podcastED: SUFS president Doug Tuthill interviews Central Florida Urban League leader Glen Gilzean

On this episode, Tuthill speaks with president and CEO of the Central Florida Urban League about the work the organization is doing to empower the Black community through what Gilzean refers to as the three E’s – education, employment and entrepreneurship.

Gilzean, a former Pinellas County School Board member, has witnessed the devastating impacts of generational poverty. Both he and Tuthill believe giving parents flexibility and control over their education funding is critical to breaking that cycle.

The two discuss the Urban League’s plan to facilitate small learning pods known as micro-schools for the families it serves in the central Florida community and the potential for Senate Bill 48 to expand small learning environments to more families who presently can’t afford to leverage them, as well as the bill’s potential to drive creative, economic and entrepreneurial opportunity in the Black community.

“The bill does a lot of great things, but specifically for low-income Black folks, I think it will improve educational outcomes, the opportunity to employ individuals, and get people in the mindset of ‘I can do this, too; let me create a pod,’ so they can generate their own resources for the community.”

EPISODE DETAILS:

·       Gilzean’s background as a school board member and advocacy coordinator for Step Up For Students

·       How the Urban League collaborated with Orange County Schools to facilitate the Reading Scholarship, an education savings account for public school students struggling with reading

·       The Urban League’s plan to create micro-schools and school models to better serve students in juvenile detention

·       How micro-schools can drive community development and be an economic engine to counteract generational poverty

LINKS MENTIONED

Micro-schools could be answer for low-income Black students


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BY reimaginED staff