
20.4K
Downloads
38
Episodes
Podcasts from JFYNetWorks JFYNetWorks addresses today’s college readiness pursuit by providing focused blended learning programs in high school to help students build the academic skills they need to enter college or technical training earning academic credit. The JFYNetWorks blended program model — infusing specialized online content into the regular curriculum — also facilitates scalability, as the low cost of the online platform can easily be expanded to entire schools. Listen to our podcasts to learn more.
Episodes

6 days ago
6 days ago
Boston’s Historical Civic and Social Landscape: A Personal Account
SEPTEMBER 2023 PODCAST -- This month, JFYNetWorks will take the opportunity to expand on some of the history that Hubie Jones shared with our listeners when he was a guest for three JFYNet podcasts last year. [Podcast 1, Podcast 2, Podcast 3] Recently, PBS, in conjunction with local affiliate GBH, debuted the documentary “The Busing Battleground: THE DECADES-LONG ROAD TO SCHOOL DESEGREGATION” as part of the American Experience television series. The program featured reflections by many prominent Boston-area activists, including Hubie Jones, who has not only witnessed Boston history for 67 years, but has also shaped and defined the civic and social landscape.
MORE ABOUT JFYNetWorks
Today, JFYNetWorks addresses the college readiness disconnect by providing focused blended, hybrid, and remote learning programs in high school to help students build the academic skills they need to enter college or technical training earning academic credit. The JFYNetWorks blended program model — infusing specialized online content into the regular curriculum — also facilitates scalability, as the low cost of the online platform can easily be expanded to entire schools.
To learn more visit JFYNet.org

Thursday Aug 31, 2023
David P. Driscoll Responds Pt. 2: MCAS Chatter, ‘déjà vu’ all over again’
Thursday Aug 31, 2023
Thursday Aug 31, 2023
David P. Driscoll, former Education Commissioner, responds to: MCAS Chatter, ‘déjà vu’ all over again’
AUGUST 2023 PODCAST -- Our podcast this month features part two of our conversation with former Commissioner of Education David Driscoll. His 49-year career in public education leadership includes being appointed deputy commissioner in 1993, interim commissioner in 1998, and commissioner in 1999. Dr. Driscoll currently serves on a number of boards, including serving as chair of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute Board and the National Assessment Governing Board.
PODCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
- What do we do about the fact that we're back again, asking the question of whether there should be, quantitative standards to get a high school diploma in Massachusetts? Do you feel like, it’s DeJa’Vu all over again? [00:03:17]
- The Driscoll challenge: What would an educator do after looking at [student's] failing work? Would they grant that student a high school diploma? [00:09:12]
- Every question is reviewed by teachers. No question goes on the test unless it's been approved by teachers. [00:31:07] Well, we don't have any leadership, or political leadership at the federal government. We don't have enough of it to start to look at solutions. [00:44:06]
'Look what you're [JFY] doing in East Boston High School. Why wouldn't every high school in Boston say, well, let's do that? And yet they don't.' - David P. Driscoll
[Song: 'Keys Of Moon - The Epic Hero' is under a creative commons license Music promoted by Breaking Copyright: https://breakingcopyright.com].
MORE ABOUT JFYNetWorks
Today, JFYNetWorks addresses the college readiness disconnect by providing focused blended, hybrid, and remote learning programs in high school to help students build the academic skills they need to enter college or technical training earning academic credit. The JFYNetWorks blended program model — infusing specialized online content into the regular curriculum — also facilitates scalability, as the low cost of the online platform can easily be expanded to entire schools.
To learn more visit JFYNet.org

