In this episode, Doug Mesecar talks about the impact of COVID-19 on the education system. We discuss the congressional response, how it changes educational policy, and the funding landscape. This is a must-listen for anyone in education - including policymakers, superintendents, and business leaders. 

Doug Mesecar has served in senior operational and policy roles at the U.S. Department of Education, Congress, and top education companies. Before joining Strategos Group in 2019. In Doug’s various roles at the U.S.D.O.E., he advised the Secretary and senior staff on the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act and other federal laws and regulations, with a particular focus on education innovation, charters, technology, teacher training, and accountability.

This episode of the Policy Matters features Todd Lamb talking with Clara Haskell Botstein. Clara is the Associate Vice President of the Bard Early Colleges. 
The schools are tuition-free early college programs where students are taught by college faculty and can earn an associate in arts degree from Bard College concurrently with a high school diploma. Bard Early College is changing the lives of students, especially students in underserved areas. Bard High School Early Colleges are located in Manhattan, New York; Queens, New York; Newark, New Jersey; Cleveland, Ohio; Washington D.C.; and Baltimore, Maryland. We hope you enjoy.

Committee for Children is a 40-year-old non-profit with a mission to ensure kids everywhere can thrive. They do this by empowering students with the social-emotional skills to be good citizens and help them realize their goals in the classroom and throughout their lives. Every year, CFC reaches over 15 million children in more than 70 countries worldwide.

Jordan Posamentier is the director of policy & advocacy at the Committee for Children, the world’s largest provider of research-based educational programs designed to advance social-emotional skills and prevent bullying and sexual abuse. Prior to joining Committee for Children, Jordan was deputy policy director at the University of Washington’s Center on Reinventing Public Education, director of legislative analysis at StudentsFirst, legislative counsel to the California Judges Association, and a New York City public school teacher.

Kevin Chavous is a lawyer, author, education reform activist, and a former Democratic Party politician in Washington, D.C. Currently, Kevin Chavous is the President of Academics, Policy, and Schools of K12, Inc., a technology-based education company and the nation’s leading provider of proprietary curriculum and online school programs for students in pre-K through high school. In this role, Mr. Chavous overseas all of the services that the company provides to over 120,000 students nationwide.

Founded in 2000, and with nearly 5,000 employees today, K12, Inc. is one of the nation’s leading providers of virtual education. You can learn more about K12, Inc. at www.K12.com.

What are three easy and inexpensive ways to make schools safer?   In this episode,  Mike McCarty provides actionable steps on how education leaders can understand threats and address areas to ensure better safety within schools.  
Mike is the Founder and CEO of Safe Hiring Solutions and has more than 25 years of violence prevention experience in law enforcement.    Mike routinely appears as a violence prevention expert on CNN, HLN, CBN, and Fox.   Host Todd Lamb walks Mike through these steps and discusses the ongoing efforts across the country to improve school safety.   This episode lasts 25 mins.