JONATHAN: My whole life I thought I was a procrastinator. It would always feel like I was working all the way to the last minute and I was stressed at the deadline.

Then in my 30s I started working with a coach and he helped me to see what others had labeled as procrastinating, was actually just a different way of processing. By letting ideas marinate or simmer in the back of my mind without my full focus, it was actually helping me to unearth new possibilities, and helping me to create powerful work.

Thinking this way had always been natural to me, but it wasn’t until I was encouraged to see myself in a new light that I claimed what I once thought was my weakness as my superpower.

Well, that’s what we’re exploring on today’s episode of Changing Course.

We’re taking you to DreamHouse ‘Ewa Beach, a school in Kapolei, Hawaii.

We’ll look at how encouraging students to embrace both their strengths and weaknesses helps increase classroom engagement and how working in cultural studies has helped to create a more inclusive classroom environment.

Alex Teece: “Three things that you need to remember and you need to ask yourself: when is your time to step forward? When is your time to step back? And when is your time to step out?

Adrienne Brown: We want to make sure that our next community leaders are well nourished and well known on their own identity. Not someone that was made through a textbook, but we give students the opportunity and the safe space to share their voice.

JONATHAN: From Teach For America’s One Day Studio, you’re listening to Changing Course.

I’m Jonathan Santos Silva, a 2010 Teach For America alumni on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, and since leaving the classroom, I haven’t stopped partnering with educators, students, and communities to reimagine education.

We have so much to learn from schools across America moving education in a new direction, and a change in course will happen one school at a time.

Today, we’re taking you to DreamHouse ‘Ewa Beach, a public charter school in Hawaii, empowering homegrown leaders through values-driven leadership development and passion for their island community. You ready? Let’s go!

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JONATHAN: Located on the southwest corner of the island of ‘Oahu - about 30 minutes from the city of Honolulu, “DreamHouse” was dreamt up in 2012, and after almost seven years of development, the school launched in August 2019.

‘Oahu, also known as “The Gathering Place” is the third largest Hawaiian island and was originally home to Kanaka ‘Oiwi peoples. Today, it is home to almost one million people, over two thirds of the population of the state of Hawaii, and by far the most populous of all of the Hawaiian islands.
DreamHouse promotes active, collaborative, inquiry-based learning through a culturally responsive pedagogy and a culture of high expectations. Their curriculum centers around the following core competencies: voice, identity affirmation, servant leadership, commitment to community, and consciousness.
Let’s hear from our guests, starting with Ryan Mandado, Adrienne Brown, and Kristina Viloria, teachers (or coaches as they are referred to at the school) from DreamHouse.
Adrienne: My name is Adrienne Brown. I'm from South Carolina, a small town called Orangeburg. I taught 14 years before joining Teach For America and finding my way to Hawaii. So I'm like your non-traditional Teach For America alumni. I was in special education ever since college and it navigated me to a place where I felt like I was stagnant with education. To where I felt like I was doing a good job, but I wasn't doing a, a job that was good for my students.
I was supposed be there to affirm students and I found myself breaking our alliance by changing their settings with IEPs and special education. And, I just wanted a change. So I needed a podium and a, a opportunity to fight with others instead of fighting against the system alone.
So that's why I joined Teach For America. And here I am in a school where we are reforming and redesigning, and re-imaging what education looks like and what it feels like and what it, it, it's gonna be for the years to come.
Ryan - 7:46: Thanks, Coach Adrienne. Hello everyone, my name is Ryan Mandado. Born and raised in Kalihi. Kalihi is about 45 minutes from where I currently teach.
I decided to join Teach For America when I graduated from the University of Hawaii and then I got placed in special education. At James Campbell High School, the largest public school on Oahu, 3,200 students. There are more people at that school than the island of Lanai every day. Just to put that in context.
And that was a very difficult job because it was balancing the resources that we knew didn't exist in public education, versus the needs of individual families, uh, for students who were furthest from opportunity. And so it was a systemic issue. Right? And like being in that middle position of one advocating for my teachers, advocating for students, but then recognizing that this system didn't allow for those resources to exist was traumatizing.
Honestly, it was the hardest, I would say the hardest job that I had to do in my life. Even more hard than starting a school. (laughs)
And then 2019, I had this wonderful opportunity to join the Dreamhouse team, and really contribute to what education can look like for all students. And at Dreamhouse, we pride ourselves for being a hundred percent inclusive school for ensuring that all of our students with IEPs are in general education settings.
Alex: The original conversation around how DreamHouse was gonna be different-
JONATHAN: That’s Alex Teece, the co-founder of DreamHouse.
Alex: …was focused on leadership development and identity development and building a curriculum and an experience that would lend itself to children entering spaces alongside of coaches or teachers, and really exploring their self, their, uh, their interpersonal relationships, their impact on people, around them, their impact on the community, their identity, their reputation.
Ryan: Dreamhouse centers those things. It's not an extracurricular. It happens every day where students are talking about who they are, who they want to be, who they want to be for themselves and their community.
Alex: And that's really what we envisioned from the very beginning. Uh, it wasn't about math. It wasn't about science. It wasn't about scores or tests or report cards or grades. It was about the experience that our children have on a daily basis.
Ryan: The unique thing about Dreamhouse is that the recognition of our own identities and leadership contributes to the collective movement for change. So, the great thing about being here, is that I can be myself on who I wanted to be as an educator, make that come to life, and not have any barriers of people telling me, this is how education should be done. You need to do this. We're switching the terms of compliance to empowerment.
Adrienne: Dreamhouse is a place where all of the educators are confident and they are feeling very empowered every day we walk into the door. And we're there for a common reason and vision. We want to make sure that our next community leaders are well nourished and well known on their own identity. Not someone that was made through a textbook or what they were supposed to be, but we give students the opportunity and the safe space to share their voice.