Thursday Jul 27, 2023
David P. Driscoll, responds to: ‘Is it time to reconsider the Education Reform Act?’
Thursday Jul 27, 2023
Thursday Jul 27, 2023
David P. Driscoll, former Education Commissioner, responds to: ‘Is it time to reconsider the Education Reform Act?’
JULY 2023 PODCAST -- This month’s podcast features David P. Driscoll, who served as the 22nd commissioner of education in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 1998 to 2007. In his 49-year career in public education, Dr. Driscoll was a math teacher, an assistant superintendent, a superintendent, deputy commissioner, interim commissioner, and the state commissioner who inaugurated standards-based education in Massachusetts under the Education Reform law. Currently, he serves on a number of boards, including as chair of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute Board and the National Assessment Governing Board.
PODCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
- Has the Education Reform Act of 1993 fulfilled its promise? [00:03:50]
- The MCAS is a standards-based test, [but] teachers are still not consistently applying, sound pedagogical ways of getting the kids to the standards, part of which is to get kids engaged, get kids motivated, et cetera. [00:17:46]
- Kids go through as part of a [grade] group, say the 8th grade, but we need to address their individual needs in addition to regular schooling and the school experience, we need an individual approach, almost like the medical profession. [00:29:26]
[Song: 'Keys Of Moon - The Epic Hero' is under a creative commons license Music promoted by Breaking Copyright: https://breakingcopyright.com].
MORE ABOUT JFYNetWorks
Today, JFYNetWorks addresses the college readiness disconnect by providing focused blended, hybrid, and remote learning programs in high school to help students build the academic skills they need to enter college or technical training earning academic credit. The JFYNetWorks blended program model — infusing specialized online content into the regular curriculum — also facilitates scalability, as the low cost of the online platform can easily be expanded to entire schools.
To learn more visit JFYNet.org

Thursday Jun 15, 2023
Thursday Jun 15, 2023
'SCI-FI to AI' Fiction to Fact. A discussion with Mike Mino, Education Development in Technology Professional.
JUNE 2023 PODCAST -- This month’s podcast features Michael Mino, founder of MM Development Services, a provider of innovative education development services to schools and classrooms. With his over 25 years of experience working at all levels of education, he has a strong track record of innovation, transforming traditional 20th century classes into state of the art 21st Century Skills programs.
PODCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
- It's important to engage students in things at school that are most like work and most like play. Here's an example. [00:26:00]
- 'Students can Collaborate with AI!' Mike identifies the distinction between using AI and collaborating with AI.[00:36:00]
- People identify a concept, process, or objective. AI can enhance, help to determine the mapping towards achievement and, fix errors in that concept. Here's How. [00:39:00]
[Song: 'Keys Of Moon - The Epic Hero' is under a creative commons license Music promoted by Breaking Copyright: https://breakingcopyright.com].
MORE ABOUT JFYNetWorks
Today, JFYNetWorks addresses the college readiness disconnect by providing focused blended, hybrid, and remote learning programs in high school to help students build the academic skills they need to enter college or technical training earning academic credit. The JFYNetWorks blended program model — infusing specialized online content into the regular curriculum — also facilitates scalability, as the low cost of the online platform can easily be expanded to entire schools.
To learn more visit JFYNet.org

Thursday Apr 27, 2023
Thursday Apr 27, 2023
What’s the AI impact on education, work, and society in general? A discussion with JFY
APRIL 2023 PODCAST -- This month’s podcast features Dr. Michael Marrapodi, the Dean of Academic Affairs, Cambridge College Global at Cambridge College, in a recent conversation with JFY’s Executive Director Gary Kaplan, discussing the latest developments in artificial intelligence and how they may impact education, work, and society in general.
PODCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
- AI has been around for a long time [00:03:14]
- Will it destroy education? [00:05:11]
- It’s already in wide use [00:08:55]
- Previous advances have made us well prepared [00:12:40]
- Critical thinking [00:20:20]
- Human interaction [00:21:41]
- Moving a lot faster [00:39:09]
- The human element [00:52:13]
[Song: 'Keys Of Moon - The Epic Hero' is under a creative commons license Music promoted by Breaking Copyright: https://breakingcopyright.com].
MORE ABOUT JFYNetWorks
Today, JFYNetWorks addresses the college readiness disconnect by providing focused blended, hybrid, and remote learning programs in high school to help students build the academic skills they need to enter college or technical training earning academic credit. The JFYNetWorks blended program model — infusing specialized online content into the regular curriculum — also facilitates scalability, as the low cost of the online platform can easily be expanded to entire schools.
To learn more visit JFYNet.org
![Artificial Intelligence. A Conversation with Michael B. Horn on ChatGPT [Podcast]](https://deow9bq0xqvbj.cloudfront.net/image-logo/7206606/JFY_Logo_1400x1400_v3_mk88iy_300x300.jpg)
Thursday Mar 30, 2023
Artificial Intelligence. A Conversation with Michael B. Horn on ChatGPT [Podcast]
Thursday Mar 30, 2023
Thursday Mar 30, 2023
Is ChatGPT a Threat in the Classroom, Or a Tool to Embrace?
MARCH 2023 PODCAST -- This month’s podcast features Michael B. Horn, a writer, and speaker who advocates for the transformation of education through innovation to improve the learning and the lives of all students. In this podcast, Michael and JFYNetWorks executive director Gary Kaplan discuss how ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in general will impact not only our schools but our entire society.
More about Michael B. Horn
An author, speaker, blogger, and consultant, Michael Horn has been at the forefront of education innovation and blended learning since his pioneering work at Harvard Business School with the legendary Clayton Christensen. He was a co-founder in 2007 of the Innosight Institute (now the Christensen Institute), a non-profit think tank that focuses on using disruptive innovation to improve education and other industries. In addition to writing or collaborating on six books since the 2008 classic Disrupting Class, Michael is a frequent speaker on education innovation at conferences around the world.
PODCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
’We're no longer homosapiens. We’re now homotechnicians.’ [Timestamp: 03:35]
’ChatGPT becomes this incredible tool to uplevel the products or capabilities that we as individuals ultimately use. In other words, the analogy made is that ChatGPT is to English what the calculator is to math.’ [Timestamp: 09:30]
’…technology, I think remains a wonderful tool and it is a terrible master.’ [Timestamp 36:49]
[Song: 'Keys Of Moon - The Epic Hero' is under a creative commons license Music promoted by Breaking Copyright: https://breakingcopyright.com].
MORE ABOUT JFYNetWorks
Today, JFYNetWorks addresses the college readiness disconnect by providing focused blended, hybrid and remote learning programs in high school to help students build the academic skills they need to enter college or technical training earning academic credit. The JFYNetWorks blended program model — infusing specialized online content into the regular curriculum — also facilitates scalability, as the low cost of the online platform can easily be expanded to entire schools.
To learn more visit JFYNet.org

