August 3, 2021 • 31 mins
Imagine a high school health teacher who encourages you to ask all your hormonally charged questions without making it awkward, and instead empowers you in your health education. What if that same teacher was helping you navigate how to stay safe not only in school, but at home with your family due to COVID-19? Meet Leticia, this week’s essential voice. Roundtable guest: Monica Garcia from the LA Unified School District.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hello everyone. I'm Will Mervo Drama, and I am the
host of this show, and I am M. R. Raquel,
one of the producers. We're here with episode two of
Essential Voices. Starting last week, we handed the microphone over
to Essential Workers, and this week we're going to keep
these essential conversations going. We'll continue the dialogue about how
(00:24):
we as a community can support the hard labor of
essential workers and more importantly, the folks behind the work,
to be in solidarity together. Today, we're going to hear
from our essential worker that these Casto Jenkins, who is
a high school health teacher in Los Angeles, that Thesea
is a kind of teacher you wish you had. I
definitely know I wish that these had been my teacher.
(00:45):
And she keeps it real with her students to ensure
they're empowered in their health education. This was tough during
the pandemic, especially when Nathsea was finding a balance between
educating her students and her own mental health. After we
hear from Nathsea, Will being conversation with Monica Garcia, an
active board member from the l A Unified School District
(01:05):
or the l A u s D as we'll be
calling it, which is the second larger school district in
the country. Monica has galvanized the l A U s
D community in an effort to reach a graduation rates
and created sustainable system to support both students and teachers
throughout the pandemic. Sound good, Wilmer sounds great in Mark Latsia.
Story starts now. I am completing my nineteenth year of teaching,
(01:32):
So beautiful. How did you get into it? If you
can tell me? Sure? So you know, I grew up
in East l A. And I was very involved in
high school, very into fitness, and I thought, you know what,
I want to major in something fitness related. So I
went to college and majored in kinesiology. And I was
(01:52):
so interested in these courses because every time that they
talked about communities and how we're impacted by different diseases,
whether it's heart disease, cancer, high cholesterol, you name it,
the Latino community was up there. We were always winning
in the worst cases in our community of this, that
and the other. And you're sitting there in your classes
(02:14):
and I'm not gonna lie. I was surrounded by a
lot of non Latinos, a lot of you know, um
white majority in my classes and it was a very
lonely feeling having to hear our professors described my community
as we're in trouble, you know, we need a lot
of experts out there to help these communities. And so
(02:35):
it really opened up my eyes. I thought I would
be a pay teacher. I switched immediately to a health teacher.
I said, I want to teach health. I want to
teach health. I want to teach young people about all
this stuff that nobody ever told me, like what is
a pap smear? What exactly is you know, EI know,
eating disorders and and and then mental health issues. And
I wanted to have real conversations with youth that I
(02:56):
didn't have and that I know I was craving at
a young age. I remember asking questions in my health
class in high school and our our teacher never quite
answered them. It was always just kind of like, in
a weird way, it was taboo. It's like it was
almost like, you know, that's for your parents to figure out, like,
you know what, I know, we don't teach a class
on that, even though this is health class, right and
so you were I was left with so much curiosity,
(03:19):
to the point where I was considered a little too curious.
And why because in our culture, in our community, we
wouldn't talk about things like that. So I just really
saw myself coming back to my community, and I came
back and and I've been here since. I've been teaching
health for nineteen years. And uh, is there something unexpected
that you love about your work? Like? Is there something
(03:40):
like you like? I didn't think I was gonna love
this part of my job, the fact that I love
working with teenagers more than adults. I've had jobs where
you know, I work with I work with adults, we collaborate.
There's a lot of great colleagues I have, but I
don't want to spend my day with them. I want
to be in a room full of crazy teens. I
(04:01):
love all their trends, the quirkiest of personalities. I love it.
I welcome it. I know that lots of older traditional
teachers have that red flag when a certain type of
student walks into the room, like, oh what are you wearing?
And I'm like, I love it. I love what you're wearing.
I love that you be everyone's favorite teacher for sure.
So moving on to UM, to this interesting time, right,
(04:24):
I mean, talk a little bit about when you first
learned about the pandemic, you know, specifically with your job,
because nobody could predict that it was going to be this,
you know, so what was like a conversation, Like, you know,
I teach a big unit on HIV in our class
because that's been the biggest virus that we need to
still and and and eradicate and we're far from it.
(04:45):
So when the pandemic was first being talked about on
the news, I talked to my students about it. I said, hey, listen,
we've talked about viruses, we talked about how they're transmitted,
and I was using real current events to like make
a point in my class about this is another rison.
This is why we need to always follow CDC, watch
the news, and listen to experts. But little did I
(05:06):
know that it was going to turn into school shutting down. However,
I remember this was early February. I told them, Hey,
this is probably going to happen. Start like distancing yourself
from people. Start, you know, really really wash your hands,
because I mean I can't even imagine what the phase on.
(05:26):
You know, teenagers, when you're saying don't hang out in groups,
don't hold hands, don't you know what I mean. Don't
be sharing colas, can kiss, don't kiss your booze, no
making out with random people. You know, that's a really
really interesting thing to bring to a generation of teenagers
that basically have had in completely different freedoms. How was
(05:49):
that received? A lot of them were concerned, they, I
should say, some of them were scared. And they said,
what do you what do you mean? And I said, listen,
I think things are going to be really scary. For while,
I don't think anybody should go anywhere, we should stay put.
And I think that hearing myself say that, I remember
feeling my heart like beat faster, and I was like,
I felt like this lump in my throat, like yeah,
(06:12):
this is gonna happen. It's right around the corner mark
my words. And sure enough, within two weeks our school
shut down. And I feel like you were one of
those first authorities that that gave your students, you know,
a notion that some things were going to be changing,
some conversations had to be had. Yeah, And I told
them this is science, guys, this is real. And because
I had just covered HIV in detail, we were talking
(06:34):
about condoms. I mean, this is how real my classes,
I said, COVID worries me a lot more than HIV.
HIV I'm in control of This is different. This is droplets.
