A school district in San Francisco with significant attainment gaps has splurged $315,000 on an ‘energy healer’ who uses ‘chakra clearing’ while teachers have to sweep their own floors and face a nasty cockroach infestation.
A group of parents recently uncovered that Mountain View Whisman School District has been paying ‘Master Energy Healer & Intuitive Guide’ Alycia Diggs-Chavis to conduct 160 guided meditation sessions for the district’s leadership team, the SF Chronicle reported.
While her zen sessions have brought ‘increased ability to focus, higher levels of engagement, and enhanced productivity and efficiency’ to administrators, both parents and the 4,500 students have been left to fend for themselves.
Frustrated parents also found that the district – run by Superintendent Ayindé Rudolph – has been paying a public relations firm and executive coach to guide staff.
Meanwhile, a former teacher said the district never splashed out cash on them, leaving her to become a custodian for her own bug-infested classroom while administrators were excused for the day to attend their funded programs.
Mountain View Whisman School District has been paying Alycia Diggs-Chavis (pictured) $315,000 to conduct 160 guided meditations sessions for the district’s leadership team
Frustrated parents also found that the district – run by Superintendent Ayindé Rudolph (pictured) – has been paying a public relations firm and executive coach to guide staff
‘These decisions he has made have led to the very high attrition rate in the district of teachers including myself,’ the teacher, who asked to remain anonymous, said of Rudolph who makes about $370,000 annually.
For years, parents believed that the district’s budget was going toward necessary programs for their children, but after some middle school elective classes were at risk of being cut, they dug into expenses themselves.
They soon found a staggering $189,000 school board-approved contract for the spiritual healer’s services. Over the span of three years, the district paid Diggs-Chavis a little more than $315,000, the SF Chronicle reported.
‘We assumed the board was doing their job,’ a parent, who also wished to remain anonymous, said.
‘Why are we spending all this money? It’s not going to teachers. It doesn’t help our kids one bit.’
Further investigation into the roughly $110million district budget led enraged parents to multiple million dollar contracts across the nation.
D.C.-based public relations firm Woodberry Associates has been paid $180,000 a year to help ‘spotlight’ them ‘both locally and nationally.’
The district paid more than $600,000 a year for leadership coaching, on top of hiring Woodbury Associates to advertise for them and ‘draft press releases, statements, and other media documents to elevate district success.’
Rudolph said that every employee in the school, including teachers, also has access to the executive coach, Peter Gorman (pictured). He has charged the district $37,000-$50,000 a year and $12,000 in travel expenses
‘It’s mind-boggling. We’re so angry here,’ the parent added.
What’s more, is the district also hired an in-house public information officer, whose 2022 salary was more than $264,000, according to state data, reviewed by the outlet.
In response to the district’s spending habits, Rudolph told SF Chronicle that having meditation sessions for his staff is vital for stress relief and is backed by ‘scientific-based research.’
‘All the tech industries around us do it.
‘How well our schools do is predicated on how well our teachers and our leaders do… I think we’ve come to a point where all organizations have to take employee stress seriously,’ he added.
He added that although the contract states that Diggs-Chavis is there for the leadership staff, teachers are welcome to use her services as well.
Rudolph said that all employees in his district, including teachers, has access to executive coach, Peter Gorman – the former superintendent at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district in North Carolina, where Rudolph was principal.
Gorman has charged the district $37,000-$50,000 a year and up to $12,000 in travel expenses since Rudolph brought him in in 2015.
He is the president of and CEO of Peter Gorman Leadership Associates LLC, which ‘provides executive support and organizational development for superintendents, senior leadership teams, and school boards across America,’ according to his website.
‘I’m saying we spend a lot of money to make sure our employees stay well,’ Rudolph said. ‘I think the wellness of our employees is worth every dollar.’
Parents soon found a staggering $189,000 school board-approved contract for the spiritual healer’s services. (pictured: Alycia Diggs-Chavis)
But the former teacher that worked in the district ended up leaving because she didn’t feel like a priority to Rudolph.
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Other then horrendous classroom conditions, she said many teachers were stepping in as substitutes after the district said they wouldn’t pay for teaching coverage.
‘There was so much burnout because we were subbing constantly and we had crazy class sizes,’ she revealed.
She added that handling the students also became difficult while leadership stepped away to relax.
‘There was no one to turn to if there was fighting or there was bullying or there was a threat from a student,’ she said. She has since relocated to another district.
Another anonymous teacher voiced the same concerns, specifically highlighting how the district barely funded teachers but added more staff and costs in the office.
‘Whenever anybody expressed a concern about something they would shut you down very quickly.
‘I’m saying we spend a lot of money to make sure our employees stay well. ‘I think the wellness of our employees is worth every dollar, Rudolph (left) said
‘The biggest piece was, It didn’t feel like they cared about kids,’ the teacher admitted.
They also said that Rudolph’s hefty salary in the small elementary district was no where near what teacher’s are paid.
Rudolph told the outlet he was aware of the parents findings and concerns and that he planned to address it in a presentation on Thursday night.
During the Board of Trustees Meeting, Rudolph stressed that the programs in place are meant for teachers as well.
‘Our district spends a considerable amount of money for both our teachers and our administrators to make sure they can perform at their highest rate to make sure they can close the achievement gap,’ he said.
Because of ‘shifting economic conditions,’ he announced he will pause or reduce sessions with Chavis-Diggs and Gorman.
DailyMail.com contacted Rudolph, Diggs-Chavis Woodberry Associates and Gorman for comment.