Tracy Thompson is the San Diego County of Education (SDCOE) Executive Director of Juvenile Court and Community Schools (JCCS). This episode charts Tracy's harrowing escape from the clutches of gang life and his current role as a beacon of hope for at-risk youth. Tracy opens up about the mentors who redirected his path and his selfless commitment to those he now serves.
Learn more about Tracy Thompson and the JCCS.
Tracy Thompson is the San Diego County of Education (SDCOE) Executive Director of Juvenile Court and Community Schools (JCCS). This episode charts Tracy's harrowing escape from the clutches of gang life and his current role as a beacon of hope for at-risk youth. Tracy opens up about the mentors who redirected his path and his selfless commitment to those he now serves.
Learn more about Tracy Thompson and the JCCS.
The fact is that when you're working with students who are some of the most marginalized children in our county, I would challenge you and challenge anyone to say that these also are most talented students in our county and it's our responsibility as educators to see how we can nurture that talent that they have.
Speaker 2:In this episode I was privileged to sit down with Tracy Thompson. Tracy is Executive Director of Juvenile Court and Community Schools, or JCCS, in San Diego County, dcs in San Diego County. Tracy and I covered a wide range of topics, from his upbringing, the challenges that he faced when he was young, how he has brought forward the learning from those challenges to his current work in the County of San Diego, the role of restorative practices, the role of empathy, care, love and much, much more in all of the important work that Tracy and his team do each and every day. This was a very inspirational conversation and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Superintendent's Hangout, where we discuss topics in education, charter schools, life in general, and not necessarily in that order. I'm your host, dr Shredda. Come on in and hang out. Welcome, tracy. Thank you so much for coming in to hang out a little bit this afternoon. I was wondering if you could start us off with sharing a bit about your personal and professional origin story, where you come from, what your path has been that brings you to the present moment. Wow, great question.
Speaker 1:My path is the son of a 15-year-old mom who had four kids by the time she was 20. And because of a strict Catholic family, she was kicked out the house and I ended up having to live in Compton, going from family to family and living in cars. Ultimately, we landed back in San Diego where I went to an elementary school called Stockton Elementary, which is not too far away from where we are today, ended up going to a community called Skyline and at Skyline I was excelling in school, although I needed glasses. But I was embarrassed to let anybody know and unfortunately they sat us based on our last name alphabetically, so I was in the last row, so I would act out on purpose to kind of move up to the front seat, knowing that the teacher was going to move me up to the front seat so you could see right, so I can see, nevertheless, this very bright student that I was, started to transition because a lot of my colleagues I say colleagues, these are my classmates in sixth grade started to lean towards gangs.
Speaker 1:I never wanted to touch that area. I was a pretty good athlete and my mom and dad wanted me to have the best education, so they put me on a bus to go to a school outside my neighborhood. At that particular school, of course it wasn't my neighborhood school, I wasn't welcomed and I had my colleagues, my good friends, saying Tracy, we love you like a brother, we would die for you. This is our neighborhood. And I initially started leaning towards gang involvement. But my mother never wanted me to be involved. My dad never wanted me to be involved. So I said, no, this is not for me. But there was an incident that occurred at the Del Mar Fair, which happens annually here in San Diego, where one of my close friends who was gangbanging at the time was getting jumped and I intervened and said, hey, this is my friend, and ended up having to fight to survive. Basically, and even though I wasn't calling myself a gangbanger, the rival neighborhood said, hey, you were the one that helped out. This guy you obviously is part of this gang and although I kept saying no, I'm not, no, I'm not, I was treated as such to the point where I was being pushed towards that direction with this rival gang. And then the neighborhood gang was welcoming like, hey man, you saved a homeboy's life and came with. That was a lot of positive attention that I wasn't getting in school. I came with. That was a lot of positive attention that I wasn't getting in school. Came with it was some young ladies that I felt was attractive, and then also opportunity.
Speaker 1:I end up transitioning and changing my behavior so that I could be eligible to play sports, end up going to Madison High School while I excelled in basketball, track and football. Ended up playing college football. But before I was actually eligible to play college football, I was told by a college coach it's a shame. I had poor grades and I could say what are you talking about? I've had good enough grades to play sports all through my high school career. He said, no, no, you need to have a better grade point average to actually come to my college or go to college period. So, having some college choices, I chose to go to San Diego State and focus on my education to be eligible, and I chose San Diego State over a couple other colleges because of the colors red and black which happens to be my gang colors and it was my hometown and I felt like this was a great match, a great fit.
