Overview
Gathered at the UCLA Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center, the 21CSLA State Center hosted its fourth biannual hybrid retreat on March 6–7, 2024. Over two days, members from the State Center, Regional Academies, and esteemed guests engaged with community voices and perspectives centered on the importance of equity leadership. Center Director Rebecca Cheung likened the atmosphere to a familial reunion, noting, “You can tell that we have been engaging with each other across the state—from the Fall 2023 retreat, UTK trainings, webinars, and workshops—it is a real family reunion.” The retreat was attended by 75 onsite and virtual participants. The agenda featured guest speakers, leadership panels, group discussions, collaborative activities, learning walks, and breakout sessions. Alongside formal programming, shared meals and informal interactions provided invaluable opportunities for networking and meaningful dialogue. Prior to the retreat's official commencement, the Leadership Board convened to assess the alignment of their current projects and scholarship with our 21CSLA areas of focus, delve into collaboration prospects, and deliberate on ongoing Research Practice Partnership initiatives.
Theme
The theme of the spring retreat was Learning from Community Voice and Perspectives: Implications for Equity Leadership. During the event, leaders emphasized the importance of active listening and collaborative engagement with communities. Notable speakers included Cisco Martinez, the President of the UCLA American Indian Student Association; Jody Priselac, the Associate Dean for Community Programs at UCLA; UCLA Professors John Rogers and Daniel Solórzano; Claudia Martinez, the Executive Director of Educator Programs and CA Subject Matter Project; Mauro Bautista, the Principal of Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez High School; and 21CSLA leaders Christine Shen, Chris Thomas, and Richard Zapien. Their insights underscored the importance of active listening, lifting all voices, and fostering and maintaining trust to effectively cultivate schools that cater to the needs of all communities. Reflecting on the discussions, one participant aptly summarized, “As humans, it is essential that we possess the ability to actively engage and listen with depth and discernment, leading to genuine and true conversations. There is a productive energy from being still and listening that can become a valuable tool for fostering equity.”
Hybrid and Digitally Mediated Learning Format
Since not all participants could be physically present, the 21CSLA State Center team made deliberate efforts to incorporate virtual attendees into all discussions and activities seamlessly. Attendees at the retreat were also encouraged to join the virtual space concurrently to facilitate more significant interaction and dynamic conversations across both audiences. To make the retreat equitable and accessible, all participants used the Digital Learning Hub to find all necessary retreat resources, information, and materials. Even during his remarks on behalf of the Leadership Board, UCLA Professor Dr. Danny Solórzano emphasized the importance of accessing additional information “in the hub,” which became a refrain for participants throughout the retreat.
Highlights
- This retreat was made possible thanks to the invaluable assistance of our Center teams. A total of 12 Center team members took an active role in facilitating and presenting during the retreat, accompanied by 3 members from the Leadership Board. Additionally, 20 Center team members contributed to hybrid learning and/or note-taking and documentation. This collective endeavor reaffirms our dedication to hybrid learning and ensuring inclusivity for all participants. One participant shared: “I really appreciated the intentional, thoughtful listening activities, collaborative dialogue, and space to process and learn from one another. The retreat also cultivated a sense of community and collaboration amongst Regional Academies and between the State Center and Regional Academy teams to engage in powerful learning together.”
- A leadership panel featuring 21CSLA leaders who were former community leaders at sites and special guest Mauro Bautista, Principal of Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez High School, a community school located in East Los Angeles, emphasized the power of listening, honoring different voices, and fostering trust to create inclusive educational environments. Mauro advised all leaders to “have a more collaborative spirit and open yourself to get more input and feedback from staff, parents, and students. Every entity will give you feedback; you should not see it as an attack on your leadership but as a valuable tool for growth.”
- Dr. Jabari Mahiri, chair of the 21CSLA Leadership Board, led a discussion with Dr. John Rogers, 21CSLA Leadership Board member and UCLA professor. They discussed lessons from community schools and incorporated a historical perspective into today’s community schools initiative. Professor Rogers emphasized the need to acknowledge power struggles and challenged school leaders to build trust with their communities: “As we think about community schools, we need to think about power. It is a power system where no one is really at the top. You have to know your positionality.”
- To cultivate active listening skills, all attendees were encouraged to participate in an immersive listening exercise involving audio clips from diverse community voices with varied backgrounds and perspectives. The aim was to facilitate discussions on how 21CSLA can empower equity leaders to engage in deep listening. Through this exercise, it became evident that listening is inherently relational. One participant encapsulated the experience, stating, “A lot of leaders think they are listening—they are looking at data, dashboards—but it is a very different experience to actually be listening to their words, tone, and to be pulled into their embodied experiences.”
- Claudia Martinez, Executive Director of Educator Programs and CA Subject Matter Project, and Dr. Solórzano shared invaluable insights on the importance of equitable leadership. Both speakers emphasized the significance of preparing, coaching, and training leaders, especially in today's day and age. Most importantly, they reiterated the importance of considering the beneficiaries of this work and the ongoing necessity to strive for equitable and accessible education for all students in California.
- During the second day of the 2024 21CSLA Spring Collective Retreat, members from the State Center and Regional Academies had the opportunity to integrate their learnings from day one into collaboration sessions focused on addressing current challenges in education, such as “Can School Boards Survive the “Parents’ Rights” Movement?” and “Education Secretary Calls Diversity Program Cuts Latest 'Boogeyman' To Divide Schools.” These sessions provided a collective brainstorming and strategizing platform, fostering a collaborative environment to create innovative solutions.
Closing
The retreat concluded with a closing reflection activity, where participants were welcomed to share their “aha” moments, connections, and ideas. Each person contributed their reflections or anonymously shared thoughts with the entire group. One participant expressed gratitude for the increased equity of voice by saying, “I appreciated what I noticed as more equity of voice these last two days. Perhaps the focus on listening helped. But I encourage us to continue to lean into this—to check ourselves and our own power, privilege, gender, race, et cetera—and to continue to make space for other voices.” We encourage everyone to continue active listening and use it for good. Thank you to all participants, organizers, and speakers for helping us ensure we continue to innovate and elevate the work of 21CSLA. We look forward to meeting again at UC Berkeley in Fall 2024 for our fall retreat.