​This week we are venturing to Hayward to highlight another Unconditional Education MAC SELPA partnership, one of our newest this year: Cherryland Elementary. Located in the Cherryland Area of Hayward, this relatively new campus grabs your attention as you drive through the neighborhood. 

As you enter the campus you are immediately greeted by turf lawn areas that students and staff alike enjoy sitting on and eating. Walk a little further and there is an open garden featuring fruit trees, planted vegetables, and a variety of flowers as well. The campus classrooms are divided among a 2-story, state-of-the-art designed classroom space that were designed so nice, our very own facilities took pictures of it for inspiration!
 
As you ascend the stairs you are greeted by our classroom. Within our classroom you may find our amazing teacher, Chase (a Seneca alum), Laryonda (our extraordinary therapist), and some amazing Mental Health Counselors: Sierra, Shaquan, and Erika.
 
We had the privilege of partnering with this program in the midst of the pandemic. Unfortunately, due to COVID, no on-campus meetings or in-person intakes with families were allowed, which made it a bit challenging to build new relationships with families that were bonded to the previous teams. Virtual tours and Zoom video meetings of the space don’t hit the same mark that an in-person meeting can. While the team continued to reach out to our families and establish a strong community within these partly established classrooms, rumors began coming around that some of our families did not like us nor how we were providing support to the students. Our teacher and team attempted to engage our families to get down to these negative feelings that were being reported, however all families reported positive support and good communication.

​As we celebrate Black History Month we reflect on the contributions, history, culture, and accomplishments of Black Americans, as well as recognizing the sacrifices of those that have committed themselves to social justice and equity. While reflecting on these contributions, take part in celebrations and educational events on your campus and across your communities.
In alignment with these celebrations, here are a few ideas to reflect on in your communities and learn from one another:

1. A question to ask your communities: As you think of yourself racially, what is a racial-based trait, attribution, feature, behavior, or physical characteristic that you currently reject, had to overcome currently, struggle with or had to work hard to accept?
2. Have your teams watch this video on kids explaining what black history is and what it means to them.
3. Take your team out to lunch to a Black owned restaurant or order food from a Black owned restaurant to be delivered to promote self-care and mattering during this long stretch of minimal breaks for our school staff and teams.

Let us know in the comments if you have other ideas on how to celebrate Black History Month!

The way that I celebrate Lunar New Year has evolved over my lifetime. When I was young, I was embarrassed to have to explain this different thing that my family did. Most people didn’t know what the lunar calendar was, or why I had a New Year celebration that was different from theirs.

As a child, the main event was getting red envelopes with money from friends and family. I didn’t pay much attention to what food was being served, just that there was a whole bunch of it. As an adult, I’ve been much more of an active participant, asking my mom (and the internet) questions about what I’m supposed to eat, and what superstitions to follow. I started paying more attention to the traditions that my family held and have done my best to carry them on in a way that makes sense for me. I’ve taken time to learn and research but given that I haven’t gone to Taiwan to celebrate there, it’s still a little hard to conceptualize how important this celebration is to my family. As children of immigrants, it’s just one example of the many conflicts and challenges we face.

Currently, Asian American representation has never felt stronger. Representation in the media (Shang Chi, Norah from Queens, Minari, Crazy Rich Asians), in politics (Kamala Harris [yup, claiming her!]), Michelle Wu in Boston, Aftab Pureval in Cincinnati], and in music (BTS, Japanese Breakfast, H.E.R., the Linda Lindas). School districts such as San Francisco Unified took 2 days off to give the students and families in their district the opportunity to celebrate a holiday so important to their culture. For this next generation of youth, they will be able to see people who look like them on screens, have their stories told in “mainstream” media, and are able to celebrate without making excuses or giving explanations.

In a time where there is so much to celebrate, there are still shadows that linger over the progress that has been made. Recently, a Korean American newscaster in St. Louis shared with her audience what she and her family ate for their New Year’s traditions (dumpling soup! Yum!). In response, a caller left a message saying she “can keep her Korean to herself,” and that it was “inappropriate” that she was “being very Asian.” This news story brought about flashbacks to lunchtimes of my youth where kids scrunched up their noses at my food, commented on the funny smells, or asked why my eyes looked the way they did. This caller highlighted that even though there has been progress, the reality is that many children today are still experiencing the othering that happened to me many years ago.

As we embark upon this new year, I encourage everyone to keep conversations alive about race and culture. That we keep People of Color in the forefronts of our minds, that we don’t wait to address issues until we hear about the next Asian elder that has been beaten and robbed, have more mass shootings fueled by racism, or mourn the next Black man that has been shot and killed by the police.  That we take time to learn about each other’s traditions and give space for celebration and joy.

Take care of yourselves, take care of each other, and find spaces where you can heal and thrive.   
#veryasian

Name: Trell Sneed
Position: Unconditional Education Coach
What led you to your current position? I’d been with my last organization for 11 years that was unfortunately impacted by COVID, leading to my transition. After a much-needed reset and time to welcome a beautiful baby girl into the world, I decided it was time to find my way back to my passion and calling: being of service to young people. I submitted my resume through the district portal and ended up speaking with a principal about a vacancy for an elementary school teaching position. Through more conversation and them explicitly asking me, "what is it you’re looking to do?”, I realized this was one of the first times I’d ever been asked that during a phone screen interview. I shared that I was looking to make a difference and positively impact and shift school climate and student experience. And the rest was history…
What inspires you to do this work? What inspires me to do this work is the resilience of the young people I work with, the dire need for caring & consistent adults and a sense of responsibility to positively impact my community, break generational curses, and negative cycles. My grandmother started her own choir back in the late 60s, named The CA Northwest State Youth Choir. She took young people from all walks of life - whether fresh off the street with nowhere to go or raised in the church with both parents in the home. To many, she was a mother-figure and a constant in their lives. She gave young folks an opportunity to not only connect with their ancestry through song and worship, but also a community to belong to and to be seen by. She is survived by many of her choir members who still to this day say, “I don’t know where I’d be today had she not taken a chance on me,” or “if it wasn’t for the choir, I don’t know where I’d be.” Her impact inspires me. That my WHY. It’s in me, not on me!
What is a recent highlight you’ve experienced in the work or an important lesson you’ve learned in this role? An important lesson I’ve been reminded of in this role is that folks don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care!
Share your life motto or something unique about yourself: Something unique about me is that I’m a first generation college graduate of Afro-Polynesian descent, and I’m a Hobby Music Artist! Shoutout to my brothers Rip Pack and Slab (RPS) for being the pioneers of this new genre of music. Our songs are available on iTunes, Spotify and Soundcloud.