S12E7 – 2025 In Review

2025 in Review

Andrew: Welcome to the Integrated Schools Podcast. I'm Andrew, a White dad from Denver.

Dr. Val: And I'm Val, a Black mom from North Carolina.

Andrew: And this is 2025 in Review. Val, we are at the end of 2025.

It has been quite a year. And, uh, we thought we'd reflect on the year a little bit. Talk about some of the highlights of the season so far. And then leave listeners with a little bit of hope, which I know is in short supply these days. But,

Dr. Val: Mmm.

Andrew: Integrated Schools had our first ever in-person gathering at the beginning of the month, and it left me certainly full of hope and rejuvenated and more committed to this work than ever. So,

Dr. Val: That's beautiful.

Andrew: We’ll talk more about that at the end. Hang on, listeners. Um, we're gonna do a little, uh, self-reflection and navel gazing until then.

[Val laughs]

But yeah, here we are. The end of 2025.

Dr. Val: Yeah. It’s been a year nationally. And it's been a year emotionally. You know, for me, for sure, as I have a kid that's a senior now. I am doing a, a transitional dance that is just kind of hard to explain, but I, I have explained it to some other moms in this way. It feels like a third pregnancy.

Andrew: Mmm.

Dr. Val: Where you know something big is about to happen.

Andrew: Right.

Dr. Val: You're about to give birth to someone. And in this instance, it's like a young adult going out into the world. You're not ready!

Andrew: Right.

Dr. Val: You can't stop it!

[Andrew chuckles]

Andrew: Right.

Dr. Val: You, you better get ready because it's gonna happen whether or not you're ready.

Andrew: And probably, like, no amount of preparation is actually gonna make you ready.

Dr. Val: No! No. And it's good! Like, literally I have the best case scenario.

Andrew: Yeah.

Dr. Val: You raise a kid, they do well, they get into college. It's a full ride. That I don't have any complaints, and yet there's like this transition knowing that… just, things are gonna change! And, I'm just working through that.

Andrew: Right. It's exciting. How does, like, the state of the world impact that?

Dr. Val: Hmm. Mm-hmm.

Andrew: That feeling. Because, yeah, like, you have the best case scenario.

Dr. Val: Yeah.

Andrew: Related to your particular kid. And, like–

Dr. Val: Yeah.

Andrew: This time for kids to be, being launched into the world feels like (I mean, I've never done it, so I don't know, maybe, maybe it always feels this way, but yeah), it feels like the world is such an unpredictable place.

Dr. Val: Oh, absolutely! And I'm sure it's always been that way. I was talking to someone else who's around our age bracket and, and, um, we were talking about how when we went to school, it just didn't feel as high stakes, you know, to send your kid to school. So thankfully, he'll, he'll be close. He's staying in state.

And there are times where your kid will say something and you'll look at them and you're like, “Oh, you've listened to me!” [Andrew chuckles] I'm like, I've had that moment many times throughout the year. I'm like, “Oh. I'm feeling more confident about this.”

Andrew: Oh, something actually stuck. Something actually sunk in!

Dr. Val: And literally the, the thing that did it just the other day is his sister, who is a junior this year. So, she's looking at her phone, her neck, you know, she's looking down and he's like, “Watch your neck!” [Andrew chuckles] Right? And I'm like, “That's right! Watch your neck.” You don't wanna have ‘tech neck,’ you know!

Andrew: Yep.

Dr. Val: And it was just like that little thing that made me feel like he's listening! You know? In ways and, and he's paying attention. And, I think that has felt especially important and special is that the attention and the time that he's spending with his sister seems a lot more intentional.

Andrew: Yeah, that’s nice. They also have that recognition that something big is happening, that a transition is coming.

Dr. Val: Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Andrew: So that’s nice.

Dr. Val: It is nice. But when I tell you, when you get here, you'll understand, like, how much of this is such a big deal. You know? And you'll be great. You'll be fine. There's nothing I can tell you that makes it any, like, easier.

Andrew: It IS like a pregnancy.

Dr. Val: It is! And you're in tune with your emotions, right? You feel. And I, I know that when your girls get to this point, you are just gonna be, you are gonna call me, like, “I just started crying today. I don't know what”

Andrew: I’ll be a weepy mess all the time! [Laughter]

Dr. Val: That's, that's it! You know?

Andrew: So, you’re at the end. I know you probably need, like, some more time to really like, have a big picture view.

Dr. Val: Yeah.

Andrew: But, like, he is going off to a college that you are excited about.

Dr. Val: Yeah.

Andrew: He has been prepared to do that by the schools that you have chosen for him all along the way.