Thursday Feb 23, 2023
Thursday Feb 23, 2023
Rejecting society's norm, Rita Smith became a nationally recognized and celebrated Educator
FEBRUARY 2023 PODCAST -- This month’s podcast features Professor Rita Smith, a lifelong educator and the 1985 recipient of Time Magazine’s Teacher of the Year Award. Professor Smith’s career as an educator spans 44 years, beginning as a high school teacher and then spending nearly two decades as the chair of the Secondary Education Department at Stonehill College. She recounts for JFY many of the experiences and stories that helped her students find success in the classroom and in their lives.
PODCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
"And we went up and up and up and up [in the elevator] and then the doors just opened and I saw my future world’s largest typing pool. And I said to myself, oh my God, what have I done? [Timestamp: 10:01]
"Well, they [Stonehill College] had been an all male school. Right. And now the Korean War wiped out a lot of those young men. Right. You know, and so they had to take in women. They had to take us in. They had to fill the seats.” [Timestamp: 12:56]
”Breaking out of boxes, getting kids to break out of boxes.” [Timestamp 32:21]
”I established a teacher education program that promoted equity and, people working together and respecting one another.” [Timestamp 40:33]
[Song: 'Keys Of Moon - The Epic Hero' is under a creative commons license Music promoted by Breaking Copyright: https://breakingcopyright.com].
MORE ABOUT JFYNetWorks
Today, JFYNetWorks addresses the college readiness disconnect by providing focused blended, hybrid and remote learning programs in high school to help students build the academic skills they need to enter college or technical training earning academic credit. The JFYNetWorks blended program model — infusing specialized online content into the regular curriculum — also facilitates scalability, as the low cost of the online platform can easily be expanded to entire schools.
To learn more visit JFYNet.org

Thursday Dec 15, 2022
Hubie Jones on Parent Engagement, Arts Exclusion in School and more
Thursday Dec 15, 2022
Thursday Dec 15, 2022
Missing voices in the classroom… Does not make good sense
DECEMBER 2022 PODCAST -- In this month’s podcast, JFYNetWorks Executive Director Gary Kaplan continues our conversation with Hubie Jones. A recent recipient of the Norman B. Leventhal Award from the organization A Better City, he continues to impact the civil and social landscape. This month, he shares his many ideas about how to ensure Boston is viewed as a world class city, including his thoughts about parent engagement in the Boston Public Schools.
PODCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
"The role of parent engagement in our schools is paramount, but their voices are missing in the process. That does not make good sense. [Timestamp: 11:07]
…and the importance of arts education
"The exclusion of arts in more recent years diminishes social integration. The ability to have an exchange of ideas with students, in an educational environment, covering topics that our students encounter on a day-to-day basis fosters student engagement, and civic joy and fosters respect for one another. [Timestamp: 13:59]
Other podcasts with Hubie Jones can be found here:
May 2022
A history maker in Boston’s civic and social landscape
September 2022
A leader in the formation of countless community organizations
[Song: 'Keys Of Moon - The Epic Hero' is under a creative commons license Music promoted by Breaking Copyright: https://breakingcopyright.com].
MORE ABOUT JFYNetWorks
Today, JFYNetWorks addresses the college readiness disconnect by providing focused blended, hybrid and remote learning programs in high school to help students build the academic skills they need to enter college or technical training earning academic credit. The JFYNetWorks blended program model — infusing specialized online content into the regular curriculum — also facilitates scalability, as the low cost of the online platform can easily be expanded to entire schools.
To learn more visit JFYNet.org

