Issue How are high school district staff and principals in San Mateo County responding to hate

Conclusions 1

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  It is difficult to know from this Grand Jury survey whether County high schools are experiencing widespread incidents of hate as noted in the media. With only 16 incidents reported over the last five years, it could be that the pattern occurring in other communities does not occur here. Alternatively, teachers, principals and other school and district staff may not be documenting incidents. Regardless, it is not clear that parents/guardians and students understand school policies and it is questionable whether students understand what inappropriate behaviors are. San Mateo Union High School District (SMUHSD) The San Mateo Union High School District (SMUHSD) serves approximately 8,900 students from the communities of San Mateo, Burlingame, Foster City, Hillsborough, Millbrae, and San Bruno. The district has six comprehensive high schools.43 The Grand Jury focused on SMUHSD 41 The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is a leading anti-hate organization. More information on the ADL is presented later in this report. 42 Grand Jury interview. 43 “General Information,” San Mateo High School District, accessed May 2, 2020. ttps://www.smuhsd.org/domain/55. The district also has a Middle College program in conjunction with the College of San Mateo, an alternative/continuation school, and an Adult School Program. 2019-2020 San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury 9 because of two documented incidents of hate and a hate crime that occurred between January 2018 and September 2019 at one of the District’s schools, Burlingame High School. Three Incidents at Burlingame High School Incident Number 1: Burlingame vs Mills Basketball Game January 12, 2018 At a basketball game at Burlingame High School, Mills High School was up by 20 points. Perhaps not surprisingly, Burlingame fans were not cheering and some students from Mills started chanting, “We can’t hear you.” In response, a chant from dozens of Burlingame students, responded with “You can’t see us,” a racial insult aimed at students and players from a school with a 52% Asian student body.44 Some of the Burlingame students chanting were “student leaders.”45 According to media reports, Burlingame’s principal intervened to stop the chant, although the reports did not indicate how long the chanting lasted. According to a Burlingame school reporter, many teachers addressed the insensitive chant the following week in classes.46 According to school administration, the Principal met with the 70-85 members of the Student Council and individually with student leaders. Student Council representatives were asked to “report out” to students in individual classes. A statement was also read by the Principal on the school loudspeaker and teachers were asked to check in with their classes and as noted above, some teachers did hold class discussions about the incident.47 Notwithstanding the school administration’s actions, it is not clear what impact those steps had on students. The Grand Jury interviewed at least one student who could not recall school administration undertaking such steps and believed that, even if such efforts were undertaken the incident called for greater action. The Grand Jury noted that even though the students who participated in the chanting were identified, they were not disciplined by school staff.48 Some Burlingame student leaders wrote an apology to Mills students and did go to Mills High School to apologize and discuss ways to prevent such incidents in the future. Although Mills students appreciated the visit, Mill’s staff indicated that follow-up would have been more impactful if the students who caused the harm participated in the restorative process.49 District staff were not involved in addressing the incident.50 A Burlingame student of Asian descent responding to the incident at the time noted, “I have often heard racist ‘jokes’ and stereotypes being tossed around casually in conversations, not just about Asians but many other ethnic groups. Racism is a large problem that affects our campus, 44 David Louie, “Burlingame students chant racially insensitive remark at basketball game,” ABC 7 News, Monday February 12, 201. https://abc7news.com/burlingame-racist-chant-high-school-basketball-game/3073261/. 45 Grand Jury interview. 46 Priscilla Jin, “When Cheers can be disrespectful,” The Daily Journal Archives, February 9, 2018. https://www.smdailyjournal.com/arts_and_entertainment/when-cheers-can-become-disrespectful/article_21aa9384- 0e01-11e8-986d-47fb7b3a0df7.html. 47 Official written communication from SMUHSC District staff. 48 Grand Jury interview. 49 Grand Jury interview. 50 Grand Jury interview. 