Can We Scale Street Redesign? @openplansnyc Has a Plan!
Schoolutions: Curious Educators. Evidence-Based Strategies. Classrooms Where Every Child Thrives.
05/08/26
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In part 2 of my S5E36 @schoolutionspodcast conversation with Sabina Sethi Unni from @openplansnyc breaks down how urban redevelopment can truly impact a school community. Sabina shares specific strategies for urban design, like a co-created toolkit and a relational outreach approach, showing a before and after in community engagement. This architecture video highlights the Clarkson Street project, proposing new installations to foster a better environment.
💫Make sure to watch Part 1 and learn more about applying by reaching out to Sabina at sabina@openplans.org
📚 Some Episode Mentions:
- School Streets program with Open Plans
- Clarkson School Street Project
- New York Edge
- The Project for Public Spaces
- Transportation Alternatives
- Paris School Streets program
- Pratt Institute / International Placemaking Week
CHAPTERS
0:00 — Introduction: Streets as the Most Joyful Place in the Neighborhood
1:30 — What Is a School Street? Definition & What It Looks Like
4:00 — How Schools Apply & Eligibility Requirements
6:30 — Equity First: Why Low-Income Communities Are Prioritized
9:00 — The Biggest Barriers: Staffing, Admin Burden & Leadership Turnover
11:30 — Co-Creating the Toolkit with Transportation Alternatives
14:00 — From Cold Outreach to Relational Organizing
16:30 — The Clarkson Street Story: A National Model in the Making
20:00 — NYC's First-Ever Permanent Swing Gate on a Public Street
23:00 — Mayor Mamdani's Opt-Out Proposal & What It Could Mean
26:00 — If Every Street Became a School Street: Where to Start
29:00 — The Vision for Scale & What Paris Can Teach NYC
31:00 — How to Get Involved, Apply, or Support the Movement
🎧 New episodes every Monday & Friday with bite-sized Wednesday reel bonus content.
📧 Connect with me if you’d like a thought partner to help you cultivate curious learners who advocate for what they believe in.
🎵 Music: Benjamin Wahl
Don't forget to 🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE!
Next week's episode: Xochitl Bentley teaches us about different storytelling stances and how they connect to climate stewardship. Xochitl offers a masterclass in culturally responsive teaching, inclusive classrooms, and sparking student motivation through narrative and identity.
#schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedstrategies #classroomreadystrategies
#SchoolStreets #UrbanPlanning #EquityInEducation #StudentSuccess #WholeChild #SchoolCulture #InstructionalLeadership #TeacherCoaching #ActiveLearning #OutdoorLearning #FamilyPartnerships #CulturallyResponsiveTeaching #ProKidMindset #SchoolImprovement #EmpoweredEducators #InclusiveClassrooms #SchoolusionsPodcast #TeacherSupport #PrincipalStrategies #CommunitySchools
When coaches, teachers, administrators, and families work hand in hand, it fosters a school atmosphere where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged in their learning journey.
Previous Episode
In this clip (watch here), Sabina Sethi Unni from Open Plans defines a school street as a DOT program enabling schools to close adjacent streets to car traffic during school hours, enhancing school safety. This initiative, rooted in urban planning, can range from simple pick-up and drop-off closures to creating spaces for recess and gym. The aim is to improve road safety and overall student safety by managing traffic around schools.
This is the kind of innovative teaching environment and instructional leadership thinking that drives real school improvement, strengthens family partnerships, and builds school culture from the ground up. Whether you're a principal, teacher, instructional coach, or caregiver, this conversation will inspire you to think differently about the spaces where students learn, move, and thrive.
📩 Want to bring a School Street to your school? Contact Sabina at sabina@openplans.org
Ready to unlock more innovative teaching strategies that empower educators and drive real school change? Subscribe and explore the full channel.
Watch, reflect, and share Part 1 & Part 2 of our @schoolutionspodcast S5E36 interview.
CHAPTERS:
0:00 What is a School Street?
0:12 Pick-Up & Drop-Off Safety
0:22 Recess & Gym on the Street
0:35 Outdoor Learning & Science Fairs
0:48 Community Programming & Halloween Parades
1:02 School Streets as a Hub for Student & Family Life
📧 Connect with me if you’d like a thought partner to help you cultivate curious learners who advocate for what they believe in.
🎵 Music: Benjamin Wahl
📌 Subscribe for more tools for empowered educators, teacher mentors, school counselors, instructional leaders, and anyone committed to thriving students and school change.
#Schoolutions #SchoolutionsPodcast #ForeverGettingBetter #CuriosityDriven #EvidenceBased #ClassroomReadyStrategies #SchoolStreets #OpenPlans #StudentEngagement #ActiveLearning #EquityInEducation #SchoolCulture #InnovativeTeaching #WholeChild #OutdoorLearning #FamilyPartnerships #InstructionalLeadership #SchoolImprovement #EmpoweredEducators #ProKidMindset #CulturallyResponsiveTeaching #InclusiveClassrooms #TeacherCoaching #EducationTransformation #ThrivingStudents #SchoolLeadership #ParentInvolvement #InspiringStudents #TeacherImpact #ProfessionalDevelopment #NYCSchools #UrbanEducation
When coaches, teachers, administrators, and families work hand in hand, it fosters a school atmosphere where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged in their learning journey.
Next Episode
What if the most powerful climate tool we have isn't a statistic, it's a story?
In Part 1 of my S5E37 @schoolutionspodcast conversation, I sit down with teacher Xochitl Bentley to unpack how using six specific storytelling stances can effectively engage students with climate change issues. Xochitl emphasizes that stories can be a more powerful tool than statistics in fostering environmental education and stewardship, highlighting their role in the broader education for sustainability movement.
Some resources mentioned:
📚 Helping Students Become Climate Stewards: Storytelling for Environmental Advocacy and Problem Solving by Xochitl Bentley
📚 Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor by Rob Nixon
📚The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer
📚Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
➡️Fukushima Daiichi Accident
CHAPTERS:
0:00 – Introduction & Who Is Xochitl Bentley
1:45 – The Research: Rob Nixon & Slow Violence
3:30 – What Sparked Xochitl's Passion for Climate Stewardship
5:00 – The Food Story That Hooked Students (Heather's Classroom)
6:10 – Lessons from Japan: Foresight, Islands & Sustainability
8:30 – Why Facts Alone Don't Drive Action
9:30 – Wrapping Data in Stories: The Core Argument
10:30 – The Six Storytelling Stances (Overview)
11:00 – Stance 1: Storytelling for Systemic Responsiveness
12:10 – Stance 2: Storytelling About Root Causes
13:10 – Stance 3: Storytelling Beyond Either/Or
14:10 – Stance 4: Storytelling for Kinship & Reciprocity
15:20 – Stance 5: Storytelling for Intergenerational Awareness
16:30 – The Seventh Generation Principle Connection
17:10 – Stance 6: Storytelling for Collective Mobilization
18:10 – Lightning Round Begins
18:45 – Book Rec: The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer
19:40 – One Word Students Feel: Overwhelmed
20:10 – Most Underrated Genre: Ghost Stories
21:00 – Biggest Myth in Environmental Education
21:30 – A Student Becomes a Climate Steward When...
22:00 – Wrap Up & What's Coming in Part 2
🎧 Part 2 drops Friday, where Xochitl walks through the full storytelling flow and real climate stewardship projects from her classroom.
Join our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child.
📧 🎧 New episodes every Monday & Friday with bite-sized Wednesday reel bonus content.
📧 Book a coaching session with me here if you’d like a thought partner to help you cultivate curious learners who advocate for what they believe in.
🎵 Music: Benjamin Wahl
Don't forget to🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and 💬SHARE!
#schoolutions #schoolutionspodcast #forevergettingbetter #curiositydriven #evidencebasedstrategies #classroomreadystrategies #StudentEngagement #TeacherCoaching #InstructionalStrategies #ClimateEducation #EffectiveTeaching #ClassroomBelonging #CulturallyResponsiveTeaching
When coaches, teachers, administrators, and families work hand in hand, it fosters a school atmosphere where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged in their learning journey.
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