You don't know where this has been, and so you know,
you've got to be really careful of your whereabouts. Tell
your parents that they need to be cautious, they need
to move with caution. I remember there were some girls
(06:54):
in my class who were going to have king saying,
yet us coming up, and I said, They're like, we're
still gonna have it, and I said, I don't. I
kept on saying that, and I was the bearer of
bad news. So it wasn't very enlightening. It was more like,
come on, you know, I think being a health teacher,
I was expected to be an expert. I don't. I'm
not an expert. I was so confused myself, and I said,
(07:15):
we need to just read and research is going to change,
and what we know about COVID now is going to
be different later. Can we please hold on? And then
also being a person of comfort, you know, my students
were constantly my mom wants to know when is it
going to be okay to leave the house, And I'm like,
I don't. I don't know these guys because they trust
me and the parents trust me and so and you're
the health you know, consultant. I mean that's yeah. I
(07:37):
mean this is interesting. I mean I feel like really
hidden sentiment for me because teachers and the way we
treat teachers and the union and however, you know, you
guys are taking care of from whatever benefits. I mean,
it comes full circle to the sanity that you guys
gave families. It should be a bigger conversation. And I
(07:59):
think it's in portant to hear that, right because I
mean to your point, now, you know, how does it
feel to be deemed essential all of a sudden when
you've been essential for you know, hundreds of years. You know,
it's fun And I thank you for that. Well. I
appreciate your words of acknowledging teachers. Um, many of us
feel so defeated. Though, we feel so defeated, like we
(08:21):
just were half of the teacher we know we could be.
But I've always known how impactful and influential my my
role is as a teacher. And I call myself an
educator because I'm not just teaching my content, Like kids
are watching me, they're watching how I live my life.
When they have dysfunction or or avoid in their family,
(08:42):
they look to us for that. And so I know
that my comments, the way I look at them, my tone,
is so important. So I have to be healthy in
my mind to be able to provide consistency for them.
And I want to be real with them too, like
I'm going through things to guys like I I'm not
feeling my best today. I'm very Saturday. This is what
happened to family and the kids comforting me. But I've
(09:02):
always known mom or how how important educators are, and
I just know that the public and the average person
doesn't know it until we either have a teacher strike,
crazy bomb scare and we have to close our schools
and they don't know where to leave their kids, or
in this case, the pandemic and everybody is now like
where do I leave my kids? Where do I don't
know how to teach? And a lot of people who
(09:22):
say I can do online it should be easy, it's not.
You know your kid is missing out on some very
important feelings and experiences, and and you think that they
would appreciate us more, and we all hope that they would.
But can I be honest, I don't think. I don't
think we will be It's going to be back to
normal at some point. And it's like teachers are expected
to work to the bone, and how do you feel
(09:42):
like we can support the work that you are doing.
How can we really show up for you? The teachers
a lot more advocating for schools funding UM donations, UM.
I have felt very alone at the same time, having
to deal with my own issues with my students, not
being able to reach out to them, find them, how
to explain technology their parents. I haven't had enough hours
(10:06):
in the day it literally to do that, take care
of me, my own children, my son's extracurricular things. I
need support, I need there to be stuff. I feel
like teachers should have several assistants per day. It shouldn't
just be one if you're lucky. Some of us don't
have any at all. UM, it's just not forgetting us,
not forgetting that even though we're behind the scenes, it
(10:28):
feels like we're at home. People have thought that we're
comfortable at home hanging out. Are you kidding me? I
have worked more hours in front of a computer than
I ever have in my life. Really advocating for free
resources for teachers, you know, UM compensation for those of
us who are going to work over the summer to
prepare for the next coming school year. UM, having more
(10:48):
social emotional awareness, not just for the students, but for
teachers as well. Teachers need a lot of mental emotional support.
You know, we've been treated like we can just keep
on going when we were all grieving at the same time,
we were all losing family members. And I think that
they forget that we're real people with spouses who lost jobs,
with teachers who had to move because they couldn't afford
(11:10):
where they live. Like, let's not even get started with
our salary rumor. I mean, we make a decent living,
but come on, I mean, and I think that this
is a really beautiful wake up call for a lot
of parents who think, you know, the school's got it
all together and that we can drop off our children
and then they're gonna be okay to think that we
should probably really really get to know what is your
(11:31):
local school, like, what do they really need? And as
a community, we should really look at it as like
just as sponsor. As we complain about the park, you know,
the park is not being maintained that's what taking my kids.
I mean, I feel like it's the same conversation about
how do we better our schools knowing that this is
our community school and that we should really be more
not just aware, but more present and understanding that it
(11:54):
is a community effort to have a sanctuary where your
kids can go there and learn and safe and have
the harmony they need so they can be set up
for success in the future. And I think that teachers
like you, the teacher who you know who can really
have you know, not just that impact, but pivot from
negativity to positivity, I think is what's changes lives. So
(12:16):
what words of encouragement would you have to those future teachers?
First of all, I commend you for choosing this career,
this path. We older teachers need you. We may not
act like we do because we think we have it
all together, but this has flipped our world upside down
and we need your energy. We don't want you to
(12:37):
turn your backs if you're not respected, demand to be heard,
because you know what education should look like. Let's this
what an inspiration. I'm just grateful for your words and
thank you for giving me an insight and being so
vulnerable and so open with me and I think it's beautiful.
So this conversation is attribute to what you what you've done,
what you are, what you do, and what you will do.
(12:58):
You know, so blessed to have and talking to you.
Thank you, Willima so much for the opportunity was great.
You know, Wilmer, what really strikes me from what Latisia
shared is that we need to talk more openly about
how we can support our teachers so that they in
turn can support our students. Yes, and Latissia's story is
a jumping off point from the micro level one teacher,
(13:19):
Letisa's experience that brings us to the macro level the
second largest school district in the country, the l a U.
S D. And we'll be back after the break with
Monica Garcia of the l a U. S D. We're
back with Monica Garcia. Monica, it's an honor to have
(13:42):
you here with us today. To get us started, could
you talk specifically about your work as a board member
of the l a U. S D. You've been on
the board since two thousand and six and um at
one point you were the president, which is amazing. So
perhaps you can first describe what your role is now
and um also how the nature of your work and
(14:04):
what you've accomplished has evolved over time. As the school
board member for district. To my district is sixty thousand
people who elect me as one of the seven on
the school board. But I'm a social worker by training,
and what made me come to l A Unified is
that I wanted to see more kids get to graduation,
(14:25):
more kids read and write, particularly those served by l
A Unified. So in l A Unified, you know, my
real job is to hire and fire the superintendent, approve
what is today at twenty billion dollar budget, UM make
policies like a through g for all, like supporting wellness
centers on our campuses, like eliminating barriers of breakfast in
(14:47):
the classroom, and serving as a community voice. So that
community voice part was really present this last year. So
what did we do right? Peer to peer conversations, Uh,
we're very helpful. So we put students on to talk
to other students about how to cope with senior year
on zoom. How do we talk to the parents of
(15:07):
the kindergarteners that are so needing help every single day?