Dr. Val: Yeah.

Andrew: Even thought those schools weren't necessarily the highly coveted, fancy, highly rated schools.

Dr. Val: Mm-hmm.

Andrew: How are you feeling about that?

Dr. Val: Yeah. It's funny, we had his signing day, at school, um, and he had like 300 kids come out. To be a part of his signing day. And in addition to all of those kids, he had so many teachers come out, so many adults who were part of his life to come out and support him.

And so, I'm feeling grateful. I'm feeling, like my, my main goal, and we've talked about this for such a long time, was for my children to come out whole. And the rest of it, you know, we could figure out. And he's coming out whole!

Andrew: Yeah.

Dr. Val: That's awesome.

Andrew: It's one thing to believe that that's the right approach.

Dr. Val: Mm-hmm.

Andrew: You know, but I feel like there's, I always have this sort of nagging thing in the back of my mind that's like, “Maybe I'm screwing this all up!”

Dr. Val: No, you're not!

Andrew: Maybe this is not actually the right approach. Maybe this is not gonna turn out right. You know? But–

Dr. Val: No, you're not.

Andrew: –yeah, to see you get to this place where you feel, like, the you've made that maybe were not the choices that other people would've made, I definitely take some comfort from seeing you at this point.

Andrew: And, um, I mean, he's an exceptional kid. It’s not surprising, but also,

Dr. Val: Well. The school has done, done well by the young people. And, and, and I'm sure not all of 'em, right? I'm sure there are some, um, that fall through the cracks and certainly some that we can, we can support better. But, even my daughter, she's a part of this club called DECA. It's like a marketing/entrepreneurship-type club. And they do all of these competitions. And so, they're all dressed up in, in suits and doing their marketing pitches–

Andrew: Nice!

Dr. Val: –in their scenarios. And her school, they always have such a large class and such, um, a strong performance. Right? And again, this is a school that is predominantly Black and Brown. They're always competing against predominantly White and better resourced schools. And they always show up! Right? And so, you know my vote is, y'all! Y'all find you a nice majority Black and Brown school. Go live your best life! [Val chuckles]

Andrew: Absolutely. Yeah.

Dr. Val: How about you? You had two major transitions this year. One going into high school and one going into middle school.

Andrew: I mean, I still sit with some of that, like, is this all gonna turn out to have been a catastrophe? You know, like, nagging at the back of my mind. But they're both thriving. They're both having great years.

My oldest in her under-enrolled, under-resourced, almost entirely Black and Brown high school is thriving. She just is taking finals next week for her first college class as a freshman.

Dr. Val: Look at that.

Andrew: She’s gonna get college credit already. She joined the cross country team. It feels good to be here a couple months in and sort of in the flow of things and, all of the, unknowing that made–

Dr. Val: Yeah.

Andrew: –the beginning of the school year feel stressful, has sort of fallen away. And now it feels like, yeah, we're in a, we're in a good groove here and they're getting things that they need and are thriving, so,

Dr. Val: And your youngest?

Andrew: My youngest has, like, found her groove. Her school, a lot of kids have been there since kindergarten, so,

Dr. Val: Okay.

Andrew: Sort of socially finding her way in has taken, taken a little while.

Dr. Val: Mm-hmm.

Andrew: And every day when I pick her up, she's got a few other people that she's talking about. She's–

Dr. Val: Good!

Andrew: –started talking about, you know, who she wants to invite to her birthday party. And is doing great academically and is finding her way socially. And I think she handled it very well. But there were some moments where it was like, “Eh, gosh, like is this the right thing?” But I think–

Dr. Val: Yeah.

Andrew: –giving her the space to struggle through that a little bit. To find her way to–

Dr. Val: Yeah.

Andrew: –spend some lunches sitting by herself, reading her book. And not deciding that I needed to go, like, you know, everything in her life. But to let her sort of struggle through that has left her in a place now where I think she has a little more confidence in her own ability to be uncomfortable for a little bit, for things to not always go exactly the way she wants and then to kind of work through that. And that feels like a really powerful lesson.

Dr. Val: And that's important. Although it feels scary for parents to let your young people find their way because you don't want them to make any choices that would cause a lot more trouble than it's worth, right?

Andrew: Yeah.

Dr. Val: When you could just do what I say [Laughter] and it all work out perfectly.

Andrew: I don’t know why you don’t just listen. Nope.

Dr. Val: Like, this could be perfect. I'm trying to help you out!

Andrew: And you point out, like, “Remember how I told you that? And remember how if you had just done that, it would've been better?” They still don't listen.

