September 8, 2023 • 33 mins
Are you ready to shift your perspective on education? This episode offers a transformative exploration into the realm of community schools. We’re privileged to have two leading figures in this educational movement share their incredible knowledge - Dr. Lorraine Perez, Deputy Superintendent of Educational Services, and Dr. Lupe Gomez, Principal of Pio Pico Elementary School. Together, we discuss the essential role of community schools in shaping our children's futures. From the historical roots of the community school movement to the importance of restructuring our current education system through an equity lens, this episode promises to leave you with a new outlook on the potential of community schools.
The journey to implementing a community school model isn't without its challenges. Hear first-hand from Dr. Gomez about the struggles she faced and the triumphs she achieved in this process. The significance of the district's role in assisting community schools is emphasized by Dr. Perez, highlighting the necessity of maintaining open lines of communication with students and providing necessary resources. They offer an in-depth look into the hurdles that often stand in the way of progress, and the ingenious solutions they've found to overcome them.
But the conversation doesn't stop there. We delve into the concept of project-based learning, the beauty of asset-based thinking, and the importance of nurturing an environment conducive to the flourishing of community schools. Dr. Perez shares her brilliant ideas on building upon the strengths of schools in Santa Ana, while Dr. Gomez offers a touching recount of her personal development journey within the education system. Finally, we take a moment to acknowledge and celebrate the influential leaders who have been key players in bringing about positive change in our schools and communities. This episode is a testament to the power and potential of community schools, and the remarkable individuals who bring them to life. Grab a cup of coffee or tea, and join us on this enlightening journey.
Visit us at our Buzzsprout site for more ways to listen, links to our social media sites and any referenced materials, and complete transcripts of our full-length episodes: https://bit.ly/SAUSDAmplifyingLeadership
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Bianca Barquin (00:06):
Hello and welcome to SAUSD's Amplifying
Leadership, the place where weturn up the volume on
educational insights andleadership brilliance within our
community.
I'm your host, Bianca Barquin,the Assistant Superintendent of
Teaching and Learning for theSanta Ana Unified School
District.
Today, in our very firstepisode, we delve deep into the
(00:26):
heart of community schools,exploring their magic, their
might and their monumental rolein shaping the future of our
children.
Joining us are two exceptionalleaders who are at the forefront
of this transformativeeducational movement.
First, we're honored to have Dr.
Lorraine Perez, our esteemedDeputy Superintendent of
(00:47):
Educational Services, joining ustoday.
Dr.
Perez brings with her a wealthof knowledge and passion for
creating the conditions forholistic student growth and
achievement.
Alongside Lorraine, we have thedynamic Dr.
Lupe Gomez.
As a principal of Pio PicoElementary School, she's
pioneering the community schoolinitiative, being the beacon
(01:09):
from Cohort One.
Her experiences and insightspromise a riveting conversation
ahead.
So grab your note-taking toolsor simply lean back with your
favorite cup of coffee or teaand let's embark on a journey of
discovery, understanding andamplification.
This is SAUSD's AmplifyingLeadership, and our deep dive
(01:30):
into community schools beginsnow.
So I want to jump right intoquestions.
So, Lupe, what exactly is acommunity school and how does it
differ from other schools?
Dr. Lupe Gomez (01:43):
Wow.
I think a lot of our schools inSanta Ana are already doing the
work of community schools isbringing our partners into the
conversation, bringing in ourcommunity partners, bringing in
our students, our parents, andgetting the perspective of what
does school look like for you.
And I think the biggestdifference from like a regular
school to a community school isreally embracing the idea of the
(02:06):
system we have set up todayisn't made for our kids.
And so, in order to make itbetter, we can't just fix a
couple of little things.
We have to transform it and wehave to transform it with an
equity lens.
As long as you have that visionof like, let's transform this,
let's make sure it's equitablefor everybody, and let's make
sure everybody's voices is beingheard and so that the school
(02:27):
reflects what the communityreally truly wants, that's a
community school.
I think a lot of our schoolsare already doing work.
They'll be made to call it that.
Bianca Barquin (02:36):
So I like what you said about our systems are
not set up for our students.
What do you mean by that?
Can you tell me more?
Dr. Lupe Gomez (02:45):
Yeah, well, we think about when education kind
of started, right, it was makingsure that it was an industrial
system.
You know, we're preparing themfor the workforce, basically,
right?
It was like how can we get themto, you know, be quiet, listen
to instructions and follow theboss, right?
That's not the world thatthey're going to go into.
And actually a lot of our kidshave jobs even now, right,
(03:06):
because they are beinginfluencers with doing TikTok or
YouTube or whatever it is thatthey're doing, right?
And so we want to make surethat we're preparing our kids
for those jobs and that it's aschool as a system that expects
them to be innovative, to becreative, to bring all of them
into the learning, and thatwe're learning together, versus
the teacher having all theknowledge.
And I'm going to tell you whatwe're going to learn, but it's
(03:29):
us working together to makesense of this crazy world.
Bianca Barquin (03:33):
I love it, thank you, and we're going to get
into more of who is brought tothe table in a community school
a little bit later on, but Iwant to jump to Lorraine for a
second.
So, Lorraine, can you share abrief history of the community
school movement?
And then I also want you totalk about from a district level
, how do you see communityschools looking in Santa Ana and
(03:55):
what does this movement looklike?
Dr. Lorraine Perez (03:56):
Sure.
So community schools in essencereally has been something that
has existed in some form, someshape, for a long time.
Actually, you know, lookingreally formalized back to Gary,
Indiana, there was a plan inGary, Indiana, in the 60s that
was called the Gary plan a nd itwas, if you think about Gary,
(04:20):
Indiana, and the background, alot of diversity, a lot of
change in that community thatthe school system did not know
how to respond to.
And I think that's been thecatalyst for much of the
community schools movement isbrought about when folks slow
down long enough to recognizethat the system, as Lupe said,
(04:41):
is not designed for the studentsthat it's serving today.
And so how do we actually reachdown into the community to
better understand the communityso that we can better serve the
community?
And it's been an evolution.
But I think the things thathave existed with four community
schools from the beginning ofthe movement was that it was
(05:03):
grounded in with an equity lens.
I'm not going to say that byany means i t reached what
probably the intentions werearound equity, but it was framed
from that lens of equity andtrying to meet the needs of the
students that were attempting tobe served.
Bianca Barquin (05:24):
How many community schools do we have in
Santa Ana today, and I'm justgoing to throw the question out
there.
I know we have two differentcohorts.
Can you tell me how many are inCohort One and how many are in
Cohort Two?
Dr. Lorraine Perez (05:35):
So we have our four original schools that
started in Cohort One and we nowhave a second grant that is
bringing on eight more schoolsand, for the first time really,
with the second cohort, bringingin an intermediate school.
So this effort has stronglybeen focused on our elementary,
(05:57):
and with good reason.
We believe that, foundationally, when we create the conditions
for our earliest learnersalongside their families, this
is how we get transformationalchange.
Where from the ground up, we'recreating the expectations from
our students and from theirfamilies to say you are part of
(06:20):
this conversation, you are partof this transformation.
What you, the assets you bring,are valuable and as we build
the system from the bottom up,that way, our parents and our
community will recognize thatthey're valued and they will
have that expectation as theymove through our system.
