The Hypothesis
Go behind the scenes of a PreK - 8th grade charter school in Santa Fe, New Mexico making decisions around whether to open school for in-person learning and how to do so amid a global pandemic. Set at Turquoise Trail Charter School, the state's oldest and fourth largest charter school, you'll meet teachers and administrators who are grappling with how to walk the fine line between public health and public policy during an historic moment in time. As a charter school, Turquoise Trail is able to make decisions both as a school and as a district and is directly accountable. Given that the school serves students across a wide range of ages, the tradeoffs and unintended consequences of decision making is even more complex. Younger students are more directly in need of in-person learning, given that they learn more through socialization, so the drive to get them in school sooner is urgent. Amid the complexity of site-based decision making in this context, the State of New Mexico's Public Education Department continues to issue guidelines that sometimes alter school opening timelines entirely. Along side the story of this school, topics such as the politics and sociology of schools will be explored in this context.
Podcasting since 2020 • 21 episodes
The Hypothesis
Latest Episodes
"The Hypothesis" Season Two Finale with Education Secretary Kurt Steinhaus
In this Season Two finale, we take stock of the moment at our school, for schools across the state and perhaps what we have on the horizon. Joining Chris is special guest, New Mexico Secretary of Education, Dr. Kurt Steinhaus for a look at the ...
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30:53
Strangers on this road we are on...
From TikTok trends to the fine line between the world of social media and in-person interaction, our students are facing a variety of challenges they never have before. In this episode, we'll delve a bit into some of the student behavio...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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12:58
Stay (Far Away, So Close)
In this episode, we take you closer to the impact of the teacher shortage by examining our own school. You'll meet one of our instructional coaches, Mary Ellen Dannenberg, to bring the educator perspective into the conversation, and a look at a...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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17:15
Digitize This! (Can online education be better than in-person?)
Last year, we gathered our school community every full moon to update them on our plans and engage them in critical conversations. We're the Coyotes. We'd even all howl at the end of the meeting. At our gathering last March, I asked how many fa...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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15:31