How do we bring you know, support for those teachers
and principles who a lot of times were very focused
on trying to maximize services in the district. And you know,
we were running grabbing goes that served some hundred and
(15:28):
forty million meals in our hardest need neighborhoods. And we
were having our frontline workers all workers, cafeteria workers, janitors, teachers, assistants,
principles teachers, social workers being the people connecting with families.
And the first time we said we're gonna go home
(15:48):
for two weeks, then it became we're gonna go home
for a month, and it's gonna be we're gonna finish
the year online, and then really having to navigate what
was a public health price is with serious impacts into
the educational world. Right. But again, my job is to
help our families know what we have, what services we have.
(16:11):
My job would be to move money inside this big
system into the communities of highest needs. So I believe
in equity. One l a unified right now doesn't have
an equitable distribution of resources. Um, but we're moving towards that.
But I am an impatient person. And the class of
(16:34):
twenty one has concluded the class of thirty five is
coming in the class of is being born. So you know,
to me, time is precious, and I think we learned
that especially in this pandemic. You know, one of the
things that I felt like we were championing back with
President of bomb and we were talking about immigration and
(16:54):
the doctor students and how to really maximize the talent
that we had in schools. At the moment, we also
start to thinking about how to pave the road for
those future doctor students or those future you know, young
students who are about to enter a middle school. I mean,
although you were talking about the generation hasn't been born yet,
what do we need to have in place before they're here.
We have to really examine mindset. President Obama did us
(17:17):
just a giant favor and saying clothes dropout factories right
for our students. We just have to decide as a
country whether or not it is access for all or
is it just success for some. Because it's very expensive
to not invest in young people and our families. And
so when I think about me being born in East
(17:39):
l A in nine, California was fifth in the nation
imper people spending. I got to be president when we
got to forty nine in the nation. So last year's
seniors who were my kindergarteners. They got here at the
beginning of the economic decline, so they arrived at school
where despite great Wealth and California, we have been under
(18:02):
supporting schools. When I think about the world of not yet,
the United States needs kids who are prepared about solution building,
about collaboration, about dealing with the unknown. So when I
think about the future, I really do think reading and writing, thinking,
believing the idea that you belong and you have a contribution.
(18:25):
This country's strength is in the belief and optimism and
hard work of immigrant communities. That's just true. We'll be
right back after this break. Welcome back to Essential Voices.
Before diving any deeper, I'll point out that Wilmer was
a student in the l a U. S D. And
Um that the l a U. S D Was where you,
(18:46):
UM Wilmer, had your first experiences with teachers after you
immigrated to the US, and during Latsia's conversation, UM Wilmer,
you mentioned that she's definitely one of the cool teachers.
So could you describe any teachers that you had while
in school that you still remember and share any favorite memories?
And Monica I don't know if you were part of
(19:07):
the l A U. S D as a student, but
if so, please jump in whenever. Yeah, So for me,
it was so exciting because you know, I was just
arriving from Venezuela back in nineteen ninety three. At the
end of nineteen I was thirteen years old, and I
had to repeat the seventh grade because I didn't know
how to speak English, and so I was in ESL
(19:28):
classes um English as a Second Language, and that was
the class where I had, you know, I was able
to commute with the kids like me, they've just gone
here too, you know. And as I was progressing through school,
you know, I realized that my first job on behalf
of my family was to learn how to speak English.
You know, that was the first thing I needed to do.
And as I progressed, I had a couple of teachers who,
(19:50):
you know, who really believed right, who really believed in
these kids, you know, And I think that that was
one of the biggest sound of confidence that really kind
of empowered me to do what I'm doing now now
that I'm gonna old to be able to come full
circle to talking to some of those teachers that I
had when I was younger to see that there were
really people like you and I and that a lot
of the process as emotional, as much of a roller coaster.
(20:11):
They weren't really afforded the time to really process some
of the stuff that was going on back then. You know,
we went to some historical moments from nine eleven too.
That's a storm to I mean, there was like a
lot of stuff going on that had to be explained
to the kids, you know, historically, and they were the
first authority on that. And you know, and I don't
remember ever asking them how did you feel about that?
(20:32):
Or like how, you know, how does that feel to you?
You know, what is your conversation like with your family,
So that this was really open with us to talk
to us about what conversations are that. How does she
balance her relationship and her professionalism, you know, with their
students as well as what she brings at home. You know,
So in coming to that experience, do you have moments
(20:52):
like that that you felt like, oh, wow, my teacher
is like a person just like my mom, you know,
back when we were when we were young, you know,
my MoMA was very much a believer in the respect
and authority of teachers. They were right there next to
the priest in her world. And so she was an immigrant.
(21:13):
My parents met at Stevenson Middle School that I now
represent me in about the fifty and what really stays
with me is just that power of being present in
a young person's life. So you're absolutely right. I remember
the teachers who said, yes, of course, when we believe
in you, you're not crazy, You're not you don't have
(21:33):
to stay in your space. You're from born in East
l A. We already know who you are. But it
was the ones who would hold open a dream, who
would hold open a possibility, who would lend you some
of the confidence when you were unsure to make a decision.
This piece about my parents and my story working class
East Side kid being able to you know, get to college,
(21:57):
is such a message that we need to here in
the neighborhood. The pandemic reminds us that in l a
unified urban America right where eight percent of our kids
are from low income homes and lots of first generation
ers and lots of English learners, that they experience different
levels of trauma on the regular. So for the teachers
(22:19):
that had the toolbox of being able to be human
beings with them. The teachers who were willing to talk
about emotions, psychology and wellness that way, that was already
a practice. Like some teachers have a lot of mindfulness, Uh,
that's part of classroom experience. They were able to transfer it.
Some of us were having to be learners, right. Some
(22:43):
teachers never did the zoom, never did hello's and in boxes.
