Morgan Radford (00:04):
For example, we're visiting a school in Nashville called Valor College Prep, and they have these weekly circle discussions where students can talk about what they're doing and where their teachers can really take time to listen to them.
Priscilla Chan (00:16):
I'm so excited that you're visiting Valor. It's fantastic. And I think what is so amazing about their work, first of all, did you know that Valor was started by a set of identical twins?
Morgan Radford (00:29):
No clue.
Priscilla Chan (00:30):
One is a school leader, and one is a psychologist.
Morgan Radford (00:34):
I love that.
Priscilla Chan (00:35):
And this set of identical twins decide to come together and open the school where they really are able to bring their skills in building a great school and supporting especially those awkward years of middle school and some high school. Really helping kids navigate that.
Morgan Radford (00:57):
Today, we're in conversation with CZI co-founder Priscilla Chan. We'll hear her thoughts on whole child development, the inspiration for the initiative, and the trendy discussions around education. Then the unique story behind a school in Tennessee that's outperforming other schools in the state with its implementation of social emotional learning. I'm Morgan Radford. Welcome to episode two of Building Classroom Connections from TODAY. Sponsored by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
Morgan Radford (01:35):
This podcast is sponsored by CZI, which stands for Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The head of this for-profit organization is Chan. She's on a mission to reframe the way schools approach the student-teacher dynamic. I spoke with her remotely. She wore a comfortable solid cream sweatshirt, unexpectedly casual attire for someone most of us know as the wife of Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook now known as Meta, and one of the top five richest Americans. Here I was greeted by Chan, the working mother of two daughters who are the inspiration for CZI, an organization that makes education and whole child learning one of its priorities.
Priscilla Chan (02:17):
For us at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, you can't isolate specific aspects of education. It's meaningless to say we're really focused on reading, or we're really focused on mathematics, because kids don't come that way. Kids don't sort of bring just their math self and turn that on for that exact moment in the classroom. They are a whole person, and if they're hungry, if they're tired, if they're worried about something, it is really hard for them to bring their best mathematical self to the classroom. That is actually not possible for most humans, and definitely really, really hard when you're a little kid. And so, what we focus on is: how can you support the whole child? How can you think about a student holistically when you're supporting their academic success? Not because the whole child is something apart from academics. Because the whole child is what powers a child to be successful in the classroom.
Morgan Radford (03:22):
Back in 2015, Chan and her husband posted a letter to their newborn daughter Max, welcoming her into the world. In that letter, they talk about new life, about promise, about dedicating themselves to humanitarian efforts, which included the couple pledging 99% of their Facebook shares toward funding those efforts through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. At that time, it totaled $45 billion.
Morgan Radford (03:49):
First off, Max is now at an age where she can actually read that letter. Right?
Priscilla Chan (03:54):
Max is six now. She can in fact read the letter. And I think the thing that's really fun is to be able to talk about giving with her. To talk about what I do, what Mark does, and different ways that she can give back. And it has to be little. You always have to remember what's developmentally appropriate. She's six, so she can handle a little bit of tension. She can handle sort of a problem and find a way for her to solve that particular problem. She has decided that she is in love with cats. We can't have one because I'm allergic to cats, but she visits the animal shelter all the time, and she decided to donate some of her money that she's earned to the animal shelter. And so, she spent an hour wondering what kind of toys and what kind of cat treats the cats at the shelter might like.
Morgan Radford (04:56):
Wow.
Priscilla Chan (04:57):
That's just a perfect Max-sized problem that she can understand and something that she can do something about. We're always trying to do things like that with her and her sister August. It's important to me that even though they're little, they have agency and when they see a problem, there's a Max- or August-sized solution that they can be a part of.
Morgan Radford (05:23):
I love that. A Max-sized solution. When you kind of reflect back on where you were when you wrote that letter and where the world is now, do you feel like you've done what you've set out to do in that letter?
