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SF Build Focuses on New Faculty in Push for Inclusive Classrooms

Published

6 years ago

March 11, 2018

Leticia Márquez-Magaña

Balancing science and personal stories, representatives of SF Build are working to spread techniques for creating more inclusive classrooms through a series of faculty training workshops.

SF Build is an NIH-funded initiative to transform research and teaching at SF State and increase diversity in the biomedical workforce.

The program, and these workshops in particular, focus on the phenomenon of stereotype threat — a fear of confirming the stereotypes people have about you.

Triggered by a variety of situations, from being the only student of color in a classroom full of white students to dealing with negative or dismissive comments about one’s identity, it can lead to decreased motivation and lower test scores.

In a December 2017 workshop delivered to new faculty members, Professor of Biology and SF Build Principal Investigator Leticia Márquez-Magaña explained ways that new faculty members can avoid triggering stereotype threat in their classroom, drawing from her own experiences as a Latina scientist.

For instance, comments like “I don’t see color” can make students of color feel unwelcome. “I’m super colorful,” she said. “If you don’t see color, you don’t see me.”

Another pitfall, she said, can be negative comments that leave no room for growth — like trying to reassure a student who had failed a test by saying, “Not everyone is good at math.”

Feedback like that could be especially derailing for students who already have to combat negative stereotypes about their math performance. Instead, instructors can reframe comments in ways that show a path forward while emphasizing that failure is an important part of learning, Márquez-Magaña explained.
Assistant Professor of Management Verónica Rabelo, who attended the workshop, cited that portion as eye-opening. Even as someone well-versed in the literature about the negative impacts of stereotypes, she had fallen into some of the same traps that Márquez-Magaña described.

“Some of that feedback can be well-intentioned. I’ve even given some of that advice to my own students,” Rabelo said.
Over the past two years, the team has collected data about the workshops’ effectiveness and fine-tuned their delivery. With a continually shifting audience, finding the right balance of information has been a challenge.

On the one hand, personal stories encourage new faculty members to open up and share their own thoughts and experiences. According to Assistant Professor of Gerontology Emiko Takagi, who attended the December 2017 workshop, “Every one of us was able to connect to the ideas they were presenting in our own ways.”

At the same time, some faculty members will only be swayed by hard scientific evidence. So Márquez-Magaña also explains the large body of research on the triggers of stereotype threat and how these effects can even be seen in peoples’ bodies.

“You can monitor stereotype threat from an experimental psychologist’s point of view,” she said. “You can measure stress hormones, you can see peoples’ eyes darting back and forth.”

Another fall 2017 workshop, conducted during orientation for new faculty members, focused on the syllabus—typically a stiff, formal document. During the workshop, Assistant Professor of Chemistry Alegra Eroy-Reveles and her co-presenter, Professor of Health Education Michele Eliason, offered a different vision for the syllabus as a signal to students that the classroom will be welcoming for everyone.

One of their examples of a model syllabus, from Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy Kim Coble, included the line, “You are encouraged to recognize the diverse strengths your colleagues bring to the classroom.”

Language like that signals to the students that they, too, belong in the class.

“What really resonated with me is that a syllabus isn’t just a laundry list of policies,” said Rabelo, who participated in the workshop. “It forms a feedback loop between the professor and students.”

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Oakland Post: Week of May 8 – 14, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May May 8 – 14, 2024

Published

5 days ago

May 10, 2024

Oakland Post

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Activism

S.F. Black Leaders Rally to Protest, Discuss ‘Epidemic’ of Racial Slurs Against Black Students in SF Public School System

Parents at the meeting spoke of their children as no longer feeling safe in school because of bullying and discrimination. Parents also said that reported incidents such as racial slurs and intimidation are not dealt with to their satisfaction and feel ignored.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church. Photo courtesy Third Baptist Church.

By Carla Thomas

San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church hosted a rally and meeting Sunday to discuss hatred toward African American students of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD).

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church, along with leadership from local civil rights groups, the city’s faith-based community and Black community leadership convened at the church.

“There has been an epidemic of racial slurs and mistreatment of Black children in our public schools in the city,” said Brown. “This will not be tolerated.”

According to civil rights advocate Mattie Scott, students from elementary to high school have reported an extraordinary amount of racial slurs directed at them.