Jonathan: What are the ways that Dreamhouse prepares students and equips them so that they can lead as empowered young people? Because that doesn't happen by accident.

Adrienne: We believe in high interest and high engagement. And we take away the stigma of assessments. But, we do believe in self accountability. So, as student leaders grow and progress throughout the school year, we expect them and show them how to collect evidence and work samples that show their best work and what they're most proud of. And um, I'm not talking about a test with 10 multiple choice questions, I'm talking about something they built a prototype, maybe a solution to a community problem.
So, the amazing thing about that, that you were saying about the, when it comes to student leaders receiving grades or evaluation markings, parents are sometimes scary around report card time, because they're like, “I don't get it. I don't know. How does, what is, what's an A, what's a B?” But when we sit down and, and talk to the community or the Ohana about the growth they see in their children, they'll say, "Oh, my child is, um, advocating more at home. They're speaking more about current events. They wanna go out in the community more."
They see the change and the growth of the student leaders, once they learn how to collaborate and learn how to be a part of the Dreamhouse, Ohana. It's visible in every single student you meet and just the way they communicate and how they know who they are.
Ryan: Yeah. I think to add to that, one of our pillars are building consciousness. And through place based approaches, you know, we like to talk to our students about the land that they're on. And it's so, and we do this a lot of times. So sixth grade, all students engage in Hawaiian Culture and Perspective. It is a core content class that we ensure all students receive.
And then seventh and eighth grade, all students receive Hawaiian Language class. So they are, learning the culture, learning the language for a majority, native Hawaiian population that we have, here at Dreamhouse. Some examples of some, you know, play space related exercises that we've had done are there, specifically in our community, there are ancient, Hawaiian sites, that are now public parks, (laughs) that we are trying to tell the story of, to revitalize, to do service based initiatives.
I'm sure we all, all are familiar with, with Pearl Harbor. The real name for Pearl Harbor is Puʻuloa. (laughs) And our students do service work related there. And talking about the stories pre-American occupation of what that land was and why it's important for our students and our community.

JONATHAN: Here’s Kristina Viloria, another coach at DreamHouse.

Kristina: Well how's it? My name is Kristina MK Viloria and I am a proud seventh grade founding leader. Uh, what that means to me is, I joined DreamHouse... I came to DreamHouse actually as a seventh grade student success coach and now as my second year here, I have moved into the social studies position, which is a split class of teaching indigenous studies focusing in Oceanian studies and the history of the Hawaiian kingdom.

I am a proud 2016 Oahu core member, and I continued to teach at my placement school, which is Aiea Intermediate School for four years as a resource ELA special education teacher, which is... And that's why special education was... Has a very special place in my heart.

What drew me to DreamHouse was the idea that it was focused in leadership development, it was focused in identity, focused in, in emotional intelligence.

Jonathan: And oftentimes in a traditional setting, in any school really who you learn about, you know, especially if you're a young student of color -black, indigenous, you know, Latinx, Asian-American- you know, whatever. It's not somebody who looks like you, right? And so what makes you know, for you as a coach, a social studies coach, what makes learning social studies at DreamHouse different and more engaging and interesting? What makes it different there?

Kristina: You're right. You know, history is, is written by those who were in power. Typically, those who were white and not like people like us, like people like me or people like my student leaders. And that's why when we created this curriculum, which is Pacific Islands Studies,that's our kids. That's our students. This is where their ancestors have hailed from, this is their culture, this is their stories. These are stories that they've heard of that were familiar to them.

And now bringing them into a classroom that we typic- that you wouldn't see or experience until you got to college. How come we have to wait until you go to college? If you go to college, if you have access to college, to hear these stories or to, to learn these lessons and to learn these things, because in our communities, we already- families already have these stories. Families are already sharing these stories, but it's just within their families. It's not elevated to a point where it's important or worth studying, I suppose, in traditional schools or in academia.

Jonathan: Give me an example of how it is experienced differently. Like what are some of the ways that, learning about people and cultures and engaging with this material that you've created and the specific, um, how, what, what did you call it again? Pacific…

Kristina: Pacific Islands Studies.

Jonathan: Pacific Islands Studies. Yeah. How do they, how do they engage with that learning differently than they might say at the school down the road?

Kristina: Good question. When we say student voice matters, it- when they talk, we listen. And at the beginning of the school year, when I ask, “how many of you have family that are in Oceania? How many of you are from this area?” And a whole bunch of them raise their hands and I asked them, “can you share with us these things?” If they haven't been, cause a lot of these islands are so tiny and so far away, I try to bring it to them. Whether that be a cultural study, a music study, a language study so that way you can see and build those connections.

And the theme for Oceanic studies was, that although these islands are so far away, that we're all connected by the ocean and... Having students see and draw those parallels for themselves and experiences for themselves like, “Hey, I live in Hawaii, I live on Oahu, but out here in Samoa, it's very similar. Like our language, our music and our food are so similar who would've, who would've known.” And it's, I guess the way that my teaching practices is just like the act of doing the verb, the doing and the learning.

I can think of actually two instances where I had two student leaders share about their culture. Uh, one student who was born in Western Samoa, which is traditional Samoa, she talked about what it was like to grow up there and what their tradition was and what their culture was like, what their food was like. And that encouraged another student or created that brave space for another Samoan student and they created that dialogue for every, for everyone else and everyone else was tapping in and they wanted to know so… We had a student who was from a village in Guam, share about his culture. And I actually have a colleague who is from Guam and she, and she, and him, and they collaborated on what it was like to live in Guam versus here and they both talked about the, difficult or the challenging relationship that the United States has in Guam. And a lot of kids, a lot of student leaders had no idea and when I conference with that student leader, after he shared his presentation, he said that it felt really empowering to share about his island and make that connection with everybody else. And now I see that when we talk more so in- well, now that we're rounding up Pacific Islands Studies, you know, he's able to make more parallels throughout our lessons and say, “Hey, well, that's interesting that you mentioned this because back in Guam it's this,” and he offers a lot of discourse that we don't see typically in middle schoolers.

JONATHAN: It should be noted that centering culture in DreamHouse’s curriculum is not happenstance. The school’s co-founders have thought long and hard about not just the role of culture in creating a welcoming community, but also, how to be intentional about their own roles and privileges.
Here’s Alex, co-founder of DreamHouse, again.