Priscilla Chan (05:38):
We're at the beginning. The reason why we wrote that letter when I was in the labor and delivery room six and a half years ago...
Morgan Radford (05:48):
Oh, you wrote that in the delivery room?
Priscilla Chan (05:50):
We finished it. We finished the last draft in the delivery room. Because we knew this would be hard and it would take a long time to actually build our sense of who we are within these bigger ecosystems. What is our organization's differential skillset? What can we bring to the table? How do we work alongside others? How do we learn? And so, we always knew that this was lifelong work, but the really fun thing about where we're at right now is we have a sense of who we are. We believe in supporting the whole child. We believe in translating research that happens in academic institutions to be able to be applied and at the fingertips of practitioners. Whether they're teachers or scientists or local nonprofit leaders, they should have access to those best practices. And be able to be that connector, be that builder, be that supporter within the ecosystems that we work in is something that we've learned. We're still iterating on how we do it, how we show up. What are good ideas that we're getting momentum off of? What are things that really aren't getting traction? And so that learning process will always continue to happen but knowing what's a CZI-sized problem or a CZI -haped problem is something we're gaining confidence in every day. And that feels good.
Morgan Radford (07:27):
You mentioned some things you realize that work and there are things that don't work. When we talk about education, there are lots and lots of big ideas. There's often a lot of outside money that gets involved. What are some of the things that you've learned from this process that do not work?
Priscilla Chan (07:45):
In education?
Morgan Radford (07:46):
Yes.
Priscilla Chan (07:47):
It's such a complex ecosystem. It's distributed within our country and its many local stakeholders. But at the core of it is you need invested teachers, and you need to be supporting teachers with tools, you need to be supporting teachers with professional development, with career opportunities. And so, you have to be deeply engaged with the local community is looking for and connecting that with the practitioners, the teachers, and the parents. This is to our belief that you have to support the whole child, but you actually have to support that whole local ecosystem. And if the parents are not on the same page with the teachers, with the school leaders, with the kids, it breaks down. And so really thinking about the stakeholders and community engagement is super important.
Morgan Radford (08:46):
But as we mentioned in episode one of this podcast, this style of teaching hasn't gone without criticism. In places like southern Florida and Fairfax County, Virginia, a small but vocal group of parents have formed political groups arguing that social emotional learning has become a so-called Trojan horse for critical race theory, with one parent group in South Lake, Texas, calling it indoctrination. We do want to note that critical race theory is a separate academic concept that examines how systemic racism is embedded in society. One that's been taught in law schools for nearly 40 years and rarely at the K through 12 level. Still, these groups point to lessons that encourage children to celebrate diversity, sometimes introducing conversations about race, gender, and sexuality. It's a criticism Chan is well aware of.
Morgan Radford (09:40):
There are critics. There are people who don't like this idea of taking an approach that looks at the entire student as a whole. What do you say to critics who say, “Dude, when I was growing up, teachers just taught, and you left all your baggage at the door”? Is that something that you've heard before? And what do you say to that?
Priscilla Chan (10:01):
I think what people really worry about is lowered expectations. I'm not saying that we should lower our expectations at all. In fact, what I'm saying is if we actually make sure that each kid feels like they belong in the classroom, that can help us reach higher expectations. Because a child is supported in a way that best allows them to thrive in the classroom.
Morgan Radford (10:29):
There's a lot of parents out there who say, hey, look, I'd love to send my kid to one of these charter schools or special academies, but I'd rather, to your point, kind of just improve the school and the resources that are right here in my own neighborhood. Or perhaps that parent doesn't have the money to send their kids to a private school that has these strategies that are approaching the whole student. Are there sort of any of these resources available to public school kids?