“There is a surge of overt racism in the schools, and our children should not be subjected to this,” said Scott. “Students are in school to learn, develop, and grow, not be hated on,” said Scott. “The parents of the children feel they have not received the support necessary to protect their children.”

Attendees were briefed last Friday in a meeting with SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne.

SFUSD states that their policies protect children and they are not at liberty to publicly discuss the issues to protect the children’s privacy.

Some parents said they have removed their students from school while other parents and community leaders called on the removal of the SFUSD superintendent, the firing of certain school principals and the need for more supportive school board members.

Community advocates discussed boycotting the schools and creating Freedom Schools led by Black leaders and educators, reassuring parents that their child’s wellbeing and education are the highest priority and youth are not to be disrupted by racism or policies that don’t support them.

Virginia Marshall, chair of the San Francisco NAACP’s education committee, offered encouragement to the parents and students in attendance while also announcing an upcoming May 14 school board meeting to demand accountability over their mistreatment.

“I’m urging anyone that cares about our students to pack the May 14 school board meeting,” said Marshall.

This resource was supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library via California Black Media as part of the Stop the Hate Program. The program is supported by partnership with California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.

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Bay Area

Mayor London Breed: State Awards San Francisco Over $37M for Affordable Housing

On April 30, Mayor London N. Breed announced San Francisco has been awarded more than $37.9 million in funding from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) as part of the State’s Multifamily Housing Program (MHP). The HCD loan will provide the final funding necessary for development of Casa Adelante – 1515 South Van Ness, a 168-unit affordable housing project located in San Francisco’s Mission District.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed (File Photo)

By Oakland Post Staff

The HCD loan will provide the final funding necessary for development of Casa Adelante – 1515 South Van Ness, a 168-unit affordable housing project located in San Francisco’s Mission District.

The new development at 1515 South Van Ness Ave. will provide 168 affordable homes to low-income families, formerly homeless families, and persons living with HIV earning between 25-80% of the San Francisco Area Median Income (AMI).

In addition, the project is anticipated to provide family-friendly amenities and ground floor community-serving commercial spaces that preserve the prevailing neighborhood character of the Calle 24 Latino Cultural District.

“This funding unlocks our ability to move on building affordable housing units for families in San Francisco at a crucial time. We understand the level of need for more housing that is accessible, and like the state, the city continues to face a challenging budget cycle,” said Breed. “1515 South Van Ness is a good example of what can be achieved in San Francisco when you have strong community partnerships and an unwavering commitment to deliver on critical needs for our residents.”

“From the beginning of my term as Supervisor, I have fought to bring affordable housing to 1515 South Van Ness” said Supervisor Hillary Ronen. “In the interim, the site has been utilized for homeless services and shelter, and I am thrilled that HCD has recognized the value of this development, and we are finally ready to break ground and bring 168 affordable homes to low income and formerly homeless families in the Mission.”

Owned and occupied by McMillan Electric Company until 2015, the City and County of San Francisco purchased 1515 South Van Ness Avenue in June 2019 with the intent of developing new affordable housing.

In November 2020, the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) released a Multi-site Request for Qualifications (RFQ) seeking qualified developers to build affordable housing on the site, and subsequently selected Chinatown Community Development Corporation (CCDC) and Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) in May 2021 to develop the site.

The project is expected to begin construction in winter 2025.

“A strong, long-term push by Mission advocates to make this site 100% affordable is now paying off, with 168 family units that include services and childcare. People of color communities know what they need, and we are excited to be in partnership with a team, consisting of MEDA, CCDC, and MOHCD, that listens,” said Malcolm Yeung, Executive Director at CCDC.

“We are excited to be in partnership with CCDC, yet again, and for the opportunity to develop intergenerational affordable housing in the City’s Mission District,” said Luis Granados, executive director at MEDA.

Increasing housing affordable to lower-income and vulnerable residents is a key priority in the City’s Housing Element which calls for additional funding for affordable housing production and preservation, as well as Mayor Breed’s Housing for All Executive Directive that sets out the steps the City will take to meet the bold goal of allowing for 82,000 new homes to be built over the next eight years.

Tuesday’s funding announcement emphasizes the importance of regional and state collaboration in order to reach our housing and climate goals.

“We are thrilled—not just to bring a project of this size to a community with great need — but to do so with community-based developers and their partners who understand the neighborhood and sensitivities around cultural preservation,” said HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez.