The Sequoia Breeze

Rebecca: Welcome back listeners. I'm so excited to welcome you to season two of The Sequoia Breeze. A breath of fresh air for your home school. I am your host, Rebecca LaSavio. Today for our first episode back, I'm thrilled to have Jenell Sherman, executive Director of all three of our schools, in the studio with me. I hope that by the end of this podcast you will know how hard she fights for us as homeschooling families. Welcome Janelle.

Jenell: Well, thank you so much for having me, Rebecca. I'm excited to be here.

Rebecca: Janelle, can you tell us a little bit about your background and your family?

Jenell: Sure, I'd love to. I've been married to my husband John for 21 years this month and he is a high school teacher. He's a math teacher and he coaches swimming. So we are both in education and we have four beautiful children. Our oldest just graduated high school this year, so he is going to be going to Sierra College next year to work on his AA degree. And then we have a daughter who is 16 and a 14 year old daughter. And then my youngest is almost twelve and he'll be in 6th grade. So they're busy and fun. Lots to keep up with, I'm sure. For sure.

Rebecca: So Janelle, I wanted to invite you here today because working with the Sequoia Grove schools for the past year, I have gotten to know more about what's going on behind the scenes. And when we joined Clarksville, it was because I really felt that I could trust the leadership of the schools. And as I've been working behind the scenes, I have never had anything to dissuade me from that. In fact, I have seen what great leadership we have and have been very encouraged by that. I think a lot of our parents might not know a lot of what's going on behind the scenes and I would love to introduce them to you and I hope that they can have a better understanding of how decisions are made and things are functioning in the background on their behalf. So, with that said, I know that from coming from a perhaps slightly unusual place, you are passionate about home schooling and I'd love to hear more about that.

Jenell: Sure. So I started teaching in the classroom early on, so I was in a private school and a public school and when we were ready to have a family, I really didn't want to have my kids in daycare. And so I started looking for other options and a non classroom based school opportunity fell into my lap and I was able to start working with independent, steady high school students and within a few years also with home school families. And I really through my different experiences, really came to understand the value in having different choices in education, whether it's private school, hybrid home schooling. And I could see how different students really needed those different options to be successful. And I think homeschooling really spoke to me in a special way because I started working with many families who had students who struggled in the classroom environment. And once they started homeschooling and had that individual attention, their whole demeanor changed, their whole confidence in themselves and the ability to really explore things they were interested in. And I've been able to see many of them from kindergarten through graduation just become these amazing people that might not have happened had they not had that freedom and that choice to do things in a way that works best for their students. So I really have grown, my passion for home schooling has grown over the years. Just seeing these actual kids thrive and become amazing humans. I even keep in contact with some who are adults and have their own children now and are homeschooling their own kids. And it's really been a great cycle to see that go and be successful for them and now they're doing that with their children. But I think just having that choice and that ability and the freedom to do education in that way for kids that works for is very important. And our whole staff feels that way and we are committed to fighting to keep those choices available for families.

Rebecca: So as we start this new school year, I know that you are now the executive director of all three Sequoia Grove schools feather, River, Lakeview and Clarksville, with Julie Haycock Cavendar having retired. So tell us about your vision looking forward for the Sequoia Grove schools.

Jenell: So we really work together as a team when we were developing the Sequoia Growth Charter Alliance and there were definitely some values that we wanted to start with and continue and grow into. So one of the big things that Julie and I really are passionate about is valuing people and individuals and the talents and gifts that they bring to the table. Whether it's our staff. It's our parents. Our students. And really we have this great opportunity to have a flexible learning environment and how can we really bring out the best in all of the people who we work with and who we serve. And I think that's kind of what we base everything around. We want to make decisions that are best for our students and obviously we can't always make decisions that make every single person happy, but we really do try our best to make decisions that will benefit the most people in our schools. And I think part of our vision too, for Sequoia Grove is to continue to promote homeschooling and for people in the community to understand how wonderful it can be for families and for students and how many opportunities it provides. Even in the last 20 years that I've worked with home school families, the amount of resources available, opportunities to participate in classes and all different kinds of activities has grown so much. And I think a lot of people who are not involved in home schooling don't understand that that is available for students. And I think really getting that word out and people understanding the value in this option for students is something that we want to continue to promote. And really as a group of schools, we want to continue to work together to improve what we're offering to families. So that's always at the heart. We say the home school heart and it kind of sounds cliche, but we really do mean that. Like when we're making decisions, we think about and talk to, we talk to families, we talk to teachers, we talk to staff members. When we're making this decision, how does it impact every person in our organization and how can we make a decision that best serves our students? Because they are why we do what we do. So, you know, our vision is to continue respecting people and valuing people at all levels at all different walks in our school.

