July 2022 Newsletter: Possibility
I had a chance last month to step away from work for a few days, and it was such an important time of reflection and rejuvenation. The work we do is not easy. The past couple of years have been incredibly hard, not just for children but for those who have been caring for them and keeping them learning. A recent national survey shows that six in 10 teachers are currently struggling with burnout, and 3 in 10 white teachers — and 4 in 10 teachers of color — are considering leaving the profession.
As I stepped away, I found myself centering around one word: Possibility. We’ve got to be reflecting on what is possible — not just for our kids, but for our adults — and then we’ve got to build it. I realized how important it was to step back for just a few days and look around to realize what is possible and then come home and make it happen.
That’s why, as we’re planning for the coming school year, we’re not just thinking about how to get more kids reading or doing math tomorrow or next week, but how to make sure that we are developing and supporting the folks who will guide them on that path this year, next year and throughout their school experience. We’re thinking about what’s possible.
This summer, we are laser-focused on investing in our team at The REACH. We want to make sure they are ready with everything they need to take our work to the next level.
And we’ve been talking to folks at the national level to share what we’ve learned along the way to help others who want to empower families and to advocate for and offer high-quality programming for students. Not only have we been invited to serve on the U.S. Department of Education’s National Parents and Families Engagement Council (thank you, National Parents Union)— in just the last month, the policy experts at the Center on Reinventing Public Education have released two case studies featuring REACH’s work: Progress and potential: The innovations of pandemic learning communities led by leaders of color and Powerful Parents: The evolution of the tech hub at The Oakland REACH. They’ve identified many valuable insights into REACH’s secret sauce, but if you just take away one, let it be this:
Centering families: Believing Black and Brown families know what is best for their children allowed REACH to effectively tailor its offerings to community needs.
As a senior fellow at CRPE, I recently authored my first blog for their People in Action series, ‘Do this!’ How Oakland parents are fighting for better schools — and a more responsive system, about how that commitment to centering Black and Brown families has guided our work, from our earliest days, through the pandemic, and now, as we plan for the future.
This is the first in a series — designed to be a practical guide to building real solutions that change the game. We have no choice but to think big picture — and that means getting our kids reading and doing math well in Oakland while taking our proven model out into more communities to show what is possible.
Lakisha Young
Founder & CEO
To read the entire July Newsletter, click here.