Stop Expelling Our Preschoolers

Did you know that 50,000 children in the United States are expelled from preschool a year, and those are only for places that have to report (those dependent on government money). You won't believe the conversation we had with Kezia "Kate" Goodwin, Founder & Owner of Kate’s Korner in Durham, NC.

0:00 Episode starts

0:44 Personal check-in

1:00 Jes talks about the seasons changing and her son and his friend moving in with her

2:59 Rob talks about his family loving the weather and being outside helping mental health

4:33 Jes introduces Kezie “Kate” Goodwin, Owner and Founder of Kate’s Korner

6:20 Jes asks Kate about her story and how she got to the point of prioritizing education and equity

7:03 Kate says that her love of children started as the youngest of nine

8:43 Kate mentions the importance of seeing children as their individual selves, and giving them space to love and learn… authentic place for children to land

9:20 Kate tells a story about her own son Andrew’s need for movement being misidentified as attention issues

12:29 Rob asks about Kate’s Korner - how it came to be, what they do, and the problem they are working to solve

13:25 “Kate’s Korner is a manifestation of doing what now I know has to be done in order for me to impact early childhood education”

14:09 Kate mentions utilizing as a platform to give educators the space to self-evaluate their own implicit bias, they would come to the table and serve any child

15:10 Kate explains how Kate’s Korner is drop-in and pay as you go and the need for that service

15:24 Kate explains how Kate’s Korner gives essential workers a place to bring their kids and teaching happens through project-based learning

17:02 Jes asks Kate about the one thing she wishes people would understand her work and the problem she is working to address

17:17 Kate shares a statistic that 50,000 children in the United States are expelled from preschool a year, and those are only for places that have to report (those dependent on government money)

18:20 Kate states the problem with expulsions existing because of implicit bias

21:09 Kate introduces explicit bias manifesting in chastising students and how that shapes during their early childhood experiences

23:29 Rob encourages white listeners to try to imagine stepping into a space where their child is being misinterpreted, but ratcheted up by a thousand

24:24 Jes asks Kate if she had a magic wand where childcare and education are exactly the way she wants, what it looks like and what is holding us back from being there

25:03 Kate dreams of a center with a community garden and kitchen

26:20 Kate dreams of a kindergarten-based curriculum with cultural competence of recognizing and celebrating difference

26:49 Kate dreams of seeing more black males in a space to be able to address that deficit

27:44 Kate mentions that the biggest barrier is choice

29:44 Rob asks Kate about her why and what gives her hope

29:52 Kate answers simply that what gives her hope is children and the need they have

31:02 Kate answers that the second thing that gives her hope is the parents and being able to speak into them

32:54 Kate talks about the last thing that gives her hope is the unequal opportunity for those who were not exposed to early education

34:27 Jes asks Kate for a takeaway for listeners

34:50 Kate answers by saying that the biggest help is to call and offer help

35:51 Kate talks about the importance of serving the whole child - providing physical space for learning and technology for remote learning, but also loving them where they are at

36:37 Kate encourages long term for people to get involved

37:46 Email Kate at to get involved

38:42 Kate signs off conversation

39:01 Rob asks Jes for her takeaway

39:10 Jes talks about being proud because of Kate’s consistency over three decades to understand individual journeys of kids

42:46 Rob talks about his takeaway being the power of her telling her own story of her son and how he was able enter in because she talks with truth and grace

45:30 Sign-off

45:32 Outro

45:53 Preview of next show

Thank you to DJ Pdogg and Producer Lo Key for our awesome music throughout the show!

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