family values Archives - Page 8 of 19

Nov 24 2020

Giving Thanks on Thanksgiving Day

It is a very difficult year in America. We continue to struggle with the COVID-19 Pandemic. Many families do not have sufficient food supplies and cannot pay their bills. Some do not have jobs or have lost significant income. And still others are depressed and cannot meet their own needs and the needs of family members. Then millions of America’s students are forced to learn remotely with closed schools. Millions suffer from racism. Millions also have been forced to evacuate or lost their homes to extreme weather from climate change.

As we approach another Thanksgiving holiday, we must consider how we can safely celebrate the day with our family and friends. As a senior citizen, I will continue to social distance from all five grandkids and our extended family. [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.

Oct 20 2020

Recreating COVID-19 Holidays

October is an important month in our household. My grandson, Kenji, will have a birthday in a few days. Then we have Halloween at the end of the month. My grandson typically enjoys a birthday party with friends and celebrates Halloween at a school celebration. With COVID-19, we are redefining how we will celebrate the following holidays:

We will celebrate Kenji’s birthday with a small family party. He has already received a new larger bicycle for this event. Kenji will celebrate his birthday with his aunt and uncle and a special bike ride. We will then enjoy cake and ice cream as my grandson plays with his other gifts.
Kenji will wear his Halloween costume while attending his remote classroom on Halloween. Some schools will celebrate Halloween with a car parade at the school site while students wear their costumes. Other families will celebrate with their neighborhood pod of two to three families. Several families are decorating their homes and will host a Halloween party with their children. They may also Zoom with other school families and friends.
Thanksgiving will be a challenge as we may need to leave our home for a long-awaited construction project. We are looking forward to eating a take-out Thanksgiving dinner in our hotel room.
Christmas will be celebrated with a Christmas tree, gifts, and a visit with a couple of family members.

[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.

Jun 30 2020

Coronavirus: Expanding Our Shopping Options

We continue to adjust to a new normal as California slowly returns to more contact with our families, neighbors, and local businesses. Some of the changes impacting family members include:

Stores are becoming more mobile. We are learning how to interact with retailers in new ways through curbside services, more online purchases, and home deliveries.
As this mobility increases, drug stores will expand curbside services.
Online purchases will become more cost effective as staffing is secured for added customer services that support bundling deliveries.
Schools will adjust their fall programs through staggered class schedules to maintain social distancing protocols.
Sporting events will be modified to ensure safety for players and possibly limited spectators.
Communities will struggle on how to teach and train small groups to use face masks when in public.
Child care services will need to be adjusted to smaller groups.
And the overall emotional and social health of a society must continue to be monitored to ensure the healthy development of all.

[Read more…]

Joyce Iwasaki, Early Parenting

Jun 09 2020

An Educator’s Reflection on George Floyd’s Tragic Death

I am the Executive Director of Youth Policy Institute Charter Schools in the Los Angeles area. Last week, I sent the following message about George Floyd’s tragic death to my schools’ staff members.

As the mother of a 21-year-old son, I am stunned, angered, and not surprised, once again by the inhumane treatment of African-Americans. The images of today’s events, along with memories of stories repeated and passed down from one generation to another in my family are so clearly seared in my mind. The events leading up to George Floyd’s death and after have been extremely challenging for me to process as an adult. I am certain that it has been the same for many of our staff and children who have been living through the violence. [Read more…]

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.

Mar 31 2020

Preparing My Grandson for a Third Cultural Heritage Experience

My grandson’s mom recently returned from an extended trip to the Elephant Nature Park in Thailand. During Mom’s travels, Kenji’s dad relocated his business to Bangkok, Thailand. When I talk with my grandson about his mother’s recent trip and his dad’s business relocation, I realize that my grandson will be expanding his cultural heritage to another new country when he lives with his father in Bangkok. Our family will prepare for this new cultural experience by participating in the following activities:

Continue to talk with Mom about her recent trip to the Elephant Nature Park and view the pictures of his mom’s trip on Facebook.
Have Dad send Kenji pictures of his new cultural experiences in Bangkok and talk about these experiences during their FaceTime phone calls.
Meet with family friends to look at photos of trips to various sites in Thailand. During this visit, Kenji will also receive some historical postcards that he can use when he writes notes to his father. Kenji and his dad can talk about these postcard pictures during their FaceTime phone calls.

[Read more…]

Joyce Iwasaki, Early Parenting

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