Equity Literacy Project

Megan Knight, Director of Academic Programs and Pathways in District 214, shares the way educators at Elk Grove High School address the needs of underserved students and families in their community.

Two Muslim American women who attended public schools in America, Sarah Shareef and her sister, discuss the reoccurring problem of discrimination against Muslim students in public schools. They share their own personal stories of when they have been bullied. They also share stories of when they witnessed discrimination against Muslim students. They also discuss reasons as to why discrimination and bullying of Muslim Americans have gone up. Besides the reasons as to why this is happening, they also discuss possible solutions to the problem.

This podcast is with Yvette Ocampo, and we are going to talk about the inequities in Chicago Public Schools, and what the teachers were protesting about in the CPS strike of 2019. 

This podcast meant a lot. Not only being able to find out the truth about what was truly behind the strike but also hearing the first-hand experience what happened during the strike. I had a lot of fun doing it and gained so much knowledge from doing it.

My name is Carly Hernandez. I’m a Harper college student. I’m studying early education, preferably elementary. I’m a first-generation college student. My mother originates from Juticalpa, Honduras and my father from Guanajuato, Mexico. I love to spend time with my family and friends. I enjoy going out and checking out the seasonal pop-up events like pumpkin patches and carnivals. 

Yvette Ocampo Martinez is a newlywed. She is a first-generation college student. First of 5 children to graduate college. She graduated from a local Chicago school, DePaul University (where she had a full-ride). Her parents are immigrants from Mexico. Her father is from Morelos Cuernavaca, and her mother is from Guanajuato, Celaya. Her favorite pastime is hanging out with her family, and she loves the fall/winter season. She started her teaching career in Catholic schools but didn’t feel like it was enough. Her goal was to teach at public school and give back to the community and help immigrant students. She quit her job, and, a few months later got a job in a public school. 

A lot of us strive to do our best in school, excel in our profession, have the nicest things, and live in the nicest neighborhoods. However, family can influence any one of these factors, leaving many things out a child’s control. This becomes especially visible when comparing school districts, having student bodies that reflect socio-economic status of parents. In this episode, Anton will be discussing school funding across the northwest suburbs of Illinois, and why this issue is relevant to residents of the state.

As the son of Russian immigrants, Anton has spent a lot of time in the Russian community and was on a Russian radio show for 4 years (namely on channels 1330 AM and 1430 AM.) In addition to his long-gone broadcasting hobby, he enjoys history, music, and computer science.