Banning USD Real Talk Podcast
Welcome to the Banning USD Real Talk Podcast, a space dedicated to amplifying the voices of our vibrant community! This podcast highlights the stories, achievements, and experiences of students, staff, and families across Banning Unified School District. Join us as we dive into meaningful conversations about education, community initiatives, and the topics that matter most to our district. Tune in to celebrate the heart of Banning USD and stay connected with the voices shaping our shared future!
Banning USD Real Talk Podcast
Episode #54: Meet Dr. Cami Thomas
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Today, we’re talking with Dr. Cami Thomas, Principal of Nicolet Middle School, about the exciting things happening on campus and the academic growth students achieved this past year.
Dr. Thomas shares some of the strategies, teamwork, and intentional efforts that helped move student learning forward, along with the work being done to build a positive school culture and create meaningful opportunities for students. We also look ahead at what’s next for Nicolet as staff continue building on that momentum and supporting every student’s success.
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Welcome to the Banning USD Real Talk Podcast, where we share the people, stories, and experiences that make Banning USD who we are. Today, we're talking with Dr. Cammy Thomas, principal of Nicolette Middle School, about the exciting things happening on campus and the academic growth students achieved this past year. Let's get into some real talk.
SPEAKER_02We are back. We are back with the Banning Real Talk for the 2026-27 school year. And today we have a guest that has not been on the show yet. And I think they've worked in our district for I'm not quite sure. We're going to find out for a little while with none other than Dr. Cammy Thomas.
SPEAKER_01Thank you so much for having me. It's been my fifth year here now, sir.
SPEAKER_02Listen, she's just gonna jump in. She wasn't cute or anything. So I can just tell this episode is gonna be a little live. So welcome to the real talk, uh, Dr. Thomas, and welcome our audience for coming back. It's been a minute since we've been on the air. I think the last time we recorded was back in March or April of 2026. We are now in August, so this episode will probably play in September. And so I'm excited to be back because we're doing a lot of stuff, a lot of different things. And it's not like we got we improved like one step. We have like incrementally improved in so many areas, and we'll be talking about that our whole season. But why don't we start our episode off, Dr. Thomas, with you telling everyone. Now, this episode isn't just banning, it's not just Riverside County, it is the world. Our episode is our episodes are listened to around the world. So can you please tell everyone about yourself, what your life looks like for you today? I can't imagine what that's gonna sound like. Family hobbies, current role, connection to banning USD, because banning can be a gritty place, meaning, and I say that in a positive way, like some stuff going on, but we handle it and we move through, and you other than no one else would know that.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02And I know you know that. So tell the world who you are.
SPEAKER_01Okay, well, I am Dr. Cami Thomas. I'm the very proud, caffeinated principal on roller skates at Nicolette Middle School. And a little bit about me, I love traveling. So since we are global, bonjour. Uh Yonapot Kivanok, we can say all the different languages, but I am a world traveler. So for everyone listening abroad, we are the best middle school in the Banning Unified School District. Um, I'm super excited about being here in Banning. My son is here as well as a student, so I'm not just an administrator, but I'm also a parent to a pony over at Central. Hello. Yeah. So this is definitely not just my nine to five, but this is this is my day-to-day all the time for not just myself, but for my kid.
SPEAKER_02So you live it, you breathe it. Live it and breathe it. So a couple follow-ups. Uh, how do you speak different languages fluently?
SPEAKER_01I fluently speak French. I have a working knowledge of Italian. I can handle myself in Spanish, and I'm learning Hungarian. My family lives in Debrison. Wow.
SPEAKER_02Oh, wow. Yeah. You you gotta see the thing about you, we're gonna find out, and our audience is gonna find out. I think that's that's why this episode is really good, because you may appear a certain way. There may be perceptions about you, but you don't know until you know. That's one. The other thing is you said you were in your fifth year, right? Fifth year. And how long have you been the principal at Nicolette Middle School?
SPEAKER_01So I was an AP with Mr. Pause, who's now at the high school. Um, and this is now my this is my fourth year as the principal.
SPEAKER_02Fourth year as a principal at Nicolette Middle School. I used to hear that Nicolette was a tough, tough school. And it probably is only for the fact that it's a middle school, let alone anything else.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_02Uh, but we'll we're gonna get into that too. What what was the perception when you started, why you started, where is it at now, and where is it going? We're gonna talk about that. But one more thing about you that I want some folks to know. I believe, if I'm not wrong, you were also in the military.
SPEAKER_01I was in the Air Force Auxiliary, which is uh called the Civil Air Patrol. It's one of America's best kept secrets for youth. Picture it like Cadet Corps, but on steroids. So the Civil Air Patrol, they do search and rescue missions, they teach kids how to code. If you attain a certain rank, you can enter in as an E3. Um, I was in that program from 2003 up until I was in college. It was outstanding. I was at the Naval Warfare Assessment Station in Norco while I was in high school. And I was at the March Air Reserve Base Squadron 49. So when I was younger, I started to get my pilot's license at March Air Reserve Base over there through this program. So it's it's a wonderful program that's available to any of America's youth.
SPEAKER_02Okay. Uh I I don't we don't have enough time on this show today to get into all of this, but you said some the naval workforce something.
SPEAKER_01So the naval warfare assessment station in Norco, California.
SPEAKER_02Warfare.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_02Warfare to me sounds like there's some stuff going on that everybody needs to watch out.
SPEAKER_01Well, there are various military installations in the state of California, and that just happens to be one of the names of them. It's just right off Sixth Street in Norco.
