The (MS)^2 Experience: Benefits of College Prep and Setting Goals

Taven J. Vallo

Pueblo of Acoma

Taven Vallo.webm

Research Log 1: Identity

Jennette Armstrong's Article, "Sharing One Skin"

In Jeannette Armstrong’s article, “Sharing One Skin” Okanagan Community.” We can identify and define the many different terms used to describe a community and all that exists in order to make it thrive. Community is a gift from our creator, it’s what defines us as humans and shows us our purpose in life. First, what defines a community? Community can be your family, friends, tribe, belief, etc. We all define community in many different ways. What makes a community strong is our unique characteristics, and the heart of everything we find.

Armstrong, Jeanette. “Sharing One Skin: The Okanagan Community,” in Jerry Mander and Edward Goldsmith (eds), The Case Against the Global Economy. San Francisco, CA, Sierra Club Books, 1996. Pp 460-470.

B. Toastie's Article, "How Place Names Impact the Way We See Landscape"

In B. Toastie’s article, “How Place Names Impact the Way We See Landscapes,” we get this idea of ways the United States has completely forgotten about Native American history and its impact on today’s fight for equality among Indigenous nations. Our children live with these lessons, along with the teachings from a more Americanized way of thinking, which challenges our children about which story is more accurate without being judged by others. Our elders who grew up calling the different sacred landmarks by their sacred languages, have been replaced by traumatic names that were set to recognize and honor white American dominance and their success in conquering this sacred land. We are beginning to lose our elders and their sacred teaching to us about these spiritual landmarks that tell the history of our origin stories.

Toastie, B. “How place names impact the way we see landscape.” High Country News: Know the West, 1 May 2022, https://www.hcn.org/issues/54.5/people-places-how-place-names-impact-the-way-we-see-landscape. Accessed 27 August 2022.

Research Log 2: Connections Through History

Luci Tapahonso's Article. "Two nations: for more than a century the U.S. government took Native children from their families to attend western schools, with devastating effects still felt today."

According to Luci Tapahonso’s article, “Two Nations: for more than a century the U.S. government took Native children from their families to attend western schools, with devastating effects still felt today.” We can identify that our past due to the Indian Boarding School era, has had a negative impact on our people. Mainly our elders who were forced into these institutions to become assimilated from their own cultural and traditional ways. From her article, our history as indigenous people live within the stories of our elders. They teach us our lessons that have been passed from generation to generation in a way to keep our ways of life going. Once the U.S. government established the first Indian Boarding School, their lessons and ways of thinking were replaced with falsehood and deceit ways of how Indigenous people should behave in the white man’s world.

Tapahonso, Luci. "Two nations: for more than a century the U.S. government took Native children from their families to attend western schools, with devastating effects still felt today." Smithsonian, vol. 47, no. 4, July-Aug. 2016, pp. 68+. Gale In Context: Middle School, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A459074943/MSIC?u=nm_s_santafeis&sid=ebsco&xid=5363f9fd. Accessed 17 Oct. 2022.

T. Basham-Witherington's article on “Kids Win Big In Yazzie Case: New Mexico Court Says State Must Address Systemic Discrimination.”

According to Witherington’s article, “New Mexico Court says state must address systemic discrimination.” The Martinez-Yazzie case was a right to address systemic discrimination against low income students, mainly Indigenous students from New Mexico. With New Mexico’s education system, the state has recognized that they’ve seen a drop in students' academic performances, especially those from low income backgrounds. This case was addressed to defend the right of students' education and to offer better opportunities that can be used to increase the student performance numbers. As a parent, Yazzie challenged the state of New Mexico. With her evidence on the number of students now coming from low income families and their academic progress, she was able to win her case to provide Indigenous students with better education and a chance to experience a higher education after high school.

Basham-Witherington, T. (2020, June 3). Kids Win Big in yazzie case: New Mexico Court says state must address systemic discrimination. Impact Fund. Retrieved October 18, 2022, from https://www.impactfund.org/social-justice-blog/nm-kids.

“(MS)^2 Graduation Ceremony: Class of 2022”

From this video on the “(MS)^2 Graduation Ceremony: Class of 2022”, a number of students from different around the world who participated in this ceremony have fully completed a rigorous 3 summer program where it challenged the students ability to take on rigorous obstacles outside of their own environment. These (MS)^2 graduates have passed down this complex gift of knowledge that will be used in their final year of high school and soon into college. A number of students who come from low income backgrounds, were given the opportunity of a lifetime to experience and earn themselves a scholarship that will be used after high school and when applying to their future college. The stories shared from these students about their experiences and stories on how they achieved a milestone great themselves, it shows the dedication and ability these students carry in wanting to achieve a dream that is beyond compared to any other student.

https://www.kaltura.com/index.php/extwidget/preview/partner_id/1188822/uiconf_id/48904412/entry_id/1_nrim3fo9/embed/dynamic.

