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KBAY Interview with Sam Van Zandt

Added Nov 28, 2016 •

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Superintendent Juan Cruz interviews with Sam from the Sam and Lissa show.

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we don't always get a third act in life but this is an exciting third act for me because it was 12 maybe 15 years ago that I first visited the when McKinley School District gets done a wonderful job over those 10 or 15 years and because of its growth we've been able to help him for the teachers get a little bit more for their classes and their students and their schools and here to talk to us about that growth and weather Franklin McKinley School District is today the super Jenna does the Franklin McKinley School District was nice to have you here thank you very much as you know I was thrilled to find out about what's going on with Franklin McKinley School District castrator is in that area the Eastside School District what's been a pleasure to serve the community from the high school does a superintendent Ed from K-8 one of the very exciting things that we're engaged in as a major initiative to make that promise Salve high quality education for students with our early learning initiative we were fortunate to receive a packer Grant Foundation Grant has allowed us to do a lot of work in early learning we do believe that the way for us to close the achievement Gap is to prevent it from ever occurring in so we are engaging in ensuring that our children that as soon as they're born 02 V Star to forge a positive connection with adults through those connections in the opportunities that they get by engaging in early learning in developing habits early on that will soon as well Thrive by the time they get into Kinder and so will there's a lot of work that we're doing in ensuring that students are Kinder ready I'm closer Educators have over the years to now 0 to 5 I think that makes a big difference it makes a huge difference we know that the the the brain of a child bars to develop from from the time that they're born in and making sure that they have a rich experience early on as its key to them being Society Kinder and we know that that's also a big indicator for Student Success if they're ready for Kinder they're going to thrive and so we got to make sure that all day everyday whether it's caregivers from rtk and our preschools or informal caregivers you know Grandma Grandpa Uncle family member that they're always engage with them singing to them talking to them and providing a healthy and reaching environment for them to develop an educator for many years in the East Side School District in San Jose on are you like me or and Jose State go Spartans who is sort of invested in our community have you really had a chance to see how that works and how Early Education Works and what kind of progress you seem so just now in gay to me one of the things that districts were doing was being a gauge in early learning that was you know in the realm of preschool and and and and 9s earlier districts in that first five progress right and so now we understand that we cannot wait for the has to come to our doorsteps for Kinder we have to be engage with the community the families and all the providers within that realm of turn a five that we can wait until we're engaged in partnership with Force 5 with Santa Clara County Office of Education and we open an hour early learning center EduCare right at the heart in the district and with the commitment of providing high-quality early learning experience 470 students within the district is that means you're not walking hand-in-hand with the parents and parents have lives to live in jobs to keep in family the support and rent to pay and they're not always able to engage as much how's that going and was her about reaches as necessary so part of it the earlier initiative is engaging with families and making sure that they have the tools necessary in the understanding of how to support their child as they're developing and how they can provide enriching activities at home and understand what it means for their child success that they can sit down and have conversation read to them and expose them to the kinds of things that are going to make them successful so we do a lot of parent engagement and during the day in the evenings and really try to reach out to them you know we were put together by our friend Ollie Bearcat and he is the director of Sunday friends and does such a wonderful job with Sunday friends that I bring it up on me because I hear a parallel there when you're talking about family engagement and involvement one of the beauties of Sunday Francis Families 2 things together which means through that doing their learning together and engaging one another so it is that a mere coincidence 13 hours there's there's a lot of research that has been available that says that that is the key for Student Success and Soul Sunday friends obviously has for 20 years been doing that all along and so it's important for us to continue to engage families and that way and also empower the families and that they what success looks like for students in that they are going to be fully engaged not only in the early years but as they go to the school and making sure that they're there house advocate for you know ensuring that they're getting the best quality education part of you background is helping migration students I'll make the assumption that in the Franklin play school district you're still doing quite a bit of that that fair to say absolutely Mobility I simply because of the nature of the work and even in our community where we're no longer an agricultural-based Community there still a lot of Mobility in our families in that has to do with the the economics of of the valley and so we have to continuously work with our families that have high mobility and understanding thing impacted house on them and what kind of supports we can provide but we have a new president-elect and some people are concerned worried about their own futures how has the superintendent do you handle that planning dad that emotions are high right now in our other students from a variety of different backgrounds feel some anxiety about what's to come so our role is really to reassure children that you know in a democracy you know we we we will uphold an in and make sure that everybody is it packed it and that you know the schools are safe and that they can come to school as a safe place and dialogue process our emotions so we make sure that our Traders are aware that to refer students for counseling if they see that a student is struggling with with their emotions based on with what's happening in the commune right now yeah I under this a tough time for so many in the community especially in that particular Community what do you think the biggest challenges for you as a super tender right now we're talking about early learning ABC that's a focus for you that's an important thing maybe number one for you I don't know but what is your biggest challenge come prepared and Dad we don't allow the opportunity Camp to to exacerbate the opportunist for students and Dad we can if we can get students in a ready if we can get some students to be at grade level in terms of literacy by third grade we have a huge opportunity for students to be successful author will through through and so our challenge is to make sure that we get as we get students from variety of different backgrounds experiences and in Readiness that are Focus what every single child deserves to be ready by the time they leave 8th grade to access High School curriculum in that they're going to be College ready by the time they're there are there 12 graders I like you take is ready and I visited many schools in the Santa Clara Valley every month I get to go meet a new teacher for the teacher of the month and striking thing in some schools they actually named the hallways after Princeton Yale Stanford whatever to encourage kids to think that's my and that's not always been the case that a child will think that way is that is it fair to say that as part of their education process make that assumption for them yes I mean we have to make sure that we constantly let students know that that is an expectation that that is something that they can strive for in bed you know through preparation and everyday writing it's not you know one day College day approach that it's everyday we we play them about the the opportunities that college presents and and what it will take for them to get there so it's not just aspiring for it but really can you turn that they understand what the preparation necessary for that and that we are there to support that preparation every day every day every day every day every day everyday all day talking to one Cruise the superintendent of the Franklin McKinley School District a longtime educator in the Silicon Valley most in the I must be in the East Bay and I don't know why that's important but it seems irrelevant to me especially because you have to pay a special Focus so let's talk a little bit the progress of franklin-mckinley you must have heard stories about what it was once like and when you took over I think you were fortunate you took over a district that was not a disarray but with a good focus and a lot of good support he has some he wanted one of the things that attracted me to Franklin McKinley was that that can send that that progress at 8 have been making the stability that I had actually had by having a superintendent it was there for nine years in soil for the district to make some significant progress and also help that you know I have work in the community for for a long time and sign already knew that this I knew some of the areas of focus that it had in so we have been making a lot of progress in regards to our student you know showing Success Through are you stayed metric but beyond that we see every day this affects the students are having just by the interactions that we have with them one of those biggest initiatives that we're also working on is our 21st Century Learning plan teaching and learning plan you know we are in Silicon Valley we want to make sure that our students have access to the technology tools of Silicon Valley and so one we are we need to make sure that you know they have accident mobile access to those tools in soil through the Apple connect at Grant that the White House initiative put out Santee is now one to one eye first grade to 6th grade and is not that the technology drives the instruction and then the alkanes but it is a tool to change how we teach him how we learn that our students have access to information and they have access to many different ways of showing what they've learned and that is no longer teacher delivering the content and the students memorizing content but really making sure that they're critical thinkers and they have an inability to show learning a different way so so for us technology is not the driving force but it is a significant tool to make sure that our students are demonstrating their learning you look at the workforce don't you you look at their future and you see what what we can what can we prepare them for and you've got the Apple campus nearby you got Yahoo you got Google Facebook a lot of them could be working there and a lot of them probably are your former students any part of that is you know where is Elkin Valley so we are you know our promise is to try and and create an return for our students to be the next Generation that drive Silicon Valley and so you know that's one of the major initiatives that we have and in changing Dynamic that happens in the classroom leadership teaching was also a passion did you always want to get out of the classroom and fur the fur Tamar what does being a teacher do to inform you as a leader think that I would ever be a superintendent to be honest with you I knew that at one point I probably would was going to want to leave the classroom after being in the classroom for turnover of yours some it just happened to some opportunities presented themselves and I had a great mentors and and so I did then get into leadership positions and things that just happened in one of the reasons why I think that it was important for me is that I saw myself being able to have him light on the greater number of students by being in a leadership role I've had the opportunity to serve in a classroom with 150 students a day but in an administrator Xerneas the superintendent I have the opportunity to impact a lot more students and have of the ability to make change in a greater way than I was unable to do in the classroom you also impact teachers not just the students having been a teacher how does that work so obviously I have conversation with teachers and when I have a conversation the principal's I've been in those rolls so I had brain that perspective you know that I'm not speaking you know theoretically it is something that I've lived in experience and I use that to make decisions that I think are appropriate using that lens that I have been in the classroom and I have been a school leader so Dad I think it's me some credibility with with our stuff I was thinking about how you said this is sort of serendipitous it's great when a plan comes together even when there's no plan so here is this come together and you are the leader what is your plan for the franklin-mckinley school district is not just day-to-day operation visit Dad if it is our commitment to the community that our students deserve quality education and that as a leader WR superintended whether you're the principal or in the classroom as a teacher that that's the commitment were making to the community and every day we get up we come to work with in mine and we prepare ourselves and we prepare students for that end and so it's not just one person but it's the entire District coming together and delivering I'm not promised for a community you yourself through public education have risen to this level do you see yourself in students absolutely everyday and one of the things I tell southest it's my experience and I'm living proof of that education is the means to change the trajectory I'm not just South by my family and my extended family it has completely changed my trajectory obviously and and the opportunities and now my children have as a result of that it is the means to change lives and to break the cycle of poverty for many of our students into the studio promise you a visit though to your school district so that promise holds and I'll come see you before Christmas time if that's alright off at Franklin McKinley can't wait to see it thanks for coming to talk to us thank you for having us superintendent of schools for the franklin-mckinley school district as we sort of our teacher of the what's for the last decade or so I'm Sam Vans and thanks for listening hope to see you next week here on South Bay Sunday

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