Bianca Barquin (06:39):
So, continuing with what Lorraine just told us,
Lupe, so tell me, how is thestructure of a community school
uniquely designed to cater toits surrounding community?
Dr. Lupe Gomez (06:52):
I think it begins with your council.
So there's a community schoolcouncil and it's made up of
business partners, nonprofits inthe community, of parents,
students, teachers and then anyother support staff at the
school.
So it ends up being a prettybig group of people.
But it's important to be bigbecause it brings the diversity
(07:12):
of voice, right?
And so then everybody's lookingat it from their own lens, and
so we're tackling a problem.
Everybody has a different wayto look at it, right?
So, for example, something thatcame up that was really
important to the community wasgardening.
So we have a little garden andit hasn't really flourished like
we wanted to.
But there was a group ofparents who were like we have to
do better with our garden.
(07:32):
We have to make sure that ourkids are eating healthier, right
, and the garden can be thatstep to healthier eating.
And so, okay, how do we do it?
And so here we are thinking wehave to do this all along, and
then someone's like, wait, don'twe have that SAUSD farm to
table?
Let's hook up with them.
How can they help and supportus?
Right?
(07:53):
And then you know there's aparent who works for a nonprofit
, who happens to do canning oflike fruits for jams and things
like that.
It's like how can we bring herorganization in to help us?
And so everybody had like adifferent take on how to work
with it, and so far right now,we're getting like soil donated.
People are helping us.
So so far we've had carrotsbeing successful, but we're
(08:14):
hoping that more crops comealong with the gardening.
But it was something that camefrom the school council.
I think for it to be successful, you have to let go of any
preconceived notion.
The principal is not at thedriver's seat, we're taking the
directions.
The council basically gives memy marching orders, and so for
(08:35):
me it's like how do I remove thebarriers, how do I connect
people to make this work happen,and how can I make sure that
everybody in the communityunderstands what we mean or what
our vision is or our prioritiesat the time?
So I think that those arepretty much like the things that
I feel are really differentbetween, like, a regular school
and a community school.
Bianca Barquin (08:55):
So what I'm hearing you say is, when you
bring all of these people, allof these actors like what we
talked about in terms ofcollective impact to the table,
they also have decision makingpower.
It's not just the school who'staking advice, but everybody
sitting at that table is able tomake decisions in terms of
(09:16):
student outcomes and what wewant for the community.
Is that true?
(Dr.
Lupe Gomez (09:21):
Very true.
" Awesome, thank you.
Lorraine, what are some of thecore components or pillars that
make up a successful communityschool?
Dr. Lorraine Perez (09:31):
So I want to be explicit about these things
at first and talk about them andmention them separately, but
truly, all of these four thingsthat I'm going to share must be
integrated.
They cannot live in isolation,otherwise you will never realize
a true community school.
So the four pillars that guidethe community schools here in
(09:52):
Santa Ana are integrativesupport services, family and
community engagement,collaborative leadership that
involves our educators,administrators, families,
community, and extended learningtime and opportunities.
So I want to be explicit aboutthose four but, like I said,
(10:13):
those things cannot exist inisolation.
You heard Lupe talk about,actually, in the description you
gave, I was thinking about thepillars and you hit every single
one of those pillars in thedescription that you gave.
So it's when they getintegrated and truly live in
(10:36):
concert with one another thatyou really have the impact on
your campus.
So your example talked aboutthis, that integration of the
support services.
You have people coming in fromoutside.
I imagine, at some point, ifyour council, the advisory group
you know, goes in thisdirection, you're, you know
working with local restaurantsaround nutrition and different,
(10:58):
you know, pieces of your gardenand how those come into play in
recipes that families use intheir home, like all of these
amazing things come and it isgoing to look different at every
single school.
How these four things show upwill very much be guided by the
culture and the needs of anindividual school.
(11:19):
But those four are critical andwe need to keep our eye on them
and pay attention that they alldo exist, because otherwise it
will get out of balance.
Bianca Barquin (11:29):
Thank you.
Lupe, I know you talked to us alittle bit about the garden.
Maybe you can expand on thatand give us more ideas.
How do community schoolsbenefit not just the students,
because that's normally what wefocus on in school, but the
broader community as a whole?
Dr. Lupe Gomez (11:46):
So a really good example is this year, for the
first time, I called it the PioPico convening.
So I wanted to make sure thateverybody truly understood what
a community school was.
So I brought in parents,students, teachers, community
partners and we all kind of satwith what is a community school
and we're kind of engaging inthat conversation and really
(12:07):
letting them know that they werethe decision makers.
They were the ones that had tocreate what is the school going
to look like?
It's like we're used to schoolslooking a certain way, but what
is really important to you andI think what came down to us and
stuff and our vision tends tobe very, very long, but our
parents were able to simplify ittoo.
(12:28):
All we want to do is empowerour students, and what does that
mean?
Giving them all the tools andresources they need to be able
to do what they need to do, andso okay, so we're going to
empower students to do what?
We want them to be activemembers in their community.
But we want them to do positivechange in the world, so we want
(12:48):
them to be global citizens thatare changing the world.
And so think about that, likewhen we talk up to parents what
do you want for their kids?
Many times like, oh, for themto graduate from high school, to
have a good job, to have this.
But when you really sit andlisten to what they want at
least for our families, it wasthey wanted their kids to be
empowered, to be global citizens, to be able to impact the world
(13:09):
in a positive way.
It's a lot more than just a highschool diploma, having a good
job, making good money, and so Ithink that's kind of where the
whole system benefits, becausenow everybody at school is like,
okay, what are we doing?
We're empowering our studentsto become these global citizens
right, to change the world, andwe can do it.
You know, we're just doing itone step at a time.
(13:31):
So everything that we do isabout is this leading to more
empowerment for our students?
And because if it's not, thenwe have to figure out how we can
do other things that willempower them.
Because that's our goal, thatthose were our marching orders
from our parents and it came outfrom our convening.
So we were very glad thatparents felt comfortable,
because that's another oneparents have to feel comfortable
, students have to becomfortable.
(13:52):
The psychological safety rightTo be able to say something and
not have any repercussionsbecause of what you said.
Bianca Barquin (14:00):
So what you're talking about brings to mind the
graduate profile in SAUSD.
So tell me about the alignment.
Since you've embarked andyou're well into this community
schoolwork, how aligned is it toour graduate profile?
Dr. Lupe Gomez (14:17):
It's super aligned because one of the
things that we ended up doingand we did it with our council
again, the council is veryinvolved in a lot of the things
that we do and as we got ourvision, the board priorities,
our LCAP, our graduate profile,the pillars of a community
school, and then we startedmaking those links, and one of
the things that we saw was thata lot of the stuff is connected.
(14:39):
Right, we wanted kids to belifelong learners, right?
Well, that's empoweringstudents, right?
If they're going to be lifelonglearners, they need to know
what they need to use thatknowledge for, because they're
going to change the world in apositive way, right?
And so I think a lot of thethings, when you start thinking
about that graduate profile, areembedded in the work that we're
doing, and we just make surethat they understand those links
(15:00):
, because otherwise they see itas separate things and they feel
like it's overwhelming, butit's like nah, look, we're doing
this one thing and it's hittingall these different things, but
we just have to do a couple ofthings, but we got to do them
very well.
