WEBVTT - HATTIE MITCHELL: Crete Acadamy 0:00:14.960 --> 0:00:17.680 Hello, my friend. It is good to be with you 0:00:17.800 --> 0:00:21.280 once again on Love Someone, my One Heart at a 0:00:21.320 --> 0:00:26.800 Time podcast series. What we're trying to do besides entertain 0:00:26.960 --> 0:00:32.120 you is inspire you, Inspire you to change the world 0:00:32.680 --> 0:00:35.640 one heart at a time. I am so happy to 0:00:35.680 --> 0:00:38.760 have Hattie Mitchell with me today, the founder and the 0:00:38.800 --> 0:00:44.440 principle of a very very unique elementary school in Los Angeles. 0:00:45.120 --> 0:00:48.680 Her story begins many, many years ago. She was a 0:00:48.720 --> 0:00:52.920 girl of nineteen. Actually, as she describes it, it started 0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:56.200 way before that, when she was but a child with 0:00:56.320 --> 0:01:01.680 a very tender heart for the plight of the homeless population. 0:01:03.000 --> 0:01:06.520 I'm going to let her share her story from the beginning, 0:01:06.880 --> 0:01:09.240 but before we get started, I need to thank our 0:01:09.280 --> 0:01:14.120 sponsor today. This podcast is made possible by my good 0:01:14.160 --> 0:01:17.800 friends at the Home Depot. Given how often I'm at 0:01:17.800 --> 0:01:21.440 my favorite home Depot, they are good friends. Now I 0:01:21.480 --> 0:01:24.480 know them all by name. When I'm in need of 0:01:24.520 --> 0:01:28.600 an appliance, I'm in the appliance department. When I'm in 0:01:28.640 --> 0:01:31.759 a planting mood, and I'm always in a planting mood, 0:01:32.400 --> 0:01:35.840 I'm in the garden department. This year I discovered just 0:01:35.920 --> 0:01:38.919 how good the Home Depot is with carpets as well 0:01:39.360 --> 0:01:44.720 selection installation special orders. My new friends in the flooring 0:01:44.760 --> 0:01:48.800 department were beyond helpful in choosing the carpet and then 0:01:48.840 --> 0:01:53.080 seeing that it was installed perfectly for my niece Sharissa. 0:01:53.200 --> 0:01:56.200 She and her husband Nick are expecting a baby any 0:01:56.280 --> 0:01:59.560 day now. The carpet we purchased was for the nursery 0:01:59.680 --> 0:02:02.320 of my soon to be born great nephew, and with 0:02:02.400 --> 0:02:05.440 the purchase just more than six hundred dollars, the installation 0:02:06.040 --> 0:02:09.840 was free, really, no fees at all. The home depot, 0:02:10.080 --> 0:02:15.079 more saving, more doing. So Hattie Mitchell, welcome to love 0:02:15.160 --> 0:02:19.160 someone with Delilah. Do you know how I found my 0:02:19.200 --> 0:02:20.239 way to you? Hattie? 0:02:20.800 --> 0:02:22.680 No, I was not told the story. 0:02:22.880 --> 0:02:26.840 Okay, this is a fun story. I have a big 0:02:26.880 --> 0:02:31.000 family and at home right now, I only have four children, 0:02:31.080 --> 0:02:33.560 but I have many that are grown and gone. And 0:02:33.680 --> 0:02:39.480 Blessing is my little genius. Nothing slows this child down, 0:02:40.160 --> 0:02:44.760 nothing in life slows her down. And she came to me, 0:02:45.040 --> 0:02:47.359 I don't know about a month ago, and she said, Mom, 0:02:47.440 --> 0:02:50.560 I want you to watch the story. And it was 0:02:50.600 --> 0:02:54.880 your story. And I said, that's really touching. I'm really 0:02:55.200 --> 0:02:56.960 blessed that you wanted to share that with me, and 0:02:57.000 --> 0:02:58.600 she said, no, I want you to watch it because 0:02:58.840 --> 0:03:02.160 I want you to get to know the woman. She said, 0:03:02.360 --> 0:03:05.240 I want you to do a podcast about her. I 0:03:05.280 --> 0:03:07.880 want other people to hear what she's doing. I want 0:03:07.880 --> 0:03:10.079 other people in other cities to hear what she's doing 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:13.880 and maybe they'll understand how important it is and help 0:03:13.960 --> 0:03:19.680 more kids. And I'm like, you're amazing. Yes, So I 0:03:19.680 --> 0:03:21.680 said to my fourteen year old daughter, who is in 0:03:21.760 --> 0:03:24.240 ninth grade, you know what, I am naming you the 0:03:24.320 --> 0:03:28.600 assistant producer for my podcast. For this series, you get 0:03:28.639 --> 0:03:32.120 to track this young woman down. And she did, and 0:03:32.200 --> 0:03:32.600 she did. 0:03:32.680 --> 0:03:33.520 She's incredible. 