Ten Strategies to Ensure Student Success

Our staff met these past few weeks to reflect on the many successes that we have achieved with our students this school year.

Student Engagement in Learning and Their School Communities

Here are our top ten strategies for student success:

Our high school students are fully engaged once again in their daily school activities after distance learning. They use their talents, skills, and voice to produce creative projects through media art classes that include film and photography projects.
The leadership team creates monthly social activities that include group movie nights, lunch time rallies, a twin day, a pajama day, and a pie in the face of an administrator day. The all-time favorite was when the students dyed the hair of an administrator.
The students’ ongoing academic growth is impressive at the 8^th and 12^th grade levels because these students lost 18 months of face-to-face learning without social interactions with their teachers and peers.
All students are achieving significant milestone growth at each reporting period.
Our afterschool study hall provides students with academic teacher support by using supplemental materials for acceleration.
The student clubs are supported by teachers and support our English learners in their language development. Favorite student clubs include the chess club, film, volleyball, an adventure club with science and nature activities, and a cooking club that focuses on cooking culturally diverse recipes.
The teachers collaboratively support each other at the many academic activities to foster cooperation and team work.
We have a larger pool of students in our senior class who are eligible to attend four-year universities and colleges.
Teachers and parents can now attend student sporting events since the COVID restrictions have been lifted for attendance.
Our major event for the year was a “trunk or treat event” in October. Nearly 25 cars were decorated by the students with open trunks full of candy for students and their families. The high school media arts class decorated cars along with the advisory groups. The community attendees voted on the best decorated car. Community agencies provided community services. A community vendor provided reduced cost foods as a donation for the event. And staff members performed in a folklorico dance group. This celebration of our school community truly showcased the vibrance of our students and their many achievements.

Much success as your school’s staff creates spring and summer activities to celebrate your school’s families and their children’s many achievements this past school year.

Learn to Parent Adults in College

My husband and I headed back to Berkeley a year ago after EJ completed his last set of finals. We were picking him up for the last time to complete his final school semester at home. Was college already coming to an end for him? We collectively decided to complete EJ’s final semester at home in Los Angeles. The move back home made the best financial sense.

When your child leaves as a senior in high school and returns as a senior in college, expectations and parenting shifts tremendously. My husband and I had to learn how to step back and reset boundaries for ourselves and our young man. Nothing could prepare us for how much he had grown, developed, and changed in three years. It is tough to be clear about expectations without smothering my adult child. Having him home for the holidays was fantastic, but we had to make some agreements and set new rules for how we would coexist in this new young adult season.

We listened. We often talked about what was acceptable and not. There was a struggle. EJ felt we were smothering him. He did not realize how not knowing when he would be home created stress for us. The following is a list of strategies that helped us with our transition:

Weekly check-ins and keep it short, direct, and to the point. Never be afraid to have those courageous conversations about responsibilities regarding school, work, relationships, dating, and remaining focused on the goal. Enjoy school and graduate!
We agreed to treat EJ at home as if he were still living in Berkeley. He was free to come and go as he needed. However, EJ needed to respect our work schedules and inform us when he was leaving the house and when he planned to return, even if he planned to return the next day. EJ left us with the phone number of one friend who was going with him in an emergency.
Each conversation was an opportunity for a wellness check-in and a time to remind him that we were on Team EJ.
Utilized moments to encourage, inspire, and cheer EJ on in the final semester.

The pandemic made the last semester feel like time slowed down, almost to a stop. However, despite the myriads of challenges during the pandemic, we finally got through the final semester of Berkeley. In May 2021, we celebrated virtually EJ’s graduation from the university. We are the proud parents of a CAL grad! We are still learning how to best parent each day during this young adult season. We are making it work as a team because we take each day one moment at a time. We’re proud of EJ. He is a great human being and is still becoming. We stand ready to support him in this new role and look forward to his next!

Career Explorations for Our Children

Throughout life, children aspire to become many different things when they grow up. One child may want to become a sanitation worker and recycle truck driver. Others dream of becoming a fireman, police woman, or teacher. From an early age, we can encourage our children to learn more about different types of careers and jobs by:

Taking our children to our jobs afterschool, in the evening, or on weekends
Encouraging our children to help us with various aspects of our job (i.e. sort different assignments for teachers, organize the trash and recyclables for the garbage collection and recycle centers, and conduct household fire safety checks)
Helping our children learn how to pursue specific career explorations through research, participation in early college courses, and engaging in relevant work experiences

Elementary children typically explore careers by starting small businesses and playing pretend games. Some children like to create lemonade stands to sell baked goods and refreshments. Another child may sell art creations and another may organize garage sales for selling old toys and household items. When children organize small business activities, they learn what it takes to plan for a business venture, how to manage money throughout the process, and how to conduct business with various family members and the public.

As our children enter the middle school years, they can start participating in summer internships that may include:

Working in a summer camp for kids, at community service or and church events, and at performing arts events
Enrolling in certificate and career exploration programs for preteens offered through parks and recreation programs (i.e. babysitting certification, CPR, cooking and sewing classes, sports classes, and performing arts classes)
Participating in youth groups and clubs that explore careers in STEAM types of activities, makers fairs, and STEM competitions

As our children enter their high school years, that can expand their career exploration activities by:

Securing paid internships and jobs in their areas of interest
Participating in community service events as an intern, youth leader, or paid employee
Enrolling in early learning college courses to explore career options and complete undergraduate course requirements for career preparation to accelerate learning and reduce the time and expense required for a bachelor’s degree

We can encourage our children to compete a resume each year that focuses on their immediate interests, experiences, and possible career goals. An appropriate resume for middle school students might include the following information:

Sample Resume Template

My Resume (What is your name?) _____________________________________

Job Title (What do you want to do?) ____________________________________

Qualifications (What is your experience with this type of work?)

_____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Accomplishments and Awards (What are awards or activities that you do well?)

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Hobbies (How do you like to spend your time?)

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Job References (Who can we contact to talk about your experience with the job?)

______________________________ ____________________________

High school students can expand their resumes by including a career goal, identifying college course requirements, and including significant volunteer or paid working experiences for a specific career per the sample resume below:

Sample Resume

Edward Smith Ayala

Phone Number: (818) 665-0085

Email: smith@gmail.com

Career Goal

Bio Engineering

Marine Biology

Bio Chemistry

Honors and Awards

Presidential Award Recipient

Honor Roll (9^th, 10^th, and 11^th grades)

GPA: 4.3 (Weighted)

Community Activities

Congressional Summer Intern, June 2016-August 2016, The Office of Tony Cardenas, Congressman, 29^th District, Arleta, CA

Duties included but were not limited to working with district staff in the following areas of constituent services: casework, and correspondence; grants funding; environmental science research; outreach and event staffing; general office support.

Teen Convention Vice-Chairman, June 2015-January 2016, Recovery Teen Convention, Woodland Hills, CA

Co-Managed a committee of 15 teens to oversee and run all convention details for 100 teens, including, monthly and bi-monthly meeting reminders and announcements, oversaw sub-committee selections, developed the program agenda, organized fundraisers, and selected program speakers.

Interpreter, August 2015, Christ Church of the Valley, Tacna, Peru

Translated (Spanish) for the Peru Summer Mission’s Team
Provided educational & tutoring support for students in the Semillas After School Program
Provided weekly groceries to the Tacna Community and supported work crews to replace roofing, paint, and resurface church flooring.

Assistant Martial Arts Instructor, October 2011- October 2015, Ken Nagayama Martial Arts, Burbank, CA

Assisted teaching in the Kinder Karate Program and learned to reach each student by adjusting my teaching style to better meet their needs
Taught students of all ages and levels for 2 hours a week for 4 years

Volunteer Election Campaign Worker, September 2012- March 2015, Monica Garcia for LAUSD Board Los Angeles, CA

Helped to register voters
Supported bilingual phone banking teams

Volunteer Election Campaign Worker, September 2014- March 2015, Ref Rodriguez for LAUSD Board Los Angeles, CA

Educated students and school staff members, through student assemblies and faculty meetings, about each candidate’s election platform and supported the GOTV campaign

Work Experiences/Internships

Dance Coach, January 2016- Present, YPI Valley Public Charter High School, Pacoima, CA

Established and developed after school dance club for the new early college high school for 4 hours a week (6 hours a day during school recess)
Designs daily lesson plans, provides mentoring and tutoring for the students in the program

Interests

Cheerleading-BCCS, CCECHS, All Star Athletics, and Cali- All Star (4 years)
Dance- Granada and Champs (4 years)
Acting/Performing Arts- Golden Theater (3 years)
Leadership-Student Government (2 years)
Acting/Performing Arts- Children’s Theatre Experience (4 years)
Martial Arts-Ken Nagayama Martial Arts (12 years)

As students become aviators in their career explorations, they will be able to understand and articulate clearly what they need to achieve a specific career path. This clarity can guide them to successfully complete all necessary skills and requirements for career success. These experiences can also support students’ interpersonal communication skills and leadership development.

Much success in supporting your children’s career explorations!

Yvette

Middle and High School Career Explorations Play Activities

Materials:

Journal, marking pens, and artist materials for career reflection activities
Subscription to a career focused or professional association magazine (e.g. coding, STEM, writing, teaching, counseling, legal services, performing arts, youth development, service learning, construction, sports, business, architecture, and fashion)
Registration and participation in activities relevant to a specific passion or career (e.g. maker fair STEM fairs and competitions, science fairs, writing contests, performing arts contests and shows, family karaoke events, and sports recreation nights)
Participation and materials that support community service projects
Registration for online career explorations through a professional career association that supports youth

Activities:

Encourage your child to write about various passions, interests, and hobbies in a journal and reflect weekly on relevant activities. Your child can illustrate ideas, brainstorm new projects or concepts, or graph a workplan using different types of art materials in the journal.
Research various subscription options for your child. Local bookstores feature lots of unique publications that focus on hobbies, STEM, performing arts, and self-growth activities.
Help your child purchase relevant books on her hobbies. For example, a potential educator or writer might subscribe to Writer’s Digest, attend a book writing conference, join a local writers’ group, and participate in writing contests to explore a writing and teaching career and build a portfolio of work.
Support your child’s interest and registration in career events in your community. Take trips to sites that feature your child’s passion. For example, a family traveled to Ashland, Oregon to attend the summer Shakespeare Festival because their child was interested in majoring in English and later became a marketing executive for a technology company.
Help your child identify appropriate community service activities relevant to his interests. A child wanted to pursue a career in horticulture and participated with his parents in planting trees throughout the city.
Register your child in a professional organization relevant to her career interests. Examples include:
- American Educational Research Association for future educators
- Junior Achievement for work-readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy opportunities
- 4-H for agricultural leadership experiences,
- Rotary Club Youth Exchange Program for leadership development, cultural understanding, and to become a global citizen.

Relevant Common Core Standards

Listed below are relevant California Common Core Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects:

Grades 6 – 8 Research to Build and Present Knowledge: Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow multiple avenues of exploration.
Grade 11 – 12 Research to Build and Present Knowledge: Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

Middle and High School Career Explorations Reading Activity

As our children start exploring various careers, you and your child can research together various career exploration websites by googling questions about specific careers. Included below are two educational articles that discuss the importance of having children consider and explore careers during their middle and high school years:

Career Discussion Questions

After reading the two website linked articles or two other relevant articles, discuss the following questions with your child when considering the information presented in the two different articles:

Think back about your favorite hobbies or passions in your elementary or middle school years. Share with your child any skills or career choices that you explored at that time and is relevant to what you are doing today. (e.g. I loved to make books and now I am an educator and author.)
What are your child’s passions? What can your child do to explore careers using these passions?
What middle or high school electives can your child take to expand a career exploration. (For example, a high school student wanted to learn more about being an architect. She attended a summer college camp for seniors at a premier university. During the three-week camp, she learned that she was artistic and creative, but would not be happy working alone for long hours designing homes, etc. This was an important discovery because she was planning on applying to an out-of-state accredited university which would have been very costly.)
Has your school provided any career exploration counseling, job fairs, or career planning courses? If no, what can you do to help your child further explore career interests in your community?
How can you support your child in pursuing his interests and dreams?
What financial guidance or information do you need to support your child’s career education
What else do you and your child need to learn about a specific career to map out a plan for a higher education degree or career training program? Write a reflection in the comments section for this blog.

Relevant Common Core Standards

Listed below are relevant California Common Core Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy that support middle and high school learners:

Grade 7 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: Analyze how two or more authors’ writing about the same topic shape their presentations of key information by emphasizing different evidence or advancing different interpretations of facts.
Grades 11-12 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g. visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.