Chasing Bailey

The Pandemic is endemic, or nearly so.  We’re still getting sick at all the wrong times, but the impact on most who actually test positive for COVID-19 are annoying rather than debilitating.  But the pandemic left us with a huge educational hangover, and the headlines really are screaming at us.  As always, our interest is in the experience of those who are on the ground. 
 
 
00:00  Introduction to the Second Season Dr. Barbara Stengel 
01:30   Introduction to Post-Pandemic Recovery (a tour through the headlines) Stengel 
06:37 The Bailey Perspective (featuring teacher leaders)  Whitney Weathers Bradley, Kelly Aldridge Boyd, LeKeisha Harding, and Lindsey Nelson 
19:35 Experience on the Ground in Lancaster, PA  Stengel 
20:44 Principals’ Perspective: “We Got This”  Melanie Martinez, Principal, Wharton Elementary School 
23:45 COVID-19 as a Magnifying Glass for Persistent Problems  Baron Jones, Principal of Martic Middle School; Barb Smentek, science teacher, Lincoln Middle School; Martinez 
32:44 Teachers’ Perspectives Stengel 
33:55 Learning Loss  Amanda Aikens, Dean of Students, Ross Elementary School; Julia Rios Schwartz, 4th grade teacher, Martin Elementary School 
36:45 What’s the Message?  Stengel, Aikens, Rios Schwartz 
40:34 The Central Role of Community  Rios Schwartz, Stengel, Smentek 
44:04 Community and Connection  Jones, Stengel 
45:43 Neglecting Academics  Stengel, Smentek 
47:40 Positive Outcomes of the Pandemic?  Stengel, Martinez 
49:11 Caring for Teachers  Stengel, Aikens, Jones 
54:10 Teachers Disheartened and Frustrated  Rios Schwartz, Stengel, Smentek 
56:30 What Now?  Stengel 

What is Chasing Bailey?

Chasing Bailey is a podcast about a group of teachers, leaders, and others who dedicated themselves to changing the fortunes of a failing middle school in Nashville TN from 2012 to 2016.
They succeeded, but their achievement was bittersweet.
In 2016, the district closed that school.
Still, those who were there knew they had stumbled onto something special, some important educational truths that might help all of us find our way out of the morass that COVID 19 has left us in.