Bianca Barquin (15:13):
I think that's so beautiful that you develop
this kind of, in my mind, it's acrosswalk between a ton of the
things that we are focusing onin Santa Ana and really
connecting the dots foreverybody who's on your council
and your families.
I really appreciate that, so,thank you.
What are some of the challengesthat you faced, Lupe?
Dr. Lupe Gomez (15:37):
I think the challenge at the beginning was
like not really understandingwhat a community school was,
because I heard a lot aboutit--d on't worry, you're already
doing it, right?
I started off saying, "on'tworry, you're already doing it
Right.
And it's about alignment, it'sabout coherence and don't worry,
you're just in a line.
And so I was like, but how?
And it wasn't until I trulyunderstood, like, the spirit of
(15:59):
community schools that I beganto then say, okay, in my task,
how do I help people to makesure we transform the school?
Not change it, but transform it?
And that's a big ask, right?
And so I think that was one ofthe first challenges, really
understanding what a communityschool is.
And another one is this thingthat people kind of get caught
(16:21):
up and I get caught up all thetime is budget, right?
Which is like I need money todo this and I need money to do
that, but the reality is youdon't need money to be a
community school or to docommunity school work, right?
With our council, at this pointwe have not discussed money at
all.
It has not come up becausewe're still trying to figure out
(16:42):
what is that going to look likefor our whole community?
What is that vision of schoolthat you want, right?
And money is not a discussionright now.
One of the best things that Ican remember is we had a focus
group of kids, and so they werethey're telling me all the
things that they want, right?
And one of the things they cameup with was lockers.
(17:03):
And as a principal who hasworked at the elementary level,
intermediate and high school, Iknow what lockers can create.
And so I was like, no, we'renot doing lockers, absolutely
not.
And the kids are like, "o, Dr.
Gomez, but we need lockers.
I said, dude, you don't needlockers.
Okay, let's be honest.
But then, for some reason, Iasked why?
(17:27):
Because my mind was made andmade up they're not lockers,
right?
Why?
And I got the best answer thelittle kids said, "Dr Gomez,
when we were in elementary, wehad a space.
My desk was my space.
I can put my stuff in it, I canput my stickers, whatever I
wanted.
It was in my space, right?
(17:48):
Now that I'm in junior high, Idon't have a space because I'm
going from classroom toclassroom so I can't leave
anything behind because thatspace is not really mine and
when I go home, I have to sharea room with my sister or with my
brother, or we're living withanother family, and so I don't
have a space.
And so it'd be nice to have aspace.
(18:08):
" and so how can you say no tothat?
And this is where I'm reallyglad, because all you need to do
, honestly, is communicate,right?
I got on the phone.
Hey Orin, hey Lorraine, thekids want lockers.
This is so crazy.
Can we make this happen?
"And Orin went over there.
He went a couple of times tofigure out where we're going to
put these lockers, and it's thebest thing for the kids.
(18:29):
Now you go to our campus andstuff, and you'll see the
lockers, and you see the kidsduring their lunchtime and
they're just sitting around withthe lockers, right?
But now I understand why.
Because as a principal, we'd belike, "Nope, you're not
supposed to be here, get out ofhere.
But they're by the lockerbecause that's their space,
right.
And so we were able to createthat by just listening to kids,
(18:49):
right.
And so I think there's going tobe a lot of challenges, but I
think don't think about thebudget, don't let that stop you,
because once you start gettingin your nonprofits and the other
organizations, right, you pullall your resources together to
make the work happen and you'lljust be amazed how many people
move things out of your way toget things done.
(19:10):
And then I think you know don'tworry if you don't know exactly
what a community school is.
Know that you're alreadyputting in a lot of those
elements in place.
It's just going to be like whatLorraine said, it is the
integration of everything andunderstanding that it's a way
higher purpose than just schoolas business as usual.
(19:31):
right?
We're transforming, so it'sgoing to take time and it's
going to look messy.
That's going to be okay.
Bianca Barquin (19:36):
Lupe, I am truly inspired that you're
authentically listening tostudents, and with an issue like
the lockers.
My next question actually goesto Lorraine.
What is the district's role insupporting community schools and
helping them overcome some ofthese challenges that they may
face?
Dr. Lorraine Perez (19:57):
So I think and, honestly, your response I
was like you've captured so muchand that's the power of the
real application, Like you're inthe work, and principals are
the folks who are going to havethat, you know, that boots on
the ground application.
For us it's really asking thoseprobing questions around have
(20:22):
they got to the root of theirchallenge yet?
So when Lupe was first askingabout the lockers and I remember
she was like really a no-go onthe lockers and then a while
later she came back and was likeoh my God, let me tell you why
the students want these lockers.
So it's that probing that weneed to do from a district level
(20:44):
standpoint to make sure thatwe're actually providing the
support that is gonna meet thatneed.
So when we know that our leadershave done the due diligence and
we've asked the probingquestions and we know they're at
the root, then we have to givethe space and really just carve
out that path for them to dowhat they need to do for their
(21:07):
school.
And I cannot emphasize thisenough that each school is gonna
look so drastically different.
Lupe has a circumstance whereshe's growing her dual language
program and so now they have,you know, sixth, seventh and
eventually eighth grade on thecampus.
It's not gonna look that way,for you know other community
(21:30):
schools.
But the same process needs tooccur that we're slowing down,
listening, asking the probingquestions that get to that
essential need and thenproviding the support.
A lot of times we think we knowthe challenge or the need and
we are quick to go okay, let'sjust do this or give this thing
(21:52):
or this money, like youdescribed, and that's not
actually gonna get you therebecause we haven't taken the
time to really know what thechallenge is and what the needs
are.
So I think our support comes inthe way of helping, creating
the space and having theopportunity for us to really
deeply understand the need.
Dr. Lupe Gomez (22:13):
I would like to add to the whole root cause
that's so important.
Attendance is a big issue,right?
And we looked at our data andwe found out that 56% of our
students were absent 10 or moredays left school year.
So they can't learn if they'renot in school, right?
So we were kind of meeting withparents and, you know, doing
home visits, and parents werelike I'm doing my best, I work
(22:35):
at nights and I have to stop byin the morning and I thought the
kid went to school, or I wentearly, you know, and I was like
what are we gonna do?
There's nothing I can do,there's nothing I can do, right?
And so that was honestly likemy thought until I understood
community schools and understoodwhat we needed to do, which was
like, let's get to the rootcause, right?
Because we're giving kidspopsicles and stickers and like
(22:57):
raffles and like pencils forcoming to school.
That's not the root cause of it, right?
The root cause of it is theparents need a friendlier
schedule for work.
That's that simple, right?
We can't have our parentsworking at night, having to come
in at six o'clock in themorning trying to drive their
kid into school.
So then now the goal is okay, weknow what the root cause is.
Our parents do not have thebest working schedule, so how
(23:20):
can we work with the communityaround us right, to be able to,
even the district, right?
Engage 360 is hiring, right?
To be able to get them to havea job, right, that would allow
them to be there for theirchildren and make sure that
they're getting to school.
Because, I would be honest, Iwas one of those people that
(23:40):
would be like I did everything Icould.
