By Leanna Yu, Editor-in-Chief
Students, parents, and faculty from the San Mateo Union High School District (SMUHSD) have been promoting relevant social issues impacting our community today. From the virtual district town halls discussing social justice to student activism on social media, SMUHSD members are participating in the unification of our district.
On Tuesday, October 20th, the Black Parents Association (BPA), a volunteer parent’s association made up of a diverse group of parents, guardians, and teachers of all ethnicities, promoting quality education, partnered with the SMUHSD for a discussion on actions the District can take to better serve African American students and their families. The first Unity in the Community Virtual Town Hall was held over Zoom and streamed on Youtube from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. Panelists, Medina McKiney (Board of Directors President for the BPA), Robert Griffin (Vice President of the SMUHSD Board of Trustees) and other District Board members, Kevin Skelly, Julia Kempkey, Laura Chalkley, Kirk Black, and Brian Simmons joined moderator, Angela Taylor, to discuss the African American Great Migration in San Mateo County, the origins of the BPA, district goals for 2020-2021, and a thoughtexchange and live Q & A with attendees.
The history of the BPA started about 40 years ago to solve for the lack of recognition that African American students received within the District. In 2014, the BPA became a nonprofit organization that focused on the Baccalaureate Ceremony and Scholarship funding, in which $100,000 was raised in scholarship funds for 57 graduating seniors within the past 6 years. As mentioned by McKinney, the BPA is using social media as an innovative way to inform about activities and resources that exist outside of the District that support youth, providing additional networking and educational endeavor opportunities, participating in the Equity Advisory Committee, and creating more opportunities to build community “Tribe” within the District for youth and their families.
During the Q & A session, an anonymous attendee asked, “How would the district handle specific instances of racism or racial animus towards black students?” Assistant Superintendent Kempkey replied, “We definitely have specific policies on how we address issues of hate speech and racist actions, and we recognize with the recent release of the Grand Jury report that we have more work to do in this area…” On September 24th, the San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury released a 26 page report, Hate @ Schools— Opportunities Lost, that addressed the question: How are high school district staff and principals in San Mateo County responding to hate incidents or hate crimes occurring on campus? Inside the report, the Grand Jury publicized reported incidents of hate at Burlingame High School between January 2018 and September 2019 that sparked the investigation as to whether high school districts and school administrators in the County are identifying and tracking hate incidents and their responses to such occurrences. The findings of the Grand Jury consist of:
- Of the 20 school principals responding to the Grand Jury’s survey, only 16 incidents were
reported over the past five years (which could indicate either that County schools are not
experiencing the rise in hate incidents noted nationwide or that teachers, administrators,
and other staff as well as students are not reporting them).
- District policies on hate-motivated behavior lacked details regarding definitions,
reporting, and district/school responses. None provided the information in plain language
that would be more understandable to a general audience of students and
parents/guardians.
- School administrators could not confirm whether students understood what constitutes a
hate incident or inappropriate behaviors.
- After the three incidents at Burlingame High School, school and District administrators
stated they did not believe such incidents reflected the dominant school culture. Yet,
some students at the school expressed a belief that there was a lack of tolerance for
minorities.
- Most schools offered programs that addressed school climate, although not all focused on
addressing bias and hate.
- Local resources do exist. The San Mateo County Office of Education could be a resource
through three existing programs. In addition, the Anti-Defamation League offers anti-bias
and anti-bullying programming in the Bay Area specifically for schools.
Following the conclusions of the Grand Jury report, further recommendations were made by the Grand Jury to San Mateo County high schools using nationwide and local surveyed statistics, quotes from staff at the County Office of Education and community leaders, and interviews within the SMUHSD. Such recommendations include: (1) school districts should have clearly written anti-bias policies that ensure students are safe from harm, and that administrators are prepared to act swiftly and decisively to address all incidents of hate and bias when they occur, (2) policies written in plain language for parents and guardians to understand, available in multiple languages, and distributed to parents/guardians and students at least annually, (3) Districts and school staff must be proactive in addressing hate-motivated conduct and the school climate regarding such issues, and more.
On Friday, October 2nd, Leadership posted their first “Vikings Talk” podcast, focusing on social justice issues. The podcast was posted through IGTV on the Mills High School Leadership account, @mhsvikings. The 10 minute podcast featured Leadership students, Abbie Sun (11), Masaya Miyake (11), and Kayli Lee (11) and centered around mental health in regards to social injustice. The group talked about the five stages of burnout–– the honeymoon stage, the onset of stress, chronic stress, burnout, and habitual burnout–– and how to prevent it. The normalization of police brutality, shootings, and bombings that has desenitized Gen Z was also detailed in the conversation, as well as recoginizing one’s privilege based on race. Miyake reflected on this conversation topic, saying that “it helped me consider and think through new ways and perspectives.” They also addressed the All Lives Matter statement as an arguing point against the Black Lives Matter Movement, using an analogy to a house on fire–– putting out one house’s fire will make the entire block safe. Another idea that was conveyed was the stigma surrounding mental health in the Asian American community and available resources for those seeking mental health services. Having reached over 840 views, Sun shared, “I was excited to channel my energy and passion for social justice onto a platform that can really educate more people, especially students, since we’re the next generation.” Additionally, Lee has hopes that “[the podcast will] resonate with the student body as much as the movement does with us.” The “Vikings Talk” podcast is expected to come out on the last day of each month, with the next theme being cultural appropriation in light of Halloween.
Through using online forums to promote unification in our district, community members are becoming more widely informed and aware of current social issues. The virtual Unity in the Community Town Hall and the “Vikings Talk” podcast are all mediums for active teens and adult participants.
