Why shouldnt all our students have access James Dierke, Principal of Visitacion Valley Middle School in San Francisco, like so many thousands of principals and teachers who are working in inner-city schools throughout the US, knows how frustrating it can be trying to provide an education in Americas low income, high stress localities. I began my career in education in Richmond, CA. Dierke, who has been principal at the school for 13 years, said things reached a turning point about five years ago. Principal and Interest. This article was amended on Wednesday 25 November to clarify that Visitacion Valley middle school funds Quiet Time mostly through private donations to CWAE. An assistant principal suggested the idea for quiet time after she saw Hollywood director David Lynch speak about the program and the accompanying benefits of transcendental meditation. students, and couples, Contact a certified TM teacher White Supremacy Culture. A lot has changed over this period, including three principals coming and going, but ODriscoll puts the turnaround down to the one constant: the calming influence of the meditation programme. for the lowest performing demographic was double that for the overall student group. WSC shuts down learning. I also enjoy cooking (and eating) good food with family and friends. Can You Safely Lose Weight While Breast-Feeding? I like to think of myself as a recovering perpetrator of WSC. Principal & interest $1,163. We should be planning for the righteous rage of IBPOC (Indigenous Black People of Color), but 82 percent of our teaching force is white, so we will also plan for white fragility. WSC dehumanizes people of color. suggests that meditation might significantly improve childrens school performance and help close that gap. One day children came in to find three dead bodies dumped in the schoolyard. And thats one of the challenges., However, Swarana Patel, a teacher in a north London secondary school where behaviour is often an obstacle, can see the benefits of a more intensive programme like this. 609-611 Naples Street is a 2-bed, 2-bath, 1,850 sqft multi-family home built in 1947. You can see past weeks' newsletters as well. One teacher, Mary Chirichella added, "Some teachers had the courage to approach others to have tough conversations about microaggressions. provides quality after-school programming to children in the area. Angelica Mahinay, Visitacion Valleys 8thgrade student body president, said Quiet Time gives her more energy. and students grade point averages rose each year. Reportar una ausencia. It is invisible and it is toxic. Sign up for the Well Family newsletter to get the latest news on parenting, child health and relationships with advice from our experts to help every family Others rested them on the backs of their chairs. It helps me not be so tired during school, she said. White Supremacy Culture. This is because we are starting with the branches of the tree instead of the roots. Visitacion Valley Middle SchoolHIGHLIGHTS 415-469-4590 Vis Valley MS 26.8 0.4 9.3 16.2 16.2 1.6 29.5 AA AI C F J K L ONW OW DS Percent of Enrollment Mr. James S. Dierke, Principal VVMS's Parent Representative/Liaison maintains an office within the main office. Students then repeat a personal mantra (a word from Sanskrit, the ancient Indian language) in their heads until they reach a deep feeling of relaxation. The Visitacion Valley Middle school vision is that our students will strength their passion for learning, develop the skills to become empowered community members, and gain the knowledge to be ready for high school with a clear path to college, career, and future success. In addition, we might see curricula that affirms and engages students of color and assessment practices that dismantle racial bias in standardized testing. Visitacion Valley Middle School, Public District Grades 6-8; Revere (Paul) Elementary School, Public District Grades KG-8; . Anther example might be superficially speeding through content or discouraging interruptions for questions. One seventh grader at Visitacion Valley said, I used to be really fidgety, couldnt stay in my seat for very long. This organizational structure reflects a "school-within-a-school" concept and is designed to help students make a successful transition from the self-contained elementary classroom to the fully departmentalized, comprehensive high school setting. This has included making decisions about curriculum, school partnership, and hiring, without authentically involving teachers or students in the process. Service Learning $365. Norman E. Rosenthal is a psychiatrist and the author of Super Mind: How to Boost Performance and Live a Richer and Happier Life Through Transcendental Meditation.. In between, she spent two years as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching English in Cape Verde, West Africa. One of San Francisco's toughest schools transformed by the power of meditation We focus on equitable teaching practices and encourage student