Equity and
Inclusion

A letter from Head of School Lee Fertig and Board Co-Chairs Hoon Cho and Kathleen Donohue, announcing a significant step toward Nueva's strategic goal of making a gifted education at Nueva more accessible to families. 

More than 50 members of the Filipino affinity group gathered on the San Mateo campus for Nueva's first-ever Filipino Arts and Culture Event in March. The event showcased Filipino dance, writing, fabric art, and more. We invited four members of the Nueva Filipino community to reflect on their experiences at this event.

An impressive lineup of workshops, led by students, faculty, and outside guests, punctuated the annual Upper School Martin Luther King, Jr.  programming. The workshops centered around the theme for this year, developed by Upper School Equity and Inclusion Coordinator Steven Mathis: courageous conversations and community building.

“Any elective is going to hopefully broaden students’ horizons,” says Upper School teacher Chris Scott, “and deepen their understanding of themselves as learners and human beings.” 

It’s a special opportunity when students get to speak directly with the author of the book they are exploring. Last week, 10th graders had the chance to do just that, meeting virtually with author of Insurrecto, Gina Apostol.

After visiting Nueva in January 2020, Shelby Divan “fell in love with the  Nueva community and its values.” As the Middle School Equity and Inclusion Coordinator and SEL Associate Teacher, Shelby wears many hats. Get to know her as part of our "Five Questions For" series.

Second graders spent weeks researching the Ramaytush Ohlone to understand their culture, history, and impact on the land before culminating their learning by writing their own land acknowledgements and turning them into posters to be displayed around the Hillsborough campus. 

In celebration of National Coming Out Day on Tuesday, Oct. 11, Nueva faculty and staff members shared their reflections. 

As part of creating a beloved community, students in lower school classes begin the year by creating sets of class agreements and sharing things about themselves with their peers. In the second grade, students participate in an identity project, reflecting on who they are and what is important to them before creating their own self-portraits. 

It’s a rare occurrence for it to be sunnier in San Francisco than in San Mateo, but upper school students in Chelsea Denlow’s Postcolonial Latin America history class experienced sunshine and blue skies, which made the vibrant colors of the Mission District pop as they visited the neighborhood last week.

The study of culture is deeply embedded in the third grade curriculum. As part of this exploration, third graders learn about two distinct civilizations: the Mali Empire and ancient Egypt. It was through these two studies that Erin and Priscilla initially recognized the need to include a study of religion to help students better understand their cultures. The religious studies unit has blossomed into an exploration of the foundations of the five major world religions: Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism.

In this essay below, sixth grader Julian D. shares the history of three important Black people from around the world, who have inspired him.

"These great men have all passed away in the past year, so I wanted our community to remember their stories," he writes. "When you read about them, I hope you’ll agree with me that they were great and inspirational people."

For the lower school community meeting on Feb. 17, members of the Black Student Union and BSU advisors Rashida Blade and Shelby Divan shared what Black history means to them with lower school students. We invite you to hear what they said! 

Gabe A. '24 shares his piece, "Ghosts," which recently earned a Silver Key in the 2022 Bay Area Scholastic Writing Awards. 

To honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day, middle school students spent their grade-level time on Friday, Jan. 14 watching the PBS documentary, Soundtrack for a Revolution. This programming is part of a new Friday pilot program in the middle school designed to give students an opportunity to dive into both social justice topics and areas of deep interest.

It is the time of year when multiple faiths celebrate and contemplate a range of holidays and holy days. In honor of the many people within our Nueva community who practice a faith, we invited upper school students and faculty to share their stories of faith as a way to elevate and recognize the many identities and beliefs that shape who we are.

We are entering the time of year when multiple faiths celebrate and contemplate a range of holidays and holy days. In honor of the many people within our Nueva community who practice a faith, we invited upper school students and faculty to share their stories of faith as a way to elevate and recognize the many identities and beliefs that shape who we are.

We are entering the time of year when multiple faiths celebrate and contemplate a range of holidays and holy days. In honor of the many people within our Nueva community who practice a faith, we invited upper school students and faculty to share their stories of faith as a way to elevate and recognize the many identities and beliefs that shape who we are.

To learn more about and celebrate the people on whose land we learn, second graders did a deep dive into the past and present lives of the Ohlone people.

I’ve been curious about my heritage since I was little. Classmates would ask me, “What are you?” and with pride I would say, “I’m Filipino-American, 100 percent.” I am 100 percent hard work and determination and bravery that took our family from Eastern Samar, Philippines to Silicon Valley.

Observed annually on October 11, National Coming Out Day is a day to celebrate coming out and to raise awareness of the LGBTQ+ community. This year, we invited middle and upper school students to share why coming out has been important in the development of their identities. 

Senior Sam R. reflects on his seven years at Nueva and being part of a tight-knit LatinX community at Nueva. 

We are excited to introduce our new justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) student support and programming coordinator for preK through sixth grade, B Garcia. 

In the midst of the towering stacks of books in the Writing and Research Center (WRC), the new collection team has been hard at work evaluating the diversity of the collection. 

Following his recent reelection to the California state legislature, Assemblymember Rob Bonta commemorated Filipino American History Month at an event organized by Nueva’s Filipino Club. Bonta shared how his identity as a Filipino American influenced his political career, which has been devoted to promoting social justice, inclusion, equity, and opportunity. As I listened to Assemblymember Bonta share his perspective on what it means to be Filipino, I reflected on my own Filipino identity.

Part 5 – Activism and Moving Forward

Ingrained in all of the teaching and learning around anti-racism at Nueva—in programs and projects built over the years, as well as new ones introduced this year—is a message of hope: hope for this next generation of young people, hope for the future of Nueva, and hope in creating a more anti-racist community at Nueva and within our broader communities. 

Part 4 – History

Understanding the past in order to better understand the present is an important way for students to learn about racial and social justices issues in the United States. 

“We start in the present, then go to the past to help inform what we know about the present,” said Sam Modest, sixth-grade humanities teacher.

Part 3 – Science and Math

Examining data is another tangible way for students to understand and talk about racial and social justice issues.

Part 2 – Literature

Books are oftentimes one of the best ways to introduce students to the themes of identity, social justice, and anti-racism. They also help facilitate conversations, build empathy, and provide a launching point for important and difficult conversations.

Part 1 – Identity

As activist Leslie Mac said, “Being anti-racist is a verb—and it requires consistent action.” This story is part one of a five-part series exploring the ways in which Nueva is striving to be antiracist in the classroom. 

Last Tuesday, guest speaker W. David Ball, an associate professor at Santa Clara University Law School who teaches in the areas of criminal law, criminal procedure, sentencing, and corrections, spoke to Nueva eighth graders in conjunction with their study of A Lesson Before Dying, a novel by Ernest Gaines. David possesses an extensive background in prisons, reentry, and criminal justice operations, and in November of 2016 he participated in the White House Convening on Criminal Justice Reform. He spoke to Nueva students for an hour about the challenges and possibilities of reform in the criminal justice system.

Events honoring the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were held at Nueva’s Middle School and Upper School last week. Through purposeful programs including assemblies, panel discussions, advisory meetings, and workshops, student’s developed their understanding of the meaning of the word “solidarity” and explored ways to translate solidarity from an abstract concept into action.