Roadtrip Nation

>>Narrator: How do I know which path is best for me?

Is it possible to take on these challenges and obstacles?

Where do I even start?

What should I do with my life?

Sometimes, the only way to find out is to go see what's possible Since 2001, we've been sharing the stories of people who ventured out and explored different career paths and different possibilities for their futures.

This is one of those stories.

This is Roadtrip Nation.

[MUSIC] >> Carli: Today is day 13, and we are in Winnemucca, Nevada.

We've been interviewing teachers, parents, advocates for family and community engagement.

Family and community engagement is vital in schools, it needs to be there for the school and the students to succeed.

No matter what age, parents need to be involved and there needs to be communication pretty frequently.

>> Darlene: Starting at the very young years, parents are a student's biggest supporters.

They're their biggest cheerleader, so the fact that a parent is not involved in a child's education really makes a difference.

>> Brandon: These kids, they're with us for seven hours a day, it's not a daycare, it's not a place to just be away from the parents, so they can do whatever.

It is to ensure that the student is growing to a proper adult, and I'm sure the parents will also want their children to become proper adults.

So the fact that they're engaged and wanting to work with us shows that they're supporting us.

We're supporting their family, and their growth, and their engagement.

And it really just makes things easier that the student has someone behind them really trying to make sure they get their work done, and that they're okay.

>> Darlene: Families need to be involved to help raise and build these strong characters that we need in the world.

[MUSIC] >> Darlene: We're interviewing Val at the Family Support Center here in Winnemuca.

>> Carli: Val works at DCFS, so she deals with students and mental health issues.

>> Darlene: Let's head on in.

>> Brandon: Let's go learn.

>> Carli: Yeah.

>> Darlene: [LAUGH] Let's go learn.

Today's a great day to learn something new.

>> Carli: Every day's a great day to learn something new.

>> Val: Substance use is a family disease usually, and so it doesn't just affect that person.

You guys as educators, you know it's all family foundation, yeah, you have that strong family, you're less likely to have higher risk of substance abuse, gang affiliation, all that.

And so if we can find out that history, it's a little bit better on what direction we're gonna go to kind of help.

I don't know, I feel the family is the most important unit and that's where your greatest joys and your deepest sorrows come from.

And so, if we can help families, we're making our communities better, we're making our world better.

>> Carli: Can you talk a little more in detail about what that entails or what you coach them on?

>> Val: Sure, the first thing we do is we get someone in and we do an assessment, and it's not just asking about drugs and alcohol.

We wanna know a family history, takes a good hour, it's about 100 questions, we wanna know legal problems, substance use, mental health.

So we get this whole picture so we can go, wow, I get why you're struggling with substances.

Maybe let's get you to a mental health screening or let's get you to the domestic violence.

So, we always start out with an assessment, we really don't start counseling until we get this whole picture.

Because it's hard to know what they need if we don't have that background, so that's kind of one of the first things I feel like we do.

Some days are really good, some days can be pretty disheartening.

You hear a lot of sadness that you just had no idea what goes on in the homes of people, and so it can be pretty emotional.

I think you cry with them, you laugh with them and you build this bond, similar to like the kids in your class.

You build that bond where there's this connection, and that's the most important piece.

And I think that's the same way as a teacher, cuz if you have that bond with the kid, you're gonna be able to get to them.

You're gonna be able to relate to them, you're gonna love them, you're gonna have that empathy.

>> Brandon: Can you speak to the importance or the impact of the community connection piece with people you service might need or the help they might be looking for?

And how important it is to have not just you all being here but the actual community surrounding being a united front to help this person?

>> Val: Such a great question.

I always try and bring in family members to support them and help them understand what addiction is and how to be supportive so they don't alienate their loved one.

Which that's what happens, cuz people don't understand addiction, so they just are like, you're kicked out, you're this.

And so we try and help educate families and the community, what needs to be done to help someone that's struggling.

And so that is probably one of the most important pieces, letting people know that we're here and we have these services.

And someone needs help with Medicaid, I'm like, let's meet over at Frontier Community Action Agency.

They do it for free, they'll get your birth certificate for free.

I usually have the applications for the different places, let's fill it out and go drop it off, I'll even meet you there.