Priscilla Chan (10:56):
So, I have to say, this work will not be successful if you have to go to one special kind of school or one special group of schools for your kid to be successful. The idea is really to make sure that you don't have to have that one special connection or live in just the right place or be able to afford a private school. But really thinking across all types of populations, all across the socioeconomic spectrum, across all different types of communities, and we try to make sure that our work works and can be successful in all of these different contexts. That's in public schools, charter schools, private schools. We do not limit where it is being used, and there's a significant amount of use in public schools. And there's actually also great examples of public schools doing this work too. Van Ness, which NBC has highlighted in the past, is one of the best schools doing this work, and it's a public school in D.C. So, I think my takeaway is that not just one special group of kids or one special group of parents wants to do this, and it's not one special type of teacher or school leader who can do this work. And it's really about sharing those best practices and tools no matter the type of school so that kids can be successful.
Morgan Radford (12:26):
Coming up next on Building Classroom Connections, we'll take a look at Valor Collegiate Academy to explore SEL at work and how it helped them become one of the most successful schools in Tennessee. More after the break.
Morgan Radford (12:48):
Valor Collegiate Academy. It's a part of a charter network of schools in Nashville, Tennessee. Well today, they have about 1900 students in grades 5 through 12, spanning across one high school and two middle schools. Since it opened back in 2014, Valor has been ranked in the state's top 5% for growth and achievement. And at the center of that success is a focus on a whole child approach to learning, something they call comprehensive human development. The idea behind it all, it's making sure they're not just educating students, but actually meeting their emotional needs as well. Informing strong student-teacher relationships. One of those students is Johnny Martin. Today, Johnny is a bright, vibrant 16-year-old now in his junior year, but his world wasn't always so upbeat.
Johnny Martin (13:43):
I was bullied. I wasn't as smart as the other kids. I didn't really understand half the stuff we were learning. And I feel like that kind of made me an outsider based on, well, not my education knowledge, I guess, but just me being me made me feel like an outsider.
Morgan Radford (14:03):
A feeling that started changing in the seventh grade. The reason? A woman named Ms. Penley.
Johnny Martin (14:10):
She would always intervene, she would always step in if she saw somebody being mistreated, or she saw something that wasn't entirely safe, she would step in the situation and try to figure it out and stop that from happening altogether. That's what she does. She's Ms. Penley.
Morgan Radford (14:25):
Ms. Penley is Natalie Penley. She's an assistant principal at Valor Collegiate Academy and she was assigned as a mentor to Johnny and a small group of other students when he was in the seventh grade. We sat down with her and three of those students, including Johnny, in a classroom one Tuesday afternoon. She says she still remembers how he started to come into his own.
Natalie Penley (14:47):
I also think that your confidence grew and that perception that you had of everyone is against me started to change as you got to know these guys. And I think about the morning time, we have 30 minutes in the morning where we just get to hang out before school starts. And hearing these guys hang out was one of my... I would sit on my laptop, I would grade papers, we would chat. But they just got into some hilarious conversations. Always supportive. They would play on their Chromebooks. They would have dance parties sometimes. They would show up to school with horse heads on. They would cook. We had a spaghetti cookoff one day and I'm like, why are we eating spaghetti so early in the morning? Just stuff like that that they came up with, I think, opened up the door for, oh, we can turn school into community. I think that it was them, it wasn't me. I was just there and encouraging their weird gamer quotes and ridiculous antics.
Morgan Radford (15:56):
And now Johnny, how do you feel? How do you feel when you come to school?
Johnny Martin (16:00):
I feel safe every day. I always have a group of people to support me if I don't feel entirely safe or if I just feel upset, and it's very helpful and it gives me the space encouraged to be myself.
Morgan Radford (16:16):
What is that like for you as a teacher, as the leader of this circle group, to help them navigate that?
Natalie Penley (16:22):
Well, I think it's really interesting. Well, this group of guys is amazing. But I remember when they were sixth graders, sixth grade's just a really tough year of middle school. And I remember telling my principal at the time, I was like, I want you to put anyone in my mentor group who you think might need some extra support next year in seventh grade. And seeing these guys come together and support each other was really powerful because one of the dads ended up coming to circle a little bit later in the year and he was just like, I never got to do this with my friends.
