Teen who fled Ukraine war finds chaos at S.F. middle school

Everything Yana, a 13-yearold Ukrainian refugee, knew about public schools in the United States was what she had seen on television or in the movies, often idyllic settings where teenage conflict and angst ironed itself out by the end.

She never imagined herself in those American classrooms.

Then the bombs started falling after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Yana and her mom fled for their lives in March, leaving friends, family and the memories of a typical teenage life filled with choir practice, art classes and homework.

Carrying the trauma of war and few personal belongings, the pair eventually landed in San Francisco, where Yana started the new semester in January despite speaking little English.

There she joined hundreds of city students reeling from their own tragedies — loss of loved ones in the pandemic, poverty and homelessness. Like Yana, other students had fled their home countries to escape violence and death.

It didn’t take Yana long to realize that real life in her eighthgrade classes at Marina Middle School was nothing like the scenes that played out on her screen.

“I thought it was going to be better because it’s San Francisco,” she said in Ukrainian, with her aunt translating. “But after two days, I saw everything going on at the school.”

Students interrupted classes, jumped on desks, cursed at teachers. At first, Yana wondered what was going on, but then “nothing happened.” Students

were not disciplined or prevented from repeat behavior.

“After one week, I understood that was normal,” said Yana,

whose last name The Chronicle agreed not to publish in accordance with its source policy.

Not long after, Yana said, she became the target.

Her experience echoes what many parents and teachers have said is an escalating problem in the city’s middle schools, with bullying, violence and defiant students creating an untenable learning environment. While the situation has worried many students, staff and parents, for a girl already fleeing violence and chaos, it’s been particularly difficult.

Across the country, teachers say student violence overall has more than doubled since the pandemic began and that they are “increasingly the target of disruptive behavior in the classroom,” according to a survey released Thursday by education research firm EAB.

The survey also found that 84% of teachers believe current students lack the ability to self

Stephen Lam/The Chronicle Yana, 13, looks for a bus in S.F. The eighth-grader has been subject to bullying in school after fleeing Ukraine with her mother.