We have two other resources in town that help financially with housing, with train tickets home if someone's stuck here.

And so we collaborate a lot with the agencies, like, do you have any openings for a domestic violence shelter right now?

Come on, I'm gonna go with you, let's get over there.

So definitely being empathetic and just kind of meeting people where they are.

They have to want it so bad, and it's a lot of work to be clean and sober.

It's a lot of work to work through mental health issues, it's hard work, it doesn't just happen overnight.

Definitely good and bad days when you're a counselor, same as a teacher.

If the parents have their own stuff, they can come to school for eight hours, but they're gonna go home to that same environment, so it's so hard to see that change.

So yeah, life is all about family, creating that family, an extended family, whatever you have that connection.

Cuz that's where we find peace and joy, and whatever brings us joy is what we wanna do.

And not just that temporary happiness like substances and, what are you doing in the community?

How is that gonna impact the community, and strong families bring strong communities.

[MUSIC] >> Carli: Coming from a small town, I'm related to a bunch of people there, and I really understand, it is all about family.

But also my coworkers and the community members, they've become family, and even on this trip the roadtrippers are becoming family.

So I definitely took that to heart that, yeah, life really is all about family and the connections you make.

>> Brandon: How do you make sure the people around you are okay and not falling into drug use or alcohol?

It definitely emphasized the importance of the community and family connective tissue that should be part of education.

Because us as teachers, you see them most times of the week, be able to interact with these people and ask, what do we do?

How can we help this person?

Are you aware of this?

Do you see this?

It's important to be aware that you can't do it all, but you do what you can.

Speaking with Val definitely showed me that I want to do more, not just in my classroom that one year I have them.

I wanna be that for a vast majority of students in my county, in my state, in my area, in my community, and I think that I'm gonna try to push harder for that.

>> [MUSIC] >> Brandon: We're currently in Carson City on our way to California.

>> [MUSIC] >> Darlene: The funniest thing about waking up and living in an RV is that Brandon takes three hours to get ready.

>> Carli: Man, he takes, I don't know what he does, but we leave him the bathroom.

He's got a whole routine going on, which sometimes it's fun to watch, but I'm also like, you do this every day, you don't get sick of it?

>> Brandon: I don't know, I was raised by women, so I was told, you know, look the part.

And it might take a little longer than planned, I might be in there for an hour, but that's fine, I wake up early, it's okay, it all works out.

[MUSIC] >> Darlene: So we drove from Carson City to Lake Tahoe.

>> Brandon: We drove, no, technically I drove us to Lake Tahoe, and it's not a lake.

It's not a lake, it's the ocean.

[MUSIC] >> Brandon: It's huge, I saw no horizon, they're like no, it's just a big old lake, and I'm like, no, it's the ocean, you're tricking me, I don't believe y'all.

[MUSIC] >> Carli: We are going kayaking, Darlene and I get to go together and we're not tipping each other out.

>> Darlene: No, we can't.

>> Carli: Because that's mean.

>> Darlene: And I don't know how to swim.

>> Carli: And she doesn't know how to swim, I don't want to lose my glasses.

[MUSIC] >> Darlene: I was the kayak passenger princess, I was just sitting back and relaxing, and then I got to it.

[LAUGH] I had to help her cuz she said her abs and her arms were hurting, so I had to play my part too.

[LAUGH] We made it work, we had a great time, [LAUGH] I hope she feels the same.

[MUSIC] >> Darlene: Today we're going to Sacramento.

We're visiting Gina Martinez-Keddy, who is the executive director at Parent Teacher Home Visit.

>> Carli: Carli.

>> Gina: Carli, nice to meet you.

>> Brandon: Brandon.

>> Gina: Brandon.

There's been a lot of research done about kind of the importance of caring adults in children's lives.

And for us, in our model, that is the home visitor teacher.

And so they go into into the home just to build that relationship of trust.

What we encourage is that educators really listen to the lived experiences of that family, of that student, so they really understand what motivates that student.

And then they can take back into the classroom and apply it to their curriculum.

Make sure they have books in their classroom that are related to the student's interests, right?

Or work in a lesson plan something about that child's family life, their pets, or something like that, right?

And when that happens, I think there's two things going on.