Alex: I'm not from Hawaii. And I wrote my dissertation for my doctoral program, in, in part centering on just that fact and asking myself what is, what is my role as an educational leader? And I've co-founded this school, but what steps am I taking every day to be a leader that creates space and elevates others to do the incredible work that our school and our extended DreamHouse family does on a daily basis.

One of our professors here at the University of Hawaii, she essentially called out all non-indigenous educators. She said, “Hey, non-indigenous educators there are three things that you need to remember and you need to ask yourself, ‘when is your time to step forward? When is your time to step back? And when is your time to step out?’ And that is what you need to sit with every day.” And I don't wanna say that I, I have always known or thought like that, but I do now and I do today.
Jonathan: Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and being open and vulnerable and teaching us.

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JONATHAN: Next, we’ll hear all about those experiences from the students themselves, but first, we’ll take a break.

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JONATHAN: DreamHouse’s mission and vision is to cultivate homegrown leaders through values-driven leadership development, bold skillbuilding, and a commitment to their island community. Those values include: empathy, leadership and identity affirmation, fostering a growth-mindset, supporting a rigorous academic environment, and instilling a culture of personal responsibility.

Let’s hear from Reese and Jaylen, student leaders at DreamHouse.

Reese: So my name is Reese. I'm Reese Gray. I'm an eighth grade student leader here at DreamHouse. I've been here since sixth grade, so back in 2019. I'm currently 13 years old, so pretty excited to be here and I would say like, something about me that resonates with me with DreamHouse is the ability for me to gain leadership all the way from sixth grade until I go up to college.

Jonathan: Awesome.

Jaylen: Hi, my name is Jaylen. I'm also a founding sixth grader. Been here since 2019. Turning 14 this month. Something that I've always liked about DreamHouse is just like the creative freedom that we have here, and just like how we have the space to voice our thoughts and opinions, and just be who we wanna be.

Jonathan: I'm guessing there's a lot of things that are like different in that transition from your, your last school to DreamHouse. Can you talk a little bit about what makes DreamHouse different?

Jaylen: So something that I've noticed about DreamHouse…this past year, I've had the opportunity to be part of the hiring process and just seeing the process that the school goes through to like- they hand choose the teachers that they have here and the coaches that they have here, and they really put time into making sure that these people are the best fit to teaching us. So that's just something that I've noticed.

Jonathan: Can we just stay there for one second. What was your participation in that process like?

Jaylen: So there was just this one big meeting where all the people who applied, they just ask questions about DreamHouse and I'd be there to answer them with my experiences.

Jonathan: So you, you were actually a part of educating them about the school and what they could look forward to if they joined the team?

Jaylen: Yes.

Jonathan: Wow. Very cool.

Some of your coaches were talking about like identity exploration and how, who you are is also important. Like you don't just, everyone's not having the exact same experience. Can you talk a little bit about that? Like how identity exploration plays into your education, what you've maybe learned about yourself specifically, uh, and how you show up as a learner and as a leader?

Reese: I did this leadership camp, which was in July of 2019, which was a one week camp with the new and upcoming sixth graders, the founding class at DreamHouse.
We did a bunch of like group activities, team bonding activities and like even that week itself just made me realize that this is where I'm meant to be. I know that I can learn a lot. I can also fail a lot, and identity too, this year, specifically. This is my last year of middle school before I enter high school. So it's a very big change for me. And I've been working on my identity specifically in hopes that I can achieve my goals in my dream career as I get older. And then one thing that I just learn about myself, I've learned a lot of how I like... For me personally, I like to kind of not necessarily take charge, but also lead when other, whenever others do need guidance in life. And that's where the town hall also came in because I was leading a lot of the topics with a lot of my peers, and that too just made me realize that I am who I am today.

Jonathan: Did you say fail a lot? I can fail a lot. That is... Now, I have a background with design. So I, I think about failure in a different way, I think, than a lot of folks. But in traditional school, fai- I know failure is not a good thing. When you say it though, there was not a hint of anxiety. You said it like it was a good thing. What does that mean to you? What does failing mean as part of your education?

