Functioning systems can surprisingly contribute to inclusion and accessibility

We are only seven days into my oldest child’s first year in high school so it’s early days but so far the experience of going from both my kids only ever being at schools with no more than a few hundred kids, my oldest child’s middle school having only 60 students, to a school with several thousand kids has been really fascinating.

You see, when it became apparent this time last year that this was the school my son really wanted to go to, I was by turn puzzled, bemused, skeptical, concerned and then downright anxious.

How was this plausible, let alone advisable?

My assumption was that it would be impersonal, overwhelming, and bureaucratic. I assumed my child would get lost in the system. How would he learn to navigate coming from a middle school that pretty much required no executive functioning skills?

Various people talked me off the ledge, from my son’s Principal at the time to various friends I knew who already had kids at this school or other schools, to the team at CCI who have seen me go through this whole daunting NYC high school application process.

Fast forward a year and yes I know we are only seven days in but so far I have been really impressed with the school for reasons I was not expecting at all.

And those reasons are to do with the fact that the school is so organized and seems to actually have mostly functioning systems.

This has lead me to reflect on and realize that I don’t think I have ever in my entire life interfaced with an effective and functioning system, to the point where I am having a whole new experience and I’m not quite sure what to do with myself!

I was anticipating frustration, stress and yet more cognitive load.

And instead I’m like… is this what it’s like?

Is this what it’s like to feel supported for success rather than continuously mired in bureaucracy?

I’m talking about schedules, homework, grades, attendance, clubs, sports and the general flow of information.

And this got me thinking about how an organized and functional system can actually contribute to inclusion and accessibility.

This feels surprising even though it shouldn’t be - I’ve said before that “A system that is inadequate operationally IS in fact a system of oppression.”

But what I didn’t anticipate was how inclusive and accessible these functioning systems would feel. There’s a kind of transparency that I just wasn’t expecting, and it’s a transparency that is reassuring and says you don’t have to do all the work.

Now, I don’t know and in fact I imagine it doesn’t feel this way to everyone.

But to me it feels like there are multiple entry points, multiple ways for me as well as my son to access as much or as little information as I want, and the information is consistent and reliable.

Predictability is an important value in a trauma informed and equity based environment and functional systems are predictable - they do what you expect.

And because the systems feel designed to be supportive, it doesn’t feel impersonal!

There is a big difference between systems that are designed to be supportive and meet the needs of individuals as well as the institution, and systems that are designed to prevent failure and transgressions, to protect institutions at the expense of individuals, and as a result feel oppressive punitive.

And it doesn't hurt that on top of that, there is an active WhatsApp chat for freshman parents where a few veteran parents have patiently answered alllllll the questions.

All this has lead me to think not exactly differently about the systems we have or are building at CCI for our team. I feel encouraged that we have made the right decision to invest in building out systems that are needs-based, flexible and easily customizable to the needs of each team member (this is one of the great things about Notion - how the same data can be presented in so many customized ways).

The goal is to reduce the cognitive load of doing our work, and while we have a way to go, experiencing what that can actually feel like when it’s working has been quite eye opening already.

I’ll keep you posted when we’re more than seven days in!

What systems do you have or are you building for your team to support their needs and reduce their cognitive load?

Banner Image by Linus Nylund on Unsplash

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