Speaker 1:So, like everyone else, I wanted to be a businessman. In my neighborhood we had businessmen, and those were drug dealers and pimps, and so you know me carrying a briefcase in high school, wanting to be a businessman. That was the closest thing that I could think of as a major. However, when I got to San Diego State, there were some very different kids who had different reasons of becoming a business major. So it wasn't cut out for me because I was still trying to balance playing football, partying, hanging out in the neighborhood. So I had to choose another major because I was not excelling in that major and I ended up selecting criminal justice administration, since I had dealt with the law all my life. Of course, there was an internship opportunity to work in the juvenile hall institution here in San Diego and the folks thought that it'd be great that they put me into the unit where the most serious juvenile offenders were and they were probably sitting back laughing at me see how long I was going to last. Well, I enjoyed it and it helped transform my life. To say you know what, if I'm going to make an impact on these young people's lives, I've got to do something with my life. I cannot continue to make poor decisions. Someone approached me about becoming a probation officer and that was a big no-no, because law enforcement was one of the worst professional occupations you can choose in my neighborhood. And second was becoming a teacher, and I. And second was becoming a teacher, and I was approached about becoming a teacher. My thing was no way. That's almost as bad as being a police officer. How come? Because teachers were squares, they weren't cool, and those exact words were used against me, saying that's why we need people like you to become a teacher. So I had a brief stint with the Dallas Cowboys, but every off season I would come back and work as a substitute teacher. They kept leaning on me. You need to be a teacher. I kept saying I'm much too cool for that. I was also working in a side gig as a bouncer at a place called Mexican Village in Coronado. I was also working in a side gig as a bouncer at a place called Mexican Village in Coronado. I was able to continue to sharpen my saw as a good fighter. So I was fighting with the military folks that would come to Mexican Village on the weekends and I was getting paid to have a party with the DJ and everything at the Mexican Village but also fight. So I was at home Again. Due to knee injuries and the politics of NFL.
Speaker 1:I needed to fall back on something as a profession and that's when I finally took the opportunity to accept the role of becoming a teacher and went back to school, got my teaching credential and my very first job was working in a juvenile institution. I ended up working in a community school and in that community school I really began to love the job and I used to say this is the job that is the ultimate high that money can't buy. I felt so good about myself being able to support students who had made similar decisions that I made as a youngster, getting involvement that I felt like who better than I to be a role model for these individuals. At the same time, it pressured me to continue to make better decisions. So I was approached about becoming an administrator and I said no way. I'm really enjoying my class. I know exactly what I'm going to get on a daily basis. Administration has a lot to do with another adult working with other adults. I'd rather work with kids than adults.
Speaker 1:But there was a gang suppression grant opportunity that came upon my way and the superintendent said hey, I heard about your background, this would be great for you to consider. And I said who would I be working with? Oh, you'd be working with law enforcement, the DA's office and others. I said, oh, no way. No way. He said it's not good to turn down a superintendent on a great job opportunity. I said, no way, I'm going to stick with my kids.
Speaker 1:Six months later he circled back with me and at this time I had completed my master's in education and had my admin credential. And I only did that to move up on the salary scale. You know, step in column, step in column. So I ended up and I kept moving over. But he said do me a favor, just give it a shot. And so I ended up being the administrator for a program called Educate, motivate, organize and Mobilize Project, emom. And that was a chance for us to partner with other agencies and law enforcement to see if we can make a difference in the prevention and intervention and eradication of drugs.
Speaker 1:I mean gangs, which also ultimately included drugs and violence. So that's kind of how I started my journey Fast forward, no-transcript juvenile court and community schools for the county office of education here in san diego so thank you for that origin story, and there's a lot of different directions we can, we can go from there for our listeners.
Speaker 2:Can you give a more of a picture about what the jCCS encompasses, I think, as well as maybe weave in some more specificity around what a community school is Not everybody may be aware of what that is and pre-recording we were talking about some programs that are within a mile or so of where we sit today that are super inspirational, so maybe you could touch on those.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so as a juvenile court and community schools under the County Office of Education Umbrella, we support the 42 school districts and charter schools throughout San Diego County. Juvenile court are schools that are serving kids who are incarcerated, providing education for them, as well as kids who are dependents of the court, and we have a facility called Samus Quall Academy that students live there who are dependents of the court under Welfare Institution Code 300. Circling back to the kids who are incarcerated, again there are varying degrees of this serious behavior to not so serious behavior of kids who are incarcerated. So some could be there for one day, others could be there for years, and so those students are under Welfare Institution Code 601, 602, 654. So in our court schools that's what we refer to as our juvenile court side of our title. That's what we refer to as our juvenile court side of our title the community schools. This was before the community schools initiative and framework came to be a few years ago. We called ourselves community schools because we were in the community Right and to date we have about 21 or two community schools spread out throughout San Diego County and we realized early on that if we really wanted to make an impact on the quality of life and education of a young person, we cannot ignore students' basic needs and getting students what they need when they need it. So now we fast forward. This very popular term, community schools, now includes what we originally had thought is just meeting the needs of our students. So, as I would define, a community school is again meeting the needs of students, getting them what they need when they need it, but I would add to it it includes a family Also in my interpretation and definition of a community school is the school should be the hub of the community.
Speaker 1:Interpretation and definition of a community school is the school should be the hub of the community.
Speaker 1:I say that because growing up I would hear stories about how events would take place in the school and I always wondered when does school get removed from the community? Because every community I know has a school and why not have it be the hub of resources for the entire community and the families that we serve? So I practice that, I believe that and I have truly benefited as a professional to see my students and our families thrive because of that wraparound support, that one-stop concept that I believe every school should have. So that requires us to go beyond our bureaucracies and say who can we partner with to meet the needs of our students and families? Bureaucracies and say who can we partner with to meet the needs of our students and families? So I reach out to folks who are funded to provide support with substance abuse or employment or housing or food and shelter and I have reaped the benefits of seeing our students and families thrive because we're meeting their basic needs, oftentimes even when I was a child going back to when I needed glasses.
