Sanjev deSilvaHead of School
Northern Light School (as of July 1, 2023)
Oakland, California
My path to becoming a head of school has been unique and authentically aligned with my life’s mission of knowledge and service—and hip-hop.
After struggling to find my place in school—I was often one of the only brown faces in mostly white private Catholic schools—I eventually found my way when I began creating and performing conscious hip-hop. Through making positive rap music, I found my voice and began engaging in service for others as a way of life because of hip-hop culture.
My very first experience as an educator came in the late 1990s—on the heels of releasing my debut hip-hop album while still in high school under the moniker Ras Ceylon, which pays homage to my Sri Lankan ancestry—teaching students in an afterschool program about writing and history through hip-hop. And it was hip-hop that ultimately brought me to the independent school community when fellow educator, emcee, and mentor Kal Balaven asked me to be a guest instructor in his class at The Athenian School (CA).
When I first stepped foot on the campus at the foothills of Mt. Diablo, I was awestruck. The students were thoroughly engaged and ready to learn, but I still wasn’t sure if I could see myself in this sort of institution. Shortly after this, I would become a history teacher and eventually the director of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice at Athenian.
And when I felt I was hitting a wall on my independent school journey, experiencing imposter syndrome and feeling out of place among students of privilege and colleagues with multiple degrees next to their names, I leaned on my experience as a hip-hop performer and educator and leaned into Kal’s advice to “be the emcee, be yourself.”
The emcee is the master of ceremonies—on the path of education, it has meant speaking for and helping students graduate and celebrate their journey—the emcee is the facilitator. I’ve done it in the classroom and as a DEIS director, and now it’s time to serve the people as a head of school—emceeing the mission to help students achieve and come alive as the learners they are.
I never forgot the experience of exclusion I felt as a student and now as an educator these past 25 years. In many ways, striving for a sense of belonging in the education space has been a defining aspect of my entire life experience. I never dreamed that I would be a leader of a school community, but everything in my path has shown me the truth of the Muhammad Ali quote which I found as I walked the hallway of my new school, “Impossible is nothing!”
Listen to Ras Ceylon's new album here.
What’s your independent school journey? Tell us at [email protected].