- [Announcer] Funding for this program is provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

(gentle music) ♪ Wondering if thousands of miles away ♪ ♪ The sky is just as blue ♪ ♪ It's as if I'm stuck in yesterday ♪ ♪ When I'm thinking of you ♪ - [Nicole] Coming to you from Rochester, Minnesota.

♪ When you have your morning coffee ♪ - [Nicole] "R-Town."

♪ I'm turning out the lights ♪ ♪ So I could dream ♪ ♪ And when you smile through the screen ♪ - Earlier this week, Danielle Teal had the opportunity to sit down with interim superintendent of the Rochester Public Schools to discuss the upcoming school year amidst the pandemic.

Here's that interview now.

- With us today is interim Rochester Public Schools Superintendent, Dr. Kent Pekel.

Welcome, Kent, we're excited to have you on.

- Thank you, I've heard a lot about the show and I'm very psyched to be here.

- Awesome, yes.

Well, we're excited that you're here too.

So, first, you just started this gig.

Can you share a little bit about yourself and what you walked into on the first day of work?

- You know, my career in some ways can be best described as having lived in three parts of a triangle that don't connect very often in American education, but should.

And one is practice, I started as a high school teacher.

I still think that's the center of where it all happens.

The second is policy, where people in school districts, or states, or federal government, and I've worked in all three levels, make decisions about systems and priorities.

And the third is research, where we study what works and what doesn't.

And then, as I said, very often those three triangles in our system don't talk to each other very well.

I would suggest that in the highest performing systems in the world, like Finland or Singapore, they're quite tightly aligned.

And so I feel like, you know, at age 53, Rochester has been an amazing place to try and bring all of that together really for the first time in my career, where we might be able to have practice aligned with good policy and informed by serious research in kind of an ongoing way.

So that's really exciting.

- I saw at the school board, you definitely, you know, know your stuff when it comes to understanding analysis and data, and all that good stuff.

And I think hearing that is of interest to families in the community, as well as the staff.

That's certainly appreciated.

As you know, there have been some controversy with previous superintendents.

And there's been some lack of trust as far as that experience and seeing what has kind of transpired over the course of several years.

What are you gonna do to gain that trust back in this role?

- Obviously, understanding that I wasn't here for anything that happened before.

- Right!

Full disclosure, disclaimer.

- I see tremendous strengths in Rochester to build that.

I think the first thing is transparency.

You know, we have been in the midst of some very difficult decisions about whether kids should wear a mask or not.

How do we respond to concerns about what often is called critical race theory in our schools?

And one thing I've tried to do is let people know what I see in the evidence, what I'm thinking about, and letting them feel heard, even if we're gonna make a decision that's not the one that they might be looking for.

So transparency is one.

And number two is actually sharing something of myself.

I've been kind of open about, you know, my story in terms of having been a dad whose wife passed away when our kids were three, five and 10, and was a single dad for six, seven years.

And, you know, I was kind of on the edge as a parent during those years in a way that lots of parents, I'm sure in Rochester Public Schools, find themselves.

And got remarried and had a combined family.

And so sort of sharing my personal story is not necessarily something I did in jobs before this.

But I feel like now that you're in a system where I don't get to meet personally lots of families, if they wanna feel connection to you, you kind of gotta lead with a bit of yourself so they know, you know, why you're here and what's at your center.

And, for me, it's all about relationships, that that often is the undervalued factor in kids' development, in the family, in the school, in the community.

So transparency and letting people see some of myself.

And then I think the third is it's never done.

It's never one and done.

You're always in dialogue, and you're learning, and trying to figure those things out.

So that's my early work in progress.

I agree with you that it's really critical.

People need to know that I'm trying to do the best thing I can for all the kids in Rochester, and believing in the educators and the families that we have in this community.

And that sometimes that requires decisions that some people not only don't like, but vehemently disagree with, but they know I'm not doing it out of ideology, I'm not doing it out of sort of a power trip.

