Dr. Doyle Hosts Superintendent’s Council for Innovative Learning

Student representatives from all high schools collaborate with Principals and district leaders

VUSD Superintendent Dr. Matthew Doyle hosted the ‘Superintendent's Council for Innovative Learning’ on February 20 at Mission Vista High School. Nicknamed the ‘Student Senate’, the collaboration between senior district administrators and student representatives from VUSD high schools provides a unique communication channel.

The initiative was devised by Dr. Doyle two years ago to facilitate direct and interactive discussions with high school students to gain their perspective on what is - and isn’t - working in their high school experience. The feedback is used to design and implement innovative strategies to enhance the student experience across all VUSD high schools. 

The meetings are held quarterly and attended by principals from each Vista high school and a variety of senior VUSD administrators. 

Student delegates from Mission Vista, Alta Vista, Rancho Buena Vista, Vista Visions Academy, and Vista High School were each seated at a table with their principal. Dr. Doyle welcomed students and reiterated the overarching message behind the meetings: How we behave and treat each other. 

The focus of February’s meeting was ‘Strengths-Based Learning’, summarized as focusing less on identifying and filling gaps in a student’s learning and more on expanding on strengths and building on those skills. After introducing the agenda, Dr. Doyle asked students, “What are your thoughts and recommendations that you want us to take away from this?”

Dr. Eric Chagala, the Director of School Transformation for VUSD, expanded on the objective of the meeting: “How do we go into the next school year with all the adults understanding what the students’ perspective is? How do we support you in your journeys and not step on your dreams - by being aware of the words we use so they’re not deflating you? What is the legacy you can help leave for the next generation of youth coming up through our schools? We need you to sharpen us so we can get better.”

Craig Gastauer, VUSD’s Secondary Teacher On Special Assignment (TOSA) of Educational Excellence & Innovation, presented attendees with guiding questions designed to address three core topics: What is working? What is not working? What is missing?

Students eagerly discussed their thoughts and opinions with their principals as senior administrators walked from table to table listening.

Feedback on the topic included: 
Students would like more personal connections from teachers in the form of mentoring
Students feel valued when teachers encourage students to ask more questions in class and engage with them while doing so
Deprioritizing deadlines and emphasizing mastery of the subject matter
Using surveys to determine students’ strengths
Greater focus on student progress rather than shortcomings

Based on the feedback, Dr. Chagala says the administration plans to build a meeting focusing on the session’s insights in April. 

Among the myriad benefits of these sessions, the most critical may be that students feel they are making a positive impact.

Katie Holden, an 11th grader at Vista Visions Academy, has attended seven meetings so far and says she appreciates getting a plan regarding how feedback will be implemented. “You are able to change things and make it better. I feel like my voice is heard.”

“We’re picked to look at the school in a broader sense and figure out what is under-provided for students, and what really needs to be discussed in the meetings,” says Matt Trojanowski, and 11th grader at Mission Vista. “Having students represent the schools, and not just teachers, provides a deeper connection from students to board members.”

Alejandro Ramirez, and 11th grade student at Alta Vista says, “It’s like administrators are using our thoughts as kids who are actively at school because we know what is happening, so have a better opinion and grasp of the subjects they give us. With these meetings we don’t have to email our thoughts, we can immediately get to it, speak about it, and find out how admin will implement them.”

Alycia Rankin, a Mission Vista 12th grader and president of the school’s Black Student Union, says, “There are multiple communities on campus that don’t feel represented or heard, so I feel I bring that to the meetings,” she explains. “It’s an open space to give our honest opinions about what’s going on in school, and I feel heard here.”

VUSD Board President Rena Marrocco, who had just returned from Washington DC, imparted important words of encouragement to them all. She told how she had visited the African American Museum and quoted Frederick Douglass: “’It is easier to build strong children than it is to repair broken adults.’ You are helping us build strong children. Thank you.”