Blog Archives

STAFF GUEST POST

2/16/2017

As I was finishing up my Masters Program at USF I was unsure of what would be next. When I was offered the position of BSS with All-in! I had no idea what to expect. I was both excited and nervous to embark on a new journey and have the opportunity to apply what I had learned in a community that really needed the support. As a part of the EFC and All-in! Partnership I have been able to learn and grow in several different areas of interest, I have had the full support of my administrators and supervisors, and I have been grateful to have the autonomy to take risks and make challenging decisions in an effort to improve the overall experience of the students and families we serve.

Despite the very ferocious roller coaster ride we’ve been on this year at Achieve, from very personal and unfortunate events within our community to racial and political tragedies throughout our country, we have managed to keep our minds and hearts together to continue to strengthen and build the partnership. We have had difficult conversations, pushing each other out of our comfort zones. We’ve endured through disagreements to find common ground. We’ve held each other accountable for each other’s mistakes and misconceptions. Because of this we have slowly begun to become more aligned with the core values that both organizations hold. Through these changes we have had more success engaging our parents, students, and teachers to invest in themselves, and in each other and most importantly our community as a whole.

Though we are not yet in the optimal position for the success we are seeking, we have worked together as a team and a community to keep striving for greatness. We continue to uplift and empower each other and be brave enough to take on new challenges every day making sure that we are giving ALL we can to ALL our students!

Blog post written by:
Amber White, Behavioral Support Specialist

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STAFF HIGHLIGHT

2/16/2017

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Name: Yvonne Rogers
Position: UE Coach at Cox Academy

What led you to your current position?
While working as a teacher at Pathfinder, I was asked to help support a Cox Academy as they just entered into a partnership with. I spent 2 days a week providing academic intervention to students that had IEP’s. So, when the opportunity presented itself to me to come aboard at Cox Academy, I said YES.

Favorite Quote/Fun Fact:

"Bless your heart, Bless my heart, Bless your stink’n heart", "Tootles McNoodles", "My heart is farting glitter", "love muffins"
I always have love in my pocket and pass it around. Student often stop by my desk to deliver “love” that they’ve been brewing.
I have a knack for throwing the best elementary dances.
I love doing the end of the day pick up traffic.
I have a vest, with patches… it’s hot pink.

What does your average day look like?
There is no average day…. But a typical week would look like MEETINGS about meetings to have meetings, IEP meetings, IEP’s, emails, lunch time with Wheel of Rewards on Wednesday, many many hugs…

Why do you do this work?
My soul would shrivel up an die if I wasn’t in a place that aligned with my values. Working with humans in a healing capacity, gives me life.

What hope do you have for the future of All-In?
I would really like to see Seneca open up their own Charter School.

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SCHOOL HIGHLIGHT: Daniel Webster Elementary School

2/16/2017

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Daniel Webster is a K-5 Elementary School within San Francisco’s Unified School District that is located at the very top of Potrero Hill. Supported by the i3 grant, Seneca has built a partnership with Daniel Webster over the past 3 school years. Working closely with members of the Daniel Webster staff and administration, Seneca has supported the integration of social-emotional learning, and the understanding of tiered behavioral intervention into the climate and culture of the school. One of the critical elements to building a supportive and inclusive school environment was the creation of Daniel Webster’s Wellness Center. In close collaboration with school administration, Seneca pushed forward the idea that students need a space to develop and practice self-soothing skills. Additionally, it was believed by staff that in a Wellness Center, students would benefit from an opportunity to learn how to solve problems using restorative practices, and required a place to practice managing strong feelings.

The purpose of the Wellness Center is to provide Daniel Webster students with a space to focus on the development and awareness of their emotional needs. This space has two designated functions – Cool Down and Talk it Out. These areas provide focused interventions to support individual students who are demonstrating difficulty in regulating their emotions.

A “Cool Down” intervention is intended for students who are demonstrating mild to moderate behavioral challenges or who are experiencing a strong emotion. Teachers are coached to try all classroom pro-active strategies and allow time for these strategies to be effective, before determining that the student would benefit from a break. A Cool down may also be used for students who are proactive in asking their teacher for a break.

A “Talk It Out” is intended for students who are having peer/staff conflict within the school. This area is a designated space for students to talk about their concerns, problems, and frustrations, either independently or with a staff facilitating the conversation.

