RUNNING HEADER: ACTION PLAN FOR A CULTURALLY DIVERSE CLIMATE 1

Action Plan for a Successful Culturally-Diverse School Climate- St. Francis Solano School

Robin T. Perkins

School of Education: Concordia University Irvine

EDUA 557: Human Resources

Professor Jason Kuncewicki

November 14, 2021

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Action Plan for a Successful Culturally-Diverse School Climate- St. Francis Solano School

Saint Francis Solano School

Saint Francis Solano School, located in Sonoma Valley, is a private Catholic school

associated with the Santa Rosa Diocese. Established in 1945, the school’s Mission states, “St.

Francis Solano School serves the families of St. Francis Solano Parish and the Sonoma Valley by

cultivating an atmosphere embracing Roman Catholic values in which all students strive for

academic achievement” (Picard, 2021, p 22). In addition, the school philosophy explains, “At

Saint Francis Solano School, students embark on a spiritual, educational and social journey.

Parents, as primary educators, partner with teachers in this ministry. Teachers facilitate the

spiritual, academic, and social growth of all students, as they become self-evaluators, life-long

learners, and faithful Catholics who serve as Jesus served” (Picard, 2021, p 22). Both Mission

and Philosophy statements make it clear that the intention of the school is to serve all students.

In order to fulfill this mission, the school must address its diverse population and the ways in

which it can grow in cultural awareness and inclusion.

Census Data and Demographics

Sonoma Valley began as an agricultural community. Farming roots are strong, and there

are many multigenerational families who have prospered through hard work. In addition,

Sonoma has become a destination drawing families who like the idyllic beauty of The Valley of

the Moon. Today there are two communities that compose the residents of Sonoma Valley. Per

the 2020 Census, the city limits are home to 10,739 individuals identifying as: 73.4% White

Non-Hispanic, 20.8 % Hispanic or Latino, 4 % two or more races, 2.7% Asian and .3% African

American. In the Boyes Hot Springs community that is located in Sonoma Valley just north of

the city limits, 6,215 individuals identify as: 46.9% White Non-Hispanic, 43.5% Hispanic or
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Latino, 4.4% two or more races, 1.5% Asian, and 1.7% African American (United States Census

Bureau, 2020). The families in attendance at Saint Francis Solano School live in both the city

limits and surrounding Boyes Hot Springs communities.

The current demographics of the school show that of the 183 students 49.73% are male

and 50.27% are female. In addition, 67.22% identify as Caucasian or White, 18.03% identify as

Hispanic, 8.74% identify as two or more races, 4.92% identify as Asian, and .55% identify as

African American (Gradelink, 2021). The school’s demographics have been relatively consistent

over the past five years (National Catholic Education Association, 2015). The principal and

administrative office manager shared that a specific effort was made ten years ago to increase the

small number of Hispanic families at the school in order to increase student diversity and work to

mirror the demographics of the greater Sonoma Valley. Prior to this effort, approximately 3-5%

of students annually identified as Hispanic or Latino (D. Picard, personal communication, Nov.

2, 2021 and P. Cutting, personal communication, Nov. 8, 2021). The Principal shared that she is

proud of the increase in cultural diversity, yet she knows “there is more work to be done” (D.

Picard, personal communication, Nov. 2, 2021).

The Problem

With the increase in Hispanic families the problem becomes: Saint Francis Solano

School is growing in diversity, but it is not increasing in cultural inclusivity and cultural

sensitivity. It is my hypothesis that a directed effort was made to expand cultural diversity, yet

a concurrent directed effort was not made to increase cultural inclusivity and sensitivity, thus

allowing for a cultural divide among students and families. The following information is derived

from interviews with stakeholders including: administration, classified office staff, certificated

teachers, parents, and a student.

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Data

Principal Picard began as administrator eleven years ago. When she took over as

principal she was determined to increase diversity in the school site as she had witnessed a rapid

growth of Hispanic families in Sonoma Valley, but a consistently low number of Hispanic

families at Saint Francis Solano School. Picard recruited three bilingual, bicultural school

parents and worked with the director of the parish Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) to

host recruitment and information events to encourage families to investigate and attend Saint

Francis Solano School. Principal Picard noted that as a result of the directed recruitment effort,

she is very happy to have increased the population of Hispanic students from 3% to 18% over ten

years. She hopes to continue to find ways to increase diversity in years to come (D.Picard,

personal communication, November 2, 2021). Administrative Assistant Cutting began working

with Principal Picard ten years ago. In her tenure as director of marketing and enrollment she has

worked to have all enrollment and financial aid documents translated so that they are provided in

both English and Spanish. She has also worked to create English and Spanish versions of the

school website and the weekly bulletin (P. Cutting, personal communication, November 8, 2021).

