Academic Support and Play Activities Archives - Page 14 of 22

Mar 05 2019

What Is Your Child Learning in Kindergarten?

Each spring, parents and families are encouraged to visit their children’s schools to learn more about what their children are learning. Some parents are excited that their children are learning to read and compute basic math problems. Others are excited that their child has a new friend and is learning to express himself in an illustrated picture with a sentence describing the picture. I am excited that my grandson is learning to understand the individual differences of his classmates while naturally exploring how to read sight words and counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s. His teacher also incorporates a variety of personal growth and study skill development activities during the school day. [Read more…]

Joyce Iwasaki, Early Parenting

Joyce Iwasaki has over thirty years of educational experience working with diverse students in grades from preschool through high school. Joyce’s extensive background includes teaching elementary school, serving on early childhood advisory boards, and advocating for educational initiatives as a legislative aide. During her tenure as a legislative aide, she helped create legislation that allowed incarcerated mothers to keep their newborn babies with them while in prison. Additional legislation was enacted to allow incarcerated pregnant mothers to remain unshackled during labor and delivery. Ms. Iwasaki established and served as the president of an educational scholarship foundation for fifteen years. Her foundation awarded college scholarships to emerging student leaders who provided service to their schools and communities. Joyce is active in performing arts and cultural organizations. She also provides ongoing support to her daughter and family by raising her grandson in her home.

Feb 26 2019

Writing Grants for Community Service Projects for Students and Parents

Students can apply for grants to fund their community service projects by preparing grant proposals that are managed by a community nonprofit agency or their school. After receiving approval by the administrator of a community agency or their school, students and their parents can complete the following grant template to organize their ideas for a funding organization. Funders can be found through online fundraising websites or at a local library that manages an online fundraising database (e.g. Sunnyvale Main Library in Sunnyvale, California) in your community. Once the community agency or school approves your program plan, you can complete their grant application documentation and have the community agency or school submit their supporting administrative and financial documentation to the funder for grant review and approval. [Read more…]

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.

Jan 29 2019

How to Stay Actively Involved in Your Child’s Education

The phrase “parent involvement” in children’s learning may conjure images of parents in the classroom eagerly helping children to make Easter baskets, sorting papers and putting them in the student’s mailboxes. Parental involvement in children’s learning is beneficial. The research shows that it leads to educational, social, and emotional outcomes for children. In addition, it contributes to overall positive attitudes, improved behavior and attendance at school.

Types of Involvement

As children grow up, the ways in which you can be involved in your child’s learning changes. The physical presence of you in the classroom is no longer essential, or necessarily effective to be involved in your child’s education.

In Evergreen School District, you can continue to learn what your child is learning in the classroom and this gives you an opportunity to be highly engaged in your child’s learning. You can do this through our awesome Parent University Program. If you have some knowledge as to what your child is learning in the classroom, you will feel confident and be able to engage in their learning at a very different level. This is definitely being involved in your child’s learning because the dialogue with your child will be much more diverse and meaningful. [Read more…]

Denise Williams

Denise Williams recently retired from Evergreen School District where she served for 35 years as a teacher, computer instructor, literacy coach, principal and director. As the Director of Instruction, Denise was responsible for state and federal programs enabling her to be an advocate for historically underserved students and English language learners. Denise is very intentional and passionate around her equity work ensuring that all students and parents receive what they need to be successful in the 21st Century. Additionally, she facilitated Title 1, and Title III Program assessments, Professional Development for teachers and administrators as well as the coordination of the district Parent Involvement Program. Her work in the community empowering parents to be successful with their children led to Evergreen receiving the state’s Golden Bell Award and the County’s Kristy Porter Award for Parent Engagement. Denise was also the recipient of the 2019 NAACP Emmitt Dollarhyde Award for her work to enhance the educational wellness of the school community. Denise has now joined the Silicon Valley Education Foundation as the Chief Programs Officer and continues to provide equitable structures for students who are underserved through the implementation of innovation programs that ensure students are prepared for 21st Century College and Career.

Jan 08 2019

Practical Homework Help – Tips for Math

Most parents are just getting acquainted or still getting used to Common Core Math. While it is easy to get intimidated by and frustrated with new approaches, the fundamentals of math will always remain the same. Here is what I keep in mind when helping my own children with their math homework.

What Is It Saying?

With Common Core math, word problems are emphasized. Most of the time, children have difficulty understanding what is being stated in the scenario. Make sure they understand the math terms introduced in the unit of study by looking up definitions and examples in the math glossary. You can also help your children understand the math problem by drawing pictures, diagrams or graphs. [Read more…]

Jaime Koo, Encouraging Literacy

Discovering the joy of teaching while in high school, Jaime pursued her B.A. in English at Santa Clara University. She also received a teaching credential and a M.A. in Education Administration from Santa Clara University. Jaime taught English Language Arts at Rancho Middle School, motivating and inspiring young people to become effective communicators and contributors in their community. From being a Middle School English Language Arts/English Language Development teacher to becoming a stay-at home mom, Jaime is an education consultant who presents literacy workshops. Her workshops focus on a combination of her ten years of teaching expertise with tried-and-true experiences that she uses with her own children. Jaime is also a Teacher Consultant with the San Jose Area Writing Project. Jaime’s mission is to share effective reading and writing strategies with families to encourage literacy.

Dec 25 2018

Practical Homework Help – Tips for Reading Comprehension

Did you know that parents have much more influence on their child’s reading comprehension development than they think may be possible? If you are struggling with how you might be able to help your child understand what they are reading, here are some practical homework insights that you can easily adopt at home.

Model Good Questioning Skills

If you are curious about a topic or you need more information, verbalize that question and ask it out loud when reading or talking with your child. Phrases like, “I’ve never heard about that before. I wonder where I can find more info?” or “I still don’t understand that. Let’s look it up” show your child that it’s ok not to have all the answers and that adults still learn new things every day. In turn, your child will adopt the same desire to dig deeper into understanding what they are reading. [Read more…]

Jaime Koo, Encouraging Literacy