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...
