Episode 235: Putting the Public Back In Public Education
The importance of public education can never be overstated. Yet, even with reforms, public education falls short of benefiting the communities they are supposed to serve. What could happen if the public is given more than just a seat at the table, but an active part to play in partnership with educators in creating a promise fulfilling educational system? L. Joy brings Drs. Landon Mascareñaz and Doannie Tran to the front of the class to break down how an open education system works.
Homework:
by Landon Mascareñaz and Doannie Tran https://hep.gse.harvard.edu/9781682538135/the-open-system/
Check out The Open System Institute https://www.theopensystem.org/
Listen: #SundayCivics Episode 221: Foundations: Public Education and The Economy https://www.sundaycivics.org/episodes/episode221
Listen: #SundayCivics Episode 225: The History of Our Education https://www.sundaycivics.org/episodes/episode225
Our Guests:
Dr. Landon Mascareñaz is an educator, writer, and democracy builder. As cofounder of the Open Systems Institute, he partners with leaders around the country to encourage an emerging discipline for openers everywhere. He is the current elected chair of the Colorado State Board for Community Colleges & Occupational Education, appointed by Colorado Governor Jared Polis. He also serves as chair of the Reisher Scholars Program, supporting students across the state to achieve their higher education goals. His new book, The Open System: Redesigning Education & Reigniting Democracy was released by Harvard Education Press this June.
He is senior partner at the Colorado Education Initiative (CEI) where he is responsible for community-driven economic development through breakthrough partnerships in the Homegrown Talent Initiative, working in sixty rural districts across eight regions of the state. In his previous role at CEI he helped assemble the Sin Fronteras Education Partnership, a coalition of local, regional, and national organizations co-creating family partnership strategies for New Mexico communities, and he supported the launch of Colorado’s Statewide Family Engagement Center.
During the first six months of the COVID crisis, Landon worked with community organizations to deploy the Denver Metro Emergency Food Network, which delivered over 320 thousand free meals to families and elderly people in need. At the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he worked with friends and partners to help launch Palaces for People to house refugees.
He has previously led partnerships at A+ Colorado, served as a leader in the family engagement department in Denver Public Schools, co-designed the launch of the NACA Inspired Schools Network (a network of indigenous serving schools), led Teach For America–New Mexico, and taught first grade on the Navajo Nation. In 2015 he completed his doctorate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education with a focus on boundary-spanning leadership.
Landon was born in California, raised in Colorado, attended college in Oregon, and began his professional career in New Mexico—leading him to consider the western United States his home. He lives in Denver, Colorado, with his wife and enjoys traveling, learning about ancient history, and developing his meditation practice.
Dr. Doannie Tran taught middle school and high school science in both Oakland, California and Boston, Massachusetts, before leaving teaching to help launch the Massachusetts region of Teach For America in 2009. Doannie was responsible for professional development for all new TFA teachers in Massachusetts and he built up their partnership with Boston University, where he has also served on faculty. During that time, the Massachusetts region was in the top 10% of all TFA regions in terms of effectiveness, satisfaction and retention of teachers. While doing his doctoral work at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, he was sponsored as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at NewSchools Venture Fund, launching an education technology company called the Teaching Genome.
Doannie left his startup to join the leadership team of Boston Public Schools as Assistant Superintendent for Academics and Professional Learning. He led the inter-departmental team that worked with the Boston Teachers’ Union to develop the Essentials for Instructional Equity, the district’s vision for instruction that would close opportunity gaps. The Essentials were recently recognized as a “bright spot” in the district by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Before joining the team at the Center for Innovation in Education, Doannie served as the Assistant Superintendent for Innovative Programs for Fulton County, Georgia. He oversaw the design of two innovative high school models, and also supported the development of the district’s professional learning strategy based on the implementation of PLCs at every level from the Cabinet to teachers.
Currently, Doannie is the Partner for Liberatory Co-Creation at the Center for Innovation in Education where he focuses on family and community empowerment as a lever for systems change. He has helped launch community co-creation projects nationwide, bringing family and community members into co-creation with the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction, the Kentucky Department of Education, and Atlanta Public Schools. Doannie is also co-founder of the Open Systems Institute, which develops capacity of leaders to co-create and co-produce with communities.