Rebecca: So one of the blessings and curses of being in California is that we actually have a lot of options as home schoolers, whether that's filing a private school affidavit and doing things on our own or whether it's belonging to a charter school. But I think that as Californians we often feel insecure in our home schooling abilities and insecure in our home schooling future. We know that there is antagonism towards it in the legislature at times. So that means that while you are trying to make decisions based on what provides the most options and the best decisions for families and students, you still have to work under the umbrella of the laws that California has set. So with that in mind, what are some things that you wish parents better understood about the work that goes on behind the scenes?

Jenell: Sure. So I think first of all, understanding how charters exist is important and we could do a whole podcast on that, but I'll try and give the Cliff Notes. So each charter school is authorized by a district, a school district in California. So when you want to start a charter school, you need to find a school district, you need to petition the charter and the board of that school district needs to approve the charter and they basically sponsor your school. So there's a lot of laws around that of how that needs to be done. And so each one of our three schools is authorized by a different school district in our area. So Clarksville is authorized by Buckeye, feather river is authorized by Winship Robins, and Lake View is authorized by Lake elementary, which is a very small school district in Glen County. So we had to go to each of those and get an approval for the charter. But once you have a charter, it doesn't last forever. So every the district will approve it for a certain amount of years. And usually the first approval is for two to three years and then the hope is to get a five year approval. So all of our charters are on a different timeline of approvals. So every three to five years it comes up for renewal. And what you need to do is our Admin team has to rewrite the charter petition. It's a couple of hundred pages long. And what we really need to show, bottom line to simplify it, is that our students are growing academically. So we offer amazing opportunities for families, but for the school districts authorizing us, they really need to see the academic growth and that's what their approval will be based on. So with that comes a bit of pressure to continue to show growth. And we know as educators that there are so many ways to show that in our students. But for our charter, the numbers are what they're looking for.

Rebecca: Unfortunately, on paper, stories of great things.

Jenell: Kids are doing, and really the stories too are important. So when we've done a charter renewal so when we did Clarksville, it was right before Covet happened and we did have a whole bunch of families show up and explain how Clarksville is beneficial to their families. We had students share, parent share. So I think that's part of the bigger picture of just getting word out to the community of the great things that our students and families are doing and all of the laws that kind of come down, we have to make adjustments to make sure that we're in legal compliance with everything. And with those decisions, we try to make them with the most flexibility, but also to make sure that we're in line with what we need to be doing.

Rebecca: So sometimes when communication goes out, asking for parents to comply with certain things or do certain things, there's the term authorizers is used. And that's essentially the school district where each charter school is given permission to function exactly.

Jenell: And they really have the power of ours. So one of the things as an Admin team that I spend a lot of time and some of our other directors is really building those relationships with the school districts and helping them to understand over the years, besides the test scores and the data, all the amazing things that our students are doing. And that's really been helpful as well. So those relationships are very important. And even when Covet started, it was a great opportunity because our families already had the resources to continue doing what they do every day and teaching their students. And meanwhile, these school districts are kind of in a panic, like, what are we going to do with all these kids going home? And we were actually able to over a weekend, some of our staff members built a whole website for authorizers that was basically how to school at home. It had a ton of free resources, suggestions how to set up an area and how to do it, and so things like that. When we have the opportunity to work with our authorizers, we do that as well because it's really a lot of pieces together and obviously data is important, but also for them to understand the good things that we're doing for students.

Rebecca: So understanding better how charters function and where the real power lies. What can families do to help make sure that our charter schools are able to continue?

