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• KACI: Thinking about, like, people that have come before us and the work that they've done, I think about, like, how Brown v. Board was a 100-year battle that, you know, took the power of so many people with far less resources and support. And they were still able to come out on the other side and get a huge win that we still build on a lot of the work that we do today. So, I'm like, "If they were able to do that and stay motivated, I feel like today we can also have that same mindset. And even though things aren't exactly where we want it to be right now, we can still work towards bettering education for everyone if we just stay on this path that we're on."

• MIKAYLA: Hello, and welcome to the Classnotes podcast series featuring reflections from our IDRA Education Policy Fellows. My name is Mikayla Arciaga, and I am IDRA’s Georgia Director of Advocacy. I also have the pleasure of coordinating our Education Policy Fellowship.
  We’ll be talking about the program and how our fellows will be using this experience on their next big adventure. We’ll share our hopes for the future of education advocacy and their own future plans. During this fourth and final episode, you’ll hear from our fellows: Isabelle Philip, Kaci Wright, DeAndrea Byrd, and Vivek Datla.
  Please check out their bios using the link in the show notes to read more about their work and what they hope to do next.
  So let’s go ahead and get started.
  Vivek, we’ll start with you. What are some significant pieces of advice that were shared with you about navigating this landscape? And now that you’ve navigated the landscape with us, what advice would you share with those who are interested in joining this work?

• VIVEK: I don’t know that I got one single piece of advice that stands out, but something I really appreciate about IDRA’s approach to preparing me for the legislative session, as a newbie coming into this space, is how each staff member made me feel like all of my experiences that led me here were valuable.
  Everyone really encouraged me to tap into my experiences as a former educator working in schools and my experiences as a person of color. That helped me feel more confident about leaning into those experiences to shape the perspectives and the work I brought into the Capitol.
  If I were to pass that forward, I’d say: people who are interested in joining the advocacy space should really lean into their own history and the histories of the people they’ve worked with. People should feel power in centering their unique backgrounds and identity markers, whether racial, cultural, professional, or something else, and use that as a core component of their advocacy.

• MIKAYLA: Thank you. I’m so honored that that was something you took from this. That’s exactly what we wanted all of you to experience.
  DeAndrea, what about you? Was there any advice you received coming in, and what advice would you give on your way out?

• DEANDREA: One of the most powerful pieces of advice I was given was to lead with my lived experience, that I am knowledgeable.
  I learned that you don’t need to know every policy term or have a fancy degree or title to make a difference. You just need to show up, stay consistent, have a willingness to learn, speak from the heart, and read. Read, read, read everything.
  For anyone interested in joining this advocacy space, it’s simple: start where you are. Make real connections. Be transparent. Connect with others. My kids laugh because I literally talk to everybody. They say, “You know everybody in Atlanta,” because I talk to everybody. But you never know who has a shared experience or who you can learn from. We have to be lifelong learners in this space.
  Find your lane, whatever it is. All of it adds up, and it’s all important, whether you’re the storyteller, the one who “talks too much” and pushes out our communications, the organizing person, the policy research geek, whatever it is, it all goes together, really badly, in the best way.
  And remember, your voice is needed. You belong in every room where decisions are made. Like Kaci, I also went through imposter syndrome. It’s not real. Get over it and get out there.

• MIKAYLA: Speaking of imposter syndrome, Kaci, do you want to highlight that and share what advice you’ve gotten through this experience as our youngest fellow?

• KACI: Yeah. I think people around me knew I had imposter syndrome coming in, and they gave really good advice to help me get out of my head.
  One piece of advice I hold on to, and would pass on to anyone being involved in this work, is to be confident in the experiences you’ve had and really lean on them. There were so many times when I questioned, “Should I be in this space? Do I belong here?” And people would tell me, “Go in with confidence and know that you really are the expert in this space.”
  We’re the ones reading these bills and working deeply in education, we have the expertise. It only took a few meetings at the Capitol to realize that’s true. Policymakers are working on a variety of topics, and they really lean on you and your expertise.
  So be confident in those skills going in. It’s okay to feel nervous when you first walk in. It’s not normal to feel totally confident in an environment you’ve never been in before. Acknowledge that anxiety, be okay with it, and as time goes on, lean into the confidence and the skills that you grow. You’re going to keep thriving in these spaces.

• MIKAYLA: Phenomenal. And I just realized, mathematically, I was incorrect. Isabelle is, in fact, our youngest fellow. Isabelle, I’m curious if you’ve had similar experiences or something totally different, and what advice you’d give moving into your next steps, especially given your previous experiences.

