Christina: Coming up on
Inside California Education:
Melyna: There's
kids who be bullied right
there, and I would see
that and be like
'Hey guys, you might
not do that.'
Christina: See how the
Safe School
Ambassadors program is
teaching teens how to
speak up against bullies
and defuse conflicts.
Devonyo: Your choices do
have consequences...
Christina: UC Merced
college students tell
their personal stories to
eighth graders in
Merced County.
How these simple acts
are reducing crime and
improving
graduation rates.
Roxanna: Are you guys
going to include that as
part of your
collaboration time?
Christina: A day in the
life of a school principal
in West Sacramento.
How are we doing?
Hello!
Christina: And an
alternative school in Napa
is reaching students with
innovative methods, from
yoga to community service.
It's all next on Inside
California Education!
Annc: Funding for Inside
California Education
is made possible by:
Since 1985, the
California Lottery
has raised more than $32
billion dollars
in supplemental funding
for California's
11-hundred public
school districts from
kindergarten
through college.
That's approximately $191
for each full-time student
based on $1.5 billion
contributed in fiscal year
2016-17.
With caring teachers,
committed administrators,
and active parents, every
public school student can
realize their dreams.
The California Lottery:
Imagine the Possibilities.
The Stuart Foundation:
Improving life outcomes
for young people
through education
♪♪♪
Christina: Thanks
for joining us on
Inside California Education.
I'm Christina Salerno.
We begin in Fairfield,
where a major effort
is underway to put an
end to bullying.
High school students are
learning techniques
to step in
and speak up
when they see somebody
being mistreated.
♪♪♪
(Teens roll playing)
Here let us help you...
You a nerd, get out!
You a nerd, get out!
Christina: Here's a
scene you might see
in a classroom.
Bullying and taunting.
But then,
someone steps in.
You want to be
in our group?
-I would like that.
-You can be in our group.
-Thank you.
Christina: Practice
makes perfect,
as they say.
That's why these teenagers
at Fairfield High School
are practicing ways to
intervene if they see
someone being
bullied on campus.
So when the time comes,
they'll be ready.
(Teens acting out scene)
>>Ones over here.
>>Twos are that way.
>>-I'm a one.
>>Not today sweetie.
Next time.
Go over there.
>>We don't want a bad
grade because of you.
>>You ain't gonna
do work anyways.
>>Not to be mean or
anything, but you just -
>>I can do it.
I can help you guys.
>>I think we're fine, but
thanks for your help.
>>Alright guys,
that's enough.
>>Who are you?
(pulls her away)
Eric: We do all this
role play,
all this rehearsal.
We create this safe space
for them to actually step
up and practice what it
is like, and to build this
network of humans
they can rely on.
And I think the one tool
they come away with,
is the sense of ok
"I have a voice."
Eric: Did he
make a big to-do?
Did he make a big chorus
and a bunch of noise?
What did he do?
He just walked up, said
nu-uh, and pulled her
away, right.
Christina: Eric Rubin is
a trainer with
Community Matters.
The non-profit group
teaches students how to
deal with bullies through
a program called
Safe School Ambassadors.
Diana: It's not just
being able to stand up
and intervene.
It's really being able,
first off, to be aware
of what's going on.
And then learn really
appropriate, safe ways to
intervene and then over
time the influence that
students have on each
other has a real chance
of changing the social norm.
But ultimately, it's the
kids that determine the
social norm if that's
cool or not to do.
Melyna: Lunchtime is a
big spot where
I found my voice.
There's kids who be
bullied right there, and
I would like see that
and be like
'Hey guys, you
might not do that.'
Or I use do one of our
training techniques, which
is distract, so I'd be
like, 'Hey I need this guy
or I need this girl for
this' something like that.
And take them away.
Christina: Melyna is one
of dozens of safe school
ambassadors at
Fairfield High.
She was hand-picked for
the program - like all of
these students - because
her teachers know that she
has social influence
at this school.
Melyna: People don't trust
teachers as much because
they're not on
their age level.
