Article by Jamil Yeung

So Why Another School?

It’s often very difficult to understate the importance of education and its impact on communities, families, and individuals.

Education has changed the lives of many like Grace Yang who was raised in a neighborhood that was not culturally diverse. Her family was one of the two Asian families in the area; most families were either black or white. She barely spoke English, which added to her hardships. Her family immigrated from China with hardly any money and she had limited access to strong education as a young child but recognizes that quality education can improve lives drastically. Grace describes education as a “game-changer” for her, allowing her to not only provide for her life but her parents as well. She empathizes with families who have migrated that want a better life for their children – especially f their destinations turned out not to be much better. She explains, “why would you subject yourself away from your family and friends into a new society and new sort of like world order if it wasn’t because you thought there was a promise of something better for your family down the road? And, usually that’s some

promise for the kid and so, I look at these kids and I realize that they need that helping hand if they’re really ever been to bring that life out of poverty” (Yang). This is why she helped co-found a school in Mountain Why Another?

View that aims to provide a strong education to less fortunate families.

It’s often very difficult These families are typically immigrants – something Grace can relate to – to understate the importance of education which and itsencapsulate a large population in the Bay Area. The achievement impact on communities, gaps that still linger in the area have not improved much over the last families, and individuals. few years when they were revealed. She believes that starting a school Education has changed that will meet the needs of certain demographics will raise the quality of the lives of many like opportunity. This passion project of hers is a charter school named Bullis Grace Yang who was Mountain View. raised in a neighborhood

Taking A Look Into The Data Grace and the other founders of Bullis Mountain View asked themselves where they wanted to impact education the most for underprivileged groups in the community . They could have just thrown a dart on a map of the Bay Area and make their decision quickly; instead, they looked at the data for where some school districts needed aid. Data from a 2016 Stanford study published in The American Journal of Sociology revealed the racial/ethnic achievement gaps in about 90% of public school districts across the United States. The data showed that “many of the districts with the largest white-Hispanic gaps are in the Bay Area in California (San Rafael; Berkeley; Mountain View; Cabrillo Unified (Half Moon Bay); Menlo Park), where white-Hispanic socioeconomic inequality and segregation are very high” (Reardon, et al.). This may seem surprising to some, but according to the Mountain View Voice, the Mountain View Whisman School District board was not surprised at all. After all, Mountain View is home to a mix of high-income families and low-income families and the study does show that “the strongest correlates of achievement gaps are racial/ethnic differences in parental income and education and racial/ethnic segregation” (Reardon, et al.). Additionally, the cost of living in Mountain View has increased substantially over the last few years. The jobs that pay a living wage around the area are typically highly-skilled and require higher education. It is difficult for parents of low-income families to influence their children’s future and heavily rely

on a gamble that their local public education will provide the necessary educational resources. The irony of the situation is that Mountain View is a wealthy and affluent area, yet it has an alarming achievement gap.

Fortunately, the founders can focus more resources on each individual child. It wouldn’t make sense for the founders to tackle the issue in Mountain View if the gap were resolved or nearly resolved within the last few years.

Anderson-Rosse

However, the data doesn’t tell the entire story; Mrs. Anderson-Rosse was a Mountain View resident for six years and has been working with the targeted demographic. It would be difficult to empathize with a community that the founders did not understand, let alone live in. Mrs. Anderson-Rosse describes her experience: “having lived in Mountain View, for six years, myself, and having young kids I have engaged with the community quite a bit in different ways, and

learned about schools and learn about what families want” (Anderson-Rosse). She can’t necessarily speak for all parents, but she does recognize there is a niche of people in Mountain View that do want alternative education options. Many traditional public schools require students to spend a bulk of time filling worksheets and listening to lectures to learn; rarely is there an opportunity for learning through projects. Mrs. Anderson- Rosse recognizes this issue, having experience in public schools and serving low-income students: “I have experience doing this in schools that serve like high numbers of free and reduced lunch students(FRPM) like 98%, free and reduced lunch at the school I worked at, in Pasadena unified public school” (Anderson-Rosse). She also taught in Los Angeles Unified, where, she recalls, “they didn’t do project-based learning. It was quite boring for the children, in my opinion, their methods. So I think that that’s important” (Anderson-Rosse). This attests to how Mrs. Anderson-Rosse has a passion for teaching and wanting to impact the FRPM students in a different way. Her credits allow her to understand the demographic that she aims to serve. Additionally, project-based learning helps teach collaboration and useful research skills, which are relevant to today’s jobs. The lack of project-based learning in traditional public schools is the kind of niche that Bullis Mountain View can fill.

Bullis Mountain View Regardless of circumstance, the Bullis Mountain View will be a K-5 charter school that aims to primarily serve students from low-income families. The new charter school wants to raise the educational situation in Mountain View regarding low-income families, integrate new teaching techniques and a stylistically different curriculum, but still faces several challenges currently and likely in the road ahead. The founders could have impacted other cities, but their compass pointed East towards Mountain View because of the data and personal experiences. The point is illustrated by Grace:

“Are we supposed to just basically do nothing and say, ho, hum, this is a shame, it is what it is. I have a hard time accepting that. So, I think it’s everyone’s civic responsibility to figure out ways to make, you know, for my kids, I want the world to be better for them.

I don’t want them to have the same problems we had” (Yang).

I go to Mountain View High School. I enjoy writing poetry and playing videogames in my free time. The QR code at the bottom takes you to my website.