The Miami effect: New L.A. schools chief Alberto Carvalho on language and community

Transcript:

Anne:

Welcome to Education Beat. I’m Anne Vasquez executive director of EdSource. The largest school district in California, the second largest in the nation, Los Angeles Unified has a new superintendent, Alberto Carvalho. He was the head of Miami Dade public schools for nearly 14 years. And he’s someone who intimately understands the challenges within communities like Miami and Los Angeles. He grew up in Portugal and came to the United States at age 17. He speaks five languages.

Supt. Carvalho:

The idea of bilingualism, biliteracy, and biculturalism is huge in my world. And I think it’s relevant in your world as well, right?

Anne:

As a product of Miami Dade public schools, I share a common understanding with the superintendent. Recently, he and I had a chance to talk about our time in Miami and some of the key similarities between the districts. On this week’s episode of Education Beat, I’ll be discussing that conversation and the future of LAUSD with host Zaidee Stavely.

Zaidee:

EdSource director Anne Vasquez and Los Angeles Superintendent Alberto Carvalho were actually in Miami Dade schools at the same time. When Anne was in high school, Carvalho was hired at another high school in Miami as a physics teacher. Their shared history came out right away when they talked recently.

Anne:

I’m Anne. I’m, Ann Vasquez the executive director of EdSource.

Supt. Carvalho:

And from Miami.

Anne:

And from Miami, yes. Miami public schools. Miami Dade public schools.

Supt. Carvalho:

Which high school?

Anne:

Southwest High.

Supt. Carvalho:

Sho was your principal? Montada?

Anne:

Ferrer.

Supt. Carvalho:

Yeah. Henry Ferrer, right?

Anne:

I believe. Yep.

Supt. Carvalho:

I think that’s correct.

Zaidee:

We’ll hear more from Carvalho in a minute. But first Anne, you were born and raised in Miami. Can you tell us a little bit more about your background?

Anne:

Born and raised in Miami. I’m the daughter of Cuban immigrants like many in Miami, especially at that time. My parents came in the 1960s. So by the time I was in elementary school in the eighties, my experience was the experience of many, and that was having two languages spoken at home, navigating between English and Spanish seamlessly, and seeing Latinos frankly in roles from small to big in the city. And so when I was in school, I was learning Spanish and reinforcing my Spanish in elementary school all the way through high school. And that’s the way that I grew up.

Zaidee:

Anne drew on her own experience in Miami for a recent EdSource editorial she wrote about how the years Carvalho spent leading Miami Dade public schools will serve him well in Los Angeles Unified. Anne says her own high school was transformed under Carvalho.

Anne:

The high school that I went to, for example, in Miami Dade was one in the nineties that was not considered one of the more desirable high schools to attend. And it didn’t have very many unique programs. The demographics of it were challenging, I think. And when you look at the graduation rates of just my high school and where they were in the 1990s and where they are today, you can really see the transformation. I think 10 years ago, the graduation rate had risen to 81%. And then last year it was up to 94%. And during that time they had added a finance and banking magnet program and a computer science programming academy. And all of those types of specialty programs really credited to superintendent Carvalho.

Zaidee:

What do Miami and Los Angeles school districts have in common?

Anne:

Quite a bit. They are different in size. LA much bigger than Miami. But both are a minority majority district. They both have a sizeable student population whose family speak Spanish at home. They both probably have comparable proportion of students who live at or below the poverty line. And the challenges that come with that. You have also a foreign born population that outpaces the national average. And that demographic profile really presents unique challenges in running a school district. And so the fact that he has experience with how to address those types of challenges, I think will likely serve him well in LA.

Zaidee:

You mentioned the challenges of the particular student population, but also, students who speak Spanish at home or another language at home also bring this huge richness and assets. And you asked Carvalho about language programs and he was super clear that he wants to expand language learning programs.

Supt. Carvalho:

For me, the research is compelling. A child who from an early age learns a second language, becomes a better performer, a more critical thinker. And by the way, from a social and emotional perspective in terms of empathy, and in terms of being able to work in a diverse community where language is a tradeable economic factor, we are advantaging that child. So to me, it’s a no brainer. And I really can’t believe that across America, some people still debate this, you know, English only, or some of these pronouncements, which by the way, highly politically radicalized for me, it is an indispensable right, fundamental right that needs to be offered to kids. We also know in terms of student achievement and performance, English language learners are some of the most fragile students in our community. And now let’s consider this. There are kids who are English language learners who have a disability and who are poor. Do you know that the compound effect of multifactor challenge becomes almost impossible to navigate. If we want to have meaningful connections with students and their families, let’s meet them where they are. And meeting students where they are is using language.

Zaidee:

He wants to help children learning English as a second language more. And then he also spoke about leveling the playing field to allow more children to learn a second or third language, not just those who can afford a special program outside of school.

