Courageous Conversations about our Schools

07/16/2026

What does patriotism mean to you?

It's a question that seems simple until we start talking about it.
For some, patriotism is grounded in civic responsibility, public service, and love of country. For others, it raises important questions about free expression, historical truth, and the role schools should play in shaping students' understanding of our nation.

These conversations are unfolding across the country, in classrooms, school board meetings, state legislatures, and around dinner tables. Too often, they leave people feeling more divided than when they began.

On Monday, August 17, 2026, Courageous Conversations about our Schools and Braver Angels will host a live online discussion exploring the place of patriotism in schools.

The event will bring together people with differing perspectives—not to win an argument, but to listen, learn, and develop a deeper understanding of the issue.

Join the conversation: https://www.schoolconversations.org/patriotism-in-schools

Please consider sharing this invitation with a colleague, educator, parent, student, or community leader who would value the opportunity to take part.

We are grateful to our sponsors for making this important conversation possible: AllSides Prohuman Foundation Listen First Project Living Room Conversations The Dignity Index

A National Conversation Monday, August 17th, 2026 7:00 - 9:00 pm ET6:00 - 8:00 pm CT 5:00 - 7:00 pm MT4:00 - 6:00 pm PT REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT APPLY TO BE A PANELIST Patriotism is one of those terms that seems pretty simple—until you start talking about it.Today, there’s a national conversation...

01/28/2026

What if the most urgent work in education isn’t fixing systems—but rebuilding trust between the people inside them?

In this latest episode, we explore what it takes to create schools and communities where people feel seen, heard, and connected. The conversation features Mike Walsh, a longtime education leader and widely respected “human connector,” reflecting on how trust, belonging, and relationship-building sit at the center of lasting change.

Drawing on decades of experience as a school board leader, facilitator, and student advocate, Walsh shares how meaningful change doesn’t begin with answers, but with better questions—and with the courage to step out of the conversation so others can connect with each other.

The conversation focuses on three powerful themes:

- Strengthening relationships among adults in the schoolhouse (starting at 1:40), including how curiosity, shared purpose, and intentional facilitation can help educators and staff reconnect during times of crisis and burnout.

- How school boards can better connect with their constituents (starting at 12:25), moving beyond performative public comment toward authentic engagement that invites parents and community members to help solve real problems together.

- Breaking down walls among students (starting at 22:52) as Walsh explains how Breaking Down the Walls workshops help young people overcome loneliness, fear of judgment, and disconnection by sharing stories, playing together, and discovering their shared humanity.

The emotional high point of the episode comes at 33:29, when Walsh recounts a deeply moving story about an angry student whose hidden trauma reshapes how the entire room understands resilience, compassion, and the urgent need for hope in schools.

This episode is a powerful reminder that connection—not compliance, not lectures, not politics—is what allows schools and communities to heal, grow, and move forward together.

In this episode, Ken Futernick sits down with Mike Walsh—widely known across California education circles as a master human connector —to explore how schools can build trust, strengthen relationships, and create communities where both adults and students truly belong. Drawing on decades of exper...

01/20/2026

Listen to the full episode from this two-part series, "The Extraordinary Transformation of a City and Its Schools" created by Courageous Conversations about our Schools and The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation.

🔗 Link in bio schoolconversations.org/reading

01/08/2026

12/17/2025

Listen to the podcast series, "The Extraordinary Transformation of a City and Its Schools." We worked closely with Courageous Conversations about our Schools to bring you Reading's inspiring story of transformation. Listen to part 1 here: www.schoolconversations.org/reading

12/12/2025

Reading, PA, was once declared the poorest city in America. Once predominantly white, the community is over 70% Latino today. In the wake of the pandemic, the community faced a daunting reality. Tens of thousands of residents living in poverty. A chronic absenteeism crisis in schools. An atrophied civic culture. And education culture wars sweeping across the nation.

But residents and leaders refused to settle for the status quo. They came together and created systemic education change by using the Harwood approach to catalyze and unleash a chain reaction.

➡️ Part 1 tells the story of how we engaged the community, discovered people’s shared aspirations, and began to make down payments toward building a stronger civic culture.

➡️ Part 2 demonstrates the power of Turning Outward by relating the remarkable chain reactions residents and leaders in Reading created in after-school activities, English as a second language, and early childhood education.

Reading proves that, no matter where your community is starting, it’s possible to get on a new civic path and create transformational change today in America. Reading did it. Your community can do it too.

Listen to the two-part series we co-produced with the Harwood Institute and consider its implications for you and your school community. And make sure to subscribe to the Courageous Conversations About Our Schools podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

🔗 Listen here: schoolconversations.org/reading

12/12/2025

Ken Futernick's latest article published by Education Week

Teachers are avoiding important, complex topics because they fear backlash.

12/02/2025

Communities don’t change because of a new program or the next big initiative. They change when people decide to stop talking past one another and start listening with intention.

That’s the story at the center of our new two-part collaboration with The Harwood Institute: The Extraordinary Transformation of a City and Its Schools

The series takes you inside Reading, Pennsylvania—a community facing deep poverty, fractured trust, and schools under enormous pressure. What shifted things wasn’t a silver bullet. It was a simple, human commitment shared across educators, nonprofits, families, and faith leaders: turn outward, listen first, and act together.

Across two episodes, you’ll hear directly from the people who lived this work—and from those who once felt stuck and unheard but found hope in a different kind of leadership.

If you care about schools, communities, or the possibility of public life feeling better than it does right now, these conversations matter.

🎧 Listen to the full series:

The Extraordinary Transformation of a City and Its Schools A two-part podcast series about community, education, and the power of Turning Outward Co-produced by Courageous Conversations About Our Schools & The Harwood Institute In the wake of the pandemic, Reading, Pennsylvania was facing a daunting...

11/25/2025

Are students, like the rest of us, from time to time, operating on false assumptions about "the other side?" What if much of what we all believe about those with different views is simply wrong? In this episode, Ken speaks with James Coan, founder of More Like Us, and two high school students about the danger of "perception gaps." Coan shares powerful survey data revealing that Americans are far more alike than they realize. He explains how distorted assumptions fuel distrust and polarization.

Most importantly, he offers practical steps and strategies teachers can use to help students recognize their own biases and create vital opportunities for cross-divide interaction. As high schooler Landon put it: "I can’t just go into something thinking I’m always going to be right. I need to listen to what other people think.”

Listen to Episode 45:
Crossing Divides: How Schools Can Help Close America's Perception Gaps
🎧 Available on Apple Podcasts and wherever you get your podcasts.
🔗: www.schoolconversations.org/episodes/perception-gaps

11/20/2025

Imagine your students arriving at school to discover their parents were detained overnight. What happens next? Attorney Léo Tucker, executive director of Aiding Survivors of Trafficking and Child Abuse (AID), explains what schools can do to prepare for immigration enforcement actions, protect children, and reduce anxiety.

Tucker clarifies the difference between “undocumented” and “illegal” status, provides examples of raids that are unlawful, and explains how the Plyler v. Doe Supreme Court decision guarantees education for all children regardless of immigration status.

Tucker offers a resource guide for schools to develop rapid-response plans and to inform educators, parents, and students of their rights.

https://www.schoolconversations.org/episodes/ice-raids