SPEAKER_01 0:35

Good evening, everyone. I'm Dr. S. D. Hess. And I'm Dr. Ann Kirsch. We are back at another wonderful episode of On and Off the Spectrum Podcast with a wonderful, wonderful guest who I personally had the pleasure of meeting in a far-off land in Costa Rica just a few weeks back. And this is Lizette Vallis. And uh I I know you were traveling with your family and your mom and your sister. And I was both myself and my husband were so taken by your story that we both said you'd be a wonderful podcast guest. And uh we're gonna talk about the school that you have started, you and your husband, and expand on what makes that special, particularly because uh in in Los Angeles today is September 26th of 2020, 27th of 2026, and that means that in most of LA state uh LA County and most of the state of California, most of the of the states in the nation, schools are have either been in session for a couple weeks or will soon up to about Labor Day. So we got like a large spread of about three to four weeks of kids coming back to school. So the timing of this podcast is kind of perfect. We're gonna talk to you about all about your school and why and why is the big question. How and why? So without further ado, this is our wonderful guest Lizette, and Lisette, share with us first up the name of your school and uh the uh you it's basically what our understanding is it's a one-room schoolhouse that you are renting from a church space that incorporates both neurotypical and uh and typically developing children in one space, focusing on individuated education. I'm not certain of the grades that you're working on, so please fill us in and and educate us. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 2:32

Love it. Well, thank you so much for having me, first of all. And yes, so the name of our program is El Mercito Learning Community, and we actually started off in a highly unconventional way in a race car warehouse because our founding family uh they're a family of race car drivers, and the children's names are El, Oliver, we call him Myrr, and Elicito, hence El Mercito Learning Community. And I was very intentional. We started off as an academy and slowly have changed it to learning community because I do believe that um academia is so important and also the connection and the love and the nurturing and the belonging that ultimately comes with the word community.

SPEAKER_02 3:23

It's wonderful. It's a perfect name.

SPEAKER_01 3:26

Yes. So what was the inspiration for Al Mercito? And um and how long ago? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:35

Well, we just ended year five, so we're entering year six now, and uh we spoke very briefly about my time as a teacher, but I've been teaching for the past 20 years. And uh surprisingly enough, when I was five years old, I actually dressed up as a teacher uh during career day, and I had my little chalkboard and I had a boa. I think I had seen a commercial of Marilyn Monroe or something like that. I just thought the BOA was so fantastic. And I think I've been a sort of rebel educator, an unconventional outside of the box thinker my whole life. And uh the catalyst for this learning community began uh when the pandemic actually started because my son was going to a private school. We loved it, everything was going well. And I thought, okay, well, I'll be teaching for the rest of my life. I will retire and we'll call it a day. And that's actually not what ended up happening at all. What ended up happening was that we pulled our son. My husband and I decided to pull our son from his private school, and we knew that we didn't want him to spend his one wildly beautiful existence on a Zoom screen learning that way. And we wanted him to have a living education. And uh, I'm very inspired by Charlotte Mason, and she talks a lot about living books, and um, I'm inspired by four schools and uh just you name it, Reggio Emilia. So all of these wonderful methodologies and practices have completely uh enveloped my imagination, and I just figured, you know what, I could definitely create something that will be far more meaningful than time on the screen. And that's what we did. We went on hikes, we would go look for frogs at night, we had our little head headlights. Now you're talking education. I mean, it was fantastic, it was so phenomenal, and I thought, you know, living really is learning, and we actually are not meant to separate or compartmentalize life into subjects, it's all interdisciplinary and beautiful, and this mesh of you know everything that we could possibly want for our children, and so uh I leaned full fully into that, and others joined me. So, if I can ask you, what are the grades that you are teaching? So, third all the way to 12th grade. However, our oldest right now is in ninth grade. Um, we have a sister program called Connected Curiosity, and the founder of that program, um, her name is Dr. Bethany Hernandez Parks, and she's wonderful. And really, you know, the focus for her is TK to second and second third grade, and she follows a Regio Amelia style, and we are a lot more eclectic in our approach, lots of place-based learning. We go out quite a bit. Um, so we're doing all of our academics in the morning, and then we have about 13 community partners that teach anything from game design to animation, content creation, culinary arts, you name it. The kids ask for it and we will find an expert in that area to either offer an apprenticeship, internship opportunity, but I really want that social network, that social capital to be a part of their everyday because we're working with uh students that have been historically underserved. I don't meet very many Latina founders. I myself am Mexican-American, so there's something to be said about that when they see someone that looks like them and they really um connect. And so it's been a very, very interesting journey and very unexpected.