0:03:33.639 --> 0:03:35.960 She did. She found a way to you. She came 0:03:36.000 --> 0:03:40.040 to me just jumping and screaming and saying the lady 0:03:40.040 --> 0:03:42.680 that started the Creed Academy. She got back to me, mom, 0:03:42.720 --> 0:03:46.320 and so she turned it over to my sister, who 0:03:46.400 --> 0:03:50.840 is the producer of the show. And now here we 0:03:50.880 --> 0:03:51.520 are together. 0:03:52.080 --> 0:03:56.160 Well, you have a wonderful family, obviously a wonderful story, 0:03:56.360 --> 0:04:01.200 and blessing is already a blessing to many, but just 0:04:01.240 --> 0:04:03.560 hearing that story is even a blessing to me. It's 0:04:03.680 --> 0:04:04.520 very encouraging. 0:04:05.400 --> 0:04:10.000 So tell me how how this all started the Crete Academy, 0:04:10.080 --> 0:04:12.160 which you've been doing for how many years now? 0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:16.200 Well, I've been working on it for sixteen years. We've 0:04:16.200 --> 0:04:17.239 been open for two. 0:04:17.800 --> 0:04:22.560 I was a long pregnancy girlfriend. Oh yeah, Logancy. 0:04:23.120 --> 0:04:30.920 Things good things take time. I was born, I always say, 0:04:30.960 --> 0:04:34.640 with this deep sense of empathy and compassion for people 0:04:34.680 --> 0:04:40.279 who are homeless, very very specific, deep and just a 0:04:40.400 --> 0:04:44.280 sense of connectedness, a sense of responsibility to this very 0:04:44.360 --> 0:04:48.400 specific group of people. I don't know why. I sometimes 0:04:48.520 --> 0:04:50.839 wished I, you know, did not feel the way that 0:04:50.920 --> 0:04:53.719 I feel when I see people on the streets. But 0:04:53.960 --> 0:04:56.120 from the time I can remember, and my mom tells 0:04:56.160 --> 0:04:58.719 me stories, you know, I was five years old and 0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:01.560 I would tap her while she was driving and I'd say, 0:05:01.720 --> 0:05:05.760 you know, give the man standing under the overpass five dollars, 0:05:05.839 --> 0:05:09.960 give him a banana. Do you have anything that translated 0:05:10.000 --> 0:05:12.400 into you know, in college, I would drive around with 0:05:12.440 --> 0:05:14.919 blankets in the back of my car, not alcohol like 0:05:15.080 --> 0:05:17.240 you know most college students. I had blankets, and I 0:05:17.240 --> 0:05:19.440 would give out blankets to people on the streets. So 0:05:20.040 --> 0:05:25.599 I've always just felt that there was some inequity, just 0:05:25.680 --> 0:05:28.680 a systematic issue with people living on the streets. I 0:05:28.680 --> 0:05:33.640 felt it was wrong. It was really unbelievable for me 0:05:33.920 --> 0:05:38.320 in America to see people not in homes and just 0:05:38.360 --> 0:05:41.440 there was like a moral obligation on my end to 0:05:41.480 --> 0:05:45.719 do something. There was a moment, however, where everything shifted 0:05:45.760 --> 0:05:50.680 and this passion and this sense of empathy just kind 0:05:50.680 --> 0:05:53.160 of transformed into this vision for this school. And that 0:05:53.279 --> 0:05:56.560 was when I was nineteen years old. I was volunteering 0:05:57.279 --> 0:06:01.040 downtown LA at Union Rescue Mission and I had finished 0:06:01.160 --> 0:06:04.160 volunteering and walked outside and I looked down and there 0:06:04.240 --> 0:06:07.920 was this little girl crawling on the sidewalk. And I 0:06:08.640 --> 0:06:12.839 was shocked. I was hurt, I was sad, I was angry, 0:06:13.520 --> 0:06:17.840 and I thought, this little girl has limitless potential and 0:06:17.920 --> 0:06:22.600 extremely limited options. If she's to make it in the world, 0:06:22.640 --> 0:06:25.359 if she's to become anything, she will be in a book. 0:06:25.400 --> 0:06:28.040 She's one in a million because of the circumstances that 0:06:28.080 --> 0:06:31.760 she is born into. And I knew if I saw one, 0:06:31.839 --> 0:06:34.440 that there were more. And I knew the fact that 0:06:34.480 --> 0:06:36.719 I was looking at a little girl crawling on the 0:06:36.760 --> 0:06:40.719 sidewalk in a country and in a city with such 0:06:40.760 --> 0:06:43.720 wealth and resources, there was something wrong with our system. 