Thursday Oct 27, 2022
Substantial Gains in MCAS for East Boston High & Northeast Metro Tech
Thursday Oct 27, 2022
Thursday Oct 27, 2022
Bucking the downward trend
OCTOBER 2022 PODCAST -- This month’s podcast celebrates the MCAS results of two JFYNetWorks Partner schools: East Boston High School, an open enrollment Boston Public School, and Northeast Metro Tech, located in Wakefield and serving students from 11 surrounding communities. We feature JFY’s own Cathie Maglio and Joan Reissman as they discuss how both schools posted substantial gains in ELA and in math compared to state averages.
East Boston High School is an open enrollment school in the Boston Public Schools with a very diverse student body. 75% of Eastie’s students do not have English as their first language, 82% are low income, and 93% are classified as high needs. (The state’s percentages are 24% first language not English, 44% low-income, and 56% high needs.) With 985 9th -12th graders, plus 107 7th graders, East Boston is the city’s largest open enrollment school. JFY has been working in East Boston High since 2015. On the 10th grade MCAS, the school made substantial gains in both subjects, far exceeding both the state and, the Boston school district.
Eastie gained 10 points in ELA and 15 points in math from ’21 to ’22, while the state declined 6 points and 2 points. The Boston Public Schools, including the three high-scoring exam schools, gained 2 points in ELA and 3 points in math. The Boston Public Schools are 48% first language not English, 71% low income, and 81.5% high needs.
Northeast Metro Tech is a regional vocational school that serves 11 communities north of Boston including Chelsea, Malden and Revere. The school has more than 1300 students. JFY began working in the school in 2018. Northeast Metro gained 18 points in English and 12 points in math, while the state declined 6 points and 2 points.
Ref: Blog post, 10/13/22, East Boston High & Northeast Metro Tech buck MCAS Downward Trend, https://jfynet.org/8881/general/east-boston-h-s-and-northeast-metro-tech-buck-mcas-downward-trend/
[Song: 'Keys Of Moon - The Epic Hero' is under a creative commons license Music promoted by Breaking Copyright: https://breakingcopyright.com].
MORE ABOUT JFYNetWorks
Today, JFYNetWorks addresses the college readiness disconnect by providing focused blended, hybrid and remote learning programs in high school to help students build the academic skills they need to enter college or technical training earning academic credit. The JFYNetWorks blended program model — infusing specialized online content into the regular curriculum — also facilitates scalability, as the low cost of the online platform can easily be expanded to entire schools.
To learn more visit JFYNet.org

Wednesday Sep 28, 2022
JFYNetWorks Sits Down With the Inspiring Hubie Jones Part II
Wednesday Sep 28, 2022
Wednesday Sep 28, 2022
A leader in the formation of countless community organizations
SEPTEMBER 2022 PODCAST -- This month, JFY continues our conversation with Hubie Jones. Hubie has not only witnessed Boston history for 67 years-- he has also shaped and defined the civic and social landscape. He has been a leader in the formation of at least thirty community organizations in neighborhoods across the city, most recently Higher Ground and the Boston Children’s Chorus.
Living Life by Scott Holmes Music is licensed under an Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International License.
MORE ABOUT JFYNetWorks
Today, JFYNetWorks addresses the college readiness disconnect by providing focused blended, hybrid and remote learning programs in high school to help students build the academic skills they need to enter college or technical training earning academic credit. The JFYNetWorks blended program model — infusing specialized online content into the regular curriculum — also facilitates scalability, as the low cost of the online platform can easily be expanded to entire schools.
To learn more visit JFYNet.org