participation. Additionally, kids get to participate in fun activities, including recreation, cooking, dance, technology and leadership. The highlights are available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Filipino, and Vietnamese. "He has put his heart and soul into making sure his students feel safe and secure in their school building and has developed a school climate that nurtures academic excellence," Tirozzi said. This prompts staff to reflect and ultimately declare, "I want to be an anti-racist teacher, but I don't exactly know how." Students, families, and school staff can email requests to sflink@sfusd.edu,call 415-340-1716(M-F, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m., closed from 12 to 1 p.m. every day), or complete an online request form. To do it properly Visitacion Valley middle school made the day 30 minutes longer. As a result, staff were curious to take action to be anti-racist and promote a learning community that did the same. Principal When they started everyone said it would be impossible to get 12-year-olds to sit for even a minute, but through transcendental meditation (TM) they proved critics wrong. in San Francisco. It is invisible and it is toxic. White Supremacy Culture also tricks us into thinking that if we change to fit a white model, we can be more valued but still never be white. And although this program has focused on schools in low-income areas, adolescents from middle-class and affluent families could benefit from stress reduction as well. 2. Every day before class, Visitacion Valley Middle School students pass an informal memorial known as the "R.I.P. For a more complete list, see the 15 WSC characteristics from Tema Okun and Kenneth Jones in the 2001 Dismantling Racism Workbook. Students meditating at Phillip and Sala Burton Academic High School in San Francisco. This might include wanting to win an argument, not making space for others to talk, and rushing through meetings. Get Well's Running email for practical tips, expert advice, exclusive content and a bit of motivation delivered to your inbox every week to help you on your running journey. We are continually navigating the phases of a call out to call in culture with each other.. This has the power to unite folks at the foundational level, setting the stage for deeper commitments to learning new strategies, practices, and routines. There he is leading with a vision of Love, Literacy, and Liberation. They simultaneously tell us that we are not good enough and keep us to the bottom rungs of racial hierarchy if we do not assimilate. Principal and Interest. At Visitacion Valley Middle School (VVMS), in the San Francisco Unified school district, our brave staff spent a majority of the 2018-19 school year unpacking White Supremacy Culture (WSC). Mad Sal's Dockside Inn in Ale House Alley, and Mission Blue. C. Visitacion Valley Middle School is a public school located in SAN FRANCISCO, CA. Visitacion Valley Middle School is part of San Francisco Unified School District. years of my tenure, the school was dominated by stress and fighting. But in the last few years, he said, we have had very few fights.. During the 2017-18 school year, I s erved as an assistant principal in Ryan Gloyer Middle School (Seneca Valley Middle School at the time) before being named principal of the building for the 2018-19 school year. During those times, students could either practice Transcendental This content is provided by our sponsor. Many have little or no parental oversight. After the shooting, the usual culprits were blamed: guns, violent movies and video games, says Rice. By Kyle Palmer On a recent morning at Visitacion Valley Middle School in South San Francisco, Principal James Dierke looked out over the school's auditorium at more than 100 eighth graders. But this messy middle is precisely when we need to stay curious, be vulnerable, and innovative. Chris Stewart / The Chronicle Visitation Valley Middle School, campus violence MANDATORY CREDIT FOR PHOTOG AND SF CHRONICLE/NO SALES-MAGS OUT, No seriously, dont drive up to Tahoe this weekend, Horoscope for Friday, 3/03/23 by Christopher Renstrom, Horoscope for Saturday, 3/04/23 by Christopher Renstrom, Snowboarder dies at Tahoe ski resort following historic blizzard, Wife of Jeffrey Vandergrift issues somber update, Oakland ransomware attackers leak 'confidential' data, Mochi muffin bakery closes SF cafe after just 4 months, Even Salesforces tower HQ isnt safe from office cuts, The Warriors broke Russell Westbrook, just like old times, The best fried chicken is at a San Francisco strip club, National Association of Secondary School Principals, You can still overpack the smaller Monos check-in suitcase, In search of vegan food, I found a world-class Mendocino inn, Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). Visitacion Valley Middle Public 6-8 1971 Visitacion Ave. San Francisco, CA 94134-2700 (415) 469-4590 District: San Francisco Unified SchoolDigger Rank: 2320th of 2,740 California