Dr. Val: I learned this from my dad and my dad said, “I don't say I told you so 'cause I already told you.” [Andrew laughs] And so, like, when it happens, I’m just like, “Oh!”

Andrew: Huh! Interesting!

Dr. Val: Hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Andrew: Oh! You went to bed early.

Dr. Val: Huh,

Andrew: And you feel great when you woke up? Huh! Interesting! Huh?

Dr. Val: Huh.

Andrew: And school is easier to do. Huh! Huh!

Dr. Val: What?!

Andrew: You don't say!

Dr. Val: Remarkable.

Andrew: Huh?! Who knew?

[Laughter]

Dr. Val: Literally that. So, we're just gonna, we're just gonna keep rolling with it. We're just gonna keep rolling with, with these young people.

Andrew: Yeah. Absolutely. It's nice to have little pockets of feeling good in our families in the context of the world largely falling apart.

Dr. Val: That was gonna be my, yeah, that was gonna be my next question, like, how do you feel about the world in 2025?

Andrew: Yeah. The world is a bit of a mess. It's more of a mess in ways than I expected and probably less of a mess in other ways. I struggle a lot with, like, feeling like I'm not doing enough, but I also don't know what to do.

Dr. Val: Mm-hmm.

Andrew: It feels like the stakes are really high, but, I don't know, what actions match those stakes.

Dr. Val: Mm-hmm.

Andrew: And, yeah, I think, the things that keep people comfortable, keep chugging along, makes it so that people aren't freaking out as much as they probably should be. And,

Dr. Val: Yeah.

Andrew: I think more and more families are being directly impacted by things like ICE raids, by things like funding cuts to the Department of Education.

Dr. Val: Right. Cuts to social services.

Andrew: Health insurance premiums going up, like, all these things–

Dr. Val: Mm-hmm.

Andrew: –are starting to affect people and it's hard to see what the path forward is in the short term. But it does feel like a lot of the institutions are starting to fall apart, and I don't think we've fully grappled with what that means or really fully felt the impact of that. And certainly the darker parts of my psyche when I think about–

Dr. Val: Yeah.

Andrew: –2026 is, like, as those effects really start to be felt more and more broadly, what does that mean and how do we respond to that?

Dr. Val: Uh, for better or worse, I was reading this morning about the French Revolution. [Laughter] Because, why not! And, I think at this point everyone should study history because these are things that regularly show up in our, in our present.

Andrew: Yep.

Dr. Val: I do believe that folks are hurting and folks are going to respond in some way. My hope is that it's through electoral politics and not violence, you know, because, I prefer things the easy way, Andrew![Laughter]

Andrew: Yep. Yep.

Dr. Val: But folks are hurting. And the resources that they're used to having and the stress that they are under, and just having been in a city that was targeted by ICE and Border Patrol. You see the impacts of that type of disruption on communities that are, are functioning well, you know, who are welcoming cities.

And we know that that impacted schools. I think, like, 20,000 students were out of school the week that ICE was here. And that was just on the first day.

I don't think you and I were any under any illusion that what is happening outside in the world also affects students. Right? We understand that. And now hopefully more people are seeing that. Like, it is drastically impacting the world in which our young people are trying to learn and grow just in school.

And they are paying attention. My daughter and I, unfortunately, were talking about all the things in her short 15 years that as a young person she's had to experience, that no young person, you know, should have to, including, like, a pandemic, you know?

I can't even imagine what we'll learn about the ways in which they have learned how to cope with some of the imaginable, as they grow up and what that means.

And so, this year has been heavy. And like you said, I don't, I don't know that it gets lighter on its own. I think we get stronger in community and supporting each other, and literally using the tactic of survival–

Andrew: Yeah.

Dr. Val: –until we can see the other side.

Andrew: Yeah. We have to think about how we survive. We have to think about how we hold on, until we get to the other side. And I think–

Dr. Val: Mm-hmm.

Andrew: –community is the way to do that.

Dr. Val: Yeah.

Andrew: We talked about that a lot this season.

Dr. Val: We have.

Andrew: You know, think, thinking back on the first chunk of this season, we sort of kicked things off, asking what now? Like, here we are in this new reality. You know, what are we gonna do? And then we had Byron Sanders on.

Dr. Val: Mm-hmm.

Andrew: Talking about identity and purpose and, um, you know, either it's just sort of who he is as a person or the space we've created. Or just like the, the time that we recorded in, were immediately into very deep, serious parts of his own personal story.

Dr. Val: Yeah.

Andrew: And the things that have shaped him and his identity. And, um, finding and holding onto that purpose, the thing that drives and guides him. Which I think was a powerful–

Dr. Val: Yeah.

Andrew: –reminder that, you know, all, all of our stories shape us. The things that are happening to our kids, like you said, all of the things that they have had to do with are things that are shaping them.

I thought Mr. Sanders certainly, like, created a, a vision of how you can harness that and channel that into positive work for your community.

Dr. Val: Absolutely. And he mentioned the community that helped sustain him throughout all of that. Right? Like we will all need, and we have all needed someone to help us when we couldn't help ourselves, when we couldn't get out of our own way, when we didn't have a path. Someone opened a door for us.

Andrew: Yeah. Then we had Tabitha and Adam from Raising Antiracist Kids talking about–

Dr. Val: They're amazing!

Andrew: –the importance of engaging in conversations about race with our kids from the time they're super young. Thinking about how we give them the skills and the tools to talk about race, and to think about race, from the time they're really little, is how we create kids who then can go on to stay whole in a school environment. To be able to, you know, participate and think about their own contributions to justice for their broader communities, I think.

Dr. Val: I really appreciate the intentionality around the work that they're doing personally, and then for anyone who has a chance to engage with their resources or work with them, professionally, because they're not shy about naming the thing, and I think that's what you and I have had with our children that I think makes me feel comfortable sending them out into the world.

It probably made you feel a little more comfortable sending your daughter to a new school. Like, you know, you have equipped them with certain skills that they need to navigate a world that is, we're, we're, we're being a lot more honest! You know? About what's out there. And so, when they are faced with it, it feels less of a shock to the system.

Andrew: Yeah, and then I got to go North Carolina for the–

Dr. Val: That's right!

Andrew: –Color of Education Conference, and we shared a bunch of stories from that conference. Thinking about educators and their role in, you know, creating this next generation of students and people who will be able to help us get to the other side.

Very inspiring stories there.

Dr. Val: You've been on the road a lot. I want listeners to know, he always invites me. But literally senior year, I have been like, I don't know if I can leave the house.

Andrew: You have not had a single weekend free. [Val laughs]

Dr. Val: He has invited me to all of these, y'all. He's been on the road a lot, but he's invited me to all of them.

You, you've had an opportunity to be with communities who are thinking about this work, doing this work, face to face. And that type of energy, I think, is what we all need and has been inspiring to say like, “Okay, I can make it one more week. I can make it one more month. I can make it one more day.”

Andrew: Nothing. Yeah. Nothing compares to it. You know, we developed a lot of skills around connection over computers during the pandemic.

Dr. Val: Mm-hmm.

Andrew: And those are, like, valuable skills and I'm grateful for all the places where I feel connected to people virtually, but there is nothing that compares to actually being in person.

Dr. Val: There's nothing like it. I agree.

Andrew: Last two episodes of this season before this one, we had Keri Rodrigues from National Parents Union. Then we had Loretta Ross.

Dr. Val: Mm-hmm.

Andrew: Very different conversations, but I think both–

Dr. Val: Yeah.

Andrew: –with this mindset that, that we need to call people in. That we need to–

Dr. Val: Yeah.

Andrew: –deepen our ties to people, we need to strengthen our relationships. And that we do that by putting the best version of ourselves forward, calling people into the work. And, yeah, I found both of those conversations very inspiring.

Dr. Val: Yeah. It's interesting because when I think about those guests. It's easy to be in community with folks that you're in lockstep with. Hopefully! Not all the time.

Andrew: Not all the time, but yeah, certainly easier! Yeah.

Dr. Val: And yet, to gain that true momentum, we gotta do it together! And I think that's something that we aim to model here.

Andrew: And Loretta Ross, I mean, just like…

Dr. Val: A genius!

Andrew: A genius! Officially a genius. And such a gift to be in conversation with. And we were not the only ones who felt that way, Val. We got a lovely voice memo. Uh, let's take a listen a listen.

Dr. Val: Let's hear it!

Speaker: Dr. Ross was awesome. To date, she has been my favorite guest. She was dropping so much knowledge I had to turn off the podcast, sit with it, and then let it digest so I could move forward.

She was like a Thanksgiving dinner. So much on the table. You don't even know where to start. You have to take a little bit, and then come back later for a little bit more. And then come back later for a little bit more. She was fantastic. I appreciate you guys so much.

Keep up the good work.

Dr. Val: Awesome! I think that is the perfect analogy.

Andrew: She is a Thanksgiving dinner! Absolutely.

Dr. Val: You gotta get a little bit. Come back. Get a little bit more.