One of them is the child knows that these adults care about them, right?

They came to their home, they took the time out, they shared experiences.

They see their teachers as I think a little bit more human, right?

And the teachers see them and their families in all their full humanity also.

And so there's that trust and that sense of care that happens that I think is motivating to kids to be in school and be with this person, right?

And then there's the other part about, when educators take back what they learn from home visits and apply it back into the classroom, then school becomes much more interesting to that student, right?

So if the student wants to be a paleontologist, for example, and all of a sudden they've got books and tools and lessons that revolve around paleontology, they're gonna be a lot more interested in being in school, right?

And also just working with families themselves, so that families understand the importance of sending their child to school every day.

And engaging that family a little bit more and building that bridge between what's happening in the classroom and what happens at home, so there's much more of a connection there too.

So everybody kind of is a little bit more excited about having that child in school.

>> Darlene: What are some recommendations on establishing these fantastic relationships with parents, with families?

>> Gina: One thing about our model is that we always ask the educators to ask the family, what are your hopes and dreams for your child?

And families, when they see that teachers care about their kids, that they care about them, and that they show some respect for the expertise that the family member brings, it changes things.

And we've seen family members, we've seen parents go from being relatively disengaged to being very communicative with the teacher, advocating more, being more confident to reach out on their own.

Advocating more for their own child, but also advocating for the whole school and all of the children in the school.

So we've really seen parents who have taken on greater and greater leadership roles because of the greater confidence they had coming out of that initial relationship with the teacher.

>> Darlene: I think that's huge.

Just the fact that you're giving parents the voice, giving them the reassurance, and I think celebrating that is huge.

>> Carli: Yeah, so I'm curious, what does the future of education look like for you with the parent-family engagement?

>> Gina: Obviously we would love for every student in this country to have a home visit, all the way from kindergarten through their entire public education experience.

Ideally, we think that it's gonna be a much more powerful practice if local communities really have a sense of ownership of their home visit practice, and do it in a way It makes sense for them, and we wanna help them get there.

We don't wanna run their program for them, because I live here in Sacramento.

I could not run a home visit practice for you all in your communities, right?

And so it's much better if the people in that community are really kind of taking hold of it.

We would love for every teacher in this country to do parent-teacher home visits.

But it's voluntary, it's not for everybody.

And so if you're not doing parent-teacher home visits, find some way to reach out to your families, to your students.

Get to know them as human beings.

See them in their full humanity and let them see you in your full humanity.

Because again, when we break down those, what I think are false divides, that's where progress can happen, that's where forward movement can happen.

>> Carli: That was awesome.

[LAUGH] >> Darlene: I know, I get goosebumps.

[MUSIC] >> Brandon: That was a lot, that hit.

>> Carli: It hit hard.

>> Darlene: Parents, families, and teachers and community go so hand in hand.

We need one to be the other.

We need the other to help us grow and flourish as people and as a community.

I questioned myself, so what can I do to engage families in my community or in my school?

And it's as simple as talk to them, relationships.

Outside of school buildings, outside of a school setting, hold off on the academics, let's just talk, right?

Let's connect, let's build this relationship.

Tell me about you, I'll tell you about me.

>> Carli: Just communicating, that is really where it starts, and that for some, that might be all you need to better the student's life, just communicating between the parent and the teacher.

>> Brandon: As you said, just a text, just a check in, just walking down the street with someone, having a candid conversation.

I think it reaffirmed my thinking that it can be simple, that sometimes we make things too complicated.

And they didn't come to the conference at this time on this day, they don't care, they're working.

They didn't volunteer hours at the bake sale?

They're working, something else is happening.

But if you give them the time and space, the time to control, hey, I can do this day on this time, and we make ourselves available to that, we're succeeding.

[MUSIC] >> Darlene: Today's the last day.

Tomorrow we're going home, that's it.

[MUSIC] >> Darlene: I miss my family, but I have a great family team here.

We've learned where we're connected, where we're different, and that's part of being family, right?

There's differences, there's similarities, but what grounds us at the end is our bond and how we share parts of our heart.

[LAUGH] [TROLLEY BELL] >> Brandon: I really enjoy the group that I got to be placed with.

It kinda seemed natural, pretty quickly.