It's on them now, right, butit's not.
I haven't done everything,because now it's to mobilize
people and my community partnersto try to figure out how can we
help them with resumes, how canI help them to mock interviews
and prepare for thoseinterviews, right?
So I haven't done everything,but now I know the root cause
and now I know the work that weneed to do to be able to begin
(24:02):
to problem solve, because, asattendance, it's always gonna be
an issue until I get to theroot cause.
Dr. Lorraine Perez (24:07):
I wanna take an opportunity.
You brought this up and I'mgonna make a connection actually
to our leadership meetingyesterday.
You know all of that work, whatwe were talking about, the
collective impact yesterday.
That's a perfect example.
It's getting to the root cause.
It's having other people comearound the table to help you
(24:29):
understand, if we're at thatplace.
Attendance, oh yeah, okay, putmy hands up, there's nothing
more for me to do.
But we don't expect and I'mgonna say this from the, from
district level and educationalsystem in general, we don't
expect that our principals carrythe load of helping parents
with resumes.
Will we?
Yes, we will do whatever we needto do.
But that's where those partnerscome in, because now you know
(24:52):
what the need is of yourcommunity and you're saying,
okay, you know what?
I know that there's a resourcefor this, so I have my wellness
center, I have the location.
Let's invite them in so thatthey can help meet that need.
And that is exactly whatcommunity schools are designed
to do and what I meant by theequity piece, because it's about
(25:15):
uplifting the whole communityand our students will have
access and better access whenwe're meeting those needs.
And it is our responsibilitymaybe not to personally always
be the one to do that but toconnect with the resource.
So that collective impact thatwe talked a little bit about
yesterday in our leadershipmeeting is exactly exemplified
(25:40):
in our community schools andwhat we were trying to have
folks wrap their heads aroundand think about.
So we're doing this work in atransformative way.
Dr. Lupe Gomez (25:48):
And I agree with you because there's no possible
way I could do this by myself.
My council is instrumental.
My coordinator, from my TOSA tomy office staff, everybody is
doing a piece to look for thosepartners, to look for those
connections, to say, okay, weidentified the need, now what's
out there to help us?
Bianca Barquin (26:05):
So I want to switch gears a little bit to
talk.
I have two last areas I want totalk to you both about.
One is instruction.
So how does instruction lookdifferent in a community school
versus another school?
Dr. Lupe Gomez (26:22):
Easy word, project-based learning, right?
It has to be connected to thecommunity.
It has to be connected to whothe kid is, right, what they're
bringing, what their interestsare, and you can hit the
standards, right?
Is this a matter of the teacherreally being able to know the
standards, knowing theirstudents very well, giving
opportunity for student voice,graduate profile, right, being
(26:42):
able for the kids to say this iswhat's important to us right
now and being able to then weavein those standards into that
learning?
But it's, how do we then giveback to the community?
How do we help the childrenhave this knowledge that they're
learning but then apply it inthe right now, right?
Oftentimes we think aboutreading.
We normally teach reading withyou first have to learn all the
(27:02):
sounds and then, once you learnall the sounds, then we can
start blending.
But that's not true, because ifyou have like M-A-P-S-T, you
can begin to 'map' and 'sat',right, so you can start blending
some words.
So let's not wait until theyhave everything to apply it, but
, as they're getting the tools,get them to apply it right away.
And that's going to make surethat our kids become these
(27:23):
lifelong learners, but that theytruly have understanding that
they can transfer on to otherplaces and to other situations,
and so I would say project-basedlearning is the biggest
difference, and students reallyare the drivers.
Bianca Barquin (27:37):
So that requires a teacher to be truly adaptive
and flexible and not necessarilybound by pacing guides and
following the T-E-M being oncertain timelines.
It almost is freeing and givesthe artistry back to the teacher
to really do that well.
Okay, last question.
So, Lorraine, where do you see,well, what is the future of
(28:02):
community schools within SAUSD?
Dr. Lorraine Perez (28:06):
So, I want to honor something that you said
very early on.
There is some truth to thatpiece when people were saying
you're doing a lot of thesethings.
So I want for us to start from aplace of building upon the
assets that we have.
I do agree that in many cases,our schools in Santa Ana have
(28:26):
operated in a way that wascommunity school oriented, but I
think what I see changing andbeing that transformation is the
intentionality and theexplicitness with which we're
approaching this, because it'sgoing to take that-- it's not
going to happen by happenstanceor chance.
(28:48):
We are going to have to be veryintentional about building the
systems and actually buildingthe culture in our district
where we're really putting thisinto action and continuing to
push on ourselves as the systemto ask are we really meeting the
community's needs and are wereally honoring the community
(29:11):
and the way that we're meetingtheir needs?
Because lots of times folkswill say, oh, those people need
this and that's not the approach.
It's really honoring that folks.
We are part of those people andthat's the thing that I really
want us to land on.
(29:31):
We are, collectively, acommunity, so what do we need as
a community to really createthat transformation and the
conditions for community schoolsto really thrive.
Bianca Barquin (29:47):
So I believe that there's still so much more
to talk about that we are goingto have to have you all agree
another session about communityschools where we can delve a lot
deeper.
So, just like that, we've cometo the end of our inaugural
journey into the world ofSAUSD's Amplifying Leadership,
(30:08):
and a heartfelt thank you toboth of you for sharing
invaluable insights and lightingthe path for everyone who's
listening.
But before we sign off, I'dlike to start something that may
become a tradition here.
I call it the amplifieracknowledgement.
So if you could amplify themessage or a lesson of one
(30:32):
educator or leader who's made asignificant impact in your
journey, who would that be andwhat would be that resonating
message?
Dr. Lupe Gomez (30:46):
I'm thinking.
Dr. Lorraine Perez (30:49):
You know, for me it would be my first
grade teacher, Ms.
Aparicio.
She saw my community.
She was not from my communitybut she saw my community and she
saw the value and the assetsthat the students from my
community brought to ourlearning environment and she
(31:12):
really believed that abouteverybody you know all of us,
but for me in particular she didclear a path for me to see that
in myself, that there wereassets, there were benefits in
me, and for me in theexperiences that I already
brought to that learningenvironment.
(31:33):
So, Ms.
Aparicio, she has passed away,but she had a great impact on so
many people.
Dr. Lupe Gomez (31:40):
Yeah, I think Ms .
Sanchez was a librarian atMcFadden for SAUSD and my mom
was a single mom and so she hadto drive into work early.
So she either had to drop usoff at school at like six
o'clock in the morning or shewould have to do it during her
break so we would go with her tothe shop and then she would
(32:02):
drop us off later.
So the easiest thing wasdropping us off at six and Ms.
Sanchez would always get toMcFadden super early.
She would always see me rightthere by the front gate, right,
always reading a book or doingsomething else, right.
?
Sometimes it would be reallycold.
And Ms.
Sanchez looked at me one day.
She said what are you doinghere?
I said my mom just dropped meoff early and she's like, why
(32:22):
don't you get to work?
I was like what?
And she's like, come on.
And so she took me to thelibrary, which is super warm,
right, and she made me work, andso it was those back in the
days you had newspapers, right,and so I had to separate the
newspapers into their differentsections, and then she showed me
how to shelf books, and then,but it was just so touching to
(32:44):
me that it wasn't like oh,pobrecita, here's a jacket right
.
