Elliot Washor's TGIF 02.27.2026

Are you with me now? A. J. Ryder

It was a very busy week on the California and San Diego homefronts.

On Tuesday, Andrea, Anthonette and I visited Lincoln High School to meet with Melissa Agudelo and Rachel Angeles added another exciting dimension to our California Secondary School Redesign (CSSR) work. For BPL and possibly for many other networks, this is the first time we’ve had a principal from one of our small schools move to a large comprehensive high school, and, using a “go slow to go fast” strategy Melissa now has a BPL Microschool and the emergence of A-G content courses with internships done in a BPL way. Now that Melissa agreed to be part of California Secondary School Redesign visits, we can show people how a small school through long-term relationships and somewhat by design can move into the mainstream of a district and influence both it and other schools in California. This is a story that needs telling. Yes, small schools done well over time have influence and growth beyond their stature.

On Tuesday, Andrea and I went to Cal State San Marcos and met with Ed Mills, Interim Chief Enrollment Officer and Lisa Medina, Registrar. This was one great meeting. Where have these particular college admissions people been all my life? Ed and Lisa did their homework on the International Big Picture Learning Credential (IBPLC) and not only did they want to admit students with an IBPLC to San Marcos but they were willing to attend meetings with other Cal State campuses and use an existing ruling from 1962 to advance the IBPLC. After four years, the ruling allows this new pathway for admitting students to become a standard route rather than an alternative one. This was music to our ears. There is lots of to do but we now have a willing partner

After that meeting, we headed down the road and met with Maria Anguiano, incoming President of the UC Board of Trustees. Our conversation focused on dramatically changing a-g courses. Our discussion around the IBPLC and internships looms large for the kind of changes Maria is talking about. The next steps are to stay in touch and figure out how to support her in making these changes to a-g courses.

Can you mandate what matters?

A Blow to the Phone-Free Classroom

In some schools, Yondr, a pouch marketed to keep kids off devices, has proved no match for actual children.

“There was almost this youthful, sort of rebellious feeling within us to kind of go against the system,” said Rex, a 15-year-old from Connecticut.

The Yondr pouch is designed to prevent students from accessing their phones during the school day. Some districts purchased them for every student, only to discover that student ingenuity quickly found workarounds. Magnets, pencils, and even rocks have been used to pry the pouches open and regain access to phones.

What’s striking is that despite all the talk about the addictive nature of cell phone use, it doesn’t appear that many educators actually talked with students about limiting phone use and developing the policy. A Pew poll shows that 40 percent of students don’t want phones in their classrooms. Instead of mandating a solution — and triggering the predictable ingenuity and rebellious energy of adolescence — schools could have started with conversation and collective decision-making.

One key quality of maturing into adulthood is self-regulation. Does mandating compliance without discussion promote self-regulation? Or does it simply invite resistance? This was an opportunity to bring the real world into the school world — to practice dialogue, shared responsibility, and community norms. Therein lies the difference between schools with a culture of student voice and those without it.

 In response to my TGIF last week and where medals are stored, Sara Kahn principal of New Legacy Charter in Aurora, Colorado sent me a text and said, You got to read this story about Jackie Joyner- Kersee, the Olympian who is one of the most celebrated Olympians in track and field. When asked on a podcast about displaying her medals she said:

“You know, you could. But, you know, when you get the gold medals or the silver medals or the bronze medal, it's like, oh, that hard work, oh, those 12 hours, oh, 365 days of the year. Let me put that away.”

In a few weeks, I’ll be heading to Charleston, South Carolina for the Skilled Trades Summit that Crishell had been working long and hard keeping everyone in the room and doing a great job at it. At the Summit we will be making a big announcement. Stay tuned.

It’s almost March Madness, but for me, this time of year signals “Silly Season” — when people start moving from job to job and budgets come due. That said, today was one of those days I truly appreciate. Carlos stopped by, and we had a great time catching up on both work and life. These days, with all of us spread out in so many different, that time together felt especially meaningful — and I really loved and valued it.

Next week, while in San Diego “as I create new antennas to pick up signals better, I hope to humiliate myself and learn something in the process.” Thanks for this line, Frank.

Be Well