Andrew: Come back for seconds. Yeah, definitely left that conversation feeling, feeling very full. Intellectually and spiritually.

Dr. Val: Yes,

Andrew: Emotionally at peace.

Thank you Ms. Joseph for sending your thoughts on that. We always love to hear your voice memos.

Dr. Val: Thank you!

Andrew: All right. Are you ready for a little bit of hope, Val?

Dr. Val: I am! Now tell me about it!

Andrew: So, Integrated Schools. We had our very first ever in-person gathering Again, you were invited.

Dr. Val: Yes, I was.

Andrew: You couldn't make it.

Dr. Val: Correct.

Andrew: But, you missed a really magical weekend in Columbus at the beginning of the month. We had 30 people–

Dr. Val: Mm-hmm.

Andrew: – come to Columbus in December.

Dr. Val: That's…

Andrew: Columbus in December was lovely. There were definitely some folks from warmer climates who were struggling with the cold of Columbus in December, but 30 people from 18 cities, 13 states all around the country.

Dr. Val: That’s amazing.

Andrew: Came together to talk about the work of Integrated Schools. A whole bunch of our chapter leaders and some network contacts, and almost the entirety of our Board of Directors.

Dr. Val: That's awesome.

Andrew: Many people who had never been in person together before. So,

Dr. Val: Yeah.

Andrew: Including people who I've been on Zooms with. Darcy, I've been on Zooms with for seven years and–

Dr. Val: This was your first time meeting Darcy?!

Andrew: She’s five foot 10, Val!

Dr. Val: She's tall.

Andrew: She’s so tall! I had no idea. It was like–

Dr. Val: Yeah.

Andrew: –wait, what is going on here?!

So listeners, if you're not aware, we have chapters and network contacts all over the country. Over 40 of them now, I think.

Dr. Val: Nice.

Andrew: They're all doing work in their own communities and it looks a whole bunch of different ways, but we try to get them together on Zoom every couple of months to, you know, provide support and some trainings. And this was the first time to really do that in person.

And the chapter leaders got all sorts of great content. We had a community organizing training. We had a chance to sort of think through our theory of change and how they could apply that to their own communities. But mostly we all got to hold space together in person.

Talk about the ways that this work is challenging. Talk about the ways this work can be fulfilling. Lots of brainstorming and sharing ideas. You know, “Oh, in this city we're trying this thing and in this place we're doing this” and, sort of exchange of ideas. And I think it felt like everybody really left invigorated and excited and recommitted to the work.

Dr. Val: I am jealous that I was not able to be there in the room with everyone. I hope you said my love! Um, and there is something about the synergy of being in this space. It's, it's certainly not something that you can duplicate easily virtually, if at all.

Um, because the energy you're feeding off of everyone in the room, and you know that there's love there, you know that there's commitment there. And I can't believe that you had not met people after seven years on Zoom!

You have a lot of miles, friend. You need to use those miles to see these people!

Andrew: That's true. That's true. Yeah. I mean it, it was really a, a special weekend.

I think everybody felt really supported.

Dr. Val: Yeah.

Andrew: You know, there were, a lot of time spent on sort of looking forward, but also a lot of time just really sitting with like, the challenge of this moment you know,

Longtime listeners will remember Courtney Mykytyn, who founded the organization. She founded the organization 10 years ago.

Dr. Val: Mm-hmm.

Andrew: So we actually had a 10th birthday party for Integrated Schools.

Dr. Val: Mmm.

[Recording of crowd singing “Happy Birthday”]

Dr. Val: Oh, oh my God. I think I wanna cry! I think I wanna cry because again, when, when Courtney put this out into the world, you know, she was just observing her surroundings and asking questions and wanted people to do better and put it on her back.

Andrew: Yeah.

Dr. Val: And now you get a happy birthday cake!

Andrew: Right. It was, it was really special. And I, I was struck thinking about sort of 10 years of the organization. You know, she started Integrated Schools before Trump was elected the first time.

Dr. Val: Yeah.

Andrew: And, basically just sort of like tilling the soil, putting this idea out into the world saying “Does anybody care?”

And then Trump got elected and a lot of people were like, “Oh, crap!”

Dr. Val: Mm-hmm.

Andrew: “This is something that maybe I need to care about.” And she was there to sort of collect them and really, like, start a movement with them.

Dr. Val: Mm-hmm.

Andrew: You know? And then as it inevitably happens, sort of the attention shifts and things go away. And she just kept plugging along and gathering more and more people.

Dr. Val: Yeah.