Morgan Radford (17:03):
Inside the classroom, Johnny participates in something called circle. It's a guided activity. It happens once a week, and it's where students get a chance to really be seen and heard. Inside, one by one, they share their feelings in a non-hierarchical group setting with a specifically trained teacher or student leading the way. And just like math, science, and history, it's all part of the curriculum. Johnny says it's nice to be able to share his feelings in a safe place and that it gives him a chance to really connect with his fellow students like Nick and Devon.
Devon (17:37):
I've definitely become more outgoing, and I've definitely been willing to open myself to other people. I can notice who I can trust and who I can open up to now.
Morgan Radford (17:49):
Nick, I saw this pretty powerful story of you, and you lost a parent, and you came, and you shared with your students and your friends about what you were going through. How did circle help you process what was happening in your life?
Nick (18:11):
Well, back when it actually happened, I wasn't able to process anything. I wasn't able to cry about it at that moment, and so I just had to take it all in and I didn't know how to let it out. So, I tried circle and it helped a lot. It feels like I was able to express myself again.
Morgan Radford (18:34):
What would you guys say to other students who are like, dude, I could never do that. I don't want to go to that school. I don't want to sit and talk about my feelings. I don't want to go to circle. What would you say to students who were still skeptical?
Nick (18:48):
I just say take a leap of faith. Just risk it. Because it feels good.
Devon (18:56):
I'd say don't be afraid to show yourself and be willing to open yourself. Because coming to this school was probably one of the best things that happened to me. It grew my personality and I discovered who I was as a person via circle and being able to connect with people like Nick and Johnny and Ms. Penley.
Morgan Radford (19:20):
Valor was founded in 2012 by Todd and Darren Dixon. One has a background in education, the other in mental health. They also happen to be identical twins. Their focus from the beginning was on something called intentional diversity, really making sure their school had a wide range of people from different cultures and different income levels, which can be a rarity in Nashville. Their belief that whole child development goes hand in hand with a strong education is one that CZI shares. In 2019, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative issued a $1.6 million grant to Valor, and CZI introduced us to the school as a good example of the work that they do. In many ways, Johnny's story echoes Chan's own experience as a young student growing up in a working-class suburb of Boston. She says it was hard finding where she fit in it first until she found educators who took the time to listen.
Priscilla Chan (20:19):
I think if you asked each person what was the most important thing in their schooling, they probably have a teacher that they would name. I bet you could name that teacher.
Morgan Radford (20:33):
I can.
Priscilla Chan (20:34):
It's Mr. Long and Mr. Swanson. Who's yours, Morgan?
Morgan Radford (20:37):
Ms. Enright. AP teacher in high school.
Priscilla Chan (20:40):
Yeah. And Ms. Enright did something special for you. I was a Chinese-Vietnamese student. My family were refugees in an Irish Catholic community. And I was like, who am I? Where do I belong? What is my place in this school? And it was Mr. Long. and Mr. Swanson who saw beyond physics and biology and supported me in my success in the classroom. And I thought that it would be easy to do that for others. And that's why I actually initially went into teaching. And it's not easy. It's actually really hard to be Ms. Enright.
Morgan Radford (21:29):
Or Mr. Swanson.
Priscilla Chan (21:30):
Or Mr. Swanson. But that's who we remember, that's who inspired us to do more. And I think if you ask each skeptic, I think they each have that person.
Morgan Radford (21:46):
Up next, we take a closer look at how these SEL practices are used at Valor to really help the success of the teachers. Stay tuned.
Speaker 7 (22:01):
All right, everybody. Let's get started. And we'll start like we always do with the true north, which is very, very important, I think, right now. We do a true north so that we can get settled in this space.
