Welcome to our blog post series, Conversations with Courageous Changemakers, where we interview inspiring social justice leaders. In this series, we invite people that inspire us to share their stories - their career and leadership journeys, how they incorporate equity into their work, and what motivates them to sustain the work. In each post, we will focus on a leader in an issue area we care about. We hope these conversations provoke your thinking and inspire your work!
We are thrilled to talk with Dr. Teri Delane of Life Learning Academy for this installment of Conversations with Courageous Changemakers!
Please click on the audio recording link below to listen to our full interview with Dr. Teri Delane, written transcript below.
Dr. Teri Delane has been the Executive Director of the Life Learning Academy (LLA) since its inception in 1998. At LLA, she has provided a community for hundreds of young people – primarily youth of color from low-income families, living in neighborhoods where violence and instability are commonplace – propelling them into a productive adulthood. LLA serves disconnected youth who are habitually truant, have dropped out of school, and/or who have been unsuccessful in traditional school environments. Many LLA students have also experienced poverty, abuse, and/or substance use. In 2019, LLA opened an on-campus dormitory to provide a home for students who face unsafe and unstable living conditions, a project spearheaded by Dr. Delane.
Dr. Delane credits the Delancey Street Foundation with saving her life in the early 1970s, and teaching her how to create a healthy community. Dr. Delane has over 30 years of experience working with youth, substance abusers, and ex-convicts in jails, prisons, and community programs. Dr. Delane has a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Golden Gate University, is a licensed psychologist, and holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the Wright Institute in Berkeley, California.
To learn more about Dr. Delane and Life Learning Academy, visit http://www.lifelearningacademysf.org/.
Thanks for taking the time to talk to me today! To get started, tell me a little bit about what you do and why you do it.
I am the Executive Director of Life Learning Academy (LLA), which is a San Francisco charter public high school. We have basically been creating miracles for kids that no one else can reach for 21 years. Why do I do it? When you fall in love with these kids and you see them transform and become visible, it really inspires you to do more.
How did you get into this work?
Well, let me just give you a quick little background on myself, because it became so personal to me. It always has been because I grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada and my parents on both sides all the way back are addicts. They're either drug addicts or gambling addicts. So I grew up in a really insane, crazy environment with stuff going on all the time and domestic violence, and I was running away from school, then from home, from age 13 on. And I actually was drinking at 11 years old. I would drink a little bit here and there and steal the alcohol, running away and getting kicked out of school and fighting.
And by the time I was 14 years old, I had a needle in my arm. And from age 14 to 20, I was shooting dope. I overdosed three times, and my best friends that were my family really, because we all kind of came from the same environments, all died before age 21 of heroin overdoses. So by the last time that I overdosed and I woke up in the hospital, I was already out of school. I don't even remember. High school is such a blur because I know I didn't go past 10th grade.
And when I woke up in the hospital from the last time, there was this man there whose name was Greg Dykes. And he was someone that used to follow me around and whenever I'd get arrested he was there, and he told me then that, "You are going to have to leave Las Vegas. There's this great place in San Francisco called Delancey Street, and that's where you're going." For whatever reason, at that point I just said, "Okay," threw my hands up, and I never looked back. I went to Delancey Street and I learned about family. I learned about community and what it is to be a good family member. And I was pushed to go back to school. I went back to school, I graduated with a bachelor's degree out of Lone Mountain College, I went to Golden Gate University, got a master's in public administration and then 20 years ago, I got a doctorate in clinical psychology.
I am someone that has been all the way down and for whatever reason, my life was spared. I like to believe that my life was spared because I have a mission in life, and that is for as long as I live to do whatever I can to be a part of giving back what was given to me and to teach that to our students and to young people that it isn't just about getting up in the morning, getting for yourself. It is about finding others and giving back and feeling grateful every day, and therefore, you have power in your own life. So that's the overarching kind of philosophy that I live by and that I teach.
That's amazing. You have an incredible story, and I love the work that LLA does at your school. What qualities of your work and LLA as a school are you most proud of?
What I am most proud of is that we have a dedicated group of people that are teachers, that are staff members, that are a team, where and why we got this building together for a dorm and for kids that are basically homeless. And so I am so proud to be a part of a team of people that no matter what anybody tells us, we have stayed straight ahead no matter what, which is what we teach the kids. We have to be their role models. We have never had a fight or any violence in our school in 21 years. These are kids that grow up with violence in their neighborhoods and in their homes that have made a commitment and kept their word to not fighting, which is pretty amazing. The things that you can do for change for kids when you give some attention, some love, some support, some direction, and number one, holding them accountable so that they feel like they have their own power and that they can fix their mistakes.
You touched on this a little bit, but LLA recently completed the on-campus dormitory that you have been working on for several years that provides housing, a home environment for unstably-housed youth who attend your school, which is an incredible accomplishment. I got the chance to go see it recently and it's amazing. What's next for you? What comes after such a major accomplishment?
I've always known and our team knows that this is a demonstration project that now will make it possible for schools across the country to know that their kids are living safe. And I mean, we have eight kids right now living here. We've only been open for a little more than a month, and it's amazing. They're just great. I mean, they all really support each other. They all really get along. And so when we had our grand opening ribbon cutting, the developers of Treasure Island, there were a couple of them there and they said, "Oh, this is so great." I said, "Yeah, it's nice. It's wonderful. But now, we need to talk to you about getting a piece of property in this development so that we can start on the larger vision," which is having a 75-100 bed boarding academy for at-risk youth, not just for kids who come because they want to complete college.
