Episode 79: Supporting Black and Brown Boys in Schools with Dr. Adriana Villavicencio

FocusED Show Notes with Guest Adriana VillavicencioDr. Villavicencio decided to write her book because of the discrepancies in education--it can be both a wonderful experience for some students as well as an exclusionary one for others. She says that we often have great policies that could work, but limitations and pitfalls can provide setbacks that bring us pause, prompting us to abandon them before they stick. Adriana explains the Expanded Success Initiative (ESI) that was intended to decrease achievement gaps for students of color, particularly black and brown boys. The ESI was implemented in 40 public high schools. She described some of what worked, including mentorships--both peer-to-peer and adult-to-peer. One thing that mattered a lot was setting high academic goals and having high expectations for all students. The curriculum was important in the project as well--advanced coursework, scaffolding, etc. Adriana said that the school leader is critical and that the ESI strategies worked better in schools where the leader was strong and put teachers in charge. She tells us that a loud minority can derail productive innovation. Adriana said that leaders ought to expect resistance to change. She offers two strategies: 1. Being persistent with the vision (a written statement of the north star) is critical. 2. Where leaders have the latitude to pick their team, they’ve been more effective. Adriana discussed internal and external challenges to change, including media, boards, unions, and political divisions. She wants to study these challenges even further. Dr. Villavicencio says that one of the biggest problems with educating young black and brown students is the deficit mindset that exists in schools. The stories that we tell shape our interactions, assumptions, and expectations. Adriana says that much of the way we learn as children is the same way we learn as older pupils and adults. She calls for mini-action research projects in schools to study ways that we might solve our problems of practice. Adriana describes some of her reading habits; she likes to read widely and outside of education. She ends with a quote “the personal is the professional and the professional is the personal.” She has a call to action that we should challenge ourselves and our own assumptions about teaching and learning. Don’t let the fact that you can’t change everyone prevent you from doing the work to make the changes that you can. Books We Recommend Based on this Podcast with Adriana VillavicencioMindset by Carol Dweck Grit by Angela Duckworth Lifelong Kindergarten by Mitchel Resnik Weird Ideas that Work by Robert Sutton Managing the Unexpectedby Carl Weick and Kathleen Sutcliffe