academic success Archives

Mar 03 2026

Kids’ Learning with AI

I was born in 1981, which puts me just on the cusp of generations. I’m at the tail end of the Gen X generation by some timelines and right at the beginning of the Millennial generation on others. Some sociologists even label people born within a few years of my birthday as Xennials, a microgeneration to mark the small and transitional period during which I was born. Personally, I feel that the other Xennials and I got the best of both worlds. We experienced the care-free and independent lifestyle of the Gen Xers, but I got to live my teenage years as the world shifted into the fully digital age. This means I also have a blend of characteristics from the two generations: independent and adaptive. I am also adventurous, creative, tech-savvy, and plugged into the idea that the world is accessible to me, both in terms of information and in opportunity. [Read more…]

Kevin Myers

Dr. Kevin Myers is an Executive Administrator for YPI Charter Schools and the Principal at Bert Corona Charter School. He has served the Los Angeles community as a teacher, administrator, and grant director for over 20 years. He has a passion for developing teachers and educational leaders to engage in the challenging work of bringing equity to our schools and our communities. Dr. Myers has developed an expertise in supporting underserved communities, building effective and cohesive school leadership teams, and engaging parents to uplift their communities through engagement at their children’s schools. He wrote his dissertation on teacher self-efficacy and job satisfaction and is a strong advocate for supporting and working with teachers to build a strong and successful school community. In addition to his work at YPI Charter Schools, Dr. Myers is also a faculty member at Cal State Fresno and works with student teacher candidates to earn their credentials as they work through the CalState TEACH program.

www.GenParenting.com

Feb 17 2026

How to Parent Challenged Students

It is the dead of winter and students are locked up in classrooms with limited time to play outside due to unrelenting wind, cold, rain, or snow. Several students are recovering from viruses and flu. Many survive boredom by spending relentless hours playing computer games and visiting with their classmates online. Teachers are challenged with students suffering from cabin fever and mild winter depression.

Effective Classroom Strategies for Home Use

Here are 10 effective classroom management strategies that teachers use to calm students. These strategies are also effective for parents to use with their children at home.

[Read more…]

Melissa Donahoe

Melissa has been an educator for over 20 years, and has spent the largest block of her teaching career in second grade, with additional experience in Grades 1 through 4.

After graduating from the University of Nevada with a Bachelor of Science Degree in education, with a dual degree in special education, Melissa traveled through Europe. Ms. Donahoe taught her first teaching assignment at a Department of Defense School in Germany. Following her husband’s military career, she also taught at a Title 1 school in Ft. Lewis, and finally landed in Silicon Valley, where she has taught for the past 16 years.

Melissa trained with the Noyce Foundation’s Writer’s Workshop. She has served as a Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) coach at her school, where she facilitated curiosity and a love for learning among her students.

Melissa developed a passion for biodiversity after visiting Monterey Bay Aquarium with her nephew. She adopted a sea otter mascot named “Loutre” and discovered her fascination with ocean health, imparting to her students the relationship between sea otters and their critical role in maintaining healthy kelp forests. Along with ocean health, Melissa inspires awareness among her students about microplastics in the environment. She is a follower of the Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots & Shoots program and believes that small changes at home can foster activism that leads to healthy life habits.

Melissa has a daughter who is a junior in high school and a son who is attending his second year of college at the University of Nevada.

Jan 20 2026

Student Report Cards

Parents try a wide range of strategies to ensure their children are putting in the effort needed to bring home a strong report card. Many parents offer incentives, special meals, trips, events, and even cash to get kids to put in the work for their grades. While these tactics may work in the short term, the real goal should be to build intrinsic motivation for kids to do their best. Research shows that these external rewards (also known as extrinsic motivation) may fall short in the long run. [Read more…]

Kevin Myers

www.GenParenting.com

Dec 23 2025

Writing in the AI Era

As a school principal at a small school, I wear a lot of hats. Educators in general do much more than just ensure kids are learning. Schools take on the role of instruction, enrichment, parent support, wrap around services, field trips, college readiness, emotional growth, nutrition, and much more! While I love doing this work, there are some tasks that are very time consuming and they take me into my office and away from working directly with my students and families. In recent years, I have used Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help me with some of these tasks. AI can write letters, emails, and memos for me; it can create schedules and lesson plans, and professional development slides. And it’s the same in the classroom. Most assignments given to students can be done very quickly by using generative AI tools. So why do kids really need to learn to do things on their own? [Read more…]

Kevin Myers

www.GenParenting.com

Dec 09 2025

Growth Mindset: The Power of Yet

When my daughter was a toddler, one of her favorite videos to watch on repeat was The Power of Yet. This Sesame Street song was upbeat and fun for her to dance to, but the message was great as well. The singer was shown with a variety of muppets as they tried or practiced new skills; the message was that things may be difficult at first, but that just means we have not mastered them YET! This is the idea behind having a a growth mindset, a very important skill or approach to life that we must teach our kids. Without this mindset, they are likely to grow into teens and kids who cannot handle difficult situations or failure.

How to Help Our Kids Learn New Skills

Developing new skills takes time and kids need support to manage their emotions while they tackle new activities. As parents, we want to be sure our kids can be successful, but we have to be aware that too much intervention will keep our kids from developing appropriately. If our babies get frustrated with learning to use a spoon and we feed them to avoid the crying, we are robbing them of the time to learn that fine motor skill. When they are learning to tie their shoes, they will get frustrated at those darn bunny ears, but if we don’t encourage them to keep trying, they will be 30 years old and still wearing Crocs and velcro shoes. While these situations may seem silly, these are the early times when we are teaching a growth mindset. As kids get older, the situations get more serious: learning to advocate for themselves, learning to solve problems on their own, learning to speak out against unethical or immoral acts. As kids grow, we have to allow them to struggle as they learn new skills so they learn that failure leads to learning and success, not that failure leads to someone stepping in to do it for them. [Read more…]

Kevin Myers