SPEAKER_02 7:36

You know, you speak for so wonderful. I'm just so excited because I um taught when I was in before college and after and during college, after college. I interned and taught at a school that was the first Summerhill-based school in the United States. And it happened to be near where I lived. And it was all of this before these eight places had names like you're talking about. The idea that you're doing this and you're doing it to fit all of the communities that you are, it's just makes my heart warm.

SPEAKER_01 8:19

I love this, and I'm curious. First off, for those for our viewership, could you elaborate just a little bit? You mentioned Reggio Emilio, could you expand on conceptually what that is, and then also share how do you balance teaching individuated kind of education to both neurotypical and uh you know neurodivergent populations in one room?

SPEAKER_00 8:49

Well, I'm definitely no expert with Reggio Amelia. Um, like I said, we're inspired um by our sister program, Connected Curiosity. And what I've learned so far in these past five years, um, actually a little bit less, our partnership has has taken place on the past three years. I didn't really know anything about this philosophy of education because in teacher education programs, as you're, you know, finishing your credential and and whatnot, these different methodologies are not really taught, and you kind of have to teach yourself. And so I was very much intrigued when she started putting out provocations, you know, um materials, items to go ahead and provoke children to wonder, curiosity, and joy. And through those provocations, there is so much inquiry, and there's uh it's it's very curiosity-based, right? So so that's uh that's my understanding of Reggio Emilia, that um it's very much child-led, and we follow uh suit similarly in the sense that we are a project and place-based learning model with a strong emphasis on healing-centered engagement practices. And that comes from Sean Jinright, um, he's from Harvard, and he talks a lot about uh human flourishing. And instead of using trauma-informed, uh kind of shifting it or reframing it as being healing-centered, and I like to think a bit about it in terms of being trauma responsive, and it's nice to be informed, but then what do we do with that information? It's really important that we respond. Um, and I love uh an author, her name is Anne Voss Camp, and she talks about bearing witness with our witness, and so there's a play on words there, and I lean into so many uh psychologists whom I admire, and uh educational philosophers and um friends, and so uh one of the quotes that I really love is whatever is hysterical is historical. So when our students are exhibiting um certain behaviors, some challenging behaviors, I really have to remind myself that all form or all communication, no, sorry, all behavior is a form of communication of an unmet psychological need, whether that's autonomy, acknowledgement, affection, what have you, there's five A's. And I really am acting as a decoder at that point, and so that's how we're able to individualize um education partially. So we're really leaning into how does this student learn? What is their, you know, multiple intelligence that they're primarily indicating and also their learning style. And we've we create individualized learning plans that include the five love languages, and that's where we start. So actually, I'm a quality time person, that's my number one. And my husband is not, he's definitely more like uh affection, you know, so like physical touch, and so he likes his hugs, and and it's great, but if that were the only way that he were showing it, it would go over my head because I'm actually quality time. Um, and then you know, our son is words of affirmation, that's like his main one. And we're all a bit of everything, but once we kind of dial in to how a child feels most loved, then we can connect on a much deeper level and it it offers uh a much richer, more in-depth portrait of how we can meet this child exactly where they are. And from there, we talk about curriculum and we talk about what kind of space the child will thrive in, uh, what kind of seating arrangement, and it's very open-ended. So we're doing academics, but it's gamified and there's manipulatives, and a child can get up and you know have uh water, have a snack, and we really, really want to make sure that um physiologically they're doing okay, right? And I there was a teacher and she happened to say, this was at a different school, but she happened to say that there was a student in her class who just kind of checked out before break, before recess, every day. This child's not listening, and he just, you know, and come to find out he had really low blood sugar. And so we want to make sure when we talk about Maslow's hierarchy of needs, I mean that's like a very basic and real thing that we take, um, you know, with all of our hearts because we're like, okay, you need to go ahead and rest. Do you need like a five-minute? You want to go and we have a little tepee and our comm corner, and that child can go. And actually, one one possible critique is that, you know, do children take advantage of that? And because they have autonomy and agency and ownership of their educational journey with support and structure, they actually don't take advantage because it's not like a privilege, it's a given to treat humans as humans.