0:06:43.800 --> 0:06:46.520 There was something wrong with what we were doing. And 0:06:46.960 --> 0:06:48.960 you know, I didn't know much about the world, but 0:06:49.040 --> 0:06:53.360 I knew I wanted to do something about kids living 0:06:53.360 --> 0:06:57.200 on the streets, kids in homelessness, kids in poverty, And 0:06:58.080 --> 0:07:01.800 in that moment, just watched that little girl all but 0:07:01.920 --> 0:07:04.599 five minutes, I said, I'm going to open a school. 0:07:04.680 --> 0:07:06.360 I think the answer. You know, I don't know much 0:07:06.360 --> 0:07:08.279 about the world, but I think the answer is a 0:07:08.279 --> 0:07:09.000 good education. 0:07:09.360 --> 0:07:12.880 So backup, Hattie, how old were you? You said you've 0:07:12.920 --> 0:07:15.840 had this, this burning in your heart. 0:07:16.400 --> 0:07:18.240 I was nineteen and you. 0:07:18.200 --> 0:07:23.400 Were nineteen, and you saw this little baby crawling I'm guessing, hands. 0:07:23.160 --> 0:07:25.880 And knees, yes, six months old. 0:07:27.280 --> 0:07:30.679 On the sidewalk, and instead of looking away, you looked 0:07:30.680 --> 0:07:33.160 into the heart of the matter and said, at nineteen 0:07:33.240 --> 0:07:35.800 years old, I'm going to open a school. 0:07:36.360 --> 0:07:40.080 Right, I'm going to do something. No, I couldn't look away. 0:07:40.440 --> 0:07:43.640 I had a moral obligation. I felt I had something 0:07:43.680 --> 0:07:46.520 to offer it. And even if I didn't, I had 0:07:46.880 --> 0:07:50.600 a moral responsibility to at least try to do something 0:07:50.800 --> 0:07:54.320 because we weren't doing enough as a society, as a 0:07:55.080 --> 0:07:58.080 human you know, kind, we were not doing enough if 0:07:58.120 --> 0:08:00.640 there were kids living on the streets in America. 0:08:01.360 --> 0:08:04.679 So you're nineteen years old. This this idea a school 0:08:05.280 --> 0:08:08.800 begins to germinate in your heart and in your mind 0:08:08.960 --> 0:08:12.120 and in your spirit. Then what happened? 0:08:13.400 --> 0:08:16.840 Then nothing happened for a long time. It felt like 0:08:17.040 --> 0:08:17.960 fourteen years there. 0:08:17.920 --> 0:08:19.239 Well, something was happening. 0:08:19.520 --> 0:08:21.600 I mean, things were happening, like a seed. 0:08:21.360 --> 0:08:24.320 Growing underneath the earth. If you don't see what's happening, right, 0:08:24.520 --> 0:08:28.760 but it was happening, or you wouldn't have opened Creep. 0:08:29.160 --> 0:08:33.200 Yeah. So I said, okay, well, you know, I have 0:08:33.240 --> 0:08:35.520 to be strategic about this. I can't just go open 0:08:35.559 --> 0:08:37.480 a school. What do I need to learn? What do 0:08:37.520 --> 0:08:40.080 I need to do? And the natural first step to 0:08:40.160 --> 0:08:43.640 me was, well, get in a classroom. So I decided, Okay, 0:08:43.640 --> 0:08:46.320 I'm going to major in education. I will get my 0:08:46.360 --> 0:08:50.640 teaching credential and I'll teach. I'll learn firsthand what goes 0:08:50.640 --> 0:08:53.679 on in the classroom on the day to day, and 0:08:53.720 --> 0:08:55.680 then I'll go from there. And from there I went 0:08:55.720 --> 0:08:59.280 on to learning about policy, and I went back to 0:08:59.280 --> 0:09:02.880 school for my masters. I interned at the White House 0:09:02.880 --> 0:09:05.800 with the Obama administration, and I worked on federal policy. 