• ISABELLE: I think what’s made me more confident, especially in a place like the Capitol, is recognizing that a lot of people there have a kind of undue confidence that comes from how much money they have or who they know, rather than from lived experience.
  What helped me build confidence, as someone who’s generally shy and nervous, was a couple of things: having the passion, having the experience of going through a bunch of different public schools, and realizing that everyone is kind of figuring it out as they go when it comes to making change. Every fight is different. There are different people you’re dealing with, different people you have to get on your side to change minds.
  That realization helped me go out of my way to try new things and be okay with doing something that might not have an obvious impact or that I’m not sure will turn out well. If you don’t try something different, everything gets stale.
  So my advice is: don’t be afraid to try new things. Lean on people who’ve been there a long time, but also remember that, in places like Georgia, we have the short end of the stick.

• MIKAYLA: Awesome. I love it. We had to pivot and get creative all the time, so I love that recommendation.
  You’ve gone through nine months of really intensive work, and we’ve talked about how hard it was in previous episodes. If folks didn’t catch episodes one and two about legislative session and what it’s like being an advocate of color, I highly recommend going back to listen.
  I’m curious now: what gives you hope as you move on and think about the work you’ve done, the work you will do, and the work IDRA will continue after you? What would you like to see in this space as we reimagine and transform schools and education policymaking? What are you hopeful about for the future?
  Kaci, do you want to start us off?

• KACI: This session came with a lot of low moments where I was questioning the entire policymaking process. But I really came out with some hope and some faith in all of it.
  I find comfort in knowing that policymaking is fluid; it’s always changing. I’ve never bought into the idea that we should just throw up our hands and say, “These are the things that always have been, so that’s how it always will be.” We need to know that five years from now, ten years from now, things can be completely different.
  It takes us continuing to put pressure and continuing to work on these issues to make change happen down the line. In a lot of moments, I found comfort thinking about the people who came before us and the work they did. I think about how Brown v. Board was a 100-year battle that took the power of so many people with far fewer resources and support. And they still came out on the other side with a huge win that we still build on today.
  So I think: if they were able to stay motivated and work on change, we can have that mindset too. Even though things aren’t exactly where we want them to be right now, we can still work toward bettering education for everyone if we just stay on the path we’re on. That’s what gives me faith and hope moving forward.

• MIKAYLA: DeAndrea, what’s giving you hope, and what do you hope for in the future of education, advocacy, and policy?

• DEANDREA: What gives me hope is being able to bring truth to power.
  Sometimes just telling the truth, saying what’s actually happening, and seeing people, students and parents, find their voice and take up space at the Capitol gives me hope. I love that students are our next generation. They’ll be the future policymakers, and they’re the ones directly impacted by school policies.
  Parents are like the second wave of impact, whatever happens to our children directly affects our household when they get home. So seeing students and parents involved, and seeing teachers come into the space, gives me hope. Teachers are going through the same things parents and students are, and we’re seeing them testify, show up at press conferences, and stand alongside families. It’s breaking down the divides we’ve seen in previous years.
  When our communities show up and speak truth, it shifts the energy in the room. You can’t deny it. You’re either going to be embarrassed firsthand or secondhand if you’re the one who made or supported a harmful policy. We see you, and you see us. You can’t hide behind the camera or the pen and say somebody else did it.
  We can use this power to reimagine schools by centering the people most impacted and creating policies that reflect real needs, not just “politics as usual.” That’s how change will happen.

• MIKAYLA: I love that, “not politics as usual.” Isabelle, how about you?

• ISABELLE: It’s hard for me to contextualize what’s happening now in the long arc of history, just because I was born in the early 2000s and only have a short window of firsthand knowledge.
  But from what I see with the people I talk to, especially young advocates, there’s a real energy around progressive policy and around not being afraid of labels, like advocating for so-called “socialist” policies. We just saw a primary win by Zohran Mamdani, who’s an incredibly progressive candidate. Things like that give me hope because I think people are fed up with what we have now, and hopefully we’ll be dealing with very different legislatures in the future.

• MIKAYLA: Yeah, that’s a great point. I think we’re seeing a shift toward people power and community-centered leadership. That makes me hopeful too.
  Vivek, what about you? What’s giving you hope, and what do you hope to see?

• VIVEK: I find hope and inspiration in the community members and advocates who show up at the Capitol every day, no matter how uninviting that place can be, to voice their opposition to harmful policies and their support for equitable ones.
  I think about undocumented individuals who came to testify against attempts to repeal the Texas Dream Act, which has helped give them a chance to pursue a college education in the state they grew up in. Their stories made a real difference. Hearing directly from some of the strongest people on the planet made policymakers think long and hard about their actions.
  As much as possible, we have to reimagine schools and education by filling the policymaking space with people like that, people actually from impacted communities.

• MIKAYLA: I’m sensing a theme here, y’all.
  Post-fellowship, I want you to know we’re committed to continuing to bring directly impacted folks into this work and supporting them through this space. And I hope you all stay in this space too.
  I’m curious: what are your plans? As we wrap this up, what are you hoping to do next?
  Isabelle, do you want to go first?