Andrew: You know, we kept plugging along. And then, you know, tragically we lost her at the end of 2019. Which I just realized, I don't know how, I didn't, this didn't dawn on me sooner, but I just realized today that there has been more Integrated Schools without her than with her.

Dr. Val: Hmm.

Andrew: Which is kind of crazy to think about. But, we just kept plugging along, still, like, tilling the soil, putting this idea out into the world.

And then George Floyd was murdered and the pendulum swung towards us in a big way, and we were able to capture more and more people. Sort of say, here's a space for you to keep thinking about these topics.

And then inevitably, as always happens, there was a backlash and the pendulum swung away. And I think, you know, part of what was so powerful about this moment of the gathering happening right now is, like, the pendulum is pretty far away from us right now!

Dr. Val: It's super far away.

Andrew: Like, nobody wants to talk about school integration. Nobody wants to talk about equity.

Dr. Val: No. No.

Andrew: Nobody wants to talk about diversity. Like, the pendulum has swung away from us. And I think the chapter leaders were all feeling that a little bit in their own cities.

Dr. Val: Yeah!

Andrew: And to, to pull everybody together and create a space to sort of, like, hold that. And give support and affirm to everybody that, like, the fact that we are still here, that this organization exists after a decade–

Dr. Val: Tight.

Andrew: –is a victory. The fact that everyone–

Dr. Val: That's right.

Andrew: –is out in their own cities doing this work is a victory. And we had a, a board meeting on Saturday morning. So the board all was off in a separate room having our board meeting. And then the other chapter leaders and network contacts were, were doing their own meeting.

And one of the things they were working on was holding space for when these conversations get difficult. For when–

Dr. Val: Yeah.

Andrew: –there are challenges. Either trying to hold space for a chapter or in your own integrating schools. You know, like, there, there are issues that come up. It is not all sunshine and roses.

Dr. Val: Right.

Andrew: When you go to any school, but one of my favorite moments from the whole weekend was we're sitting in the middle of the board meeting and from the other room we hear this.

Group of People: [Singing] Do, do not carry this all alone. You do not carry this all. This is way too big to carry this on your own, so you do not carry this all alone.

Andrew: Like, we like got up, peeked–

Dr. Val: Oh my gosh.

Andrew: –peeked my head out the door and Melissa, one of our new board members, like, peeked her head over mine is, like, her hands on my back and the two of us are just, like, sobbing.

Dr. Val: Yeah.

Andrew: And all the chapter leaders are sitting in a circle singing the song. Idon't know how they all knew it! I don’t know where it all came from, but like outta the blue, this, this moment and they're passing around tissues, and it was just incredibly powerful.

Dr. Val: Ohh!

Andrew: That holding space, that acknowledging the challenge of this moment, and–

Dr. Val: Gosh.

Andrew: –being in this moment was really powerful.

Dr. Val: Like, I'm about to lose it! I was good.

Andrew: Yeah.

Dr. Val: I was good. Um. That's so important because… the work can feel incredibly lonely.

And you don't have probably enough people who are, are in it in the same way as you in your community, you know? So to hear them all sing that in support of one another, like, I will not forget that song now. It is, like, stuck in my head. And I'll be singing it to myself, you know, when, when stuff just gets hard. That was beautiful. Oh gosh….Shout out to whoever had them start that song and, and sing it. There’s something super healing about that.

Andrew: I think it was important to hold space for mourning.

Dr. Val: Right.

Andrew: You know, like, for acknowledging the challenges of the moment we're living in. I think it's easy to, to look around at how everything feels like it's falling apart. Feel like “I gotta do something about that.”

Dr. Val: Right.

Andrew: I gotta, like, go and, and put that into action. And, like, sometimes we just have to stop and pause and be sad about it.

Dr. Val: Yeah,

Andrew: And actually, yeah, it sucks right now and that's okay because we're here, and we're gonna hold how much it sucks together.

Dr. Val: Yeah, yeah. No, that pierced me.

Andrew: Yeah. I was not alone in feeling like it was a powerful weekend. This is just a, a smattering of folks who were there, reflecting on what they got out of it.

Dr. Val: Awesome.

Courtney: Hi Integrated Schools. This is Courtney from Brooklyn, New York, just having returned from Columbus, Ohio for our first ever whole group Integrated Schools gathering. So, I've been sitting with the weekend and honestly, I'm still a little undone by it. It was mind blowing to spend time with people I've only met over Zoom, some who I've known for years.