2019-2020 San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury 10 and we need to confront it.”51 An editorial in the school newspaper at the time noted, “We need to use this incident not merely as a lesson in poor judgement but as a starting point to move forward. We need to remember that words can have more power than we might foresee.”52 There was no additional follow up for students or staff. Incident Number 2: Swastika and “Fag” Written on a School Locker, April 18, 2019 A Jewish student’s gym locker was vandalized with anti-Semitic and homophobic language. In contrast to the previous incident, the perpetrator was never identified. Indeed, months after the incident administrative staff even wondered whether the student could have defaced his own locker.53 Police were notified of the incident by the family the afternoon it occurred. Staff did follow-up with the student, who was the target of the incident. The incident was perceived by school staff as an isolated incident and was not publicly addressed although the targeted student approached school staff multiple times requesting further follow up. School staff did not believe the incident reflected the school’s culture nor that it required a school-wide response. District staff indicated that it would be “inappropriate for school staff to comment on the actions of a single student.”54 The family was dissatisfied with the school’s response both immediately following the incident and months later. The family advocated for policy changes noting that the District policy and the Student Handbook did not address anonymous incidents of graffiti or hate speech nor did they address how school staff should respond to incidents that anonymously target a student.55 District staff became involved and met with the family and clergy. Students at the school did learn of the incident through an article in the school newspaper.56 The article connected the incident to what the author stated was “a lack of tolerance for minorities at the school” and called for the administration to do more in the face of such an act. The student reporter went on to note that, “By remaining virtually silent about the issue, the administration has made its own statement about the well-being of students at Burlingame. The administration must assume its role and teach the students of Burlingame why anti-Semitic hate is so wrong in order to prevent situations like this from happening again.” 57 This sentiment was echoed by the student whose locker had been defaced who noted that there were many instances of offensive language at the school directed at minority groups including Muslims, gay and lesbian students, and Asians. In the student’s opinion, inappropriate language is perceived by school staff as verbal attacks on an individual and not a reflection of attitudes regarding a specific group. Yet, in his opinion, it does reflect a “toxic” school culture that warrants further response.58 51 Supra, Note 31. 52 Randall, “High School Seeks to Change Anti-Asian Incident into Teaching Moment”, (post), AsAMNews, February 16, 2018. https://asamnews.com/2018/02/16/high-school-seeks-to-change-anti-asian-incident-into- teaching-moment/. 53 Grand Jury interview. 54 Supra, Note 47. 55 Grand Jury interview. 56 Ethan Gardner, “Anti-Semitism alive and well at Burlingame,” Burlingame B, May 23, 2019. ttps://theburlingameb.org/2115/news/anti-semitic-incident/. 57 Ibid. 58 Grand Jury interview. 2019-2020 San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury 11 Incident Number 3: A Hate Crime--Homophobic, Racist and anti-Semitic Graffiti at Burlingame High School, September 5, 2019 In the early morning of September 5, 2019, grounds crew discovered spray-painted hate speech in approximately a dozen outdoor spaces at Burlingame High School that included anti-Semitic symbols and phrases including swastikas as well as racist and homophobic slurs. The graffiti was covered up before most students arrived at school. In early October, a former Burlingame student was arrested for the graffiti attack and charged with felony vandalism and hate crimes. Unlike, the previous two incidents, this was a crime and in addition to police involvement, there were multiple responses by school and District staff, as well as involvement by community members and outside organizations. Responses included:  Information was communicated to students via emails and school announcements during the day. The principal met with groups of concerned students and wellness counselors offered drop-in counseling.59  A public forum was held in a school courtyard at lunch time the following week which was attended by hundreds of students who met to voice their concerns and feelings about the hate-motivated incident. Students wore red T-shirts or hoodies, the school color, in a display of “unity against hate.” Banners were made which hung in heavily trafficked hallways.60  Talking points were developed for teachers to use in discussions with students.61  ADL staff provided a training for teachers and other school staff that included pictures of the graffiti, which “shocked” school staff since they had not realized how bad it had been.62  Clergy and a former County supervisor met with the principal.63  ADL staff met with a small group of parents.  Staff revamped the traditional "rules talk" at the beginning of the 2019 school year to a "Commit to Connect" presentation for all students that included a section on interrupting- bias based on work from Teaching Tolerance64 and the National Equity Project.65  ADL staff presented at the Burlingame City Council to address the City Council on the growing issue of anti-Semitism and white supremacy.66 59 Grand Jury interview. 60 Gabe Stutman, “After spate of bigoted graffiti, Burlingame students hold day of ‘unity against hate,” The J. The Jewish News of Northern California, September 11, 2019. 61 Grand Jury interview. 62 Grand Jury interview. 63 Grand Jury interview. 64 Teaching Tolerance’s mission is “to help teachers and schools educate children and youth to be active participants in a diverse democracy.” https://www.tolerance.org/about. 65 National Equity Project provides equity-focused professional development for schools. https://nationalequityproject.org/. 