SPEAKER_02Wow.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_02Wow. So you're we have someone on our show today who is not only a principal responsible for the lives of students at school, their education, and a bunch of other things at a middle school in our world today, but also all this background in history. What from your perspective, what does that do? How does all those different lenses assist you just in the work that you do?
SPEAKER_01So I'm really thankful for all the experiences that I've had. Um when I was at the same age as my students, I had hoped to go into the military, be a pilot, do all of those really ambitious things. I was a student in the International Baccalaureate at Rainey Junior High and at Centennial High School in Kerna, Norco. So I was just really ambitious academically. Uh, unfortunately, one thing that some people don't know is I'm also completely deaf on my left side. So I grew up with a disability. And I was so well adjusted to my disability that my parents didn't see the need to get me an IEP or any of those services, which I I love you, mom and dad. I know you're listening. So you don't know what you don't know. So as I got older and I was applying to colleges, trying to go into the academies, they said to me, You are a wonderful human, but you are not physically fit to go to the academy. Because of the disability. Um, I actually, when I was getting my license, my attempting to get my pal's license, I got Vertigo over Lake Matthew with my flight instructor. And at that point, it was like, you know, that was an eye-opener that I needed to pivot and find something else to do with my life. And I remember being super upset, and I had a fantastic college and career counselor, Mr. Aragon, wonderful human. I'll never forget him. He said, Cammy, you do civil air patrol right now. You are a leader right now. You've you've led boot camps at Camp San Luis Obispo and Vandenberg, and you know, all these amazing humans. Why don't you work with students? And I kind of laughed. I'm like, what? I want to go be in the military. You want me to go be with kids all day? Like that's those very different worlds. Um, and then when I brought it up to the fellow drill instructors who were military personnel, they said, that's what you should do. Go do it. Find something you love. You'll never work a day in your life. And when I found out that my hearing problems were irreversible, my doctor had actually told me, You're probably gonna be deaf by the time you're 35, 40. And I said, That sounds like a challenge. And I like a challenge. So I switched learning Spanish to French because apparently it was hard. And I became fluent in it and decided that speaking French every day and teaching kids how to love a different language and travel the world was a wonderful idea. So I had a beautiful career at Azusa High School teaching French for AP and IB. And I taught uh two years at Eisenhower High School in Rialto, taught French before COVID. So I enjoyed every day of my career. Um, and and learning how to pivot is so important, not just in the military sense where you literally have to pivot left and right, um, but figuring out what doesn't work and what does work and rolling with that. You have to play into your strengths. And for folks like me that do have deafness, we tend to be on roller skates. And that sometimes is to compensate for the hearing loss or for the tenitis that we have. So I live with permanent ringing in my ears, 24-7, 365. So my roller skate energy is typically uh associated with the disability, but that energy, you capitalize on it. So I can handle doing a variety of different things every day on my campus because that's just how I'm built.
SPEAKER_02I I mean, I I know a lot of this about you, but not to this level in detail. And so right now in this moment, I'm seeing you. I I can I can see you right in front of me. I have a different lens. You've just given me several different lenses to see you through.
SPEAKER_01And and I think it's important to share that story because a lot of kids, they they don't want to, I did not want to accept that I had a disability. I did not want to take no for an answer. And I I typically I still don't ask my husband. So I'm like, what can I do that is going to be fulfilling and accomplish my goals? And, you know, I I fell in love with something different and it was a beautiful career. Um, but COVID too even opened up my eyes. I didn't realize how much I relied on lip reading. So then again, I had to pivot. And I realized I couldn't be in the classroom anymore. If kids were in masks, I can't read their lips. So as I got older, even figuring out that, you know what, maybe this is this is the signal from above. I'm a very religious person. That was God's way of saying, girl, it's time to go into admin. It's time to help others to love teaching and to love working with kids. So, right after COVID, I started getting um prepared for my admin credential and passed my CPACE. And here we are.
SPEAKER_02Man, so uh every year, we're in our, by the way, let me back up just a little bit because you I didn't know it would be like this, but this is our fourth season of doing uh real talk. And every year the the the co-hosts have kind of changed a little bit, it's moved around. And so this year it's Edith Valencia, she's on the wheels of steel, she has the what do we call that? What the it's a podcast. It's on the controls. Uh sound control. Okay, yeah, yeah. She's doing sound control. And as Dr. Cami Thomas is talking, I'm looking at Edith, she's looking at me, and eyes are just wide open because there's some things that are being said that have great I we could talk probably for hours because you have a lot to share. And so I just have two follow-up questions. Sure. Now you mentioned the term that you are deaf. Deaf. That's a le you are legally deaf.
SPEAKER_01I have bilateral sensory neural hearing loss. So there is no way to fix the hearing loss that I have on my left side. And progressively as I get older, I will lose more on the right. Okay, and and do you wear devices or how what so I had a surgery a couple years ago to get a Baja, which is a bone-anchored hearing aid. So we're gonna do a little science experiment and you all can do it from home. So if you close your mouth and you chomp your teeth together, tap them together. You can hear that not because of your ears. You hear that because the the bone, the teeth, are sending that signal to your auditory nerve. It's sending the sound through your skull. So this hearing aid that I wear takes the sound in like a microphone, vibrates my skull, and sends it to the side that I can hear on.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So you also like a medical professional.
SPEAKER_01I mean, I I am a cyborg. I feel like I'm robotic certain days. So when I have my headset on in the morning, I have to make sure that I'm not getting feedback on my own microphone. So we have to be very logistical and intentional in the mornings when I'm greeting everybody.