Each classroom was given guided tours of the Wellness Center, allowed an opportunity to sample the ‘cool down’ items (squeeze balls, play-dough, coloring sheets, etc.), and participated in role plays to allow for Seneca Staff and the SFUSD social worker to coach the students on how to use restorative practices. Classroom teachers have been provided similar cool-down items and reflection activities for their classroom peace-tables, so students can utilize skills learned in the Wellness Center in their own classrooms. After a full year of implementation of the Wellness Center, Daniel Webster staff view it as an integral part of our school, and we look forward to watching the Wellness Center evolve!

Blog post written by:
Trevor Burns, UE Coach

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#BLACKFACTS…For Black History Month!

2/16/2017

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Since 1976, Black History Month has been celebrated every February to commemorate the accomplishments of BLACK Americans throughout history. With the countless number of iconic contributions made by Black Americans, Black History Month provides us with the time and space to reflect on and honor the Black American experience from the times of slavery through the present. So, to pay homage to those who came before us and paved the way for those who stand today, here are a few interesting #BLACKFACTS that you may not know. I hope you enjoy reading and reflecting on the instrumental and invaluable influence of #blackhistory!

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The African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), founded by Richard Allen became the first national black church in the United States in 1816.

Thomas L. Jennings was the first African-American to receive a patent in 1821. It was for a dry-cleaning process in 1821. He used the money earned from the patent to purchase relatives out of slavery and support abolitionist causes.

Alexander Lucius Twilight was the first African American to receive a college degree from Middlebury College in 1823

Lincoln University is the oldest Historically Black University in the US, and was founded in 1854

Edmonia Lewis was the first professional African-American sculptor (1864), often sculpting courageous and inspirational people such as Cleopatra, Phillis Wheatley, President Ulysses S. Grant, etc.

Rebecca Cole, born in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, was the second Black woman to graduate from medical school in 1867

Richard Theodore Greener, was the first African-American graduate from Harvard in 1870. He started out at Oberlin College, the first American college to admit African-Americans and went on to become a lawyer.

Henry Ossian Flipper was the first African-American to graduate from West Point academy in 1877 and became the first black commander when he was assigned to the 10th Cavalry, a Buffalo Soldier regiment.

Sophia Tucker and Harriet Giles, the founders of Spelman College used just 100.00 to found the Historically Black College in 1881.

Judy W. Reed was the first African-American woman to receive a patent in 1884 for a hand-operated machine used to knead and roll dough.

W.E.B. Du Bois became the first African American to earn a PH.D. from Harvard in 1895

Madame C.J. Walker (born Sarah Breedlove) invented specialized hair products for African-American hair (starting in 1905) and became the first American woman to become a millionaire.

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Earnest Just was the only person (and he happened to be Black) to graduate magna cum laude in the graduating class of 1907 from Dartmouth College

Matthew Henson was a part of the first successful U.S. expedition to the North Pole in 1909.

Charles Henry Turner, a zoologist and educator, was the first person to discover that insects can hear (1914).

Black Swan Records, founded in 1921 by Harry Pace in Harlem, was the first U.S. record label owned and operated by African-Americans. It was originally the Pace Phonograph Corporation and was renamed Black Swan Records after the 19th century opera singer Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, who was known as the Black Swan

Bessie Coleman became the first licensed African-American pilot in the world in 1921. She received aviation instruction in France.

Elbert Frank Cox became the first Black to old a doctorate degree in mathematics, which he received from Cornell University in Ithaca NY in 1925

Alain Locke, a writer, philosopher and intellectual, was the first African-American Rhodes Scholar. A strong supporter of African-American arts, he wrote about the Harlem Renaissance in The New Negro (1925).

Deford Bailey was a "wizard" at playing the harmonica and was most notable for mimicking the sound of locomotives. He was the first African-American to perform at the Grand Ole Opry (1925), and one of the first African-American stars of country music.

Booker T. Washington was the first African-American to be honored on a U.S. stamp, in 1940.

The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American pilots in the U.S. armed forces. Beginning in 1941, select groups of extensively tested and rigorously trained African-Americans were trained at The Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. The Tuskegee Airmen are depicted in the G.I. Joe action figure series.

Ralph J. Bunche, a politician and a U.N. diplomat, was the first African-American to win the Nobel Peace prize in 1950 for mediating the Arab-Israeli truce.

Althea Gibson was the first African-American tennis player to compete in the U.S. Championships in 1950 and at Wimbledon in 1951. In 1957 she won the women's singles and doubles at Wimbledon in 1957, which was celebrated by a ticker tape parade when she returned home to New York City.

Barbara Jordan, leader of the all-Black Texas Southern University debate team stunned and beat the Harvard debate team in 1954

Marian Anderson, a gifted contralto singer, was the first African-American to perform with the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1955.

