The Beacon Leadership Team 2024-2025
by Crystal Cervantes, SFBI Program Manager
The Beacon Leadership Team (BLT) students and staff ended the year on a strong note with their second round of cultural awareness events aimed at increasing BIPOC students’ sense of belonging at their schools.
At the Bessie Carmichael Middle School campus, students got together during their advisory period to play a game of capture the flag with a cultural awareness twist. Students split up into two teams and had four rounds of setting out to find a flag based on a riddle describing a fun fact about the country to which it belonged. These countries were based on student cultural backgrounds represented at their middle school site, such as the Philippines, Mexico, El Salvador, and New Zealand. Students had a blast engaging in an event that was both competitive and educational!
The James Denman and Herbert Hoover middle school teams focused on highlighting BIPOC Women in their events for Women’s History Month. The Denman team led a Women’s History event in collaboration with their Beacon art club to make photo cut-out posters and a button-making station for students. BLT students practiced their public speaking skills by leading a presentation with an overview of BIPOC women icons in history. They then allowed students to demonstrate what they learned through a Kahoot trivia game.
The Hoover BLT group teamed up with history teachers from their school to put together a study guide for a BIPOC Women leaders in history trivia event that took place during volunteering advisory class throughout Women’s History Month. They also took on an added challenge by recording an interview with their school Principal, Adrienne Smith, about her experience as a BIPOC woman leader to publish on their Beacon’s YouTube page!
The Willie Brown middle school team put together a multicultural assembly after school in partnership with other affinity groups at their school, including Asian Student Union, the Samoan Community Development Center (SCDC) Black Student Union, Raices, Health & Wellness, Fitness, and the Rainbow Club. They used this as an opportunity to showcase the unity of BIPOC students at their site. They also invited incoming 6th graders to get familiar with the identity groups at their school in an effort to jumpstart their sense of belonging within the school community.
AP Giannini and Martin Luther King Jr. middle schools both celebrated AAPI month through their BLT events. APG hosted a pop-up event during lunchtime consisting of music and a trivia competition based on Asian American Pacific Islander cultural facts. Students who participated were able to try different Asian treats as a delicious incentive to expand their cultural awareness.
MLK hosted an AAPI event after school in partnership with their school administrators and teachers. Their event consisted of students telling stories about their ancestors and why their cultural identity is important to them, dancing performances, and speeches from student government leaders. The school community gathered for a feast catered by a Bay Area Filipino-Fusion Kitchen to end the night of celebration!
The BLT program got together one last time this school year at the Hoover campus to celebrate their hard work. Students took turns practicing their public speaking skills by leading presentations showcasing what they learned about leadership, BIPOC youth liberation, and teamwork. All students and staff received certificates of completion in recognition of their commitment and dedication to making their Beacon schools places where BIPOC students can feel they are welcomed and celebrated. The team shared a feast of a taco bar and paletas heladas to end their journey together on a sweet note.
