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Library

Vivian Ponte-Fritz

Location:

Remote

Recorded by

Annelise Finney

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Summary:

This interview with Vivian Ponte-Fritz was conducted remotely via Zoom on August 24, 2020. Both Vivian and the interviewer, Annelise Finney, were in Oakland, CA during the interview. Vivian and Annelise have been friends since attending high school together. Vivian teaches Spanish to heritage-speakers at Prospect Sierra which is an independent school located in El Cerrito, CA. During the interview, Vivian discusses her experience in the Spring of 2020 working as a long-term substitute for another Spanish teacher at Prospect Sierra during the transition to remote learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the summer she was hired as a full time teacher at Prospect Sierra, and in her interview she talks about the experience of looking for teaching jobs in the midst of the pandemic. She discusses her school's educational plan for the coming year and her school's strategies for supporting teachers and families during this year. Finally, the interview ends with her discussing the weight of working at a well-resourced school while many of her peers are teaching at schools facing challenges without the same resources to address them.

This interview may be of interest to those interested in foreign language instruction, progressive education, K-8 independent schools, racial justice, anti-racist schools, teacher support and well being, and schools in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Themes:
The beginning of lockdown
,
Remote technology
,
Leadership
,
Isolation
,
Teachers
,
Mental health
,
PPE
,
Interviewer Bio:

Annelise Finney is a European American cis-woman, born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She currently works as a radio journalist covering reparations in California and breaking news in the Bay Area. Previously she worked as defense investigator for public defenders offices in New York City and San Francisco. She is an alum of the 2016 Oral History Summer School. She is also an avid sewist, hiker and cook. 

Additional Info:
Interview language(s):
English
Audio quality:
Medium

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