They're not in
your circles.
They don't hear what
us kids can hear.
So when we go and we
separate it, they're like
'ok maybe we
shouldn't do this.'
Versus a teacher, they're
like 'oh I'm not going to
listen to this teacher.'
Rick: What we've found in
17 years of research is
that those kids use those
skills on the average of
twice a day.
So imagine if you've
got 40 kids, and in this
school now almost 100,
who twice a day are
interrupting,
de-escalating, preventing,
or stopping something
bad from happening.
What happens is the school
can see decreases in
fights, decreases in
reportable offenses, and
they can start to see an
increase in kids
feeling safer.
Rick: You are the eyes
and ears of this school.
You see hear and know
things that adults
don't know.
You are on the scene of . . .
Christina: Rick Phillips
is a former principal who
founded the program after
the 1999 Columbine High
School shooting.
He wanted to empower kids
to get involved before a
situation turns tragic.
Shannon: We frequently
will get a email, text
message, umm from a
student who's a Safe
School Ambassador who is
an Ambassador trying to
let us know about
something going on campus.
There's two
students over here.
They're seem to be getting
into a verbal argument.
Or even there's a student
over here who
looks really sad.
Having eyes and ears
everywhere is extremely
beneficial to our program.
Christina: The training
isn't all serious.
There's a lot of fun, too.
Eric: So we're doing all three
sounds ready, one two
ready go!
(funny noises)
Christina: Students participate
in a lot of ice breakers.
It's a chance to get to
know each other outside of
their usual social circle.
Chyna: When you bring all
these kids in, there are
kids from multiple
different groups here,
like we have basketball
players and cheerleaders
and AVID kids.
And you know like with our
groups we're intermingled,
so it gives you the
chance to know people that
usually you wouldn't have
the courage to talk to
outside of this.
Shari: So many high school
students feel so isolated.
Their impression is that
their situations are so
unique, their struggles
are so unique, that nobody
would understand, nobody
could ever connect to what
I'm going through or
whatever I've seen.
And through some of
these trainings, like the
"crossing the line"
activity, they really are
able to understand that
so many other people share
similar experiences and
that there's so much
support to be
had with that.
"Crossing the line" I
heard someone using a
racist or homophobic
slur, and I said nu-uh.
Isabel: I was bullied
myself and throughout
sophomore year to junior
year, I think I stood up
for myself.
There's this one time
in class I was bullied
because I was
wearing something.
But it seemed like I was
still in middle school,
wearing little knit
sweaters and knit mittens.
I was like, 'You have your
own style, I have mine.
Please leave me alone.'
And I felt confident,
I was standing up for
myself.
I was me.
Safe school ambassadors
helped me stand up
for myself.
Christina: Safe School
Ambassadors is now
in place in nearly
2,000 schools
across the country.
The program is designed
to be self-sustaining.
So after a few years of
training from Community
Matters, the schools
take ownership.
That means it's up to
students like Adrian
to keep the tradition going.
Adrian: It's a great way
to show love, you know.
'Cause that's what a
lot of this world needs.
You know, more love.
We have a lot of
hate in the world.
And being able to be an
ambassador is a great
opportunity to
show that love.
Chyna: When I see bullying
before, I just would
steer clear of it.
Now I would step up and
try and
make a difference in it.
Melyna: I really found my
voice here and I feel safe
here in this environment,
and I hope others do too
when we try and help them.
Rick: It truly can
save lives, but more
importantly, I think it
does is it changes the
climate of the school to
be a more compassionate
and caring place.
Narr: As many as one in
three students say they
have been bullied
at school.
Studies show girls tend to
be the victims of social
and cyberbullying, while
boys often bear the brunt
of physical attacks.
Research shows parents can
help break the bullying
cycle by talking to
their kids about it, and
encouraging them to
participate in teams and
activities they love.
Christina: Let's head next
to the central valley town
of Merced, which suffers
from higher crime rates
compared to the
state average.
