Local, Research, Youth Media

Guest Blogger: Marty Mannion, Poet-Athlete Finds His Voice Through Soccer

Written By: Marty Mannion, Education Director-America SCORES Bay Area

Anthony Spears barely spoke to anyone other than his parents during 1st and 2nd grade at ER Taylor Elementary School.  Looking back he explained “It was hard to talk to strangers the most because you don’t know them.  How are you supposed to talk to people you don’t know?”  Anthony’s anxiety highlights the fundamental challenge facing teachers at the beginning of the school year.  They must transform a room full of “strangers” into a team of students that support each other in writing, sharing and learning together.  This is especially challenging with students who are new to the country or dealing with poverty.

Anthony and hundreds of other students each year who struggle in the traditional classroom setting find the answer in America SCORES Bay Area’s magic mix of soccer, writing and community service.  After school students practice soccer and write poetry with their team and on Saturdays they compete against other schools, where they also share poems before each game.

You might wonder, “A soccer and writing program?  Why and how?”  America SCORES helps students discover that writing is a social action and writing is for everybody.  It is a dialogue between a speaker and the world, which must include a responsive, safe audience.  What better audience and writing community is there than a team that is already working together towards a common goal?

When poet-athletes on America SCORES teams want to be heard by their teammates, opponents, coaches or communities, they have no choice but to become the author of their own story.  Most of all, poetry and soccer make a great team because they both know how to have fun!  The America SCORES Bay Area program is a year-long festival and celebration of all that children have to say, and all the soccer they can play.

For students like Anthony, joining the America SCORES team transforms the school experience from a building full of strangers to a team full of friends who value each other’s writing.  Only after every student experiences this transformation can we expect them to stay engaged and meet their full potential in the classroom.

Local, Research, Youth Media

Video: Adelante Youth and SF State Visit

Originally posted by Cesar Cruz

Perfect example of how KQED’s American Graduate Initiative can make an impact of the lives of high school students who are eager to learn and expand their experiences.

As Cesar Cruz, ARISE High, Adelante Coordinator, Raza History Teacher explained, “It was a great experience for them to see people of color from their neighborhood at KQED and then to sit in on lectures that are inspiring and life changing. It was a powerful day! It made students who are dropping out in high school envision themselves at SF State and working at KQED!”

Homies Empowerment Youth in the Adelante Leaders program at ARISE High travel to KQED thanks to Yo Ann Martinez and then to SF State thanks to Dr. Jeff Duncan-Andrade and explore media, education and life long learning.

Local, Research

Guest Blogger: Jose Corona, New Equity-Driven Growth Model

Jose Corona, CEO Inner City Advisors,Tanya Scott, Founder of Ed Support Services and Alejandro Velez, Founder of Back To The Roots

Written By Jose Corona

With the imperative to reduce inequality and restore local economic growth, Inner City Advisors (ICA) is accelerating the impact economy with an innovative, equity-driven growth model that’s successfully growing local, small businesses, creating good jobs and generating equity for inner city residents with high barriers to employment.

ICA is a San Francisco Bay Area based nonprofit that selects, manages and invests in high-impact entrepreneurs in order to create good jobs and equity for inner city residents. We provide high quality services to help Bay Area entrepreneurs grow their businesses and make a positive impact on the people they employ, the communities where they operate and the world.

On May 23, 2012 at 5PM at the historic Oakland Fox Theater, ICA will convene 1500 of the Bay Area’s most diverse and innovative entrepreneurs, community, philanthropic, business and local political leaders at its ALL IN 2012 event to dramatically increase our collective investment in the local small businesses that are creating good jobs and equitable growth in our communities.

ALL IN 2012 also showcases the release of ICA’s 2012 Agenda for Action, highlighting the organization’s impact on the growth of Bay Area small businesses, the creation of 2,445 good jobs—60% of which are held by women, 68% held by minorities—and the generation of $111 million in wages for local residents of the San Francisco Bay Area. The Agenda for Action provides compelling evidence for how to build a better future and an equitable economy that works for all citizens.

We know that a new economic development strategy is needed in these difficult times. In order to sustain our nation’s growth and prosperity, all citizens, young and adult alike, must be incorporated into an economic model that embraces our country’s changing demographics, and ensures investment in future generations.

By bringing people together who are passionate about building small business as well as thriving communities we’ve seen our model for job creation work. ICA has leveraged its partnerships to increase the size and strength of our entrepreneurial support ecosystem, mobilizing government, private business, nonprofits and the public to work in concert towards supporting entrepreneurs and creating good jobs.

Our ecosystem is our greatest asset. It brings like-minded entrepreneurs, advisors, investors, corporate partners and small businesses together to deliver a high quality of service as well as added value for all members of our network. Today, an unparalleled network of people are invested in the ICA mission but it is time to invest more resources and dramatically increase our impact.  By expanding our model, we will build healthy communities that nurture families, making it possible for all residents, regardless of their socioeconomic status, to have equal access to good jobs and wealth.

Our impact means nothing if it does not inspire an “all in” investment that creates the conditions for the next generation to prosper. We must act now and make bigger investments in public schools, higher education, workforce development, and quality job creation so that every resident can co-create and prosper from economic growth. This is not just a matter of social equity. Our national competitiveness and security hinge upon our ability to prepare tomorrow’s workers—especially our youth—for the good jobs we’re creating today.

Local, Research, Youth Media

Twin Sisters from Oakland Heading to Yale — Together

Staff Photojournalist
Photo of Kim and Jack (left to right) by Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Grou

The Education Blog
May 8, 2012
Written By Katy Murphy

I recently had the chance to sit down with Kim and Jack Mejia-Cuellar, twin sisters from Media Academy (Fremont campus) in East Oakland who have both been awarded full scholarships to Yale University. It was inspiring to hear their story — and how, as one of their teachers put it, they shaped their education into something rigorous and meaningful.

I was struck by something Kim said about feeling like outsiders, at times, for working so hard:

“No one said it outright, but our behavior was strange,” Kim said. “By setting goals for ourselves while other people were setting limits, we were always sort of the odd ones out. We felt pressured, but we didn’t let the pressure get to us.”

Both said that they doubted they’d be where they are if they didn’t have the other as a support system. What about the other bright minds who will show up to school tomorrow, but without an identical twin or best friend with the same drive, discipline and self-assurance? What can their families, friends and the school system do (or avoid doing) to help them set goals instead of limits?

Read more about these incredible twins.

Local, Research

Parents Fundraising Keeps Programs in Schools

A librarian reads to children. (Image credit: Getty Images)
A librarian reads to children. (Image credit: Getty Images)

 

 

Written by Vanessa Romo

Librarians, PE teachers, and music teachers are essential to public education, but thoseprograms have suffered as public schools cut the budget year after year after year. Some parents are fundraising to bring back and bolster the programs schools can’t finance themselves. Listen here.

Local, Research

KQED Radio Forum Broadcast: Schools Under Stress

Teacher Arlene Lebowitz assists a student in her third-grade class during summer school.

Originally aired on May 8, 2012
Hosted by Michael Krasny
A study of California’s 30 largest school districts finds the recession has taken a hard hit on public education. Teacher layoffs, fewer counselors, increased demand for free and reduced-price meals has stressed California’s schools according to the report by an education non-profit. Forum discusses the findings and how schools can compensate. Listen here.

Guests: Ann Hughes, 4th grade teacher at Hillcrest Elementary School in San Francisco, Bruce Fuller, professor of education and public policy at U.C. Berkeley, Jonathan Raymond, Superintendent of Sacramento Unified School District and Louis Freedberg, Executive Director of EdSource, an independent non-profit research and reporting organization

Events, National, Research

Radio Broadcast: Can Girls' Education Change the World?

There is a growing consensus among economists and world leaders that girls’ education is the single most effective tool for fighting poverty in developing countries. While not a panacea, education yields enormous benefits for girls, their families, and society, including increased future income, lower risk of HIV/AIDS, and improved health outcomes. Yet not all approaches to educating girls are equally effective. Join Ann Cotton, Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg, and Joel Samoff as they discuss the benefits and the challenges of educating girls in Africa, and share lessons learned from years of experience working in the sector.

Listen to these great episodes tonight at 8:00pm on KQED 88.5FM and a rebroadcast tomorrow May 8, 2012 at 2:00am.