Supt. Carvalho:

There are some parents who no doubt will buy Rosetta Stone and educate their children because they’re gonna take ’em to Paris next month or over the summer. That’s beautiful. Congratulations. Should it not be a right for every student to be able to speak a second language? And the question is why don’t we have a universal age-appropriate passport for exposure to foreign languages, dual language programs, internationally recognized educational programs and exposure to the arts and music? For me, that’s what good education is. That’s what we refer to as holistic education.

Anne:

He did not mince words when it came to foreign languages and the advantages that come with knowing multiple languages. And I think Carvalho knows better than most that simply just because you’re new to this country and learning English, doesn’t make you less intelligent. If anything, it gives you an advantage down the road, knowing more than one language. And he has lived it as an immigrant to the country, as who came to the US not knowing the language. Carvalho now speaks five languages, among them Spanish and English and Portuguese and others. And I think he can relate to families in the district in a way that others maybe had a harder time doing so. And I think when it comes to language, how foreign languages were treated in Miami-Dade schools versus how they’re treated even throughout California, I think it’s much more of a mixed bag. And certainly in LAUSD I think bringing more kind of formality to what are the requirements for foreign languages and what are the goals at the end of the day to really prepare and set students up for success in the future.

Supt. Carvalho:

So the idea of bilingualism, biliteracy, and biculturalism is huge in my world, and I think it’s relevant in your world as well, right? I mean, I was absolutely shocked when I arrived in LA and I went to an early morning interview at Univision, and somebody told me, this is the very first time in my entire professional career that I can speak and interview a superintendent in Spanish when 75% of the community is Spanish speaking. And our entire viewership is Spanish speaking. That to me was actually pretty shocking.

Zaidee:

So tell me about your own experience with language, both growing up at home and then also in school.

Anne:

Yes. Growing up in Miami, I often liken it to growing up in a bubble. I didn’t realize what a bubble it really was because you grow up in this place where multiple languages are spoken, spoken at home, spoken at school, and it’s not unusual to be hearing different languages all over the place. And even at a very early age in school, I was taking Spanish class in elementary school, probably I think it was about twice a week. And they had different courses. They had native speakers of which I was considered one. And they had Spanish for non-native speakers since elementary school. And these were not dual immersion programs. This was just in a typical neighborhood elementary school.

Zaidee:

Well, it sounds like that reinforcement of Spanish, even if you’re not doing dual immersion program, just the reinforcement of your home language, or actually like learning in a situation where you’re with other students who also speak the language at home is such a big difference from most schools in California. Most English learners in California, or most students who speak in other language at home, are in English-only classrooms. Partially because of just the legacy of prop 227, where English learners were expected to be in English-only classrooms, unless parents signed a waiver and was this whole process. And now that’s changing and California is trying to move towards more home language support and more dual immersion programs for everyone. But it’s hard. It’s like this big, hard thing to do, and it’s not kind of incorporated into all schools.

Anne:

Absolutely. And I think, honestly, I think they’re should be more options than just dual immersion or not. There should be something in between for those families and students who want to take a language at an earlier age and want to reinforce maybe what they’re speaking at home, or maybe just start from scratch. But to be able to take it as an elective or as part of your day in smaller slices, that seems like that would be worthwhile. I know for myself and growing up in Miami, again, to Cuban immigrant parents, by the time I was in elementary school my parents both were speaking English and Spanish just equally as well. And so our communication at home would often be some version of Spanglish. So they would either talk to me in Spanish or Spanish with some English sprinkled in I’d respond in English, maybe with some Spanish sprinkled in.

Anne:

And then certainly when my grandparents came around, it was Spanish only. And it’s interesting for my kids. I have two kids who have I’m Cuban American. Their father is Mexican American from California who doesn’t speak Spanish. And so their influence at home of the language was very different. They had it very early on because it was very easy to talk to a very young kid in Spanish. And in fact, I think their first words that they string together was some version of Spanish and English. But then as they get older, the challenge always is as you start school and you’re surrounded by English, that just becomes the default.

Zaidee:

You’re absolutely right. It’s so much easier to speak to kids when they’re speaking back to you in Spanish. We speak Spanish at home with my husband as well, and with my kids. But as soon as my older kids started school, it was a lot harder because she started responding in English.

Anne:

Absolutely. And that’s also a big difference, honestly, between Miami Dade schools and LA Unified is those demographics. I think you do have a large proportion of Latinos in LA Unified who maybe do not speak Spanish or aren’t as fluent as maybe the comparable might be in Miami Dade. But there are other challenges at home that they still are faced with that need to be addressed, whether it’s, you know, language spoken at home by their parents, or it could be income and really just access issues and really understanding and how to navigate a district. And that’s one area where I think Carvalho has… He really had a lot of success in Miami in starting certain programs. Like a parent academy was very successful in Miami, and it was designed to help parents who aren’t comfortable navigating a large school system becoming more comfortable. And I think LA Unified, he has plans for the same. And I think that actually would go a long way with a lot of families in LA.