I've heard a lot of kids say, hey, teacher, I
remember when you were a box, but now I get
to see you in person, and it's like they're so
happy about it. Right. So we also saw a lot
of our kindergarteners. When we opened the doors to campus
and kids came, they were happy. They already knew who
(23:05):
the teacher was. Kindergarteners, you know, a little five year
old can be very uncomfortable with I'm going to school
for the first time. The pandemic taught us maybe we
should all do zoom for a few days before first
day of school, right, just to be learners. Oh my god,
zoom for kindergarteners. I wouldn't have thought of that, although
my parents have recounted to me that I was pretty
(23:26):
nervous before kindergarten and they brought me by the school
because it was really close by to our house, so
I could meet my teachers before the first day. So
I guess zoom for kindergarteners is the equivalent of what
I did um, but switching gears a little bit, Monica,
could you describe what changes you saw or changes that
(23:49):
you led in the l a USD during the pandemic.
So I think we all saw how wellness overall came
to the forefront of living during the pandemic, and that
was true for kids in schools, that was true for
our teachers, our social workers are custodians, where the interaction
(24:11):
from human beings became something that was informing your living
every single day. For me, one of the things I
started doing is doing Facebook Live, and I do it
in Spanish and English, and sometimes we created things called um,
you know, Facebook Life, Monday Mindful Minutes that we would
(24:33):
bring on others in the district to talk about what
happens when I don't feel well, How does breathing impact me? How?
You know? We had to learn about dread, We had
to learn about how our brain processes no information about
where we're going and how we're all living that together.
(24:55):
So whether you were five, fifteen, twenty five, or fifty,
you were experiencing something for the first time. For me,
part of it was finding new ways to put information
out into the universe, whether that was social media or
being available for you know, really asked the question conversations
(25:17):
like especially for Spanish language media, of all the networks,
they had questions from the public. Leathsia mentioned that for
a lot of her students, the teacher was the most
important source of information about COVID for themselves and for
their families. Did you see that across the district when
you tell me the teacher was the most powerful voice
(25:39):
on verifying or validating public health information, I believe it.
So if one teacher had twenty kids showing up, you know,
there was a lot of questions around where are the
kids who were not showing up? And what can we do?
I joined people as we went out and gave computers,
and I was so impressed the teacher social worker UH team.
(26:03):
This was a wonderful thing that came out of real personalization.
We were interested in everyone, not just the ones that
were showing up. What systems does the l a u
s D have in place to support its teachers. Are
there any specific initiatives in place to support the mental
health of teachers and maybe anything new that emerged due
(26:25):
to the pandemic. And finally, I know this is a
long question, but what can families or former students of
the l a U s D, or folks who are
passionate about improving the educational system either within the l
a U s D or in their particular area due
to support their teachers. What we did for our teachers
in particular is help them design what was best for
(26:48):
their school when we were opening back, including them in
decision making. We worked collaboratively to you know, make the
vaccine available for all of them before we asked them
to come back, and that was something that we had
to work together on for the state in the county.
I think, Um, the other thing is we acknowledge their
(27:09):
voice because they were the ones that the parents and
the students and their classroom we're listening to, right, so
give up the microphone let them talk about it. Could
you describe the specifics of what you do to support
each individual student to ensure that they're graduating and describe
also what the teacher's role is in ensuring this graduation
goal for each student. We know we cannot do what
(27:32):
we want to do without teachers, period, So acknowledging that
our employees are absolutely the energy that makes the learning
and that life journey for that child. It's not just
one time. And that's why I know already right, it's
who's here now? But where are we going? Because school
(27:52):
districts as big as ours go slowly, So one, we're
right now hiring a lot of teachers, and uh, we
did something called the primary Promise to just focus on
the reading and trying to capture the opportunity of being smaller,
and because of the pandemic social distancing, really did make
us be creative. Most families have experienced directly the kind
(28:18):
of hard work that teachers do that school districts offers
support for young people, and whether you thought about it
when you were a kid, you felt it like that
investment from eight to three is significant and tolerating, not
just one kid. So we're trying to personalize also, right,
so if Mr has a cold and Wilmour has allergy,
(28:42):
it's not the same response. I have to say, we
are expecting to come back like right now, summer school
it's open to everyone. So teachers who needed to take
a break and didn't want to be a part of that,
that's fine. Teachers who wanted extra compensation and support with
the kids, they were able to choose. Right, Um, we're
not done with COVID, and so we mandated weekly COVID
(29:06):
tests to help employees and students because we know under
twelve still doesn't have a vaccine, and our teachers were
very concerned. In addition to PPE and the filtration that
we're always trying to improve, it was really I want
to be safe for my students and I want to
be safe for my family when I come back home. Right, Monica,
(29:30):
we just have one more minute here with you today,
and I want to thank you so much for your time,
for sharing your passion with us today and for sharing
a part of what you've accomplished over your career with
the l a u. S D, especially in regards to
the last year and a half with the pandemic. It's
been an honor to speak with you today. Thank you all.
Thank you for caring, thank you for lifting the story
(29:51):
of our teacher. Thank you for knowing that our young
people absolutely want to be successful just like you. So
Das to everyone who has supported learning and life this
last year. Our future is bright gas Yes, thank you
so much for letting me be a part of this today.
(30:14):
Our story this week comes from Los Angeles, but wherever
you're listening from, we encourage you to research your local
school district, familiarize yourself with your school board representatives, and
learn what actions are being taken to support students and
teachers in your district. So join us next time to
hear us talk to our next Essential Worker, Dr Caroline Kavner,
(30:34):
a school guidance counselor and therapist, followed by our roundtable guest,
Dr Nadine Burke Harris, the Surgeon General of the State
of California, and Ariana Alejandra, a therapist and founder of
the latin xt Therapy podcast. Essential Voices with Wilmer val
Drama is produced by me M r Raquel, Alison Shano,
(30:56):
and Kevin Retkowski, with production support from associate producer Lean Holman.