Reese: Failing for me, my education, it's something that I would say I'm proud of in a positive way, because back in sixth grade, when I first started, I knew for a fact that, you know, I'm not, I'm like a new student. I'm gonna learn new things, and also from the town halls, I kinda messed up a lot because I was very nervous. It was my first time actually leading something very big. And when I did a reflection about this afterwards, about my town hall, like what went well, what could have been improved, if there's any strength and weaknesses, and I just learned for myself that failure is a part of success and to grow and to learn, you need to fail.

Jonathan: I'm 38 years old, I'm almost 40. I wish I had learned that when I was your age, it would've saved me a lot of headache.

What about you? How has, how does your identity... How, what have you learned about yourself and how does, you know, knowing your identity, who you really are impact the way you learn and lead at, uh, DreamHouse?

Jaylen: Something that I've realized, especially in this past few years, is that I've based my entire identity really on like academics. And that's something that I've trying, I'm trying to expand. So for me, I'd be really hard on myself... when I was in elementary school, I'd be really hard on myself if I got anything other than perfect.

So, yeah, so I was really strict on my academics because I thought that was the only thing that was good about myself. And I think, now, I've expanded so much that I've realized that I'm good at so many other things. It's just, I'm now only being able to realize it. Like I've, within the past few years, I've started my own business. I've done panels because of the opportunities DreamHouse has presented to me, but also because I had the courage to go and take those opportunities.

Jonathan: So I wanna ask you both, if you could share a specific story, it, it could be a project that you were a leader on, or it could just be a project that someone else did that really impacted you, but, you know, talk to me about an example of exemplary student leader from someone at DreamHouse. I would love to hear about that.

Reese: Yeah. So, um in these past couple of years, I've done a lot, for me specifically, and also for my school in order for me to gain leadership capabilities. Um, one specific thing I did this year, or sorry, 2021 was, this year's summer camp. And this was for... This is a summer camp that happens every year at DreamHouse, and this is for the upcoming sixth grader. And this is just to kinda show them like what DreamHouse is about, our vision and mission, core competencies, which include voice and identity, commitment to community, consciousness, and a lot of other things. So in this leadership camp, I was also able to help with some other coaches. I was known as like a, me and my other peers were known as junior coaches, and I was just there, if any other students have any questions, if any coaches need any help. It also helped with the agenda or the day of, um, and my role in that was kind of known as like the junior coach.

Um, I helped with one of my other co-, who's actually now our math teacher, Coach Keaka. I helped him a lot specifically 'cause he's also a new coach. I wanted to welcome him. So I helped him with whatever he needed. I gave him support and I also just helped the upcoming sixth graders. Like if they have any questions,, like what DreamHouse was about, my experiences, and I also share with them my values, my morals, and it was just kinda fun, you know, to connect with other people who are excited to be here at this charter school.

Jonathan: And do you have an example of, of, of leadership that stands out for you?

Jaylen: Something for me specifically, um, it was happening re- recently and I think I kinda like touched on this, but it's about the housing project that I was working on with my team and I've kinda jumped into it halfway. So my team was working on it before me and they kinda already had like an idea and I saw what they were doing. And I was like, “oh, that is like amazing. Like that is something that I personally wanna be a part of and I know that I have the connections to make that happen. So I kinda gave them my input. So including more mental health, 'cause a lot of people who are houseless in Hawaii, they don't have access to these certain facilities and resources. And that is something that I wanna be able to provide for them. So mental health, physical health, domestic violence support, just different topics like that. And right now, like this all started from my idea and we were able to pitch it to some people, who my might be able to help us make this happen. But I also have some ideas of how we can make this happen and people who will be willing to help us along this journey.

Jonathan: You know that, I mean, both of those are pretty impressive. If you can remember like pri- prior to DreamHouse, how did you think about your future? Like were you thinking about college? Did you have a career in mind?

Reese: So for me specifically, before I came to DreamHouse, I actually didn't ever think about my future. I always just thought that, you know, I go through elementary school, I go through middle school, high school and then when I go into adulthood, then I just figure it out from there.

