Layla Avila is founder and CEO of Education Leaders of Color, or EdLoC, a new membership organization dedicated to elevating the leadership, voices, and influence of people of color in education and to leading more inclusive efforts to improve education. Layla is driven by a central value, a “belief that our work and education is about really being able to use education to create more thriving black and Latino communities, with a belief that education is a key way of ending generational poverty.” This focus is driven by personal experience and her own education, which “really changed the trajectory for my family.” Read her story.
I spoke with Nigeria Segure-Watson and Mark Murphy about GripTape, a new venture that empowers youth to direct their own learning.
Nigeria is a high school senior, a board member at GripTape, and one of the organization’s first “challengers,” meaning she was given $500 and a coach to pursue a passion project. With those resources, Nigeria pulled off a photo shoot, learned about creative direction, and is now a successful young entrepreneur while finishing up her last year of high school. “I am here to spread agency and inspire the youth, to enlighten them on their possibilities in the world,” she says.
Mark is the former Delaware secretary of education. He says that years of going in and out of classrooms opened his eyes to a huge gap in learning: students were going through the motions without the adults actually asking what they wanted or needed. So, he started GripTape, giving youth small amounts of capital and the ability to self-teach a project of their choosing. “I characterize my work as trying to create the conditions that allow young people to pursue their passions. And those conditions include having levels of authority that they have rarely, if ever had, coupled with resources that they have rarely if ever had.” Read their Q+A.
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From 2011 – 2013, I wrote about crafting, making, and artists as The Nerdy Sewist. I also taught sewing and was featured on the PBS show Sew It All, talking about how to install simple handbag hardware in a homemade purse.
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A sampling of stories from reporting and producing for Colorado Public Radio and Aspen Public Radio.
A road race at Bear Creek Lake Park in Lakewood was the final test for a group of elite athletes competing for spots on the US Paralympic Cycling Team. KCFR’s Kristina Tabor reports.
Ballot measures to increase school funding in more than 25 local districts had mixed success, but the statewide education finance question, Amendment 59, failed. KCFR’s Kristina Tabor reports.
Architect Daniel Libeskind talks to Ryan Warner about his first building in the United States, the Denver Art Museum’s new Frederic C. Hamilton wing. Libeskind says inspiration for the building came from all around: the Rockies, the big sky and Denver’s pioneer history. We also hear some first impressions from visitors who recently got a sneak peek inside.
Kristina T. Saccone 