Secondary School Parenting Archives - Page 11 of 29

Jun 08 2021

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:

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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.

Jun 01 2021

Being Your Child’s Advocate for School and for Life

This past academic year was a bumpy one – and that’s putting it mildly! We have encountered so many challenges and obstacles in our family life, in our work world, and in our children’s academic needs. When thinking about all the difficulties that you had to navigate to keep your child’s learning momentum going, I urge you – keep going. Once students return to school in the fall, whether in person, some form of a hybrid program, or heaven forbid a terrible outbreak and distance learning starts again, they will still need you – their parent – to be their advocate. Stand up for what is best for your child, whether by nudging your child gently, or by intervening on their behalf. Here are some ways to continue guiding your children and showing them you care. [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.

Apr 13 2021

Helping Our High School Students Prepare for College

As we complete another year of primarily remote learning, our high school students continue to thrive. Many of our graduating seniors have been accepted to four-year colleges with a full year of early learning college credits. These students showcase their talents by participating in college and career events at the school as they interview with board members for future careers and college goals.

Celebrate Achievement

This celebration of achievements prepares our students for the essential skills and educational requirements they will need to complete their college and career goals. As we consider next steps with all of our middle and high school students, we are striving to fully engage them in student led parent-teacher conferences throughout their school years. [Read more…]

Yvette King-Berg, College Readiness

Mar 09 2021

How We Help Our K-12 Children Manage Money

It is a new year with opportunities for growth and understanding for all. Many families redefine chore responsibilities with the start of each new year. Families also discuss the relevance of an allowance to help their children learn how to save for treasured purchases. Some families provide a weekly allowance for being a family member while others tie the allowance to a list of household chores. Many families also encourage their children to take on significant household responsibilities that may include weekly grocery shopping, yard work, painting, and housecleaning to earn extra money for specific needs they may include hobbies, sports camps, sporting equipment, school sponsored club trips, and clothing purchases. For example, some students start making crafts for crafts fairs or sell their products on online websites. [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.

Feb 23 2021

Understanding Our Children’s Preferred Learning Styles for Academic Success

When I tutor students in the Goggle classroom, I listen and watch them carefully as they describe how they prefer to learn when reading and writing. For example, one student may describe how she gains lots of information about a story by looking at the pictures in the story first. Another student may want to write down his answer about what he just read before summarizing the story in two sentences. A third student may prefer drawing pictures or acting out the story before discussing or writing a story.

Most teachers consider students’ various learning styles when working with individual students. Below are five primary learning styles described in Data Driven Differentiation in the Standards-Based Classroom by Gayle H. Gregory and Lin Kuzmich:

Linguistic learners like to write, play word games, learn vocabulary, debate, and create jokes.
Musical learners love to sing, create tunes and rhymes, and make a song as part of a solution.
Logical/mathematical learners problem solve through abstract reasoning with numbers, formulas, patterns, puzzles, and data.
Visual/spatial learners draw pictures, solutions, and models with color and media.
Body/kinesthetic learners use gestures, actions, and act out to demonstrate learning.

[Read more…]

Mary Ann Burke, Digital Education Expert