0:09:06.440 --> 0:09:09.240 And then I came back to LA and I worked 0:09:09.240 --> 0:09:13.600 as an administrator at a school in South Central. From there, 0:09:13.640 --> 0:09:16.000 I went to Louisiana. I worked on state policy, So 0:09:16.120 --> 0:09:18.680 really I just took on various jobs to try and 0:09:18.720 --> 0:09:24.480 figure out and understand the system, the education system, serving 0:09:24.559 --> 0:09:27.559 kids in poverty, serving kids in the inner city, what 0:09:27.640 --> 0:09:30.120 that looks like all the way from the highest level 0:09:30.120 --> 0:09:33.000 at the federal government to the lowest level, you know, 0:09:33.040 --> 0:09:36.440 in the classroom. And I think that we're you know, 0:09:37.200 --> 0:09:40.720 looking at just the system as a whole. I sort 0:09:40.720 --> 0:09:43.120 of spoke about that, you know, when I first saw 0:09:43.120 --> 0:09:45.600 the baby on the sidewalk, which was like, you know, 0:09:45.720 --> 0:09:47.439 I don't know much about the world, but this doesn't 0:09:47.440 --> 0:09:50.360 seem right to me. And you know, as I've gotten 0:09:50.360 --> 0:09:54.480 older and learned more about the social injustices and inequities, 0:09:55.679 --> 0:09:59.800 it's very clear that in America especially, we have a 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:07.520 system that really bites up and spits out our low 0:10:07.559 --> 0:10:13.360 income people. Our minorities are black and brown people, especially 0:10:13.400 --> 0:10:16.200 the men, so you know, from boys to men. And 0:10:16.320 --> 0:10:19.120 as you said, it's like, if you don't end up 0:10:19.160 --> 0:10:21.440 in this cycle of poverty, you're likely going to end 0:10:21.520 --> 0:10:25.520 up in prison or dead. Those are the options. And 0:10:26.360 --> 0:10:32.080 we can't undo and disrupt this system that's been in 0:10:32.120 --> 0:10:36.520 place for so long because much of it derives from 0:10:36.800 --> 0:10:44.800 slavery and from segregation and years of racism. But what 0:10:44.880 --> 0:10:48.440 we can do is try to address the issues here 0:10:48.480 --> 0:10:52.040 and now and look to dismantling some of these cycles, 0:10:52.080 --> 0:10:56.520 which is why I chose the school. So, yes, I'm 0:10:56.559 --> 0:11:00.680 passionate about serving people who are homeless. I stayed away 0:11:00.679 --> 0:11:04.040 from adults, and I'm staying away from building more houses, 0:11:04.080 --> 0:11:07.760 and I'm staying away from building more institutions, whether that 0:11:07.880 --> 0:11:13.079 be you know, hospitals because of the mental ill or jails. 0:11:13.679 --> 0:11:17.600 I'm looking at serving kids so that we can break 0:11:17.640 --> 0:11:20.320 this cycle, so they have a chance, because it's a cycle, 0:11:21.200 --> 0:11:24.320 and it's the system is doing exactly what it was 0:11:24.360 --> 0:11:27.160 intended to do, and it's to keep black and brown 0:11:27.240 --> 0:11:32.600 people oppressed and coming in and out of prison and DCFS, 0:11:32.640 --> 0:11:36.080 you know, Department of Family and Children's Services or ending 0:11:36.160 --> 0:11:40.280 up dead. And I want to see that completely changed. 0:11:41.080 --> 0:11:44.120 So it took you six sixteen years, you said for 0:11:44.400 --> 0:11:48.400 Crete to actually be birthed. What did it tell me 0:11:48.440 --> 0:11:49.559 where the name comes from? 0:11:50.160 --> 0:11:53.760 Well, my husband and I we actually were researching names. 0:11:54.040 --> 0:11:57.120 Most of the Latin names were already taken by private 0:11:57.160 --> 0:12:01.120 schools and charter schools. So we look that the Greek language, 0:12:01.120 --> 0:12:06.080 and I really wanted something that meant to create, and 0:12:06.120 --> 0:12:12.800 so Crete means to create. And the philosophy behind the 0:12:12.920 --> 0:12:15.560 name is that if you come to our school, you 0:12:15.640 --> 0:12:19.240 take hold of the resources and the education that we provide, 0:12:19.920 --> 0:12:23.280 you can create your own future, despite what your trajectory 0:12:23.320 --> 0:12:25.760 may have been, you know, had you not had any 0:12:25.760 --> 0:12:29.480 interventions or because of the circumstances that you were brought into. 0:12:30.040 --> 0:12:33.640 So it's really our children creating the future that they 0:12:33.679 --> 0:12:34.720 want for themselves. 