Executive producers Wilma val Drama, Adam Reynolds, Leo Clem and
Aaron Hilliard. This episode was edited by Sean Tracy and
Luigi Villa Nueva and features original music by Will Risotti
Special Thanks to this week's essential Voice, Latia Gastillo Jenkins
(31:16):
and to our thought leader Monica Garcia from the l
A U s D. Thanks to Sonya Rezza and Mindy
Cordes Sham as well. This is a Clamor and w
V Entertainment production in partnership with I Heart Radios Michael
Dura Podcast Network. For more podcasts from my Heart, visit
the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you
listen to your favorite shows,
Hello everyone. I'm Will Mervo Drama, and I am the
host of this show, and I am M. R. Raquel,
one of the producers. We're here with episode two of
Essential Voices. Starting last week, we handed the microphone over
to Essential Workers, and this week we're going to keep
these essential conversations going. We'll continue the dialogue about how
(00:24):
we as a community can support the hard labor of
essential workers and more importantly, the folks behind the work,
to be in solidarity together. Today, we're going to hear
from our essential worker that these Casto Jenkins, who is
a high school health teacher in Los Angeles, that Thesea
is a kind of teacher you wish you had. I
definitely know I wish that these had been my teacher.
(00:45):
And she keeps it real with her students to ensure
they're empowered in their health education. This was tough during
the pandemic, especially when Nathsea was finding a balance between
educating her students and her own mental health. After we
hear from Nathsea, Will being conversation with Monica Garcia, an
active board member from the l A Unified School District
(01:05):
or the l A u s D as we'll be
calling it, which is the second larger school district in
the country. Monica has galvanized the l A U s
D community in an effort to reach a graduation rates
and created sustainable system to support both students and teachers
throughout the pandemic. Sound good, Wilmer sounds great in Mark Latsia.
Story starts now. I am completing my nineteenth year of teaching,
(01:32):
So beautiful. How did you get into it? If you
can tell me? Sure? So you know, I grew up
in East l A. And I was very involved in
high school, very into fitness, and I thought, you know what,
I want to major in something fitness related. So I
went to college and majored in kinesiology. And I was
(01:52):
so interested in these courses because every time that they
talked about communities and how we're impacted by different diseases,
whether it's heart disease, cancer, high cholesterol, you name it,
the Latino community was up there. We were always winning
in the worst cases in our community of this, that
and the other. And you're sitting there in your classes
(02:14):
and I'm not gonna lie. I was surrounded by a
lot of non Latinos, a lot of you know, um
white majority in my classes and it was a very
lonely feeling having to hear our professors described my community
as we're in trouble, you know, we need a lot
of experts out there to help these communities. And so
(02:35):
it really opened up my eyes. I thought I would
be a pay teacher. I switched immediately to a health teacher.
I said, I want to teach health. I want to
teach health. I want to teach young people about all
this stuff that nobody ever told me, like what is
a pap smear? What exactly is you know, EI know,
eating disorders and and and then mental health issues. And
I wanted to have real conversations with youth that I
(02:56):
didn't have and that I know I was craving at
a young age. I remember asking questions in my health
class in high school and our our teacher never quite
answered them. It was always just kind of like, in
a weird way, it was taboo. It's like it was
almost like, you know, that's for your parents to figure out, like,
you know what, I know, we don't teach a class
on that, even though this is health class, right and
so you were I was left with so much curiosity,
(03:19):
to the point where I was considered a little too curious.
And why because in our culture, in our community, we
wouldn't talk about things like that. So I just really
saw myself coming back to my community, and I came
back and and I've been here since. I've been teaching
health for nineteen years. And uh, is there something unexpected
that you love about your work? Like? Is there something
(03:40):
like you like? I didn't think I was gonna love
this part of my job, the fact that I love
working with teenagers more than adults. I've had jobs where
you know, I work with I work with adults, we collaborate.
There's a lot of great colleagues I have, but I
don't want to spend my day with them. I want
to be in a room full of crazy teens. I
(04:01):
love all their trends, the quirkiest of personalities. I love it.
I welcome it. I know that lots of older traditional
teachers have that red flag when a certain type of
student walks into the room, like, oh what are you wearing?
And I'm like, I love it. I love what you're wearing.
I love that you be everyone's favorite teacher for sure.
So moving on to UM, to this interesting time, right,
(04:24):
I mean, talk a little bit about when you first
learned about the pandemic, you know, specifically with your job,
because nobody could predict that it was going to be this,
you know, so what was like a conversation, Like, you know,
I teach a big unit on HIV in our class
because that's been the biggest virus that we need to
still and and and eradicate and we're far from it.
(04:45):
So when the pandemic was first being talked about on
the news, I talked to my students about it. I said, hey, listen,
we've talked about viruses, we talked about how they're transmitted,
and I was using real current events to like make
a point in my class about this is another rison.
This is why we need to always follow CDC, watch
the news, and listen to experts. But little did I
(05:06):
know that it was going to turn into school shutting down. However,
I remember this was early February. I told them, Hey,
this is probably going to happen. Start like distancing yourself
from people. Start, you know, really really wash your hands,
because I mean I can't even imagine what the phase on.
(05:26):
You know, teenagers, when you're saying don't hang out in groups,
don't hold hands, don't you know what I mean. Don't
be sharing colas, can kiss, don't kiss your booze, no
making out with random people. You know, that's a really
really interesting thing to bring to a generation of teenagers
that basically have had in completely different freedoms. How was
(05:49):
that received? A lot of them were concerned, they, I
should say, some of them were scared. And they said,
what do you what do you mean? And I said, listen,
I think things are going to be really scary. For while,
I don't think anybody should go anywhere, we should stay put.
And I think that hearing myself say that, I remember
feeling my heart like beat faster, and I was like,
I felt like this lump in my throat, like yeah,
(06:12):
this is gonna happen. It's right around the corner mark
my words. And sure enough, within two weeks our school
shut down. And I feel like you were one of
those first authorities that that gave your students, you know,
a notion that some things were going to be changing,
some conversations had to be had. Yeah, And I told
them this is science, guys, this is real. And because
I had just covered HIV in detail, we were talking
(06:34):
about condoms. I mean, this is how real my classes,
I said, COVID worries me a lot more than HIV.
HIV I'm in control of This is different. This is droplets.