Merced officials are
trying to counter the
violence by increasing
graduation rates
and they're doing it with
the help of
local college students.
♪♪♪
Monica: So we're
actually going to get
started right now and
the first part of my
presentation is going
to be my narrative.
I'm telling you my story
for lots of reasons, one
of them is that I
want you to know that.
I come from real
struggles, and um I want
you to know I was able to
do it even though I was
pretty far down.
Christina: MONICA PERALES
HAS ONE SHOT TO TRY TO
CONNECT TO EIGHTH GRADERS
AT WEAVER MIDDLE SCHOOL
IN MERCED, CALIFORNIA.
Monica: We're there for
more than just saying
things like "You need to
do well."
Uh we're there to show
them that it is possible.
Monica: And I was still
able to go to college
and it was hard.
I can't stress that
enough, but it was
so worth it.
Because now I get to say
that I was the first one
in my family to graduate,
I get to say I'm the first
one in my family
to go to college.
And that is, I'm just so
proud of myself for that.
Christina: MONICA IS A
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
MERCED STUDENT WHO HOPES
HER PERSONAL STORY WILL
INSPIRE THE YOUNG AUDIENCE
TO STAY IN SCHOOL.
Monica: If they know we
care maybe then they would
start to think that
they are worth it.
That they are capable of
doing things that maybe
they didn't think
they were before.
Christina: SHE'S PART OF A
COOPERATIVE PROGRAM CALLED
MERCED COUNTY PROJECT
TEN PERCENT.....
THE GOAL OF THE PROGRAM IS TO
INCREASE
HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION
RATES BY TEN PERCENT
IN MERCED COUNTY.
Christina: IT'S A UNITED
EFFORT BETWEEN MERCED
COUNTY'S OFFICE OF
EDUCATION, THE DISTRICT
ATTORNEY'S OFFICE,
AND UC MERCED.....
♪♪♪
Monica: And we're
going to go through
an activity so make
your eyes are closed.
So no peeking.
I see you!
I see you.
Christina: TEAMS OF UC
MERCED COLLEGE STUDENTS
ARE DEPLOYED TO JUNIOR
HIGHS THROUGHOUT
MERCED COUNTY.
Steve: Middle school
students are making key
decisions about
who they are.
And it's a critical time
for them to understand
that they can achieve more
and aspire to more than
perhaps they
thought they could.
Christina: PROJECT
TEN PERCENT WAS INSPIRED
BY A STUDY THAT FOUND IF
HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION
RATES INCREASED BY 10
PERCENTAGE POINTS, THEN
CALIFORNIA COULD AVOID
FOUR HUNDRED HOMICIDES
AND 20 THOUSAND
AGGRAVATED ASSAULTS.
(Cell door closing)
Steve: That degree
is is more than just a
rite of passage
for students.
It really is the passport
to a job, to college, to a
productive life.
Monica: Maybe money is an
issue but I want you to
know it's possible
and I'm proof of that.
Vernette: The students
that are involved in
Merced County Project
10% have very similar
backgrounds to the
children that are sitting
in the classrooms.
Monica: My father went to
prison at end
of eighth grade which
meant a lot
was lifted off my shoulders.
The abuse and all the
stuff he brought in my
house was gone.
And when he came back
things got even
more intense.
Stacey: I feel like she
can relate to what I'm
relating to, so it means
more than just an adult
just saying it.
Christina: EIGHTH GRADER,
STACEY, WAS PARTICULARLY
TOUCHED BY MONICA'S STORY
Stacey: ... She didn't
get much attention
like when she's at
home and her parents
didn't really help her with
anything like they
didn't know much
'cause they didn't
go to college.
And same with mine.
And so, it was really
helpful to like hear like
how she made it through.
And I have a chance
and I will go through.
Vernette: They're not
going to change the life
of everybody sitting in
that classroom, but they
are touching the one
that really needs it.
Devonyo: How do
you practice?
Student: Study
Devonyo: You study!
How else?
Devonyo: It's for those
few that you can reach and
truly impact that
we do it for.