I'm doing it because we're trying to make the best decision we can with the information and the resources we've got.

- And that's a really good segue into what is your leadership style?

How are you going to lead RPS into the next school year?

- You know, it's hard to talk about this stuff and not seem egotistical.

- I know, I know, but I think people kind of want like an idea.

- Like a visionary.

I think my wife would say, this is maybe partly leadership style and personality, I am more strategic than I am tactical.

- Okay.

- Understanding the big picture is something that I viscerally need to have in my own head.

I need to know always why we're doing this?

Like, what's the goal?

Even if we seem to be like very far from it, where are we trying to go?

And so I think that trying to provide that kind of strategic leadership, now that doesn't mean, I don't think that tactical is important.

Like if and when we have to declare a snow day in Rochester Public Schools, I need to do that early enough so there's no moms or dads who are sending their kids out there after they thought school was starting, and there's no teachers driving in from Byron or wherever.

You know, so the tactics do matter.

But I'd say the first part of my leadership style, I hope, is being strategic, having the big picture.

And the second, I hope, is being collaborative.

Like really actually being very interested in the sort of, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts when you have that kind of collaborative.

I actually think the two of those link together, if you don't have a strategic vision of where you're going, collaboration for collaboration's sake, eventually just frustrates everybody.

Like we're just kind of going in circles.

And you can do a lot, especially in education where a lot of us get into it 'cause we're kind of optimists, you can do a lot of "'Kumbaya,' we're gonna collaborate," but if you don't have a serious vision of where you're going and ways to measure it, that collaboration can kind of turn at minimum, a waste of time and even kind of toxic.

So, hopefully, it's the combination of the two.

We have a clear vision, we know where we're going, and we're really working together to figure that out in practice.

- Okay, so I think one of the tactical things is doing the snow day announcement the night before, so we can all go to bed, sleep in.

- I actually totally agree with you.

If that is possible, I will absolutely do that.

- Awesome.

- It's funny 'cause my daughter just graduated, my youngest just graduated from St. Paul Schools where I actually went.

And she's like, "Now you become a superintendent when I'm done with K-12 education.

I never got a snow day."

So maybe on behalf of my own kids, I'll be able to give some snow days to the kids in Rochester.

- Redemption.

All right, Kent, we're gonna take a short break, but we'll be back after the break.

(upbeat jazz music) - Be sure to stick around.

We have much more coming your way on "R-Town."

We check out Rochester Community Development Neighborhood Week, and we continue our discussion with Superintendent Pekel.

But up first, we visit Rochester Gymnastics Academy in this week's R-Culture segment.

(gentle music) - I enjoy just watching her in all of her events.

I particularly like the floor.

I think that's something she is really enjoying and bars is the other one she just really enjoys doing.

So it's fun to watch her do that, and see how she progresses, and how excited she is about it.

She's always a very active girl.

She loved being out in the playground.

She loved swinging, she loved jumping.

She had a lot of energy.

So it just kind of seemed very fitting.

- My favorite thing about gymnastics is doing flips.

(gentle music) - My favorite thing about gymnastics training is conditioning.

- [Kerry] She had watched an older cousin and was absolutely drawn to it and said, "Mommy, I wanna do that."

She pushes herself outside of her comfort zone.

Not only putting herself in front of people that maybe she would be shy about making friends and meets, you get nervous.

(upbeat music) - [Savera] Well, I like get stronger.

- It's fun, active, and you can make a lot of friends.

- With gymnastics, in general, I would say for any kid that wants to do it, you gain a lot of skills, strength, conditioning, listening, teamwork, even though a lot of it is individual, a lot of it is a team effort.

- This group of girls, they work really hard because these skills don't come easy.

So I think it's just a wonderful opportunity for the kids, as I said, to use their energy, to develop confidence, develop their motor skills, be with friends in a non-school environment.

(upbeat music) - [Kerry] She has gained so much personal confidence, I would say, and strength takes a lot of hard work and dedication.

