KALEIDO SCOPE SPRING 2021 Leading With Love Stability And Care At Prospect Sierra Student Voices On Joy And Connection 2019-20 Annual Report WHAT’S INSIDE LEADING WITH LOVE STABILITY AND CARE AT PS PEDAGOGY: PROSPECT SIERRA ADAPTING TO A NEW 4 6 WAY OF TEACHING 8 PS HOME: BUILDING A PS COMMUNITY: PS ALUMS: HOW WE CONNECTED BRIDGE CREATING HOPE CHANGE THE WORLD 12 THROUGH ACTION14 16 STUDENT VOICES ON OUR ALUMS IN THE ANNUAL REPORT JOY AND CONNECTION WORLD! 18 22 26 2 | PROSPECT SIERRA KALEIDOSCOPE | 3 LEADING WITH LOVE n BY NISA FRANK, HEAD OF SCHOOL When I became an educator 20 years ago, I did so because In this issue of Kaleidoscope, you will see how our program has I knew that knowledge – the seeking, absorption, and evolved into a dual-modality journey. PS Home and PS Campus implementation of – was the purest form of activism. I was have allowed our students to exemplify the true definition of a raised by educators, some with degrees and some without, growth mindset. In addition, the influx of current events has but all with the idea that children who are educated have the created more skilled critical thinkers, as they process the various best chance of being free, and like Toni Morrison shares so perspectives that are shaping our reality. You will see how love, beautifully, “when you are free, your job is to set others free.” not fear, has guided us through a year where the pandemics Being an educator has allowed me to contribute to spaces of racialized violence and Coronavirus presented growth where children are surrounded by knowledge, curiosity, and opportunities at every turn. I am excited that you will read about growth, and tasked with the responsibility of sharing that our amazing teachers who completely transformed the learning with those proximate and far-reaching. space, being the lifelong learners we know them to be and how they became digitally dynamic within weeks. We will round This past year, Prospect Sierra has been able to fully realize out this issue by sharing how Prospect Sierra becomes a part of just how much we take our responsibility, our activism, our student’s bones, hearing from alumni who share how their seriously. With fierce protection of joy, we have processed experience here shaped their lives as adults. the ugliness that surfaced around us and remained hopeful as we looked into the faces that are going to change the world. While Kaleidoscope will give you just a glimpse of our Around here, being a changemaker is acknowledged from continuous journey, we hope that you can see the joy, care, and the moment you walk through the door and our work is to commitment to knowledge, innovation, and social change that ensure that the spirit of our mission lives on well beyond our are a part of who we are every day. student’s years here. 4 | PROSPECT SIERRA KALEIDOSCOPE | 5 STABILITY AND CARE AT PROSPECT SIERRA n BY CHARLIE CASEY, CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Over the past year, we, as a Board, have spent a great deal of time reflecting on the School’s institutional stability in this time of great uncertainty - politically, socially, and during this pandemic. Working with Nisa and her administrative team, we have been able to manage the school’s finances mindfully and sustainably, providing support in mission-aligned ways that we feel very proud of. With the outstanding leadership of the school and the incredible talents and devotion of the faculty and staff, we feel the school has performed exceptionally well given the headwinds and challenges it has had to manage. Our students and families also deserve high honors for their efforts to make Prospect Sierra function as best and safe as it can be under the circumstances. This past year has been an “all hands on deck” moment, and I am proud of the work we’ve done together, and the empathy we’ve extended to one another. Each year the Board identifies a topic or two it wishes to highlight and pays particular attention to throughout the year. This year, the Board has chosen three: Strategic Thinking, Equity and Inclusion, and Development. While tending to the immediate critical issues of the day, it is also our job to keep a “long view” for the school, and we feel these three areas of focus all play a vital role in the long-term success of the school. You will be hearing more about the Strategic Thinking component of our work in the months ahead as the whole community will have an opportunity to envision where Prospect Sierra could be a decade from now. Though daily life can feel chaotic and precarious at the moment, the school has proven itself to be a place of stability and an incredibly caring community. We firmly believe that Prospect Sierra has a bright future ahead. Thank you for your continued support. 