0:12:34.880 --> 0:12:38.280 So tell me who makes up your student body at Create? 0:12:38.320 --> 0:12:43.600 You're in Los Angeles, Yes, who makes up your student body? 0:12:44.480 --> 0:12:48.040 So we have one hundred and eighty students. We have 0:12:48.120 --> 0:12:52.480 far more boys than girls, which is not out of 0:12:52.520 --> 0:12:56.360 the norm for charter schools. Usually there's more boys. We're 0:12:56.440 --> 0:13:01.200 sixty six percent African American. I remember these numbers off 0:13:01.280 --> 0:13:06.520 the top of my head. Thirty percent Latino, two percent white, 0:13:06.559 --> 0:13:12.480 two percent other, twenty percent homeless, four percent foster. We 0:13:12.720 --> 0:13:17.360 are ten percent gifted, ninety two percent free and reduced lunch, 0:13:17.360 --> 0:13:20.320 which is actually lower than the surrounding schools. 0:13:20.760 --> 0:13:24.040 So ninety two percent of your students would not be 0:13:24.200 --> 0:13:27.320 eating probably if not eating at your school. 0:13:28.280 --> 0:13:32.200 Absolutely, and we serve three meals a day for those students. 0:13:32.960 --> 0:13:38.480 And then we are about twelve percent special ed meeting 0:13:38.520 --> 0:13:44.280 students requiring special and additional support for various disabilities. 0:13:44.800 --> 0:13:48.600 And who is this very charming principle that I see 0:13:48.600 --> 0:13:50.480 in the video hugging the kids every day? 0:13:51.480 --> 0:13:55.199 Oh, that would probably be me? Or is it a man? 0:13:56.000 --> 0:13:58.079 No, it's a beautiful woman that I saw in the 0:13:58.160 --> 0:14:00.120 video that you know the kids. 0:14:00.280 --> 0:14:03.000 Name, Oh, that would be me. That would be it. 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:08.080 Of everything that I learned about you, Hattie when I 0:14:08.200 --> 0:14:10.920 was researching you, the thing that there's so many things 0:14:10.920 --> 0:14:14.360 that I just I love you. I just love your heart, 0:14:14.520 --> 0:14:16.680 I love your passion, I love what you're doing. I 0:14:16.720 --> 0:14:20.080 love that you're not taking no for an answer. But 0:14:20.200 --> 0:14:23.560 the fact that you know each child by name, that 0:14:23.640 --> 0:14:28.720 you know their stories, you know their family's stories. That 0:14:28.720 --> 0:14:32.640 that was what touched me the deepest. Because a lot 0:14:32.680 --> 0:14:34.840 of people think that they can change the world through 0:14:34.880 --> 0:14:38.240 policies or politics, and maybe they can, but I believe 0:14:38.920 --> 0:14:41.240 and the whole reason I do what I do is 0:14:41.280 --> 0:14:43.600 that we're going to change the world one heart at 0:14:43.640 --> 0:14:48.800 a time. And absolutely that comes through relationships and When 0:14:48.800 --> 0:14:52.560 I saw the video Hattie of the kids running up 0:14:52.560 --> 0:14:56.520 and hugging you, and you calling them by name and 0:14:56.600 --> 0:14:59.720 knowing their story and looking in their eyes and seeing 0:14:59.800 --> 0:15:03.240 the for who they are, I said, this young woman 0:15:04.160 --> 0:15:08.160 is going to change the world because you love each 0:15:08.320 --> 0:15:09.920 child individually. 0:15:10.680 --> 0:15:16.160 I do very much to a fault. I always say 0:15:16.160 --> 0:15:18.560 I have one hundred and eighty three kids. I have 0:15:18.560 --> 0:15:20.560 two of my own and one hundred and eighty one 0:15:21.120 --> 0:15:25.360 at my school. But yeah, I mean that's where it starts. 0:15:25.400 --> 0:15:31.120 It starts with a true, a true love for humans, 0:15:31.280 --> 0:15:36.320 for humankind, and even deeper love for children, which you 0:15:36.320 --> 0:15:41.080 know I kind of expressed. I love every single one 0:15:41.120 --> 0:15:43.840 of them. I want the best for them. I treat 0:15:43.880 --> 0:15:47.560 them like my own because they are. They're a part 0:15:47.640 --> 0:15:51.000 of me and an extension of what I believe about 0:15:51.360 --> 0:15:54.000 the world and how they should be able to experience 0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:55.600 it for themselves. 0:15:56.080 --> 0:15:57.840 There's a woman that I hope you can meet one 0:15:57.920 --> 0:16:02.320 day named Jan Haynes. Known her for over thirty years. 0:16:02.720 --> 0:16:06.400 But Jan runs my ministry, my foundation in Africa. Not 0:16:06.440 --> 0:16:10.360 a foundation, it's a in GEO and we, just like you, 0:16:10.440 --> 0:16:13.840 our hardest for children. Our mission is to be a 0:16:13.920 --> 0:16:16.960 voice for forgotten children both here in America, kids in 0:16:17.000 --> 0:16:20.520 foster care, and in Africa, in West Africa, kids in 0:16:20.560 --> 0:16:24.160 refugee camps. And Jan spends about six months eight months 0:16:24.200 --> 0:16:27.720 out of the year in Africa, living and working and 0:16:27.920 --> 0:16:34.680 just completely immersed in what we do. And I knew 0:16:35.520 --> 0:16:39.600 probably the first or second year after we had hired 0:16:39.640 --> 0:16:43.040 her for this position, I had gone over and I 0:16:43.160 --> 0:16:46.320 watched her at the school, and she knew we have 0:16:46.400 --> 0:16:49.960 three hundred and eighty kids. We take care of orphans, 0:16:50.080 --> 0:16:54.080 and disabled kids and kids with special needs. She knew 0:16:54.720 --> 0:17:01.160 each one by name. Wow, I'm so proud of you 0:17:01.480 --> 0:17:04.199 and the work you do. Pattie. Let's just take a 0:17:04.240 --> 0:17:06.720 break for a moment, have a sip of water, take 0:17:06.720 --> 0:17:09.600 a breath. There's so so, so much more. I want 0:17:09.640 --> 0:17:13.200 to know, so much more. I want our listeners to hear. 0:17:13.880 --> 0:17:17.679 We will be right back. How can we get the 0:17:17.720 --> 0:17:21.000 word out about Crets so other cities can see this 0:17:21.200 --> 0:17:24.560 and see how good the students are doing and how 0:17:24.560 --> 0:17:27.200 they're developing and learning and growing. 0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:32.240 Well, First, thank you for the kind words. You know, 0:17:32.320 --> 0:17:34.840 I really do think that we were all put here 0:17:34.880 --> 0:17:38.679 for a very unique purpose, a purpose that only we 0:17:38.800 --> 0:17:42.119 could fulfill. You know, each one of us, and that 0:17:42.160 --> 0:17:46.119 purpose is always outside and greater than ourselves, and it 0:17:46.200 --> 0:17:50.040 definitely includes the people around you and the things that 0:17:50.080 --> 0:17:54.080 you care most about. So, you know, one, I always 0:17:54.160 --> 0:17:57.160 encourage people to dig deep and find, you know, their 0:17:57.280 --> 0:18:00.639 own passions to figure out because we all have it. 0:18:01.160 --> 0:18:04.800 So thank you, you know, for your for your words, 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:10.840 because it is a lot and I you know, do 0:18:10.960 --> 0:18:14.880 need that encouragement, so I really appreciate that. In terms 0:18:14.920 --> 0:18:18.760 of getting the word out, I think, you know, I 0:18:18.800 --> 0:18:22.760 always invite people to the school for tours if they're local. 