- [Nicole] So being able to listen to her coaches, follow directions, follow the rules, and I think they flow into other aspects of her life as well.

Whether it be at school or other things outside of gymnastics, being able to listen, and follow directions, and be respectful of the adults.

- With gymnastics you realize, with a lot of time and effort, that you can do more than you ever thought you could.

You push yourself, push your body to do things that you didn't think maybe you were capable of.

- So I think it's a great outlet for kids.

You know, we spend so much time in classroom situations or in front of screen time or TV.

This is a chance to really use your motor skills, to get rid of some energy.

It's a nice balance between studying and play.

So I think that really helps with kids and their development and growth.

- I would definitely recommend gymnastics for a number of reasons.

Children gain not only physical strength, but a lot of mental strength as well.

They gain great friends.

- [Nicole] This group of girls, they work really hard because these skills don't come easy.

So they work really hard and they really are persistent at learning these new skills.

So each of them are just so excited for each other when they learn those skills.

And it's really fun to see them just encourage each other and get excited when someone is able to do something that they've been working hard at.

- It's somewhat of a family here outside of your home family.

You spend a lot of time here, a lot of hard work and dedication.

I would definitely recommend it.

(gentle music) - [Nicole] For more information about this story and other "R-Town" features, connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, at KSMQ #RTown, or ksmq.org/rtown.

(upbeat music) - This is Michael Wojcik with your "R-Town" Rundown, coming to you from my home office, my new remote location for the COVID-19 Delta variant times.

I can't wait to see the Delta variant out the door, but somebody who I'm gonna miss greatly is Rochester Civic Music Director, Steve Schmidt.

He has been serving this community since 1989.

He's a passionate supporter of the arts, and he recently announced his retirement.

I had the pleasure of working with Steve for 12 years in the City of Rochester, and I can tell you he's a visionary behind a lot of great programs we have.

The Down by the Riverside concerts, the more recent forWARD concerts, and other things that you might not have heard of, that got arts out to schools and other locations where kids might not have the chance to experience them.

In addition to his work with the City of Rochester, he is a artist of his own right, and you can catch him performing live sometimes here around the community.

It's gonna be a huge loss seeing Steve leave the community.

And I did a little math on this, he's been serving the community since 1989.

I look back to what I was doing in 1989, and I was still in elementary school.

So this man is a local legend, an icon, and we are gonna miss this, Steve, thanks for your service to the community.

Coming up this Friday night, speaking of music, Blues Traveler is playing here in Rochester.

That is a ticketed event, and that is at Mayo Park.

I'm really excited to welcome Blues Traveler to this town.

Also, coming back for the second iteration is Rochester's Night Market.

The first time this happened, it was a huge success.

Based on the enormous turnout, the event creator is asking that folks would mask up if they're going to that event.

It's on the Plaza outside of the Civic Center on Saturday night.

And one more item to add to your calendar, it looks like there's gonna be an Art and Grounds Tour put on at Mayowood on September 12th at 1:00 PM.

That's through Olmsted County History Center.

That looks like a great opportunity to get out and see some special history in our community.

Thanks for watching.

That's just a little bit of what's going on in our community.

(gentle music) - Hi, I'm Danielle Teal with the "R-Town" Walkabout, and we're talking to our guest remotely from somewhere in Rochester.

So, Emma, okay, go ahead and introduce yourself, and what you're up to, what's your job, and where you're at.

- My name's Emma Miller-Shindelar.

I'm a planner with Community Development.

And today, I'm at McQuillan Park and we are hosting an engagement event for our Unified Development Code Project.

So that is a complete rewrite of our Land Development Manual, which governs everything, zoning, building, development related in Rochester.

So that's why we're here today.

- In layman's terms, can you share a little bit more about that?

- Absolutely.

So the Land Development Manual really has to do with anything regarding building in Rochester, development, or even what you can do in your own backyard.

And so this is a once in a generation kind of project.