Speaker 1:I would have to act out to sit in front, knowing that that's a way I can see the board clear.
Speaker 1:But you know, we just had six of my locations having vision assessments a mobile vision assessment come through and surprised that many of the students had never been assessed by optometrists to see if they needed glasses. And so we provided them not only the assessment but provided them glasses. I wonder what would have happened if they were assessed earlier and would they have been sent our way? So, essentially in our community schools, how we are able to serve students is they have to be referred by the school district, oftentimes via expulsion, or they've exhausted all the school district options. They can be referred to us via probation a kid coming out of incarceration or a kid on probation. And then occasionally we get students who are referred by a social worker who've exhausted educational options, and the local parentage guardian is saying, hey, we need a smaller environment, more support, and so we will take that student on. Oftentimes students will walk into our program. We have to refer back to the school of residence to say or district of residence and ask, hey, would you like us to serve this particular student?
Speaker 2:ask hey, would you like us to serve this particular student? It's quite a commentary on education in general that, as you say you know you believe that all schools should be community schools should be embedded within the community. That's clearly not the case in general right across our state and across our nation. It's quite a commentary that it's not until things get to kind of an acute level that then a community kind of comes together and it needs people like you to marshal all those different private and public resources to make it happen. Why do you think our society in general doesn't have a community school in every community?
Speaker 1:I oftentimes question that a community school in every community. I oftentimes question that. There's to be totally blunt and I use the term a lot, not faking the funk. Schools were not designed for all children to succeed. We recently celebrated the 70th anniversary of Brown versus Board of Education Separate and equal, you know, the bottom line is schools were not designed for all children to succeed. So we need to take a radical approach to this.
Speaker 1:And because no one really cared a lot about the kids that I serve, I was able to take some chances and be innovative. I know that a lot of agencies and organizations are funded to serve a certain purpose. I'd like to hold those agencies accountable for the funds they receive to serve that purpose. But also, schools have done a really good job of building bureaucracies and we have many walls that make it very difficult for the concept of a community school's framework to exist. This is where leadership comes in. I'm very fortunate to have a superintendent and a school board that believes in making sure our students get what they need. But think about the political structure and how people are elected to serve on boards and as county superintendents. There are some counties that the superintendent is an elected official, not appointed, most of them right, most of them are. So you take all those things into consideration, but having the support, the freedom to be a leader to make sure that students get what they need, knowing that we're going to pay for it one way or the other.
Speaker 1:It's much cheaper to send someone to Yale versus Yale. It's much cheaper to send someone to Penn State versus State Penn, but yet we still fund the penitentiaries. So interrupting the school-to-prison pipeline I take seriously. It reminds me of my days fighting against a rival gang member, not knowing what the true purpose is, not knowing that we have so much in common.
Speaker 1:I take that same approach to advocate for schools becoming community schools, advocate for our legislators to think about what's best for children and families, and I use my personal story and my professional story. I use my personal story and my professional story. I know that I shouldn't be here, you know, having been one stabbed and shot and survived those things. But it also tells me that there's a purpose. This is a calling versus a profession for me, and so I take this very seriously. So when I see a student succeed, there's nothing that gives me a greater high. I can't put that in no zigzags or no cigars or put it in a bottle, I get the ultimate high. In fact, I actually am very proud to say that I've hired several of my former students, and so we can look back and laugh together but also creating a stronger system and structure to make sure that this work is not done in isolation, that it could continue on.
Speaker 2:It's commendable.
Speaker 2:You mentioned the County Office of Education, the current superintendent, the board, and there's the North Star goal of reducing poverty in the county through education, and when I saw that the board had established that and that the superintendent's carrying that banner, that's a really inspirational and also very difficult, herculean task.
Speaker 2:Right, most, you see, most counties and they're going to look at some academic metrics. We're going to we're going to look at reading scores improving by x percent over time. That's Dr Godhold and the board have taken on a huge challenge. Right, when I looking at the JCCS website, there's mention of eradicating institutionalized racism and discrimination. How do you and your executive director role take into consideration everything that you've just talked about, who your clientele are in terms of students and families? How do you make sure that you keep an eye on that North Star goal through the county and also confront challenges of racism and discrimination which I'm going to go out on a limb here but say that your students in your schools have faced that at probably perhaps the highest levels in the county Like, how do you, as executive director, even take that on? Seems like such a massive challenge.
Speaker 1:It is, but I'm not alone. You know that mission. Part of that mission statement that you mentioned is the primary question that I want anyone coming to our program to be able to answer Are you going to help us address this mission? I don't care if you're going to be delivering food, driving a truck, obviously becoming a teacher or an administrator. That mission is very dear to my heart because it came with a lot of blood, sweat and tears.
Speaker 1:We were talking earlier about a young man named Glenn Singleton. He was the consultant that we worked with to help come up with our mission statement, and we created systems where we look at our data. So we have a district equity leadership team that consists of administrators, classified, certificated, as well as some of our partners. We have a regional equity leadership team because we're broken down to regions. So, yes, I know the importance of data, I know the importance of how people can manipulate data, and so we just don't rely, surely, on test scores. We also do a lot of what we call street data. You know we look into why the data that we're getting is what we're seeing you know, and we do empathy interviews.