Morgan Radford (22:14):
It's 30 minutes past the end of the school day here at Valor Collegiate Academy. The chairs are all pushed to the edge of the room and a breathing exercise begins.
Speaker 7 (22:24):
And we'll begin with two intentional breaths together. In through your nose and out through your mouth. Again, in through your nose and out through your mouth. Perfect. Now just breathe however you breathe. Whatever's normal for you is great.
Morgan Radford (22:53):
Then, one by one, the community starts to form.
Speaker 7 (22:57):
You're going to tell us your name, how you're feeling, give us one good feeling word, and then pass it to your friend to the left or the right.
Morgan Radford (23:07):
It's circle time. But as you can hear, these aren't students, but teachers, doing the same kind of activity their students do each Monday.
Cohen (23:16):
My name's Cohen. I feel beat down. Really beat down. And this is my good friend Chase.
Chase (23:23):
Hi, I'm Chase. I'm feeling a little bit nervous. This is my wonderful friend Wyatt.
Wyatt (23:29):
Hi, I'm Wyatt. I'm feeling determined.
Morgan Radford (23:34):
And even though it means staying late at the end of a pretty long day, the teachers we spoke to say they actually look forward to it as a way to recharge their batteries and create bonds with their colleagues.
Katie Marshall (23:47):
I would say I've never worked in a place that had such a good culture. Not that it's perfect, but we know each other, we trust each other. We're able to talk about hard things. We're able to know people's backgrounds in a way that I don't think most workplaces foster, and so it makes working here a lot more enjoyable as well.
Morgan Radford (24:06):
Katie Marshall has been teaching at Valor for several years, and she's had a huge impact on a young woman named Elmendra Padron.
Katie Marshall (24:13):
I taught her when she was in ninth grade and she was in my circle when she was in ninth grade, and at that time, that was when the pandemic hit and school shut down. And I didn't really teach her for the next two years. I have her again this year, which is wonderful.
Morgan Radford (24:28):
Like many Americans, Elmendra went through a tough time during the pandemic. Mid-semester of her freshman year, classes were held on Zoom. Her mother lost her job because the place where she worked was shut down.
Elmendra Padron (24:41):
And it was really big thing in my family because at the time we just didn't know what was going on. We didn't know if she had to work another job, multiple jobs. It was really just stressful and scary for me to see my mom in that state and my whole family. Because my mom and dad struggled a lot during that time.
Morgan Radford (24:59):
Ms. Marshall was leading the circle. She also serves as Elmendra's mentor.
Elmendra Padron (25:04):
And my mentor at the time, who was Ms. Marshall, she did something that I feel like I'm never going to forget. She came by my house one evening and dropped by a gift card. And to me, when I received it, I felt like so grateful because I think that was the very first time a teacher had really went above and beyond and really just like, hey, I want to care for you, I want to support you. By giving me that gift card, she was caring for me.
Morgan Radford (25:38):
You knew she cared about you as a person versus just as a student.
Elmendra Padron (25:42):
As a person. As a student. Yeah.
Morgan Radford (25:46):
Had you ever experienced something like that from a teacher before?
Elmendra Padron (25:49):
No. Never. Because usually you're giving this mindset in school everyone's here to just learn. Just learn. Not talk about your feelings. But Valor really has this teacher and student relationship where, hey, even during class, they notice you're not doing well, let's talk about it. Let's get down to business. Let's talk about how you're doing. And if you're not doing well, let's try to figure out a way. Because really, if you're not doing well emotionally, I don't know how you're supposed to learn.
Speaker 8 (26:24):
And just want to say welcome everyone to our first circle of the year.
Elmendra Padron (26:32):
Breathing in. 1, 2, 3. And out. 1, 2, 3.
Morgan Radford (26:37):
Elmendra is now a senior at Valor and is leading a circle for students.
Elmendra Padron (26:42):
As we re-center circle, I want you to remember that balance is responding rather than reacting to things in life. So, take that as you will.
