The Education Radio Collective (ERC) formed in the spring of 2011, out of the education activist organization, Western Massachusetts Advocates for Public Schools (WMAPS). WMAPS is affiliated with Citizens for Public Schools. Its members include educators, academics, parents and community members committed to fighting for equity in public education and looking for a platform from which to communicate about these issues.
The ERC launched its first program in the summer of 2011 with coverage of the people and events of the Save Our Schools Conference and March in Washington, D.C. – the material and stories that producers were able to gather at that conference turned into Education Radio’s first four programs. While officially Education Radio is “media,” the ERC views itself as an ally and their work as movement building – within which they are committed to reframing the current dominant discourse of education reform.
Education Radio programming thus far has featured the voices of Jonathan Kozol, Diane Ravitch, Michelle Fine, Sut Jhally, Matt Damon, Nancy Carlsson-Paige, as well as teachers and education activists from around the U.S. Topics have touched on standardization and testing in public schools, the charter school movement, inequity in urban public schools, the dominant mythology of education reform and the developmental needs of young children in a data-driven classroom. Future topics will include virtual charter schools, international education activism, teacher education/preparation, snapshots of successful public schools, and more.
Education Radio airs on Valley Free Radio, WXOJ-LP 103.3 in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is available on the web as well as to stations throughout the Pacifica Radio Network. Â Weekly programs will be available to stream or download here. Tune in and tell us what you think.
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