SPEAKER_02Wow. Yeah. You're I mean, let's let's let's come out of the school environment for a second. You're like actually very remarkable. There's a lot of things about you that people do not know. The last thing I want to say, and then we got to move on, is I think I told you this at some point. I remember when we were interviewing you for an AP, and I think I told you this story. Uh, we were interviewing you for an AP, and you're like one of the finalists, and you're coming in, and you definitely had energy and all those things, but there was something about you that I was like, mmm, I'm not sure if that's gonna work. I'm not sure if it's gonna be a fit. And I'm saying this to Dr. Thomas, who's I'm looking at right now for this, I think at least a second time. There was just something about her because it's not only about smarts and all of those things, but it's about fitting the culture and environment. And I think I told you this a couple years ago. You basically, my little mindset, you just blew that up in terms of what you have done, what you do, and what you're going to do for our students in our community. And I don't care what anybody says about you, you have results, you have evidence, your heart is in it, and anybody who listens to this or knows you knows that about you. And so I'm just I'm just really proud of you for proving me wrong. That little thought that I had was wrong, and you've exceeded any thoughts that I had of you. So I just need to tell you that again, and I want to say that on air. So, with that being said, um, there's a lot of great things that are happening at Nicolette. A lot. And if you've been in Banning, you know Banning for a while, you may say, eh, no, it's not, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So, can you tell us what you're most excited about when you think about Nicolette and the students and families that you serve right now?
SPEAKER_01I am so excited that this year, which I feel like this year is just a continuation of the last one. We blinked, and here we are, almost a month into the school year. But I I give credit to the staff at Nicolette, our office ladies, our uh my APs, to the teachers on my leadership team, you guys are amazing humans. We and we're very intentional about how we plan. So if you ever have a moment to come in the office, you'll notice I have my big class calendar on the wall.
SPEAKER_02I saw it.
SPEAKER_01And if if there's anything that you should know, maybe my military, you know, my military experience comes in here, my paramilitary experience, you have to be organized. It's a full-scale operation every single day, from the minute kids get there to the minute they leave. So if you don't have a plan plus the backup plan and the backup plan that goes with your contingency plan, then you already miss the boat. So you have to be prepared, which is why we're constantly telling folks check your kids' agenda, check your kids' agenda. Because we were very intentional before we even let out of school last year to make sure that the agenda had everything in it. Because when you have a structure, you have an outline, you have a goal in sight, all you got to do is just fill in those gaps and remind people. And it makes life so much easier. So there's never a moment, at least for me, and my staff might call me out on this later, I don't ever feel like I'm gonna spill my coffee or have to roller skate all over campus to attend to an emergency because no, everyone knew what was on the agenda for the day. Everybody knew you go walk into my office, you can see what's on the calendar. So there's no guessw in what we do. There it you have to be transparent because I don't work under, I don't like working under surprise circumstances. Tell people what you want, tell people what you need, tell people what's going on. And if you're organized, things are gonna fall into play. And when they don't, that's okay. You had an outline, you had a skeleton, and you've got a backup plan.
SPEAKER_02That's awesome. I I do want to say this. It sounds like you're a systems person and we're doing some work right now. We'll talk about a little bit later, but that makes much more sense now. Uh, two more things is you spent one year as an AP, a year and a couple days or a month. A year and two or three months. And how so you came from the classroom. Yes. One year as an AP at a tough middle school, and four years now as a principal. Yes. Okay. And so when we talk about Nicolette, what was Nicolette back like back then when you started, when you came into the district? And what is it like now from your lens?
SPEAKER_01I feel like I've grown with the site, and we with it comes growing and adapting to the needs of the students and our staff. When Art and I first got Mr. Pause, Art Paws and I first got to Nicolette five years ago, uh, the staff really needed support in helping with student behaviors. And if anyone who's turned on social media or the news in any time, uh we know that across the country, people are struggling with kids' behaviors. Now, whether there's that ageism of that old saying of there's something in the water, or if it's social media rewiring our kids' brains, the red die 40, whatever it is, there's something going on in our culture with kids and behavior. So when we first got there, the the call to action was help us manage behavior, help us. So Mr. Paws and I took the reins on that and helped um Veronica Rodriguez, who's the principal at the time, really take control. Because if you don't have control in your site, uh the teachers can't, they don't they don't have that trust. They don't have the trust that things are going to get done to help them do their job in the classroom. Um, so our mission was really truly to support the teachers because truly they're the boots on the ground doing the work. Our job there is to serve them. So we really took that personally. And I'm really thankful for Arts coaching because I was brand new. So we had there's days where he was like, okay, we we need to work together on this. How would you handle it? So he would coach me through some of these situations because we know that he is much more seasoned than I am age-wise. So he knew a lot, he knew a lot more answers and he had more knowledge of EdCode than I did. But we would talk about it and work together and we would start to write down how we were handling things and then building those connections outside, going to conferences and he would introduce me to the folks that he knew. Um, the people that I know at USC from my doctorate, we would stay in contact and we'd reach out and we would, we would troubleshoot. Um, so I there were situations that I dealt with as an AP that some people don't ever go through their career and deal with. So when it came time to become principal, and I have to really just thank everybody, and I'll tell you why I say it became time to become the principal. I remember when Rodriguez left, it was so shocking to everybody that I had staff that came up to me and said, You're going to apply, right? You're going to do it, right? It was almost like a it's a call now to action. It's a call to do it because this is what the staff needs and this is what they want. And I remember being on the phone with Mr. Pause going, Do you think I can do it? Do you think I can do it, coach? Can I do it? He's like, just shut up and apply. You can do this. You've you've been doing it. Let's do it. You're gonna do great things. So I was like, all right. So with the blessing of my of my husband and the confidence that Art was gonna still coach me, he was my coach when I was getting my admin credential. Um, I've never felt alone in the mission. I've never felt alone in this. And that and I know that people say leadership and and being administration, you're alone. I have never felt that. Um, because there's that network. Um so knowing that the staff trusted my leadership, I think was was a huge um advantage for me because walking in day one saying, Okay, guys, one of the biggest changes I want to do is no more no cell phones. I want you guys to be able to teach. You guys need to trust me. If you see it, take it. That I think gave people the okay, great. Now we can teach. Let's overcome the biggest obstacle. And we just kind of ran from ran from there. So worked organically with what what the site needed.