One thing that I am like very passionate about with speaking to other people is gender inequality. That's also kind of what a project I did similar to Jaylen, but just gender inequality, and I wanted to talk about that specifically in Hawaii because, you know, gender equality is something that a lot of people face, specifically women, and I wanna be able to talk about it coming from a woman myself that, you know, we have, not we have to, but, it's also good opportunity for us to show that we are independent and capable of making our own decisions and you know, also to stop and, or to end poverty itself within women.

Jaylen: So for me, I recently just discovered that I like coding. Like that is something that I personally love like to do. So, I entered last year- We were part of the Congressional App Challenge. We built an app centered around body positivity, especially around culture and we won for the state of Hawaii. So I guess realizing that I have like so many passions and I can turn one of those, even multiple into a job or like into a career that I genuinely enjoy and I can become a successful person.

Jonathan: What are some of the things that your coaches do and how do you partner with your coaches to help make sure that they are giving you the type of learning experiences and leadership opportunities you need as you grow?

Jaylen: So for me, there was a time specifically in sixth grade where I personally felt like I just wasn't being challenged enough. Like I felt like I was kinda being held back and like there was so many other things that I could do. And I expressed this to my coaches. Like I don't feel like I'm reaching my full potential here and I wanna know what we both can do, what we can work on for me to grow. So our solution, it was to- I was joining a bunch of clubs. So their solution was, ‘hey, maybe be you wanna join this club? Maybe this club will maybe like expand your leadership abilities, your communicating abilities,’ 'cause although I was doing really good on my academics, I had no idea how to talk to people. Like just talking to people one on one was scary. Like it was terrifying to me. Like I wouldn't like, before, I wouldn't be able to start a conversation. Like I just preferred not to talk to people and now, now like I still, I'm not a fan of talking to people, but, you know, I feel comfortable doing it now.

Jonathan: Do you have any advice from your lived experience on like, you know, suggestions for teachers who wanna think of themselves more like a coach and better support leader, young leaders to like use their voice, have more say in their learning and really take, take control of, of their educational experience?

Jaylen: So for me personally, something that I would like a piece of advice I'd give is that before we're students, something that I've picked up for one of my teachers is that before we're students, we're all humans first. So I think before academics, before learning in general, we all have problems that we're going through that we might need help with and I think learning to accept that, or even like just asking a student how their day is going, can make such a big impact and just genuinely listening to them about what they're going through.

JONATHAN: Now, let’s hear from two of DreamHouse’s newest students, Aiden and Hailey.

Aiden: My name is Aiden Alvarez. I am in the 6th grade. My past experience in school wasn't too great, but I think DreamHouse has made it better.

Hailey: My name is Hailey. I am a 6th grader here from DreamHouse. I'm really honored to have been invited here. Thank you.

Jonathan: The honor is mine, really. You are both 6th graders, meaning this is your first year at, at DreamHouse is that correct?

Hailey + Aiden: Yes.

Jonathan: So something that I heard about that sounds a bit different than other schools, I've heard about this, this LEAD block. And I've heard of other schools that have like leadership or like advisory, but a lot of times it's like, like once a week and it may or may not, you know, have any themes that, you know, come back over the course of the year. Can you talk to me about what LEAD block is at your school and what, um, you know, what makes it, um, special?

Reese: So LEAD block, um, it's actually called LEAD and SEEL. So, um, what, we decided to combine LEAD and SEEL because, SEEL stands for social, emo- emotional, ethical learning, and that also intertwines with LEAD because LEAD is a place where we can express our ideas and thoughts. Um, and that can be from various ways. One way that I expressed my thoughts and feelings with LEAD and SEEL was actually doing a town hall. Um, and this town hall corresponds with the whole eighth grade. And it was with a bunch... It was with me and my team with my community theater class, and our vision for this town hall was to be able to bring together the eighth grade through leadership and also, through emotional support. Um, we did various activities. We talked about a lot of topics that need to be talked about.

One topic specifically that we talked about was bullying. And we wanted to address that specifically because bullying is an international thing, and DreamHouse specifically, we're such a- like combined school in such a large school that in order for us to stop bullying, we have to have, you know, ideas within each other and collaborate with one another, and I feel like just having that LEAD block overall made me gain a lot of leadership, um, and a lot of voice and a lot of identity. And another thing was also commitment to community. I helped with Coach Alex and some other coaches about committing to the community and doing it in various ways, whether that was a beach cleanup, or if that was just like talking to you guys overall. Um, yeah.