Supt. Carvalho:

Obviously we need to do more for English language learners. And to be able to do more linguistic proficiency in terms as an advantage in speaking to the parents of these children is key. I need to be able to actually create an academy for parents that helps parents navigate the school system.

Zaidee:

So, Anne, do you have a sense of what the overall feeling is in Los Angeles about Carvalho? Is he considered really different than the former LAUSD superintendent Austin Beutner?

Anne:

I think he’s certainly considered very different than Beutner. They come from different backgrounds. I think both very smart and very effective in their own ways. I think many credited Beutner for his leadership during the early phases of the pandemic. He also had to manage through a teacher strike. So he certainly had his critics and had challenges, but he managed through crisis and was decisive. I think Carvalho comes from the classroom. That’s very different. He got his start in Miami-Dade schools as a science teacher and then worked his way up in the district, ultimately leading it for almost 14 years. And so the fact that he comes from the classroom, I think he has a different relationship with schools, with teachers, with what the needs are inside the classroom. And so he’s also talked a lot about school choice and giving parents a lot more influence over where and how to educate their children within the school district.

Supt. Carvalho:

So what kinds of programs are there? What’s the enrollment, how many kids are enrolled in advanced placement in dual enrollment, in international baccalaureate or Cambridge? How many fine and performing arts magnets are there? How many examples of single-gender schools or cyber security? Programs actually move students. And that’s sort of the revolution, the explosion of offerings that I’m seeking. I’m less concerned about the dynamic of dialogue that usually separates people into two camps, charter versus non-charter. I’m more interested in programmatic offerings that benefit kids period.

Anne:

In Miami it’s very common right now, especially by the time you’re in high school, happens in middle school as well, but certainly by the time you’re in high school, many kids aren’t going to their neighborhood schools. They’re going to magnet programs or academies that are at schools that they apply to. And in some cases they’re lottery. In some cases they have to meet certain criteria in order to be admitted. But they’re rampant throughout the district. It’s not just one or two or three, which was the case back when I was in high school in Miami Dade back in the nineties. They were a few and far between in terms of those types of choice programs. And I think the other difference between Carvalho and Beutner that we’re seeing even in these very early days is the ability to connect with the community. Carvalho is very active on social media. He is out there meeting teachers, meeting students. And so he’s making it very clear if you follow him on social media, that he is making an effort to connect. And the fact that again, he speaks multiple languages and that he can connect on a more person to person level with non-English speakers, I think that also differentiates him. And I think just sharing the empathy for the experience of those students whose families are new to the country. I think that also sets him apart.

Zaidee:

So one of the big questions in my mind is how long do you think that we can expect to see Carvalho in Los Angeles? I just know that there’s been so much turnover recently with superintendents staying only for just a few years at a time in school districts in California. And I think across the country. I think especially in large districts, sometimes superintendents are only there for two, three years at a time, and then they move on.

Anne:

Absolutely. That definitely is the stereotype, certainly in urban districts. Not just in California, but certainly around the country where they kind of parachute in, they spend three or four years there, and then they’re onto the next challenge. That is typical for the district in recent years. LA Unified has had since 2006, I believe about eight school superintendents. And so it’s a lot of turnover. And research has shown that stability at the top impacts student achievement at the end of the day, and the ability to be able to move the needle. And so I think everyone’s really hoping that he’ll stay for a sizable amount of time. And I think in Miami, he really got the community to rally behind him, which I think was critical to his success. And will be critical to his success in LA. He even famously was recruited to lead the New York public schools and relented after a three and a half hour school board meeting in Miami Dade where the community was just imploring him to stay. Many credited him for the transformation of Miami Dade schools.

Anne:

I think he’d want to stay long enough to show that he made an impact. And he really does have his work cut out for him because he’s gonna be measured on a number of areas that are truly challenging for the district right now, everything from fiscal sustainability to student enrollment, which has been declining steadily, graduation rates, the parent and community engagement that we’ve talked about, and in closing the achievement gap. But not just among underrepresented communities, but among English learners, among those with disabilities. So it’s a real tall order. So I think he’s gonna wanna check some of those boxes and show that he’s made some progress .

Zaidee:

So interesting because he, he’s kind of a grow-your-own superintendent from Miami. And now he’s someone coming from the outside to LA, but maybe with that experience he’ll stay longer.

Anne:

Right. I think everyone’s crossing their fingers.

Zaidee:

Thank you so much, Anne.

Anne:

Thank you, Zaidee.

Zaidee:

Thank you for listening to this week’s episode of Education Beat ,getting to the heart of California schools, a production of EdSource. Our producer is Coby Mc Donald. Special thanks this week to superintendent Alberto Carvalho and his team, journalism resident Kate Sequeira, and our director Ann Vasquez. Our theme music is from Blue Dot Sessions. This episode was brought to you by the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation. I’m Zaidee Stavely. Join me next week and don’t forget to subscribe.