Spanish Teacher, Carlo Ligotti, has worked at the school for 21 years. In his time he does

not feel that he has seen a significant increase in Latino enrollment. He said numbers fluctuate a

bit from year to year but he has not seen a dramatic increase in diversity. Senor Ligotti noted that

when the Principal took over, he was asked to help the school translate documents for

applications, enrollment, and financial aid. He also regularly translates for parent-teacher

conferences. He shares that although the school’s effort to translate documents has been an

improvement, translated documents remain an exception, not a norm. He would like to see all

communications, presentations, and events translated as a standard of practice. He believes that

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this must happen to increase the cultural inclusivity of the school community. Senor Ligotti also

noted that he believes that more events that honor various cultures need to be integrated into the

curriculum and social plans for the school. He shared that the parish hosts many cultural events

but there is not a bond between the communities at the parish and school. He believes that

fostering this connection would be an important step in increasing cultural awareness (C.

Ligotti, personal communication, November 8, 2021)..

Art teacher, Jen Cordero was noted by many as a teacher who consistently incorporates

cultural awareness into her lessons. She shared that in her opinion, African American, East

Indian, and Asian populations are underrepresented at Saint Francis Solano. She would love to

see an increase in overall diversity. She also shared that specific teachers work to include cultural

awareness and cultural sensitivity into their lessons, but it is not the norm. This is a change she

believes would improve the overall inclusivity of the school. She would like to see lessons about

cultural celebrations become the norm. She also would like to see advertising that works to

share with the greater community of Sonoma Valley that Saint Francis is culturally inclusive and

that all students are welcomed and celebrated (J. Cordero, personal communication, November 9,

2021).

With parental permission I was happy to interview an eighth grade student as to his

experiences. He said that he personally feels very included. He shared that when he first started

at school it was a bit tough, but now he is not shy and he has made many friends. He worries for

his friends that are shy. It was clear that his outgoing personality provided opportunities for him

to grow in confidence and feel included. He also explained that he does not mind that he does

not see cultural events to highlight the Hispanic culture, however, without these events he feels

that some people may feel foreign to the community. He believes the school should research
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cultural celebrations and make them part of the school culture. He said that his goal would be

for everyone on staff and in the community to feel that they are part of the community.

“Everyone should be able to speak their mind freely without fear of judgement” (A. Figueroa,

personal communication, November 8, 2021).

Parent, Demi Perez, shared her experiences and those of her second and third grade

daughters. She noted that the girls love Saint Francis and that they missed the school and their

community during distance learning. She also has observed that there is a lack of cultural

awareness being taught to younger students. She feels that the community would increase in

cultural sensitivity with an increase of cultural awareness. In addition, she noted that older

middle school students often do not want to speak Spanish in front of their classmates due to fear

of standing out and being judged as different. She feels that there are many opportunities to

incorporate cultural celebrations, teaching of diverse cultures, and incorporation of authors who

are culturally diverse into the curriculum to make all students feel seen, heard, and proud of their

heritage (D. Perez, personal communication, November 9, 2021).

Ms. Perez also noted that an economic divide is felt by Hispanic families. There are

many fundraisers at the school in which families of low income are unable to participate. Parents

are left feeling excluded and embarrassed. This also happens when the school hosts an annual

gala or other social events that require purchase of very expensive tickets to attend. She notes

that she understands that the school must fundraise, but there must also be a way for parents to

participate and assist in ways that are not financial. She said that although her children feel

included overall, she is very aware of the many ways in which her family is excluded due to

being low income (D. Perez, personal communication, November 9, 2021).

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Jenni Hernandez is the assistant bookkeeper for Saint Francis Solano, in addition to being

a parent of two students. She shared that language is the number one obstacle for Hispanic

families. She helps the office by translating and communicating with Spanish speaking families

and she is keenly aware of their feelings of exclusion. She shared that many families are unable

to help financially. In addition, opportunities for involvement are discussed at Parents’ Club

meetings and parents who are not bilingual are left unaware of opportunities to participate. She

wishes that the school included more opportunities for bicultural families to participate and share

their cultures with the greater school community. She said many families want to contribute but

they do not know how, or they are lacking confidence in how to communicate the ways that they

can help. Jenni specifically would like to see cultural events that include Latin customs, food,

and music at which all school families can participate and celebrate diversity (J. Hernandez,

personal communication, November 5, 2021).