Oh, pobrecita, you know, likejust sit there, you know.
But it was like no, you gotsomething to give, come on, let
me put you to work and stuff,and so, and then that was one of
the ways that I got connectedto the other teachers, because
they would always see me now inthe library, and so the library
became really special to me, butit was because of Ms.
(33:04):
Sanchez.
Bianca Barquin (33:06):
Such powerful acknowledgments.
Remember, leadership is notjust about guiding, but also
celebrating and acknowledgingthose who've paved the way.
To our listeners, may thesestories inspire you, challenge
you and remind you of your ownamplifiers.
So until our next deep dive,keep amplifying, keep leading
and keep making a differencewithin the walls of our schools
(33:29):
and in the hearts of ourstudents.
I'm Bianca Barquin, and thishas been SAUSD's Amplifying
Leadership.
Stay inspired.
Hello and welcome to SAUSD's Amplifying
Leadership, the place where weturn up the volume on
educational insights andleadership brilliance within our
community.
I'm your host, Bianca Barquin,the Assistant Superintendent of
Teaching and Learning for theSanta Ana Unified School
District.
Today, in our very firstepisode, we delve deep into the
(00:26):
heart of community schools,exploring their magic, their
might and their monumental rolein shaping the future of our
children.
Joining us are two exceptionalleaders who are at the forefront
of this transformativeeducational movement.
First, we're honored to have Dr.
Lorraine Perez, our esteemedDeputy Superintendent of
(00:47):
Educational Services, joining ustoday.
Dr.
Perez brings with her a wealthof knowledge and passion for
creating the conditions forholistic student growth and
achievement.
Alongside Lorraine, we have thedynamic Dr.
Lupe Gomez.
As a principal of Pio PicoElementary School, she's
pioneering the community schoolinitiative, being the beacon
(01:09):
from Cohort One.
Her experiences and insightspromise a riveting conversation
ahead.
So grab your note-taking toolsor simply lean back with your
favorite cup of coffee or teaand let's embark on a journey of
discovery, understanding andamplification.
This is SAUSD's AmplifyingLeadership, and our deep dive
(01:30):
into community schools beginsnow.
So I want to jump right intoquestions.
So, Lupe, what exactly is acommunity school and how does it
differ from other schools?
Dr. Lupe Gomez (01:43):
Wow.
I think a lot of our schools inSanta Ana are already doing the
work of community schools isbringing our partners into the
conversation, bringing in ourcommunity partners, bringing in
our students, our parents, andgetting the perspective of what
does school look like for you.
And I think the biggestdifference from like a regular
school to a community school isreally embracing the idea of the
(02:06):
system we have set up todayisn't made for our kids.
And so, in order to make itbetter, we can't just fix a
couple of little things.
We have to transform it and wehave to transform it with an
equity lens.
As long as you have that visionof like, let's transform this,
let's make sure it's equitablefor everybody, and let's make
sure everybody's voices is beingheard and so that the school
(02:27):
reflects what the communityreally truly wants, that's a
community school.
I think a lot of our schoolsare already doing work.
They'll be made to call it that.
Bianca Barquin (02:36):
So I like what you said about our systems are
not set up for our students.
What do you mean by that?
Can you tell me more?
Dr. Lupe Gomez (02:45):
Yeah, well, we think about when education kind
of started, right, it was makingsure that it was an industrial
system.
You know, we're preparing themfor the workforce, basically,
right?
It was like how can we get themto, you know, be quiet, listen
to instructions and follow theboss, right?
That's not the world thatthey're going to go into.
And actually a lot of our kidshave jobs even now, right,
(03:06):
because they are beinginfluencers with doing TikTok or
YouTube or whatever it is thatthey're doing, right?
And so we want to make surethat we're preparing our kids
for those jobs and that it's aschool as a system that expects
them to be innovative, to becreative, to bring all of them
into the learning, and thatwe're learning together, versus
the teacher having all theknowledge.
And I'm going to tell you whatwe're going to learn, but it's
(03:29):
us working together to makesense of this crazy world.
Bianca Barquin (03:33):
I love it, thank you, and we're going to get
into more of who is brought tothe table in a community school
a little bit later on, but Iwant to jump to Lorraine for a
second.
So, Lorraine, can you share abrief history of the community
school movement?
And then I also want you totalk about from a district level
, how do you see communityschools looking in Santa Ana and
(03:55):
what does this movement looklike?
Dr. Lorraine Perez (03:56):
Sure.
So community schools in essencereally has been something that
has existed in some form, someshape, for a long time.
Actually, you know, lookingreally formalized back to Gary,
Indiana, there was a plan inGary, Indiana, in the 60s that
was called the Gary plan a nd itwas, if you think about Gary,
(04:20):
Indiana, and the background, alot of diversity, a lot of
change in that community thatthe school system did not know
how to respond to.
And I think that's been thecatalyst for much of the
community schools movement isbrought about when folks slow
down long enough to recognizethat the system, as Lupe said,
(04:41):
is not designed for the studentsthat it's serving today.
And so how do we actually reachdown into the community to
better understand the communityso that we can better serve the
community?
And it's been an evolution.
But I think the things thathave existed with four community
schools from the beginning ofthe movement was that it was
(05:03):
grounded in with an equity lens.
I'm not going to say that byany means i t reached what
probably the intentions werearound equity, but it was framed
from that lens of equity andtrying to meet the needs of the
students that were attempting tobe served.
Bianca Barquin (05:24):
How many community schools do we have in
Santa Ana today, and I'm justgoing to throw the question out
there.
I know we have two differentcohorts.
Can you tell me how many are inCohort One and how many are in
Cohort Two?
Dr. Lorraine Perez (05:35):
So we have our four original schools that
started in Cohort One and we nowhave a second grant that is
bringing on eight more schoolsand, for the first time really,
with the second cohort, bringingin an intermediate school.
So this effort has stronglybeen focused on our elementary,
(05:57):
and with good reason.
We believe that, foundationally, when we create the conditions
for our earliest learnersalongside their families, this
is how we get transformationalchange.
Where from the ground up, we'recreating the expectations from
our students and from theirfamilies to say you are part of
(06:20):
this conversation, you are partof this transformation.
What you, the assets you bring,are valuable and as we build
the system from the bottom up,that way, our parents and our
community will recognize thatthey're valued and they will
have that expectation as theymove through our system.
Bianca Barquin (06:39):
So, continuing with what Lorraine just told us,
Lupe, so tell me, how is thestructure of a community school
uniquely designed to cater toits surrounding community?
Dr. Lupe Gomez (06:52):
I think it begins with your council.
So there's a community schoolcouncil and it's made up of
business partners, nonprofits inthe community, of parents,
students, teachers and then anyother support staff at the
school.
So it ends up being a prettybig group of people.
But it's important to be bigbecause it brings the diversity
(07:12):
of voice, right?
And so then everybody's lookingat it from their own lens, and
so we're tackling a problem.
Everybody has a different wayto look at it, right?
So, for example, something thatcame up that was really
important to the community wasgardening.
So we have a little garden andit hasn't really flourished like
we wanted to.
But there was a group ofparents who were like we have to
do better with our garden.