Jenell: That's a great question and I think there are several things families can do to help the school. I think one, just being involved and sharing in their communities how homeschooling is benefiting their children or the growth their children are making. So just overall in our community promoting homeschooling, because there's still a lot of people who think of homeschooling as the weird family that has the kid who never gets out of the house. That is not true at all. I mean, our kids are doing incredible things. And so I think the more we promote that is really important. And social media or just in your circles of people who you are with in other activities or church or whatever it may be, is really important. And then obviously, when you're working with your home school teacher, there are standards that need to be met and we try to be as flexible as possible with that. But because we are a public charter school, we do have that requirement that our students need to be working towards mastery in the standards. But the nice thing is that we have some flexibility in the order and the timing and all of that as compared to in a classroom. So I think working with your teacher on making sure that they can complete their job and make sure that the needs are met in that way is very helpful because that's also data that's used by our auditors every year to look at, to make sure that our families and students are doing the things that they've agreed to do when they sign their master agreement. So obviously, always the elephant in the room is the state testing that nobody loves. But it is a really important piece of data for us to show our authorizers and anyone looking online, you can look up any school in California on the California Dashboard website and it's basically a report card for your school. And that data is used in charter renewals. So having your students participate in that and really helping them to understand that we're not judging the parents teaching or where they're at, we really want to use that data to help show that our school is making progress. And it also gives an opportunity to find areas where students may need help that might not be identified otherwise. So just knowing that we understand that your kids are incredible and have so many gifts and talents, but the participation in those testing opportunities is very important for the health of our school.

Rebecca: I think a lot of us notice that testing was pushed this past year much more than it has been in previous years. What changed?

Jenell: So there was a change in law for authorizing charter schools and for renewing charter schools. AB 55 really brought more restrictions for authorizers of what they can and can't approve, and most of it is around testing data. The other thing that changed is the participation rate at the 95% is now much more important than it has been in the past. So in the past, if you didn't reach the 95%, the difference between the percentage you reached and 95%, you had some points taken off. But now, starting this year, if you don't reach the 95, any kids that are in between where you haven't reached account is a zero, basically. And it really brings our scores down overall on the dashboard, which is the dashboard is like a school report card. So reaching that 95% is more important than it has ever been. And so that's why we really had to push that, because also it's the first year of that and we don't know all of the ramifications if we don't meet that. So it was important to us to be able to show our authorizers, the state, that we are making an effort to participate in this. And we understand that it's important for our school.

Rebecca: So this wasn't an effort by leadership to want to control more of what parents are doing, check on parents. This wasn't a desire to hem parents in. This was something that needed to happen to make sure that we could continue as we have been in the future.

Jenell: Exactly. Rebecca that's a great way to put it, really, to keep our choice and our schools open. This is a piece, it's kind of that give and take. We enjoy the freedoms that we get with the federal and state funding and being able to do a lot of amazing things. And this is kind of the piece that we need to give back. And, yeah, personally, we don't love having to give tests and all of that, but we understand the importance for the longevity of our schools to make sure that they stay open and that we're around for a long time to provide these opportunities for students.

Rebecca: And in fact, it was a difficult task for the school. It dominated teachers lives for a month and very difficult and then leadership even longer than that of trying to make sure everything was organized and administered and helped and everybody had what they needed. There was a lot going on in the background that just the average testing family probably didn't get to see.

Jenell: It's a huge undertaking. And also, due to COVID, a lot of the information didn't come out until late. So planning was very difficult because we didn't know. Can it be virtual? Is everyone going to have to be in person? Do we have that choice? So as soon as we knew we got planning. But usually you have months and months and months. Typically before covet. We would start planning for testing in the fall for the administration because we have to set up sites and all these things. So luckily we did have that option of the virtual testing and our assessment team did an incredible job putting it together. Our teachers really came together and put in a ton of extra effort and we know the families did too, because it is different in your schedule. It's something additional you need to do. And we really appreciate how so many families stepped up and said, okay, we'll do it. It's not what we want to do, but we realize the importance of it. So we really appreciate that too, because we know there's a lot of other things we'd rather be doing, but it's something we got to do. And I think too, just keeping in mind that what can we learn from it? We are in education. What are the things that we can learn from the experience? How do you help your kids get ready for a test? And what are some of the skills that they might need for this? This is a low stakes test for them, but later in life they might want to get their driver's license or take the Sat. Take the Sat or become a doctor or a lawyer. There are so many learning opportunities that can be had. So I think maybe shifting the focus to that instead of like this is a have to, but how can we use this to really help our kids grow in different ways?

Rebecca: Love that. So another question that I think parents feel often is if we all have the same California laws, how come every charter doesn't have the same rules? Why do they get to keep their books and we return them? Or why does there are different examples of what goes on? Why do they get this much money and we have this much money? Or if we all are functioning under the same rules, why are charters operating slightly differently?

Jenell: That is an excellent question. And I think it's one of those things that is not always understood about our charter world. So every charter school has its own board of directors. And although we have laws that we must follow and there are certain requirements within that, there's always a lot of gray areas where some of those decisions come to the school board. They approve policies. A lot of those decisions come from the auditors that we work with. So every school needs to do an annual audit and that's where they look at the attendance, the work samples, the master agreements. They pull all of those things. So when you're signing your attendance and turning in your work samples that actually mean something to our school, it's not busy work. So our auditors, every year, they also audit all the financials. So they will request a ton of information. They'll pull a sampling of students and we need to provide all of the information and pathways for those groups of students and we never know who it's going to be. So they go through and they check like, is there a work sample that verifies that this attendance that was claimed that the student actually did something. They look at the grades, if it is a graded course, like for high school. Different auditors have different handbooks, I guess you could say. And so some of them have different ways they want to see things. Some want work samples once a semester, some want them every learning period. And so we're really at the mercy of our auditors for how some of those things work. And often we're able to work with them and kind of negotiate, as you might say. So they understand we want to do what works best for our families, but also what works for them to make sure that they're signing off and saying, okay, what you're doing is legitimate and it follows the laws and it makes sense for what we're asking of you. So a lot of schools will have different rules or policy nuances and nuances, that's a great way to put it, based on their auditors and based on what their school boards approve. So we encourage parents to attend our school board meetings and we have our family liaisons do an amazing job promoting those on social media. And that's a great way to really be involved in what's happening in the school and to have your voice heard. We have public comment for every item and parents can look on the website ahead of time and what policies are coming up and they can attend the meetings and have their voice be heard. And I do need to say a really great thing about our school boards is they are made up of a majority of them are home school parents. And we've kept that as a focus for our boards. We really try to keep a good balance on there of different strengths and talents, but also really keeping that home school voice heard. And it's made all of the difference because the policies, as they come through, they're being looked at through the eyes of parents who are homeschooling their children.

Rebecca: As we as parents look around at other charters and what's required or asked of them, I think maybe we start to think about that and realize that's something we feel that we are able to function primarily how we all want to be able to function, just with a few things to do to help the schools continue in a healthy way. But boy, Janelle, I hear you are accountable to a lot of people. You may be an executive director of three schools, but you are reporting to auditors, our own school boards, the school boards where we're authorized, not to mention having to deal with whatever the state legislature decides to throw at us next year. There's a lot of people that you're trying to keep happy, so to speak, or that the school has to work to try to keep satisfied. And yet I know you still desire to make sure that the home school heart is at the center of all of it. And that sounds like quite a balancing act.

Jenell: It is. And I so appreciate our staff. I can't say enough good things about our administrative team, our leadership team, our teachers, really. I mean, I say it all the time and I really mean it. We do work with the best people. And really, each person has a passion to be here and to serve and to really do our best we can for non classroom based charters, for charter schools as a whole, because our passion is homeschooling and that's why we're here. But there's also an important place in our society for all kinds of charters, whether they're stem based or career based or arts based. And so I think really balancing what we can provide and what we need to do to keep charters alive and functioning and being available for students. So there's a lot to do. But like I said, our team is amazing and everyone really has the heart to fight for that. And when these new legislations come down the pipe, everyone kind of hops on board and how do we fight this? What can we do? And we'll try and get out the communication that we can. Sometimes there's only certain things we can say and we can just promote, like get involved. One of the organizations that our schools are part of is called CSDC. It's the Charter School Development Center. And they were formed as a support for charter schools. And they've been amazing at providing us up to date information. Their office is down in Sacramento. They're very connected in with the legislature, and they fight really hard for charter schools as a whole, and non classroom based charter schools specifically as well. So they do a conference every year. They have a lot of resources for us. So working closely with them is another way that we've really been able to fight for the charters to stay alive.

Rebecca: So after all of that heavy stuff, what keeps you going? What is it that you see when you look at our schools that excites you? What motivates you?

