Developing Virtue Secondary School (DVSS, ) is a private

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

school located in the town of

Talmage, California Talmage (variant, Talmadge) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Mendocino County, California, Mendocino County, California, United States. Talmage is located east-southeast of Ukiah, California, Ukiah, at an elevation of . The population was 9 ...

, and the first

high school founded in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The school is part of the

City of Ten Thousand Buddhas The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas () is an international Buddhist community and monastery founded by Hsuan Hua, an important figure in Western Buddhism. It is one of the first Chan Buddhist temples in the United States, and one of the largest ...

, one of the biggest Buddhist monasteries in the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the 180th meridian.- The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Geopolitically, ...

, and is operated under the auspices of the

Dharma Realm Buddhist Association The Dharma Realm Buddhist Association (shortened to DRBA, Chinese: 法界佛教總會, PY: ''Fajie Fojiao Zonghui'', formerly known as the Sino-American Buddhist Association) is an international, non-profit Buddhist organization founded by the ...

Community

Although DVS is located in the United States, the students are predominantly Asian, many being from

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. Most of these students live in the school's dormitories within the

. The school has gained much attention from the local communities of Ukiah and Talmage, where students have staged performances, marches, and participated in city contests and sports. DVS is often referred to by local community as the "Buddhist school". DVS also celebrates the annual celebration of Honoring Elders Day and Cherishing Youth Day, when local elders and youth come to the schools to participate in performances and a celebration of life and youth.

Campus

The entire school is located within the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. The classrooms for the Girls' division occupy two two-story

Tudor-style Tudor Revival architecture, also known as mock Tudor in the UK, first manifested in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture, in rea ...

brick buildings on the southwestern side of CTTB's campus, and the Boys' division's classrooms are located up on the northeastern side in one large building. Both divisions have separate dorm buildings adjacent to the classrooms for boarding students, and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

courts and

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

fields. The two schools share an art studio, an assembly hall (Confucius Hall), science classrooms/labs, and a cafeteria.

Curriculum

DVS students have a curriculum very similar to that in public schools (and approved by the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

), but several classes unique to DVS are taken by students, including: *

Studies * Virtue Studies * World Religions Studies *

Meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

Tests

Other than regular standardized testing for college admissions, students are encouraged to take the

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board. AP offers undergraduate university-level curricula and examinations to high school students. Colleges and universities in the US and elsewhere ...

tests offered annually in a variety of subjects offered. While some AP classes are officially taught and offered throughout the year, students are also encouraged to conduct independent study in the AP class of their choice should it not be offered during the current academic year.

History

The predecessor to DVS, Instilling Goodness Elementary School, was first founded at the suggestion of San Francisco City Supervisor Carol Ruth Silver in 1976 by the Venerable Master

Hsuan Hua Hsuan Hua (; April 26, 1918 – June 7, 1995), also known as An Tzu, Tu Lun and Master Hua by his Western disciples, was a Chinese monk of Chan Buddhism and a contributing figure in bringing Chinese Buddhism to the United States in the lat ...

. Starting out with just eight students, the school soon outgrew its quarters and was moved to Talmage's

in 1978. Developing Virtue Secondary was officially founded in 1981, and divided into separate Boys and Girls divisions in 1981. Prior to the founding of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas and Developing Virtue Secondary Schools, the land was used for the Mendocino Mental Hospital. The first graduating class of DVS graduated in 1983 with only two students. Over the years, the school slowly grew until by 1996, graduating classes were regularly 10 students or more. The graduating Class of 2004 had 12 graduates, 6 from DVGS and 6 from DVBS. Class of 2018 had 12 graduates from DVBS and 14 graduates from DVGS. In 2003, DVS became a candidate for accreditation from the

Western Association of Schools and Colleges The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC ( )) provided accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in California and Hawaii, the territories of Guam, American Samoa and Northern ...

and began a massive remodeling of the campus. In August 2007, Developing Virtue Secondary School was accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

References

External links

IGDVS Website

DRBA Education
{{authority control Buddhist schools in the United States 1981 establishments in California Educational institutions established in 1981 Private high schools in California Dharma Realm Buddhist Association Education in Mendocino County, California Schools in Mendocino County, California Private middle schools in California Religious schools in California