(07:32):
We have to make sure that ourkids are eating healthier, right
, and the garden can be thatstep to healthier eating.
And so, okay, how do we do it?
And so here we are thinking wehave to do this all along, and
then someone's like, wait, don'twe have that SAUSD farm to
table?
Let's hook up with them.
How can they help and supportus?
Right?
(07:53):
And then you know there's aparent who works for a nonprofit
, who happens to do canning oflike fruits for jams and things
like that.
It's like how can we bring herorganization in to help us?
And so everybody had like adifferent take on how to work
with it, and so far right now,we're getting like soil donated.
People are helping us.
So so far we've had carrotsbeing successful, but we're
(08:14):
hoping that more crops comealong with the gardening.
But it was something that camefrom the school council.
I think for it to be successful, you have to let go of any
preconceived notion.
The principal is not at thedriver's seat, we're taking the
directions.
The council basically gives memy marching orders, and so for
(08:35):
me it's like how do I remove thebarriers, how do I connect
people to make this work happen,and how can I make sure that
everybody in the communityunderstands what we mean or what
our vision is or our prioritiesat the time?
So I think that those arepretty much like the things that
I feel are really differentbetween, like, a regular school
and a community school.
Bianca Barquin (08:55):
So what I'm hearing you say is, when you
bring all of these people, allof these actors like what we
talked about in terms ofcollective impact to the table,
they also have decision makingpower.
It's not just the school who'staking advice, but everybody
sitting at that table is able tomake decisions in terms of
(09:16):
student outcomes and what wewant for the community.
Is that true?
(Dr.
Lupe Gomez (09:21):
Very true.
" Awesome, thank you.
Lorraine, what are some of thecore components or pillars that
make up a successful communityschool?
Dr. Lorraine Perez (09:31):
So I want to be explicit about these things
at first and talk about them andmention them separately, but
truly, all of these four thingsthat I'm going to share must be
integrated.
They cannot live in isolation,otherwise you will never realize
a true community school.
So the four pillars that guidethe community schools here in
(09:52):
Santa Ana are integrativesupport services, family and
community engagement,collaborative leadership that
involves our educators,administrators, families,
community, and extended learningtime and opportunities.
So I want to be explicit aboutthose four but, like I said,
(10:13):
those things cannot exist inisolation.
You heard Lupe talk about,actually, in the description you
gave, I was thinking about thepillars and you hit every single
one of those pillars in thedescription that you gave.
So it's when they getintegrated and truly live in
(10:36):
concert with one another thatyou really have the impact on
your campus.
So your example talked aboutthis, that integration of the
support services.
You have people coming in fromoutside.
I imagine, at some point, ifyour council, the advisory group
you know, goes in thisdirection, you're, you know
working with local restaurantsaround nutrition and different,
(10:58):
you know, pieces of your gardenand how those come into play in
recipes that families use intheir home, like all of these
amazing things come and it isgoing to look different at every
single school.
How these four things show upwill very much be guided by the
culture and the needs of anindividual school.
(11:19):
But those four are critical andwe need to keep our eye on them
and pay attention that they alldo exist, because otherwise it
will get out of balance.
Bianca Barquin (11:29):
Thank you.
Lupe, I know you talked to us alittle bit about the garden.
Maybe you can expand on thatand give us more ideas.
How do community schoolsbenefit not just the students,
because that's normally what wefocus on in school, but the
broader community as a whole?
Dr. Lupe Gomez (11:46):
So a really good example is this year, for the
first time, I called it the PioPico convening.
So I wanted to make sure thateverybody truly understood what
a community school was.
So I brought in parents,students, teachers, community
partners and we all kind of satwith what is a community school
and we're kind of engaging inthat conversation and really
(12:07):
letting them know that they werethe decision makers.
They were the ones that had tocreate what is the school going
to look like?
It's like we're used to schoolslooking a certain way, but what
is really important to you andI think what came down to us and
stuff and our vision tends tobe very, very long, but our
parents were able to simplify ittoo.
(12:28):
All we want to do is empowerour students, and what does that
mean?
Giving them all the tools andresources they need to be able
to do what they need to do, andso okay, so we're going to
empower students to do what?
We want them to be activemembers in their community.
But we want them to do positivechange in the world, so we want
(12:48):
them to be global citizens thatare changing the world.
And so think about that, likewhen we talk up to parents what
do you want for their kids?
Many times like, oh, for themto graduate from high school, to
have a good job, to have this.
But when you really sit andlisten to what they want at
least for our families, it wasthey wanted their kids to be
empowered, to be global citizens, to be able to impact the world
(13:09):
in a positive way.
It's a lot more than just a highschool diploma, having a good
job, making good money, and so Ithink that's kind of where the
whole system benefits, becausenow everybody at school is like,
okay, what are we doing?
We're empowering our studentsto become these global citizens
right, to change the world, andwe can do it.
You know, we're just doing itone step at a time.
(13:31):
So everything that we do isabout is this leading to more
empowerment for our students?
And because if it's not, thenwe have to figure out how we can
do other things that willempower them.
Because that's our goal, thatthose were our marching orders
from our parents and it came outfrom our convening.
So we were very glad thatparents felt comfortable,
because that's another oneparents have to feel comfortable
, students have to becomfortable.
(13:52):
The psychological safety rightTo be able to say something and
not have any repercussionsbecause of what you said.
Bianca Barquin (14:00):
So what you're talking about brings to mind the
graduate profile in SAUSD.
So tell me about the alignment.
Since you've embarked andyou're well into this community
schoolwork, how aligned is it toour graduate profile?
Dr. Lupe Gomez (14:17):
It's super aligned because one of the
things that we ended up doingand we did it with our council
again, the council is veryinvolved in a lot of the things
that we do and as we got ourvision, the board priorities,
our LCAP, our graduate profile,the pillars of a community
school, and then we startedmaking those links, and one of
the things that we saw was thata lot of the stuff is connected.
(14:39):
Right, we wanted kids to belifelong learners, right?
Well, that's empoweringstudents, right?
If they're going to be lifelonglearners, they need to know
what they need to use thatknowledge for, because they're
going to change the world in apositive way, right?
And so I think a lot of thethings, when you start thinking
about that graduate profile, areembedded in the work that we're
doing, and we just make surethat they understand those links
(15:00):
, because otherwise they see itas separate things and they feel
like it's overwhelming, butit's like nah, look, we're doing
this one thing and it's hittingall these different things, but
we just have to do a couple ofthings, but we got to do them
very well.
Bianca Barquin (15:13):
I think that's so beautiful that you develop
this kind of, in my mind, it's acrosswalk between a ton of the
things that we are focusing onin Santa Ana and really
connecting the dots foreverybody who's on your council
and your families.
I really appreciate that, so,thank you.
What are some of the challengesthat you faced, Lupe?
Dr. Lupe Gomez (15:37):
I think the challenge at the beginning was
like not really understandingwhat a community school was,
because I heard a lot aboutit--d on't worry, you're already
doing it, right?
I started off saying, "on'tworry, you're already doing it
Right.
And it's about alignment, it'sabout coherence and don't worry,
you're just in a line.
And so I was like, but how?
And it wasn't until I trulyunderstood, like, the spirit of
(15:59):
community schools that I beganto then say, okay, in my task,
how do I help people to makesure we transform the school?