Speaker 1:We transition from having parent-teacher conferences to student-led conferences, because I know that as a child, if I recognize and I had a voice in helping develop my goals, you can also hold me accountable for trying to achieve those goals. So how cool is it for a student to lead the conversation about their goals and their progress towards their goals. But we'll also do this. We'll also take it on this challenge, not in isolation.
Speaker 1:We're aggressively reaching out to those systems and structures that have traditionally not been about serving all children and families. So if you do it all in isolation, you're not going to get anywhere, because although I'm in education, I cannot ignore the fact that there's a child that may be in my classrooms who does not have a roof or a bed to sleep in, or some food or the proper health care you name it. I feel like we need to reach out to those systems that are supposed to be supporting those students and families with that particular area. So we have over 200 MOUs. That includes folks with lived experiences, that includes folks who are in community-based organizations, and I want to call those folks out because oftentimes, to many of our students and families, they're the most respectful messenger that we can have, because as you talk about all these different things, it's really all about access and opportunity and also relationships. So not only do we identify those resources, we want to make sure that, hey, let me find out if my homeboy Tracy's over there at the housing and hook you up with him so we can have that warm handoff to say, go see Tracy over there, because, again, if you've never been there, it's like a freshman going to college. College is so large and big, you kind of get lost. I want to make sure that there's a point of contact, with a lot of support, to make sure that the students and family members that need the support get what they need.
Speaker 1:I also want to make sure that we are using the data to tell our story. You know that it can be used good or bad. The fact is is that when you're working with students who are some of the most marginalized children in our county, I would challenge you and challenge anyone to say that these also are most talented students in our county and it's our responsibility as educators to see how we can nurture that talent that they have. We do that via multiple modes, so we're not just going to sit there and look at a student's test score. We're going to find ways for them to excel, whether it be via arts or via music or via spoken word or acting out in plays and things of that nature, and we're going to work from a strength-based perspective, an asset-based perspective, versus a deficit. And we found to have a lot of success with that. How we demonstrate that, how they demonstrate that is throughout the year where we have our design jams.
Speaker 1:In our design jams we pick a topic and we get input from our students what topic would you like to talk about In our situation? A lot of them like to talk about social justice. So what does that mean to you? And they tell us their story. And in telling the story, they utilize partner organizations that might be artists and they will tell their story. And we have our parents, our probation staff, our social workers and community partners be the judge of how well that student did on their project. It's amazing how well they do but, more importantly, how they impress the partners to say I never knew you had that in you.
Speaker 1:And you know, when a student sees and is proud of their work and is being acknowledged by someone, that is a very strong platform for growth. So I always say you can't build a house on a cracked foundation. That foundation is having a very strong instructional program, building positive relations with staff, students and parents, community, also having clear and high expectations. Oftentimes you know you hear about oh yeah, you know you got to be a good social worker to do this. We need social workers, we need someone, we need strong educators as well and we don't shy away from that. So I would definitely like to communicate the importance of having a strong instructional program, a program that we would have to bridge to what the students need. So we don't shy away from what does it mean to you to have a curriculum that's reflective of your community or your culture? And we have to continue to challenge our publishers with that, because there's still a lack of diversity in our textbooks and instructional materials that should be reflective of our student population. So it's a comprehensive approach.
Speaker 1:Again, leadership matters. I'm very fortunate to have again a very solid board and a strong leader in our superintendent, dr Gatto. But also look at our students as leaders. They're one of our greatest resources. Anytime I get pushback about data or whatever it is, I said let me have you speak to one of my students and have my students tell you about what they're experiencing right now, today, about the challenges and barriers to them having a quality education. Would you want that for your own child? And so, again, it's a wonderful opportunity to advocate for our students, but again, I can't think of a greater calling than this work.
Speaker 2:Let's say you're on an airplane Okay, and like sitting down, you know, and that awkward thing where the person next to you is like, hey, how are you doing? You're probably there on your laptop doing some work they go, what do you do? What do you do, like, how do you tell that story in a way that the other person understands your vision? Without them going? You're just you're doing. You know the world needs more people like you, but from that pity thing, like those poor kids.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, well, it's a well, it depends on who's sitting next to you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I guess.
Speaker 1:So Right, if it's someone that knew me, that grew up with me. I tell them I'm working with kids. I don't tell them I'm a teacher kids. I don't tell them I'm a teacher they're like you, You're a square.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no way.
Speaker 1:But oftentimes the first response I get when I tell them what I do is like oh, that must be a difficult job, oh, that must be tough, and it is tough, but, man, I love my job. We need people in the profession that love their job, want to make a difference, and there's no greater tool to make a difference in education, even when I was making poor decisions. You can take away my little rag, you can take my little reference, but you cannot take away knowledge. And now that I've learned that knowledge is true power, I'm going to send that message to every child, every person I come into. Unfortunately, some of my peers they're still locked up. Some of them have been locked up for life. One of them, his name, is Reginald Washington and he started a program called Project Aware. He was serving a life sentence and they asked him this was the Union Tribune years ago, which was quite embarrassing was there anybody from your neighborhood that's doing something positive? He said, yeah, my homeboy Tracy. And at that time I thought I was going to lose my job. I was teaching and the superintendent called me and said hey, I read this article about you. I said, holy crap, but that's what he said. That's why I need people like you to become a teacher, people like you to become a teacher.
