Escape Velocity

WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW OR CLICK HERE.

On March 12, a standing room-only crowd was treated to a lively and eye-opening discussion on helping California's K-12 students overcome obstacles and stay on track to succeed in school and to thrive. Moderated by legendary Bay Area broadcast journalist Jan Yanehiro, our Education Continuum panel combined subject-matter expertise with lived experience, sparking an especially robust audience Q&A.

The evening began with special guest Kristi Yamaguchi, who shared her personal journey of discovering a passion for early childhood literacy and founding the Always Dream Foundation, which engages parents and caregivers in their children's literacy development. "Literacy is the foundation for pursuing dreams," said the Olympic gold medalist, children's author, and philanthropist. "Family engagement is the number one predictor of early literacy success."

Panelist Jason Rivera, Vice President of Program Evaluation & Research at College Track, introduced an analogy that resonated throughout the evening: escape velocity. (For those not versed in physics, escape velocity is the minimum speed required to break free from earth's gravity.) Jason likened students to spacecraft, explaining that resources create a "launch pad" that is higher for some and lower for others—making it harder for those with fewer resources to succeed. "People have different escape velocities," he said, "and we need to level that field." He emphasized investing not only in low-resourced schools but in underinvested communities. He also offered that one change to reset the system would be to "move away from testing ... and focus on proficiency", so that all students could progress at a pace that keeps them engaged and confident.

Former teacher, school founder, and founder of Silicon Schools Brian Greenberg highlighted three key factors influencing a student's ability to achieve escape velocity: reading at grade level by third grade, readiness for ninth-grade math, and the capacity to navigate life challenges such as food insecurity, homelessness, or involvement with foster care or juvenile justice systems. "When you see a kid who can't read in 4th, 5th, 6th grade, it's game over, because the system is not set up to catch those kids." Brian championed technology and AI-enabled tutoring, grounded in the Science of Reading, as scalable solutions.

Joseph Alvarico, a 2024 California of The Year who teaches Engineering at Ygnacio Valley High School in Concord, shared insights from his diverse student body—90% students of color and 87% from low-income households. He noted that while graduation rates are high, students are not always prepared for college or careers. His STEM students are defying this trend through hands-on, project-based learning that extends beyond classroom instruction. "Students get really engaged with hands-on learning. And the learning that we do is problem based; we look at problems in the community and we try to solve them. [With this approach] we're hitting those standards: they need to write, to read background information; they need to present in front of me and guests; they have to do math."

Carmelita Reyes, Principal of Rudsdale Continuation School in Oakland and a former teacher and district administrator, described her school’s focus on students aged 16-21 who are severely credit deficient, including recent immigrants (one-third of them unaccompanied minors) and local youth returning after leaving the school system. "Almost all of them have two things in common," she said. "They don't read well, and a life force knocked them off their feet." Carmelita's school invests in identifying students' needs and providing wraparound services to students and their families. "Kids need mental health. 'I had a parent who was murdered, I can't think about English or math right now'—we've got a therapist for you. We have a food bank every week. ... You've got to have as many services on campus as you can."

No matter the solution, two messages emerged clearly: the critical role of trusted adults—whether teachers, mentors, or community members—and the importance of skilled, caring educators. As Brian noted about technology in the classroom, "This will still be a human endeavor."

Watch our Expert Night panel and Q&A here: