How families will transform our broken school system | Veronica Crespin-Palmer | TEDxMileHigh

"Families don't care about their children's education." That's what Veronica Crespin-Palmer heard from fellow educators, but she knew from experience that it wasn't true. In this inspiring talk, she explains what's possible when teachers, administrators and superintendents empower low-income families and families of color to support their children's learning at home and lead the movement for educational equity.

Veronica Crespin-Palmer is the co-founder and CEO of RISE Colorado, a non-profit in Aurora that educates, engages and empowers low-income families and families of color to fight for educational equity in our public-school system. Born and raised in Denver, Veronica is a seventh generation Colorado native. She began her career in Los Angeles as a Teach For America (TFA) corps member and has over 10 years of experience as a teacher, organizer and social entrepreneur. She was recently chosen as an Inaugural Obama Foundation Fellow and is a proud wife and mother of two.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

It's no surprise that I work in education.

It's in my blood.

My grandmother Alberta, a proud Chicana,
lived in the projects in downtown Denver

and was in a gang.

She dropped out of school,

got pregnant with my dad

and went on welfare.

She realized the only way
to end this cycle of poverty and violence

was through education.

So, as a single mom of three,

while my grandfather
was incarcerated in prison,

she crossed the street
from the projects to Auraria Campus

got her GED, bachelor's and master's

and became a social worker
for Denver public schools.

(Applause)

She was a social worker
for Denver public schools for 25 years.

And she went to college,
my dad went to college,

I went to college,

and now my two Afro-Latino children,
Trey and Avianna, will go to college.

(Applause)

My grandmother single-handedly
transformed my family's trajectory

for generations to come

by pursuing an education.

And it's why I wanted to become a teacher:

to transform the lives of other Latinx
and children of color like me.

My first job at out of college

was in a low-income community
in Los Angeles as a third-grade teacher.

It was a closed campus,
meaning families are not allowed on site.

They dropped off
their children in the morning

and picked them up in the afternoon.

What happened in between
was none of their business.

Soon I realized
that this is a common mindset

among teachers, principals
and superintendents across the country:

that families don't have
a place in education.

Time and time again,

I've heard fellow educators
say things like,

"Families don't care,"

"They're too busy,"

"They don't value education."

So at worst, families are not included
in their children's education at all.

At best, families are asked
to do volunteer activities

like chaperoning field trips
or organizing bake sales.

Neither of which have anything to do
with actual education

and academic achievement.

This persistent lack
of communication and separation

between families and teachers

leads to a complete breakdown in trust.

You've seen it in the news.

We fall into this endless cycle of,
"Who's at fault for our failing schools?"

Teachers blame families.

Families blame teachers.

The only thing that they can agree on
is that the system isn't working.

And it's true.

The system isn't working,

especially for our low-income students
and students of color,

who continue to graduate
at rates far below their white peers.

In Colorado,

white students are graduating
from high school at 85%,

black students are at 74%,

and Latinx students are at 73%.

Stats like these contribute
to mindsets and the education system

that low income families
and families of color

don't care, are too busy
and don't value education.

But here's the thing.

As a teacher,

I saw how much our low-income families
and families of color

wanted to be involved
in their children's education.

They just weren't given a chance to.

And no one showed them how to do it.

So, I tried something different.

At this point, I was teaching
kindergarten in East L.A.

I invited all of my students'
families into my classroom

and explained why two skills,
sight words and math facts,

would be a big part
of their child's kindergarten success.

I showed them how to practice sight words
and math facts at home

and how often to do it.

The results were miraculous.

After connecting with students' families,

I had one of the highest performing
kindergarten classes in the school.

With families doing this work at home,

their children were mastering
fundamental skills,

and I was freed up to teach
above and beyond the standard curriculum.

I felt like I had a true partnership
with my students' families.

We were mutually invested
and mutually accountable.

And my job was 1,000 times easier.

And my students
were exceeding expectations.

Then I realized

families are a sleeping giant.

