Spotlight On: Laura!
Laura Flann is the mental health program manager at KIPP SoCal. Her schools, first in Minneapolis and then in Los Angeles, partnered with us three different years. Laura has been a powerful ally and friend to TGPP. We’re grateful she’s part of the growing peace family. Here’s what she had to say when she was a school counselor at KIPP Academy of Innovation.
TGPP: What is your name and where are you from?
LF: My name is Laura Flann and I am originally from Minnesota but currently my home is Long Beach, California.
TGPP: Describe your role(s) at TGPP.
LF: I’m not sure that I have an official title, but my role at TGPP would be a staff member from a partnering school. I am a School Counselor at KIPP Academy of Innovation in East Los Angeles, California and have helped to facilitate TGPP at our middle school this past school year.
TGPP: How did you initially become involved with TGPP?
LF: I was at a KIPP School Summit about six or seven years ago and heard Jacqueline present to a room full of teachers and other KIPP employees about The Growing Peace Project. At the time I was a School Social Worker serving KIPP Minnesota, a middle school located in North Minneapolis, and I was always looking for ways for our students to “get out” of their inner-city bubble and work for change in their own lives and community. So I kept her information and sent a follow-up e-mail. It was about a year in the works before KIPP MN got started as one of TGPP’s partner school.
TGPP: How long have you been involved with us?
LF: I think it’s been on and off for seven years. I think something that’s a unique part of my story is that I relocated to CA about four years ago, but kept working with KIPP, so first I was partnering with TGPP at KIPP MN for two years and now just finished a year of partnering with TGPP at KIPP LA.
TGPP: What made you want to be a part of this particular organization?
LF: I love middle school students so much because they are awakening their awareness of themselves and others. They are learning how to ignite their passions, get their questions answered, and challenge the system. As a Social Worker, I care deeply about social justice and helping others. TGPP gives me an avenue to be able to advocate for my students and my community through the conversations and work the students do throughout the project. TGPP allows my students to learn from other students across the country while doing so, which is a “first” for most of them, and helps take their own micro projects to a more macro-level of having diverse learning experiences.
TGPP: What is it that keeps you interested and active in continuing your peacemaking efforts with us?
LF: I really believe in this opportunity for my students and the long-lasting impact it could have on their future trajectories and greater impact on our society. TGPP collaborates with students and shows respect for their developmental stages and ways of thinking/ideas. It’s clear that TGPP believes in our students and their impact and possibilities, and that’s what I want my students to feel from me as well.
Jacqueline and Angelina and the crew are so accommodating and easy to work with as well. This year we were coordinating calls and activities across three different time zones (Jacqueline in VT, Mike in TX, and us in CA) which wasn’t easy I’m sure but it just went smoothly, which when working in a very busy urban school district, I can’t say that happens often.
TGPP: What does a typical Retreat day look like?
LF: It’s been years since I’ve been, but I remember wide-open green spaces, lots of food, lots of fun, and again, lots of “firsts” for our students- whether it be getting on a plane, being on the East Coast, hanging out with people that are culturally different than them, trying a vegetarian diet, swimming, etc. I will be attending the retreat with my students in August and am so excited!
TGPP: Imagine for a moment that you have the ability to completely eliminate a problem that is threatening our peaceful future. Which problem do you choose, and why? How will you solve it?
LF: Living in LA I really wish I could eliminate the threat of deportation as it relates to ICE/immigration. The amount of fear and anxiety that creates in the communities here and in my students’ lives in general is heart-wrenching. I know it’s a complex issue but for people that are already living here in the States and have work here and have families here, it makes sense to me that we keep that life consistent and stable for everyone, especially children. I have literally had conversations this year and last with my students about what they would need to do if they went home and their parents were not there. It is a real fear that affects real people here in LA and all over our country. At this point I don’t know how to change it because it seems like a very large political beast that is too big for me to tackle. I think the biggest change is happening in talking about it with people old enough to vote, encouraging them to vote, and make an impact on the laws and practices legislatively. I also think it’s very important for children and adults living here as immigrants to know their rights and resources, and that’s something I can very much do in my role as School Counselor.
TGPP: What is peace to you?
LF: Peace begins inside of each of us and once we feel peace, we can start to encourage it to blossom in others that we come across and foster it in the spaces we exist in. Peace is when you feel champion to the anxieties and challenges around you. It’s a feeling you get when you can exhale and know that everything will work out as it should.
Thank you, Laura! You’re great!
