Blog Archives

STAFF HIGHLIGHT

11/30/2016

Name: Trevor Burns
Position: Unconditional Education Coach at Daniel Webster Elementary School

What led you to your current position?
After working at San Leandro Day Treatment Center, and Alameda TBS, I decided I was ready to transition into program development with All-In! The UE coach role provided me with an opportunity to develop Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports in a school system, while also providing direct service to students and families.

My goal was to work in a position where I could support students thriving in their neighborhood public school. After leaving Alameda TBS, I had a craving to invest in one school, build stronger relationships with staff and students, and provide inclusive supports to these students and families. Working at Daniel Webster allows me to be a part of a team that meets students and families ‘where they are at,’ and works to build up the capacity of school teams to support ALL students.

Fun Fact/Quote:
7 years ago I was invited by Andrew Boring (a former Seneca staff) to play in an adult soccer league. I still play in this league every Sunday, and it has become my number 1 self care tool!

What does your average day look like?
I hop in the car around 6:15 to head to work. I drive from Oakland with Annie Shibley (another UE Coach) to San Francisco, so we can take advantage of the carpool lane. After stopping for coffee, I get into work a little before 7.

The students start school at 8:40, so this couple hours before they arrive is valuable for getting all of my administrative tasks done. Once the kids arrive, my day is some combination of running our school wellness center, coaching teachers and staff around site wide interventions, implementing individualized student behavior plans, and leading PBIS assemblies or classroom lessons.

After the students leave I partake in COST meetings, meet with teacher teams to discuss tier 1 and 2 supports in their classrooms, collaborate with our Seneca team, and hold meetings with the school administration to incorporate data in decision making.
I head home around 5:30 by hopping on BART. After work, I walk the lake, go to the gym, enjoy local Oakland restaurants, shoot pool at home, and immerse myself in a Giants, Niners, or Warrior game!

Why do you do this work?
I do this work to provide a voice to those students and families who have struggled to find an advocate. I work in the school environment to support the development of change at a site wide level. My hope is that my values and Seneca’s values will become a part of the school’s fabric, and cater to the needs of students and families for years to come.

What hope do you have for the future of All-In?
I hope All-In continues to prioritize building strong and sustainable partnerships with schools. The resources given to schools must be strategically thought out. All-In continues to spread out and provide service to many new schools (which is great), but I hope we continue to be mindful of developing staff and programs in existing partnerships. One of our goals should be to increase the likelihood that schools who have received coaching and support can maintain the work for many years to come.

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STAFF GUEST POST: To Be an Upstander

11/30/2016

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Stopbullying.gov defines bullying as “unwanted, aggressive behavior that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose.” The recent election has shown people in power engaging in all of these behaviors. Last week the New York Times published an article describing some of the ramifications children have experienced due to the perception that bullying behaviors are acceptable. The Southern Poverty Law Center has also reported a significant uptick in anti-immigrant, anti-black, anti-LGBT types of harassment (amongst others) in the days following the presidential election.

As educators, we have the opportunity to be upstanders for our students and their families so that they know they have allies that support them. We get to set the tone for how people are treated, and to teach our children how to be upstanders in school, at home, and in their communities. People who engage in bullying behavior only have power if there isn’t anyone there to stand up against them. Our children and families cannot afford for us to be bystanders in the coming years. We have the privilege of sharing our values of Love and Compassion, Respect and Curiosity, Hope and Courage, and best of all, JOY. As we move forward with our work, we will have to have many hard conversations with children and families about what they see on TV, and what they might experience at school and in their communities. A few resources that can help with having conversations with our school partners and students about bullying and bullying prevention include:

If we see bullying behavior at schools, here are a few basic steps to take:

Encourage teachers to have classroom circles to talk about what to do if students see bullying behaviors. The work we all do to create safe spaces will be invaluable as we move forward. I am honored to work with such an amazing community of people that is dedicated to doing critical work for children and families. We will get through this together.

Blog post written by:
Laura Lin, Unconditional Education Coach

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SENECA'S TRAINING LIBRARY

11/30/2016

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I have the opportunity to represent All-In as part of Seneca’s Professional Development Advisory Committee, coordinated by the Institute for Advanced Practice. The purpose of this group is create an opportunity for cross departmental and program collaboration, focused on professional development opportunities for our staff and teams. We are just getting started, so more to come on this topic, but I want to share a resource I just found out about.