0:18:24.080 --> 0:18:27.080 We're on Crunchha on sixtieth Street, so kind of right 0:18:27.119 --> 0:18:31.119 in the heart of Hyde Park in LA And for 0:18:31.200 --> 0:18:34.480 those who aren't local, just you know, visit our website 0:18:34.520 --> 0:18:37.639 because we tried to put as much information and videos 0:18:37.680 --> 0:18:42.040 and content about what we're doing so people are aware 0:18:42.880 --> 0:18:45.040 not only of the school, but of the things we're 0:18:45.080 --> 0:18:47.639 doing so that they can hopefully do some of the 0:18:47.680 --> 0:18:52.119 same things in their communities to support this really vulnerable 0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:55.480 but important population of kids. 0:18:56.000 --> 0:19:00.520 Well, I know, it's it's taught news now, especially on 0:19:00.560 --> 0:19:05.320 the West coast throughout California, Sacramento. Oh my gosh, the 0:19:05.359 --> 0:19:09.800 homeless population is like quadrupled in the last two years 0:19:09.960 --> 0:19:14.399 in San Francisco, in Portland, Oregon, in Seattle, Washington, the 0:19:14.440 --> 0:19:19.960 homeless situation, the camps, the cholera outbreaks, the you know, 0:19:20.080 --> 0:19:25.520 just the enormity of the problem. If people could grab 0:19:25.640 --> 0:19:29.240 hold of this clearly isn't a solution to the homeless problem, 0:19:29.280 --> 0:19:35.159 but it is a solution to breaking the cycle for 0:19:35.240 --> 0:19:37.959 the kids that you can get into a school like yours. 0:19:39.160 --> 0:19:42.359 I believe that each one of those kids in your school, 0:19:42.880 --> 0:19:46.959 because of your love and your teachers, and your you know, 0:19:47.200 --> 0:19:51.119 healthy meal programs, and the fact that you know everything 0:19:51.160 --> 0:19:54.240 I've read, you look at the child holistically, and you 0:19:54.680 --> 0:19:58.360 try to meet their basic needs first before you try 0:19:58.400 --> 0:20:00.280 to educate them. You make sure that the they've got 0:20:00.320 --> 0:20:02.680 a good night's sleep and food in their belly, and 0:20:03.080 --> 0:20:08.040 their health issues taken care of. Hattie, that's priceless. And 0:20:08.200 --> 0:20:11.480 all those kids, you're one hundred and eighty one other 0:20:11.600 --> 0:20:14.760 children besides your two biological children. They're going to have 0:20:14.800 --> 0:20:18.880 a shot at a different life because of that school. 0:20:19.920 --> 0:20:24.199 Absolutely, and I do think this is an answer to 0:20:24.280 --> 0:20:26.359 the homeless issue. I think we've been looking at the 0:20:26.440 --> 0:20:29.880 issue all wrong, which is why it's quadrupled. Building more 0:20:29.920 --> 0:20:32.720 housing is a band aid on a bullet wound, building 0:20:32.760 --> 0:20:37.000 more medical facilities, Incarcerating individuals who are homeless, making it 0:20:37.040 --> 0:20:41.680 a crime, you know, arresting people. That that's not the answer. 0:20:42.200 --> 0:20:45.199 The answer started back when they were five and when 0:20:45.240 --> 0:20:47.719 they needed to get to school so they could learn, 0:20:48.280 --> 0:20:50.919 so that they could go to middle school and do 0:20:51.000 --> 0:20:53.199 well and then go to high school and get a 0:20:53.200 --> 0:20:57.240 good job or go to college. Unfortunately, the cycle of 0:20:57.280 --> 0:21:01.760 poverty perpetuates itself, and so lots of little things happen 0:21:01.880 --> 0:21:05.720 over the course of a child's life that create more 0:21:05.760 --> 0:21:09.960 and more barrier barriers for their success, and it becomes 0:21:10.000 --> 0:21:16.359 at some point insurmountable. And so I don't think the answer. Yes, 0:21:16.400 --> 0:21:19.000 it's helpful to have more housing, and yes there's a shortage, 0:21:19.000 --> 0:21:23.119 et cetera. But what I always tell people is the 0:21:23.160 --> 0:21:25.679 work we're doing today you will see the results in 0:21:25.720 --> 0:21:28.240 twenty years when there are less people on skid row, 0:21:28.560 --> 0:21:32.680 when there are less individuals experiencing homelessness, when the poverty 0:21:32.760 --> 0:21:38.679 rates go down, when educational attainment increases in that neighborhood, 0:21:38.720 --> 0:21:42.080 you know, specifically, because the answer is breaking the cycle. 0:21:42.119 --> 0:21:44.080 The answer is not giving someone a home. You can 0:21:44.080 --> 0:21:46.320 give them a home, but you have to teach them 0:21:46.320 --> 0:21:48.120 how to stand on their own two feet and give 0:21:48.119 --> 0:21:54.080 them the resources to do so. So I really believe 0:21:54.119 --> 0:21:57.440 that this is the answer. It's breaking the cycle at 0:21:57.440 --> 0:22:00.720 the root so that people have a ounts to dream 0:22:01.280 --> 0:22:02.399 and be and do something. 