Texas Charter School Expansion, Teacher Burnout and the Threat to Education for Children of Immigrants

About this episode

Dr. Bob Sanborn discusses education challenges with experts, focusing on Texas charter school expansion and its impact on children of immigrants.

In this episode, Dr. Bob Sanborn is joined by co-host Natalie González , Development Coordinator at CHILDREN AT RISK. Between swapping stories about the evolving world of education and investigating the soft v. hard “looksmaxxing'' trend on social media, we’re diving into: Empowering Educators in 2026: Jessica Dirks , Partnership Director at K12 Coalition, brings her unique background in law and teaching to the conversation, unpacking the biggest challenges facing educators today, from burnout and retention to AI technology. Texas Charter School Growth: Dr. David DeMatthews , Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy at UT Austin, breaks down new research on charter school expansion across Texas and the consequences for special education services, funding and lower income students. Plyler v. Doe & Children of Immigrants: Krystal Gomez , Managing Attorney at the Texas Immigration Law Council, explains why this landmark Supreme Court decision is back in the spotlight, what’s at stake for children of immigrants, and how shifting policies around deportation and family separation is affecting families. Connect with CHILDREN AT RISK on social media and support community radio…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Robert Sanborn

Guests: Natalie González, Jessica Dirks, Dr. David DeMatthews, Krystal Gomez

Topics covered

• Texas charter schools
• teacher burnout
• education policy
• children of immigrants
• AI in education
• special education services

Keywords

• charter schools
• teacher retention
• education challenges
• immigrant children
• Plyler v. Doe
• AI technology
• special education

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CHILDREN AT RISK, K12 Coalition, UT Austin, Texas Immigration Law Council

More episodes of Growing Up In America: The Way It Is

• HISD Updates, Learning Recession, Hantavirus & Ebola Outbreaks · June 11, 2026 · 57 min
• The Future of HISD & Fostering Connection for Healthy Communities · June 4, 2026 · 58 min
• HISD Under Dept, of Ed Investigation, Gen Z Offline, SNAP & Hunger in Texas · May 27, 2026 · 57 min
• The State of Immigrant Families, the Learning Recession & Texas School Vouchers · May 21, 2026 · 55 min
• Dr. Data Takeover! AI, Technology & Child Development · May 14, 2026 · 57 min
• Growing Up Abroad, Harris County ELQN & Gen Z's Obsession with Y2K · May 6, 2026 · 57 min