UNCONDITIONAL EDUCATION - Blog

UNCONDITIONAL EDUCATION

STAFF HIGHLIGHT: Mondserrat Garcia-Ortiz

1/14/2019

Name: Mondserrat "Mondse" Garcia-Ortiz
Your Position? I’m a Bilingual Program Assistant for All-In!

What led you to your current position?
As a first-generation woman of color who graduated from Humboldt State University in May, I wanted to get involved with an organization that was about giving back to the community, more specifically, working with youth in education! I was recommended to apply to Seneca through a close friend of mine who is now my supervisor! SHOUTOUT to Brenda G!

Fun Fact/Quote?
“I raise up my voice-not so I can shout but so that those without a voice can be heard...we cannot succeed when half of us are held back.”
― Malala Yousafzai

What does your average day look like?
My day as a Program Assistant changes from day to day. I’m always in communication with multiple staff in different school sites and directors. Our position also consists of key communication between the schools and our students’ families to ensure their child is receiving the special education and mental health services they need to succeed! This means scheduling IEP meetings, translating/interpreting documents and meetings for our Spanish speaking families, as well as being a reliable source for our school data systems.

Why do you do this work?
I do this work for the youth and their families and for the close relationships I am building across the program!

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT:What is the difference between Translation and Interpretation?

1/14/2019

Many of us use the terms "interpretation" and "translation" interchangeably, which only increases the confusion, when they are two distinct things that don’t need to be confusing at all. Translation is written, and Interpretation is spoken. Despite the obvious similarities, these tasks require a ton of brain power, and it is incredibly rare to find someone who can do both.

Here are some key differences between Translation and Interpretation:

1.Interpretation is oral:
Interpreters work exclusively with oral content. This is the incredibly daunting task of processing what was said in English and paraphrasing the message into the language of the client. When utilizing an interpreter, it is important to consider the regional language of the client. That’s because a language spoken in more than one country may be similar, but not the same. Take for example, Spanish derived from Spain and Spanish derived from El Salvador. While both speak the “same” language, there are vast differences in slang, accent and speed.

2.Translation is not instant:
Translators cannot do live events. When a translator begins to translate a document, they will have to refer to a series of books, dictionaries and language databases. Translators use their knowledge of language to target the client’s language and its linguistic nuances. Naturally— this means that this process will take more time than say—interpretation, which can happen on the spot.

3.Translators are not always fluent in their second language
I know, I know. It sounded crazy to me, too! Translators don’t need to tap into a large pool of vocabulary for instant translation. While interpreters are conversationally fluent, translators often write much better than native speakers.

4.Translations demand greater accuracy
Think about your oral and written sentence structure. While you might be perfectly capable of writing a coherent sentence, your oral syntax is likely to be grammatically incorrect. However, effective spoken communication doesn’t require the same grammatical accuracy as effective written communication. The same principle applies to interpreters and translators.

Though it may be easy to confuse the two terms, translations and interpretations are two very different tasks. Whatever you do, don’t mistake your translator for your interpreter again! 😊

Blog Post Written by: Brenda Gonzalez, Manager of Educational Operations

STAFF HIGHLIGHT: Cristina Sanchez-Cruz

1/7/2019

Name: Cristina Sanchez-Cruz
Your Position: Behavior Support Specialist

What led you to your current position?
As a student support assistant, I observed how systemic issues in the public school can impact a student’s success. Within the All In program I believe we make an impact by not only providing social emotional supports in the classroom but we also advocate for a student’s success when there are systemic , cultural and classroom issues. These experiences have inspired me to grow as a leader within the agency to continue to support students and provide insight as a person of color.

Favorite Quote:
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”- Maya Angelou
“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change”. – Brene Brown

What does your average day look like?
My day starts out by checking in with my team about concerns, highlights, or changes related to the students that we are working with within the collaborative program and plan for the day. I then support kinder teachers with classroom/behavior management by coaching, providing feedback or facilitating community circles to create a social emotional support environment for all students. I facilitate collaboration meetings with student’s support team ( teachers, student support assistant, therapist, speech therapist,etc.) to discuss progress, interventions, and goals for students under the collab model. I also supervise and provide training for the student support assistants at Wilson Elementary School.

Why do you do this work?
Throughout the years within Seneca, I have recognized how the community around me has helped me to thrive and persevere through many challenges. For this reason, I continue to do this work because it is important to build a community around the families we support to help them be successful when experiencing adversity.