SPEAKER_02 14:23

That's wonderful. That is brilliant, and that's exactly right. I always said to kids and still do, um, and to parents, behavior has meaning. If you pay attention to the behavior that a child is exhibiting, or any other age, but children in this case, they will tell you what they need. So that child had a blood sugar drop. You need to be able to offer some crackers, you need to be able to offer a banana, and it isn't a special thing, it's that anybody can have what they need. How many children are in the class in the schoolroom? And how many people are helping you?

SPEAKER_00 15:14

So we have um, there's six different classrooms. So we we actually start off with one classroom and then we've slowly expanded. So there's six classrooms, there's a basketball court, a field. So we have about 40 students in our program, and then in the younger kids program, there's about 20, 25. Um, so we are actually touring a new location tomorrow, and we're really excited about that because we're at the point where we actually are at full capacity. We have a wait list, and unfortunately, we just have to tell some families, not at this time, you know, but we're hoping to be able to grow in the future.

SPEAKER_01 15:53

What I wonder what I love is your learning starts off with a relationship. So, what's the process of getting to know the child? Like you mentioned about your love language, your husbands, your sons. Obviously, you spend time with your family, so you hopefully not everybody does, but hopefully you do know. But what is do you have an assessment? Do you what's the criteria so that in front of you is this child you're meeting for perhaps the first, second, third time, and you're getting the pieces. Oh, this is I'm guessing this is the best way to create the relationship so that child feels validated, understood. Let's modify the curriculum according to this moment. What's the process?

SPEAKER_00 16:41

Yeah, well, it's uh it's actually very simple, and we do we do believe in connection over curriculum and relationship over rigor, all of that. And we start off with just a simple conversation with families. We're really trying to understand where they're coming from, what are their pain points, why are they looking for something that's a bit more unconventional? And families come to us for a variety of reasons. Uh, sometimes their students have been overlooked in you know, larger classroom setting. Uh, maybe there's been some bullying, maybe there's some anxiety happening. Uh, so for many, many reasons, travel. Um, we have some actors. I mean, schedules vary. So, for a variety of reasons, they they opt in for a hybrid homeschool program, which is really what we are. Uh, and so we meet four days a week, but families can choose anywhere from one to four days. And typically no homework is uh assigned unless it's requested by a parent. So that's just kind of the basic um framework of our program. And then thinking about how we engage with families, how we get to know learners better. We start off with that conversation with families, and then we invite them over for uh a tour. And that's our meet and greet time with the child and with the family, and then we have a preview day, and families can go ahead and opt in. And typically we we really actually ask the child and not so much the parent, like, would you like half a day? Does that seem or do you want to do a full day? Because we don't want it to be coercive. We actually do want the child to have again agency and ownership and a say in in their education. And we find that when we treat them again as human beings, as you know, we're listening and we're we're dialing into what they actually are trying to let us know. Um, we start off on the right foot almost immediately because we're not talking with parents and pretending like they're not there. And we actually have student-led conferences during our regular school year. And students have portfolios and they're telling their parents, this is what we've done. This is a project. And you know, the family has been walking alongside of them the whole time. But for them to be able to engage that way, um, and we're we'll be doing a TED Talk Kids Los Angeles, hopefully soon. And so that's another way for them to get these wonderful ideas that they have outside. Um, so we'll be doing a TED Ed Club. That's on a side note, but all of that to say that we they really know that they're respected and that they're loved and that they are seen and known in this type of setting. And kind of thinking about the individualized learning plans, we're able to go ahead and create those because families fill out an assessment on multiple intelligences. It's it's very extensive, actually. It's on multiple intelligences, um, their disposition, you know, down to like their favorite color and what what colors are are irksome to them. Um so behind me, uh you can't see it, it's blurred out, but it's the writing process. Um, and then it's there's like a welcome banner up there in different languages. But those are probably the two brightest pieces that we have in our whole entire um in all of our spaces, we actually have a lot like more common colors in here because we do believe that those primary colors are pretty jarring, and we do lean into neurodesign and neuroarchitecture quite a bit. And we we're seeing that when we design with the child in mind from the very start, from the colors to the seating arrangements to how low um the board games are, to everything that actually makes a difference and it feels like a second home to them.

SPEAKER_01 20:59

That's wonderful. Yeah, it's absolutely wonderful.

SPEAKER_02 21:02

It it truly is. When you um oh, the other part of the question how many people are helping you in the different classrooms? Because you I'm I know you're not doing this all alone, but you're the brains behind it.