SPEAKER_02I mean, my whole career has been in Riverside County 28, almost 28 years, 28 years. Most people would run from the situation that you walked into. It's a tough site, a lot of historical change, all of that stuff. Uh what has what has been that push for you to stay and not just stay, but continually try to improve?
SPEAKER_01It wouldn't be right if I didn't quote Dolly Parton, who says, when you look at a challenge, you wink at it. And so I I kid you not, when I looked up banning unified and you guys had on your website to reduce fear of retaliation, I looked at that and said, There is no way they have this on the website.
SPEAKER_02I remember that was on the job description. That wasn't me. Somebody else put that there and I took it off. I remember that.
SPEAKER_01It was on the website and I said, These folks could use some help. And I like to help. Oh my goodness. So I kid you not. And then, you know, again, I did say this earlier. I I I remember driving from Eisenhower because I was a um I was the bar program specialist at Eisenhower right after COVID. So I was like an admin designee working with the ninth graders. Bless them. So I remember driving and getting mad at the traffic, and I got lost coming here to the interview, but I passed the church and I'm like, oh, Mary's right there. I can't be mad. I just remember doing the sign of the cross and coming into the interview, going, man, these people need some help. I'm here. I want to help. So um, you know, just feeling that sense of these folks need the help and I have something to offer and I have something to give, and I'm happy to prove people wrong. I love doing that. So, and I will also say, going back to being connected, I met um Veronica Rodriguez at a bar conference, the building assets reducing risks, um, just to be clear what bar means. So that conference connects people from all over the country on this premise that kids are more than just their test scores and their grades. They are humans with souls and needs and desires, and we need to tend to that. Um, so the bar program model was kind of my foot in the door because I was already doing that. And I remember meeting her and she's like, oh my gosh, like social media is so great. You can use it to help your platform and you can you can do all these great things. And I just remember she kind of took me in in this conversation we were having. She's like, you know what? I'm gonna need an AP soon. I'm gonna remember you. And I'm like, you're delightful human. I would love to work with you. So I just remember walking into that interview and I saw her face and how excited she was. Now I understand why your face was the way there was. You're like, who is this blonde? But she was just like, let's go. You've got the energy. Let's do it. So I was excited to work with her.
SPEAKER_02Got it.
SPEAKER_01Now, art will never let, you know, I'm not gonna let art forget this. I was on his hiring committee. I was in his interview. So I remember when she and I were together and we were like, yeah, let's bring art into the fold. We're like, all right, this guy's gonna get up to our level of energy. He's gonna get as exciting as we are.
SPEAKER_02He still needs to keep that energy.
SPEAKER_01We tried. Um, but I just, you know, in in growing. So going back to that growing piece, she was the, yeah, we're gonna have fun with this. We're gonna be Ron Clark, we're gonna do XYZ. And I was like, let's bring in some of the structure that the teachers need. Let's let's kind of marry these ideas of like, let's have some structure and let's build the teacher's ability to trust what it is that we're doing. Let's help them with the discipline. So it was kind of like a good marriage between her fun and her spunk and enthusiasm because she's just a beautiful human. And then the let's tone down some of these practices so the teachers can actually do their job. And that's where we are now. We're in a space now where we have the structures, we have the internal mechanisms in place that the teachers can do their job.
SPEAKER_02That is a great story with a lot of stuff we can go deeper in, but we're not right now. But right now, we're gonna go to the next piece of the and you have some humor. That's that's awesome. So switching our gears, one of our uh goals for our district, we have three of them, is academic achievement, how our students achieve. Uh, the most recent test assessment results. And again, I don't put every egg in a basket on test scores because we should be measuring our students or assessing or determining things on a variety of assessments or tools or how we kind of see growth. Um, but what was there some exciting news that you may want to share without getting specific? And what stood out to you when you saw the results? Now, the results right now are what do we call that? Um preliminary. Preliminary, thank you. And so the official ones will be coming out, but I think we can share some some overall news.
SPEAKER_01So I I think it's best to paint it as a story. So at the very beginning of the school year, the principals get together with executive cabinet and we have our leadership symposium since we all go back to school before everybody else. And this data was shared at the district level. And you could see in the comparison of the years, it's it's the entire span that I've been here. From when when Art and I first arrived to be APs at Nicolette to this last school year. And I actually remember, I remember pulling up my phone and texting you and saying, oh my gosh, we have grown every single year. And I actually had tears in my eyes because I am so proud of our teachers for what they have done and what they have overcome. I am proud of our kids because I do have my husband working in a district next door. And I hate hearing people say, oh, it's banning, oh, it's banning. And no, it's not. Our kids are more capable, not just as, they are more capable and more resilient than any kids in this area. And I worked at Azusa high school. I worked at Eisenhower high school. I have seen kiddos who have struggled. So to come here and to hear that narrative, I was that that's not acceptable. We're not listening to that. That's nonsense. So to see that the growth is happening, to see that the kids' behavior is getting better, and it's not even just their behavior, they're responding to the adults being kinder. They're responding to us having more interventions for them. They're responding to us as adults, giving them an example of what it looks like to be a good human, to be a responsible citizen and an adult. And they need those things. They, they need a, I'll put it this way: the kids that come to school who need the most love sometimes show it to us in the most unloving and unkind ways. And once you have come to realize that, you change the way you lead and you change the way you teach. And the teachers embrace that. And so those that data really showed the growth in not just the kids, but the way we do business at Nicolette.