66Vlad Khaykin, “Presentation to the Burlingame City Council.” Accessed April 29, 2020. https://sanfrancisco.adl.org/news/adl-presents-burlingame-city-counci/. 2019-2020 San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury 12  In March a leadership seminar for 600 students, “Breaking Down the Walls,”67 focused on making the school a more inclusive environment.68 District staff were involved in the response to this incident. District staff provided police with information that led to the arrest of the perpetrator. District staff met with faith leaders, law enforcement, school staff, District board members, and elected community officials.69 Even after three publicized incidents, Administrative staff in both the District and at Burlingame High School do not believe that the incidents reflect the dominant culture at the high school.70 Yet, as comments by students in the student newspaper and other community newspapers indicate, this may not be how students perceive the school environment. Students describe the “N-word” being used constantly in class along with other offensive language. At least one student speculated that some students still do not understand that jokes making fun of groups and/or individuals are hurtful, or, for example, racist, or anti-Semitic.71 Of further note is the position of District staff – confirmed in correspondence with the Grand Jury – that the vandalism of the Jewish student’s gym locker with a swastika and the word “Fag” did not require an official school-wide response because the perpetrator was “a single student.” Such an approach by administrators appears more aligned with the interests of the perpetrator as opposed to the student communities which were targeted. More specifically, notwithstanding that the hate incident may have been the result of one person’s actions, District staff’s approach did not appear to take into account the impact that the vandalism – as well as the school or District’s subsequent silence – may have on the school’s Jewish or LGBTQ students. Since two of the three incidents described were anti-Semitic, the Grand Jury interviewed local Jewish clergy to discuss what Jewish students conveyed to them about the atmosphere at local high schools. According to the rabbis interviewed, students reported incidents that occurred with some regularity. These included: anti-Semitic language and name calling, swastikas being drawn and flashed at them during classes, and coins being thrown at them. Jewish students do not believe that teachers are aware of these incidents nor do they believe teachers would help in addressing them. Even after the anti-Semitic graffiti defaced Burlingame High School, students were reluctant to report their occurrence believing that nothing would be done. One rabbi acknowledged that it is difficult for school administrators to respond to less dramatic incidents that, nonetheless, impact school climate at schools and lead to student stress.72 67 Breaking Down the Walls is a program for high school students designed to unify, empower, and engage students to create a positive and supportive campus culture. It usually includes an all school assembly, student leader training, and workshops. https://www.learningforliving.com/breaking-down-the-walls. 68 Grand Jury interview. 69 Grand Jury interview. 70 Grand Jury interview. 71 Grand Jury interview. 72 Grand Jury interview. 2019-2020 San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury 13 District and School Programming Addressing School Climate As previously noted, there are six comprehensive high schools in the SMUHSD. The District Board and administrative staff set policies and annual goals and provide some unique resources to District schools. The following list highlights some of the District’s unique efforts to address school climate:  Implementation of mental health services;  Implementation of a web-based hotline for anonymous reporting by students (although principals report little usage);  Leading the development of an ethnic studies program which has been or will be implemented in district schools;  Coordinating the implementation of restorative practices throughout the District; and  Providing assistance in investigations of hate incidents/crimes and offering mediation by trained counselors for victims and assailants, restorative practices to address the harm done, or student education through on-line programs.73 Table 1 shows the racial/ethnic make-up of student bodies at the six high schools in the SMUHSD. It is evident that these schools have diverse student bodies with substantial percentages of Asian, Hispanic74 and white students but only a small percentage of African Americans. There are also many families where English is not the primary language. One administrator reported that there are 30 languages spoken at the school.75 Table 1 Count and Ethnicity of Students in SMUHSD Schools 2019-2020 School Year76 Ethnicity Aragon Burlingame Capuchino Hillsdale Mills San Mateo Total SMUHSD Asian 499 (30%) 352 (24%) 241 (20%) 314 (20%) 657 (55%) 466 (28%) 2529 29% Black/African 9 (1%) 11 (1%) 11 (1%) 15 (1%) 7 (1%) 14 (1%) 67 American 1% Hispanic 455 (27%) 281 (9%) 586 (49%) 560 (35%) 240 (20%) 719 (43%) 2841 32% Multiple 198 (12%) 146 (10%) 99 (8%) 159 (10%) 108 (9%) 120 (7%) 830 9% Native 4 (0%) 5 (0%) 1 (0%) 4 (0%) 3 (0%) 1 (0%) 18 American 0% Pacific 51( 3%) 4 (0%) 47 (4%) 15 (1%) 30 (2%) 28 (12%) 175 Islander 2% White 464 (28%) 695 (47%) 203 (7%) 543 (34%) 157 (13%) 316 (19%) 2378 27% 73 Grand Jury interview. 74 The term Hispanic is used since that is the term used in the District’s records. Latinx is now often used to describe individuals in the United States who have Latin American roots. 