Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1527898
ANAHEIM: The Local and the District The National Community Schools Learning Lab draws from ASTA and AUHSD's expertise and experience with community schools. To date, 15 of 21 middle and high schools in AUHSD have transitioned to community schools and have received more than $23 million in state funding. The ASTA/AUHSD Leading & Learning Lab — informational tours and presentations at those schools — has drawn hundreds of educators nationwide. "AUHSD has been super helpful with the Learning Lab, they want this to be successful," said Learning Lab Lead Christie Bettendorf, who made sure the district steering committee and district cabinet gave input on and approved the Learning Lab components. " They 've been with us every step of the way to fulfill the goals of the NEA grant." The relationship between ASTA and the district can sometimes be strained — the recent move to lay off Anaheim teachers, for example, was a difficult time. "Despite what happens, the kids are going to come first — our shared vision is still the priority," Bettendorf said. " That's what community schools are about." Interested in the Learning Lab? Contact astacslab@gmail.com for information. Ideally, teams are composed of all stakeholders, but teams who have not yet formed collaborative relationships are welcome. The cost of the Leading & Learning Lab (tour), materials and some meals are covered. Attendees pay for travel and lodging. The Learning Lab team includes Geoff Morganstern, ASTA president; David Greenberg and Angelia Ebner, NEA senior policy analysts and community schools specialists; Lisa Eck, ASTA executive director/CTA UniServ; Learning Lab Lead Christie Bettendorf; Adriane Dorrington, NEA program manager for community schools; Grant Schuster, CTA board member and CTA/NEA Coordinator. The Role of Community Schools Teacher Leads C O M M U N I T Y S C H O O L T E A C H E R leads' roles vary depending on site needs. One important focus: helping develop curriculum that incorporates community-based learning. Teacher leads are given partial release time, maintaining a presence in the classroom. The Learning Lab showcased three teacher leads and their work: Diana Gomez, Katella High School, special Ed and English teacher. "My main focus is on instruction, on community-based learning — how we connect learning to real life. We empower students to have agency and voice while still adhering to rigorous state standards. Right now I'm having students read a novel where a virus kills all the adults and the kids survive. It reminds them of the coronavirus; they share stories of resilience. I challenge them to have conversations with their families: 'What if there's another emergency? How can we be better prepared to lessen the effects of trauma and increase our safety?'" Jason Collar, South Junior High School, history and CTE teacher. "Whole child education is a collaborative effort. We are very intentional about what we do. This allows opportunities for us to elevate voices and engage students and families. An example: I had students research their communities' assets — 'What brings you joy in your neighborhood and school, what are the resources for your family. And what are the resources that we should have and why?' Students really thought about this. I was able bring their input to our site team, and we considered making changes based on their work." Nikki Resch, Gilbert High School, English teacher. "Gilbert is a continuation school and has been doing a lot of relationship-building, deep listening and civic engagement for a very long time. [With comunity schools,] however, it has become more of a site-wide approach — connecting with our students and finding out 'What are you really interested in learning?', so instruction and content is more relevant in all classrooms and not just sprinkled into a few. All our students learn to advocate for themselves — they can collaborate with their peers and know that their teachers have their back." 23 O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 24