Seats of Change: The Future of School Boards
Seats of Change: The Future of School Boards
Podcast Description
Seats of Change: The Future of School Boards – Explores the crucial role of local governance through the lens of school boards. Through insightful interviews with current and former school board members, researchers, and practitioners, we highlight their experiences campaigning, serving, and driving equity, and reveal how their work at the grassroots level builds the foundation of our democracy. seatsofchange.substack.com
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
Centers on themes of local governance, educational equity, and grassroots activism, with episodes that might delve into topics such as the effects of school board decisions on community education and the challenges faced by board members in advocating for equity in schools.
Seats of Change: The Future of School Boards – Explores the crucial role of local governance through the lens of school boards. Through insightful interviews with current and former school board members, researchers, and practitioners, we highlight their experiences campaigning, serving, and driving equity, and reveal how their work at the grassroots level builds the foundation of our democracy.
In this episode, we’re joined by 16-year Holyoke School Committee (MA) veteran Devin Sheehan—who also served as President of both the Massachusetts Association of School Committees and the National School Board Association. Drawing on his unique perspective spanning municipal boardrooms to national policy circles, Sheehan breaks down the realities of state receivership and the preparations for a successful return to local control. The conversation expands to the logistics of providing board services across a state, national trends shaping school boards across the country, and how shifting federal administrations impact local district policies. To wrap up, Sheehan reflects on the ultimate reminder of why this work matters: the joy and lasting impact of high school graduation day.
Resources:
* Holyoke Public Schools to resume local governance on July 1, 2025 (letter)
* Massachusetts Association of School Committees
* National School Board Association
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