6 | PROSPECT SIERRA KALEIDOSCOPE | 7 PS PEDAGOGY: ADAPTING TO A NEW WAY OF TEACHING Despite all the back-and-forth and adjustments, Prospect After transitioning from home to campus then home again, Sierra’s team-centered staff has continued to adapt. “We already questions about pedagogy have arisen, including how to find have strong teams and were able to capitalize on structures we a healthy balance between synchronous and asynchronous already developed,” says Amy. “The scheduling folks did a genius learning and how much time to spend on Zoom. Priti job, resulting in a pretty seamless transition. We spent time last jokingly describes the attempt to refine the teaching process as summer making sure advisory groupings included kids who “reinventing the wheel every day. We’re at a point where we’re were friends, so everyone could feel a sense of connection.” trying to navigate what works best for each individual student.” When classes were taught from home last spring, specialists were “When you have to reinvent the wheel every day, you build initially pushed to the back burner. This past fall teachers found a better wheels and a better car,” adds Amy. “I think struggling way to integrate specialists for two weeks at a time, with inspiring through a collective experience together builds resilience and results. “Now art and Spanish are part of the first grade team, and community. Together we can say ‘We did this!’ There’s a huge teachers jump into Zoom breakout rooms to help support us,” amount to celebrate in that.” says Priti. “I’ve actually had the chance to build relationships with While curriculum focuses on what is being taught, pedagogy Across both campuses, teachers focused on ways for students colleagues I don’t usually get to work directly with.” refers to how teachers educate —their methods and practices. to be seen and heard. “On top of all of our documents we wrote This past school year has forced both teachers and students ‘lead with love.’ Everything we do is grounded in joy. Those to embrace a new educational framework, one driven by two things—love and joy—led the work we’ve done and helped technology and online learning, largely away from campus. Priti center what we were trying to accomplish,” says Priti. Hulse, a lead first grade teacher at Tapscott, and Amy Millikan, Dean of Students at Avis, both participated on the PS Campus Behind the scenes, Prospect Sierra staff worked tirelessly to teaching teams this year to help the Prospect Sierra community ensure that systems and strategies were in place, allowing the adapt to the pandemic-afflicted educational landscape. teachers to focus on lessons, not logistics. “Communications were set up, how we messaged parents, prepared students. “I felt like it was important to get prepared for all the Parents and families knew what was going on and had a general possibilities,” said Priti as she described the sudden change plan of action,” says Priti. of events last spring. When teachers met last June, they anticipated they’d return to school in the fall. “We envisioned Amy recognized that “being nimble” was essential to ensure 12-person cohorts, socially distanced classrooms. As the summer the social-emotional well-being of the community. “While we progressed, we had to pivot as we realized we weren’t going to always want to teach in terms of a unit and the larger objective, be going back to school in person,” says Amy. “We had to figure we make sure that each time we get together on Zoom, we do out how to continue to build community and create hands-on something that’s fun or caring. After all, if kids aren’t doing well, learning, even when we were distant from one another.” they’re not going to learn.” 8 | PROSPECT SIERRA KALEIDOSCOPE | 9 THE PORCH PROJECT This year we embarked on a special Porch Project where alum photographer Nathan Phillips visited with families, faculty, and alum parents and captured a moment in their lives while staying at home due to the Coronavirus. The result: fun photos on the front porch! We’re so happy to share these stories with you about why our families support the people and programs that make our school so special. We hope you enjoy a little window into our amazing Prospect Sierra community! THE PORCH PROJECT The McGatlin-Golier Family There are many reasons why we love Prospect Sierra, • We love that Laurel is friends with kids from all not only for Laurel but also for all three of us! walks of life across the East Bay thanks to efforts that the school makes to ensure that our school • We love that our teachers care so much about community remains as diverse as the communities nurturing and teaching our kids; they get to know we live in.