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Open houses, Everloop, City College, standing desks, triple-majoring

Education Roundup

 

If you lose sleep over your children’s safety and security online, you should check out Everloop, which is described as the safe social network for kids. The free site hopes to revolutionize the way kids under 13 connect online and to provide a unique, age-appropriate social media experience. Kids can connect with friends, play games, share pictures, send messages, learn and have fun. The site employs state-of-the-art privacy protection and monitoring technology to guard its young users against bullying, bad language and inappropriate sharing of information. Parents can dial in the amount of freedom that is right for their child. everloop.com

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StudentsFirst is a nonprofit led by former Washington, D.C., public school chancellor Michelle Rhee. In just two years, it has helped pass more than
110 student-centered policies in 17 states. In the organization’s first “State Report Card” just released, California’s education policies rank 41st in the nation.
studentsfirst.org.

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I got a great tip from a reader about a fantastic free Spanish resource online. The fun and instructive Los Destinos soap opera will help students with vocabulary and grammar, with some history and culture thrown in. There are ongoing chapters that get progressively more difficult. learner.org/series/destinos/watch/

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According to the 44th annual Gallup poll of the public’s attitudes toward public schools, Americans see a lack of financial support as the biggest problem facing their schools. Today, 43 percent of parents cite a lack of funding as the greatest problem, versus just 17 percent 10 years ago. Back then, Americans felt the biggest problems facing schools were overcrowding and discipline (fighting, gangs) and drugs. Gallup describes this as the single most significant shift in American public opinion regarding their schools.

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Santa Rosa Junior College has just received a gift of $1 million to be used for student scholarships from the same anonymous donor who gave $5 million last year. The money will be used to support three new programs: a teaching fellows program that matches current SRJC students with faculty members; an incentive award to assist students working towards their goal of attaining a certificate or AA degree in a timely and efficient manner; and need-based scholarships for low-income students with high GPAs transferring from SRJC to four-year colleges.

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St. Francis Solano School is holding an open house on Friday, Feb. 1, for parents of students in grades K-7. Potential parents can meet current parents, faculty and students who will share experiences of academic achievement and school-wide community enrichment. St. Francis provides a Roman Catholic, faith-based foundation, rigorous high school preparatory academics, competitive athletics and a varied elective program for middle school students. Call 996-4994 to register.

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Justin-Siena High School in Napa is hosting an open house for potential school families on Thursday, Jan. 17, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the school library. Last week, by the way, Noel Hesser, Justin-Siena’s principal, sent parents a letter outlining why he feels we can’t be afford to be blasé about our teens experimenting with drugs and alcohol and it was perhaps the most compelling argument I have ever read. justin-siena.org/s/353/justinsiena.aspx?sid=353&gid=1&pgid=4272.

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Founded in 2001, Marin School of the Arts is a free public high school with an arts concentration, housed at Novato High. The school is a regional magnet to which students can apply for admission from any school in the Bay Area. The arts disciplines offered are: creative writing, dance, digital arts, instrumental music, musical theater, photography, theater arts, video and film, visual arts and vocal music. More than a dozen students from Sonoma attend. The school offers a shadow day on Jan. 24 and its application deadline is Jan. 30. Visit marinschoolofthearts.org for more information.

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Presentation School offers a series of after-school programs open to all Sonoma students in grades K-8. The next series of classes, which start Jan. 23, include: chess, Crossfit for kids, Mexican folk art embroidery, jewelry making, German, clay, mathletes, math through puzzles/games/art/literature, yoga, and writing and illustrating your own book. Classes run for eight weeks on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. The cost ranges from $120 to $150. Email garmer@presentationschool or stop by the school office at 20872 Broadway to sign up.

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The City College of San Francisco, the largest college in California, has fallen on seriously hard times. It is in danger of losing its accreditation, which would make it ineligible for state funding and force it to close. The school has been under fire ever since it was found to be spending 92 percent of budget on salaries and benefits (rather than student programs).

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Schools districts nationwide are endlessly debating the best way to evaluate teacher effectiveness. After a three-year, $45 million research project, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation thinks it has found the answer. It believes that it “the most reliable way to evaluate teachers is to use a three-pronged approach built on student test scores, classroom observations by multiple reviewers and teacher evaluations from students themselves.” Sounds logical.

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I just switched to a standing desk. If you have a child who both spends a lot of time on a computer and is fidgety, you might rig up a homemade standing desk and try it out for a week. I’ve been reading about schools where students were given the option to switch and the kids loved it. When you think about it, our naturally active children sit for terribly long stretches of time each day at school, on the computer and watching TV. http://tinyurl.com/944fd3l

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Twenty-seven U.C. Berkeley students (out of 25,774 total undergrads) are currently pursing a triple-major (according to the San Francisco Chronicle). These students are completing three majors in the same four years most students use for a single major, and one student, Canadian Shuonan Chen, is finishing in three years. The U.C.’s typically require 120 credits to graduate, Chen will graduate next spring with 240 units. One of his peers is completing a triple major in math, chemistry and physics.

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Westamerica has donated $1,600 to Sonoma Valley Teen Services to purchase a commercial grade convection oven and to buy ingredients, packaging, labels and to provide training, so that the teens can bake snacks in volume quickly at the high school’s popular, student-run, No Name Café. Teen Services is always looking for more volunteers. Contact Cristin Lawrence at 939-1452, or visit svteens.org to learn about teen programs and activities.

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I may have mentioned it before but if anyone in your house has even the slightest interest in science, you should consider subscribing to the free weekly newsletter SchiSchmooze. Every week it lists dozens of science events taking place around the Bay Area. bayareascience.org.

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I urge all sophomores and juniors to take the practice ACT test ($10) being offered at Sonoma Valley High on Saturday, Jan. 19, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sign up at the Student Activities window. Juniors planning to apply to four-year colleges should consider signing up for SAT test prep classes that will prepare you for the SAT test on Saturday, March 9. Classes start on Saturday, Jan. 26. Stop by the College & Career Center for details. While prep classes are costly, higher scores do yield higher aid (both need and merit-based).

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The 13th annual Big Heart Benefit Luncheon benefiting the Kenwood School music program is on Feb. 13 at 11:30 a.m. at the Quail Inn in Santa Rosa. For further information, visit kenwoodeducationfoundation.org or email kefinfo@gmail.com. The Kenwood Farmhouse is hosting a benefit for the school‘s art program on Saturday, Jan. 19, from 3 to 9 p.m. For information on either event, call Kenwood School at 833-2500.