carolina
Since 1986, the Public School Forum of North Carolina has been an indispensable and nonpartisan champion of better schools and the most trusted source in the state for research and analysis on vital education issues. We bring together leaders from business, education and government to study education issues, develop ideas, seek consensus, and ultimately inform and shape education policy. We do that through research, policy work, innovative programs, advocacy, and continuing education for educators and policymakers. Follow the Forum on Twitter @theNCForum and visit our website at http://www.ncforum.org/.