Prospect Sierra feedback

Yes, they spend too much time on a heavy handed diversity curriculum at the expense of meat and potatoes education, and we've seen this over our 4 years there. This is exemplified by the recent (non-publicized) abrupt switch to a new motto - "Love Justice Innovation Impact" - from the previous motto - "Heart Mind Community". I think there's a lot of hypocrisy  embedded in the posture that a private school that charges $35K/year is serving up innovation or impact.

I think you're picking up on a trend among east bay private schools where they emphasize diversity and DEI initiatives as a huge, foundational part of their focus and curriculum. This seemed to increase significantly during the Black Lives Matter era, as schools tried to cater to what they felt parents were looking for. In the past year or two, we've noticed that parents at our local k-8 independent school (not Prospect, but similar) as well as others are voicing that they don't want the school to focus so heavily on DEI/diversity initiatives. Some focus, sure - we all want to raise kind, aware kids. But people are recognizing the inherent trade-offs of spending resources on DEI/diversity programs at the expensive of academics, curricula, leaning services, etc. There just aren't enough resources (time and money) to do everything intensively and well, even in excellent schools. One challenge is that speaking out about the importance of non-DEI/diversity initiatives can incur significant social costs, so people can be reluctant to speak up, lest they be branded as racist. There is often a vocal minority of parents who speak out very loudly about the need for strong DEI/diversity initiatives - sometimes it seems like those voices get prioritized over the quieter, more conventional (yet still progressive) ones. I don't have good advice - just validation that you're picking up on a real challenge, one that I hope Prospect and other local schools get a handle on soon. 

Hi,

   I am a current parent of 2 students at Prospect Sierra, one at Tapscott and one at Avis.  We love the school.  The community is amazing.  Spanish at Tapscott is not great and if your child is gifted in math, they will not be challenged.  That being said, the teachers have their hearts invested in their work and tend to be gifted.  The parent community is amazing.  Both kids love going to school everyday and miss it during breaks.  They are accepted and appreciated for who they are.  The diversity and inclusion aspect is real and they walk the walk.  I do not see this instead of learning the mainstream stuff but in addition to and they learn to be inclusive, to think about whose voices are missing from a narrative and why those voices might be excluded.  If you are not into that kind of thing, it may not be the school for you.  It really does beyond a white centric perspective.  As a white person, I am thrilled about this, but you need to decide if it is what you want for your kid.

You didn't mention what grade you are considering entering PS, but here's my impression as the parent of two PS kids who entered in 6th grade after attending public school for K-5 (one now in HS, the other still enrolled at PS)...

Academic quality is excellent across the board, and my older child was well prepared to excel at their competitive private high school, in all subjects, including math. We have not found it to be the case that the emphasis on diversity that you noticed on your tour leads to not enough time for the kids to learn about Einstein. (Weird coincidence, my kid is doing a project on Einstein right now). 

It is definitely true that PS is a school that greatly prizes diversity, so I don't think the impression you got on your tour was a "coincidence" or some kind of fluky one-off. I would imagine they make a point of it on the tour particularly because they are interested in attracting a retaining a diversity of families. But my impression is that day-to-day life at school really is focused first and foremost on learning. AND it's also a school that cares a lot about diversity. (And I mean diversity in all senses of the word... race, gender, sexuality, family structure, religion, ethnicity, disability status and on and on and on... I think they care a lot about economic diversity too, but that's significantly harder to achieve when you're an independent school trying to keep its doors open. Either way, the kids are encouraged to reflect on their identities, and the school goes out of its way to honor every individual's identity.)

Your question of whether the emphasis on diversity is "too much"... I don't think anyone can answer that for you! We are a white family, and it definitely does not feel like too much for us (if that helps). When I was doing the high school search with my older kid, I called and spoke with a ton of former PS parents who had kids currently in high school (I mean dozens of parents), and it was funny how often this subject came up and funny how widely students' and parents' responses to it ranged. For some people it definitely felt like too much, and by the time they left the school, they were really ready to say goodbye to all the "wokeness." For others, it feels like a prized part of a very special community. For others, it's a big part of what allowed them to feel welcome at the school. So I think you might need to re-tool your question to get more useful answers, because how can anyone tell what you will be comfortable with? 

Best of luck as you decide what's right for your family--

Hi. 

My wife and I have 3 kids who attend/ed Prospect Sierra, one in 5th, one in 7th and one who is now a freshman in high school. Full disclosure we are a white family, which is probably relevant to your question. 

I understand where you are coming from, though I will say that we've never felt like PS's emphasis on DEIB/underrepresented groups came at the expense of our kids' academic experience. I'd actually say that the general approach to diversity/etc and Social Emotional Learning has enhanced it their perspective, as they've become pretty well-rounded kids who are empathetic to others and sensitive to those whose voices aren't heard as often. 

Also, I would say that these perspectives are incorporated most often in humanities as opposed to STEM or the Arts. 

Overall, we've had an amazing experience at Prospect. 

Best of luck with your decision process! 

Hi, parent of an 8th grade student at Prospect Sierra and, yes, it can feel "too much" even though we're a non-traditional family.  The positive, of course, is that the school emphasizes that kids of all backgrounds, ethnicities, sexual orientation, etc. are celebrated as being "normal".  What a different school experience this is than when I was in middle school in the 80's and the norm was to bully kids for any perceived difference.  And so, for that, I am grateful.  Our children are definitely better because of this, especially in this age of Trump and the pervasive hatred and intolerance in this country.  However, my opinion is that there is a lack of balance in how these values are taught.  Political correctness does seem to permeate into the entire curriculum ad naseum, in my opinion, and to the detriment of the school's curriculum as a whole.  At back to school night earlier this year, the Spanish teacher spent considerable time letting parents know that she is teaching kids about the evils of plastic and the poor living conditions of some families in Spanish-speaking countries.  Required reading for my child only includes books with primary characters that are transgendered or Black or other disenfranchised group.  Thanksgiving isn't celebrated as a holiday to be thankful for what we have, but used as an opportunity to remind the kids of what was taken from Native Americans.  It's exhausting.  The good news is that the kids are taught to be critical thinkers and so by 8th grade many kids, including my child, are starting to question the overload of political correctness from their teachers.  So - big picture - the school does a good job, but could find a bit more balance in how these values are taught.   Just my 2 cents, of course.