This past year has been tumultuous, especially for educators. Across the country, school leaders have had to juggle navigating a global pandemic and our nation’s racial reckoning. They’ve transitioned to virtual teaching and learning, created space to discuss police brutality and systemic racism in their schools, and addressed the physical, social, and emotional needs of their students and families. In light of all, they have persevered through. Our School Leaders Who Inspire Series is intended to celebrate and highlight the prominent and impactful educators we have the pleasure of working with.
Over the course of this series, we will share interviews with school leaders about their motivations to lead and teach, their biggest lessons, influences, and best advice. You will learn more about their contributions to the public school system and how they have worked to provide their students with a high quality and equitable education.
Our Conversation with Diana Castillo
How long have you been working in the charter school sector?
I first started working in a charter school as a First Grade teacher in 2009. I am currently in my 13th year as an educator, and my 3rd year as a School Director.
What book, experience, or resource has had the biggest impact on how you approach this work?
I believe that the system of support I have around me is what has made the biggest impact. I have many mentors who I am able to call on and a leadership team at my charter that is always there to support me. It is important to surround yourself with individuals who want to see the best for your school, your students, and will be honest with you about the glows and growth of your campus. I have also learned so much from my experience participating in the Relay National Principal Academy Fellowship that has made a strong impact on my campus.
How do you create joy for your students?
I create joy for my students by centering everything we do on campus around love. When we lead and teach with love, children feel a sense of belonging to their school community that breaks down many barriers and allows them to feel connected in ways they might not have experienced before in a classroom. We celebrate scholars for their successes and have school-wide programs that allow them to work towards meeting goals and provide rewards for their hard work. We have to remember that our scholars are young and we need to ensure that school is a place they look forward to attending every day.
Does your school have any strategies that your network uses to help support students’ racial identity development?
It is extremely important that our scholars see themselves reflected in our classrooms and in the literature they read. We provide books to all classrooms that represent different cultures and ethnicities and create time to have these stories shared with our students. Teachers are encouraged and supported through the purchase of more books and resources to support our scholars. Being an inclusive campus, we also ensure that we are discussing different traditions around the world to expose all scholars to the diverse world we live in.
How many Black teachers or professors have you had over the course of your own education? How did this impact your educational experience?
Over the course of my own education, I only had 3 Black teachers or professors. As a School Director, it is extremely important to me that my staff reflects the scholars that we serve. Our teachers come from very diverse backgrounds and are able to share their stories with their scholars and be an example to them.
What are the biggest lessons you have learned from your school community?
One of the biggest lessons I learned, which is one of our school values, is the importance of your community's support through their belief in you. My family immigrated to this country seeking safety and we found ourselves in a country where we lost the comfort of everything that was familiar to us and the safety net of our friends and neighbors. My mother enrolled me in a charter school in 5th grade and the one thing I remember the most is how much my teachers and my family believed in me. It was this belief that carried me to a full scholarship at Miss Porter's School where I completed my high school academic career. I was then able to attend Cornell University as a result of my hard work and the knowledge that there was a village in Texas that was still rooting for me. I decided to open Westchase Classical Academy so that our scholars can have a place filled with educators that believe in every single one of them. All scholars deserve a world-class education, regardless of their zip code. I want my scholars to know that my story of going to and through college should not be the exception, but the norm in all communities. I want them to know that at Westchase Classical Academy, we believe in them and we know they will leave our school ready to transform their communities.
About Diana Castillo
Diana Castillo was born in a rural town in Guanajuato, Mexico and at the age of three, she found her world completely changed when her father was taken and held for ransom. Her family was forced to leave the world they knew to travel to the United States in search of asylum and safety. Once they settled in Houston, Texas, Diana’s mom began her never ending search to provide her two youngest daughters with the best possible education.
Diana enrolled in KIPP Academy in 1997 and graduated with a full scholarship to Miss Porter’s School in Farmington, Connecticut. During her years at KIPP and Miss Porter’s, Diana kept hearing the message that it was our job to shape a changing world and to help others achieve what they never dreamt was possible. With this in mind, Diana graduated from Cornell University in 2009 and joined Teach For America to set out in pursuit of what she was meant to do: Shape a Changing World. Diana knew there was no better way to do this besides molding the minds of her young students to also be the change and to have a great impact on our world. Diana has had the pleasure of serving as a classroom teacher for ten years.
Our Work with the Westchase Classical Academy
Westchase Classical Academy’s mission is to cultivate a lifelong love of learning and virtuous character for their students through a challenging curriculum that adapts to the individual needs of each scholar. . Westchase Classical Academy’s academic program consists of books that are rich in literary content, hands-on scientific observations, rigorous mathematics, and the enjoyment of learning history, art, music and poetry. Through a generous curriculum and the pursuit of cultural literacy, students at Westchase Classical Academy learn to do the work of dealing with ideas and knowledge that will prepare them to participate in great conversations outside of the classroom.
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