Once awakened to the inequities
that exist in our education system,

there's nothing they won't do

to ensure that their children receive
the excellent education they deserve.

And the system will never be the same.

As educators, it must be
our top priority to engage families.

The only question is,

How?

I co-founded RISE Colorado
to focus on family engagement full-time.

We're based in Aurora, Colorado,

an official refugee resettlement city

and one of the most diverse
school districts and cities in the state

with families from over 130 countries,

speaking over 160 different languages.

At RISE, our theory of change is

that those most impacted
by the inequity that exists

must lead the movement
for change themselves,

just like Dr. King and African Americans
led the Civil Rights Movement

and Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez
led the Farmworkers' Movement.

For education, that means we need
low-income families and families of color

to lead the movement
for educational equity

with us alongside
and behind them as allies.

(Applause)

And that makes sense, right?

The number one authorities
on the barriers families face

and the challenges that they have

are the families themselves.

Barriers like parent-teacher conferences
on a Thursday night from 5 to 7 pm.

A time when many families
are working their second shift

at jobs that are often
low wage and inflexible.

Or barriers like school communications
that are only in English,

when a family's native language is Nepali.

These barriers have simple fixes.

Low-income families and families of color
can tell us exactly what the fixes are.

It's our job to educate,
engage and empower them.

Just like we did with Diana.

Like many immigrant families
arriving to the US,

Diana assumed that the education system
would meet her daughter Miranda's needs.

After all, this is the land
of opportunity, right?

But then we told Diana
about the opportunity gap

during one of our workshops
at her daughter's preschool

She had no idea
that only 21% of third-graders

are reading on grade level in Aurora

or that Latinx students'
reading proficiency rates

are less than half
than that of their white peers.

We co-hosted workshops

and taught Diana skills and strategies
to support Miranda's learning at home.

For example, to prevent
the four-million-word gap,

Diana now reads to Miranda
at least 20 minutes every night.

And it's paying off.

Miranda is now one
of the top-performing students

in her second-grade class.

(Applause)

Diana's involvement
went beyond Miranda's success.

We engaged and empowered Diana
to lead systemic change

along with other family leaders.

After ICE raids,

Diana and other RISE family leaders
wrote and led a resolution

to support students
regardless of documentation status.

(Applause)

They collected
over 800 signatures of support,

met with school board members,
district officials and the superintendent.

It was a hard-fought battle.

But in the end, three Republicans,
three Democrats and one Independent

voted in support of the resolution,

and it passed with the seven-zero votes.

Low-income families and families of color

are proving time and time again

that they are architects,
and not just objects of policy.

And this is just one of many
incredible organizing wins

by our African-American, Latinx, Burmese,

Karen, Karenni, Bhutanese
and Nepali families.

To meet their language needs,

RISE family leaders work to improve
interpretation and translation services

district-wide

by co-creating language ID cards

and a central language services office

alongside Aurora
school district officials.

The majority of RISE family leaders

cannot vote and are learning
to speak English.

But through the power of their stories

and their ability to create
strong relationships

with district officials,

they're able to move
a school district of 40,000 students

to make systemic change.

(Applause)

I'm a big fan of the musical "Hamilton."

And like Lin-Manuel Miranda said,
"Immigrants: we get the job done,"

(Applause)

these families are getting the job done,

improving the education system
for everyone, not just their own children.

It's time for families and educators
to become true partners.

That means families are seen
as decision-makers

and have seats in decision-making tables,

that we trust families to surface
the complex challenges they're facing

and create their own solutions,

and that educators are co-creating
learning experiences alongside families

to improve academic achievements

and are trusting
families' expertise and guidance.

If we do not support low-income families
and families of color

to lead the movement
for educational equity,

we're going to be having
these same conversations

in the next 10 or 20 years.

Students of color

will continue to graduate
at rates far below their white peers

if the system doesn't change.

But our fates are intertwined.

And if the education system
is failing students of color,

then it's failing all of us.

Families are ready to lead.

It's time to awaken the sleeping giant.

Thank you.

(Cheers) (Applause)