We went from being total strangers to a complete family in like a week.

>> Carli: I am so lucky that I am here with Brandon and Darlene, they are both great people, great educators.

It's just been so cool for me to relate to them over totally different things, but we all relate on some level.

>> Darlene: I will never forget the team, the family.

I hope that they won't forget me.

[MUSIC] >> Darlene: We're at Faces San Francisco and we're interviewing Rachelle.

And Rachelle has a one-year-old, and after a long search of daycares, she finally landed on the perfect one.

[MUSIC] >> Rachelle: I am the mother of Rainey.

She's one year old at Faces >> Darlene: As Rainey starts her educational career, how do you think that has helped you in your parenting skills?

>> Rachelle: It was a very, very tough decision to even put my child anywhere.

There's just so many factors to consider when you leave your child in someone else's care.

But they have an open door policy, I'm able to visit whenever I want.

I can get involved, anything that they have, that's what kind of reassured me to make the decision to allow her to come here, and just be as present as I can and be around for whatever I can.

So far, we've had a really great experience.

>> Carli: Were your parents involved, or what was the reasoning that you were like, I need to be here?

>> Rachelle: My parents were not involved.

And I think there's a lot of stigma sometimes with low income families.

They don't want to help, or they don't want to volunteer, and it's like, that's not always an option for everyone.

It's really a luxury, unfortunately.

I grew up in Oakland and everybody's parent was working or they were on drugs or something.

So either their parent was completely removed and uninvolved or their parent was so busy that they had no idea what was going on.

A lot of us were falling behind in our studies, there wasn't a lot of resources like how there are now.

So if you don't know it and your parents don't have the education to help you or the time you know to help you because they feel like they're doing what they're supposed to do by feeding you and paying the rent and keeping the lights on.

They're not understanding how important them being involved in your education really is because unfortunately they think that everything's supposed to be done by the teachers.

Me making a sacrifice to not make as much as I would like to make and not work how I would like to work.

I felt like that was a sacrifice I had to make because I'm a single parent.

It's like, if I'm not showing up for you, who is?

But everybody is not able to do that.

And so, for me, it's just like, it's my responsibility, but it's something that I want to do, and I'm thankful that I can do.

>> Brandon: What are some strong concerns that you felt or seen in the system, of course, that you're very hesitant about having Rainey to be a part of?

>> Rachelle: People making decisions for children that don't involve the children.

So if you're implementing some new policy trying to give feedback from children, which if they're at the age where they're not as verbal then that would be including their parents.

A lot of decisions are made without parents' input or without at least running by them, okay, this is what we're gonna start and this is what it looks like.

What does that bring up for you?

Does that trigger anything for you?

What does that look like for your family?

You never know what's going on in these kids' households and who's raising them.

Getting to know parents more is something that I love that you guys are cultivating.

Because I feel like, how can you run a successful facility and teach students, and you have no relationship with the people who raise those students and drop them off and pick them up every day?

That's a whole community is what I feel like school should feel like, and not just like you're dropping your kid off to somebody and relinquishing them to them, and then you have no control over how they speak to them and how they spend time with them.

So I think just getting to know parents and explaining the importance of that to them is gonna change how everything is ran.

How they deal with the kids when they get home, the type of kid that you get to deal with in your classroom, their engagement for learning and wanting to come to school, how they treat you, everything.

I definitely think it starts with the parents.

>> Brandon: So as we're all teachers of different levels and we're all trying to ensure that we do the best job we can to ensure the parents feel part of the classroom, the children feel acknowledged, things like that.

Do you have any kind words, words of wisdom and any kind of advice for us to ensure that we're on that right path?

>> Rachelle: I can just tell that all of you guys are extremely passionate about what you do, and I'm thankful that the children wherever you are have you because that's just the first step is just who you are.

That's what we need more than the curriculum.

That personal ability to just check in with your kid without anything to do with the lesson.

How are you, what's going on in your world?

How's everything at home?

How do you feel about whatever we're studying?

Is it overwhelming?

What other ways can I help you with the load of your work this week or whatever?

I just think it's huge because a lot of kids don't feel seen, like they know they gotta be at school, they know they gotta do the work, but it's like you don't have any idea what else is going on.