The last time the Land Development Manual was updated was 1992, so we're very much due for a new one.

And today, we're out here today presenting some of our big ideas for changes.

So we've got some engagement posters over here.

- What's the most popular idea that people loved?

- Neighborhood protection standards are a big one that people love.

Something else that I would say is pretty popular among our community is the implementation of some like base design standards in our code.

So right now the City of Rochester doesn't regulate design, but we're saying things like, "If your building is a certain length, you need to have this percentage of windows and you need to have some like articulation that adds dimension to the building, because we don't just wanna see boxes."

- So what are some things you're learning from the citizens tonight when they're showing up and giving feedback?

- So I would say, you know, one that gets the most conversation is the implementation of area accessory dwelling units, also known as mother-in-law suites.

- Very cool, thank you so much, Emma.

That's it for us.

This is Danielle Teal with "R-Town" Walkabout.

♪ The echo of your voice is all I hear ♪ ♪ A merry time of your life found so far ♪ - We're back with interim Rochester Public Schools Superintendent, Kent Pekel, to continue our conversation on this very topic.

What's gonna happen at Rochester Public Schools, what's going down?

And so I attended the school board this last Tuesday, and the top focuses of that meeting was the Minnesota Teacher of the Year to Natalia Benjamin.

Whoop, whoop!

- Yeah, she's awesome.

- Like it's so cool seeing that.

Loved hearing the feedback.

And some of the other kind of really highly focused issues, the disparities in discipline, school resource officers, universal masking, and the next COVID surge, some school enhancements, which is gonna cost some money, and increase in pay for some staff.

So, Kent, can you talk to me about what you're hearing is kind of top priority, top focus for you?

With everything that's going on, how do you tackle it?

Is it all at once or is it separately with each issue and you have a task force?

If you could share a little bit about that.

- I think it actually goes back to the very good question you asked earlier about leadership.

I think the number one thing Rochester Public Schools needs is that long-term strategic vision, and then the processes to really move toward it over time.

You know, I always have to be a little careful 'cause I don't wanna seem critical about this amazing system that I'm fortunate to be a part of.

But just to be candid, it's crazy that we're in the home of the Mayo Clinic and wonderful school district, and not only don't we have a research and evaluation office, we don't have a research and evaluation director or staff person.

- I've heard you talk about that.

So can you share a little bit more about that too?

- There was a point 20 years ago where Rochester had somebody who was highly regarded and very good, and I don't frankly know what happened between then and there.

And I don't mean to suggest that research is the only thing that matters, it's not, there's a million other things.

But it's an example of how we've been lacking some tools in the toolkit.

- The data informs.

- Yeah.

- The data informs and it builds a business case, right?

So, okay.

- So whether you are trying to make decisions at the community level about long-term strategy for Rochester as a community, or you're a fourth grade teacher trying to decide what works to teach reading to a kid who's a couple grade levels behind, you need that evidence.

And the good news is we can build that.

I mean, it's not gonna happen overnight.

And then that is a key thing in moving.

And the reason I mentioned that is all those issues you just mentioned, which are really tough issues, whether it's attracting and retaining employees in a very hot job market, dealing with difficult issues of race and equity, whether it's school discipline, or stuff that we're doing around the work that Natalia Benjamin as Teacher of the Year does, you know, where she teaches ethnic studies, works with our multi-language learners.

All those tough issues are much better dealt with, with data, and evidence, and smart collaboration, than ideology from either side.

So I think it's gonna be a process of having that long-term vision and saying to people who may be mad or even super happy about the issue of the moment, "This is a marathon, not a sprint, but we're not gonna sit still.

Change is needed, change is possible, and we need to get going."

And I hope that people, and I believe that people in Rochester, have the level of commitment to this community, that if they feel like the train is headed in the right direction, they know that not every day is gonna be a win for the issue that they particularly care about the most, but they have to have faith that it's going in a good direction for all kids.

