Developing Virtue Secondary School

Instilling Goodness Developing Virtue School is a private Buddhist school located in the town of Talmage, California. It is founded on the ideals set forth in the teachings of the Buddha.

Mission
Our Buddhist school, in partnership with parents, works to instill and develop in our students the core virtues of kindness, filial piety, respect, trustworthiness, fairness, citizenship, integrity and humility. We provide an environment for our students to achieve their full academic potential and become outstanding citizens who will contribute to making their community and the world a better place.

Founder
The Venerable Master Hsuan Hua, a Chinese Buddhist monk, came to the United States in 1962 to propagate Buddhism in the West. He vowed to save the world by means of education. Before becoming a monk, he established a school in his home in order to teach the impoverished children of his community at no charge. Later, continuing to act on his vow, the Master founded Instilling Goodness Elementary School in 1976, followed by Developing Virtue Secondary School in 1981, the first Buddhist high school in the nation.

Campus
Situated on the grounds of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, a 488-acre Buddhist monastery and international community in the rural outskirts of Ukiah, 110 miles north of San Francisco, the Instilling Goodness/Developing Virtue Schools educate boys and girls separately, creating an environment conducive to academic and personal growth.

The Boys Division is housed in a two-story building, and the Girls Division is housed in two two-story buildings. Each division has its own library and computer lab, and shares a science lab and a visual and performing arts complex that includes an art studio and an art gallery/music practice room. Each division has its own basketball court and athletic field. The schools share in the use of the main ceremonial hall, community kitchen and dining hall, and Daoyuan Lecture Hall.

The campus also houses a monastery, a convent, Dharma Realm Buddhist University, a university library, a vegetarian restaurant, an organic farm, a senior center, a bookstore, and residences for families and boarding students.

The scenic campus abounds with myriad varieties of trees and native plants and includes a pine forest, a creek, and a wetland, making it home to a diverse population of birds and wildlife. Surrounded by mountains, vineyards, and pear orchards, the clean air and landscape of Mendocino County provide an ideal environment for fellowship and study.

Curriculum
A full academic program as required by the State of California is offered. The curriculum reflects a commitment to educate the whole person. Accordingly, the elementary school emphasizes respect for parents, teachers, and elders, while the secondary school guides students to fulfill their personal and civic responsibilities, to cherish their families, their nation, and all living beings.

Student Body
The culturally diverse student body of over 135 students (K-12) includes a balanced mix of day students from the local vicinity, boarding students from other cities, states, or countries (including Asia and Europe), as well as students whose families live on campus. Our students are of various religious faiths and ethnic origins, though predominantly of Asian or mixed Asian-Caucasian origin.

In addition to attending school from 7:50 a.m. – 4:05 p.m., boarding students attend an hour-long Buddhist ceremony and two hours of study hall each evening, perform weekly community service, and learn to take responsibility for their own lives and live harmoniously with others.

Moral virtues are taught not only in the classroom, but by the daily experience of seeing and working with monks, nuns, and lay people volunteering in a myriad ways all around the students, from fixing cars and plumbing, doing computer or electrical work, to landscaping, cooking, gardening, cleaning, carpentry, painting, and teaching. This experience is reinforced by the daily tasks and responsibilities expected from the students such as cleaning schools and campus, serving in and cleaning the dining halls, serving the younger children, tutoring and mentoring younger students, performing community work on campus as well as being involved in outreach programs to the greater Ukiah area, and performances for elders and children.

The spirit of commitment, volunteerism and respect for life, dedication to the community and citizenship which the school seeks to instill and develop, are found in the return over the years of many graduates to teach or volunteer at the school and community here, as well as in their involvement in grassroots and other organizations wherever they live. Many remain lifelong vegetarians that actively pursue religious and cultural interests.

History
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. Starting out with just eight students, the school soon outgrew its quarters and was moved to Ukiah at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in 1978. Developing Virtue Secondary was officially founded in 1981, and divided into separate Boys and Girls divisions in 1981.

In 2003, DVS became a candidate for accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges 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). The school holds membership in the Association of Northern California Chinese Schools.