Research Log 3: Current State of the Issue

“The Impacts of (MS)2.”, Carolyn Zimmer, Interim Director of (MS)2.

According to Zimmer’s article on, “The Impacts of (MS)2”, she not only shares information about the program and what students gain from it, but she also shares that students are able to thrive in an open environment of educational opportunities. She did share how during the COVID-19 pandemic, students were impacted by the ability to shift gears and move into the online setting while maintaining their balance of taking rigorous courses. Carolyn Zimmer stated, “Students had to re-learn how to reside in close proximity with others, navigate differences, and have difficult conversations, particularly around issues related to race, class, power, and identity.” (MS)2 during the COVID-19 pandemic never stopped these students from the journey they’ve begun. With schools during the pandemic closing, the staff and students of (MS)2 still took on these challenges and prepared for their students' future despite these difficulties.

Zimmer, Carolyn. “The Impact of (MS)2.” Andover, (MS)2 Director Eliot Sykes, PhD, LCSW, MSW, 18 Nov. 2022, https://www.andover.edu/about/outreach/ms2/ms2-impact

“How Covid Taught America about Inequity in Education.” Harvard Gazette.

According to Harvard Gazette’s article on How Covid taught America about Inequality in Education, there were a number of results on how the minority community wasn’t receiving the necessary education to carry on with the online education setting. A number of our minority community students had no access to a digital device or internet connection to meet for classes. Instead, these students had to use what resources they had in order to benefit from the online educational system. The student ratio with their teachers has been limited, causing a number of students who couldn’t harbor a device during the pandemic to fall behind in their classes. During the 2020 year, students, parents, and a number of supporters in support of providing equal educational opportunities for students has become a major fight today. While living in a current ongoing pandemic, the outcome of these efforts to restore what students faced during the pandemic is quickly being improved within each state. Bring the gift of education to our communities and a more promising future, that our schools won’t leave anyone behind.

Simon, Clea. “How Covid Taught America about Inequity in Education.” Harvard Gazette, Harvard Gazette, 19 July 2021, https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/07/how-covid-taught-america-about-inequity-in-education/.

“Come Join (MS)2”: March 11, 2019.

From this video on “Come Join (MS)2”, the class of 2019 put together this introduction video for newly admitted (MS)2 scholars. This class created this video to get more students interested in joining the (MS)2 family. In the video, a number of our scholars shared their own experiences and how this will impact their futures after High School. Students shared with our peers how they applied, what students can take from this experience, the workload provided, and finding identity within the number of opportunities provided from our instructors. After watching this video, there were a number of issues brought up relating to how education has impacted and benefitted a number of minority students and prepared themselves for the future. The (MS)2 program gives minority students the opportunity to take a shot at experiencing life away from their own communities in order to address issues that are experienced. It also gives students a chance to bring back everything that our scholars learned and to pass it down to our underclassmen.

Phillips Academy. (2019). “Come Join (Ms)2.” YouTube. Uploaded March 11, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2022, from Come Join (MS)2.

Research Log 4: Global Connections

" Unequal Opportunity: Race and Education." Linda Darling-Hammond.

According to the article summary on “Unequal Opportunity: Race and Education,” the main topic focus is on the minority community and the impacts of an unequal educational system for students of color. When it comes to applying for college or going into higher education, minority students have the highest number of ratings when it comes to figuring out a college plan that can benefit their needs to obtain a career oriented goal after High School. As part of the minority community, Native Americans, Latinx, and African Americans students are shown to come from inequitable systems of school finance that inflict disproportionate harm on minority and economically disadvantaged students. According to Hammond’s article, “urban school districts, schools with high concentrations of low-income and minority students receive fewer instructional resources than others. And tracking systems exacerbate these inequalities by segregating many low-income and minority students within schools,” This connection is related to the issues brought up on the issues minority students face when applying for colleges and the issues these students may face when in the higher education setting. Students of color who attend a higher educational institution are more likely to experience educational inequality that is based on social status or their own identity.