Middle Schools Per Pupil Expenditures: $6,103 Students who attend Visitacion Valley Middle usually attend: Feeder schools for Visitacion Valley Middle: They are not guaranteed to be accurate, up to date . Visitors are always amazed, Dierke said afterwards, but it works. are promising. Therefore, it was necessary to create shared understandings and subsequent commitments, which was facilitated by exploring a framework of White Supremacy Culture. Jill Tucker has covered education in California for 22 years, writing stories that range from issues facing Bay Area school districts to broader national policy debates. live well. Even I, a black educator who has studied ethnic studies and critical race theory, still perpetuate tenets of White Supremacy Culture. This took the form of discussions, watching short video clips, annotating readings, and doing some deep personal introspection. In recognition of the honor, Mayor Gavin Newsom declared Friday Jim Dierke Day in San Francisco. Stacey Buchwald promoted to principal at Valley Middle School of STEM District 196 Superintendent Mary Kreger today announced the promotion of Dr. Stacey Buchwald from interim principal to principal of Valley Middle School of STEM in. 1. In addition, Dierke said regular Quiet Time has also helped teachers relax. At Visitacion Valley Middle School (VVMS), in the San Francisco Unified school district, our brave staff spent a majority of the 2018-19 school year unpacking White Supremacy Culture. Showing appreciation for things big and small, matters. 1. I think its helped my golf game, too.. When I first heard about it I thought it probably wasnt going to work, says ODriscoll. In my dream, I imagine that Culturally Responsive Teaching, restorative practices, and deeper learning are all alive in classrooms across the United States. When Dierke took the helm of Visitacion Valley in 1999, it was the lowest-performing of San Francisco's 18 public middle schools on the state's Academic Performance Index; now the school ranks 10th. 322 Bayview Cir, San Francisco, CA, 94124 is a 1,317 sq. By 2009-10, attendance rates were over 98% (some of the highest in the city), and today 20% of graduates are admitted to the highly academic Lowell high school before it was rare for even one student to be accepted. It serves 358 studentsin 6 - 8 with a student/teacher ratio of 14.3:1.Its teachers have had 79 projects funded on DonorsChoose. Visitacion Valley Middle School prides itself in its active role in the community by welcoming parents, families, and community partners to participate on all levels of creating a culturally responsive 21st Century Middle School. All rights reserved. Zestimate Home Value: $930,000. Consequently, this allows for us to align our purpose with our pedagogy, curricula, policies, decision making processes, and adult structures. 375. - Managed relationships and contracts with principals and key staff at our 3 middle schools. This is such a pattern in urban schools that researchers consider it a predictable outcome. Don't be confused. View SFUSD's most recent athletics participation dataor past years' reports. We are the operators of some piece of the education machine, and therefore, if we change our actions, we can change the larger system. Racial-equity leaders must be both intentional and responsive when doing this anti-racist work. Then, Dierke struck a bell and said, Okay, its quiet time.. At VVMS, we were able to get past defensiveness and excuses and get to the heart of the matter. Now, CWAE specialists counseled students on meditation techniques and five full-time staffers remain on campus to help maintain the program. The most recentnewsletteris linked below in the Week 25 section and also in our Families section. . An all-party parliamentary group has also recommended the Department for Education designate three schools to pioneer mindfulness teaching, and set up a 1m fund to allow more schools to benefit from support in the practice. I think of my mantra, and it helps me calm down., Bob Roth, Executive Director for the David Lynch Foundation, said meditation is not just a way for students to relax but has real cognitive benefits. levels of self-confidence and happiness. To do it properly Visitacion Valley middle school made the day 30 minutes longer. Just as long as they are quiet. Joe Truss Specifically, this pushed on us to think about and change how we work together: We worked to create norms that encourage people of color and women to contribute, we shifted the relationship between teachers and administration so that teachers had more input in budget and hiring decisions, and finally, we adjusted the pace of our professional-development plans to emphasize quality over quantity. Specifically, we must look at how it shows up in our own lives, in our personal relationships, in between school staff, and in our histories. At VVMS, we were able to get past defensiveness and excuses and get to the heart of the matter. Maybe having half an hour just to focus on themselves so they get awareness and grounding, might have some impact., And it could help reduce costs later. Closing the so-called achievement gap between poor inner-city children and their more affluent suburban counterparts is among the biggest challenges for education reformers. Specifically, this pushed on us to think about and change how we work together: We worked to create norms that encourage people of color and women to contribute, we shifted the relationship between teachers and administration so that teachers had more input in budget and hiring decisions, and finally, we adjusted the pace of our professional-development plans to emphasize quality over quantity. 