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Reading intervention, job training, K age limits, right brain thinkers

Education Roundup

Statewide, and in Sonoma, the age which children must be in order to start traditional kindergarten is changing. The goal is to make the cut-off date a national norm, as many families relocate during their children’s school-age years. In Sonoma, last year children had to be 5 years of age on or before Dec. 2 to enroll; this school year, the date was Nov. 1. The cut-off will be Oct. 1 for the 2013-14 school year, and the cut-off moves to Sept. 1 for the 2014-15 school year and each school year thereafter. Proof of age is required to register for kindergarten.

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Sonoma State University, in conjunction with the Institute of Reading Development, is offering some very high caliber early intervention reading classes for ages 4 and up at Napa Valley College beginning in November. The sessions are broken into eight different age levels and aim to turn poor readers into good readers and good readers into great readers. Beyond fluency, the program for older students centers on speed reading (perhaps the single most useful skill I was taught in middle school) and it is a skill rarely taught in the classroom anymore. Remember Evelyn Wood? Call 800-570-8935 for more information.

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The Harvard Education Letter this month suggests five interesting ways that schools can build closer relationships with families. Author Richard Milner proposes: 1. Offer language-learning resources for all parents and families. Help parents to help their children to succeed in school by improving their own English skills, and if a school offers more languages than Spanish, offer classes in those languages to the wider school community. 2. Offer parenting workshops that help parents understand how best to support their children in a school culture. These workshops empower parents to be active participants in their children’s education. 3. Encourage school-wide book reading and choose a book that supports a specific theme that the district has chosen that year to pursue. 4. Choose a diversity-related theme that sparks conversations to be explored over the course of the school year. Possible themes, he suggests, are: opportunity, diversity, integrity, community service, poverty, resilience, tenacity and injustice. Students can help choose and teachers can incorporate the theme into the curriculum 5. Offer school-wide movies as an easy way for a community to come together to address issues of importance to a school or district. Some choices he suggests: “Boys in the Hood,” “Crash,” “The Blindside,” “Remember the Titans,” “Something New,” “Finding Forester,” “Stand and Deliver,” “Lean on Me,” and “Good Will Hunting.”  6. And finally, offer a community-centered dinner because he suggests there is nothing like food to bring people together. A periodic dinner brings parents, other family members and community members together with teachers, staff, administrators and students.

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The next Barn Sale to benefit the Sonoma Valley public schools will be on Saturday, Oct. 6, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Field of Greens on West Watmaugh. Donations of furniture, books, lamps and other household items are needed, as are volunteers to help out the day of the sale. Contact Holly Bennett at 484-4747.

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There is a new book out titled “A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brain Thinkers Will Rule the World,” in which author Daniel Pink puts forth the argument that the future will belong to those with a different kind of mind – “designers, inventors, teachers, storytellers – creative and empathic ‘right-brained’ thinkers.” He cites a number of global trends that are driving a shift away from the reductive and analytical thinking that has been valued in American society for years, toward a new value placed on creative thinkers.

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Congratulations to the Boys & Girls Clubs Operations Director Margie Doran on being named Youth Professional of the Year at the Boys & Girls Clubs of American Pacific Regional Conference last week.

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The club’s annual Fashion in the Vineyards event is set for 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 29. Buy your tickets today for this lively and important fundraiser for the club (tickets are $125 and available online at bcgsv.org).

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Woodland Star’s Harvest Fair is Friday, Sept. 28, from 5 to 8 p.m., and, in the Waldorf tradition, it is one of many festivals and celebrations held by the school throughout the year to mark the passage of seasons and holidays, developmental milestones and significant moments.  The fair includes square dancing, a dessert walk, gingerbread decorating, bean-bag toss, hay bales and a potluck dinner. New this year is the Dragon Play presented by the second grade class.

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The Sonoma Valley Theater Company is celebrating its inaugural season as artists in residence at Sonoma Valley High School on Saturday, Sept. 29 at 7:30 p.m. on campus at the Little Theater, and admission is free. RSVP to jmartin@sonomavly.k12.ca.us

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Sonoma Valley Teen Services’ Skills for Life is offering three job training courses at SVHS in the coming weeks. A resume and interview workshop is Wednesday, Oct. 3, at 2:30 p.m. The employee 101 workshop is Thursday, Oct. 24, at 2:30 p.m., and the business skills workshop is Wednesday, Nov. 28, at 2:30 p.m. (all in room J1). Visit svteens.org or stop by the College & Career Center for a flyer. All Sonoma teens are invited to attend these free and valuable sessions.

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El Verano’s third annual Jog-A-Thon will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 26. The newest school board member, Sal Chavez, who represents El Verano’s geographic area, will be in attendance.

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Sassarini School’s annual Pasta Dinner and Auction is quickly approaching on Saturday, Oct. 13. This is an important fundraiser for the school and the entire community is invited to attend. The night features the Pasta King, a cupcake bake sale, an auction, raffle prizes and gift baskets created by each grade. The fifth-grade acts as waiters and waitresses for the sit-down dinner. The proceeds go to Sassarini’s field trips, outdoor education programs and playground equipment. Tickets are available at the school office.

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The Sonoma Valley Education Foundation just received a donation of $8,000 from the proceeds of the Hit the Road Jack race last June. Michael Sebastiani and Paul Giusto revived the race and did a wonderful job. Executive Director Laura Zimmerman expressed to me her great appreciation that this event is back and benefiting our local schools.

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ArtEscape is offering an Introduction to Comic Book Illustration class for teens on Sunday, Oct. 21 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in its space at 17474-A Sonoma Highway. The class is $30, plus a $5 materials fee. Sign up by emailing artescape@vom.com, or by calling 938-5551.

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Students applying to any of the 23 California state universities will soon receive a letter warning them that if Proposition 30 does not pass, there will be fewer spots available for new students next fall.  Proposition 30 would raise the state sales tax by a quarter cent for four years and raise taxes on incomes over $250,000 for seven years to help close California’s budget deficit. Applications to the CSUs are accepted starting Monday, Oct. 1 at csumentor.edu.

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