Three Questions for a School Founder
Learn more about the applications of equityXdesign through the work of school designers on the ground. In this feature, Janine Gomez, founder of I Dream Academy DC, tells us more about her school creation journey and how equity remains at the center.
Talk to me about your model. What new story are your writing in Washington, D.C.?
I Dream Academy DC is creating a space for 3–13 year-olds to transform their learning by expanding perceptions of achievement and success. We do this so that children can fall in love with the challenges of pursuing their dreams. Self-directed learning in a community-driven learning environment empowers children whose brilliance has been historically undervalued, unrecognized, and misinterpreted to learn how to fulfill their dreams, uncover who they are and who they are here to become.
IDA DC learners transform their learning in three powerful ways:
Powerful Way 1: Dream Time
Inspired by Google’s 20% Time, where employees spend 20% of their work time exploring passion projects, IDA DC learners have Dream Time each week to explore their curiosities and passions to spark creativity and engagement in deep learning. Learners apply concepts and skills learned in their academic classes and in Advisory in this time of exploration and collaboration. They also transfer the Dream Time skills into their academic learning. Coaches are present to observe, question, and provide resources to facilitate learning.
Who are Dream Collaborators? Dream Collaborators are members of the community who have pursued their dreams or have experiences in the interests and passions of our learners. They work with learners during Dream Time, as in-person or virtual volunteers, for a few weeks or longer depending on the project and availability.
Powerful Way 2: Social Emotional Learning
Emotional intelligence is just as important as academic intelligence at IDA DC. Learners participate in daily Advisory with a coach and small group of their peers to build community and develop their abilities to become self-aware, socially aware, responsible decision-makers, and cultivators of healthy relationships. Emphasis on identity, culture, community, and social justice puts each learner on a path to becoming themselves while understanding their responsibilities to their communities.
Powerful Way 3: Customized Learning Plans
At I Dream Academy DC, we believe that every child deserves a special education and that every child can own her/his learning. The idea of a “customized” learning plan is very different from a “personalized” learning plan, which tends to emphasize technology and self-paced online instruction or playlists. Every learner at IDA DC co-creates a Customized Learning Plan with their coaches and families to engage in regular reflection, goal setting, and progress towards academic, social emotional, and dreamer goals. The CLP is our cornerstone document that guides the learner to the right relationship with learning.
IDA DC is a village that empowers children to pursue their dreams. Our community school collaborates with the home and the wider community to surround each learner with the guidance and care they need to become successful, self-actualized people who will contribute to their communities. Out-of-school programming and resources reveal the assets of the community while also strengthening it in the process. These are included in our model.
How is this new story different from the current story or history?
There are two tracks of education based on race and class in this country. The same is true in D.C. We all know this. We just don’t want to talk about it. The traditional factory school model is basically the same as it has been for decades. When compounded by the historical experience of racism and oppression, the impact on the development of a child is cruel and unusual punishment. In D.C., there are some students at higher risk by virtue of their skin color, zip code, and access to generational wealth. This is unjust. We will provide another option. It is our obligation.
I Dream Academy DC is debunking the biased belief that public schools situated in communities devalued by systemic oppression, should teach children to master basic skills and learn how to behave before they are allowed to think, create, and innovate. We believe the opposite is true — creating and giving children time to explore their interests and curiosities motivates them to master the skills they need and to collaborate with others. This way of learning exists in schools who cater to the affluent and the included. This is the story we will to change.
You have been on this school creation journey for a while. Tell us about that journey and what you have learned about yourself, schools, and students along the way.
I left a career as an electrical engineer in the early 90s to pursue my calling to become an educator. Every experience in my 25+ year journey as an educator, principal, and consultant has prepared me to create I Dream Academy DC. I know that my drive to realize this vision comes from my childhood experiences on both sides of the education divide. I was permitted to explore my interests and had the freedom to be self-directed in my learning in a predominantly white and affluent private school. The racist incidents I experienced with classmates and teachers convinced my parents to withdraw me after third grade. I was forced to sit and walk in formation, complete endless worksheets, and do what I was told in my neighborhood school in New Haven, CT. My experiences as a teacher, principal, and consultant have taught me that all children come into this world with passions and curiosities. Their potential should not be limited, blunted, or arrested by their geography or estimations of wealth. If a child cares about what they are learning, they will go to great depths to learn it.
My experience in equitable school creation brought our team’s ideas down from the clouds and placed them squarely in the room with children and families who are living the school experience many of us have lived. Instead of going forward and building the school model we had in our heads and were sure (read assumed) families needed, our team began spending time in the communities we intend to serve asking questions like, “What do you want in a school?” “How do you decide to what to learn?” “What do you want your child to become?”
The responses to these questions shape our model. I’ve also learned the difference between asking people for input and allowing the people most affected by the problem we want to solve to lead in making decisions. There is a difference. I believe as we move from ideation to implementation, we will engage more families and community members who trust that what we are building is real and will step in to lead the design and manifestation of aspects of I Dream Academy DC. An excellent example of this is our Community Action Group (CAG), consisting of family and community members who are a part of the decision-making process with the founding team and board. The CAG is currently revising our mission statement to better reflect our shared understanding of language!
Most importantly, I’ve learned that history is a valuable partner in this work. We are not doing anything new. It’s just our turn.
Understanding the history of public education in this country and public education in D.C. puts what we are creating in context with a rich legacy and foundation of thoughtful resistance.
Final thoughts?
When you step onto this path with Caroline Hill, know that who you thought you were and what you thought you were going to be doing will be changed forever. You will learn information about yourself as a leader and school founder that will surprise you and disgust you. You will gain new insights into systems of oppression that actually include you and that you perpetuate. Feel the discomfort, own what is yours, and move forward. It’s all a part of your evolution to create what is sorely needed in this world right now. Welcome to the Collective.
The 228Accelerator exists to scale equity in our schools. If you are interested in learning more about what we do, follow us 228Accelerator. You can learn more about Caroline at @CarolineIHill.