Action Plan

It is imperative for Saint Francis Solano School to improve in cultural sensitivity, and

cultural inclusivity while working to increase cultural diversity. After analysis of the data

collected from interviews, it is clear that the school must take action in the areas of community

development, cultural instruction, and recruitment. As noted in the mission and philosophy

statements, Saint Francis Solano School wishes to serve the needs of all learners. With this goal

in mind, the principal will use the data discovered to implement the following actions.

First, within 30 days a bilingual liaison to the Parents Club will be recruited by the

principal. He/she will then develop and lead a committee that meets monthly to foster inclusivity.

This committee will include bilingual, bicultural families who would like to share their time and

talent with the school. They will work to plan cultural events and celebrations that will be shared
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not only with the school community but also with the parish community. Meetings for this

committee will start in January, 2022. In addition, a representative from the committee will work

with the parish CCD director to identify cultural celebrations that can include the school and

parish in building relationships. A joint meeting will be conducted in February, 2022. The

Principal will be responsible for oversight and execution of time frames.

Second, understanding that “change is a constant occurrence in contemporary society”

(Rebore, 2015, p186), and that staff development must respond to these changes, the principal

will identify staff development improving cultural awareness in the curriculum. Within 90 days,

the principal will provide a Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) professional development to

all faculty. Within 21 days of attendance of the CRT professional development, all faculty will

be asked to participate in an internal audit to recognize “unintentional, unconscious attitudes that

impact how we relate to our students and their parents and how we choose curriculum, assess

learning and lesson plan” (Rucker, 2019). Following the self-audit, the staff will work to audit

the curriculum and lesson plans, and make them mirror the voices of their students. Within 60

days, the principal will also require all faculty to read Critical Practices for Anti-Biased

Education by the Teaching Tolerance project (Scharf, 2018). Within 30 days after reading,

teachers will self-audit current practices and complete action plans outlining four identified

actions that relate to specific grade level outcomes that will improve teaching practices. The

principal will be responsible for oversight and execution of time frames.

Third, within 30 days the Principal will hire a bilingual individual who will work to make

all publications, communications, and events bilingual. In addition, within 60 days, the school

will work to secure funds to purchase headsets so that translation can be provided at any and all

community events where parents are being informed. This will include Back to School Night,
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Parent’s Club meetings and any other events that disseminate information. By March of 2022,

Saint Francis Solano School will post all publications on the school website in both English and

Spanish and all communications will be provided in both languages. The principal will be

responsible for oversight and execution of time frames.

Conclusion

In order to fulfill its mission that all students will be supported in academic and social

growth, Saint Francis Solano School will become a successful culturally diverse school with the

prioritization of community development, staff development, and recruitment of a bilingual

translator. The community will become more culturally sensitive as: all parents and students are

included in social and cultural events, teachers learn about Culturally Responsive Teaching that

works toward providing unbiased education, and a bilingual translator is hired to make

communications accessible to all. Through interviews, data highlighted that all stakeholders

value the school. The proposed action plan will provide for all stakeholders to feel valued by the

school community.
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References

Gradelink. (2021, Nov. 3). Demographic data: enrollment/ethnicity/race. Gradelink. Retrieved

November 3, 2021.

National Catholic Educational Association. (2015, Oct. 2). NCEA data bank school summary

form 2015-2016 Academic Year. National Catholic Educational Association.

Picard, D. (2021, August). Saint Francis Solano school handbook. Saint Francis Solano School.

Retrieved November 11, 2021 from

https://saintfrancissolano.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Student-Parent-Handbook-202

1-22.pdf

Rebore, R.W. (2015). Human resources administration in education. Pearson Education Inc.

Rucker, N. W. (2019, December 10). Getting started with culturally responsive teaching.

Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/getting-started-culturally-responsive-teaching

Scharf, Amy. (2018) Critical practices for anti-bias education. Southern Poverty Law Center:

Teaching Tolerance.

https://www.learningforjustice.org/sites/default/files/2019-04/TT-Critical-Practices-for-A

nti-bias-Education.pdf

United States Census Bureau. (2020, April 1). United States Census: Boyes Hot Springs CDP,

California and Sonoma city, California. United States Census Bureau.

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/boyeshotspringscdpcalifornia,sonomacityca

lifornia/PST045219