To also meet new people who already feel so close to my heart. To dream together with people who mean it. We really mean it. When we wanna say we want to do things today to impact the future that we wanna live every day in our values. Not talk about them, or read about them, or listen about them (but those things too - don't stop listening to the podcast!). But, to be in a space with people who really know in our bones that there is only one way to be in this together, and that's by being in this together. Also, to be in a room with, um, not only White people, but so many White people who know that the values of Whiteness are not our values, and who work every single day to be deeply in touch with who we are as people among people. And to reject what's been and continues to be everyday told to us that we need, or deserve, or want.

And to be in a room with people who are pushing to stay connected to ourselves and to our bodies. To be in that space where this is all of us, um, has me still trembling inside. Like, if you could touch my heart space right now, you'd feel it trembling with deep, deep gratitude.

Dr. Val: Mm. Mm-hmm.

Paula: Hi, this is Paula. I am a White mom from Minneapolis, and I am also one of the co-leaders of the Minneapolis chapter of Integrated Schools. And I have just returned home from an incredible few days in Columbus, Ohio. And I am so grateful. So, so, so grateful for the opportunity to have shared space with all of you.

I was really nervous before going. Integrated Schools has meant so much to me since I first became aware of it in 2018. It is not hyperbole to say that Integrated Schools has changed my life and the life of my family. You know, Integrated Schools has, has taught me vocabulary and given me relationships, and friends, and new perspectives, and courage. And I was scared going into this gathering of Integrated Schools leaders that I wasn't going to be able to connect with the people there. That, that some of the hard questions that I was bringing about difficult things that are happening in my kids' schools and in our school district. That there wouldn't be a space for that. And instead what I found was people from all over the country who showed up with their authentic selves.

And were ready to go deep and were ready to hold hard things together. And were ready to just wade into the murky, messy place of nuance and I am just so tremendously grateful to have gotten to share space with everyone who was there. And also grateful to the Integrated Schools community at large.

I am returning home inspired, refreshened, more dedicated to the work than ever with ideas from folks from around the country of things that I can try here. And most importantly, just with additional relationships and deeper relationships, which is, you know, really the most important component to working towards change and a better world.

And so, thank you. Thank you to all of you who I got to share space with, and thank you to everyone else who's listening to this podcast. It is really an honor to be in this work with you, and to be in this world with you.

Dr. Val: Hmm. Both of those voice memos speak to the power of these relationships

Andrew: Yeah.

Dr. Val: And the necessity of these relationships. I'm very much still choked up by the song, and I'm grateful that Paula did find home in the convening. and that Courtney found home in the convening, and that you found home in the convening.

And I feel speechless because I am feeling so much.

Andrew: Yeah. this is what Robin had to say.

Robin: So I am back home after two and a half days in Columbus. And I just spent an hour talking to my family about the weekend, and my kids started paying attention from the other room (or from a few feet away), the way that they do when they, like, see that there's something kind of interesting going on.

And I think it's because they could see me feeling really alive and, like, um, full of energy and, um, a lot of joy. The weekend was just amazing. It so exceeded my expectations! [Chuckles] Um, and not that my expectations were low, but it just, um, really blew me away. I feel like there was a lot of really specific actionable content that I can take back into this work.

I feel even more clear about my “why”(why I do this work), but also about how to do this work, and how to do it in community. And I also feel like I just fell in love with 30 new people who I am so excited to get to know. And I had a number of conversations with folks on couches in the duck pin bowling place, and in chairs in the conference room, and over coffee near the hotel that just moved me and grounded me. And motivated me and taught me.

And it's all filling my heart up a lot and, um, I can feel it in my body and in my mind. And I'm energized to go back into the work in a new way. And I am just so grateful for the time and, um, it was absolutely worth every bit of effort for me and my family to make it possible. So, pretty darn cool.

Jana: Hi, this is Jana. White mom from Oakland, California, and a member of the Integrated Schools Board. The time in Columbus, Ohio was so fortifying during a time when things feel incredibly hard. It was powerful to be in community, in a room together, physically in person, with people (amazing people) from around this country, who are all deeply committed to the work of integrating our schools. And to know that there are these people who are seeding this work around the country. And that while sometimes the very small slices of the work that we each own feel small and insignificant, collectively we are making an impact. And collectively we have a lot of power to leverage in the fight for the world that we want for our kids and for our communities.

Dr. Val: .

Just don't let the, your link in the chain break.

Andrew: Don't let your link in the chain break.

Dr. Val: Mm-hmm.

Andrew: That's what Loretta said. Yeah.

Dr. Val: That's what she said.

Molly: Hi, this is Molly from Cincinnati. I attended the Integrated Schools gathering after not being involved for very long. Uh, it's just been a little over a year since I got involved in Integrated Schools and didn't know anyone else other than the few other Cincinnati folks who attended.

