If you're looking for a pick-me-up this week, this episode is a must-listen. Dr. Eric Chagala joins Dr. Katie Martin for an energizing conversation focused on his nearly 10 years leading Vista Innovation & Design Academy (VIDA) in Southern California.
In his work at VIDA, Eric changed a middle school (formerly Washington MS) from a place learners hoped to be bussed away from to a learning community that now has a wait list of over 700 children and families.
This remarkable turnaround was deeply influenced by a simple idea: What if we embraced teacher autonomy and encouraged them to create the kind of learning experiences they had always dreamed about?
Once the trust between teachers and administrators was solidified, the ideas (and learning) took off like a rocket ship—reaching heights no one in the surrounding communities thought were possible.
