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PODCAST

K-12 Public Education Insights: Helping Parents of Color Build Strong Family-School Partnerships

Raising kids can be tough! I know because I’ve been a single mom who raised two kids on my own. And when they get in the K-12 public education system, learning the ins and outs of that system can get you all tangled up, especially when you’re a parent of color (POC). Navigating K–12 public education can feel overwhelming, but you don"t have to do it alone.Hosted by Dr. Kim J. Fields, K-12 Public Education Insights: Helping Parents of Color Build Strong Family-School Partnerships equips parents with

education parenting

All Episodes

38:57

Episode 184: Connect Before Correct For Calmer Parenting

K-12 Public Education Insights: Helping Parents of... ·

2026/10/06

"Send me a Text Message!" Punishment can feel like the fastest way to stop a problem, but what if it’s also the fastest way to shut down trust? I sit down with Dr. Cheryl Wilson, an educator and former principal with decades of experience and a certified positive discipline parent educator, to unpack what really happens when we use control, threats, or harsh consequences to manage kids’ behavior, and what to do instead when we want lasting change. We get honest about the discipline many of u...

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27:59

Episode 183: Are We Fixing Grading Or Hiding Failure?

K-12 Public Education Insights: Helping Parents of... ·

2026/09/29

"Send me a Text Message!" One missing assignment can wreck a report card, but does that “zero” reflect learning, responsibility, or just a broken math problem? I’m Dr. Kim J. Fields, and I’m unpacking a grading trend that’s showing up in districts across the country: non-zero grading, also called grading floors. You’ll hear why some states and districts push back on 50% minimum grades, why others adopt them as a safety net, and how these policies can change what an A through F really means fo...

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27:10

Episode 182: A Parent’s Guide To IEPs In K-12 Public...

K-12 Public Education Insights: Helping Parents of... ·

2026/09/22

"Send me a Text Message!" IEP season can hit families fast, and those three letters often come with a knot in your stomach. I slow the whole process down and make it usable, starting with the basics: what an Individualized Education Program is, why it was created under IDEA, and how it is supposed to protect a student’s right to a Free Appropriate Public Education in K-12 public schools. I also dig into what eligibility actually means, why not every disability results in an IEP, and how scho...

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35:40

Episode 181: Raising Money Smart Kids

K-12 Public Education Insights: Helping Parents of... ·

2026/09/15

"Send me a Text Message!" Your kid watches you tap a card at the store and it looks like pure magic. Then one day they ask for something big, you say “not today”, and suddenly you are trying to explain value, spending, and saving on the spot. There is a better way, so I brought in Deborah Rechnitz, a longtime business consultant turned children’s financial literacy advocate who teaches money skills through storytelling and practical, real-world examples. We talk through how to teach kids abo...

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23:05

Back-To-School Challenges That Catch Families Off Guard

K-12 Public Education Insights: Helping Parents of... ·

2026/09/08

"Send me a Text Message!" Student behavior is rising to the top of educators’ worry lists and it is not just a “kids these days” problem. I dig into new survey findings from school administrators, leaders, and teachers and unpack what they believe will shape the school year: behavior, engagement, student well-being and mental health, and academic achievement in reading and math. I also connect those school-side realities to what families feel at home when mornings get rushed, stress spikes, a...

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9:26

Season 5 Trailer

K-12 Public Education Insights: Helping Parents of... ·

2026/08/03

"Send me a Text Message!" Your child shouldn’t have to earn their place in the classroom. We start with a true story that still makes my stomach drop: I walk in for pickup and find my son sitting at his desk in the hallway, separated from his classmates. The reason sounds practical on the surface, but it reveals a bigger problem in K-12 public education decisions can be made without considering a child’s dignity, belonging, and sense of self. I’m Dr. Kim J. Fields, and this podcast lives at ...

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27:45

Episode 179: Parents Matter More Than Peers In Childhood

K-12 Public Education Insights: Helping Parents of... ·

2026/05/26

"Send me a Text Message!" "Peer pressure isn’t just a teenage phase anymore. More and more, we’re seeing kids treat their peer group as the final authority, which can leave parents feeling rejected, powerless, and worried about the choices their children make at school and beyond. As I close out season 4, I revisit a line my parents used to say when I was a teen: “We are your peer pressure.” After reading 'Hold On to Your Kids' by Gordon Neufeld and Dr. Gabor Maté, that advice lands with fres...

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26:12

Episode 178: Daily One-On-One Talk Builds Strong Readers

K-12 Public Education Insights: Helping Parents of... ·

2026/05/19

"Send me a Text Message!" Kindergarten is supposed to sound like a lively room full of ideas, jokes, and questions. But many early childhood educators are seeing something different: fewer opportunities for young learners to actually practice oral language, even while expectations for early reading keep rising. I dig into why that shift matters so much because vocabulary, syntax, and confident speaking are the building blocks that support literacy, reading proficiency, and long-term reading c...

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36:37

Episode 177: Your Kid Forgot To Zip Their Coat And...

K-12 Public Education Insights: Helping Parents of... ·

2026/05/12

"Send me a Text Message!" Teachers are sounding the alarm about young kids who struggle with basic independence, and parents are hearing it as one more accusation. I take a different route: I look at the bigger picture behind why teachers are blaming parents and why stress may be a major part of the backstory behind these school readiness gaps. I start with what early educators are reporting about life skills and social-emotional development, then I juxtapose those observations against the d...

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20:16

Episode 176: Why Schools Undervalue Writing And How...