Devonyo: When you're in
here in this classroom
I always say your education
is the way you
feed your brain.
Christina: DEVONYO BILLS
WAS ONE OF THE FIRST
UC MERCED STUDENTS
TO JOIN THE PROGRAM
WHEN IT LAUNCHED IN 2011.
HE HAS SINCE GRADUATED
FROM UC MERCED BUT
CONTINUES TO BE INVOLVED
WITH THE PROGRAM.
Devonyo: I understand what
they're going through and
it was a very pivotal time
for me, so I try my best
to advocate and pay it
forward because had I not
had that mentor there's
no telling where
I'd be at today.
Devonyo: And every Single
Choice has....
Student: Consequences
Devonyo: Consequences.
Good job!
Christina: SO ARE
THESE COLLEGE KIDS
MAKING A DIFFERENCE?
IT APPEARS SO.
MERCED COUNTY HAS CUT
THEIR HOMICIDE RATE IN
HALF AND THEIR HIGH SCHOOL
GRADUATION RATE
CONTINUES TO CLIMB.
Steve: When we started the
program, it was at 88%.
And so, we're looking at
hopefully getting to a
graduation rate of 98%.
this past year,
it was at 93.6%.
So, we've already made a
50% growth gain on that
goal, so we're
excited about that.
Devonyo: I just
can't describe it.
It's just so so powerful
umm just to know that
one speech could do that
(students reading cards).
(students reading cards).
Vernette: They not only
I think feel like they're
positively impacting their
8th grade students that
they talk with, but I
think they begin to see
a change in themselves.
Monica: It's definitely
something that I didn't
think would have
such an impact on me.
But it has proved to
be the most amazing
experience of my life.
Narr: A group of law
enforcement leaders called
"Fight Crime, Invest in
Kids" conducted the study
that inspired Project 10%.
The group also suggests
that America could take
the same amount of money
spent to jail criminals
for one year, and invest
it in quality preschools
for ten years.
They say that investment
alone would produce more
than 2 million additional
high school graduates.
Christina: Still ahead
on Inside California
Education, we'll show you
some unique and effective
practices at an
alternative school
in Napa.
But first, a day in
the life
of a school principal.
♪♪♪
Roxanna: West
Sacramento is a very
close-knit community, it's
very warm and welcoming,
our families are eager
to build community and
connectedness and want to
really be a part of our
school culture
and community.
My name's Roxanna
Bautista Villasenor.
This is my third year as
Principal of
Westfield Village
Elementary School.
Growing up I had initial
aspirations of becoming
a doctor.
I majored in Biology,
I attended the Catholic
University of America
in Washington D.C..
being the first in my family to
had gone away to college
and earned my bachelor's
degree, I felt that there
was a sense of
responsibility to give
back to my community.
And it wasn't until
my administrative
credentialing program
where I really felt
inspired and I really felt
motivated and encouraged
and powerful enough to
influence the
lives of others.
Being a, a principal
um, there's the daily
managerial activities and
the unexpected events
that come up in working with
people, and if you talk to
any educator they will
tell you that you're a
counselor, you're a social
worker, and you're also
held accountable to
address the needs and
not just maintain
the status quo,
so that students could
be successful.
(Clapping)
I am very adamant
about giving voice
to our parents.
There are rights and then
services that they're
entitled to and as an
educator it's our job
to make sure that we're
providing that
quality service.
Today, if you were to go
into our classrooms,
you would see students
engaged, you would see
technology present,
you would see teachers
encouraging and
motivating and
empowering our students.
Are you guys going to
include that as part of
your collaboration time?
Student: I think so.
Roxanna: For individuals
aspiring to be an administrator
I think you would first
have to accept that
it's a life style,
it's not a career.
It's a way of living.
Teacher: Good morning.
Roxanna: Good morning.
May I join your circle?
Teacher: Of course.
Roxanna: At the end of each day,
I know my heart is pure,
I know I'm genuine and
passionate about
what I do.