In an effort to help you navigate and strengthen your work with youth and families, the Seneca Institute for Advanced Practice has developed a Training Library of books and resources (videos, audio, software). You can access the Training Library Catalog via an online site where you browse the titles, read a summary of the material, and submit an online form to borrow something. You can also request the library invest in a recommended title, which will also help the library to grow and include more high quality resources over time. The library lives at Rock, but you can reserve something to pick up next time you visit or it can be sent via interoffice mail. Check out the link if you are interested to learn more. Also, please reach out to share any feedback and ideas you have related to this important topic or ways we can work together to create professional development opportunities across the agency.

Blog post written by:
Lilly Green, Director of School Partnerships

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STAFF HIGHLIGHT

11/17/2016

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Name: Moses Santos
Position: TBS Coach

What led you to your current position?
My desire to work more closely with families (and their community partners), and in support of helping them achieve and/or live their desired values and goals.

Fun Fact:
I built my own home…DIY…and truly found joy in the process of having a vision come to reality.

Quote:
"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

What does your average day look like?
I’m up at 5:30AM, water and coffee are necessities; get ready for work; spend time with my daughter and off to work; I meet with, work with, and learn from families, teams, and providers from sun-up til sun-down--and love every minute of it! And then Paperwork Time--it’s what keeps our TBS program/agency viable! And then to the gym for self-care time! & then family-care time: which includes lots of LAUGHTER: games of indoor tag, hide-n-seek, board-games, comedy-hour, dancing, etc. followed by sleep. And repeat! : )

Why do you do this work?
I do this work because I am constantly challenged to think critically about the clients and families that I have been entrusted to serve, and because I’m allowed to PLAY, LAUGH, TEACH, AND LEARN FROM them on a daily basis!

What hope do you have for the future of All-In?
My hope is to see All-In continue its collaborative effort in supporting educational-partners implement academic curriculum while co-currently holding a broader and deeper understanding of the students, families, and communities served.

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STAFF GUEST POST: Supporting Anti-Bias Education

11/17/2016

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Regardless of your feelings about the election, I think we can all agree that the rhetoric that has emerged in our national conversation around race, gender, and religion shows us that we all still have quite a bit of work to do. Many of us have been having reactive conversations about these things with our students over the past few weeks. As important and challenging as these conversations are, we should also turn our attention to how we're shaping and supporting our schools to successfully teach tolerance and support diversity and inclusion for all our students. Teaching for Change is a great resource for building social justice in the classroom, particularly their guide for selecting anti-bias children's books and booklist full of Teaching for Change recommended books. Ensuring that our classrooms and school communities are full of resources that ensure our students feel safe, heard, and included is a step we all can take.

Blog post written by:
Anna Scaiano, Unconditional Education Coach

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SCHOOL HIGHLIGHT: Learning Without Limits

11/10/2016

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LWL is a K-5 charter school in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland. LWL prides itself on supporting our diverse students by meeting them where they are and engaging our families and community in their learning in meaningful ways. Our school’s strong emphasis on English language development and accelerated reading growth is supported by all stakeholders. To that effect, the school’s Family Leadership Council will begin hosting walking fieldtrips with parents to our local libraries and also support a pilot program in second grade to incentivize increased reading practice at home. Participating parents will attend bi-weekly workshops and have the opportunity for embedded reading time with their children.

Schoolwide we are also launching the LWL Reading Challenge. Our students will strive to read 30 million words and earn 5 million Raz Stars by the month of May! Our new mascot, the LWL dragon, is championing this effort and classes that hit monthly goals will get a special visit and/or dance party with the Dragon.