What hope do you have for the future of the program?
I hope that the program will continue to advance their goals with Diversity, Equity and inclusion by expanding the ways we empower communities and staff of color.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT: The Collaborative Program

12/24/2018

This year Seneca has partnered the West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCC) to implement The Collaborative Program on public school campuses. The idea for the Collaborative partnership began when WCC was looking to serve their youngest high needs students with IEPs. The closest non-public school that serves Kindergarten and First grade students is Seneca’s Maya Angelou Academy, a 40 minute cab ride away. Way too far for 5-6 year olds!!! The SPED folks at WCC and Seneca’s leadership team put their heads together, and with the help of funding from the Thomas J. Long Foundation, West Contra Costa County Mental Health, and WCC SPED, we were able to create this amazing partnership.

The two campuses that are currently implementing the Collab Model are Montalvin Elementary and Wilson Elementary. On each school campus, Seneca provides a Behavior Support Specialist, a Clinician, and at least one Student Support Assistant. They each happen to be in Year 1 of the UE Model implementation and have a UE Coach on site in addition to the Collab team to focus on Tier 1 interventions. The Seneca team is integrated with staff from the school campus which include the General Education Teacher, Special Education Case Manager, any related service providers, and school admin. This robust, multi-disciplinary team meets weekly or bi-weekly and is designed to provide supports to Kinder and 1st Grade students that would otherwise be at a non-public school campus.

As with all new programs, we have had our fair share of successes and challenges. Individual student successes include a decrease in elopement from the classroom, decrease in aggressive behavior towards other students, and utilization of positive coping skills. One of the students has even been able to start independently accessing their speech and OT services without the support of Seneca staff! The team has been able to provide structure, consistency, and the love of superheroes and trains to help the students make progress. Support for teachers on classroom wide interventions include implementing daily classroom circles, sharing social stories with all students, and developing classroom positive recognition systems. Another way Seneca staff help increase General Education Teacher capacity is by centering conversations about students around their Internal Working Models in Collab Meetings. Families have also come to see the Seneca Team as allies in working with the school system as they navigate the school system together.

We’ve learned that early and consistent communication with all stakeholders on campus, including school staff, administrators and parents, is key for buy in to this program. Without the proactive communication, misunderstandings and concerns had to be addressed in a more reactive manner. In addition, we have learned to be more thoughtful in our intake and identification process when students are entering the program.

Through the Collaborative program, we’ve been able to help our youngest high needs students stay with their peers on public school campuses. They’re been able to get support in order to access the general education curriculum, make friends, and experience success at the beginning of their school careers.

Blog Post Written By: Laura Lin, Assistant Director of School Partnerships

STAFF HIGHLIGHT: Adeya Byrd

12/17/2018

Name: Adeya Byrd

Position: Director of Seneca's Oakland Alameda Public Schools (SOAPS)

What led you to your current position? My passion for the students and families that we serve and the determination to assure that they are getting the services that are right for them so that they can succeed.

Fun Fact/Quote? Disneyland is my happiest place on earth and I despise chocolate.

What does your average day look like? My average day varies from day to day which is one of the reasons I love my job because there is never redundancy. I can have a day full of meetings with Principals, supervisions with staff or days where I’m doing observations, planning events, or leading interviews. I am not the type that likes to sit behind a desk and computer all day so this job assures that I am on the go.

Why do you do this work? I do this work because it speaks to my heart and I wish to be part of the positive change in our young adults lives.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT: The Impact of End Of Cycle Meetings

12/17/2018

One of All-in!’s program goals for the 2018-2019 school year is to continue to develop clear practices for sharing data as a means to shape the narrative about our work. One of the main forums for sharing this kind of data is through our end of cycle meetings, where Seneca staff have the opportunity to provide updates on students’ progress toward their academic, behavioral, and/or social emotional goals.

I have recently had the pleasure of sitting in on two separate end of cycle meetings, each for students in special education who are receiving academic, behavioral, and clinical supports in service of their Individualized Education Program (IEP). As a program, we have been working over the years to refine these meetings. This year, program leadership made intentional efforts to ensure that end of cycle meetings reflect our efforts to work as a transdisciplinary team, asking that clinicians, academic interventions specialists, and student support assistants meet with general education teachers, administrators, and when possible, parents and students, to co-present on student progress.

While I can imagine that it takes a lot of logistical effort to bring this group of people together in one room, I walked away from these meetings with a deep sense of why it is worth the effort. We talk a lot about the negative impact of soiled systems on students and families. All too often students with complex needs experience disjointed supports that leave families feeling frustrated and overwhelmed. When support providers are not collaborating as a united front, parents may experience that certain crucial needs go overlooked. On the flip-side, they may experience a barrage of uncoordinated communication – receiving three different updates from three different providers who are working on three different sets of goals with students – without any clarity around how the work of each provider compliments the other or contributes to the overall academic success of the student.