Darling-Hammond, Linda. “Unequal Opportunity: Race and Education.” Brookings, Brookings, 28 July 2016, https://www.brookings.edu/articles/unequal-opportunity-race-and-education/.

"The Importance of Multicultural Education." Drexel University School of Education.

Based on my own findings within the article within Drexel University School of Education, I found information relating to the supporting aspects of multicultural awareness in education. Within the Latinx community, education and the use of language and traditions have shown to become effective in boosting students' ability to learn. According to the article, “Cultural diversity in the classroom is on the rise. In 2014, U.S. public schools hit a minority majority milestone with Latino, African-American, and Asian students having surpassed the number of white students,” This research on the use of cultural diversity within classrooms has proven that the use and idea of supporting students who come from mixed cultural backgrounds is effective in students education and aiding to pushing students to explore their own findings within their own community or within other individuals communities. Students within higher education have either been assimilated into a more western way of learning where their cultural identity is nonexistent in the realms of becoming successful in college.

“The Importance of Multicultural Education.” School of Education, https://drexel.edu/soe/resources/student-teaching/advice/importance-of-cultural-diversity-in-classroom/.

"An Indigenous Student's Perspective: History, Culture, and Language." Amidooli Pacheco

In this video summary from Amidooli Pacheco’s TEDxTalk on “Indigenous Student’s Perspective,” he summarizes how multiculturalism for Native Americans can be vital to extending Native American students into fitting in with different cultural communities within the college environment. He shares that Native American students are able to grasp the foundational knowledge on education in any setting, but if teachers are willing to work with students who see the world in a more deeply rooted connection to their own traditional knowledge. Pacheco mentions that Native American education is all based on trial and error. He describes the educational setting for western education that is based on giving a Pass/Fail system which not only deteriorates students confidence, but makes them less likely to try new things or push beyond their limits because of the fear of failure. In closing he shares, “This education we are striving for is to feel good, which brings me to an affirmation. We are all spirits on a mission of love and the educational system has enough and we are enough because there is an abundance of love and happiness in the educational system of American Indian knowledge as well as non western. We just need to amend them,”.

“An Indigenous Student’s Perspective: History, Culture, and Language.” Performance by Amidooli Pacheco, YouTube, TEDxTalks, 25 May 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXY_SxO7d0M. Accessed 16 Feb. 2023.

1st Action Plan: My (MS)^2 Experience and the Benefits on Education.

November 10, 2022

SHP Action Plan Photo 1

Myself presenting the background and history on the Phillips Academy and how (MS)^2 came to be.

SHP Action Plan Photo 2

Students who attended the Action Plan. A mixture of Seniors, Juniors, Sophomores, and Freshman students.

SHP Action Plan Photo 3

Answering students questions regarding how to apply and what they can see as their outcome if accepted into the (MS)^2 Program.

Date of Action Plan: November 10, 2022

Involved: SFIS students (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Seniors), LMC staff, Ms. Gonzales.

What happened: SHP presentation was presented in the LMC study lab. My discussion on my (MS)2 experience caught these students attention, as well as these students getting involved in a Kahoot in order to win a gift card.

Outcome: SFIS students were passed down information regarding early college prep courses offered at SFIS. Freshman students were given the opportunity to ask questions about how to apply for the (MS)2 program, as well on how to apply, and the application process.

2nd Action Plan: Setting Goals and Finding Motivation.

March 7, 2023

SHP Action Plan 2: Photo 1

Ms. Glass's 2nd period students during my SHP Action Plan on Setting Goals and Finding Motivation

SHP Action Plan 2: Photo 2

Myself giving my SHP Action plan to the Sophomore Class. Opened up the room with class discussions on questions and opinions.

SHP Action Plan 2: Photo 3

Student's doing a hands on activity that involved creating a goal chart and list of objectives they want to meet in the future.

Date of Action Plan 2: March 2, 2023

Involved: Lisa Gonzales (mentor), Majorie Glass, Sophomore Students (Ms. Glass's 2nd period).

What happened: For my second action plan, I gave a motivational presentation to the Sophomore class on March 2, 2023. I used Ms. Glass’s 2nd period class to give my presentation to a group of students who I believed would benefit from my presentation.

Outcome: I chose to give my action to the sophomore class because, as a result from counselors and talking with teachers, the sophomore class was shown to have students who were struggling with being motivated. My action plan was planned out with my mentor Ms. Gonzales and with Ms. Glass, during a one on one conversation between these two instructors.

Page updated

Report abuse