75 Grand Jury interview. 76 Data provided by the San Mateo Union High School District. 2019-2020 San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury 14 School administrators have much flexibility in how schools are organized, and the programming offered as it relates to school climate. Although all administrators are concerned with school climate, not all have focused on the impact of hate incidents or biases on their students. The following summarizes the programming at the six District schools. At San Mateo High School with a substantial low-income student population (i.e. 43% of students are eligible for the free or reduced lunch program),77 a school administrator noted incidents related to gangs but none to anti-Semitism, gender, or hate speech and no specific programming addressed either school climate or hate incidents. School administrators at Mills and Aragon High Schools described their schools’ implementation of on-going efforts to address bias and gaps in the education of students of color. Examples of programs implemented78 include:  Participation in the United Against Hate coalition and an organized week of student activities (in November 2019) that included in-class lessons on the ADL’s Pyramid of Hate (See Appendix B), portrait sessions with anti-hate messaging, an interfaith panel of local leaders on anti-hate messaging, and an after school film screening of the movie The Hate U Give;  On-campus displays of student posters and artwork advocating for a safe and welcoming environment for all types of students. Posters and artwork include rainbow flags, safe space stickers, and posters from Teaching Tolerance;79  Exploring teacher bias through optional staff summer reading of White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin Diangelo with follow-up discussions planned for the fall;  Focus on student use of inappropriate language with: o a speaker from Little Rock Nine Foundation80 addressing students regarding the use of language; o teacher training focusing on humanizing language with discussions to address how teachers can educate their students about the use of language; and  Challenge Days, organized by a national organization, featuring experts to facilitate workshops designed to support emotional well-being, building connection, resiliency and healing.81 An administrator at Burlingame High School noted that the school (following the September 2019 hate crime incident previously described) revamped the school’s traditional “rules talk” to a “Commit to Connect” presentation to all students. This included a section on interrupting-bias based on work from Teaching Tolerance and the National Equity Project. Teachers and 77 Grand Jury interview. 78 Based on Grand Jury interviews. 79 Teaching Tolerance is a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center to provide resources for teachers that help create civil and inclusive school communities with an emphasis on social justice and anti-bias. https://www.tolerance.org/about. 80 Supra, note 29. 81 Supra, note 28. 2019-2020 San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury 15 administrative staff also participated in training with the ADL and focused on scenarios teachers may encounter in the classroom or elsewhere on campus. An administrator at Capuchino High School emphasized school climate, although programming does not specifically focus on incidents of hate. Programming includes82:  Training for administrators and teachers on restorative practices;  Implementation of Multi-Tiered System of Support;83  Training for incoming 9th graders at the start of the 2019 school year on creating cultures of “connection and empathy;” 84  “Success Talks” by administrative staff at the start of the school year to discuss a variety of topics and a plan for the 2020-2021 school year to include hate speech, and toxic masculinity; and  A program on rape awareness and consent85 to be implemented in 2020. Hillsdale High School is organized into “Houses” of 110 students with four teachers assigned in each House for the students’ first two years. Students in the 9th and 10th grades attend all classes with members of their House, although students move to new Houses for 11th and 12th grades and no longer attend all classes together. One administrator interviewed believes the House model is responsible for the fact the school ranked in the 99th percentile in school climate in a recent statewide survey since it allows students who would not normally mix or meet to be educated together. Teachers serve as group advisers, meet daily with students and discuss community building, race, gender and sexual orientation. Topics regarding justice and equity are discussed through the curriculum, and ethnic studies is now a core component for all students. Special programs about stereotyping and healthy partnerships through One Love are provided to 11th and 12th graders.86 Notwithstanding the foregoing description, a school administrator at Hillsdale noted a number of hate incidents, not reported on the written survey previously discussed, that occurred at the school. In one instance a swastika and offensive language were written on a restroom wall. Students in an English class studying Othello came to class in blackface. Some students in attendance were offended and the teacher engaged the class in a discussion, but no further action was taken. The administrator also noted that offensive language is an issue and was unsure whether to categorize some incidents that involve race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity as hate incidents or “student disagreements,” noting that such incidents “touched the edges of hate.”87 The difficulty this administrator expressed in identifying hate incidents likely leads to underreporting. 