I believe that the parents in attendance at these two end of cycle meetings had quite a different experience. The clinician, student support assistant (SSA), and special education teacher were each able to clearly articulate how their goals were tied to the student’s IEP and how the interventions they used addressed the student’s unhelpful internal working model(s). It was clear that the general education teacher worked in close relationship with the all three providers and that strategies that these experts were developing in their work with the student were translated into the classroom environment. When one SSA shared that the student had met one of their behavioral goals, everyone expressed their excitement and their belief that the student was ready to take on a new challenge. When one parent shared her dreams for her student, each provider was able to make the connection between the specific goals they were working on with the student and how it would contribute to their success. It felt holistic, it felt coordinated, and it felt like true teamwork in service of one student.

I understand that creating truly integrated systems of care is a complicated, messy, and challenging endeavor. But I walked away from these meetings with a renewed sense of why it is one of the most important pieces of work. I just want to take a moment to say thank you to each of you for the part you play in bringing this level of coordination and integration to your work. I can confidently say that it has quite an impact on the experience of our students and families.

Blog Post Written By: Jenny Ventura, Director of Model Implementation and Assessment

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT: Deepening Alignments, Promoting Sustainability

12/10/2018

Since joining the All-In Program before the 2017-18 school year, I’ve continually been impressed by the talent and commitment of our Seneca staff as they work to promote positive change in school communities and equity of opportunity for students. Through providing individualized support to students, skillful engagement with families, collaboration and professional development for teachers, and thought-partnership with school leaders, our staff are positively impacting school communities at many levels.

In our mission to be change agents in schools, we always hold the lens of sustainability. We want to help schools implement structures and systems they can maintain beyond the scope and duration of the Seneca partnership. We want to promote mindsets among school teams that lead to ongoing staff reflection, development, and innovation in best serving their students and families.

One school partnership I want to highlight for their work on sustainability is Washington Elementary in San Jose where Unconditional Education Coach Puja Satwani is in her second year. For our UE Coaches, the second year of partnership is about deepening alignment and building sustainability, and Puja and her school leadership team have taken some impressive steps in that direction.

Last year we created a Culture and Climate Committee (also known as C3 Team) at Washington that met monthly and included representatives from school admin, staff, and parents. The C3 Team’s work was organized around goals the school had identified from multiple data sources. Puja organized those goals into an Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) to help the school take effective action on the priority areas they named.

This year there was an exciting shift that increased the level of integration and potential sustainability of our work at Washington. In collaboration with Puja, the school leaders decided to merge the C3 team with their Instructional Leadership Team (ILT). Now the integrated Leadership/C3 team meets twice a month to drive progress on school priorities. It is made up of school leaders and one teacher representative from every grade level, which allows the work of the Leadership/C3 Team to extend into Grade Level Collaboration time. Puja and the school admin spent a lot of time creating SMART goals for this year’s AIP priorities and then posted those up in the meeting room, so they are alive and present in every meeting and central to each discussion. Action items are listed and tracked, and team members share accountability for leading their grade level teams in advancing the priorities.

The Leadership/C3 team is reading A Mindset for Learning by Kristine Mraz and Christene Hertz as their book club book, which focuses on developing five habits in students, by integrating those habits and modelling them as educators:

optimism—putting aside fear and resistance to learn something new
persistence—keeping at it, even when a task is hard
flexibility—trying different ways to find a solution
resilience—bouncing back from setbacks and learning from failure
empathy—learning by putting oneself in another person’s shoes.

In promoting joy and appreciation as a school team and in building staff resilience during a time of year when burn-out can occur, the Washington named their first Dragon Hero Teacher award just before the Thanksgiving holiday break. The school leaders chose the first recipient of this monthly award, but moving forward each winner gets to choose the winner for the following month, thereby increasing staff voice, leadership, and mutual appreciation. This idea was inspired by the Culture and Climate Toolkit developed last year by Dr. Tamarah Tilos and Sara Moses.

Continuing to build staff resilience and to re-inspire school staff after the holiday break is crucial, so the day before students return in January 2019, Puja will be leading a Professional Development based on the “Telling Empowering Narratives” chapter of Onward by Elena Aguilar.

It is inspiring to be a part of teams engaging in this challenging and important work. Wishing everyone happy holidays and restorative winter breaks!

Blog Post Written by: Jason Keppe, Director of School Partnerships and Training Director

STAFF HIGHLIGHT: Devina Brooks

12/10/2018

Name: Devina Brooks
Your Position? Behavior Intervention Specialist

What led you to your current position? As a Milieu Supervisor at JBA, I felt like I needed a change. When I was informed of a new position (Behavior Intervention Specialist) in All-In, I believed it was a wonderful opportunity to share my knowledge. As a BIS for four years, I needed another change. However, I am still a BIS but this year, my role looks very different because I am working with three schools throughout the school year to assist with the implementation of tier 1, tier 2 and tier 3 interventions.

Fun Fact/Quote?

