April 2020

By Jacqueline Garcia and Erica Hellerstein, Cal Matters, April 14, 2020 Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Hector had a stable job as a cook at an Italian restaurant in Oakland. Suddenly, in mid-March, about a dozen workers were laid off, including him. “There was a low clientele and the restaurant wasn’t doing well,” said Hector, who didn’t want to provide his last name due to his undocumented status. Hector, a 45-year-old married father of three and a grandfather, was left struggling to care...

YMCA Marin County Youth Court in San Rafael, California In her opening statement, 17-year-old youth advocate Eva advises jurors how to proceed and summarizes her “client’s” good qualities. “As you will see, Julian is genuine, well-spoken and friendly. I recommend asking him about his friends and family, his future plans and his activities outside of school.” (First names only of all minors are used to protect their privacy.) Welcome to the YMCA Marin County (CA) Youth Court, one of 1,400...

By Deb Anderaos and Julia Yarbough, Action News Now, April 15, 2020 Butte County health representatives say they have long realized the need for coordinated mental health services for family and children dealing with trauma. The Camp Fire drove that point home and now the coronavirus crisis. Julia Yarbough recently spoke with the Executive Director of the new Center for Learning and Resilience. It’s a resource to help meet community needs. First of all, thank you for joining us, and tell me...

By Zaidee Stavely, EdSource, April 15, 2020 As thousands of California residents stay home in response to the coronavirus pandemic, children’s advocates, preschool teachers and social workers have had to get creative to make sure everyone gets counted in the census. “Now that we’re in shelter-in-place, we have really had to pivot,” said Ditas Katague, director of the California Complete Count — Census 2020 office, which was set up to lead outreach efforts in the state. Katague said with the...

By Louis Freedberg, EdSource, April 14, 2020 Gov. Gavin Newsom says it is too soon to ease up on restrictions keeping millions of students out of school, but when they do return, possibly in the fall, they would likely come back to schools organized in radically different ways in order to protect students, staff and families. Currently over 6 million students in California are out of school, and school districts are struggling to provide them with “distance learning” that will hold their...

By John Fensterwald, EdSource, April 15, 2020 The transition to distance learning has been a huge undertaking, and especially difficult for small districts. The Office of the Kern County Superintendent of Schools in California’s San Joaquin Valley has coordinated a common approach. All teachers and their students in participating districts — 22 out of 47 districts so far — will sign onto the same platform. There will be activities and lessons to choose from in every grade and every subject.

Bob Eckstein This week, we're hosting one more 'A Better Normal' discussion: on Thursday, April 16, 2020....12 pm PT/ 1 pm MT/ 2 pm CT/ 3 pm ET. Lara Kain, ACEs In Education community manager, will lead a discussion with James Moffett, Jr., JM Educational Consulting and incoming principal of Faris Elementary in Hutchinson, KS; Emily Read Daniels, M.Ed., MBA, NCC, SEP in training, founder of HERE this NOW ; and Jim Sporleder, Jim Sporleder Consulting , former principal of Lincoln High School...

By The California Homeless Youth Project, February 2020 The California Homeless Youth Project compiled lists of basic needs resources that California’s public colleges and universities offer to undergraduates in order to make these resources more accessible. Basic needs resources include emergency housing, programs targeting students experiencing housing insecurity, programs targeting foster youth, free groceries, free prepared meals, on-campus CalFresh application assistance, emergency...

COVID-19, Domestic Violence and the Workplace For some survivors of domestic violence, going to work or school can provide safe haven and respite from the abuse experience at home or in interpersonal and familial relationships. And the added stress of close quarters created by social distancing measure may indeed exacerbate violence experienced at home. The site provides tips on that may help supervisors and coworkers recognize when a colleague may be experiencing violence at home, how to...

By Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos, KQED, April 13, 2020 California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that the state plans to allocate $42 million — including $1.6 million from the federal government — to address the needs of young people in foster care and others living in low-income families. "Bottom line is we have less social worker visits, we have less child welfare referrals because kids are not at school and because people are practicing physical distancing. And that means we still...

Hi, I am Kristin Beasley (Dr. B) and have a PhD in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in Parent-Child Mental Health (PIMH) and a strong emphasis on Neuropsychology. I am a Professional Keynote Speaker, a Certified iPEC Coach, and an Organizational Trainer. As we face this unprecedented crisis, building community is more important than ever. We are isolated but we are not alone. We must tap into our resilient selves more than ever. Join my FB Live daily, yes, daily at 10AM PST as we...

By Marina Knowles, EdSource, April 9, 2020 Shutting down California to control the spread of the coronavirus requires everyone to cooperate. Gov. Gavin Newsom urged young people to take the crisis seriously and stay indoors and at least six feet from others after commenting on the tragic loss of a Lancaster teenager who died of COVID-19. He went on to say: “Young people can and will be impacted by this virus. In fact, young people disproportionately are the ones testing positive in the state...