Blog post written by:
Sierra Thai-Binh, Unconditional Education Coach

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STAFF HIGHLIGHT

11/10/2016

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Name: Hannah Louis
Position: Academic Intervention Specialist at ASCEND

What led you to your current position?
I grew up with five siblings and was often in the practice of negotiation, compromise, flexibility, and helping out. I think this is what lead me to pursue a career in a helping profession. Right after college, I started working as a direct care staff at a residential facility for adolescents in upstate New York. I later moved to the Bay Area and found a job with Seneca as a mental health counselor in a counseling-enriched special day class. That's where I began to find my passion for supporting children in the school setting. I felt invigorated by the work I was doing to help students to access their education and decided to go back to school to get my credential and master's in special education. During the first year of my program, I got hired to teach a Seneca supported special day class. After a years worth of experience with teaching in this type of setting, I applied to the All-In! program to gain experience with supporting students with more of a broad range of challenges in an integrated setting. I interviewed with Alli and was placed at ASCEND...and here I stay!

Quote: "Life is great. Cheese makes it better." (Avery Aames)

What does your average day look like?
On a typical day I wake up, eat breakfast, usually granola cereal or an English muffin, take my dog for a walk, and head to work. At work, I push in to classrooms, meet with teachers, facilitate IEP meetings, and run small intervention groups. Then I drive home, take my dog for a walk, make dinner, watch "Cheers" and go to bed.

Why do you do this work?
I care a lot about the people in this world and believe that everyone has the right to a high quality education. Education is where it all starts for people. Education is it.

What hope do you have for the future of All-In?
I hope that All-In! will continue to grow and reach more schools and communities. I also hope that All-In!'s strong values spread so that schools can continue impactful work with children and families.

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STAFF GUEST POST: Directing Our Energies Where They Matter Most

11/10/2016

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I wish I had a magic wand. Allowing for the full and broad range of emotions that we and the children and families we support, along with millions of people in this country and abroad, are feeling today I just want to offer the following, which is helping me ride the emotions without getting lost.

Unplug from the media.

Reach your arms out to the people right next to you, those you can touch, in your homes, your schools, your offices, parks, coffee shops, grocery stores, fields, factories, churches, synagogues, mosques, gyms and sidewalks, and know that all the work you ever need do is right there, work that is utterly independent of politics, media, economics or ideology.

It is in the actions taken every day to open to yourself and to others, stepping deeper into whomever you are here to be, whatever it is you are here to do, that you create the world you want to live in.

Let the referendums, legislation and elected officials fade back into their rightful place, knowing these things are so often distractions and confusions driven by fears that what we have and what we hold dear will be taken from us by the Other and are so very seldom expressions of love, joy and connectedness, the pillars that have always supported positive social change.

Reach your hands out to those near you, lift your face and eyes to the sky, open your heart and let joy and love fill you up and overflow, washing over your children, your neighbors, your family, your students, those you fear, those you dislike and those that have done you harm.

It is a great comfort to me to believe that deep down we all want the same things: to be loved, to love, to belong and have purpose. In that space I find compassion for those I fear and don't understand. It helps me feel like I can move forward, come what may.

Blog post written by:
Ryan Brown, TBS Coach

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STAFF GUEST POST: Being a Part of Change

11/10/2016

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I want to focus on family engagement. I truly believe that providing a corrective experience must happen through the lens of family work. Martin Luther King once said if you're not awake then you are sleeping through a revolution. I truly believe that Seneca Family of Agencies provides effective mental health interventions as I have been part of many teams over the past eight years of working here; working within systems and developing systems to support children and their families.

I have had the privilege to provide services as a clinical intervention specialist, mental health assistant, therapeutic behavioral coach, a counselor with Intensive Treatment Foster Care programs, the START program in Contra Costa County, supported both residential houses in Hayward, Mac-Selpa Hayward public school program, James Baldwin Academy, Pathfinders in Fremont, completed mental health assessments for community-based programs and the Aspire school programs, worked over the summer in San Francisco summer camp to serve and support Seneca clients throughout the Bay Area, and supported shifts at Willow Rock’s crisis support program and Building Blocks’ early child education program.

Throughout this time and through intersecting my experience of each program, I have gained wisdom knowledge and understanding from each and every person I've worked with and served.

To describe the unique blend of my experience and in addressing unconditional education; I live, dance, sing, and I love that I can participate in professional circles and collaborate to address issues that our clients and family face, issues that involve shared trauma, and continuously brainstorm ways that this agency can be a part of change. Change is not easy and I want to be part of the revolution; therefore I strive to stay awake and to be a part of developing teams like the teams that I have participated on and the teams that exist within Seneca.