We think they don't go through stuff because they're kids.

Beyond your teaching, there is a psychological aspect to what you do.

So I think maybe tapping more into helping these kids regulate their emotions will be huge for their development.

[MUSIC] >> Darlene: Rachelle, she's an awesome mom.

She's literally trying to do everything she can to make Rainey's experience and upbringing totally different from hers, and she's doing a great job.

>>Brandon: She's making sure the community that her child is a part of, she's a part of.

Learning is communal, learning is not just from the teachers speaking knowledge to you in the classroom, it's those around you, and that just shows how vast the learning experience is.

You're gonna learn a million things from just existing in a space, and she ensures that in that space, she's also present.

>> Darlene: I personally think that education starts at home.

Teachers and schools and districts need to do a better job at informing families what is going on, what they're teaching, what the curriculum is like, so that parents have a way to incorporate that into their conversations and do it in the right way.

[MUSIC] >> Darlene: This trip has been so transformative for me as a person.

Finding my identity outside from being a mother has been huge.

Hearing these positive stories and all the inspiration from the leaders, I think it's definitely filling that part of me that wants to be back and wants to teach and wants to put a smile on these children's face.

I've been offered positions in the district, but I don't think I'm ready to leave the classroom yet.

Especially after a year off, I feel like I'm gonna come in full force with much more inspiration and knowledge.

>> Hannah: Engagement can be defined in so many different ways and I think the important thing is meeting the families where they are.

I think that's something that schools should recognize and also celebrate too, because every family is different.

>> Yesenia: I think it's super important that parents know that they're a crucial part of our children's education.

All of us as parents have the power to support.

And I think once we understand that we become a family.

And I know that my child's gonna be successful because we're gonna work together.

>> Samantha: I can't run my classroom if this child is down and I don't know what's going on with them.

And I wanna know how you're feeling because I want you to come in and feel like this is your home too.

And if we have that and we can bring that to the community as well, that's gonna make other educators catch on and we can make a difference in that.

>> Carli: This whole trip has changed everything.

I feel like I've changed so much, just seeing I am meant to be a teacher and I know I picked the right path.

I mean, I knew it before, but this trip just really reaffirmed it and made me 100% certain that I want to be in the classroom as long as possible and I'm changing people's lives whether they know it or whether I know it or whether the parents know it.

I'm making a difference and so many other educators are making a difference and they're doing a great job.

Parents are doing a great job.

I feel like we're getting back to that community and family.

We're just making a better world for our kids and giving them the future they deserve.

[MUSIC] >> Brandon: A saying that I live by C'est la vie.

Such is life.

[MUSIC] >> Brandon: I came here not exactly knowing my next step.

I'm not here to say that I have a firm for sure, this is my next step.

I just know that I'm more confident that there's next steps upcoming.

I'm looking forward to a change, looking forward to growing in a new space that might flourish in ways that I might not even be aware of.

I am trying my best to look at my next steps already.

I'm taking admin courses, I'm almost done with those.

I want to focus on culture, I wanna focus on my students and who they tell me they are, and I wanna be an advocate for them and whatever that looks like.

>> [MUSIC] >> Brandon: I would tell someone like myself who is at least thinking about being where I am now.

Don't be afraid of the other.

Don't be afraid of the uncertainty.

Don't be scared to catch up.

You can always see someone ahead of you, you always see someone doing better, trying more, more successful in a space that you want to be, but don't give up on yourself.

Don't give up on what you are, what you're trying to be, and who you wanna be.

And you might surprise yourself and be in a giant RV one day traveling the country.

>> [MUSIC] >>Barrington: We're taking a road trip from New Mexico to D.C.. >>Katerra: Three educators from different walks of life.

>>Robin: We are interviewing folks in education, trying to discover the meaning of expanding student success.

>>Katerra: What development do we have as educators to share with these kids?

>>Karen: They see themselves in the communities that they live in, and guess what?

They do much better on the academic performance.

>>Robin: I am committed so that the whole child is cared for.

>>Narrator: Wondering what to do with your life?

Well we've been there and we're here to help Our website has some awesome tools to help you find your path And you can check out all our documentaries, interviews and more Start exploring at roadtripnation.com