Parenting Adolescents Archives - Page 34 of 40

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 22 2019

Overcoming the Winter School Day Blahs

School is back in session. The mornings are dark and the evenings are even darker. It is cold, windy, and snowing outside. How do we keep our energy up and our kids focused at school? Here are suggestions shared by parents at a recent workshop:

Have children wake up to an alarm clock playing happy music each morning.
Teach children how to breathe deeply each morning as we engage them in some morning stretching and yoga types of exercise.
Allow enough time for kids to get dressed, make their beds, and eat a nutritious breakfast.
Sing songs as we walk or drive our kids to school.
Help them pack a nutritional lunch and snacks for school.
Plan for outside play each day after school.
Balance the afternoon play with a nutritional snack.
Make time for homework in an organized workspace with limited distractions.
Engage your family in nightly family discussions during dinner.
Schedule quality time with each child and read to them at bedtime each night.

[Read more…]

Mary Ann Burke, Digital Education Expert

Jan 15 2019

Is Your Child Reading Below Grade-Level?

At your last parent teacher conference did you discover your child was performing at below grade-level in reading? I know it’s January, but don’t despair. Hello, my name is Danielle Gentry and I’m a second- grade teacher in South San Jose. I’d like to give you some sound advice about what you can do at home to help your child and questions you can ask their teacher.

Questions to Ask the Teacher

First, let’s talk about valuable questions. How does my child read? What is my child’s reading level? Get specific answers. Most, if not all primary teachers have some kind of reading assessment that will inform the teacher of their student’s fluency, prosody, and comprehension. A deeper understanding of your child’s specific reading struggles can help you have a more directed reading experience with them at home. [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.

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