You don't know where this has been, and so you know,
you've got to be really careful of your whereabouts. Tell
your parents that they need to be cautious, they need
to move with caution. I remember there were some girls
(06:54):
in my class who were going to have king saying,
yet us coming up, and I said, They're like, we're
still gonna have it, and I said, I don't. I
kept on saying that, and I was the bearer of
bad news. So it wasn't very enlightening. It was more like,
come on, you know, I think being a health teacher,
I was expected to be an expert. I don't. I'm
not an expert. I was so confused myself, and I said,
(07:15):
we need to just read and research is going to change,
and what we know about COVID now is going to
be different later. Can we please hold on? And then
also being a person of comfort, you know, my students
were constantly my mom wants to know when is it
going to be okay to leave the house, And I'm like,
I don't. I don't know these guys because they trust
me and the parents trust me and so and you're
the health you know, consultant. I mean that's yeah. I
(07:37):
mean this is interesting. I mean I feel like really
hidden sentiment for me because teachers and the way we
treat teachers and the union and however, you know, you
guys are taking care of from whatever benefits. I mean,
it comes full circle to the sanity that you guys
gave families. It should be a bigger conversation. And I
(07:59):
think it's in portant to hear that, right because I
mean to your point, now, you know, how does it
feel to be deemed essential all of a sudden when
you've been essential for you know, hundreds of years. You know,
it's fun And I thank you for that. Well. I
appreciate your words of acknowledging teachers. Um, many of us
feel so defeated. Though, we feel so defeated, like we
(08:21):
just were half of the teacher we know we could be.
But I've always known how impactful and influential my my
role is as a teacher. And I call myself an
educator because I'm not just teaching my content, Like kids
are watching me, they're watching how I live my life.
When they have dysfunction or or avoid in their family,
(08:42):
they look to us for that. And so I know
that my comments, the way I look at them, my tone,
is so important. So I have to be healthy in
my mind to be able to provide consistency for them.
And I want to be real with them too, like
I'm going through things to guys like I I'm not
feeling my best today. I'm very Saturday. This is what
happened to family and the kids comforting me. But I've
(09:02):
always known mom or how how important educators are, and
I just know that the public and the average person
doesn't know it until we either have a teacher strike,
crazy bomb scare and we have to close our schools
and they don't know where to leave their kids, or
in this case, the pandemic and everybody is now like
where do I leave my kids? Where do I don't
know how to teach? And a lot of people who
(09:22):
say I can do online it should be easy, it's not.
You know your kid is missing out on some very
important feelings and experiences, and and you think that they
would appreciate us more, and we all hope that they would.
But can I be honest, I don't think. I don't
think we will be It's going to be back to
normal at some point. And it's like teachers are expected
to work to the bone, and how do you feel
(09:42):
like we can support the work that you are doing.
How can we really show up for you? The teachers
a lot more advocating for schools funding UM donations, UM.
I have felt very alone at the same time, having
to deal with my own issues with my students, not
being able to reach out to them, find them, how
to explain technology their parents. I haven't had enough hours
(10:06):
in the day it literally to do that, take care
of me, my own children, my son's extracurricular things. I
need support, I need there to be stuff. I feel
like teachers should have several assistants per day. It shouldn't
just be one if you're lucky. Some of us don't
have any at all. UM, it's just not forgetting us,
not forgetting that even though we're behind the scenes, it
(10:28):
feels like we're at home. People have thought that we're
comfortable at home hanging out. Are you kidding me? I
have worked more hours in front of a computer than
I ever have in my life. Really advocating for free
resources for teachers, you know, UM compensation for those of
us who are going to work over the summer to
prepare for the next coming school year. UM, having more
(10:48):
social emotional awareness, not just for the students, but for
teachers as well. Teachers need a lot of mental emotional support.
You know, we've been treated like we can just keep
on going when we were all grieving at the same time,
we were all losing family members. And I think that
they forget that we're real people with spouses who lost jobs,
with teachers who had to move because they couldn't afford
(11:10):
where they live. Like, let's not even get started with
our salary rumor. I mean, we make a decent living,
but come on, I mean, and I think that this
is a really beautiful wake up call for a lot
of parents who think, you know, the school's got it
all together and that we can drop off our children
and then they're gonna be okay to think that we
should probably really really get to know what is your
(11:31):
local school, like, what do they really need? And as
a community, we should really look at it as like
just as sponsor. As we complain about the park, you know,
the park is not being maintained that's what taking my kids.
I mean, I feel like it's the same conversation about
how do we better our schools knowing that this is
our community school and that we should really be more
not just aware, but more present and understanding that it
(11:54):
is a community effort to have a sanctuary where your
kids can go there and learn and safe and have
the harmony they need so they can be set up
for success in the future. And I think that teachers
like you, the teacher who you know who can really
have you know, not just that impact, but pivot from
negativity to positivity, I think is what's changes lives. So
(12:16):
what words of encouragement would you have to those future teachers?
First of all, I commend you for choosing this career,
this path. We older teachers need you. We may not
act like we do because we think we have it
all together, but this has flipped our world upside down
and we need your energy. We don't want you to
(12:37):
turn your backs if you're not respected, demand to be heard,
because you know what education should look like. Let's this
what an inspiration. I'm just grateful for your words and
thank you for giving me an insight and being so
vulnerable and so open with me and I think it's beautiful.
So this conversation is attribute to what you what you've done,
what you are, what you do, and what you will do.
(12:58):
You know, so blessed to have and talking to you.
Thank you, Willima so much for the opportunity was great.
You know, Wilmer, what really strikes me from what Latisia
shared is that we need to talk more openly about
how we can support our teachers so that they in
turn can support our students. Yes, and Latissia's story is
a jumping off point from the micro level one teacher,
(13:19):
Letisa's experience that brings us to the macro level the
second largest school district in the country, the l a U.
S D. And we'll be back after the break with
Monica Garcia of the l a U. S D. We're
back with Monica Garcia. Monica, it's an honor to have
(13:42):
you here with us today. To get us started, could
you talk specifically about your work as a board member
of the l a U. S D. You've been on
the board since two thousand and six and um at
one point you were the president, which is amazing. So
perhaps you can first describe what your role is now
and um also how the nature of your work and
(14:04):
what you've accomplished has evolved over time. As the school
board member for district. To my district is sixty thousand
people who elect me as one of the seven on
the school board. But I'm a social worker by training,
and what made me come to l A Unified is
that I wanted to see more kids get to graduation,
(14:25):
more kids read and write, particularly those served by l
A Unified. So in l A Unified, you know, my
real job is to hire and fire the superintendent, approve
what is today at twenty billion dollar budget, UM make
policies like a through g for all, like supporting wellness
centers on our campuses, like eliminating barriers of breakfast in
(14:47):
the classroom, and serving as a community voice. So that
community voice part was really present this last year. So
what did we do right? Peer to peer conversations, Uh,
we're very helpful. So we put students on to talk
to other students about how to cope with senior year
on zoom. How do we talk to the parents of
(15:07):
the kindergarteners that are so needing help every single day?