SPEAKER_00 21:18

So yes, but there's a there's seven of us uh on our team, and this is the first year that we we have seven. Um so we'll be having our RPD next week, and actually we have a picnic tomorrow, and we're really excited. So we're gearing up for all the things, and this is my first time uh really leading, and it's a small group. I mean, seven is is not huge at all, but going from a teacher to then the visionary of this um has has been um really humbling. And that my hope is that I can I can just continue to Really keep the heart of a teacher because the administrative aspect of it could sometimes get in the way of that. But it's very beautiful to hold the vision and the mission as we move forward.

SPEAKER_02 22:14

I don't think you have any problem holding on to that part of it. It just comes out of you with love and with purpose.

SPEAKER_01 22:23

I I wanted to know what kind of modifications do you do in terms of the special needs community simultaneous to the fact that you're also dealing in the same classroom with neurotypical classmates. Right. And most importantly, the funding. How do parents, if they want to get on the wait list and are in the area and say though this sounds exactly you know my cup of tea and I want my child to be learning in this fashion? What's the process and uh who is eligible? Right.

SPEAKER_00 22:57

Uh well, in terms of all of the modifications, when we uh have students that are applying who have IEPs, we take a look at their modifications and their accommodation.

SPEAKER_01 23:08

IEP for the RO is individual education plan that every taxpayer has the right to uh ask for for their child through their public school system. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 23:19

Yes. So once we see that, we um then make the determination if we're able to meet that child's needs, if we're the best type of environment and we're fully aware of our limitations. And you know, so if there's a child who uh has experienced a loping, for example, that's uh one behavior that in this moment in time we're not equipped, our team is not equipped to to handle in this moment, um, or uh like extreme aggression. So those are the two. Um, other than that, if a child is needing headphones um or needs to have extra time to complete an exam or needs to step out or has um we've had students who have had um like oxygen. They literally they've had some medical needs. Um so you know, oxygen was required. Um, we have another student who is assigned a nurse, another student has an aid, a one-to-one aide assigned uh to him through the regional center. And so it's really nice because all of these different uh accommodations are not very difficult in a smaller setting. We're able to just you know turn on a dime, it's fast. If a a family uh explains the situation, then I'm I'm pretty I'm I'm I'm fairly certain that it's not gonna be like an impossibility for us. I mean, with within reason, you know, so usually all of the accommodations, whether it's like a visual timer or a wobble board, or uh, you know, uh they need fidgets or they need to be moving or um they need more manipulative, whatever it is, they may take breaks. Um, I might have mentioned that already, but usually all of the accommodations, uh it's not very difficult. And I should say that my background is actually not instead. I was an English literature major, I taught English um to middle schoolers and high schoolers, and thinking this is I'm outside of my wheelhouse, right? Like I'm not this is or this is not in my wheelhouse, and I have no business doing this. However, parents are so so grateful at the end of the day because they're like this environment is doing a lot more than what we ever received in the program, the school that we were in prior.

SPEAKER_02 25:54

And that's what I was gonna ask you about because parents want to know at the end of the day, what are you gonna do and what will you produce in my child? And to hear that feedback almost without without asking, it's just there, it's there in the behavior of the child, the families change because they are paying attention to what you're doing, and they're paying attention to what their children need. So it's just a beautiful convergence, and it proves that you don't have to be an expert. No, you what you have to have is curiosity and heart and a desire to do better for whoever it is that you want to do it for.

SPEAKER_01 26:47

I'm gonna ask a similar question, but I will kind of lead into the fact that one of the reasons that both my husband and I were drawn to you and your family was because your sister has special needs, and there was such a almost effortless uh not even compassion is not even the right right term. It's just it was a matter of fact that she's part of the family, she's coming along on on this trip, and it was done in such a beautiful, incorporating fashion that we were drawn to you and to to you and your family. And it sounds like that's how you've incorporated this philosophy, this expansive philosophy within your own school, just accepting children for who they are and how to do it, and that's kind of the point to make a kinder, gentler world where we're all more familiar with people's differences because we're all have a little divergent piece to ourselves, absolutely, and then to be able to teach to the child rather than the child having to you know come up to some sort of arbitrary standard. Um, I'm gonna ask one last question, or two questions actually. One is the standards, because you go through 12th grade. Are are you college preparatory for those who are interested in going on to higher learning? And what's the process? And then also, as I mentioned before, if parents are interested in getting on your wait list, are in the downy area, um, and the funding, I don't know as I said, the funding piece. Uh if you don't mind sharing that piece, because our our I know our readership would very much like to uh you know understand.