0:22:03.119 --> 0:22:07.160 Can you describe to our listeners how to exactly what 0:22:07.359 --> 0:22:08.600 the Creed Academy is? 0:22:09.720 --> 0:22:15.679 Oh? Absolutely so, Bililah, you sort of touched on it. 0:22:15.720 --> 0:22:20.960 But basically we look at basic needs first, which is 0:22:21.040 --> 0:22:24.560 unheard of because schools are all about achievement and test 0:22:24.560 --> 0:22:29.359 scores and performance, and we say all of that set aside. 0:22:29.400 --> 0:22:31.639 What's most important is that when you come to school, 0:22:32.200 --> 0:22:36.240 you are fed, you are mentally and physically in a 0:22:36.280 --> 0:22:39.119 position to learn. So what that looks like is counseling 0:22:39.200 --> 0:22:44.320 offered at the school, dental cleanings, vision screenings, medical exams. 0:22:44.760 --> 0:22:50.320 We offer clothes, three meals a day after school, care, transportation, 0:22:50.800 --> 0:22:55.040 housing for parents. And this is all on the basic 0:22:55.119 --> 0:22:58.520 needs side, so all within our wellness program. That doesn't 0:22:58.560 --> 0:23:03.200 even touch on the academics, which is our first and 0:23:03.320 --> 0:23:06.080 foremost you know, priority, It's what we are school, it's 0:23:06.119 --> 0:23:10.600 what we offer. But my belief is we've gone, like 0:23:10.640 --> 0:23:14.879 with many things, we've gone about educating our kids all wrong. 0:23:15.359 --> 0:23:18.159 And we assume that the kids coming to school have 0:23:18.240 --> 0:23:20.600 two parents at home, they've gone to college, they do 0:23:20.640 --> 0:23:23.439 their homework with their kids, They take them to the 0:23:23.520 --> 0:23:26.960 doctor and the dentists regularly, they provide counseling when the 0:23:27.000 --> 0:23:30.440 family goes through traumatic experiences. They get a good night's 0:23:30.480 --> 0:23:32.840 sleep and they have a good breakfast, you know, when 0:23:32.840 --> 0:23:35.600 they get to school. For our kids in poverty, for 0:23:35.640 --> 0:23:39.080 our kids experiencing homelessness, almost none of those things are true. 0:23:39.160 --> 0:23:41.199 You're lucky if one of those things are true. And 0:23:41.280 --> 0:23:44.480 usually it's a single mom. The kids may or may 0:23:44.520 --> 0:23:47.919 not know their father. They're either deceased, incarcerated, or walking 0:23:47.920 --> 0:23:50.560 around somewhere and they're not sure who it is. The 0:23:50.800 --> 0:23:52.960 parent works an hourly job, they may or may not 0:23:53.040 --> 0:23:56.359 have medical insurance, and they're struggling just to make ends meet. 0:23:57.040 --> 0:24:02.080 So that child cannot learn at an optimal level when 0:24:02.119 --> 0:24:05.080 they get to school. And that's where we've kind of 0:24:05.119 --> 0:24:07.639 blown up this idea of when you get to school, 0:24:07.680 --> 0:24:11.080 it's all about math and science and write reading and writing. Now, 0:24:11.119 --> 0:24:12.840 when you get to school, we're checking in with you 0:24:12.920 --> 0:24:15.040 to make sure you're ready to learn. Once you're ready 0:24:15.040 --> 0:24:17.359 to learn, it's all about math, science and everything else. 0:24:17.840 --> 0:24:21.879 But until then, I can't expect you to perform or 0:24:21.920 --> 0:24:27.160 even want to, you know, learn without making sure your 0:24:27.160 --> 0:24:31.120 basic needs are first met. On the academic side, we're 0:24:31.160 --> 0:24:34.000 exposing our kids to things that you know, our middle 0:24:34.040 --> 0:24:37.960 class and affluent families get exposed to like piano classes 0:24:37.960 --> 0:24:44.240 after school, in ballet and chess and sports, social groups, 0:24:44.240 --> 0:24:46.600 et cetera. We have all of that during the day. 0:24:46.720 --> 0:24:50.320