And I just want to say that I was so blown away by how amazing everyone was. Just, everyone was authentic, everyone was kind. Um, just the vibe in the room was so uplifting and affirming. And it really energized me to become more involved in my local chapter (I will probably become a co-chapter leader). And I just feel ready to commit myself more to this cause, and to do the hard work. So, I am just so grateful that I came and for all the work that was put into it. And for all the work that you all have already been doing for years. So, thank you.

Dr. Val: Thank you.

Sarah: Hi, this is Sarah, chapter leader from Oakland, California. I'm feeling super energized and I just keep coming back to something someone said, uh, during our weekend together, which is that I do this work because I have to. And even in the last few days as I've tried to kind of put into action all of these, um, inspiring ideas. Or even just, you know, thoughts that I need to spend some time sitting with from our time together. I keep coming back to that phrase. I need to have some difficult conversations with other privileged parents in my community as they, uh, select schools to enroll in for next year.

Not because I'm sure that it will change that much or that I think it'll be easy, but because I have to! Um, and there's a clarity in that, um, that I just feel really grateful for. So, thank you.

Andrew: It was special.

Dr. Val: I think those are the types of experiences that are catalysts.

Andrew: Yeah. And you know, I mean there was a lot of learning, there was a lot of spending time together. There was, you know, sharing meals together, which you can never beat.

Dr. Val: No, you cannot.

Andrew: The power of breaking bread together.

Dr. Val: You cannot.

Andrew: And, there was also fun. We went duck pin bowling. We had the Integrated Schools birthday party. There may or may not have been some late night karaoke. [Val laughs]

[Group singing “End of the Road” by Boyz II Men]

Andrew: A magical I am so grateful to everybody who showed up to all of the people who time and energy planning it. There was so much thought and intentionality put into creating a space where people could really show up, where people could break into song.

Whether that was in support of each other's carrying heavy loads or, uh, coming to the “end of the road” as it were. It was magical.

Dr. Val: So, is this gonna be an annual thing? Is this just, like, a, every couple years? Like, what's the plan?

Andrew: I… would love for it to be an annual thing.

Dr. Val: Yeah.

Andrew: It was so powerful for everybody there, but I think like for the organization as like a commitment to this work. And, it wasn't cheap! So, as we are heading into the season of giving, people are getting asked for things left and right. I realize that. But listeners, if you believe in this work, if you believe in the power of spaces like was created in Columbus, like we try to create here on the podcast every week, every episode, we would be grateful for your financial support to help us keep doing it.

Dr. Val: It would be great also if you hit that recurring button, right? And if you have a small item that you can donate monthly, and you hit that recurring and know that each month your, your dollars are going to something really meaningful and powerful and the change that you wanna see. We'd appreciate it.

Andrew: Yeah. All the money goes to fund the work that happens at Integrated Schools. From the chapter work, the network work, our book clubs, our caregiver connection program, the two-tour-pledge.

And of course, the podcast. Keeping us able to have these conversations and share them with you every episode is a tremendous privilege and a tremendous honor. And also requires a lot of resources. So,

Dr. Val: Yeah.

Andrew: A number of people over the weekend talked about how the podcast had really shaped their lives. And given them language and vocabulary, and a way to engage in conversations that they found was powerful. If that has been you, we would appreciate your support. So,

Dr. Val: That's right.

Andrew: IntegratedSchools.org - click on that donate button. And, yeah, as Val said, if you can make it monthly, that's even better for us.

Dr. Val: That is.

Andrew: 2026, Val.

Dr. Val: We did it!

Andrew: We have made it through 2025. It was touch and go there, [Val sighs] but here we are.

Dr. Val: It was touch and go. Here we are.

Andrew: Coming up on 2026. I certainly look around at the state of the world and have plenty of things to be concerned about, but–

Dr. Val: Yeah.

Andrew: –I think after the weekend in Columbus and sharing space with so many people, feel a lot more hopeful and a lot more able to dig into this work, and drive forward, knowing that the work that we are doing is right and–

Dr. Val: That's right.

Andrew: –the pendulum will inevitably swing back our way.

Dr. Val: It will. It will.

Andrew: We’re just here to keep sort of tilling the soil so that when it does, we're ready to capture even more people.

Dr. Val: That's right. Don't let your, the link in your chain break. That's all we gotta do.

And I think we can do that.

Andrew: Happy Holidays, listeners! Thank you for being with us, this year, all of these years. And Val, thank you to you. I am so grateful to be in this with you every episode as I try to know better and do better.

Dr. Val: Until next time.