Nathaniel Adams Cole “Nat King Cole”, a singer, song writer and pianist, was the first African-American to host a national television program, The Nat King Cole Show, in 1956.

Autherine Lucy becomes the first Black student at the University of Alabama in February 1956

Arthur Ashe was the first African-American to not only be named to the U.S. Davis Cup team in 1963, but to also win the U.S. Open in 1968, to win the men's singles at Wimbledon in 1975, and the first to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1985.

Charley Pride is one of the most successful African-American country singers of all time, with a career spanning over 40 years (1966-present) and 36 number one hits. He is also the first African-American to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000. Pride was a baseball player with the Negro League and the Memphis Red Sox before becoming a successful musician.

Diahann Carroll was the first African-American woman to have her own television series, "Julia" in 1968. It was a controversial, yet Nielsen top ten rated show about a single working mother raising her child.

Maya Angelou's autobiographical, "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" is the first non-fiction work by an African-American woman to make the best-seller list (1970).

Alexa Canady became the first female African-American neurosurgeon in the United States. She graduated from medical school in 1975.

Lee Elder was the first African-American golfer to play in the Masters Tournament in 1975. He has won 4 PGA tournaments and 8 Senior PGA tournaments in his career.

Robert L. Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET) in 1980 is the first African-American billionaire.

Ben Carson, a skilled neurosurgeon, led the first successful operation to separate a pair of Siamese twin infants who were joined at the back of the head in 1987.

Debi Thomas, the talented figure-skater, is the first African American to win a medal (bronze) at the Winter Olympic games in 1988.

George Washington Carver who made agricultural advancements and inventions pertaining to the use of peanuts in hundreds of ways and Percy Julian, who helped create drugs to combat glaucoma, were the first African-Americans admitted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1990.

Minnie Jocelyn Lee Elders was the first African-American and the second woman to serve as the United States Surgeon General. Her term began in 1993 and lasted for 15 months

Maurice Ashley is the first and only African-American to be crowned International Grand Master of chess in 1999. He opened the Harlem Chess Center in 1999, where he coaches young chess players.

In 2002 Vonetta Flowers became the first African-American to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympic games.

Blog post written by:
Toshia Mears, Director of School Partnerships

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STAFF HIGHLIGHT

2/9/2017

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Name: Keri Montesino Stewart
Position: Unconditional Education Coach at Grant Elementary in Richmond

What led you to your current position?
I began my educational career as a kindergarten teacher and I truly enjoyed being in the classroom. However, I wanted to expand my reach beyond one classroom and pursued my graduate degree in school psychology. Most of my doctoral research focused on building positive classrooms and schools as well as supporting schools through professional development. When I saw the opening for Unconditional Education Coach, I knew it was a perfect match. I am so excited about the potential to help transform a school’s culture and about using all the knowledge and skills I gained as a school psychologist for systems change.

Fun Fact
I was born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, which is a Caribbean island off the north-east coast of Venezuela. I completed my undergraduate degree and first years in education in the Caribbean, and lived in Florida for the past five years. Oakland is my new home, so any recommendations for new and interesting places to explore will be welcomed. :)

What does your average day look like?
I usually wake up, get dressed, and head off to Grant. I spend most of the morning responding to emails and checking in with staff. My daily activities revolve around creating and improving existing school systems as well as coordinating behavioral and mental health services for students. I look forward to days when I conduct social skills groups with students and facilitate school teams meetings. Part of my day is spent collaborating and problem solving with staff on how to support our challenging students. Also, I try to find time at the end of the day to prepare professional development to school staff and prepare activities for my social skills groups. In the evenings I try to have a little down time with my husband watching tv, cooking or eating out, and going to the movies. I really enjoy good food, the theatre and exploring my new home city.

Why do you do this work?
I really have a passion for influencing and changing education systems and it is truly rewarding working alongside school administrators and staff to create more positive environments for students, families and staff. My heart is warmed when students are excited to be at school, when families feel as part of the school community and when teachers report success with a new strategy or activity.

What hope do you have for the future of All-In?
I hope we continue to expand our work to more schools and districts so that more students have an opportunity to feel connected to their schools, as well as motivated, and invested in their education.

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SCHOOL HIGHLIGHT: Aspire Triumph Technology Academy

2/9/2017

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Triumph strives to cultivate an environment where students are healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. We integrate technology to differentiate for each student, to push for further understanding, and to ensure that our students have agency over their own learning to prepare them for college and beyond. We work toward equity by meeting each scholar’s academic and social needs, by developing students’ motivation to work toward ambitious goals, and by honoring the community, culture, and background of our students and families.

