I Can Tell That We Are Going to Be Friends: Schools as Havens

From students organizing delegations at school board meetings to parents building audio libraries in 28 languages, this episode reveals the simple and profound ways that schools act as social infrastructure. In this episode, we meet Quinn, a high school student co-leading a local Gender Sexuality Alliance who knows that community can literally save lives, and Taarini, a parent who helped to create a program for connecting newcomer families across cultural and linguistic barriers at her children’s school. Through powerful conversations with education expert Laura Mae Lindo, we discover that schools aren't just buildings where learning happens—they're landing places where young people and families are creating havens of belonging, one story, one connection, one act of care at a time.THANKS TO OUR GUESTSLaura Mae Lindo, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Director of Black Studies at the University of WaterlooQuinn Palmer, Student leader in the GSA at Waterloo Collegiate InstituteTaarini Chopra, Parent at King Edward Public SchoolADDITIONAL RESOURCESWaterloo Region District School Board student censusCREDITSJay Harrison, Host/Producer/EditorKaryn Atkins, Writer/ReporterDeren Atkins, EditorDavid Harmes, Executive Producer/EngineerMUSIC courtesy of Epidemic SoundMain theme music - Rocket Jr: High TechTransition music - Par Hagstrom: Snakes and Fire (Instrumental Version), and Loyae: Level UpThis show was made possible by the support of the Waterloo Region Community Foundation. Follow Midtown Radio for more local [email protected] Download the Midtown Radio app to listen live and on-demand