K-12 Public Education Insights: Helping Parents of... ·

2026/05/05

"Send me a Text Message!" Writing is the most overlooked literacy tool in K-12 education, and it might be the fastest way to help your child become a stronger reader. In this episode, I’m unpacking why writing instruction matters so much, especially for families navigating public school systems where priorities often follow testing and time constraints. If your child can read the words but struggles to explain what they mean, writing may be the bridge that finally makes comprehension click. ...

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34:53

Episode 175: The Success Sequence's Teaching of...

K-12 Public Education Insights: Helping Parents of... ·

2026/04/28

"Send me a Text Message!" Some lawmakers want a “success sequence” taught in schools: finish high school, work full-time, get married, then have children. That sounds like simple advice until you ask the real question: Is K-12 public education helping students build responsible decision-making skills, or is it turning one set of family values into a curriculum mandate? I walk through how politics and education collide around social-emotional learning, character education, sex education, and ...

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20:12

Episode 174: When School Tech Tools Multiply But...

K-12 Public Education Insights: Helping Parents of... ·

2026/04/21

"Send me a Text Message!" Schools have never had more educational technology, and yet many parents are still asking the same question at the kitchen table: Is all this screen time actually helping my child learn? I dig into what’s driving the growing pushback against edtech in K-12 public education and why “more tools” can lead to more confusion when schools can’t point to clear learning outcomes. I walk through how school districts are changing their approach from buying the newest digital ...

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28:15

Episode 173: Screens Are Replacing The Skills Kids...

K-12 Public Education Insights: Helping Parents of... ·

2026/04/14

"Send me a Text Message!" Your child can be bright, curious, and loved deeply at home and still walk into kindergarten missing the skills that make school work. That’s the gap I tackle today, because early educators are sounding the alarm: more students are arriving at pre-K and kindergarten dependent on adults for basics, struggling to follow directions, and melting down when they hear “no.” When that happens, teachers are forced to pause academics and shift back to school readiness, and kid...

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27:33

Episode 172: Gentle Parenting Meets Shoelaces And Loses

K-12 Public Education Insights: Helping Parents of... ·

2026/04/07

"Send me a Text Message!" Kids used to learn toilet training and shoe tying like a normal rite of passage. Now, early childhood educators are saying something has shifted, and it is showing up in classrooms as weaker fine motor skills, gross motor skills, self-regulation, and trouble following simple instructions. If you are a parent trying to make sense of what is happening in K-12 public education and how it connects to what happens at home, this conversation is for you. I walk through wha...

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31:16

Episode 171: When Classroom Behavior Breaks Down,...

K-12 Public Education Insights: Helping Parents of... ·

2026/03/24

"Send me a Text Message!" Classroom disruption isn’t a punchline anymore. Teachers across the country are reporting more disrespect, more disengagement, and, in some cases, behavior that becomes unsafe, and families are being pulled into a tense question: Who is responsible for fixing it when student discipline breaks down? I dig into what the research and recent national data say about declining student behavior in K-12 public education, including how pandemic-era habits and academic gaps c...

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31:06

Episode 170: When States Cut Remediation Classes, Who...

K-12 Public Education Insights: Helping Parents of... ·

2026/03/17

"Send me a Text Message!" I break down why states are restricting remedial math and English courses in college and what that means for students who still need a bridge to credit-bearing coursework. I weigh the money and completion-rate arguments against what families care about most: real skill-building, fair placement, and a genuine pathway to a degree. • Why California limits remediation through AB 1705 and expands tutoring support • The unanswered questions behind tutoring metrics and “fas...

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33:24

Episode 169: Why Financial Literacy Must Start Before...

K-12 Public Education Insights: Helping Parents of... ·

2026/03/10

"Send me a Text Message!" Money decisions shape futures long before a first paycheck arrives. I take you inside the fast‑growing world of in‑school banking, new district pilots, and the real question parents ask: Does access to accounts actually build financial literacy, or just familiarity with banks? Drawing on current research and on‑the‑ground examples from New York City and beyond, I unpack what these programs change—higher account ownership, better attitudes, more family money talks—and...

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29:00

Episode 168: Spell Check Won’t Save Your Kids Forever

K-12 Public Education Insights: Helping Parents of... ·

2026/03/03

"Send me a Text Message!" Spelling isn’t a throwback to red pens and Friday quizzes; it’s the quiet engine that powers fluent reading and confident writing. I dive into the real research behind spelling instruction—what transfers, what stalls, and how families and teachers can build skills that last beyond a test or a spell checker. I share how letter–sound knowledge, word patterns, and word structures work together to create automatic word recognition, freeing students to focus on meaning a...

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36:35

Episode 167: They Banned The Dictionary, And Other...

K-12 Public Education Insights: Helping Parents of... ·

2026/02/24

"Send me a Text Message!" When a school district pulls 1,600 titles—including the dictionary—you know the fight over books is about more than pages on a shelf. I update you on the latest in the fast-changing world of K-12 book bans, the rise of state-level Freedom to Read laws, and the real-world impact on students, families, and the librarians tasked with navigating it all. Along the way, I unpack surprising parent survey data, eye-opening court rulings, and the hidden mechanics of how schoo...

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28:51

Episode 166: Algebra 1 Is Not A Secret Club; It Is A...

K-12 Public Education Insights: Helping Parents of... ·

2026/02/17

"Send me a Text Message!" One course can open an entire future. I dig into why Algebra 1 functions as a true gatekeeper in K–12, how early placement unlocks advanced math pathways, and why high-performing Black and Latino students are still less likely to access eighth-grade algebra—even in the same schools and with scores similar to those of their peers. Drawing on new NWEA and AMES findings, I trace where the pipeline narrows: course availability, biased placement processes, teacher prepara...

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