One Word Challenge

Recently, I’ve received a challenge to select one word to sum up how I’m feeling or to choose one word as my focus for the new year. This challenge was new to me and honestly, it’s a bit intriguing, too. Hmm…just one word, huh? When we reflect on 2020, there were many new words and phrases introduced, wasn’t there? Bear with me a bit while I list through some words that have frequently surfaced in news headlines or social media posts.

Pandemic.

Unprecedented. Over-abundance of caution. Social Distancing. Mask. Work from home. Toilet paper shortage. Hand sanitizer. Essential worker. COVID-19. Hoax. Chinese-virus. Vaccine.Public Health.

Frontline doctors and nurses. PPE. Flatten the curve. Quarantine. Stay at home. Shelter in place, lockdown, curfew, mental health, social bubble.

Distance Learning.

Learning Pod, hybrid learning, blended learning. Asynchronous and synchronous learning. Opportunity gap. Zoom, Zoom fatigue. Google Meet. WebEx. Google Classroom, hotspot.

Racial Injustice.

Justice for George Floyd. Justice for Breonna Taylor. Black lives matter. Protests, Rioters. Central Park birdwatcher. Karen.

Politics.

Census 2020, Elections, Voter fraud, Electoral College, Stimulus checks. Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Kamala Harris. First female, black, Asian American Vice President of the USA.

And yet, despite all that surrounds us, the human spirit continues to rise above adversity. Consider these powerful human descriptors and attributes:

Generosity

Yearning

Motivation

Integrity

Joyful

Courage

Zealous

Hopeful

Determination

Inspired

Blessed

And so, dear Reader, I pose the one word challenge to you: what is one word that sums up how you are feeling? Or one word that will be your focus for the new year? What is one word that you might add to my list?

Wishing you a wonderful new year,

Jaime

Student Grading Considerations with COVID-19 School Modifications

COVID-19 pandemic surges continue to keep schools closed or programs modified. How will K-12 teachers support students, when they have limited time to work with them in class or through distance learning programs? What standardized testing programs have been altered or eliminated this year and how will it impact many college acceptances?

Winter Conference Tips

Here are some tips to discuss with teachers at your upcoming winter conferences:

Clarify with the teacher or principal how teachers will grade students during the pandemic if the school is providing distance learning, hybrid learning, or modified on-site learning to ensure an accurate evaluation.
Have your children organize and collect their class work to ensure it is documented and reviewed by a teacher if there is a disagreement about a specific class grade.
Confirm with teachers or the school’s principal specific assignments that must be returned to school on specified dates if there are regular collections of work from home.
Have your children confirm how they can submit online assignments by email or through an online portfolio. Each teacher and school may have different requirements that may include how:
- your child can resolve any grading discrepancies
- the school or teacher will accommodate for documented learning disabilities.
- the school will test for specific learning challenges
- your child can receive tutorial support
Ask the teacher or the principal what standardized testing will occur during this school year and how you can help your children prepare for any testing.
- If your child must take online tests for entry into competitive high schools or colleges, ask how will the tests be administered.
- Learn if there are any accommodations for documented learning disabilities.
Ask the school’s principal how your children can secure college counseling support services due to limited pandemic student services activities.
- Verify how your children can apply for financial aid packages.
- Confirm how your children can participate in competitive high school or college visits.
- Check how the school is providing leadership programs, study skill preparation, and standardized testing preparation during the pandemic.
Contact each competitive high school or college your children are applying to for any modified requirements due to the pandemic.
- Ask about adjustments are being made for students who are not participating in state and national standardized testing.
- Determine how the schools are accommodating for documented special education needs.
- Identify how your children can document traditional school leadership activities on school entrance applications when schools’ leadership and sports programs have been suspended or limited.
Help you children relax and support them with lots of encouragement during this very challenging time as there are so many unanswered questions as schools struggle to equitably work with all students.

May your winter conferences ensure your children’s academic successes!

Mary Ann with Yvette

Inclusion Collaborative Warmline

Established in 2006, the Inclusion Collaborative Warmline is a free resource that provides both phone and email support for families, teachers, and community agencies. Services are provided in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Mandarin. The services are managed by the Inclusion Collaborative, a department at the Santa Clara County Office of Education. This excellent resource is staffed by former teachers and parents of children with disabilities. The Warmline personnel understand both sides of parenting and education issues.

Inclusion Collaborative Warmline services include:

E-Packets of information with internet links on topics, such as specific disabilities, behavior, friendship, adaptations, language, social stories, ability awareness, community inclusion, camps, and more.
Many visual supports, such as sensory break cards, feelings charts, visual schedules, and visual solutions for social conflict and over 300 social stories are available. Social stories can be individually designed and customized for the child and/or the situation.
Social media, including the Inclusion Collaborative Pinterest page, the Inclusion Collaborative Facebook page, and the Inclusion Collaborative YouTube channel with additional resources at inclusioncollaborative.org.
Examples of Warmline supports are at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PtYIaLEL0U&list=PL4Ffky1G0tHLKfzZxcERBn4NCs6OWV2xf&index=4.

