How Synergy Academies Is Bouncing Back From COVID Stronger Than Ever
Building an instructional culture grounded in academic rigor and meaningful collaboration
Synergy Academies, a network of public charter schools in South Los Angeles, has always been committed to high-quality instruction. With roughly 1,300 K–12 students, Synergy fosters a culture of excellence that emphasizes rigorous academics, STEM, and personal growth.
Like many schools, Synergy faced steep challenges rebounding from the academic disruptions caused by the pandemic. To get back on track, Synergy partnered with UnboundEd to advance student-centered, standards-aligned instruction, building on an already strong foundation of academic rigor.
The Beginning of Synergy’s GLEAM® Journey
Synergy’s leadership team was introduced to UnboundEd when they attended Standards Institute in 2022 at the height of the pandemic. Synergy CEO Rhonda Deomampo recalls the experience as a pivotal moment in their journey. “The feedback from the first group of staff who attended the Institute was overwhelmingly positive,” she said. “We knew we had to continue this work.”
The leadership team embarked on a transformative journey to make grade-level, engaging, affirming, and meaningful — GLEAM — instruction an intrinsic part of Synergy’s instructional culture. “It was exactly what we needed,” said Deomampo. “The framework helped us clearly define how to deliver rigorous, relevant instruction while ensuring that every student was engaged in grade-level learning.”
UnboundEd’s emphasis on meeting students where they are while pushing them to achieve high standards aligned with Synergy’s vision, so instructional leaders began integrating GLEAM into their professional development and teaching strategies across all grade levels.
GLEAM Instruction
Grade-level: Instruction that is aligned with the grade-appropriate college and career standards.
Engaging: Instruction that fosters persistence, active learning, and academic agency by tapping into students’ assets.
Affirming: Instruction that builds a caring, collaborative classroom community by uplifting students’ identities and experiences in service of learning.
Meaningful: Instruction that cultivates civic agency and critical thinking by making learning relevant to issues students encounter beyond the classroom.
GLEAM in Action: Teacher Collaboration and Meaningful Engagement
As Synergy embraced GLEAM Instruction, teachers began collaborating with newfound purpose and intention. They reviewed each other’s lessons, observed classroom practices, and set shared goals for improvement. “GLEAM isn’t just something we talk about; it’s part of the everyday culture,” said Deomampo. “It’s a framework for teachers to reflect on their practices and continuously improve.”
Synergy Charter Academy Principal Jenny Mulligan underscored the critical role of GLEAM Instruction in equipping educators to make lessons more engaging. “We’ve put a lot of time and effort into ensuring that our curriculum is not only rigorous but also speaks to our students’ lives and experiences,” Mulligan explained. “The results are evident when you walk into the classroom and see students deeply engaged in learning.” Teachers now focus not just on delivering content but also on creating environments where students see themselves reflected in the material and feel that their learning matters.
GLEAM isn’t just something we talk about; it’s part of the everyday culture.
Shifting Perspective on Grading and Assessment
Teachers at Synergy now use grading as an opportunity to deepen student engagement. “The GLEAM framework helped us shift from thinking about assignments as ‘do, finish, done’ to seeing them as part of an ongoing learning process,” said Deomampo. “The focus is now on feedback and intellectual engagement.”
Math teacher Daniel Zarasua shared how GLEAM has changed how he thinks about teaching. “At first, I didn’t know how to make math affirming and meaningful. But GLEAM helped me realize that when I make the content relevant to my students and their future, they connect with it on a deeper level.”
Synergy’s commitment to GLEAM is yielding results. “We’re seeing students dig deeper into texts and engage with more complex issues than ever before,” said Mulligan. “And the learning that comes from it is really profound.”
At first, I didn’t know how to make math affirming and meaningful. But GLEAM helped me realize that when I make the content relevant to my students and their future, they connect with it on a deeper level.
Sustaining Change
Synergy isn’t done yet. Deomampo is committed to ensuring that what they’ve begun endures by embedding the GLEAM deeply into Synergy’s instructional culture. “We’ve made a lot of progress, but we know there’s always room for growth,” Deomampo said. “This work is about constantly improving, and we’re excited to keep pushing forward.”
