BONUS: Coaching, Teaching, & Classroom Management Strategies Sparked From My Conversation with Kalyn Belsha (❤️Olivia Wahl)

In this bonus episode I reflect on my S4E18 interview with Kalyn Belsha, a senior national reporter for Chalkbeat, focusing on Trump's campaign promise to dismantle the Department of Education and its potential impact on students with disabilities.

I break down Erica Meltzer's article about ending the U.S. Department of Education and share Kalyn’s valuable recommended resources for you to take action, including links to:
➡️the Senate HELP Committee,
➡️disability advocacy groups,
➡️and state-specific parent support organizations.

#Chalkbeat #SpecialEducation #IDEA #EducationPolicy #TeacherShortage #SpecialEd #Advocacy #StudentRights #DisabilityRights #SchoolStaffing #EducationEquity #TeacherSupport #ParentAdvocacy #CivilRights #EducationNews #SpecialEducationTeacher #ParaProfessional #SchoolPolicy #StudentServices #InclusiveEducation #EducationReform #K12Education

👉Check out my episode with Kalyn here!

New episodes are released every Monday, with a bonus solo episode on Fridays featuring research-backed coaching and teaching strategies you can apply right away to better serve the children in your care.

When coaches, teachers, administrators, and families work hand in hand, it fosters a school atmosphere where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged in their learning journey.

🔔 SUBSCRIBE to never miss an episode of Schoolutions: Coaching & Teaching Strategies Podcast: 
https://www.youtube.com/@schoolutionspodcast/

& 👉Follow Schoolutions: Coaching & Teaching Strategies Podcast on social:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivia-wahl-4300811a/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/schoolutionspodcast/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/schoolutionspodcast/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/olivia-wahl.bsky.social
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@schoolutionspodcast

Thank you for listening!

When coaches, teachers, administrators, and families work hand in hand, it fosters a school atmosphere where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged in their learning journey.

Transcript

[00:00:00] Olivia: Hi there. I'm so happy you're here. Your time is precious. And because of that, I want to let you know right away what you'll gain by listening to the very last second of this episode. My conversation with Kalyn Belsha, a senior national reporter for Chalkbeat, focused on the potential impacts of Trump's campaign promise to dismantle the Department of Education.

[00:00:22] Olivia: We focused particularly on services for students with disabilities. Kalyn reached out after recording the episode and offered extremely helpful resources to help you take action right away and to become more informed, and that's what these episodes are all about. In this episode, I focus on an article by Erica Meltzer. It came out August of last year. And it's called Ending the U S Department of Education, What it Would Mean and Why Trump and Project 2025 Want It. So stay with me. I'm happy to have you as a listener today. 

[00:00:55] Olivia: This is Schoolutions: Coaching and Teaching Strategies, the podcast that extends education beyond the classroom, a show that offers educators and caregivers strategies to try right away and ensure every student receives the inspiration and support they need to thrive.

[00:01:13] Olivia: I am Olivia Wahl, and for the bonus episode this week, I am going to focus on the episode shownotes. I had the privilege of interviewing Kalyn Belsha. She's a senior national reporter for Chalkbeat. And she publishes stories that are - pun intended -  right in the heartbeat of what's going on in education. And she offers a very centrist perspective, which I appreciate. And one of my favorite things about Kalyn, I, after our interview, I remember she emailed me and said, after the interview was out in the world, you know, please let me know any feedback that comes from your listeners. I always want to take that into consideration in my reporting.

[00:01:58] Olivia: And I always love to be in conversation with people or learn with people that are reflective humans. So I appreciate that Kalyn is a reflective reporter. And looking for feedback because that's how we grow. So with that said, when we were going back and forth in the editing process, she had shared so many wonderful resources that can support us moving forward in supporting our children. And through the editing process, I try to curate the show notes very thoughtfully, so that as a listener, if you hear a phrase or a person's name mentioned, that you'll be able to go to the show notes and click on the link and learn more. And so that each episode is its own standalone learning experience for you.

[00:02:51] Olivia: Kalyn, after our recording, sent an email with some incredible resources that can support you in moving forward in 2025, based on what Trump decides to do with the Department of Education. And the first resource Kayln sent was the landing page for who sits on the Senate HELP Committee. And she said the HELP Committee would be the Senators to write with suggested questions for Linda McMahon on serving children with disabilities.

[00:03:20] Olivia: So I want to point that out to you that there is a link to the Senate HELP Committee members. And if you want to send an email with some questions to those senators for Linda McMahon, you should do it with your colleagues as thought partners, but there's a link right in the show notes for you to do that and have access to those members.

[00:03:40] Olivia: Kalyn also included a link that is a resource for finding parent groups and organizations that support families of children with disabilities. The reason this link is helpful is it's by state, so no matter where you live in the country, you can click on this link and it can guide you of where to go to find caregivers that are on a similar journey as yourself.

[00:04:03] Olivia: Kalyn also included links to the National Disability Rights Network, or NDRN. And the Center for Learner Equity. I had also asked Kayln to offer articles that she has written in the past or other colleagues have written in the past focused on this topic. And so she shared a piece that she wrote about special education teacher and other staffing shortages.