Speaker 1:And circling back to the question about my neighbor on the airplane is I really question? Are they really enjoying their career? Because I enjoy mine. And I will tell them that I don't need to wait for TGIF Friday. I get my high every day and now I do have my balance of self-care. I go to the finest restaurants. I like food, I like still playing sports, I love coaching, so I can continue to make an investment in the younger population because I can't wait for them to get into the system and try to change them. But I tell them that my occupation is more of a calling and opportunity to make an impact on the world and society in general. I am fortunate to serve some of the most talented and remarkable children in the world and when they succeed it's just an amazing feeling. And I circled back to my own children and I also challenged the folks I'm talking to about their children. I said what would you want for your child? That's all I'm doing is providing what I believe every child deserves. Every child deserves the opportunity, access to opportunities, but also feeling grace.
Speaker 1:You mentioned that the county office has this North Star. And North Star is about you know. Some people believe it's about poverty. It's really not. It's about belonging Money. If we go by that, it doesn't make the world go round, because growing up, the pimps had money, the drug dealers had money, but they were destroying neighborhoods and destroying families.
Speaker 1:We got to go back and have grace and talk about what it is to be successful, what it is to be a change agent, to be a leader, to make a difference. So I have the fortunate opportunity to be in education where, with the right resources, the right leadership and support, we're making a difference in the world. I trust my students to be able to take care of me when I get older. I really feel that this is the investment that's worthwhile. I can't think of a better investment. So if I'm asked that question, I'm going to tell you a lot about this wonderful opportunity, this wonderful tool called education I'm going to remind folks about. I feel like we all have a responsibility to make sure every child has access to a quality education, but I'm also reminding them, if we don't, what's going to happen or what is happening.
Speaker 2:But I'm also reminded, if we don't, what's going to happen or what is happening.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I had Dr Noguera, Pedro Noguera from.
Speaker 2:USC Dean of the School of Education on the podcast and he made that exact comment. I flashed on it when he said I want them to. Those are the people who are going to be taking care of me when I'm old, absolutely old. He said what worse way to plan for our future, for those of us who are already on the downslope, than to not have the leaders in society be effective leaders 20, 30, 40 years from now? Do you know, father? Time's a real thing.
Speaker 1:It is. But you know, in this work, and keep in mind, I started when I was a 19-year-old college football player, interning, but this is the only job I've had other than being a bouncer for that period of time. So I'm over 40 years in this profession and it keeps me young. I feel young. I'm young at heart. I look forward to going to work every day. You know I get to go to work and see former students working side by side with me, former students teaching a course next to the probation officer. They used to oversee them, so I get a high every single day. But I know that this work does require a balance in life. You know I have three kids of my own. My wife runs a group home Now they call it short-term residential treatment programs for high-need students as well and so, as I mentioned earlier, this is more of a calling and I can't think of a better occupation to carry out this work. I know I will retire soon, but the work will continue and I will continue to do the work.
Speaker 2:So often students will tell us. They'll either tell us or they'll tell us through our behavior. For through their behavior right, there's the saying that all behavior is really communication. Right, whether effective or not, kids will either tell us or demonstrate to us that they just don't feel that what's happening in school is relevant, right? Right, we hear it all the time and you go into a classroom, you can just feel there's either oxygen in the room or there's not, right? Um, how do you, in your role, ensure that your staff at jccs are appropriately trained and and understand cultural relevancy in terms of the students who they're interacting with, who may, by the time they get to one of your program schools, they may have a path of lack of connection and lack of relevancy behind them. We're human and so, if we've been every time we turn on the light we get a bad feeling then in the future we're just going to stop turning on the light. How do you address that challenge with your staff.
Speaker 1:Well, I think it's fair to make sure everybody knows what they're signing up for. We're not in this business to make sure everybody knows what they're signing up for. We're not in this business to make money. And I'm very clear on what I believe our mission and vision should be and I feel that it's important that I share that with anyone who is interested in joining our program. So it starts off with that mission statement. But also I see people that may not see this as a career pathway for themselves and I kind of recruit them, like you know, you'd be a good teacher.
Speaker 1:Some of the same words that I use were used against me or used to try to draw me towards this profession, but I also feel it's important that they know what they're getting themselves into. So I take them on tours and talk to students, have students on the interview panel. You know the students will ask the question I would love to ask but I can't ask is not appropriate because of my title. But they get to what we need to get to. But in terms of what we want to make sure folks know what they're getting themselves into is that we also want to know that today is a new day for every child, and if you work with a child that unfortunately made a bad decision and may have caused some serious harm to someone and knowing that they could be locked up for many years, you still want to find hope, and that hope is starting off with today is a new day. We can't go back in the past, and I need people who understand that. I need people who want to make a difference. And so, yes, it's great that they know all the instructional terminology, but do you really care? Because our students will know that they will tell you that you don't care. They have nothing to lose. So that's why I use the term faking the funk. Our students will know if you're faking the funk or not. So having them on the interview panel when they're bringing it to the system is one very important variable that we use. But, more importantly, it doesn't matter your experience or your background. You have to want to have the will to make a difference. You want to have the will to make conditions better for every single child that comes before you. You have to have the will to make conditions better for every single child that comes before you. You have to have the courage to challenge some of the systems that have been created to make it difficult for you. So that's where leadership comes in. If they're hearing it from the leader of the organization that this is what we're looking for and I constantly walk that walk because a lot of people will talk it but they're not walking it they know if it's for them or not and then, in addition to that, is providing necessary supports. You know we've gone through trauma-informed care. We've gone through implicit bias.