Not change it, but transform it?
And that's a big ask, right?
And so I think that was one ofthe first challenges, really
understanding what a communityschool is.
And another one is this thingthat people kind of get caught
(16:21):
up and I get caught up all thetime is budget, right?
Which is like I need money todo this and I need money to do
that, but the reality is youdon't need money to be a
community school or to docommunity school work, right?
With our council, at this pointwe have not discussed money at
all.
It has not come up becausewe're still trying to figure out
(16:42):
what is that going to look likefor our whole community?
What is that vision of schoolthat you want, right?
And money is not a discussionright now.
One of the best things that Ican remember is we had a focus
group of kids, and so they werethey're telling me all the
things that they want, right?
And one of the things they cameup with was lockers.
(17:03):
And as a principal who hasworked at the elementary level,
intermediate and high school, Iknow what lockers can create.
And so I was like, no, we'renot doing lockers, absolutely
not.
And the kids are like, "o, Dr.
Gomez, but we need lockers.
I said, dude, you don't needlockers.
Okay, let's be honest.
But then, for some reason, Iasked why?
(17:27):
Because my mind was made andmade up they're not lockers,
right?
Why?
And I got the best answer thelittle kids said, "Dr Gomez,
when we were in elementary, wehad a space.
My desk was my space.
I can put my stuff in it, I canput my stickers, whatever I
wanted.
It was in my space, right?
(17:48):
Now that I'm in junior high, Idon't have a space because I'm
going from classroom toclassroom so I can't leave
anything behind because thatspace is not really mine and
when I go home, I have to sharea room with my sister or with my
brother, or we're living withanother family, and so I don't
have a space.
And so it'd be nice to have aspace.
(18:08):
" and so how can you say no tothat?
And this is where I'm reallyglad, because all you need to do
, honestly, is communicate,right?
I got on the phone.
Hey Orin, hey Lorraine, thekids want lockers.
This is so crazy.
Can we make this happen?
"And Orin went over there.
He went a couple of times tofigure out where we're going to
put these lockers, and it's thebest thing for the kids.
(18:29):
Now you go to our campus andstuff, and you'll see the
lockers, and you see the kidsduring their lunchtime and
they're just sitting around withthe lockers, right?
But now I understand why.
Because as a principal, we'd belike, "Nope, you're not
supposed to be here, get out ofhere.
But they're by the lockerbecause that's their space,
right.
And so we were able to createthat by just listening to kids,
(18:49):
right.
And so I think there's going tobe a lot of challenges, but I
think don't think about thebudget, don't let that stop you,
because once you start gettingin your nonprofits and the other
organizations, right, you pullall your resources together to
make the work happen and you'lljust be amazed how many people
move things out of your way toget things done.
(19:10):
And then I think you know don'tworry if you don't know exactly
what a community school is.
Know that you're alreadyputting in a lot of those
elements in place.
It's just going to be like whatLorraine said, it is the
integration of everything andunderstanding that it's a way
higher purpose than just schoolas business as usual.
(19:31):
right?
We're transforming, so it'sgoing to take time and it's
going to look messy.
That's going to be okay.
Bianca Barquin (19:36):
Lupe, I am truly inspired that you're
authentically listening tostudents, and with an issue like
the lockers.
My next question actually goesto Lorraine.
What is the district's role insupporting community schools and
helping them overcome some ofthese challenges that they may
face?
Dr. Lorraine Perez (19:57):
So I think and, honestly, your response I
was like you've captured so muchand that's the power of the
real application, Like you're inthe work, and principals are
the folks who are going to havethat, you know, that boots on
the ground application.
For us it's really asking thoseprobing questions around have
(20:22):
they got to the root of theirchallenge yet?
So when Lupe was first askingabout the lockers and I remember
she was like really a no-go onthe lockers and then a while
later she came back and was likeoh my God, let me tell you why
the students want these lockers.
So it's that probing that weneed to do from a district level
(20:44):
standpoint to make sure thatwe're actually providing the
support that is gonna meet thatneed.
So when we know that our leadershave done the due diligence and
we've asked the probingquestions and we know they're at
the root, then we have to givethe space and really just carve
out that path for them to dowhat they need to do for their
(21:07):
school.
And I cannot emphasize thisenough that each school is gonna
look so drastically different.
Lupe has a circumstance whereshe's growing her dual language
program and so now they have,you know, sixth, seventh and
eventually eighth grade on thecampus.
It's not gonna look that way,for you know other community
(21:30):
schools.
But the same process needs tooccur that we're slowing down,
listening, asking the probingquestions that get to that
essential need and thenproviding the support.
A lot of times we think we knowthe challenge or the need and
we are quick to go okay, let'sjust do this or give this thing
(21:52):
or this money, like youdescribed, and that's not
actually gonna get you therebecause we haven't taken the
time to really know what thechallenge is and what the needs
are.
So I think our support comes inthe way of helping, creating
the space and having theopportunity for us to really
deeply understand the need.
Dr. Lupe Gomez (22:13):
I would like to add to the whole root cause
that's so important.
Attendance is a big issue,right?
And we looked at our data andwe found out that 56% of our
students were absent 10 or moredays left school year.
So they can't learn if they'renot in school, right?
So we were kind of meeting withparents and, you know, doing
home visits, and parents werelike I'm doing my best, I work
(22:35):
at nights and I have to stop byin the morning and I thought the
kid went to school, or I wentearly, you know, and I was like
what are we gonna do?
There's nothing I can do,there's nothing I can do, right?
And so that was honestly likemy thought until I understood
community schools and understoodwhat we needed to do, which was
like, let's get to the rootcause, right?
Because we're giving kidspopsicles and stickers and like
(22:57):
raffles and like pencils forcoming to school.
That's not the root cause of it, right?
The root cause of it is theparents need a friendlier
schedule for work.
That's that simple, right?
We can't have our parentsworking at night, having to come
in at six o'clock in themorning trying to drive their
kid into school.
So then now the goal is okay, weknow what the root cause is.
Our parents do not have thebest working schedule, so how
(23:20):
can we work with the communityaround us right, to be able to,
even the district, right?
Engage 360 is hiring, right?
To be able to get them to havea job, right, that would allow
them to be there for theirchildren and make sure that
they're getting to school.
Because, I would be honest, Iwas one of those people that
(23:40):
would be like I did everything Icould.
It's on them now, right, butit's not.
I haven't done everything,because now it's to mobilize
people and my community partnersto try to figure out how can we
help them with resumes, how canI help them to mock interviews
and prepare for thoseinterviews, right?
So I haven't done everything,but now I know the root cause
and now I know the work that weneed to do to be able to begin
(24:02):
to problem solve, because, asattendance, it's always gonna be
an issue until I get to theroot cause.
Dr. Lorraine Perez (24:07):
I wanna take an opportunity.
You brought this up and I'mgonna make a connection actually
to our leadership meetingyesterday.
You know all of that work, whatwe were talking about, the
collective impact yesterday.
That's a perfect example.
It's getting to the root cause.
It's having other people comearound the table to help you
(24:29):
understand, if we're at thatplace.
Attendance, oh yeah, okay, putmy hands up, there's nothing
more for me to do.
