Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/882783
concerned about him. "It's an amazing school. ey care a lot about you. ey give you lots of opportunities to succeed in school — and in life." " We're always here for one another," says student Jessica Jimenez. "Students don't judge each other about what they look like or where they come from." Social justice for teachers Teachers are responsible for their own profe ssion al d e v elopm ent an d l ea d workshops for one another. They have two prep periods and collaborate with their grade-level team and department weekly. Turnover is low because staff want to stay, says Navarro, who became principal because teachers asked him to. Decisions are reached by consensus within th e Instr uctional Leadership Team , which is open to all teachers. Unlike voting, there are no winners and losers. If someone holds five fingers up, it means complete agreement, while three fingers means being somewhat on board, and a fist means "no way." Gradually, ideas morph into something everyone can live with, hopefully. "I love that decisions are teacher-led a n d t h a t my v o i c e m a tt e r s w h e n i t c om e s to th e dire ction of our math department, school policy and hiring," says Francisco- Flores. The school, in fact, was created by teachers. English and ELD instructor Samantha Siegeler was excited to be part of the design team six years ago for this pilot school. LAUSD Pilot Schools are a network of public schools that have autonomy over budget, staffing, governance, curriculum , assessment a n d t h e s c h o o l c a l e n d a r, a l l o w i n g greater flexibility to best meet students' needs. They were created to be mod- els of educational innovation, serving as research and development sites for effective urban schools. " I appre ci at e t ea chin g in a sp a c e where teacher expertise is validated and where I am encouraged to grow in so many ways," says Siegeler. "For us, social justice is our how in addition to our why. It's about doing everything we can to bridge the opportunity gap in this high-poverty, high-crime area where low graduation rates are the norm." Curriculum more relevant With curriculum and behavior viewed through a social justice lens, students are inspired to become activists. They have participated in demonstrations and marches, and worked on school projects to improve their community and voice their political opinions. " This year I learned about the three I 's of oppre ssion ," s ay s Wi l s on . " It 's institutional, interpersonal and indi- v i du al . I emb ed d ed thi s phi lo s ophy into my t eachin g of Always Running by Lui s Rodrigu ez, so students were ingesting the novel through commu- nity issues that transcended the book's narrative. When Mr. Rodriguez came to sp eak, ninth-g ra d ers a sked c om - plex questions based upon their deep un d erst an din g of hi s stor y thro u g h systemic levels of oppression." Social studies teacher Sasha Guzman infuses social justice into lessons to pro- vide perspective. " When we were learning geography, we did geopolitical mapping. We went on buses and did a 'toxic tour' based on the output of the factories in the area . Ki d s can b e c om e emp ow ered , and they can become agents of change, when they learn about issues that are important to them." "I appreciate teaching in a space where teacher expertise is validated and where I am encouraged to grow in so many ways." — SAMANTHA SIEGELER, UTLA Above, social studies teacher Sasha Guzman; right, English teacher Samantha Siegeler with student Edwin Urbina. 36 cta.org Feature H U M A N I T A S A C A D E M Y