Speaker 1:I want to speak a little bit about implicit bias. As I mentioned earlier, one of my greatest resources are our students. So I've had students who have taken an implicit bias class at USD Of all places the private university at USD, up on the hill there. Up on the hill there, and our students were the shining star of the class because they came from a different experience and they were educating other students who've had very different and sheltered experiences.
Speaker 1:To take this step further, I was sharing with the chief of probation this wonderful opportunity for students who are in our program and these were kids who are in our community school as well as court schools opportunity for students who are in our program, and these are kids who are in our community school as well as court schools. And I proposed that why don't we help your probation officers learn more about implicit bias by having our students help teach the class, much like I use folks with lived experiences, and I got to tell you it made a profound difference, not only with the training of new probation officers, as we do the same thing when we do trainings with our teachers and our support staff. We integrate the voice of our key educational partners, the folks with lived experiences, our students.
Speaker 2:Folks with lived experiences are students, so everything that we do, from strategies to adopting curriculum, is we make sure that those partners are part of the not only selection but the orientation of those particular educational components. Talk about shifting the paradigm right to have students, through their own lived experience, help onboard future probation officers.
Speaker 1:And teachers and teachers which end up being administrators. Not very complicated.
Speaker 2:No, Simple but not easy. Simple but not easy, Simple but not easy and makes adults nervous sometimes it does.
Speaker 1:But it's very interesting because, as I mentioned in a previous conversation we were having, is that our superintendent is retiring and of course we have a search firm. They want to get input from the community and of course we have a search firm, they want to get input from the community. But what we found is that we have existing systems. Of course we have the local controlled accountability plan, lcap forms. We've held LCAP forms throughout San Diego County, about nine of them. We suggested why don't you have the search firm?
Speaker 1:Come to our LCAP forum to hear from our students, our educational partners, our staff, both certificated and classified, and the search firm was blown away when we set the conditions for our students and parents and educational partners to have a voice.
Speaker 1:No one really had asked and it wasn't convenient. We've had to have interpreters childcare different times of the day to make sure that those folks are at the table and to let them know that their voice is so valuable that we're willing to be flexible to make sure that they are heard and their voice is elevated. So, with that whole process, using that as an example, again, they're part of the community. When do we take schools out of the community? So bringing schools back into the community requires us to partner with the community, partner with the students and the families of the community, and I strongly believe that makes a better place for all. Conversely, we have many students who are not going to school in our community and I still believe it's a responsibility, even if they're not from the school of residence, that the teachers and the staff at that particular school needs to have a better understanding of the students that they're serving and the community in which they're coming from.
Speaker 2:Another simple but hard thing to do right, absolutely yeah, especially when we, especially in bigger systems where teachers move around, right, yeah, you know, I mean outside of JCCS, when you look at models of post and bid, for example, and when you look at models of post and bid, for example, and and when you look at patterns of how experienced teachers are and where they end up in the county. Um, you know it doesn't make me really popular, but I I have this theory that the more senior a teacher is in their tenure, the closer they get back to a community of people who are like themselves. Yeah, and then that we just were perpetuating similar patterns that have been around for a long time.
Speaker 1:Well, you know, I think it starts earlier than when they actually get their contract. So I do a lot of speaking to educational programs, teacher credentialing programs. I do a lot of speaking to educational programs, teacher credentialing programs and because of our system of onboarding and hiring, we rarely have a teacher leave At JCCS At JCCS Okay.
Speaker 1:And the system includes, you know, many of them have, you know, in addition to doing their student teaching with us, that may have worked in a classified capacity or interned, so they get a chance to get a fresh look on what they're hoping to join or not. Because we're also very clear, too, is that this is not for everybody, but through a very strong system of knowing what you're getting yourself into, a strong system of support, a strong system of recognition, we rarely have people that transition away from our program, even though they're working with some of the quote unquote worst kids in accounting, cause I believe they get the high that I get every day.
Speaker 2:So before we started recording, you and I were talking about some of your different programs, four or five that are in close proximity to where we're recording here near downtown San Diego, and I don't want to make this seem like you're prioritizing one school site over another. But is there a site or a couple sites that you'd like to kind of highlight and tell our listeners kind of more about what they do? I know Monarch is right down the hill from where we are. I've toured there and I've had staff from Monarch on this podcast, but there are many other options.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean there's a number of schools. I'll start with Monarch. Monarch is a school which is unique in all the country because we had to get a waiver to exist. It's 100% students who are unhoused. And, of course, we have McKinsey-Vento, where every school is supposed to serve unhoused children and families. This school is unique because we have a partnership with Monarch School Project as well, and, again, with the prioritization of getting students and families what they need when they need it. You have a school that has showers, instructional materials and resources, things such as culinary arts and how to prepare healthy meals, and, again, connections to many different organizations and agencies that's helping with housing, substance abuse, employment, legal, you name it, and so it's a one-house shop where you don't have to go all over town to get your needs met.
