‘A New Chapter’ Brockton High School Principal Has Faith Kevin McCaskill, ‘I know that we can achieve at high levels’ APRIL 2024 PODCAST -- This podcast features newly appointed Brockton High School principal Kevin McCaskill, who began his tenure in Brockton at the start of 2024. Described as “…a new chapter for our entire community” by Mayor Robert Sullivan, McCaskill discusses how Brockton High School was once a beacon of educational excellence in Massachusetts and will beam even brighter in the years ahead. PODCAST HIGHLIGHTS Case in point, in the morning I see the vast majority of our stu ..read more

JFY Deputy Director, ‘Education Equity, Still a Struggle’ FEBRUARY 2024 PODCAST -- This month’s podcast features JFY’s Deputy Director Paula Paris, who has been with JFY since 1995. She has contributed to the growth and diversification of the organization first as Director of Development and then as Deputy Director. Paula shares her personal history beginning as a bus safety monitor during the desegregation of the Boston Public Schools, and her informed insights on the continuing struggle to achieve equity in American education. PODCAST HIGHLIGHTS [Boston] Busing got so much national publicit ..read more

Lew Finfer, Quiet Leader, Thundering Results NOVEMBER 2023 PODCAST -- JFY’s podcast this month features Lew Finfer, a Boston community organizer since 1970. In an article published last year in the Boston Globe, Lew was described as “a quiet leader who spent the past four decades orchestrating some of Boston’s biggest campaigns for social and economic justice.” PODCAST HIGHLIGHTS 'You have to do a lot of listening and outreach for any kind of issue you work on.' [Timestamp 00:13:57] 'Share something about yourself, about what you are.' [Timestamp 00:22:08] 'Starting back in 1973 and 74 when th ..read more

Boston’s Historical Civic and Social Landscape: A Personal Account SEPTEMBER 2023 PODCAST -- This month, JFYNetWorks will take the opportunity to expand on some of the history that Hubie Jones shared with our listeners when he was a guest for three JFYNet podcasts last year. [Podcast 1, Podcast 2, Podcast 3] Recently, PBS, in conjunction with local affiliate GBH, debuted the documentary “The Busing Battleground: THE DECADES-LONG ROAD TO SCHOOL DESEGREGATION” as part of the American Experience television series. The program featured reflections by many prominent Boston-area activists, including ..read more

David P. Driscoll, former Education Commissioner, responds to: MCAS Chatter, ‘déjà vu’ all over again’ AUGUST 2023 PODCAST -- Our podcast this month features part two of our conversation with former Commissioner of Education David Driscoll. His 49-year career in public education leadership includes being appointed deputy commissioner in 1993, interim commissioner in 1998, and commissioner in 1999. Dr. Driscoll currently serves on a number of boards, including serving as chair of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute Board and the National Assessment Governing Board. PODCAST HIGHLIGHTS: What do we d ..read more

David P. Driscoll, former Education Commissioner, responds to: ‘Is it time to reconsider the Education Reform Act?’ JULY 2023 PODCAST -- This month’s podcast features David P. Driscoll, who served as the 22nd commissioner of education in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 1998 to 2007. In his 49-year career in public education, Dr. Driscoll was a math teacher, an assistant superintendent, a superintendent, deputy commissioner, interim commissioner, and the state commissioner who inaugurated standards-based education in Massachusetts under the Education Reform law. Currently, he serves on a ..read more

'SCI-FI to AI' Fiction to Fact. A discussion with Mike Mino, Education Development in Technology Professional. JUNE 2023 PODCAST -- This month’s podcast features Michael Mino, founder of MM Development Services, a provider of innovative education development services to schools and classrooms. With his over 25 years of experience working at all levels of education, he has a strong track record of innovation, transforming traditional 20th century classes into state of the art 21st Century Skills programs. PODCAST HIGHLIGHTS: It's important to engage students in things at school that are most l ..read more

Rejecting society's norm, Rita Smith became a nationally recognized and celebrated Educator FEBRUARY 2023 PODCAST -- This month’s podcast features Professor Rita Smith, a lifelong educator and the 1985 recipient of Time Magazine’s Teacher of the Year Award. Professor Smith’s career as an educator spans 44 years, beginning as a high school teacher and then spending nearly two decades as the chair of the Secondary Education Department at Stonehill College. She recounts for JFY many of the experiences and stories that helped her students find success in the classroom and in their lives. PODCAST H ..read more

Missing voices in the classroom… Does not make good sense DECEMBER 2022 PODCAST - In this month’s podcast, JFYNetWorks Executive Director Gary Kaplan continues our conversation with Hubie Jones. A recent recipient of a Norman B. Leventhal Award from the organization A Better City, he continues to impact the civil and social landscape. This month, he shares his many ideas about how to ensure Boston is viewed as a world class city, including his thoughts about parent engagement in the Boston Public Schools. PODCAST HIGHLIGHTS: "The role of parent engagement in our schools is paramount, but their ..read more

Bucking the downward trend OCTOBER 2022 PODCAST - - This month’s podcast celebrates the MCAS results of two JFYNetWorks Partner schools: East Boston High School, an open enrollment Boston Public School, and Northeast Metro Tech, located in Wakefield and serving students from 11 surrounding communities. We feature JFY’s own Cathie Maglio and Joan Reissman as they discuss how both schools posted substantial gains in ELA and in math compared to state averages. East Boston High School is an open enrollment school in the Boston Public Schools with a very diverse student body. 75% of Eastie’s studen ..read more