SPEAKER_02 28:29

Yes. And we heard you say that you weren't accepting new people right now, but I suspect that that will change.

SPEAKER_00 28:38

I think so. Yes, that that is the hope and the goal. Uh, and also we're not open on Fridays, which we may just open on Fridays, you know. Um so yeah, right now we call it Flourishing Fridays, and uh, you know, families are able to go on adventures, and and it's it's wonderful. So we're we're really uh considering that. Uh so we're not um we're not standards-based in the sense that you know we're teaching to the test, however, we do offer um the state test as optional, and some families often, some don't. And for those who uh are interested, you know, their children do want to go to college. We do offer college prep in terms of uh like the curriculum, they might do dual enrollment. So we have one ninth grader right now. Um, and he is interested in doing dual enrollment. We graduated our first student, so Oliver, uh we call Murr, he uh he he's our first graduate officially, and uh he will be going on to college, and it's wonderful. So we really do prepare students, whether it's college or career. However, that's not the expectation, it's more so uh delight-directed learning. So we we follow the child's delight and we go full force in that direction. Um, for example, um, our our son, I'll use my my son as an example here. He is very much into musical theater. And anything having to do with that, I mean, for eight, it was yeah, two months. So eight weeks over the summer, he participated in uh all things. It was a conservatory style um experience for him, and he did that. He did uh a bunch of shows, and then you know, we were off in Costa Rica and we were enjoying the sloths, and that's his favorite animal, you know. So, really, this idea of what brings you delight, what sets your heart on fire. And I actually have a quote, it's a little bit hard to see, but it's up there. And it says, um, don't ask what the world needs, ask what makes you come alive and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive, and it's by the abolitionist Howard Thurman. And I really do believe that you know, we're seeing students who are disengaged and walking around like zombies and just kind of giving that that dead deadpan face, right? That that look like a blank. And it's because they're not engaged and something in them, the curiosity has been squeezed out, the imagination has been squeezed out. And so part of our work is actually making sure that our students leave more enlivened when when they leave our program, and whether that is college or career. And so we see that, and uh, and typically, you know, they're doing very well because it's again, it's their uh choice, it's their option. They want to pursue this. It's not because it was um done in a coercive, authoritarian manner, authoritative manner, it was done in a winsome. I see you, you belong, you have a voice, and we're here for it way.

SPEAKER_01 32:02

Beautiful, beautiful. We have to put a a pin in this particular moment of our wonderful interview, but I have to tell you, as a start of the new academic school year, it's such a pleasure to get a refreshing opportunity to talk to someone like yourself, a teacher who has passion and understands the individual needs of the students in front of you. And so, what lucky for us. Not only did we get to to enjoy the sloths of Costa Rica, but we got a chance to to meet yourselves and your wonderful family. So, thank you for that. Um, I will again share that again the school is Al Mercito Learning Community in Downey, California. And so please don't hesitate to reach out to Lisette Vallis when and uh there will be time in the future for people to go off the the wait list and to expand on your wonderful school. We normally don't promote product, but in this case, I think we have to take a moment to say, you know, thumbs up. It's been such a tremendous pleasure. Thank you for being the kind of educator you are because clearly your love of children, your love of learning, your love of curiosity is palatable, and that's what's translated to the children. So we wish you the best semester ahead. It's absolutely true.

SPEAKER_02 33:29

Everything that Esty is saying, and one of the things that I kept hearing, underlining everything you were talking about, is trust that these children come into your program at the beginning, understanding that they are trusted, you they can trust you, that's a different process, and that that goes throughout the program with everything you do, whether it's you need a snack or you need to uh you want to stand up, do you want to sit down? Do you want to it's really paying attention to who those children are as human beings. Absolutely. It's just magnificent, and you know, it's the kind of school I would have liked to have gone to. Absolutely. Me too. So yeah, I want to share that I'm Dr. S. D. Hess. And I'm Dr. Ann Kirsch. And we welcome everyone to our podcast today. We welcome you to reach out to us if you have questions for Lizette, if you have questions for us, if there are things that you want to offer, maybe you have an idea for a podcast, let us know.

SPEAKER_01 34:51

Otherwise, please don't hesitate. If you liked what you saw tonight, please subscribe, tell your friends, follow us on and off the spectrum podcast. We're available on all forms of the social media platform. Yes. Lisette, again, congratulations on your fifth year now going on to the sixth year bravo. And we are looking forward to hearing further success stories. Thank you for being with us tonight. Have a good night. Take care.