Speaker 1:I can talk about Lindsay, which is an all-girls school. We're proud to say we teach herstory versus history, and these are students who are young ladies that are unfortunately victims of human trafficking, domestic violence, pregnant and parenting teens, unaccompanied minors, and to see them flourish, knowing that the odds are stacked against them, is also exceptional. The odds are stacked against them is also exceptional. I want to mention our new transition campus, the old juvenile hall in Kern and Mesa was torn down, and these are the efforts of our government agents, governmental leaders, as well as probation and our judges saying enough is enough you can't scare anybody straight and making these facilities look like the dentist's office. Basically, it's something that we know. It's not going to deter and eradicate this systemic pathway to prison college and they have resources that include all the basic needs, much like a community school, but also, more importantly, student voice and student agency is of high priority. They're walking around and students who are duly enrolled in college are wearing college polo shirts. They're taking career pathways that include building instruction, culinary arts, graphic arts. They're helping other students with mental health.
Speaker 1:These are things that again providing leadership opportunities for our students, because they're leaders already. They may be leading in a negative way, so if you take that same skill set and make it and transform it to a positive opportunity, they will succeed and excel. So seeing our kids thrive with the supports is again a wonderful opportunity. Where you're like I really get paid for this. This is amazing. So, and then, of course, there are other schools, but the point I want to emphasize that with every successful school, leadership matters. Every successful school is being culturally and linguistically responsive to your students and their families, but also being invested in the community. You need to know what you're getting yourself into, and so my students will see me in the community.
Speaker 1:One of the stories that happened recently is that I was eating at a sushi restaurant, and again here I am as a you know, athletic African-American male guy and initially I couldn't stand sushi and now I like it so much that they thought, you know, I must've been in the military or something, Cause you know.
Speaker 2:I must've been in Japan, yeah.
Speaker 1:So. But there was an occasion where I saw a young man to look for beer to me. He looked over, so you were my principal.
Speaker 2:I said yeah, how you doing.
Speaker 1:And this particular kid grew up in this neighborhood. He was a Logan Heights you know Threnta gang member and he shared that because of what we did for him, he's now working at the shipyard and he wanted me to meet his family. He had three children and a wife. He said, because of what you did and invested in me, that my life is so different now and I understand what you were trying to tell me back then and some of the words that you shared with me. I found it hard to understand, but now I do. I said, man, this is so cool, you made my day.
Speaker 1:So as I flagged over the waitress about, I want to depart and pay my bill, he said no, that young man has paid your bill, wow. I said wow, that's so cool, that is so cool. And he said he wanted me to tell you something. I said what did he say? He said you already paid his bill. And again you're talking about the ultimate high. So those are cool stories. I have many more and I have these stories because I'm in the community. I'm a coach in the community, I have a track club, me and a young man named Darren Sproles. We started a track club with a guy named Eddie Ford. We still have our young people running for the USA track and field.
Speaker 2:You mean the Sproles? Oh yeah, absolutely the Rocket yeah.
Speaker 1:And I coach football Skyline Youth Football and cheer is very important to me because that was the same park as I hang out when I was making poor decisions, and to give back to the same parking community in which I helped destroy is a priority for me. And there are some positive things and great people in our community that oftentimes are neglected and is not given the proper attention. But let something negative happen You're going to see all the media there in a heartbeat happens You're going to see all the media there in a heartbeat. So I want to make sure I get a shout out to our communities in Southeast San Diego and other communities throughout our county and country that do not get the proper attention that they deserve.
Speaker 1:We have beautiful diamonds in every community and with the proper pressure and support, they can be that beautiful diamond that each of us have within us.
Speaker 2:At some point you're going to retire. What are your hopes and dreams for where JCCS is in, let's say, 10 years? So you go on to your next career, your next life after retirement? More coaching, more sushi, whatever it is.
Speaker 1:Yeah, soul food, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:When you read about and hear about JCCS in 10 years, what are you hoping you're going to see?
Speaker 1:Well, you know, I was eligible to retire financially three years ago and it's always something that kept me coming back, and I believe there's always opportunities to strengthen your structures and your systems. But you always worry about you know, if you hand that baton off to someone, is it going to be dropped? This is not about one person, it's about a team, and so I strongly believe in building leadership at all levels of our organization, and so I strongly believe in building leadership at all levels of our organization. I reference our students, definitely with our certificated staff, our classified staff, our administrators. So I'm proud to be a cultivator of leaders at all of our juvenile court community schools. Also, I have some assurances. You know, I have folks who have been with me for a while that know that this is Tracy's stance. He's not going to wear it from his stance. He's not going to wear it from being the best he can for his students and families, and so they don't need to ask me. They know that, hey, this is good for kids. I got full permission to carry this act out, so that's been part of our system and structure and the mission statement's not going anywhere.
Speaker 1:But something unique happened to me years ago is that one of the students I used to not a student, one of the young men I used to coach at Scholar U Football fast forward became an All-American basketball player here in San Diego and we're at a function with my youngest son and my daughter saw this gentleman and said hey, who is that? I said, oh, that's this person. I used to coach him at Skyline and she said he's cute, tall, dark, handsome man. Long story short. My daughter married this guy and, as he was in transition from his basketball dreams everyone wants to be in the NFL or NBA the same speech that was given to me hey, once you consider being a teacher I gave to him. He gave it some thought. He didn't reject it like I did immediately. He kind of trusted me because I was his coach.