How do we bring you know, support for those teachers
and principles who a lot of times were very focused
on trying to maximize services in the district. And you know,
we were running grabbing goes that served some hundred and
(15:28):
forty million meals in our hardest need neighborhoods. And we
were having our frontline workers all workers, cafeteria workers, janitors, teachers, assistants,
principles teachers, social workers being the people connecting with families.
And the first time we said we're gonna go home
(15:48):
for two weeks, then it became we're gonna go home
for a month, and it's gonna be we're gonna finish
the year online, and then really having to navigate what
was a public health price is with serious impacts into
the educational world. Right. But again, my job is to
help our families know what we have, what services we have.
(16:11):
My job would be to move money inside this big
system into the communities of highest needs. So I believe
in equity. One l a unified right now doesn't have
an equitable distribution of resources. Um, but we're moving towards that.
But I am an impatient person. And the class of
(16:34):
twenty one has concluded the class of thirty five is
coming in the class of is being born. So you know,
to me, time is precious, and I think we learned
that especially in this pandemic. You know, one of the
things that I felt like we were championing back with
President of bomb and we were talking about immigration and
(16:54):
the doctor students and how to really maximize the talent
that we had in schools. At the moment, we also
start to thinking about how to pave the road for
those future doctor students or those future you know, young
students who are about to enter a middle school. I mean,
although you were talking about the generation hasn't been born yet,
what do we need to have in place before they're here.
We have to really examine mindset. President Obama did us
(17:17):
just a giant favor and saying clothes dropout factories right
for our students. We just have to decide as a
country whether or not it is access for all or
is it just success for some. Because it's very expensive
to not invest in young people and our families. And
so when I think about me being born in East
(17:39):
l A in nine, California was fifth in the nation
imper people spending. I got to be president when we
got to forty nine in the nation. So last year's
seniors who were my kindergarteners. They got here at the
beginning of the economic decline, so they arrived at school
where despite great Wealth and California, we have been under
(18:02):
supporting schools. When I think about the world of not yet,
the United States needs kids who are prepared about solution building,
about collaboration, about dealing with the unknown. So when I
think about the future, I really do think reading and writing, thinking,
believing the idea that you belong and you have a contribution.
(18:25):
This country's strength is in the belief and optimism and
hard work of immigrant communities. That's just true. We'll be
right back after this break. Welcome back to Essential Voices.
Before diving any deeper, I'll point out that Wilmer was
a student in the l a U. S D. And
Um that the l a U. S D Was where you,
(18:46):
UM Wilmer, had your first experiences with teachers after you
immigrated to the US, and during Latsia's conversation, UM Wilmer,
you mentioned that she's definitely one of the cool teachers.
So could you describe any teachers that you had while
in school that you still remember and share any favorite memories?
And Monica I don't know if you were part of
(19:07):
the l A U. S D as a student, but
if so, please jump in whenever. Yeah, So for me,
it was so exciting because you know, I was just
arriving from Venezuela back in nineteen ninety three. At the
end of nineteen I was thirteen years old, and I
had to repeat the seventh grade because I didn't know
how to speak English, and so I was in ESL
(19:28):
classes um English as a Second Language, and that was
the class where I had, you know, I was able
to commute with the kids like me, they've just gone
here too, you know. And as I was progressing through school,
you know, I realized that my first job on behalf
of my family was to learn how to speak English.
You know, that was the first thing I needed to do.
And as I progressed, I had a couple of teachers who,
(19:50):
you know, who really believed right, who really believed in
these kids, you know, And I think that that was
one of the biggest sound of confidence that really kind
of empowered me to do what I'm doing now now
that I'm gonna old to be able to come full
circle to talking to some of those teachers that I
had when I was younger to see that there were
really people like you and I and that a lot
of the process as emotional, as much of a roller coaster.
(20:11):
They weren't really afforded the time to really process some
of the stuff that was going on back then. You know,
we went to some historical moments from nine eleven too.
That's a storm to I mean, there was like a
lot of stuff going on that had to be explained
to the kids, you know, historically, and they were the
first authority on that. And you know, and I don't
remember ever asking them how did you feel about that?
(20:32):
Or like how, you know, how does that feel to you?
You know, what is your conversation like with your family,
So that this was really open with us to talk
to us about what conversations are that. How does she
balance her relationship and her professionalism, you know, with their
students as well as what she brings at home. You know,
So in coming to that experience, do you have moments
(20:52):
like that that you felt like, oh, wow, my teacher
is like a person just like my mom, you know,
back when we were when we were young, you know,
my MoMA was very much a believer in the respect
and authority of teachers. They were right there next to
the priest in her world. And so she was an immigrant.
(21:13):
My parents met at Stevenson Middle School that I now
represent me in about the fifty and what really stays
with me is just that power of being present in
a young person's life. So you're absolutely right. I remember
the teachers who said, yes, of course, when we believe
in you, you're not crazy, You're not you don't have
(21:33):
to stay in your space. You're from born in East
l A. We already know who you are. But it
was the ones who would hold open a dream, who
would hold open a possibility, who would lend you some
of the confidence when you were unsure to make a decision.
This piece about my parents and my story working class
East Side kid being able to you know, get to college,
(21:57):
is such a message that we need to here in
the neighborhood. The pandemic reminds us that in l a
unified urban America right where eight percent of our kids
are from low income homes and lots of first generation
ers and lots of English learners, that they experience different
levels of trauma on the regular. So for the teachers
(22:19):
that had the toolbox of being able to be human
beings with them. The teachers who were willing to talk
about emotions, psychology and wellness that way, that was already
a practice. Like some teachers have a lot of mindfulness, Uh,
that's part of classroom experience. They were able to transfer it.
Some of us were having to be learners, right. Some
(22:43):
teachers never did the zoom, never did hello's and in boxes.