Much success as you support your children’s social development knowledge and skills when using these valuable resources.

Happy new year!

Mary Ann with Kathy Wahl, Director III of the Inclusion Collaborative

The Middle School Distance Learning Experiment

A three-part reflection series on parenting middle schoolers during the pandemic on the home front, facing political realities with pre-teens, and practical considerations regarding school re-opening.

My youngest daughter entered 6^th grade with the distance learning model in the Fall of 2020 and I am now the parent of two daughters in middle school. Having been a middle school classroom teacher for ten years, I’m well aware of the typical middle school experience for adolescents. Granted, middle school is already a life-changing experience for students in and of itself, but having to experience it during a pandemic is uncharted territory for everyone – parents and students alike. Talk about a paradigm shift! Indeed, this is the great middle school distance learning experiment!

Distance Learning Advantages

My objective is for my daughters to overcome adversity in the face of challenges, so I spoke with them about the disadvantages and advantages of distance learning. My hypothesis is that by focusing on and managing the advantages, we could be optimistic that distance learning would bring positive learning outcomes, namely that the girls would be more independent learners.

Acknowledging that there are external factors out of our control, we also decided that there would be a great number of factors that are in our control that will affect the nature of the girls’ learning outcomes. We have employed the following strategies to support independent learning:

We have agreed that the girls will stick with a consistent time to wake up in the morning and log on to their classes on time.
The girls have their own dedicated learning space and they have access to all the learning materials provided by the school.
Screen time is a given for school and homework time, but extra screen time for media and hanging out with friends is a privilege to be earned after finishing their studies and other daily responsibilities.
For my 6^th grader, the transition to middle school meant managing assignments from six different classes. I did a daily homework check with her until her progress report card, then evaluated whether we needed to continue with daily homework checks, weekly homework checks, or go to an “as needed” basis.
For my 8^th grader, taking ownership for her grades and the outcome of her learning is key for high school preparation. We decided that any communication with her teachers needed to be student initiated. If she had a question about a graded assignment, or if she needed clarification about a project, she would need to take the first step towards change, whether that meant attending the student support hour, posting a question on Google Classroom, or writing an email to the teacher.
For both girls, we decided that they would consult one other resource before asking a parent when they needed help on their homework. The one other resource could be the student help from the textbook resource page online, it could be attending office hours with the teacher, it could also be looking up a video for explanation, or calling a friend to work out the assignment.

Taking Responsibility for Their Own Learning

So far, both girls have risen to the challenge of taking responsibility for their own learning and have adapted quickly to the distance learning format. They have gotten into a routine and have formed good homework habits. This experiment is going well so far. We’ll have to see how it progresses as the school year continues.

As we approach mid-year and the question of returning to school in person keeps coming up, we still have to consider a few questions:

Is it safe enough on a middle school campus for students to maintain social distance?
What are the risk factors for a middle school campus where students change classrooms six times a day and mix with different students and teachers throughout the day?
Now that students have adopted distance learning routines, would it be disruptive to transition to a hybrid learning model?
Are there special learning needs or other services that can only be provided in an in-person school environment?
Is there evidence of learning loss?
Do we have internet access issues at home?
Are students being deprived of social interaction?

There is much to consider and many families will need to think about what will be in their children’s best interest.

Best wishes to you as we continue the distance learning experiment,

Jaime

How Parents Can Support Online Homework

It has been quite a year with most of California’s students learning remotely full time. In spite of technology glitches and steep technology learning for teachers and students, many students are thriving and learning. It is not ideal, but we are keeping our students and families safe. As a substitute teacher and tutor for primary grade students, here are 10 tips for helping your child thrive beyond the school day:

Give your child lots of love, cuddles, and listen to her each day.
Meet with your child each day and review his work for the day and any homework assignments. Ensure that you read to him daily or that he participates in a sustained reading activity each day.
Contact the teacher if your child does not know how to log into her online homework software applications.
Contact the teacher if your child is not completing the work correctly and is confused about key concepts. Also notify the teacher if he is very frustrated or overwhelmed with daily class activities or homework.
Connect your child’s learning experiences with daily life. For example, if she is learning about air quality, check the Air Quality Index and plan for outside play when the air is good.
Have your child teach family members about what he is learning. For example, he can read books to younger siblings and ask questions about the story. Siblings can play school with each other.
Incorporate learning into cooking activities, shopping, balancing a checkbook, planning a trip, and managing daily household activities.
Incorporate performing arts activities and crafts into making cards for family members, writing stories, creating gifts, decorating, and making gifts for seniors and lonely community members.
Plan a community service activity with family members that encourages children to use academic skills.
Ensure that your child balances each day with healthy living habits that include sufficient food and sleep, participating in calming activities for relaxation and to reduce stress, ensuring playtime outside while exploring nature and exercising, and spending quality time with you.

May your daily activities support your child’s healthy growth and academic successes!

Mary Ann