Jenell: Well, I think, first of all, I've always been a kid person. I've always wanted to be a teacher. I love being with kids. When we go to an event, I always tend to be with the kids and really want to have my teacher self on. So I think being a place where I see students doing well is very motivational. I think the people that we work with, our staff, our teachers, you just couldn't ask for better people. And they are so invested in their families, they will fight for their families. And that is so motivating too, to just see those relationships building and to know that they're there for families. And I think another thing that we've really tried to do with our leadership team is most of the people on our leadership and Admin team keep a caseload of students. And so it really keeps us connected with what's going on with home school families. And even I still have some students and being able to reach out to those parents and say, hey, we're thinking about this, what are your thoughts about? It is really different and I don't know because I haven't asked at other schools, but at other schools that I've been at, that hasn't been the case. And we really see a disconnect then between the decisions being made and how they're affecting the people actual practical.

Rebecca: Implications of those decisions.

Jenell: And I think too, the motivating thing is just what else can we do? There's so many opportunities within. The flexibility we have with our schools is exciting and we're always looking for new ways to better serve our students. If you look at the Jhva program that was born out of a couple of people saying, hey, we really need something for junior high, and then we sent out a survey and parents are like, yes, we really need something for junior high. And it's launched this amazing program. Same thing with Adventure Academy. It's kind of like, oh, where is there a need? And then just seeing teachers step up and say, oh, I want to teach this class. And I look at the schedule, I'm like, I want to be a student, I want to take their classes. So that's so awesome. Kind of our philosophy and our mindset of what can we do better and what else can we do to help our students and our parents. Even having our family liaisons is a huge that was an area. We just had Sarah and we're like, okay, Sarah is doing so much and she's so important, such an important link. How do we grow her team and how do we spread that wealth of knowledge and that support for families that might not be there otherwise? So just looking for those opportunities and it's exciting to me to grow new things and to watch people step into roles and really grow their passion and challenge themselves and shine at things.

Rebecca: And I think that quality has been felt and been disseminated through the rest of staff. I feel that I see that if new ideas are welcomed, everybody is encouraged to have a vision that aligns with their own talents and passions. And I really enjoyed getting to know more staff throughout the year, even though we're spread from Mendocino to Tahoe and Chico down to Amateur County, it's such a huge area and yet there is, I think, a pretty common spirit throughout the organization that is there to serve the families. But I think. This conversation has been really important. I hope help families understand it's not a one way street. We can't just sit back and be served and make this charter successful in the future. We do need to give back and have it be a give and take and have it be a relationship so that we can continue to have the freedom to do the things with our kids at home that we value so much.

Jenell: Yeah, the relationship part is really important and I think if you go we recorded a video about a year and a half ago. It's on our Sequoia Grove Charter Alliance website and I think we stay in there. It is about the people, it's about the relationships and really throughout life that is so huge and so important and I hope that's something as a school we are passing on to parents and passing on to their children that we care. Relationships are very important to us. We want to hear from people, we want to be doing what we can to best provide for our students what they need. But at the bottom, the heart of it is those relationships and having people know that we do actually care. We're not just here because it's a job, it's actually a calling, it's a passion of ours and we love it.

Rebecca: Janelle, thank you for being here today. I think this was a really helpful and informative conversation and I hope that parents are encouraged and feel a little bit more apart of the schools rather than simply a lot of parents might not really interact with anybody except their HST and there's so much more going on and I hope that they feel like they're a little bit more apart of something important and something valuable after listening to you today. So thank you for coming and sharing with us.

Jenell: Thank you so much for having me. It's been an honor.

Rebecca: Tell us, what do you love about homeschooling?

My favorite part of home school is being with my dog and my family.

My name is Grace and I am 14 and my favorite thing about home school is the flexible schedule where I don't feel stressed and I can do it at my own pace.

As a homeschool parent. I found this conversation with Jenell Sherman to be so helpful. I hope you did too. Thank you so much for joining us today as we kicked off season two of the Sequoia Breeze. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. I am your host, Rebecca LaSavio. As always, please send me an email at podcasts at Sequoia Grove.org and let me know what you think, any questions you may have or great ideas for future podcasts. I hope that this episode has been a breath of fresh air for your home school.