- So equity, inclusion, and justice has been a major focus.

You know, for the community, there's some serious concerns about, you know, the discipline disparities, information that has come out of that.

A diversity director has been hired.

Can you talk a little bit more about what's gonna happen moving forward?

You know, are there strategies in place right now or you're still assessing the environment?

- We've decided, and it's a little bit unusual because I am an interim superintendent here for right now a year, I recommended and the board approved doing a long-term strategic action plan.

And it's very clear that bringing the board's commitment to equity to life in that plan in positive and tangible ways is one of the most essential jobs that we need to do.

You know, equity statements in some ways have been around forever and they risk just being sort of words on a page or on a poster.

And that's, I think, not what our board is committed to, it's not what I'm committed to.

I think it's not what we need.

And so the goal is actually to develop a long-term strategy to be sure that all kids are succeeding in school and on path to thrive in life.

That's the key.

Sometimes people assume, and I'll just be really honest, I can say this as a white guy, that investing in equity is about making white kids feel bad, or feel ashamed of this country's history, or feel actually less than, and that never did a single thing for any kid growing up in a marginalized community.

The point is not sort of rejecting the positive parts about our history, it's acknowledging oppression and injustice where it's existed, and doing what we can right now in Rochester schools to rectify them so that all kids are succeeding.

The discussion is so divisive right now, but I don't know really who can argue with positive equity that puts all kids on a path to do better.

So we've gotta find a way in our plan, and in implementing that plan, to make diversity, and equity, and inclusion really come to life in positive ways.

So how might we do that?

One clear one is we have got to recruit, retain, and support more teachers and educators of color in this system.

On Wednesday, I did two hours of a workshop that I conducted for 100 new Rochester teachers.

They were awesome.

A small number of them were people of color, and that's awesome, and we need to make sure we're supporting them.

We need to support all of them.

But the research that has come out in the last couple of years on the impact, the long-term impact that having a teacher of color has for a kid of color is mind blowing.

I mean, I always would've believed it, but this is rigorous research that is causal.

It's not just correlational.

We know when these kids have these teachers that it is life-changing in how they see themselves, how they see school, how they see learning.

And so that's one strategy that I am sure we are gonna lean into, and it's tough.

But we have to actually be really ready to make Rochester Public Schools a place where all of those educators can be their full selves in their work.

And there's a lot that needs to be unpacked in that work going forward.

So that's one very tangible thing that I'm sure is gonna be high on the to-do list.

The rest of it is gonna come out of the planning process that we're gonna kick off we hope with very significant community involvement, starting in September and running through May.

- Thank you for sharing more about that, and to kind of couple your comments and my question with mental health and emotional wellbeing.

Being able to bring your authentic self to school, but also having a disruption like a pandemic, the concerns around a COVID surge, how our mental health and emotional wellbeing resources going to be enhanced within the school district?

Is it in the plan?

- The plan isn't developed, so that's a huge question.

I'm sure we'll be thinking a lot about it.

Let me just, first of all, agree with the premise of your question.

That if we've learned one thing over the course of this pandemic, it's that mental health is a top tier concern.

It's a top tier concern for parents.

It's a top tier concern for educators.

And actually it's not just the mental health of kids, it's also the mental health of our educators.

- Absolutely.

- So what do we do about it?

In some ways, there's something in the nerdy world of sort of improvement and research, that I've lived in, I called sort of a pyramid of interventions.

And that there's what everybody gets at the bottom, and then if you have more needs, as you go up the pyramid you get more support.

So at the bottom, every kid, every staff member in our schools needs a welcoming environment, needs those strong relationships, needs that sense of purpose.

But as we identify kids who are dealing with anxiety, dealing with trauma, dealing with those issues, that's where we have to put in place more targeted supports.

I had a great glimpse this summer here in Rochester of what that can look like.

I was over at John Adams Middle School with our Summer of Discovery Program, which was our completely revamped summer school.

And I was there, I was meeting with a student.

And we were able, because partly of the federal funding tied to COVID, to have mental health professionals attached to every Summer of Discovery site.

And I met the woman who was doing that work at John Adams.

And she was working with a young man who I got to interact with, and I was late for my next appointment, 'cause we spent so much time.

Not only was she clearly an amazing practitioner coming from a community-based provider and then just for the first time this summer working in Rochester Public Schools.

What was really interesting to me was after the time I was with her and the student, I was walking down later and I started talking with a group of four or five teachers who were there, who were regular teachers at John Adams.

And I asked them about having that mental health support there this summer in the school.

And they said it had radically improved their teaching.

That having that person who was there who could provide that kind of targeted support, and I could still see the young man she was working with in my head, had made a tremendous difference for them in their work in the classroom.

And, to me, I was like, "Okay, that's interesting."

Like this isn't just add bodies.

'Cause in schools we've tried, I mean, by some measures, the last 20 years, we've doubled the number of adults that work in American schools.

So like let's just throw people at the problem, that doesn't do it, but the strategic use of people meeting a need.

So I wasn't surprised that we had a really good mental health practitioner making a difference for a kid, that wasn't the light bulb for me in this visit at John Adams.

What was interesting was that made a big difference to the teachers, who were actually working in the classroom, that this support was there.

And so that's something that I think we need to think about, and find ways to build upon.

- That's amazing.

Okay, here's my last question.

Drum into that inspiration part, Kent.

What is something that you would like to share with students, families, staff, in the community to help carry them through the new school year, even in the midst of challenges, like the pandemic, disparities, struggles, you name it?

- It's a concept that for some teachers and professionals is kind of familiar, but I think we can never talk about it enough, especially at difficult times like this.

There's a lot of research that shows that the way you think about your own abilities, the way you think about your own intelligence, in particular, deeply shapes what you say, what you do, and what you achieve.

And if you believe that your brain is like a muscle and that when you try hard, you actually meaningfully become smarter.

Your brain creates new connections.

And even if you fail, you are still creating those new connections.

Suddenly going through tough times, like we're going through right now, whether it's in school or in your family, are not signs of your limited ability, not signs of hopelessness, these are opportunities to get better, to get stronger.

And that's been called by one researcher, Carol Dweck, in particular, a growth mindset.

And kids and adults who have that growth mindset, not only do better academically, but are much more resilient in the face of crisis, and it contrasts with a fixed mindset that says, you know, "My intelligence, my abilities, I was born with them, there's not much I can do.

How hard I work, how casually I take stuff, doesn't really matter for my outcomes."

But the reason I mentioned it, and it's a long-winded answer to your last question, what's really cool about that research is it shows that it's not either/or.

That when someone has a fixed mindset, they can be com someone with a growth mindset.

That, in fact, that's not static.

And if we flip the way we think about our abilities, maybe about the challenging time we're going through, and say, "This is actually a time for me to grow, a time for me to get better," we know from the neuroscience that, in fact, that happens and it can have really positive outcomes.

So I'm not trying to be sort of like sunshine and roses during this very difficult time, but let's keep that in mind.

Let's have a growth mindset about this year ahead.

Myself included.

- I love it.

What a great closure.

Thank you so much, Kent.

- Yeah, thanks for having me.

- And thank you for joining us today.

For more wonderful content produced right here in Rochester, be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter at #RTown.

Be well and stay safe.

And we'll see you on the next "R-Town," the show about Rochester.

(smooth jazz music) ♪ So I lay my head to rest ♪ ♪ While the sun is rising ♪ ♪ I'll start a brand new day ♪ ♪ Whether the moon is shining ♪ ♪ I long to be with you ♪ ♪ In all the places you have been ♪ ♪ So today I am time traveling ♪ ♪ Da-da-da-da ♪ ♪ Oh today ♪ ♪ I am time ♪ ♪ Traveling ♪ (upbeat music) - [Announcer] Funding for this program is provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.