In this episode of Trending in Education, host Mike Palmer welcomes Erika Kitzmiller, a research associate professor at the University of Chicago and author of the new book, Unchartered: How One Public High School Transformed First Generation College Success. Drawing on her own background as a former middle school teacher and a proud first-generation college graduate, Kitzmiller shares the insights gained from an intensive, multi-year case study of a public high school pseudonymously named Clayton.
While the school boasted a near-100 percent college acceptance rate, only half of its alumni were successfully graduating from college. To address this gap, Kitzmiller and Clayton’s principal designed a unique practice-to-research partnership that centered student voices, incorporated alumni interviews, and directly empowered youth agency. The conversation explores pragmatic, on-the-ground structural changes implemented at Clayton that did not require massive budgets or flashy technology.
Kitzmiller discusses how the school expanded elective choices, created a dedicated senior college seminar embedded directly into the school day, and shifted student supports from an opt-in model to an opt-out expectation. The duo also notes the tangible benefits of Advanced Placement classes, which allowed students from low-income backgrounds to gain academic confidence and bypass large university introductory courses that frequently act as academic hurdles.
Beyond policy shifts, Kitzmiller highlights the vital role of building trust over long horizons and honoring the human stories of public school educators through detailed teacher portraits. This episode offers a grounded perspective on how K-12 institutions can actively prepare first-generation students for post-secondary endurance.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Introduction to Erika Kitzmiller and her new book;
01:00 – Erika’s background as a first-generation college graduate and middle school teacher;
02:45 – Initiating the practice-to-research partnership at Clayton High School;
05:30 – Fostering student agency, course catalogs, and college options;
11:00 – Transitioning to opt-out support systems and embedded senior seminars;
12:30 – The pragmatic value of Advanced Placement (AP) classes for low-income student persistence;
18:00 – Bringing a first-generation college success mission into K-12 environments;
22:30 – Navigating research collaboration, school district permission, and funding levers;
30:30 – Humanizing public education through rich teacher portraits;
34:00 – Rebuilding community trust and relational connections within schools;
39:30 – Final thoughts and expressing gratitude to frontline educators.
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Kitzmiller, E. M., & Sealey-Ruiz, Y. (2026). Unchartered: How One Public High School Transformed First-Generation College Success. Harvard Education Press.