Aiden: LEAD & SEAL's special because, like, it's very different to, like, traditional public school where it's like, you know, after lunch you just go to class, you know, nothing, you don't have a break, but, I think LEAD & SEAL like, it's like a break from the regular classes, like and just to really focus on, you know, practicing leadership, and maybe just give you a break from, like, all the work that you're doing in class which I never had in my old school.

Hailey: I think LEAD & SEAL was definitely eye opening. You cover things that regular 6th grade middle schools wouldn't cover. See right now we're researching colleges, which is super cool.

Jonathan: Yeah, that's cool. Am I correct that in 6th grade you all are taking Hawaiian perspectives, or Haw- Hawaiian language? What is it, what is the course that you take?
Hailey: Hawaiian Culture-

Aiden: Hawaiian-

Hailey: ... and-

Aiden: ... Culture-

Hailey: ... Perspectives.

Aiden: ... and perspectives.

Jonathan: What, what's that class like? Is that similar to something you've had before, or is that a new class here at DreamHouse that's different from your past schools?

Hailey: I'd say it's kind of different. Um, I've known the teacher that teaches Hawaiian Culture and Perspectives for us. She was an old P.E. teacher from my old school, and she's a great teacher. And Hawaiian Culture and Perspectives you cover so much of Hawaiian culture. You go into, like, history, songs, the plants, the animals, native stuff, and folklore stories. And we've studied so much Hawaiian culture here.

Jonathan: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Aiden: Yeah-

Jonathan: Aiden, what has learning that meant for you?

Aiden: Uh, learning, uh, like the history of Hawaii is just really fun to learn because at my old school, you know, I think it was, it has to be either in ELA, or social studies that where we would learn that. So it's like, it's easier to focus on just one thing, than, like, learn other stuff with Hawaiian too. So, I think it's easier to learn, and do work for Hawaiian, and like Hailey said, it's really good to know what your history is.

Jonathan: I wonder if there are any, like, significant memories, or experiences from the more, like, traditional classes?

Hailey: Since from like a young age, I've always really, really struggled with math. It's a hard topic for me. And then when I came here, it's so interesting to learn, and you can talk to your coach about it. Just now I was in math and you're invited to do, like, a small group thing where you can talk to each other when you're doing problems. It's all conversing together.

Jonathan: It seems like both of you, even though, you know, Hailey said math wasn't necessarily your strongest suit, Aiden, ELA wasn't yours, you both have found ways at DreamHouse, to get interested, and engaged in those subjects and find, maybe some skills that you didn't realize were there. That's really exciting. You two have been phenomenal.

JONATHAN: Coaches are uniquely tasked with helping someone unlock their full potential, and ultimately, maximizing their performance by guiding someone from their comfort zone into their learning zone. It’s this vulnerable place of exploration and support that makes the difference between a dream and a goal. An intention and a reality.

Here are some closing thoughts from Coach Ryan and Coach Adrienne.

Adrienne: One thing that I would like to tackle with the leaders, next and overall with the whole Dreamhouse Ohana is a better connection from school to community. Meaning, we do a lot of community service, but I would like us to, or the student leaders to develop an ongoing relationship with the community.

So that, it's not just community service here, there. We make a mark, I want something to, with longevity to be put in place from the vision of the students.

I don't want the, the coaches or instructional leaders to be the guide on that. And I think that they will do it. I believe that with the giving, and community based orientation that they have now, I can see them planning something. But I can't wait to see what that might be.

Ryan: For me, you know, there's always a next step. But I think one thing that I hope to accomplish is how do we sustain the things that we're currently doing? Um, and that's the hard part. Because, some of the troubles that, or challenges that we experience is because we always fall back on what we know. Which is excellent teaching and learning. But we know that excellent teaching and learning is not enough. Especially in indigenous communities. Especially when the excellent teaching and learning is grounded in Western practices.

