During Thursday’s board meeting, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) leadership highlighted their progress towards their social justice goals, celebrated classified employees, and spotlighted Roosevelt Elementary. 

The meeting began with a presentation on classified employee appreciation. Classified employees are represented by SEIU Local 99, which last week reached a tentative agreement with the district for a new contract. SMMUSD students and faculty took to the podium to praise classified employees and recognize their work. Jessica Rishe, the Principal of Santa Monica Malibu Alternative School House (SMASH) shared “gratitude statements” collected from principals in the district. Rishe, who helps represent the district at the negotiation table, thanked union members and their “heartfelt stories.”

Rishe led the board meeting in a gratitude practice, guiding the room in a moment of meditation. 

“It’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of our school days… Picture a classified staff member who fills you with gratitude. What is that person doing?” she asked. At the close of the practice, Rishe encouraged everyone present to share their appreciation with classified employees directly. 

Rishe shared quotes from the management team, who partook in a gratitude practice of their own before the meeting. Management praised classified workers for their knowledge, sense of humor, tenacity, curiosity, and the joy they bring to schools. SMMUSD leadership considered the small things classified workers do that bring levity to their schools – one worker “Sings ‘tada!’” when entering the room each day” – and the fundamental service classified workers provide – one SMMUSD manager called a classified worker the “Most hardworking, committed person [they] know.”

Principal Rishe shared praise for classified employees at SMASH. Rishe said “Our admin assistant makes everyone who enters our office feel at home” and the school’s bilingual community liaison “Makes our community strong, more connected, and more caring.” Rishe described a food and nutrition services worker constantly being greeted by cheers and fist-bumps from students.

The appreciation fest continued with testimonials from SMASH eighth graders and Site Council representatives T.J. and Lucienne. Lucienne thanked the teaching assistants who made school comfortable and encouraging, noting that the environment they provided made her want to come to school. T.J. highlighted a coach and custodial staff who gave students a sense of security and daily encouragement through play and mentorship. T.J. underlined that he was heartened as a Black student at SMMUSD to know Black adults like Tracy, a custodian at SMASH, who understood his point of view.

Rishe closed their presentation by thanking the Board making space for gratitude at their meetings and for providing restorative justice training to district staff. 

Restorative justice has emerged in education as an alternative to punitive modes of addressing harm. While confronting the school-to-prison pipeline more broadly, restorative justice in practice also changes how conflicts are managed in the classroom. 

Restorative justice integration is one part of the district’s commitment to social justice-oriented pedagogy. Dr. Amy Onyendu, Principal of Roosevelt Elementary, was joined by other staff to give a presentation on the school’s progress in the past year. “We can attest that when members of a school community feel visible, voiced, and appreciated they are more likely to be engaged and committed to the work,” Dr. Onyendu said. Within the past year, staff shared that their work, funded partially by the Cotsen Foundation, centered around studying and applying antiracist scholarship to foster inclusive classrooms. 

They used “Culturally relevant pedagogy” to better educate themselves by attending professional development sessions with Dr. Sonja Cherry-Paul, author of Antiracist Reading Revolution. Roosevelt staff credited Cherry-Paul with moving Roosevelt Elementary staff “Beyond just representation but to liberation in our instruction.” Catherine Handleman, a transitional kindergarten teacher at Roosevelt, hoped Roosevelt could be a model for the district in “Advancing equity.”

Stefanie Mathewson, a first-grade teacher said “The work we’re engaging in, the antiracist work, the culturally sustaining pedagogies, is a stance. And in my heart, that stance has to permeate everything we do.” 

The school shared that their teachers “Have found genuine and meaningful ways to create spaces where students can show up in their fullest humanity knowing they will be met with respect, acceptance, and love.” 

SMMUSD Superintendent Dr. Antonio Shelton was joyfully overcome by the school’s presentation. “God, y’all are so good. I’m serious, it just makes me so happy. My heart is happy,” he said. Dr. Shelton’s emotional response, he explained, came from “Seeing the work come alive and coming true to what we’re supposed to do as educators… Seeing how dedicated [Roosevelt is] to this message.”

The Board later saw a Social Justice Annual Update presentation by Erin Hill, a Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) for American Culture and Ethnic Studies (ACES) in the district. 

Hill summarized the district’s “Enduring commitment to social justice” by highlighting the thorough and involved work of teachers and staff to integrate the district’s Social Justice Standards in the classroom. 

The district’s Teaching and Learning Council (TLC) selected “Read-aloud books that were culturally responsive” with “Diverse characters and themes” and developed lesson plan resources to accompany them. Hill shared an array of tools developed by the TLC focused on creating “Concrete, actionable practices [teachers] can do in the classroom.”

Hill ended the presentation by touting the district’s ACES program. The district’s ACES courses, which are taught in district high schools, include American History, African American Literature, Chicanx/Latinx Literature, and Principles of Economics. Hill said they are continuously working to develop new courses. 

The SMMUSD Board will hold its last meeting of the school year on May 22. 

The image is a 1919 Postcard of Santa Monica High School, a time well before this kind of progress was known. From Wiki Commons