But we don't expect and I'mgonna say this from the, from
district level and educationalsystem in general, we don't
expect that our principals carrythe load of helping parents
with resumes.
Will we?
Yes, we will do whatever we needto do.
But that's where those partnerscome in, because now you know
(24:52):
what the need is of yourcommunity and you're saying,
okay, you know what?
I know that there's a resourcefor this, so I have my wellness
center, I have the location.
Let's invite them in so thatthey can help meet that need.
And that is exactly whatcommunity schools are designed
to do and what I meant by theequity piece, because it's about
(25:15):
uplifting the whole communityand our students will have
access and better access whenwe're meeting those needs.
And it is our responsibilitymaybe not to personally always
be the one to do that but toconnect with the resource.
So that collective impact thatwe talked a little bit about
yesterday in our leadershipmeeting is exactly exemplified
(25:40):
in our community schools andwhat we were trying to have
folks wrap their heads aroundand think about.
So we're doing this work in atransformative way.
Dr. Lupe Gomez (25:48):
And I agree with you because there's no possible
way I could do this by myself.
My council is instrumental.
My coordinator, from my TOSA tomy office staff, everybody is
doing a piece to look for thosepartners, to look for those
connections, to say, okay, weidentified the need, now what's
out there to help us?
Bianca Barquin (26:05):
So I want to switch gears a little bit to
talk.
I have two last areas I want totalk to you both about.
One is instruction.
So how does instruction lookdifferent in a community school
versus another school?
Dr. Lupe Gomez (26:22):
Easy word, project-based learning, right?
It has to be connected to thecommunity.
It has to be connected to whothe kid is, right, what they're
bringing, what their interestsare, and you can hit the
standards, right?
Is this a matter of the teacherreally being able to know the
standards, knowing theirstudents very well, giving
opportunity for student voice,graduate profile, right, being
(26:42):
able for the kids to say this iswhat's important to us right
now and being able to then weavein those standards into that
learning?
But it's, how do we then giveback to the community?
How do we help the childrenhave this knowledge that they're
learning but then apply it inthe right now, right?
Oftentimes we think aboutreading.
We normally teach reading withyou first have to learn all the
(27:02):
sounds and then, once you learnall the sounds, then we can
start blending.
But that's not true, because ifyou have like M-A-P-S-T, you
can begin to 'map' and 'sat',right, so you can start blending
some words.
So let's not wait until theyhave everything to apply it, but
, as they're getting the tools,get them to apply it right away.
And that's going to make surethat our kids become these
(27:23):
lifelong learners, but that theytruly have understanding that
they can transfer on to otherplaces and to other situations,
and so I would say project-basedlearning is the biggest
difference, and students reallyare the drivers.
Bianca Barquin (27:37):
So that requires a teacher to be truly adaptive
and flexible and not necessarilybound by pacing guides and
following the T-E-M being oncertain timelines.
It almost is freeing and givesthe artistry back to the teacher
to really do that well.
Okay, last question.
So, Lorraine, where do you see,well, what is the future of
(28:02):
community schools within SAUSD?
Dr. Lorraine Perez (28:06):
So, I want to honor something that you said
very early on.
There is some truth to thatpiece when people were saying
you're doing a lot of thesethings.
So I want for us to start from aplace of building upon the
assets that we have.
I do agree that in many cases,our schools in Santa Ana have
(28:26):
operated in a way that wascommunity school oriented, but I
think what I see changing andbeing that transformation is the
intentionality and theexplicitness with which we're
approaching this, because it'sgoing to take that-- it's not
going to happen by happenstanceor chance.
(28:48):
We are going to have to be veryintentional about building the
systems and actually buildingthe culture in our district
where we're really putting thisinto action and continuing to
push on ourselves as the systemto ask are we really meeting the
community's needs and are wereally honoring the community
(29:11):
and the way that we're meetingtheir needs?
Because lots of times folkswill say, oh, those people need
this and that's not the approach.
It's really honoring that folks.
We are part of those people andthat's the thing that I really
want us to land on.
(29:31):
We are, collectively, acommunity, so what do we need as
a community to really createthat transformation and the
conditions for community schoolsto really thrive.
Bianca Barquin (29:47):
So I believe that there's still so much more
to talk about that we are goingto have to have you all agree
another session about communityschools where we can delve a lot
deeper.
So, just like that, we've cometo the end of our inaugural
journey into the world ofSAUSD's Amplifying Leadership,
(30:08):
and a heartfelt thank you toboth of you for sharing
invaluable insights and lightingthe path for everyone who's
listening.
But before we sign off, I'dlike to start something that may
become a tradition here.
I call it the amplifieracknowledgement.
So if you could amplify themessage or a lesson of one
(30:32):
educator or leader who's made asignificant impact in your
journey, who would that be andwhat would be that resonating
message?
Dr. Lupe Gomez (30:46):
I'm thinking.
Dr. Lorraine Perez (30:49):
You know, for me it would be my first
grade teacher, Ms.
Aparicio.
She saw my community.
She was not from my communitybut she saw my community and she
saw the value and the assetsthat the students from my
community brought to ourlearning environment and she
(31:12):
really believed that abouteverybody you know all of us,
but for me in particular she didclear a path for me to see that
in myself, that there wereassets, there were benefits in
me, and for me in theexperiences that I already
brought to that learningenvironment.
(31:33):
So, Ms.
Aparicio, she has passed away,but she had a great impact on so
many people.
Dr. Lupe Gomez (31:40):
Yeah, I think Ms .
Sanchez was a librarian atMcFadden for SAUSD and my mom
was a single mom and so she hadto drive into work early.
So she either had to drop usoff at school at like six
o'clock in the morning or shewould have to do it during her
break so we would go with her tothe shop and then she would
(32:02):
drop us off later.
So the easiest thing wasdropping us off at six and Ms.
Sanchez would always get toMcFadden super early.
She would always see me rightthere by the front gate, right,
always reading a book or doingsomething else, right.
?
Sometimes it would be reallycold.
And Ms.
Sanchez looked at me one day.
She said what are you doinghere?
I said my mom just dropped meoff early and she's like, why
(32:22):
don't you get to work?
I was like what?
And she's like, come on.
And so she took me to thelibrary, which is super warm,
right, and she made me work, andso it was those back in the
days you had newspapers, right,and so I had to separate the
newspapers into their differentsections, and then she showed me
how to shelf books, and then,but it was just so touching to
(32:44):
me that it wasn't like oh,pobrecita, here's a jacket right
.
Oh, pobrecita, you know, likejust sit there, you know.
But it was like no, you gotsomething to give, come on, let
me put you to work and stuff,and so, and then that was one of
the ways that I got connectedto the other teachers, because
they would always see me now inthe library, and so the library
became really special to me, butit was because of Ms.
(33:04):
Sanchez.
Bianca Barquin (33:06):
Such powerful acknowledgments.
Remember, leadership is notjust about guiding, but also
celebrating and acknowledgingthose who've paved the way.
To our listeners, may thesestories inspire you, challenge
you and remind you of your ownamplifiers.
So until our next deep dive,keep amplifying, keep leading
and keep making a differencewithin the walls of our schools
(33:29):
and in the hearts of ourstudents.
I'm Bianca Barquin, and thishas been SAUSD's Amplifying
Leadership.
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