SPEAKER_02That that is gospel. And I have a question before I ask you that question, uh, which is what do you believe contributed to most of that growth? Uh, you and I were together about three hours ago or so, three to four hours, and we were doing something called a data chat. Where now in our district, every school site comes and they go over their initial data for the year. They talk about how students are performing, what's going next, and we just did that.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_02This this morning, this afternoon. And so, given that, what do you think about that? And then what do you believe has contributed to most of that growth?
SPEAKER_01So I think the data chats are super important because we need to be doing that with our kids. Um, every night, my husband and I are sitting around the dinner table with our sons and we're talking about the day, we're talking about things going on. And you have to have goals in mind. You have to have things that you're talking about because you want to help your kids grow. It's the same thing with our students. Our teachers have been doing data chats. Our teachers have been checking the kids' agendas for the last few years. Our teachers are actively having conversations in seventh period advisory. It's not just the kids getting their grades from their teachers, it's a focus in our pack track, which is the participation academics. Um, oh gosh, why did I'd I blank out? Participation, academics, and we have our citizenship, attendance and citizenship. So the kids sorry. I'm sorry, Michelle Downard. We had a long day. I mean, it's been a long day. But we've we've had our system for PBIS in place for a while now. And so having these conversations about where kids stand with their participation, are they coming to school? Are they on class on time? Are their academics okay? Because we tell the kids if you want to go to our fun events, there should be no D and F grades. Right. Because in the end goal when they go to high school is if you have a DRF grade, you're not getting that high school diploma. So why lie to the kids right now and say, oh, it's okay, sweetheart, you can have D's and Fs now. No, we need to get the kids used to that high level of expectation. And we've been doing those data chats with our kids all the time. We've been doing them for years now at Nicolette. It's just what we do. So when we have these data chats as adults, it trickles down to what we do with the kids. Um, and again, I will say that the folks that are on the Nicolette site leadership team, phenomenal humans. We don't just look at what's happening with our students and go, oh, that's good, or oh, that's too bad. They're actually making tangible changes in the classroom. We've got folks who have embraced Avid. We have just about entire site who's been trained in avid strategies. And you can see it when you walk through the classrooms. You can see it in the amount of people that are volunteering to do events or to do clubs or to be part of different committees. So the growth is there and the motivation is there. Um, so again, doing these data chats is important, not just for the kids, but for us adults, because as a system, you all have to be, and I don't want to say bought in, you have to understand your place in the system and how to make the system better. You cannot just be a participant, you can't be a spectator. This isn't a spectator sport. Your education is something you have to participate in. Um and education is also not a job where you can just show up, clock in, and then go. You need to be there to inspire kids. You need to be there to help show these kids that what you're teaching them matters. If not, what are you doing?
SPEAKER_02Not a spectator sport. It is not. And it's not for the weak.
SPEAKER_01No.
SPEAKER_02Complex, challenging every day.
SPEAKER_01And middle schoolers are, bless them, they they are doing the most growing physically and mentally. So, this age group, um, after being at the high school system for 13 years, I can very confidently say the middle schoolers, they're the ones who need the most love and patience and the most structure. Because right now, um, kiddos are battling. Do I give in to peer pressure? Do I give in to what society is saying I should be, or do I stick to the values that my family has for me? And that's hard. That's very hard.
SPEAKER_02That's that's an every moment decision, not every day. So tough. So a few things. One of the things why I think that things have worked so well with you and how you are leading is your expectations. You have a high level of expectation. That's good. And when you come into a space with a high level of expectation, and most people are nowhere near there, there's conflict. Right. And that's what happens. But you you continue that push and actually keep upping the bar just a bit, which is a great thing. And so uh, I want to say that. The other thing is there are a lot of people when they talk to me and I start getting on a roll, like you've been on the roll, they say, Man, there's a lot of nuggets in that. And I never quite knew what they meant. I I did in terms of like I'm saying a lot, but I would say that about you. When here's a question and you respond to the question, it's not an answer, it's a response. There's so many things that you can take and pull out. That's what that means. And I'm seeing it now. So, with that being said, what is next? So, you've seen progress, you've been a part of that, you've you've built it with your team. What are you and your team focused on this year to keep that momentum going? Because let me say it this way Momentum happens when it's not one person pushing, you've created a team of folks who see the same vision and it's collectively moving, you keep moving forward. You can't stop that. Right. And that's what's happening. So, what's next?
SPEAKER_01So, what's next is bringing folks into the fold who might not yet be on our side. And by that, I mean we have got so many different incentives that are happening this year. The kids who do well on their iReady diagnostic, we're gonna be celebrating their growth. If you have come to Nicolette uh recently, we had um our math coach, Cassandra Rollins, and my uh math department chair, Karen Busaksu. Um, they decorated the foyer with stars, and it's beautiful. The light catches it, and you can see that those stars are our kids. Like, I have goosebumps. Those are our kids. Their test scores are now stars on the wall that everyone can see every time they walk.
SPEAKER_02And how are the students responding to it?