I feel fortunate to be at
the site that I'm at, as
someone who came from the
community, someone who is
Latina, who could give
hope and inspire hope to
students that perhaps they
can see themselves
through me.
♪♪♪
Christina: And finally,
alternative schools are
often the "last chance"
for teens on probation.
But we discovered an
alternative school
in Napa that's taking a
different approach to
educating its students...
and for many, it's ensuring
their "last chance"
is a successful one.
♪♪♪
Jenny: I think
the most rewarding thing
was just finding myself,
like learning what
I needed to work on.
Fili: When I got sent here
I kind of realized I was
messing up in life, and
this school was my last
chance and I pretty much
needed to turn my whole
life around and get
on the right track.
Jeffrey: We like
working here.
Every day we get up and
we want to work here.
Michael: This is a story
about a different
kind of school.
A place where young
people, once troubled
and in trouble, are getting
back on track, guided
towards success through
a unique blend of clear
expectations, new
opportunities and an
atmosphere of mutual
trust and caring between
students and the adults
investing in
their futures.
Caroline: We just have
this special group of
people that love each
other and are on the
same mission, and we're
here to see these kids
get a fair chance.
Michael: Camille Creek is
a community school
in Napa County.
All of the 150 ninth
through twelfth graders
here are on formal probation
transferred for truancy
or behavioral
problems from Napa's
other high schools.
Barbara: If you are
a teacher in a large,
comprehensive high school,
you may see
150 students a day.
It's very hard for you to
get to know
all of your students.
And when that student
is disruptive, causing
a problem, that's not the
student that you really
want to get warm
and fuzzy with.
Lindsey: We're alternative
in the sense that we get
to kind of create whatever
program each student
needs to thrive.
"Hi guys, how are we doing?
Hello.
Senior: I'm doing very fine.
Lindsey: Are we taking selfies?
Senior: She's very good.
Lindsey: Oh good!"
Michael: Today, teacher
Lindsey Baker is using
that "alternative"
approach at this
Napa senior center, where
Camille Creek
students are teaching their
grateful elders
how to use their smartphones.
A primary goal -- building
self-worth
by helping others.
AL: This is Sonja, and
this is Jackie, and
they've been helping me
with all sorts of things.
They'll tell me one little
thing, and it's one of
those 'aha' moments,
and it'll last forever.
Alright, it'll last till
I get home
(laughs)!
Teri: These kids are
smart, these kids
have a lot to offer.
I think it's wonderful
that they can find a venue
where they can share,
where they're the guys
that are helping out other
people rather than other
people helping them out.
Alvaro: It's not like
we're coming here to
keep doing the mistakes
we were doing.
We're coming here so we
can know what we're
doing wrong and switch
it around.
Lindsey: For the first
time, a lot of our kids
feel like they belong
somewhere and they
actually say, 'Whoa -
you guys care about us.'
If they don't feel that,
there's no teaching or
learning that can happen.
Jenny: I definitely feel
like I'm getting a second
chance, because at my
other schools it was just
like 'oh, you're a bad
kid, you need to go to
like a bad kids' school',
you know, but it's
nothing like that.
Like, the teachers here
actually care
about students.
Michael: That "caring"
by teachers and
administrators emerges
through an innovative
blend of classroom
instruction, online
learning, and
community service.
Students helped clean up
and beautify downtown
Napa after the 2014 earthquake.
Back at school, they learn
yoga to manage stress
and take special classes on
conflict resolution and
re-directing negative
behaviors and emotions.
♪♪♪
Michael: At Nimbus Arts, a non
-profit teaching organization
in nearby St. Helena,
practicing artists help
these high schoolers
express themselves through
ceramics, painting, silk
screening, glass art,
and welding.
Andy: I'm just in
the moment, and doing
everything that I
feel like doing.
I can just express myself
in the art that I make.
And I like that.
Phil: Today, we're
going to talk about
interviewing, and one of
the keys to successful
interviewing is breathing
and relaxing and
not getting tight.