82 Grand Jury interview. 83 Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) is a comprehensive framework used to provide targeted support for all learners. https://www.kickboardforschools.com/blog/post/rti-response-to-intervention/what-is-multi-tiered-system- of-support-mtss/. 84 https://keithhawkins.com/experiences/high-school 85 https://www.rapetraumaservices.org/ 86 One Love Foundation One Love educates young people about healthy and unhealthy relationships, empowering them to identify and avoid abuse and learn how to love better. https://www.joinonelove.org/. 87 Grand Jury interview. 2019-2020 San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury 16 Some of the programming described involved one-time workshops or presentations while others involved curriculum innovations. It is worth noting that during interviews, the administrators at the five other schools were asked whether their schools used the graffiti incident at Burlingame High School in the fall as a “teachable” event to reinforce messages of inclusivity and respect. None had, thereby missing an opportunity to address hate in their schools. San Mateo County Office of Education: Resources (SMCOE) Addressing School Climate The SMCOE has initiatives to serve the unique needs of public education in San Mateo County. The Office could be a resource to address hate in schools through three programs.  The Coalition for Safe Schools and Communities is a collaborative multi-agency group staffed by six SMCOE staff including the County Superintendent and the Deputy Superintendent for Student Services. The Coalition was formed in 2013 following the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The Coalition, in part, addresses the safety needs, emergency response to threats and mental health needs of schools and County youth. To the extent that the SMCOE desires to expand its current focus, it could work with the Coalition for Safe Schools and Communities to consider either expanding its scope of work or forming an additional group to focus on how schools address hate. Surveys of teachers (cited earlier in this report) note that such incidents result in hostile environments for racial and religious minorities and as the Anti-Defamation League describes in its “Pyramid of Hate” (see below), such incidents can escalate to severe acts including vandalism and even violence.  Respect!24/7 is a once-a-year conference for educators and school staff launched by the SMCOE as an anti-bullying and civility initiative following a San Mateo Grand Jury report88 that investigated anti-bullying policies at schools. The conference has broadened its scope to address diverse issues such as cyberbullying, digital citizenship, LGBTQ and gender identity89 with a positive focus on respect. The 2019 conference included sessions offered by the ADL staff and a presentation focused on the importance of the “student voice.” SMCOE should be commended for their initiative and should continue to offer workshops that focus on hate incidents and hate speech at their annual conferences.  Camp LEAD (Leadership for Equity & Access District-Wide) engages students over three days in a series of activities designed to improve understanding and respect between students and foster leadership development. As described by SMCOE staff it is often a transformative event for students as they engage in self-reflection and discussions to build community with other students and adults at the camp. The first two camps in the County were offered during the summer of 2019. Usually a diverse group of students and 88 “Bullying within the County School Districts: A Survey of Policy within San Mateo County School Districts,” 2010-2011 San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury. 89 https://www.smcoe.org/for-schools/safe-and-supportive-schools/school-climate.html. Accessed July 15, 2020. 2019-2020 San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury 17 staff participate from a school. Neither the principals responding to the Grand Jury survey nor the administrators interviewed were aware of Camp LEAD. Community Resources: The Anti-Defamation Leagues No Place for Hate School Program The ADL is a leading anti-hate organization that was founded in 1913. Initially founded to counter a rising climate of anti-Semitism, today it fights anti-Semitism and all forms of hate. The ADL’s “Pyramid of Hate” (See Appendix B) shows the growing complexity of behaviors of hate. At the base are biased attitudes such as stereotyping and insensitive remarks such as name- calling, and bullying. If these behaviors are tolerated, they can lead to progressively more severe acts of discrimination and bias motivated violence including vandalism and desecration, actions higher up the pyramid. At the apex is genocide. ADL staff work with schools and community partners to support school climate goals with practical ideas for deepening understanding about diversity, building community and developing skills for students, teachers, parents, and community members. Over 40 schools in the Bay Area in 2018-2019 were designated No Place for Hate sites by incorporating anti-bias and anti- bullying programming throughout the school. No County school was among the 40.90

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