Jan 14 2020

Celebrate Martin Luther King’s Holiday by Promoting Peaceful Solutions

Many schools and families celebrate the Martin Luther King Holiday by participating in community service activities to promote peaceful solutions. Our blogging team created a reflective writing activity for students at a local school. After reading an article about Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech on nonviolent social change for freedom, students completed the following questions:

List 5 dreams you have for a more equitable and peaceful life in your classroom or at home. Draw a picture of 1 dream.

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Mary Ann Burke, Digital Education Expert

Mary Ann Burke, Ed.D., Digital Education Expert, is a substitute distance learning teacher for Oak Grove School District in San Jose, California and the author of STUDENT-ENGAGED ASSESSMENT: Strategies to Empower All Learners (Rowman & Littlefield: 2020). Dr. Burke creates digital language arts and substitute teaching K – 12 activities for teachers and parents. She is the Cofounder of the Genparenting.com blog. Burke is the former Director II of Categorical & Special Projects for the Santa Clara County Office of Education that supports 31 school districts serving 272,321 students in Santa Clara County. She is also a previous Director – State & Federal Compliance for Oakland Unified School District, the former Director – Grantwriter for the Compton Unified School District, and was the initial VISTA Director for the Community Partnership Coalition in southern California. Much of her work focuses on creating innovative digital trainings and partnership programs for teachers and families to support students’ learning. These programs were featured as a best practice at a National Title I Conference, California’s Title I Conferences, AERA Conferences, an ASCD Conference, the NASSP Conference, and statewide educator conferences.

Dec 31 2019

Preparing for a New Year of Blogs

I recently decided to return to the classroom to help second grade students learn basic subjects. I am also considering becoming a substitute or long-term part-time teacher for a local school. When I write the blogs and parenting articles for families, I need constant contact with kids and their parents. This challenge has been solved by:

Providing workshops on parent education topics for schools and nonprofits serving families and education
Distributing reading materials for families at workshops and community fairs
Reading to kids and families at local events
Demonstrating how kids learn when playing with toys at toy stores and through community presentations
Working with teachers and parents in classrooms and modeling how to differentiate learning strategies for children

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Mary Ann Burke, Digital Education Expert

Dec 24 2019

Snuggle Time to Support our Kid’s Reading Skills

Snuggle Time to Support Our Kids’ Reading Skills

During the holiday season, it is important to take the time to snuggle with our children and reflect on all that is good in our lives. We can also help our children increase their reading readiness abilities by developing the following daily practices with each child: [Read more…]

Danielle Gentry

Danielle’s first step in education did not begin with education at all. It began with her first love for science. She received a B.S. in Biological Science, with a concentration in Molecular Biology. Her five years of experience as a chemist in the biotech industry at SYVA and Dade Behring Diagnostics include both areas of quality control and research and development. Her contributions were qualifying products for release to sell to the diagnostic market as well as developing new diagnostic technology for immunoassay detection. Danielle’s subtle transition to discovering her passion for education was through the birth of her daughter. She became a stay at home mom. Her uber volunteerism at her daughter’s elementary school gained her access to her path of education. She now holds a multiple subject teaching credential and M.A. in Education from National University. She has over ten years of experience at Sakamoto Elementary School as an educator in kindergarten, sixth grade, second grade, and a 2/3 combination class. Her teaching is rooted in a constructivist model while fostering independence and accountability in the classroom.

Dec 03 2019

College Students Work to Explore Careers

Last summer EJ completed an incredible job of self-discovery as a camp counselor in a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (S.T.E.M.) summer program at Stanford University. He worked with middle and high school students who were guided to the program through their parents’ selection or were returning campers who were passionate about the program.

What Students Can Learn Through Career Jobs

EJ found that it was easier to work with the high school students who were focused on exploring a career in S.T.E.M. occupations. These students were more engaged in the program and had more confidence when participating in various activities. Through these wonderful and challenging experiences, my son learned the following: [Read more…]

Yvette King-Berg, College Readiness

Yvette King-Berg, is the Executive Director of Youth Policy Institute’s Charter Schools. She was the former California Charter Schools Association Vice-President of School Development and Outreach-Southern California. Ms. King-Berg has over thirty years of experience working with teachers, students, parents, and organizations in a variety of positions including Director, Assistant Director, Curriculum Advisor, Bilingual, and Title 1 Coordinators, classroom teacher (K-12) in Pasadena and LAUSD. She has been married for twenty-three years, and is the proud mother of her son, EJ, who attends UC Berkeley.

Nov 26 2019

Giving Thanks This Holiday Season

During the start of the Thanksgiving week and other winter holidays, I typically help my kids and grandkids prepare for the season by:

Organizing a toy giveaway drive for local charities
Baking and preparing food for various family celebrations and community events
Preparing food and gift baskets for those in need
Helping in community service activities
Volunteering at local school holiday events
Participating in church and community celebrations

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Mary Ann Burke, Digital Education Expert