As the year comes to a close, I wanted to wish you warm and peaceful season’s greetings and let you know what’s been happening in my world this fall. It’s been both busy and rewarding! First, it feels important to name that we are in the throes of multiple global crises. I am deeply affected by what’s happening in Gaza, having taught (and stayed in touch with) many Palestinian students when I lived in Jordan. I join international cries for a permanent ceasefire. I was honored to be part of a recent panel entitled “Getting to the Root: Sharing Stories and Humanizing Palestine” with my colleagues Dr. Sawsan Jaber, Ijeoma Oluo, and Joe Truss.

In early August, I traveled to the Pacific Northwest to deliver a keynote for the Coalition of Oregon School Administrators (COSA) at their summer conference in Eugene, Oregon and then took a quick flight over to speak at the Bellevue School District’s annual Leadership Institute in Washington state. I also gave a keynote in September at the Excellence Through Equity Conference (presented by the Riverside County Office of Education) in Indian Wells, CA.

In late August and October, I traveled back to British Columbia, Canada and worked with some old and new friends at school districts in Abbotsford, Kamloops-Thompson, Okanagan Skaha, and Prince George. It was a whirlwind trip and inspiring to see the Street Data work emerge in new and beautiful ways! I also participated in a virtual keynote with Avon Maitland District School Board, and traveled to Anaheim to deliver a keynote for the California Educational Research Association (CERA) Conference and a plenary for the CORE Districts meeting.

Jamila and I had the pleasure of presenting virtually to Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency and continuing our work with the Puget Sound Educational Services District. (Click here to see the incredible repository of Street Data resources* the Puget Sound leadership launched!) And on top of all that, we launched four Street Data Communities of Practice this fall, plus a brand new workshop series on Student Agency, with Abby Benedetto, and an expanded Warm Demander mini-series with Jessica Wei Huang! Estelle Acquah, Jessica, and I are leading a system-wide project with the San Francisco Unified School District, where I began my teaching career in 1997. It’s been such an honor to bring Street Data to all of these amazing educators this fall!

*Repository designed by Lauren Okano (Puget Sound Educational Service District) with deep gratitude to the students & educators in the margins who have gifted their wisdom & cultural wealth reflected in each resource. For further information please contact .

Featured SD Podcast Episode: “Get Off Your Pedestal!” and Other Brilliant Advice from High School Student Leaders Ari and Harshan

Harshan Oberoi was a student guest featured on the Street Data Pod Episode 24, along with his peer Aristotle “Ari” Zwinge. I encourage you to listen to the episode in full, but I wanted to share his reflections on the question below.

“For all our talk of being student centered, we have bought into a success paradigm that robs many children of their voices, marginalizes their gifts, and prioritizes measurement and incremental improvement over learning and transformation.” What are your reactions to this quote? Do you agree, disagree, or something in between?

Harshan: The public school system, and society as a whole, has had a history of segregation and believe it or not, it is still currently present, just hidden very well. Instead of openly segregating students, standardized tests are glorified and made a constant variable in school to find a quantifiable measurement of a student’s “success” based on a specific metric. The student is being segregated from themselves. They are losing their essence and well-being to satisfy schools that only want the part of them that they can measure. Students are ripped into pieces to find a single way of thinking that can satiate the public school system.

I see my fellow peers struggling during tests and… I can understand the anxiety, the dreadful anticipation and the dissatisfaction. Those are confidence-shattering factors and it is all because of a singular test result. That one test can now negatively affect their confidence for the next tests, leading to a bad overall grade, which ultimately leads to them being considered academically challenged. All because of a single metric. It is like forcing the same medication on people with different illnesses; it will work for some but not for all.

Over the next several newsletters, I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce three talented colleagues who will be contributing to and working on the next book project with me. The first is the fabulous Marlo Bagsik!

I’m a forever educator committed to the belief that the moment that I stop learning is the moment I will stop teaching. Teaching by nature is a communal act that brings people together to build community grounded in sharing, acquiring and uplifting knowledge that exists about ourselves and the world–teaching and learning tethers us to one another’s humanity. Working alongside Shane, Sawsan, Crystal & all the wonderful educators has been the fuel for me to continue to transform and learn as an educator–it has been that deep reminder that we have many things to learn from one another but what matters is that we make space to do it. I’m humbled and deeply grateful to be part of this book because I see it as an act of resistance in the midst of harrowing times and hope that it will remind educators of their collective power, love, voice, agency, expertise, heroism, bravery and courage that each child deserves to witness and be a part of.
–Marlo Bagsik

Marlo Bagsik has served in public education since 2013 and entered it with the intention to provide the highest-quality education, particularly to marginalized communities. While he has taught predominantly English Language Arts in the urban and suburban setting, his expertise expands into Restorative Justice Practices, Trauma Informed Practices, Social and Emotional Learning, Multi-Tiered Structures of Support, and professional learning for adults. His credentials root back to his time as an undergraduate at University of California Berkeley with a B.A. in English and he later obtained a Master’s Degree in the Art of Teaching at the University of Southern California with an English teaching credential.

Marlo’s journey in education started off in Southeast D.C., which later led him to San Francisco’s Bayview Hunters Point community and now the San Mateo Union High School District where he has been helping to transform the district into becoming an antiracist organization. Marlo has served in multiple leadership roles beyond the classroom that include: District Instructional Lead Team Member, Site Professional Development Coordinator & Site MTSS Coordinator amongst others. He currently is a District Professional Development Coordinator.