Above is the mission statement created and written by the staff at Triumph Academy four years ago. What a scene it was to have 35 staff in a room together, shouting out their hopes, their dreams, their reasons for being in this line of work, and watching this statement arise from the masses. Each voice was honored, each word was captured. It is with this collaboration and fluidity that the staff of Triumph continue to serve our 297 students and families day in and day out. While I agree with and am behind Triumph's mission statement, I have bolded the specific words/sentences that as a clinician I find to be incredibly inspiring in our line of work. The dedication to social justice, to seeing and meeting needs of our students and families, and creating and fostering a space where we honor the community, culture and background of each student is awe-inspiring and very much in line with my professional and personal beliefs as a social worker and a human being.

Currently, Seneca is supporting Triumph in the clinical realm, with two full time clinicians on site. We are integrated in the Tier 1, 2 and 3 workings of the school, supporting and facilitating individual, group and family work, as well as providing on site trainings to teachers and staff. We offer trauma informed services, including a Bounce Back CBITS group (Cognitive Behavior Intervention for Trauma in Schools) where we identified students via a class wide trauma screener. This year we are also part of at team providing 3 hours of clinical support per day to two students who qualified for this additional level of intervention. Recently, we have had an increase of students and families immigrating from Yemen and I am currently working with admin to ensure we are providing the utmost welcoming, safe and inclusive environment possible. It has been an honor and pleasure to work with this school and be a part of it's evolution.

Blog post written by:
Kate Sherwood, Clinical Intervention Specialist

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STAFF GUEST POST: Training Opportunity Serves Two Purpose

2/9/2017

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Did you know that in 2014, there were 415,129 children living in foster care in the United States? While there are more than 7,000 children in the greater Bay Area who require foster care, no county currently has enough Resource (Foster) Parents to match this pressing and unmet need. Seneca Family of Agencies received a grant from Help for Children, supported by Hedge Funds Care and Private Equity Cares to help address the shortage of qualified and approved foster homes in the Bay Area.

Through current and new partnerships with elementary, middle and secondary schools throughout Alameda, San Francisco, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Marin counties, the grant enables us to provide training for parents, caregivers and teachers to encourage participants to consider becoming a resource parent while building caregivers’ skills, knowledge, and support networks as a preventative intervention. These trainings, provided free to sites along with food and childcare, can be customized based on each site’s unique needs from Seneca’s existing curricula.

Engaging parents and caregivers and building their capacity to provide parallel interventions in the home that align with the work happening at school is a key component of strengthening school culture and climate. Further, the trainings can serve as a jumping off point for increasing parent-teacher collaboration and creating informal parent networks. These funds can be used to support parent-training efforts that bolster the critical work All In! Is already doing in schools, at no cost to our partners!

When appropriate, the trainings conclude with information regarding the benefits of becoming a resource parent and a description of Seneca’s Intensive Services Foster Care (ISFC) Program. In this home-based, therapeutic approach, Seneca resource parents are valued team members who receive weekly support and guidance from Seneca clinicians and behavior specialists to ensure that fostering a child is a positive, successful, and rewarding experience for all.

With a focus on the strengths and value of each child, the team helps foster youth to recover and flourish as they learn coping skills and improve their ability to regulate feelings and behaviors. By encouraging the child’s strengths, teaching new skills, and supporting healthy family and community connections, Seneca resource parents help the youth in their care to achieve stability, connectedness, positive self-image, and a sense of belonging. With love, support, and commitment, Seneca resource parents help their foster children to grow, heal, and thrive.

If you or anyone you know might be interested in hearing more about these trainings or the ISFC program, please contact Ebony Crump, Family Development Specialist at 415.314.5283

Blog post written by:
Jenn Simeone

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EDUCATION INNOVATION AND RESEARCH (EIR) GRANT OPPORTUNITY

2/9/2017

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“When at first you don’t succeed …” hopefully the universe gives you a second chance! While we didn’t win the i3 Validation competition, we have been presented with another, very similar opportunity from the U.S. Department of Education. The Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant program was established in the Every Student Succeeds Act and is the successor of the Obama Administration's i3 grant program.

The purpose Education Innovation and Research (EIR) program is to provide competitive grants to applicants with a record of improving student achievement and attainment in order to expand the implementation of, and investment in, innovative, evidence-based practices with demonstrated impact. These grants (1) allow organizations to expand and develop innovative practices that can serve as models of best practices for improving student achievement and attainment for high-needs students, (2) allow organizations to work in partnership with the private sector and the philanthropic community, and (3) identify and document best practices that can be shared and taken to national scale based on demonstrated success.

This grant would provide $8 million dollars to scale and evaluate the UE model in the Bay Area and Seattle. We will be applying under the “Improving Low Performing Schools” priority, which calls for whole school models and strategies that lead to significant and sustained improvement in individual student performance and overall school performance and culture.

The grant is due mid-April and will hear results by the end of June! Keep your fingers and toes crossed for this very exciting opportunity for expansion.

Blog post written by:
Jenny Ventura, Director of Model Implementation

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STAFF HIGHLIGHT

2/2/2017

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Name: Alan Ellis
Position: Academic Intervention Specialist, Alternatives In Action High School & Lazear Middle School

What led you to your current position?

For most of my adult life, I've worked in varying capacities with young people, adults, educators, and people with disabilities. In my most recent Special Education position, I worked for five years at an NPS for students with behavioral challenges as a high school classroom teacher and basketball coach. What led me to my current position was and is a desire to support and empower students in a General Education setting.

Favorite Quote

"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world."
- Eleanor Roosevelt

What does your average day look like?

In the morning I try to do some self-care by exercising, reading, and eating a healthy breakfast. At work, I usually start and end my day by doing intervention prep and exchanging emails. The middle of my days are different depending on which school site I'm at, but my work with students is a mixture of having my own groups, pushing into classrooms, and meeting with students one-on-one. In addition to that, I meet with teachers, administrators, service providers, and families while working on the case management side of my role. In the evenings my partner and I enjoy cooking, reading, watching T.V., and playing games. We are both educators and value the importance of getting a good night's sleep.

Why do you do this work?

I believe that every person is on a spectrum of abilities, talents, and intelligences. The systems in which we live, including education, were not created and have not been maintained with that same belief. The reason I am engaged in this work is to empower students to recognize the strengths they already have and to work towards improvement in their areas of challenge. I am also passionate about collaborating with educators within the system to move towards an education model that is inclusive, accessible, and prioritizes all students.

What hope do you have for the future of All-In?

I hope All-In strengthens it's school partnerships within the Bay Area while continuing to be creative in the ways in which we support all our students and families.

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STAFF GUEST POST: Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District

2/2/2017

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The recent changes in the Executive Branch of our government have sparked dialogue and uncertainty about the future of Special Education. Regardless of who holds the positions of President or Secretary of Education, an important Supreme Court case was recently argued that will redefine the meaning of "free and appropriate public education (FAPE)" for students with disabilities. On January 11th of this year, the Supreme Court heard the arguments in the case of Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District. The case revolves around a family that removed their student with Autism Spectrum Disorder from public school and enrolled him in a private institution they felt better suited his needs. The case being brought to the Court argues that the school district is financially responsible for the education the student now receives.

In a broader sense, the issue argued at the Court was the level of educational benefit school districts must provide to children with disabilities to ensure they are receiving the "free appropriate public education" guaranteed by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This is the first time that a major case on the meaning of FAPE has been heard by the Court since Rowley v. Board of Ed. (1982), which established that an IEP should provide "some educational benefit" and a reasonable amount of support, but not the best or most support available to a student. Since that time, IDEA legislation has surpassed the standard the Rowley case established. The most recent legislation calls for students with IEPs to have challenging academic standards and to have IEPs designed for the student to "make progress in the general education curriculum."

During the arguments of the Endrew F. case, it appeared likely that the Court would not mandate school districts be held financially responsible for parents' choices to enroll students in private institutions. The attorney for the Douglas County School District side argued that the current FAPE standard is acceptable and that a Supreme Court decision in favor of a much higher standard would "invite massive amounts of litigation" from parents. The attorney for Endrew F.'s side stated that IEPs should "be tailored (for students) to achieve a general educational curriculum at grade level" or "alternative benchmarks that are the highest possible achievable by the student." Justices in the case seemed to favor the language closer to current IDEA legislation requiring a program "aimed at significant educational progress in light of the child's circumstances." The arguments of the case and the Justice's inquiries show that the impact of the Court's decision will most likely be to unify the language and standards from previous Court cases and IDEA legislation to deliver a clearer definition of "free and appropriate public education."

The Supreme Court decision is expected this spring or summer. Following tradition, recent Supreme Court Justice nominee Neil Gorsuch is not expected to take part in a decision of a case previously argued should he be confirmed.

More information on the case can be found here: