The day began with Dr. Joe Mendoza sharing his reflections and a historical perspective on the changes to Ventura County’s education system throughout the last 50 years. Dr. Mendoza is the director of the Special Populations Educational Support Department for the Ventura County Office of Education and a life-long educator. He addressed the importance of cultural competency in education and gave suggestions on how leaders can be more inclusive. The first tip was to listen to the community you are serving to better understand their needs and cultural dynamics. I appreciated that we began with this presentation, as it framed the rest of the day. By now we should all be aware that the pandemic has highlighted and expanded inequities within and access to education. The question now is how do we create a more equitable system as we rebuild and recover, and what is the role of cultural competency in that process?

The rest of the presentations addressed the pandemic’s impact on primary education, post-secondary education and early childhood development. We were also introduced to the unique circumstances and obstacles impacting educating a growing homeless population. We covered a lot of territory. The speakers were particularly exceptional. It was also nice to have panel presentations that offered various perspectives and diverse opinions. When the topic of school resource officers and their role on school campuses came up, the panelists were able to offer their opinions on the downsides, benefits and alternatives to having law enforcement officers in schools. It was a riveting discussion, especially noting that we have a few law enforcement professionals in our cohort, and one that I hope continues.

It was also interesting to learn about the family engagement programs being offered to bring parents together during the pandemic to help them feel less alone. I was further impressed when I learned that some educators were also being put through extensive training on how to deal with and recognize trauma. We learned that, across the board, professional development has played a large role as educators navigate these new challenges.

Another enlightening presentation came from a Ventura College student leader. The speaker offered us a glimpse into the ongoing struggles our local college students are facing as they navigate the shift to online instruction. The impacts have been great. For example, students who rely on on-campus jobs and other on-campus resources are having trouble bridging those economic and technological gaps and accessing available assistance. Many students without home access to the internet find themselves learning out of their cars, in the school parking lots, where there is WiFi access accessible.

At this point, I think it is safe to say that most of us are all “Zoom’ed out.” I really want to take this opportunity to thank Pattie Braga for continuing to work very hard to ensure that Cohort XXVI has a fulfilling and meaningful VCLA experience. One way that she has been able to create a bonding experience for us was to build in “Cohort Reflection/Discussion” time into the agenda. During these cohort discussion periods we had an opportunity to debrief and unpack some of the information discussed during the preceding panels. Also during this time, we had an opportunity to share some of our personal stories related to education and experiences in overcoming access barriers. It was a moving exchange and one I will not soon forget.

I would also like to give a special shoutout to VCLA Cohort XXV members who were able to join us for the day! It was nice to see some familiar faces and many new ones. I look forward to meeting you all in person one day!

The pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated societal inequities, and there has been no clearer demonstration than in our education and medical care systems. As leaders continue to navigate a path forward, based on the leaders we had the honor of meeting with during our session on education, I have high hopes that Ventura County schools will come out better on the other side.

There is no charted path to take. There is no easy answer. I fear what happens when we look back in 20 years and think well, we messed that one up. So how do we fix this now?

We began our day learning about segregation in Oxnard and how things were in the 1930s through the 1970s. The 1970s were only 50 years ago. This is within our lifetimes, not so long ago. We are constantly learning and changing as we grow; we do not know right from wrong until society changes its views. So, what happens to this generation?

There was a strong statement throughout this whole session. Our students are suffering. They are suffering from technology issues, suffering from location issues, suffering from basic needs issues. Are we truly trading one pandemic for another? Just like the rest of us, our student’s basic mental health, physical health and true well beings are suffering. Why is it okay to say, “Oh well, we are addressing the COVID pandemic,” but not truly addressing the pandemic that is occurring with this turmoil of our “new normal.” Now, for some this pandemic has been a blessing and some have excelled. However, Howard Gardner taught us there are multiple intelligences and we need to address students on their level of learning. How is Distance Learning helping those who are visual learners when they only get 10 minutes with their teacher? How is Distance Learning helping those who are auditory learners when the connection keeps cutting out? How is Distance Learning helping those who are tactile learners that no longer have the cubes in front of them to help count?

After spending years of being trained to be a teacher and to be a student advocate I look at things very differently. Put your thoughts, training, and beliefs, aside for a minute, and on the basic level ask yourself are students truly okay? Yes, your children may be but what about the child that lives in a group home? Does the high school student who leans on their friends to help with everyday issues of living with an abusive parent, are they truly okay? The college student who is already working two jobs to pay tuition, who has lost a job and cannot afford a hotspot or internet, are they truly okay?

Yes, we say children are resilient. They will bounce back.  But what happens when they don’t? What happens when that gap from being out of school has lasted too long? What happens to the ones that fall behind? Do they suffer because they need to be held back? Will this generation be known as the broken generation? How are they going to cope? How are we going to help them?

So I am asking not to look at how we are treating our students and how we are doing the “best” we can during this time. I am truly asking each of you to really think, “Is this the right thing to do?” If not, how can you help make this easier for your children or your friends that are students. How can you help take care of our true basic needs to include mental health? How can you be proactive during this time instead of taking a backseat and being reactive?

If one good thing comes from COVID, I hope we learn humility and we learn to truly care for those around us.