Speaker 1:You know he always saw me coming to the park in my suits and stuff and I was very intentional about you know I didn't have enough time to go change and go. I'm coming straight from work and I'm in my suit and ties and the kid's like man, what's going on? You coming from court? You got to see your probation officer. What's going on? No, I'm coming from work. It gave me opportunity to let them know that you can dress nice and be cool and be in the field of education. So, long story short, the same young man I used to coach ended up marrying my daughter, began teaching in our program. He actually started teaching at Cesar Chavez Charter School Wow and he transitioned to a special ed position in our juvenile court community schools and most recently he became a principal in our juvenile court community schools. So the recently he became a principal in our juvenile court community schools. So the system that I'm talking about that worked for so many, actually worked. For now my son-in-law and with our principals and
Speaker 1:this young man amongst them. I feel confident that this work will not go away. I feel confident that this work will not go away. I feel confident that we have the same commitment with all of our leaders to make sure that we do what's best for our children and our families. So I can retire comfortably. But I know that, although I may not be receiving a check from the County Office of Education, but remember, this was never a job in the first place, it was more of a calling. As long as I'm alive, I'm going to do this work.
Speaker 2:You've come full circle right with now your son-in-law.
Speaker 1:It is.
Speaker 1:And you know it's interesting because again I mentioned Lindsay Lindsay's a school for pregnant parenting teen my mom was a pregnant and parenting teen. Right school for pregnant parenting teen my mom was a pregnant and parenting teen. Right. I have the opportunity to serve kids who are incarcerated and on probation and gang involved. I was gang involved. Now the opportunity to work with kids who are kind of confused and not knowing their way. That's how I was. So, again, that's why it's more of a calling and to live out my life story. But I also know what kids and families need. I also know what was neglected. So I feel it's more of a calling and to live out my life story. But I also know what kids and families need. I also know what was neglected, so I feel it's my responsibility and charge to make sure that students and families get what they need and students shouldn't have to have to act out to get glasses.
Speaker 2:To get up to the front row.
Speaker 1:To get up to the front row and there are many kids that were like me. And there are other reasons. And the other thing that I learned is that to alter the education, we were quick to put labels on kids. So I started making poor decisions, really because I couldn't see and I didn't feel belonged. I was actually othered, you know, and going to a school outside my neighborhood, like, oh, you have a choice, you don't have to come out here, they didn't care.
Speaker 1:And I was othered. I didn't have the skills to sit down and you know, be restorative and talk about you know how we can navigate this. I definitely knew how to fight, I knew how to defend myself, but I don't feel I feel that strongly that every child should feel belonged and there are too many systems and people othering, other people than children. That is causing harm to society, because those are children who again have the talents to do remarkable things in life and that small investment via education pays huge dividends. So I know that whenever I retire I'm still going to be in my hands dirty, because it's more of a calling and someone had a plan for me.
Speaker 2:You've been very generous with your time. I really appreciate it today. And we were joking that you didn't think you were going to make it an hour because you didn't have anything to say. And you made it an hour so, um, but I'm going to ask you one more question to wrap up for today. All right, um, you have the opportunity to create a billboard, uh, for the side of the freeway the five, the eight, the eight, oh5,. Choose your freeway. What does your billboard say to the community?
Speaker 1:and to the world as people are driving by. That expresses your beliefs and what you want people to remember. That's a difficult one, you know. Today society is rough. There's a lot of unfortunate things happening. What I believe the billboard, or what I believe, if some were to say, put a saying on the billboard about me is that he cared, everybody mattered, every child mattered, and that it's worth the investment. They would also probably say that you know what? He lived a good life, a precious life, and got the most out of his life, and he cared for every single person he came in contact with, whether they agreed with me or not.
Speaker 2:So that's quite a bit for that billboard, but I know that I'll give you two, two, three billboards Like the Saquon Casino you get a couple in a row.
Speaker 1:One of them's going to say don't fake the fall.
Speaker 2:There we go, there we go, there we go so, uh, thank you so much, uh, for your time today. I really appreciated listening to your story. It's been inspirational to me and learning new things about you that I didn't just find on online, right, uh, so I really appreciate your time coming in today. Thank you, as well.
Speaker 1:Thanks for the opportunity. You know it's interesting because throughout this journey there's balance, and one of the things that is somewhat embarrassing is that someone recognized me to San Diego Bible College and awarded me a doctorate much like Dr King, back in the day, for my years of service and education in the community. And one of the things I really want to emphasize to the younger folks is it's not about you all the time, and that there's no greater feeling than helping out to help out someone else and to help your community out to help out someone else and to help your community. And we need their voices and their activity to rise up, because there's some adults setting some very poor examples right now. That's causing great harm to a lot of folks, and you just have to trust in our kids, and I believe they will and they continue to be the leaders that we need them to be. So I'll close with that.
Speaker 2:Thank you for the opportunity. That's a perfect place to wrap. Thank you so much. All right, thank you. Thank you for listening to the Superintendent's Hangout. You can follow me on Twitter at DVS1970. Please be sure to share this show with friends and family on social media and in the real world. Thank you to Brad Backeal for editing and production assistance and to Tina Royster for scheduling and logistics. Thanks for hanging out and have a great day.