And I want to figure out as a school leader, how do I sustain what amazing indigenous centered education looks like, in the context here in Hawaii, in a school system that tells us at the end of the year, you need to do a standardized test. So, that is my commitment and something that we're trying to figure out. We're three years, we're a baby. We have so many more years to come, but just thinking about how do we look at ourselves as designers, to then redesign systems that are best for our kids.

JONATHAN: Here are some final thoughts from Coach Kristina.

Kristina: When I joined, you know, formally my past life, as I said is, I was Miss Viloria, or Miss V, and it, when you come to DreamHouse, you, you are now coach. You're coach Kristina, or coach, whatever. And when I talk to my former colleagues, they're like, “that's such a strange thing. Like why, why is that?” And the simple explanation that I can give is I ask them like, “well, have you ever played in a sport before? Have you ever had an athletic coach before?” And most like nine out of 10 times, they'll say yes.
And I'll ask them with a follow up question of, “what was your relationship like with that coach?” And most of them will say, “well, I love that coach. That was, that- this coach has seen me in times of vulnerability and has mentored me and has built me up and didn't teach me anything, but just simply, literally coached me and mentored me through some of the best times of my life” and I said, “that's exactly that. That's what a coach is. And that's what I am, or I would like to think that I am.” That I'm someone that is seeing you at your most challenging times or most vulnerable times and coaching you and mentoring you and giving you the tools and the skills to get you through those times. I can vividly think of the, or remember the coaches that got me through my high school and not really the teachers though that got me through high school. So it's that relationship that you have with your instructional, your student, your student leaders and them that they have with me as their coach.

JONATHAN: The support of a coach is critical to success, but the process of growth all starts with the vision we see for ourselves.

Here’s Aiden and Hailey again, sharing the impact they hope to one day achieve.

Hailey: I do wanna have a very strong impact on people, a positive one. I wanna be one of Pixar's animators for Disney one day and I wanna work under their Pixar Animation Studio, and I wanna make movies for people around the world that find joy in it.

Aiden: Yeah, I think that I wanna do is, like, help all the homeless, or houseless people, or all the people who are not living in a house, like, by doing something that I love. So I think that DreamHouse has, like, helped me process that and show me ways I can do it.

Jonathan: Wow. Hailey you mentioned that you wanted to have a positive impact on people, and you both have had a positive impact, um, on me today, and on this show. Thank you so much for joining us.

Aiden: Thank you.

[Theme music fades in]

JONATHAN: That’s it for this week. Thank you so much for listening to Changing Course, from Teach For America’s One Day Studio. I’m Jonathan Santos Silva. Peace.

SFX: School Bell Rings

OUTRO

JONATHAN: Next time on Changing Course, we’re taking you to the Sooner State, visiting an elementary school in Tulsa, Oklahoma where students are finding their voice and learning skills that are helping them make change in their communities.

Jonathan: Let me get this straight. You sing?

Lola: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Jonathan: You drum?

Lola: Yes.

Jonathan: You raise supplies for kids in need?

Lola: And I also play ukulele.

Jonathan: What don't you do?

Lola: I don't have a job (laughs).

Jonathan: Okay. Well, you know, there's time for that. How old are you now?

Lola: I am 11.

JONATHAN: That’s next time on Changing Course. And if you loved the podcast, be sure to rate, review and subscribe to ‘Changing Course’ on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.

CREDITS

JONATHAN: Changing Course is produced by Teach For America’s One Day Studio in partnership with Pod People. Special thanks to my main man Michael Kress, Craig Hunter, Laura Zingg, and Georgia Davis from Teach for America, and the production team at Pod People: Rachael King, Matt Sav, Aimee Machado, Danielle Roth, shoutout to Chris Jacobs and Shaneez Tyndall, and Erica Huang.

Last but certainly not least, thanks to the students and staff at DreamHouse ‘Ewa Beach who shared their time and experience to help us make this episode: Aiden, Hailey, Reese, and Jaylen and Ryan Mandado, Adrienne Brown, Kristina Viloria, and Alex Teece.

I’m Jonathan Santos Silva. Peace.