5/28/2021. Also, we might hear phrases like, "That comment triggered me, it was a microaggression," "I think we can do better for our Latinx students," or "This is not consistent with our commitment to anti-racism." The school has something to offer everyone, from new programs of study and a variety of clubs to join. Student-centered learning advances equity when it values social and emotional growth alongside academic achievement, takes a cultural lens on strengths and competencies, and equips students with the power and skills to address injustice in their schools and communities. ODriscoll was sceptical at first about mediating himself, but since giving it a try he can concentrate better and feels less stressed. The school is working on improving parent involvement through our Parent Liaison. This pushed some folks to identify who they could be safe with, be it for comfort or growth. Dear Visitacion Valley Middle School Community. Discussing WSC gave us more impetus to make changes, because we now knew what was happening if we refused: microaggressions, dehumanization, widening the opportunity gap, and producing disproportionate outcomes. Modern Band (music) with contemporary instruments, Visuals Arts, Ethnic Studies, Computer Science, Dramatic Arts, and Spanish! 1971 Visitacion Avenue, San Francisco, CA, 94134, We look forward to welcoming everyone back to school starting. Apply for Educational Benefits for the 2022-23 school year near you and learn more, A summary of studies fromHarvard, Stanford, and more, AHA: TM is the only meditationfound to lower blood pressure, Different forms of meditationproduce very different results, Bob Roth, Director Quiet Time is just like an umbrella. It is imperative that we examine our actions to see if they are further harming students of color, disempowering them, and creating a psychologically hostile learning environment. Once white fragility is defined and debriefed amongst a team, we can begin to talk about racism, anti-racism, and White Supremacy Culture. Theres an App for That. Published annually by SFUSD to provide access to key data points and three-year trends related to student achievement and school culture-climate. ft. home is a 2 bed, 1.0 bath property. 2023 San Francisco Unified School District, I look forward to our partnership this upcoming school year and collaborating with all of you to support our brilliant students. We might also see students connecting their identities to their learning and applying it back to their communities to manifest social justice. Start with one class or year and let it grow from there.. Welcome to our new incoming 6th grade students! Due to stereotype threat, this is especially problematic when students of color are a numerical minority in a classroom or school. Check out the 2022-23 academic calendar here. Real Options for City Kids (R.O.C.K.) This took the form of discussions, watching short video clips, annotating readings, and doing some deep personal introspection. Photo at top courtesy of Joe Truss: VVMS staff match examples of White Supremacy Culture to the definition of each characteristic. It is time that we detox and make the invisible visible. Before becoming the Assistant Principal at VVMS, I served as an Assistant Principal at two different elementary schools in Richmond, CA. Public, 6-8 Serves this home. Report an absence. Quiet Time isnt just a slogan but a daily regimen at Visitacion Valley. Therefore, unexamined behaviors of White Supremacy Culture are preventing students from being comfortable or supported enough to learn and flourish. It is the water we are swimming in. Personal Commitment graphic organizer used in professional development (Courtesy of Joe Truss). We needed to go deeper than our previous conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion. We might also see students connecting their identities to their learning and applying it back to their communities to manifest social justice. At Visitacion Valley Middle School (VVMS), in the San Francisco Unified school district, our brave staff spent a majority of the 2018-19 school year unpacking White Supremacy Culture (WSC). White Supremacy Culture is the silent killer flowing throughout classrooms and school hallways, like carbon monoxide gas.
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