Katie Marshall (26:55):
I have seen our students compared to students at other schools, and they're light years more emotionally mature. And I think that they deep down are grateful. And they'll talk about how much circle has meant to them. And I think it's easy to hate things your school forces you to do, but then you step back and you're like, wow, I'm so glad someone taught me that. I'm so glad someone made space for me to feel safe.
Morgan Radford (27:24):
They also have access to technology. Social media websites and apps like Facebook and Instagram, they add another element to communication and their social lives. Both of those companies are owned by Meta, and Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is the husband of CZI's Priscilla Chan.
Morgan Radford (27:46):
So, I'm not sure if this is an awkward question or an anticipated question, but the elephant of the room is obviously that CZI was founded using money from Facebook, now called Meta. To be clear, you have no role within Meta. This is an entirely independent entity from CZI.
Priscilla Chan (28:01):
That's right.
Morgan Radford (28:02):
But of course, when it comes to kids and parenting, the ways that kids interact with Facebook, with Instagram, social media, it can affect how they grow up. So, do you have any thoughts as a parent about how social media can engage with reaching the whole student? Is it harmful? Is it something that we can use to leverage to reach kids where they are and really look at them and their practices and their patterns as a whole student?
Priscilla Chan (28:27):
I think it is a part of kids' lives, the internet, and for kids who are using social media, it's an extension of their non-internet lives. And it should be something that we talk about with students. What are you interested in? What is coming across your radar these days?
Morgan Radford (28:51):
What are you seeing?
Priscilla Chan (28:52):
What are you seeing? And let's talk about it. If you let it be a black hole, it will become something that the adults aren't connected to and something that you just decide that you don't get to see your child or student. But if you engage and talk about it, like the way you talk about the news or you talk about what's happening in your family, it's yet another place to really share context, feelings, different beliefs. That can be super empowering. But it all depends on how strongly we are willing to dive in and engage with our young people.
Morgan Radford (29:34):
And when you think about what's next in this space, do you think that social emotional learning is a trend, or do you think it's something that's really, truly and deeply here to stay?
Priscilla Chan (29:47):
I think the term social emotional learning is trendy. I think the idea of do you really want to support how your child is growing and developing and feeling, this predates us. Parents for many, many years have believed in this, and teachers have trusted it with their gut. I think that's partially why it has been popular. Because it matches what adults often see as a need for the children in their homes and schools. I don't really care what it's going to be called this year or next year or 10 years from now. I do care that we think about students as not on one particular dimension, but as whole people that we're fostering their growth and development.
Morgan Radford (30:39):
Last question. You mentioned parents and students have dealt with a lot these past couple years with the pandemic. Is there anything you're seeing in your work as a whole that gives you hope?
Priscilla Chan (30:54):
Yes. I wouldn't be here without hope. And I think what gives me hope are all the teachers who continue to show up doing this every day, even though it is hard. And I'm hoping that teachers and families have, whether it's through the Zoom screen or through the chaos of navigating through these past few years where we actually can't go back to saying home is home and school is school and never shall the two meet. We actually just have to think about where the kid goes after school, where the kid is during the day, yet that these things are interconnected. And we support teachers and parents and students through this. And I have to say, this is unrelated and will be a sort of teaser for whenever the next time we talk is, is that the work that's happened in the scientific community supporting all the knowledge we've gained through the pandemic is better than ever. And that gives me hope all the time.
Morgan Radford (32:16):
I'm Morgan Radford. Thank you for listening to Building Classroom Connections, sponsored by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Building Classroom Connections is produced by Mike Brown, Aaron Franco and Vivian Belle Solomon, along with associate producer Nina Bizmono and audio engineer Aaron Dalton. A special thanks to executive producer Aisha Turner and Jovanna Billington, senior editorial producer Mina Kathuria and general manager Siria Gage. Madeline Harringer is our head of editorial.






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