I've heard a lot of kids say, hey, teacher, I
remember when you were a box, but now I get
to see you in person, and it's like they're so
happy about it. Right. So we also saw a lot
of our kindergarteners. When we opened the doors to campus
and kids came, they were happy. They already knew who
(23:05):
the teacher was. Kindergarteners, you know, a little five year
old can be very uncomfortable with I'm going to school
for the first time. The pandemic taught us maybe we
should all do zoom for a few days before first
day of school, right, just to be learners. Oh my god,
zoom for kindergarteners. I wouldn't have thought of that, although
my parents have recounted to me that I was pretty
(23:26):
nervous before kindergarten and they brought me by the school
because it was really close by to our house, so
I could meet my teachers before the first day. So
I guess zoom for kindergarteners is the equivalent of what
I did um, but switching gears a little bit, Monica,
could you describe what changes you saw or changes that
(23:49):
you led in the l a USD during the pandemic.
So I think we all saw how wellness overall came
to the forefront of living during the pandemic, and that
was true for kids in schools, that was true for
our teachers, our social workers are custodians, where the interaction
(24:11):
from human beings became something that was informing your living
every single day. For me, one of the things I
started doing is doing Facebook Live, and I do it
in Spanish and English, and sometimes we created things called um,
you know, Facebook Life, Monday Mindful Minutes that we would
(24:33):
bring on others in the district to talk about what
happens when I don't feel well, How does breathing impact me? How?
You know? We had to learn about dread, We had
to learn about how our brain processes no information about
where we're going and how we're all living that together.
(24:55):
So whether you were five, fifteen, twenty five, or fifty,
you were experiencing something for the first time. For me,
part of it was finding new ways to put information
out into the universe, whether that was social media or
being available for you know, really asked the question conversations
(25:17):
like especially for Spanish language media, of all the networks,
they had questions from the public. Leathsia mentioned that for
a lot of her students, the teacher was the most
important source of information about COVID for themselves and for
their families. Did you see that across the district when
you tell me the teacher was the most powerful voice
(25:39):
on verifying or validating public health information, I believe it.
So if one teacher had twenty kids showing up, you know,
there was a lot of questions around where are the
kids who were not showing up? And what can we do?
I joined people as we went out and gave computers,
and I was so impressed the teacher social worker UH team.
(26:03):
This was a wonderful thing that came out of real personalization.
We were interested in everyone, not just the ones that
were showing up. What systems does the l a u
s D have in place to support its teachers. Are
there any specific initiatives in place to support the mental
health of teachers and maybe anything new that emerged due
(26:25):
to the pandemic. And finally, I know this is a
long question, but what can families or former students of
the l a U s D, or folks who are
passionate about improving the educational system either within the l
a U s D or in their particular area due
to support their teachers. What we did for our teachers
in particular is help them design what was best for
(26:48):
their school when we were opening back, including them in
decision making. We worked collaboratively to you know, make the
vaccine available for all of them before we asked them
to come back, and that was something that we had
to work together on for the state in the county.
I think, Um, the other thing is we acknowledge their
(27:09):
voice because they were the ones that the parents and
the students and their classroom we're listening to, right, so
give up the microphone let them talk about it. Could
you describe the specifics of what you do to support
each individual student to ensure that they're graduating and describe
also what the teacher's role is in ensuring this graduation
goal for each student. We know we cannot do what
(27:32):
we want to do without teachers, period, So acknowledging that
our employees are absolutely the energy that makes the learning
and that life journey for that child. It's not just
one time. And that's why I know already right, it's
who's here now? But where are we going? Because school
(27:52):
districts as big as ours go slowly, So one, we're
right now hiring a lot of teachers, and uh, we
did something called the primary Promise to just focus on
the reading and trying to capture the opportunity of being smaller,
and because of the pandemic social distancing, really did make
us be creative. Most families have experienced directly the kind
(28:18):
of hard work that teachers do that school districts offers
support for young people, and whether you thought about it
when you were a kid, you felt it like that
investment from eight to three is significant and tolerating, not
just one kid. So we're trying to personalize also, right,
so if Mr has a cold and Wilmour has allergy,
(28:42):
it's not the same response. I have to say, we
are expecting to come back like right now, summer school
it's open to everyone. So teachers who needed to take
a break and didn't want to be a part of that,
that's fine. Teachers who wanted extra compensation and support with
the kids, they were able to choose. Right, Um, we're
not done with COVID, and so we mandated weekly COVID
(29:06):
tests to help employees and students because we know under
twelve still doesn't have a vaccine, and our teachers were
very concerned. In addition to PPE and the filtration that
we're always trying to improve, it was really I want
to be safe for my students and I want to
be safe for my family when I come back home. Right, Monica,
(29:30):
we just have one more minute here with you today,
and I want to thank you so much for your time,
for sharing your passion with us today and for sharing
a part of what you've accomplished over your career with
the l a u. S D, especially in regards to
the last year and a half with the pandemic. It's
been an honor to speak with you today. Thank you all.
Thank you for caring, thank you for lifting the story
(29:51):
of our teacher. Thank you for knowing that our young
people absolutely want to be successful just like you. So
Das to everyone who has supported learning and life this
last year. Our future is bright gas Yes, thank you
so much for letting me be a part of this today.
(30:14):
Our story this week comes from Los Angeles, but wherever
you're listening from, we encourage you to research your local
school district, familiarize yourself with your school board representatives, and
learn what actions are being taken to support students and
teachers in your district. So join us next time to
hear us talk to our next Essential Worker, Dr Caroline Kavner,
(30:34):
a school guidance counselor and therapist, followed by our roundtable guest,
Dr Nadine Burke Harris, the Surgeon General of the State
of California, and Ariana Alejandra, a therapist and founder of
the latin xt Therapy podcast. Essential Voices with Wilmer val
Drama is produced by me M r Raquel, Alison Shano,
(30:56):
and Kevin Retkowski, with production support from associate producer Lean Holman.
Executive producers Wilma val Drama, Adam Reynolds, Leo Clem and
Aaron Hilliard. This episode was edited by Sean Tracy and
Luigi Villa Nueva and features original music by Will Risotti
Special Thanks to this week's essential Voice, Latia Gastillo Jenkins
(31:16):
and to our thought leader Monica Garcia from the l
A U s D. Thanks to Sonya Rezza and Mindy
Cordes Sham as well. This is a Clamor and w
V Entertainment production in partnership with I Heart Radios Michael
Dura Podcast Network. For more podcasts from my Heart, visit
the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you
listen to your favorite shows,
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