SPEAKER_01They, I mean, they're looking in there in awe, not just because it the it's catching the light, but they're like, how do I get on there? So we have the descriptors up on the wall on how they can achieve that. So next year they can see their name on there. So, high schoolers, if you check in, you can come find your name. Your name is gonna be on a star. Um, but we're gonna be celebrating our kids with iReady Growth. We're gonna be celebrating growth on the FIABs. Um, we're gonna be, we have our book fair happening right now, but the kids are soon gonna learn if they haven't already that the accelerated reader or AR program is rolling out at Nicolette. So kids who are reading, reading, reading, and it doesn't matter what you're reading, as long as you got a book in your hands and you're reading and you're passing those um comprehension tests. Miss Monica in the library is gonna have beautiful star shirts and different uh levels of achievement akin to Pokemon. You can see who's a millennial in the room. Um, so we got fun things to celebrate the kids. It's not, it's not about behavior problems. It's not about the noise anymore. It's about look at how good these kids are. It's time to celebrate the goodness that the kids have. And um, we do have our Nicolette Connect coming out, which is to helping uh reconnect and re-engage kids whose attendance might not be the best. Uh, we're still continuing our pack track. We're doing those quarterly. So kids that have good participation, attendance, academics, and citizenship, we're gonna celebrate them every quarter. Uh, so there's a lot of good things. You you have to choose to be disengaged at Nicolette.
SPEAKER_02What you focus on expands, and you're focusing on positivity. How do we move forward? And that's what is expanding. Not the drama, not the negativity. Life is a challenge, and we work on those things too. I hear about those things too, but that's not the focus. Right. Focus is moving forward. So the next uh component really uh deals with this term that our culture seems to love in our district. We are banning. Uh, have you listened to the podcast before?
SPEAKER_01I have.
SPEAKER_02Like an episode or no, I've listened to a couple of your episodes.
SPEAKER_01Oh, okay. Nicholas has his choice things that he likes to listen to on the drive home. So I can't always listen to it in the car, but I've listened.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_02Because your son is in elementary. Yeah, he's third grade this year. Third grade. And and I've seen your son since he was at TK, and he's like a he's like a leader in this little body, and he embodies like the hey, hello, I'm a leader. He does.
SPEAKER_01All four foot three of him. He's almost my height, so he's not little anymore.
SPEAKER_02It's pretty cool to see. And when I see him, he he he knows who I am. He's like, hey, hey, what's up? So it's pretty cool. I love that. Okay, so along with this theme, we are banning, what does that mean to you? There's there's these other things that we're working on. One of the last things, and you'll hear about it uh more and more, is being an improvement-oriented district. And to me, that just means everything we do, no matter what it is, how do we get better? We're not blaming each other. We're finding out what's going on. And a part of that is learning about improvement science. And so we're on this journey now. There's 14 of us, and the goal is to have every single principal, person on the leadership team, teacher leaders, CSEA leaders be trained in improvement science. That way we're all seeing different lenses, how to look at a problem, and creating a common language. What are your thoughts about all that and tying that into we are banning?
SPEAKER_01So having uh an improvement lens really is gonna help everyone to see that again, there's it's not a blame gain. It's not a wine fest. If there's a problem, figure out how to solve it. If you're gonna sit there and complain about it, it's it's like sitting on a rocking chair expecting to go somewhere. You're you just you're just sitting. So if there's a problem, fix it. So having this framework is really going to help everyone systematize how we solve problems instead of being solutionitis, instead of being, oh, well, that's that person's problem. No, it's it's everyone has their hand in creating a solution and along the way learning a thing or two. Um, and by that I mean empathy interviews, I think are something that everyone is going to be expected to do, which you should be. I mean, we serve kids. So if I'm not asking the opinion of kids, well, who am I serving? I'm serving the kids. Uh, if I'm not asking the teachers who I serve as their leader, you know, what is their opinion of something? How are things going? I'm not really serving them. So to have not only this framework to go by with solving problems, but thinking again outside of the box and outside of my context, because again, I was a teacher, but I haven't taught the post-COVID kids. Right. That I'm I don't know. So really getting back into that space and and asking and inciting for their feedback is very important. And for all of us to do that, for the folks at the district office to come down to a site and do the empathy interviews there. We're really going to be able to better understand each other and empathize versus sympathize, I feel like. Um, and for we are banning, that's what we need to do as a community. Um, as a community, we need to be together in solving the issues as best as we can. It again, it's not just a nine to five. It's uh we work with these kids who are in this community. A lot of the staff here, they live in this community. This is where they've grown up. So we have to work together to make this community stronger. And we know that the schools are one of the strongest pieces of this community. Um, so to have that as the tying force, I think is going to enrich us for years to come.
SPEAKER_02I love it. I love it. And I think when people listen to this, they will see you in a different light. Well, let me not say that. You're gonna provide some additional information that they may not have known about you. And it's strong and it's deep and it's cuts right through everything else to the core of what's needed.
SPEAKER_01And I would love it if more people would sign up for the Palomino Parent Coffee Committee and School Site Council. No, we're we we have this new uh initiative at Nicolette because I want parents to come to campus. I know that middle school can be rough and I have a lot of rules and a lot of structures. Uh, so if people ever have questions, come on to campus. And the Palomino Parent Coffee Crew is just that. Uh, there's gonna be days where I send out an invitation, say, hey, come bring your coffee tumbler, come have coffee with me. I may or may not also have blow up suits that you can wear to help me with tardy sweeps where you can dress up as a cowboy. Um, it's gonna be really fun. So I like to have fun. I enjoy what I do. Middle schoolers don't like things when they're cringy, so I love it even more. So parents can come on and and and see the campus and get all their questions answered. And it's not a sit and get.
