CIVIC ENGAGEMENT DURING COVID-19
Students from every class, ECC through 3rd grade, as well as parenting adults and teachers, wrote heartfelt letters and created joyful artwork to show healthcare workers how much we love, support, and appreciate them. These notes of gratitude were sent off to Kaiser Permanente: Oakland Medical Center and Richmond Medical Center, Alameda Hospital, San Leandro Hospital, and Highland Hospital Oakland.
While studying the historical facts and concepts related to elections and voting rights, 8th graders noted quite a few “cracks in our voting system,” as they called them. They decided to build this website full of explainer articles to inform their community and encourage us all to take action to address some unprecedented challenges within our electoral process.
Elections serve as teaching moments for a civic engagement school like TBS. Teachers used the lead-up to the 2020 election to highlight the significance, history, and current events surrounding our voting process. For their part, TBS students put together this PSA to encourage those who have the right to vote to be sure to use their right to vote.
After learning that COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted our Latinx community, 8th graders designed an awareness project to help increase access to information. Students met with Spanish-speaking experts including an epidemiologist, multimedia journalist, and graphic designers to learn how to create a Spanish-language campaign to share in local neighborhoods that have been hardest hit by the virus.
Los estudiantes se reunieron con expertos de habla hispana los cuales incluyeron un epidemiólogo, una perdiodista de multimedia, y diseñadores gráficos para aprender como crear una campaña en español y diseñar carteles en español los cuales fueron distribuídos en en los vecindarios más afectados por el virus.
Our students recognize that during this time of pandemic and quarantine, the people who were already dealing with lack of housing, healthcare, and food insecurity are now more vulnerable than ever. Several students made videos from their home to remind us all of our continued responsibility to show generosity and compassion for those in need.
Our Family Association organizes regular donation pick-ups for the Women’s Daytime Drop-in Center, The Berkeley School’s community partner of 14 years. The Drop-in Center supports unhoused families with resources so they can stay safe while in transition.
5th graders have been learning more about one of America’s most essential services: the United States Post Office. They studied the history of the postal service, discussed its role in the upcoming election, and were invited to think of ways to buoy support for the Post Office during this current crisis.
Inspired by the For Freedoms nationwide public art movement, art studio students designed lawn signs to post along the road adjacent to our University Avenue Campus to inspire hope, tranquility, and encouragement during these unprecedented times.
From writing letters for neighbors in local senior living facilities to packing lunches for those facing food insecurity, TBS students know that small yet thoughtful gestures help to spread a feeling of love and support throughout the community.
TBS students also know it’s important to recognize the people on the front lines who are bravely going into work during this time of pandemic. Medical professionals, first responders, grocery and supply store employees, food industry and transit workers, janitorial staff, and other essential workers deserve to know we’re grateful for them and their continued dedication to their community.
As a “civic engagement school” we focus our entire community on progress towards a better future while helping our students understand two vital truths: we are interdependent, and what we do matters to others.”
– Mitch Bostian, Head of School