• ISABELLE: The short answer is I’m not totally sure, because this fellowship has given me a lot to think about.
  We recently attended a conference where one presenter said something that really stuck with me: activism and organizing have become very professionalized. I’ve been thinking a lot about whether my role in advocacy or organizing should be in that professional space, or whether I’d be more effective outside of it, maybe doing something different for my full-time job and being involved in advocacy in a different way.
  I’ll be thinking about that a lot over the next year or so, and I think it’s something we should consider as a broader movement. So many people have been funneled into the nonprofit space for advocacy. It would be good to really consider the implications of that for our ability to make change, the pros and cons.

• MIKAYLA: Yeah, absolutely. I think that’s a really valid critique of the space and the work. It’s something we debate constantly as a team.
  And not knowing exactly where you’re going or not having a role lined up yet is also a very real truth. I saw a recent report saying this is the hardest job market ever for college graduates. We try to do as much as we can to support your next transition, and I know several of you are in that process right now.
  Vivek, what do you have planned next, and has the fellowship influenced that at all?

• VIVEK: The fellowship reaffirmed that this is the kind of work I want to do long-term, without any doubt. My goal is to keep developing as an education policy advocate for years to come.
  I really aspire to be like so many people on IDRA’s staff, to be someone considered effective, trusted, and impactful, very much like Mikayla is.
  IDRA has also given me a new framework for my work: to always center students, especially students of color and students from low-income backgrounds, first and foremost in any conversation about education equity.
  As a former teacher, I often defaulted to thinking about the teacher’s perspective first, which isn’t wrong. But now I really understand the value of thinking about students first, since they’re ultimately who we’re trying to help, especially those most impacted by bad policies.

• MIKAYLA: Yeah, absolutely. I think I told you early on that was a mindset I struggled with too. I also hope we can emphasize that strong, evidence-based, student-centered policy is good for kids and teachers. I know you feel the same way.
  Kaci, what about you? What’s next? I know you’ve been working hard to put your feelers out and build your network.

• KACI: Yeah, “What’s next?” is the question.
  I think this is an exciting time after a fellowship because a lot of doors are open and there are so many avenues, this work can show up in lots of spaces.
  A lot like your first year of teaching or your first time in session, there are so many things I look back on and think, “Oh, I’m going to do this differently now. I’ve learned so much and I want to fix some things and move differently.”
  I really feel the passion to come back next session and grow all the skills I learned this time—and just work even harder. I definitely caught the “Leg” bug, as they say. This is where I’m at. I’m all in on this fight, especially here in Texas. The fight is needed here and across the South.
  So I hope to come back next session, keep working with IDRA as a partner on everything you all want to do, and just keep pushing in this fight. Once you’re in, we’re in, baby—and we’re here for the long ride.

• MIKAYLA: Absolutely. Hopefully we all know this is a movement we’re building.
  DeAndrea, speaking of movement and organizing and power-building, what are you going to do next? What are your plans, and how do you see this fellowship informing them?

• DEANDREA: This fellowship gave me the confidence to understand the language, the landscape, and the vision to build something that empowers others.
  People who’ve known me and know the work I do, now that they’ve seen I’ve done this fellowship, that’s actually how I’ve transitioned into a new job: literally running into people at the Capitol who have organizations.
  Post-fellowship, my goal is to keep organizing parents, more parent-centered classes and cohorts, to teach families how to understand policy and track legislation. Whether that means signing up for email lists to see what’s coming down the pipeline in education, or subscribing to IDRA podcasts or YouTube channels, just teaching them how to advocate for their kids on local and state levels, because those go together.
  This fellowship really showed me how powerful policy knowledge is when it comes to advocacy. I want to share everything I learned, especially around student discipline and special education. A lot of people think of special education only at the federal level, but there’s so much we could be doing at the state level, starting with fully funding schools, which would protect kids with disabilities.
  And I’m not even going to get started on all the federal issues, but I’ll say this: who doesn’t want to educate kids? Who doesn’t want to feed kids? It’s wild to me that that’s controversial.
  I just want to pour back into other parents so they can keep showing up in rooms and speaking up. My favorite part of this fellowship was working with students—they had fresh ideas. If I had a wish or a magic wand (or Harry Potter magic), I would magically appropriate funds for IDRA to keep that student program going in Georgia and to hire me and Isabelle so we can keep working on the Georgia team.

• MIKAYLA: If we could keep all of you, we certainly would. It’s been such an incredible honor to have you as part of our team and to see you grow. I’m so excited to see what you do next and how you change the world of education policy after this, because I’m confident you will.
  I want to thank you again for giving us your time this afternoon. And to anyone listening, thank you for your interest and your support of our fellows. If you’re interested in the program, you can find more on our website, and you can also donate to support and sponsor a fellow.
  Thank you all so much. I’m so proud of you. I cannot wait for the next part of your big adventure, and I hope you’ll continue sharing. We’ll uplift you as we hear things and keep pouring that support forward.
  Thank you all so much.
  NARRATOR: Thank you for listening to IDRA Classnotes. For more information on IDRA and other Classnotes topics, go to www.idra.org. You can also send us your thoughts by email at podcast@idra.org.