SPEAKER_02And it's not a wine fest.
SPEAKER_01It's not a wine fest. It's a hey, come in the space, come ask me questions, come see why we do what we do. Um, because I'm a parent too. And if I don't hear from the parents from the parents, right? Because you go on social media, it's usually the kids doing the commenting right now. Um, I'm not gonna know what the parents need. But I'm a parent here too. My kid's gonna be at Nicolette sooner than later. Um, so to have that understanding of we need to work together is is super important. So to have parents come in a space like the Palomino Parent Coffee Crew, really informal, just come hang out. Come hang out and see what we what we live.
SPEAKER_02Love it, love it. This uh I've been really enlightened. I don't know about you, Edith.
SPEAKER_00Same. I think I really appreciate the fact that you've focused on building relationships within everything that you've said and everything that you've created of the culture at the middle school. It's the relationships with the students, with the staff, with the community, and that's what makes a difference.
SPEAKER_02And before we close out, I want to say this because I don't know how this is gonna come out, but people like you. And when I say people like you, I mean people who come into a space, they see something, they have a vision, they want to make change, and they effectively make change. That's not always accepted by the majority of people. So when you do that, anyone does that anywhere, you ruffle feathers along the way. And so the only way people kind of understand people like that is when they hear about them, when they learn about why they're doing what they're doing, how they do things that they're doing. And I know you ruffle some feathers. I've ruffled a lot of feathers in my day. I've pillowcases full of them. But the bottom line is what are we trying to do for kids? Right. And what are we trying to do for people? Because our organization exists for students, but people are the ones that make that happen for students. And so it's understanding that not everyone can see that. And that's okay. So before we get out of here, um, we do a guest spotlight where there's some questions here.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_02So the first one is uh, what right now are you watching, listening, or enjoying right now? I don't know. You're yeah, you're a roller skate gal, not literally, but you're doing all kinds of things. But do you ever kind of slow down to watch or listen to music or enjoy something?
SPEAKER_01So when I do have a moment from listening to the Nico soundtrack that's in my car because he is he's my backseat passenger prince telling me what we're listening to. He's in third grade.
unknownOh gosh.
SPEAKER_01I'm just glad the baby shark era is over. Like that I can't handle that music. Um so when I get a moment, I do listen to um the hollow app, and I do listen to Father Mike Schmidt's. Um, I do listen to 80s rock.
SPEAKER_02Hollow app.
SPEAKER_01Holo, yes. Oh, that's an H A L L O W.
SPEAKER_02That's a song.
SPEAKER_01It's an app. No, it's it's an app. It's a Catholic app.
SPEAKER_02Okay. Oh, you're you're Catholic?
SPEAKER_01I am okay.
SPEAKER_02I was I actually well funny thing, three of us right here Catholic school all her life, K through 12, Catholic school all my life, K through twelve.
SPEAKER_01Oh, there you go.
SPEAKER_02Yes. So uh wow, that's interesting. Okay.
SPEAKER_01So my my son's name should make should make sense now.
SPEAKER_02Um no, I'm I'm mixed. Okay, I'll I'll help you with that later.
SPEAKER_01What is what is his is his full name Nico or is his I'll I'll tell you off air his whole name, but he he's got a very saint-like name. Um Saint Nicholas. Hey, there you go. See? Okay, we'll see. He he was answered prayer. So so he he has the he has that as his patron saint. Okay. Um very good, I think the catechism teacher will be prone. At least one of us paid attention agreement. Right? Someone, yeah, someone was passing notes. Yeah. Um so I'll listen, I'll listen to that. Um, I was doing, I was doing, what is it, Duolingo for a while. Um, so I was brushing up my Spanish before my husband and I went to the Dominican. Um, I was learning Hungarian, which that is one of the hardest languages to learn. But again, my family lives there. So when we visited two years ago, hopefully going again soon, um, I wanted to be able to speak. And for someone who's deaf, you can imagine trying to practice a language. You know, you gotta do it a little bit more often than some. So just practicing languages, just keeping the brain sharp. So that's what I do. That's what I'm listening to and enjoying the piece. I also uh have a brand new puppy at home. Probably gonna have another one here soon, another puppy. Um, but we love that.
SPEAKER_02It's well, we have someone here who has uh that's probably what I'm taking home, is one of those puppies. The huskies, the husky. They're cute. I saw a lot of precious, but it's a puppy.
SPEAKER_01It's okay. These marks are here from the one I have at home. Oh so we adopted a puppy for Nicholas's birthday back on July 5th. So Piper is now 14 weeks old, so these ones are ready to go, and Piper needs a friend.
SPEAKER_02It it takes a minute, yeah. They need friends, but it takes a minute and a lot of patience.
SPEAKER_01I work with middle schoolers. I've got a lot of it.
SPEAKER_02Okay, all right, all right. And what I don't know how you're gonna answer this, but you can skip it if you want. What is something people will be surprised to learn about you? I've already learned a thousand things about you.