We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated. - Maya Angelou
Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world. For, indeed, that's all who ever have. - Margaret Mead
In the same way that our school system feels strongly about requiring vaccinations and annual physicals, I feel strongly that it is essential to add a mental health component to that annual physical. - Madchen Amick

What does your average day look like? An average day as a Behavior Intervention Specialist consist of me observing students and staff, elbowing coaching staff, facilitating school wide trainings, interviewing staff and parents, attending IEP’s, 504 and/or treatment team meetings. In addition, I am assigned to three schools for the remainder of the school year in which I am supporting each with the implementation of tier 1, 2, and 3 interventions and co facilitating group supervision for Mental Health Counselors.

Why do you do this work? I do this work because the disconnect, lack of patience, implicit bias, and dislike for some of the troubled student(s) bother me. Having three daughters of my own, I am aware of how maladaptive behavior in school settings impedes the learning of others. In addition, I enjoy having discussions with school staff about how student behaviors provoke flight, fight, and freeze responses within them and how that plays a role in their choice of behavior intervention strategies. I also enjoy helping staff operate from a place of curiosity rather than frustration when interacting with students.

What hope do you have for the future of our program? I would really like to see All-In work in more Oakland Public Schools and more teaching opportunities for new teachers we partner with.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT: How to Avoid the Mid-Year Burnout

12/4/2018

Hi All!

The winter months can be filled with cold, dreary days, impatient students, and some pesky germs. Aside from the cooped up, impatient children, and germs that you just can't seem to get out of your rooms, you notice your students are having that mid-year slump and are bored with your lessons already and so are you. So, what can you do about it, A LOT! Before and after winter break, many educators feel the wrath of the mid-year burnout. There is no denying that being in education is a stressful job, so being able to deal with your stress is extremely important in order to continue the school year. Educators cannot feed into the doom and gloom but must find a way to forge ahead, looking at the big picture instead of the little things that can get us down. Here are some quick and basic ways to combat educator burnout:

Take a daily brain break
Mindful meditation exercises
Celebrate the 100th day of school
Make learning fun

As educators, each day is a wonderful opportunity to make a difference. We can never take for granted the truly sacred torch that has been passed to us, and we should never do anything personally to douse that flame of learning in our schools. We must be passionate about educating and excited about bringing knowledge to our students, whether it’s a dark, cold winter’s day or a bright sunny one in spring. As you do things to alleviate your feelings of despair, try to do everything possible not to let your it become apparent. Think back to why you first entered the fabulous world of education. You most probably did it with extremely noble intentions. Get back in touch with that vibrancy that filled your heart with joy on the first day of your educational career, when you walked onto your school campus and felt like you could take on the world. Remember that in essence the world is in the hands of educators, for we touch the lives of our students not for just a moment but for the rest of their lives. Every word we say counts; every gesture is observed and measured; every outburst is never forgotten, as is every kindness. Remember, we here at Seneca and in Unconditional Education are doing beautiful and impactful work. To help you remember that, please look at this wonderful video that our very own Keri Stewart, UE Coach at Grant Elementary School in Richmond, compiled regarding the impact of Seneca’s work at Grant Seneca Impact at Grant

And…if you’re looking for more motivation, check out this great article on perseverance and grit!!! Educators Need Grit Too!

Blog Post Written By: Amber Fretwell, Senior Director of School Partnerships

STAFF HIGHLIGHT: Anna Scaiano

12/4/2018

Name: Anna Scaiano
Your Position? I’m the Unconditional Education Coach at Verde Elementary in North Richmond

What led you to your current position? I am a social worker, and I’m really drawn towards more macro level work and issues. I’ve always loved working in education, and I was struggling to find a position that would allow me to focus on macro level issues while staying face to face with clients. I feel like, in this field, you’re either doing counseling or direct behavioral support or you’re doing policy and planning and don’t get to see clients all that often. A role that combines both is rare. When I saw the UE Coach job posting, I jumped at it! It was the perfect opportunity to focus on macro level issues – like school culture and climate – while still getting to see kids every day and be grounded in the community I’m serving.

What does your average day look like? Every day is different! I run social skills groups, I work with teachers to discuss their classroom culture and climate and implement trauma informed practices, I develop PD for my school staff, I work with admin to implement PBIS for the whole school, I run restorative justice circles to solve problems, and I support kids 1:1 when there’s a crisis or they need additional support.

Why do you do this work? I do this work because I feel like education is the best intervention strategy we have to break cycles of poverty and oppression, and I can see how really thoughtfully designed programs can impact a child’s life for the better. I love working in a field that’s goal is to help others succeed, and I’m thankful to work in an organization that does this in a way that’s grounded in community and mindful of looking at these issues through an equity lens.

What hope do you have for the future of our program? I hope we can keep building on the amazing work we’re doing in public schools, partnering with districts and thinking about new and innovative ways to serve students in the ways that they deserve!