[00:04:29] Olivia: That is called Special Education Staffing Shortages Put Students Futures at Risk. How to solve that is tricky, and that came out November 19th, 2024. She included a piece by Erica Meltzer. This piece is called Ending the U. S. Department of Education, What It Would Mean, and Why Trump and Project 2025 Want It.

[00:04:53] Olivia: That came out August 2023, last year. There is an article also included Many Young Kids Missed Early Special Ed Services due to COVID Compounding Work for Schools. We've all lived this. And that was published May 24th, 2023. And there's also an article Educators See Struggling Students After a Pandemic Year: Do they need extra help or services for a disability? And that was published September 1st, 2021. So all of these pieces are quite recent. And so I want to take a moment and just focus on the piece by Erica Meltzer, and again, it's called Ending the U. S. Department of Education, What It Would Mean, and Why Trump and Project 2025 Want It.

[00:05:40] Olivia: When Donald Trump told Elon Musk one of his first acts as president would be to close the Department of Education - move education back to the states, he was invoking a GOP promise that goes back to President Ronald Reagan and the department's founding. And then there's a quote from Rick Hess, the Director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute.

[00:06:00] Olivia: And this quote, “The department has become a kind of trophy in a larger debate about the meaning of public education.” And the quote goes on, “…in fact, he said, the Department of Education actually has very little to do with the debate.” And the piece goes on to say, in fact, he said, the Department of Education actually has very little to do with that debate. Abolishing it doesn't advance school choice, and keeping it doesn't do much for traditional district schools. But it's become a symbol of which side you're on in that debate.” And so I go back to my conversation with Kayln, because then the piece shifts to: “So what exactly does the U. S. Department of Education do?

[00:06:44] Olivia: Why do so many conservatives want to see it go away? Why has it survived? And what would it actually take for that to happen?” This piece offers a brief history of the U. S. Department of Education. And then the piece moves on to share what the U. S. Department of Education actually does. “It monitors school performance and promotes evidence-based practices.

[00:07:07] Olivia: Its biggest K 12 programs by dollar amount provide money to high-poverty schools and for students with disabilities. As well as what Kayln and I discussed, some of its most high profile and controversial work involves enforcing civil rights protections. The department also plays a major role in distributing financial aid for higher education.” 

[00:07:31] Olivia: But this is important to know: “Before the infusion of pandemic relief dollars, the federal government only covered about 8 percent of K to 12 education costs. In recent years, it's been closer to 11.” And then Erica again offers the balanced perspective to share why do conservatives want to end the Department of Education? And so.

[00:07:50] Olivia: Erica says, you know, “some of the dislike is purely ideological, but also less government is better, often for conservatives. Education's not mentioned directly in the U. S. Constitution. The federal department not only distracts states from efforts to improve education, but creates unnecessary bureaucracy.” Abolishing it, he added, is consistent with both interest in smaller government and interest in doing what's right for kids. And then the piece goes on to explain how would abolishing the Department of Education work. So abolishing a federal department would require an act of Congress just as creating one does.”

[00:08:29] Olivia: “It would also require broad bipartisan support, which the idea does not have. And again, Hess of the American Enterprise Institute goes on to say that he's skeptical that a future Trump administration would get any closer to eliminating the department than the first one did, and a recent U. S. Supreme Court decision limiting the power of administrative agencies could make it even harder to make dramatic changes via executive order, fewer of George Washington university thinks that the department has made positive contributions despite some flaws and wants to see it stick around.” He goes on to say, “if we now take this really important moment and get everyone fighting about maintaining the department, instead of keeping our eyes. On the kids and the teachers and doing some good work. That would be a really unfortunate distraction.” I also include a link to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. I am very grateful that Kayln mentioned Constance Lindsay's work. Again, Lindsay's research focuses on “policies and practices to close racial achievement gaps in education.

[00:09:38] Olivia: Currently, her main focus is on teacher diversity and how to obtain a high-quality, diverse educator workforce.” So that is a wrap for this bonus episode. It's a good reminder to take the time to check each episode's show notes. They are a standalone professional learning resource for you to continue sharing the conversation as well as pollinating this work.

[00:10:04] Olivia: Each episode offers perspectives from people all over the world doing this really hard work in service of our children. I can't wait to see you next week. Take care. Schoolutions: Coaching and Teaching Strategies is created, produced, and edited by me, Olivia Wahl. Thank you to my older son, Benjamin, who created the music playing in the background.

[00:10:28] Olivia: You can follow and listen to Schoolution's wherever you get your podcasts, or subscribe to never miss an episode and watch on YouTube. Now, I'd love to hear from you. Send me an email at schoolutionspodcast@gmail.com. Let me know how your school or district is handling current staffing challenges for special education teachers and paraprofessionals.

[00:10:50] Olivia: Tune in every Monday for the best research-backed coaching and teaching strategies you can apply right away to better the lives of the children in your care. And stay tuned for my bonus episodes every Friday, where I'll share how I applied what I learned from the guests in schools that week. See you then.