SPEAKER_01You know what? I tell this to my staff, and I think that the parents need to hear it too. I promise if you're calling my name in public, Dr. Thomas, Dr. Thomas, I am not ignoring you. I'm literally deaf. So if you're like like not right in front of me, just throw a paper airplane or something at me to get my attention. I promise I am not, you're both laughing, but I'm serious. That was one of the first things I told my staff. I promise I am not ignoring you. I'm just focused on what what it is that I'm doing. And that comes with the disability that I have. And it's been a long, you know, it's been a long time trying to find all the weird, weird curiosities about my disability because I'm not fully deaf. I'm half deaf. So I live in this weird, I can do some things and I can do other things and I have to adjust here, but I don't have to adjust there. So some people are like, oh, what is her problem? She's so uppity. Okay. Come up to me and chat. Come talk to me. I'm I sometimes am delightful. So sometimes I'm delightful. Once people get to know me, I mean, I give my cell phone number out like candy. If people open and do this right now, pull out your kid's agenda. My phone number is right there. If you text me, I guarantee you, if it's during business time or maybe a little after, I'm going to respond to you because I'm a parent. And I would want the I would want someone to reach out to me if there's a concern, which is why I wanted things to be more accessible to parents. So if your kid needs to make a statement, guess what? You don't you don't need to have your kid come to the office. You can do it from home. You can do it with your kid. Because I know I would appreciate if I found out something at home, I'd want to be able to handle it right there. So all of that to say, you know, I I know that sometimes I seem like I'm super strict or super controlling. Really, if if you see what I see, which is why I want parents to come to the Palomino parent coffee crew, if you saw what I saw and you and you took a walk in my teeny tiny heels uh skating around campus, you would understand why I have the structures in place that we've put in place at Nicolette. And you'd go, oh, that's why.
SPEAKER_02Makes sense.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So come get to know us. Uh, Dr. Williams and Miss Williamson and I, we're we're a fun bunch. We are. We really are. So folks could just come hang out with us.
SPEAKER_02Okay. Um, in life, is there something that you're looking forward to that's coming up?
SPEAKER_01So we are always planning our next trip. And my husband, Mr. Thomas, is wonderful at planning the trips. And that is when I get to be a passenger princess, and I don't get to make any decisions.
SPEAKER_02Passenger princess.
SPEAKER_01He plans these amazing trips, and it's our 10-year anniversary this year. Okay. So bless him for not only putting up with all of the energy that is me. My husband is a Viking by lineage and by height. Um, so all of my energy I know is a lot. So shout out to Mr. Thomas for putting up with me. But travel, it's it's such a joy to to travel with him and with our kids and see the world. And I I would love to have those experiences with our students because I know our kids can do it too.
SPEAKER_02Right. Okay. Uh, what advice or phrase has stuck with you that you want to share?
SPEAKER_01I mean, there's a lot there. So there's there's a lot of phrases that come to mind. Um, I have a quote next to my window, um, the the Irma Bombett quote that when I stand before God at the end of my life, I hope I can look at him and say that I used all that you gave me. Um that's not to say that I hope I go home exhausted every single day, but it's I want to use all the talents that I have. The other one is tough times don't last, tough people do. So I remember those times in my life where I've had to pivot. Uh, career choices I had to pivot when things weren't available to me. And there's been situations in my life where I've had to change the course, change the plans that I had. And just realizing that, you know, this is a tough time right now. It's not always going to be tough. And so tough times don't last. Tough people do. So you have to build that resilience.
SPEAKER_02Those are good. Those are really good. Those are very telling about you. Do you have any shout-outs for anybody out there who's going to be listening? Who is listening?
SPEAKER_01So I will shout out to uh my parents. I love all of you very much for everything you've done. My siblings who have abandoned me in California, who've gone to other states. I hope that they they listen in. And of course, the Nicolette staff, you guys are amazing humans. Thank you for trusting my leadership, my APs, and of course, Mr. Thomas, um, who is an amazing human. He's an amazing educator. He did serve in the Air Force, so I vicariously got to live through his adventures. Um, so yeah, lots of wonderful people. And of course, Nico. Nico, my little, my little blonde Tasmanian, and all of the teachers who have thank you very much for your service towards my son, everyone at Florida Street and at Central who loves on my boy.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_02That is awesome. Edith, do you have any thoughts?
SPEAKER_00I mean, I'm just in awe of everything that I've learned about you. Um, I don't think I've ever had the opportunity to sit down and talk or get to know you. And we have a lot of things in common. So thank you for being here and for sharing your stories. It's great learning more about our staff and our team here.
SPEAKER_02I said to Edith earlier today, I said, Have you ever, how much time have you spent with Dr. Thomas? Do you know the Dr. Thomas? And she's like, Oh, maybe not that right. I said, It's gonna be an experience. Now, I wasn't expecting all of this, right? But I know, I know who you are, I know what you bring.
SPEAKER_01Well, I think all these offices know me because I'll barrel in and I'll just be like, Hey, how are you? And I've got that energy like, we were not ready for you. We are not caffeinated as you.
SPEAKER_02So well, our audience out there, real talk, banning real talk. Thank you for coming back. I'm excited about this season. We're just gonna keep rocking it out. You're gonna learn about our staff, our students. We got some great students coming up this year, staff, community members, and just learning more about who we are, what we do for our students in our community. But before we go, Cammy, I just want to say a few words. Like, you're you're uh you are a lot. You are, um, as am I. However, everything seems directed and aligned towards a goal with purpose.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_02Okay. You can have goals. That's goals are great, but when you have a purpose behind it and you have a team behind you that you built, that you co-constructed, it's almost like it's impossible to stop. So I I'm just really proud of you. I'm proud of you for the work that you do. I'm proud of where you where you came from, what you've experienced, and what you continue to fight through to do what's best and how you appreciate your team. It means a lot. So thank you for being here in Banning. Thank you for being on the podcast, and I'm really looking forward to this school year.
SPEAKER_00Me too. Thank you so much. Thank you for turning in to another episode of the Banning USD Real Talk Podcast. New voices, fresh stories, and real conversations. Make sure to follow, share, and stay connected because at BanningUSD, the Real Talk never stops. Don't forget to like and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform.