Michael: That community
support is reflected in
other ways.
Retired Disney
executive Phil Lofaro is
volunteering his time,
joining teacher Jeffrey Scott
to teach these
students how to write resumes,
dress for success,
and impress potential employers.
It's already helped 12th
grader Alvaro
get two jobs.
Alvaro: Once you're going
to that interview, you
feel more confident.
You don't feel like, uh
man,
what am I going to say?
Like you already know
what you're going to say.
Jeffrey: We don't just
want them to leave our
campus and then just kind
of flutter in the wind.
We want them to actually
go out there and do what
they want, and it's our
goal to give them those
skills to do that.
Phil: I hope that they see
themselves the way we see
them, which is, not
as problems, but as
individuals full
of potential.
Kathy: Have you ever seen
a couple together and
you've gone,
what's that about?
Michael: In a nearby
classroom, Phil's wife
Kathy Heintzman, another
volunteer, is helping
students relate
Shakespeare and classical
poetry to their own
lives and experiences.
Kathy: It's a place of
connection, and I think
that's what all great
literature and art in
general does, it
connects human beings.
I think it's a very
powerful place for the
adults and the children
here to connect in ways
that are deeply
real human.
Caroline: We're finding
that when we ask people to
become mentors, or have
internships or come and
get involved in the
way they'd like to be
involved, people
are saying yes.
It's not a hard sell.
Michael: That combination
of committed, passionate
educators and an involved
community is
showing results.
Graduation rates here are
higher than almost any
other community
school in California.
Many kids eligible to
return to their regular
high schools still
decide to stay here.
Barbara: Because of this
notion that 'I was lost in
that big, big high school
and here I'm important.
People care about me and
I'm achieving success.'
Michael: In many
districts, schools like
this are considered places
for both teachers and
students to avoid -- a
sad and final stop for
so-called "bad kids" as
they prepare to give up
on education.
Napa says, with
a foundation of
unconditional caring,
we hope to restore these
students' dreams and renew
their hopes for
a brighter future.
Jaqueline: They helped me
a lot to build myself and
make me feel more
confident, you know?
Lindsey: We're creating
an environment here where
we're taking these kids
who were lost and labeled,
and we're just making
them feel loved.
And it's awesome.
Fili: You realize
the teachers and the
principals and everybody,
everybody's here
to support you.
Pretty much help you learn
from your mistakes and
pretty much go
far in life.
Barbara: If the kids
feel love, they trust.
If they trust, they
lower their guard.
And by the time they love,
trust, and lower their
guard, now they're open
to learning academics.
Caroline: You know, so
much of childhood
is school.
And so, in many ways,
it's their last chance of
having a, having
a happy childhood.
♪♪♪
Christina: That's
it for this edition of
Inside California
Education.
If you'd like more
information about the
program, log on to our
website insidecaled.org.
We have video from all
of our shows, and you can
connect with us on
social media as well.
Thanks for joining us.
We'll see you next time
on Inside
California Education.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
Annc: Funding for Inside
California Education
is made possible by.....
Since 1985, the California
Lottery has raised more
than $32 billion dollars
in supplemental funding
for California's
11-hundred public school
districts from kindergarten
through college.
That's approximately $191
for each full-time student
based on $1.5 billion
contributed in
fiscal year 2016-17.
With caring teachers,
committed administrators,
and active parents, every
public school student can
realize their dreams.
The California Lottery:
Imagine the Possibilities.
Dr. Pascal: So, Greg,
it's a lot to take in.
And I know that's
hard to hear.
But the doctors
caught it early.
Hi, Blake.
My dad has cancer.
And I know how hard
that is to hear.
But you are in
the right place.
Dr. Pascal and her team,
they know what to do.
They know what to do.
The doctors
know what to do.
So here's the plan.
First off, we're going
to give you (fades out).
The Stuart Foundation:
Improving Life Outcomes
for Young People through
Education
Additional funding for Inside
California Education is
made possible by these
organizations supporting
public education:
♪♪♪