The kids that come to us don't have any credits. They come with 0.1 GPA, so they're not motivated. And so we want to be able to show (which we've been showing because of our reputation) that this part, this last piece of the circle, where we help them with job training, with college readiness, with you everything else they need. They're still in touch with us after 18 to 20 years. We still have kids that call. I have the same cell phone number I've had for 20 years and they all have it. We are now embarking on trying to put together a building for 100.
That's awesome, so really scaling it up.
Yes, exactly.
How do you incorporate equity into your work?
When you talk about equity in education, it doesn't mean everybody gets the same thing. What it means is everybody gets what they need. Every kid is different, and you have to work with them slowly about change and not judge them, but help them. I have a boy that has basically been homeless and who stays in my dorm. He's starting out with two days a week because he uses drugs every day and he's a smart, good kid. And so our agreement was, first of all, this is what we do, because he left a month ago and he said, "You guys are doing too much. I don't want to do this anymore." He was really acting out. So he left and I told him, "Look, I'm going to leave the door open for you, for the school," because he wasn't in the dorm, "And if you want to come back you need to call me, and that means that you're ready to make some different changes for your life."
Two weeks go by and he calls me and he says, "I haven't been in school. I'm not doing anything. I'm not at home," which he really doesn't have a home, because it's all craziness. And I said, "You want to come back?" He said, "Yeah, I want to try living in the dorm." So he gave me a commitment, small amount at a time. Two days a week, he will not use any kind of drug, won't smoke. It's just watching him and looking at him for two days of no using or smoking or anything, you can see the difference and he sees the difference most importantly. And if he wanted to stay more, he could stay more, but we're presenting a viable alternative, a safe, warm, supportive environment that he will choose.
LLA has been described before as doing the impossible or reaching students who are unteachable or just have shown from past experiences that they can't be successful in school. You are able to really help them succeed in school, graduate high school, and thrive after they graduate. What kind of advice do you have for people who want to pursue social justice work that seems like it's impossible?
I was just talking to one of the newer teachers here about the delicate balance of negotiating with a teenager. And it isn't a thing where you just let them do whatever they want because it's easier. It's easier to just turn your head, walk away and not stay consistent with teaching them the power of choice and consequences. So when we say something, these are our rules. Really, we only have two rules, and it's no violence, no threats of violence and no violence, and don't bring any drugs here. Those are the two things you can get kicked out for.
Now, bringing drugs here, for example, bringing marijuana here, has happened. I have not kicked them out, but I've made them fix it. So by fixing it, to me, you're going to stay after school for the next, I don't know, two weeks or whatever it is, and you'll do what we call an act of service, which is cleaning, vacuuming, helping set tables, whatever it is. And believe it or not, they do it. They stay after school and they do it. And when they get tired of getting acts of service…in the beginning, for me, it wasn't that I changed because I wanted to change so much when I was in Delancey Street, it was because I got tired of getting in trouble. And then after I stopped getting in trouble, I started kind of liking that, and I started feeling like things are possible.
So we say things and we have to hold them to it, but at the same time, you've got to give them enough room that they feel like they can breathe, but still holding them accountable. I see so many organizations that just let them do whatever they want to do, and if you've grown up in an environment where you don't know what you want and there's too much permission and not enough holding you to it, you create problems for them in their lives.
What would you say is the best mistake you've ever made?
The best mistake I've ever made? Wow. I made so many mistakes in my earlier life, but none of it do I regret. I hold no regrets about being a drug addict. I hold no regrets to my family because they did the best they could with what they had. And so I live my life. I have a circle around me that is not blood. Everybody has to have a circle, and sometimes it's not blood. Sometimes it is people around you that you have made your family that see the best in you and are always trying to pull the best out of you. And so without ever badmouthing anybody's parents, I try to help them create a circle around them of people they can fall back on. I think all of my mistakes have led me to where I am.
What are you grateful for?
I have so much gratitude in my life every single day. I am grateful for the opportunity to be somebody that makes a difference for people. I also have a very large circle of Delancey Street graduates that reach out to me. I have many, many, many years clean. I have so many kids in my life. I'm so grateful for my husband, for my dog, Riley. He's a rescue and he's a golden retriever and he brings so much love to his people. He's a little crazy. He's got that little side to him, but with his people, he is the most loyal, loving dog in life, and it's a very important part of my family. I'm grateful to all the students who every day inspire me to keep doing what I do.
What are you reading right now?
What am I reading right now? In my life, what am I reading? I don't read anything, actually. I mean, I read magazines online but that's pretty much about it. I try to stay away from a lot of news stuff because it's so depressing. I really do. I try to read positive stuff. I read Winnie the Pooh every day ... the best concepts about friendship and Christopher Robin and how he feels. I love that.
I went to do this big speech at Inspire to Change, and they said to me, "We need to hear what your scholarly readings are." And I said, "Okay." And at the end I said, "I have two scholarly readings. One is The Little Engine That Could, which I love. Two is Winnie the Pooh. That's what I got for you guys," because it's nothing but positivity and knowing that like The Little Engine That Could, no matter what anybody does or says, just keep moving forward and you push away all the horror that we all know about every day and do the best we can to try to make things easier for someone else, and then it makes your life easier.
I love that. I love Winnie the Pooh.
I love Winnie the Pooh.
Is there anything else that you'd like to share about your work?
No, I appreciate you reaching out. It's so funny because after all these years you would think that some of this becomes rote, and if it ever becomes rote, then it's time for me to do something else. I feel the passion about this life and work every day and I make myself available every day. So I am forever grateful for that.
Well, we think you're incredible and we're so happy to get to play a small role in LLA's work. So, thank you so much for talking to me today, Teri!
Thank you so much.