I am not writing on behalf of Seneca, as there are many other nonprofit agencies who also provide great family work as well. What I am saying, and hope I get across, is that I have had the pleasure to work for Seneca and with people who truly believe in building and sustaining unconditional education for all children.

Thank you.

Love,
Ms. Tatiana

Blog post written by:
Tatiana Stewart, Clinical Intervention Specialist

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“WE NEED A RESOLUTION”: THE NAACP WEIGHS IN ON CHARTER SCHOOLS

11/10/2016

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This October, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)—the nation’s oldest civil rights organization—passed a resolution calling for a moratorium on charter school expansion and for stronger oversight in charter schools’ governance and practice. The resolution calls for a freeze on the creation of new charter schools until the following conditions are met:

Language from the resolution placed its cause squarely in civil rights terms. “The NAACP has been in the forefront of the struggle for and a staunch advocate of free, high-quality, fully and equitably-funded public education for all children,” said Roslyn M. Brock, Chairman of the National NAACP Board of Directors. “We are dedicated to eliminating the severe racial inequities that continue to plague the education system.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the call for a moratorium on new charters has sparked serious debate along familiar pro- and anti-charter lines. Both before and after the vote, several major American newspapers—including the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal—wrote articles strongly opposing the resolution. The Times called the NAACP resolution a “misguided attack” on charters, while the Post snidely urged the Association to “do its homework.” In a letter written to the NAACP, a group of 160 African American education and community leaders from across the country argued passionately against the resolution, writing that the NAACP’s criticisms of charters were based on “cherry-picked and debunked claims” and that a moratorium on new charters would ultimately reduce opportunities for African American students, especially those from low-income families.

Several articles have also appeared defending the resolution. In an article published in Ebony magazine last week, NAACP president and CEO Cornell William Brooks doubled down the resolution’s criticism of charter schools, characterizing charters at one point as “fueling the preschool to prison pipeline.” Steven Rosenfeld also wrote in defense of the resolution in an article for Salon, arguing that both the Times and Post articles were “misguided and uniformed,” and characterizing the charter school industry as “separate and unequal” and a “privatization juggernaut.”

While many of these opinions have strayed a bit toward the extreme, it’s hard to ignore some legitimate points on both sides of the aisle. Those opposing the moratorium cite the positive outcomes and community successes of strong charter schools, such as many of those served by UE; while the NAACP and its supporters seek to rein in charter school networks at their most disastrous, such as those in Detroit or Ohio, ensuring fair transparency, oversight, and accountability for all charters before expansion is allowed to continue. While it’s hard to disagree with the NAACP’s goals for protected public funding for traditional schools and equitable, representative charter school populations (including the inclusion of higher needs students), the question remains whether a nationwide moratorium is an appropriate—or effective—strategy.

One issue I do take with this most recent defense of charters, such as the letter written to the NAACP, is the narrative that charters serve as low-income African American families’ sole hope to “rescue their children from failing schools.” This reasoning undermines one of the founding principles of the charter movement, which justified charter schools’ independence as a testing ground for innovations that could be adopted later in traditional public school settings. While the writers of some of these articles may have lost sight of this aim, it’s something I’ve been proud to have been a part of in our Unconditional Education work. With the program finding its initial successes in neighborhood charter schools, and expanding later into district schools through partnerships with San Francisco, Oakland, and West Contra Costa Unified School Districts, the arc of UE’s growth has in many ways fulfilled this piece of charter schools’ intentions. As such, the flexibility that charters have granted the UE program in finding its own roots is hard to ignore when considering my own stance on the NAACP’s resolution.

Blog post written by:
Sean Murphy, Assistant Director of Program Assessment and Evaluation

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Welcome

STAFF HIGHLIGHT

STAFF GUEST POST: To Be an Upstander

SENECA'S TRAINING LIBRARY

STAFF HIGHLIGHT

STAFF GUEST POST: Supporting Anti-Bias Education

SCHOOL HIGHLIGHT: Learning Without Limits

STAFF HIGHLIGHT

STAFF GUEST POST: Directing Our Energies Where They Matter Most

STAFF GUEST POST: Being a Part of Change

“WE NEED A RESOLUTION”: THE NAACP WEIGHS IN ON CHARTER SCHOOLS

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