Sunday, December 13, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
What problems will the reform of community education adress?
1. My proposal will help address equity issues and improve schools for Latino and African American kids at risk of school failure by giving them access to more resources such as after school tutoring and caring teachers who will go out of their way to help students.
2. It will demonstrate how community involvement is needed for student success. This success can be defined as how quickly a student assimilates into the American culture or how quickly a student can coordinate their home, school, and culture.
3.The minorities who often fail are those without a support system. Although the economy is bad the minorities that succeed are defined by their resiliency and ability to realize the larger picture and see that an education can benefit a person for a lifetime while a lack of knowledge can hurt them for life.
4. Another problem among students is they see the horrible economy and difficult job market dissuading them from seeing the point of an education.
5. While all the previously mentioned problems in education are issues that students face the biggest issues will never be on these lists because students often do not discuss them. Issues such as job loss among parents, poverty, divorce, depression, and anxiety are major issues that today affect everyone not just students. Oftentimes students will see their parents in these conditions and become discouraged as to their future and question the importance of an education and whether there is a reason to go to school at all.
2. It will demonstrate how community involvement is needed for student success. This success can be defined as how quickly a student assimilates into the American culture or how quickly a student can coordinate their home, school, and culture.
3.The minorities who often fail are those without a support system. Although the economy is bad the minorities that succeed are defined by their resiliency and ability to realize the larger picture and see that an education can benefit a person for a lifetime while a lack of knowledge can hurt them for life.
4. Another problem among students is they see the horrible economy and difficult job market dissuading them from seeing the point of an education.
5. While all the previously mentioned problems in education are issues that students face the biggest issues will never be on these lists because students often do not discuss them. Issues such as job loss among parents, poverty, divorce, depression, and anxiety are major issues that today affect everyone not just students. Oftentimes students will see their parents in these conditions and become discouraged as to their future and question the importance of an education and whether there is a reason to go to school at all.
Obama's Reform Plan and Community Schooling
Obama's reform plan involves key aspects of community schooling.
He wants high standards such as those in the No Child Left Behind Act to remain which community schooling methods include through involving parents and educators in a students' education and keeping them informed of their progress and advancement.
The Cristo Rey community schooling method involves students spending one day a week at work in addition to their already longer school day. This is what Obama wants to see. He wants students to be serving their community and others for funding dollars which help support their education.
These students are not only earning money which benefits themselves and their parents but they are also providing a valuable resource by donating their time and services to businesses in the communities in which they live in.
Obama wants new models for education and community schooling, specifically the Cristo Rey model, is what will change education.
This reform model involves businesses in education and allows them to have a role in forming the future work-force. This is done through businesses seeing students from Cristo Rey schools daily at work.
Although Cristo Rey is a private educational model more and more of educational funding today is coming from private money so it makes sense that a private educational model is leading reform.
Although today Cristo Rey schools are located in poor and mostly minority communities they are seeing remarkable success in their students which is clearly what Obama wants since he and Bush have both given billions of dollars in federal spending to supplement already existing educational programs.
The current work-force is a majority of technologically advanced jobs or jobs requiring a college degree. The best way for students to get access to this new market is to go to schoools which understand what they need to know now to succeed tomorrow and the outdated teachnology, textbooks, and materials in many underfunded schools and classrooms will not suffice. This is why new money has to come to schools to give students a chance at learning about the new job market so they can succeed in the future. The Cristo Rey model of education has done this through advocating work and school together to reform the community while educating students.
Community schooling will allow parents to play a greater role in a childs' education by being able to have greater access to teachers, principals and other school staff. The community also is given a number of ways to partner with schools to help answer the needs of the community. Schools are open longer, faculty is more easily accessible, and services from academic, recreational, health, social, and work preparation programs are all available in extended day community schools. This helps families who are struggling to get medical attention for their children, and those that want their children to have a chance to participate in extra-curriculars and go beyond the normal school day.
He wants high standards such as those in the No Child Left Behind Act to remain which community schooling methods include through involving parents and educators in a students' education and keeping them informed of their progress and advancement.
The Cristo Rey community schooling method involves students spending one day a week at work in addition to their already longer school day. This is what Obama wants to see. He wants students to be serving their community and others for funding dollars which help support their education.
These students are not only earning money which benefits themselves and their parents but they are also providing a valuable resource by donating their time and services to businesses in the communities in which they live in.
Obama wants new models for education and community schooling, specifically the Cristo Rey model, is what will change education.
This reform model involves businesses in education and allows them to have a role in forming the future work-force. This is done through businesses seeing students from Cristo Rey schools daily at work.
Although Cristo Rey is a private educational model more and more of educational funding today is coming from private money so it makes sense that a private educational model is leading reform.
Although today Cristo Rey schools are located in poor and mostly minority communities they are seeing remarkable success in their students which is clearly what Obama wants since he and Bush have both given billions of dollars in federal spending to supplement already existing educational programs.
The current work-force is a majority of technologically advanced jobs or jobs requiring a college degree. The best way for students to get access to this new market is to go to schoools which understand what they need to know now to succeed tomorrow and the outdated teachnology, textbooks, and materials in many underfunded schools and classrooms will not suffice. This is why new money has to come to schools to give students a chance at learning about the new job market so they can succeed in the future. The Cristo Rey model of education has done this through advocating work and school together to reform the community while educating students.
Community schooling will allow parents to play a greater role in a childs' education by being able to have greater access to teachers, principals and other school staff. The community also is given a number of ways to partner with schools to help answer the needs of the community. Schools are open longer, faculty is more easily accessible, and services from academic, recreational, health, social, and work preparation programs are all available in extended day community schools. This helps families who are struggling to get medical attention for their children, and those that want their children to have a chance to participate in extra-curriculars and go beyond the normal school day.
Why is the Cristo Rey model of community schooling needed to reform education?
The Cristo Rey model of reform is needed because:
1.The 38th annual Phi Delta Kappa/ Gallup poll of the public's attitude toward public schools indicates 70% of Americans blame societal factors for the achievement gap and high dropout rates while only 22 percent fault the schools.
2.The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) focuses more on problems with schooling and curriculum than it does problems with individual students.
3.NCLB needs to realize that students are complex people who have deeper problems than the school they attend, the level of the curriculum there, and the unqualified teachers.
4.One of the real reasons why students' are not motivated to learn is that their teachers do not know how to teach and those that can teach do not know how to make it interesting for students and motivate them.
5. Public schools have failed in bringing poor and needy students to a level of achievement with their peers and as we have seen and read in the book "Our Schools Suck" written by Gaston Alonso, Noel S. Anderson, Celina Su, and Jeanne Theoharis and in the movies "Hard Times at Douglas High" and "Precious" the No Child Left Behind Act and public education is not working.
New ideas for how to bring change
1. To bring about change I think the idea of community schools should be repeated across the country.
2. The model should change from private to public.
3. Our current education system should be reformed so that the school day and year are longer as they are in community schools and so that more after school activities and programs can take place.
4. Parents of children in these community schools would benefit if the work-study program from the Cristo Rey community schools was enacted across the country. Parents would be able to see their children gain real-world working experience and gain confidence that the working world is something they feel comfortable with for the future.
5. The money made from these jobs could be split so that a percentage goes to the student and a percentage goes to the school to help fund it if it currently is underfunded or to support new programs after school.
2. The model should change from private to public.
3. Our current education system should be reformed so that the school day and year are longer as they are in community schools and so that more after school activities and programs can take place.
4. Parents of children in these community schools would benefit if the work-study program from the Cristo Rey community schools was enacted across the country. Parents would be able to see their children gain real-world working experience and gain confidence that the working world is something they feel comfortable with for the future.
5. The money made from these jobs could be split so that a percentage goes to the student and a percentage goes to the school to help fund it if it currently is underfunded or to support new programs after school.
What's the answer to bad public schools?
1.The answer to bad public schools is to use private funding for public education alongside a model like Cristo Rey.
2. The Cristo Rey model takes students who want to succeed in education and gives them the resources to do so. This model focuses on tutoring help, job placement, tuition funding through work-study, and a college prep. curriculum.
3. The Cristo Rey model gives students a head-start in the job market by placing students in job teams to go work at all sorts of different companies. Their Corporate Internship Program (CIP) combines employee leasing and job sharing.
4. Those jobs can often pay up to 70% of students' tuition. This idea eliminates and lowers the need of voucher programs which are often objected for use with private schooling and also if turned into apublic school model this would lower the need for federal funding for schools if a part of the money earned went back to the school. The job program began as a way to pay school for poor students who wold not otherwise be able to attend a private college preparatory school.
5. Another thing the Cristo Rey model provides is structure in education which is often lacking from public schools. It is a college prep. school which expects student to daily be at their best in class or at work.
2. The Cristo Rey model takes students who want to succeed in education and gives them the resources to do so. This model focuses on tutoring help, job placement, tuition funding through work-study, and a college prep. curriculum.
3. The Cristo Rey model gives students a head-start in the job market by placing students in job teams to go work at all sorts of different companies. Their Corporate Internship Program (CIP) combines employee leasing and job sharing.
4. Those jobs can often pay up to 70% of students' tuition. This idea eliminates and lowers the need of voucher programs which are often objected for use with private schooling and also if turned into apublic school model this would lower the need for federal funding for schools if a part of the money earned went back to the school. The job program began as a way to pay school for poor students who wold not otherwise be able to attend a private college preparatory school.
5. Another thing the Cristo Rey model provides is structure in education which is often lacking from public schools. It is a college prep. school which expects student to daily be at their best in class or at work.
What makes community schools a good idea?
1.Community schools are a good idea because they take into account students and not just schools. Where traditional public schools have tried to educate students only in the classroom and as far as the curriculum goes community school students have been taught and mentored by instructors who care about them as a whole and what their life is like in and out of the classroom. They ask questions and want to get to know the student and what their life is like currently. If they see a student that appears to be having a problem they ask about it and do not just go on teaching.
2. Accountability is a key reason why this reform seems so alluring. Many public schools in large urban areas are known to be centers of disruption with overcrowded classrooms, a poor curriculum in some cases, and teachers who have little or no qualifications to instruct at all. In these schools which are now a private model students are taught to respect teachers and handle themselves in an adult manner. That involves not disrupting class or starting problems with others.
3. These students are expected to act like adults especially when it comes to tinteracting with those successful businessmen and women who participate in their work-study program giving students jobs and a step up in the job market for the future.
2. Accountability is a key reason why this reform seems so alluring. Many public schools in large urban areas are known to be centers of disruption with overcrowded classrooms, a poor curriculum in some cases, and teachers who have little or no qualifications to instruct at all. In these schools which are now a private model students are taught to respect teachers and handle themselves in an adult manner. That involves not disrupting class or starting problems with others.
3. These students are expected to act like adults especially when it comes to tinteracting with those successful businessmen and women who participate in their work-study program giving students jobs and a step up in the job market for the future.
Benefits to reform
1.Lower property taxes would result if students worked to fund a part of their education.
2. Not all people would need to support public schools as they do now and the elderly and sick who often are plagued by high taxes would have less of a burden.
3.Foreclosure rates may go down due to lower taxes.
4.Those with children will also be able to rest easily knowing their children are getting not just an average or in some cases substandard education but a good if not excellent one.
5.When students work at the jobs they are assigned to they will be going out into their own community reforming it with every day they work and building up their neighborhood instead of tearing it down.
6.The time students work could keep them off the streets and lower their exposure to crime and gangs improving safety and well-being and in a way reforming their community.
7. These students as the Cristo Rey website states will gain "desirable job experience and marketable skills, develop a network of business contacts, gain exposure to a wide variety of career opportunities, refine a strong work ethic, and increase there self-esteem."
8. If the Cristo Rey model and the community schooling model combine students as the article 10 Elements Every High School Should Have In Place states would "thrive when their high schools encourage positive learning relationships among families educators, faith groups, civic organizatinos businesses, and other members of the community. And school leaders should reach out to their neighbors by attending community evevnts and forming partnerships with local organizations to increase effectiveness and tap additional resources."
2. Not all people would need to support public schools as they do now and the elderly and sick who often are plagued by high taxes would have less of a burden.
3.Foreclosure rates may go down due to lower taxes.
4.Those with children will also be able to rest easily knowing their children are getting not just an average or in some cases substandard education but a good if not excellent one.
5.When students work at the jobs they are assigned to they will be going out into their own community reforming it with every day they work and building up their neighborhood instead of tearing it down.
6.The time students work could keep them off the streets and lower their exposure to crime and gangs improving safety and well-being and in a way reforming their community.
7. These students as the Cristo Rey website states will gain "desirable job experience and marketable skills, develop a network of business contacts, gain exposure to a wide variety of career opportunities, refine a strong work ethic, and increase there self-esteem."
8. If the Cristo Rey model and the community schooling model combine students as the article 10 Elements Every High School Should Have In Place states would "thrive when their high schools encourage positive learning relationships among families educators, faith groups, civic organizatinos businesses, and other members of the community. And school leaders should reach out to their neighbors by attending community evevnts and forming partnerships with local organizations to increase effectiveness and tap additional resources."
Potential roadblocks to reform
1.The potential roadblocks to the Cristo Rey reform model is that it would need to be changed to fit into a public schooling form. I have two options for this either we change what public education means into education paid for by parents and supplemented by students working for businesses or we take and leave public education as free and let students keep the money they make from their work-study as an incentive for doing well in their education.
2.This work should not be given to all students but those that through hard-work show they merit it. The roadblock is students may figure if they do bad in school it will not matter because they will still have a job to go to.
3. A third alternative to education could be allowing students to keep a portion of the money they make from working and taking the rest and using it to fund public schools in order to improve the amount and quality of resources they have.
4. Lack of businesses in certain communities could also pose a problem to the work-study program.
5. Lack of jobs and company dollars to spend on students could also affect this work-study program method.
2.This work should not be given to all students but those that through hard-work show they merit it. The roadblock is students may figure if they do bad in school it will not matter because they will still have a job to go to.
3. A third alternative to education could be allowing students to keep a portion of the money they make from working and taking the rest and using it to fund public schools in order to improve the amount and quality of resources they have.
4. Lack of businesses in certain communities could also pose a problem to the work-study program.
5. Lack of jobs and company dollars to spend on students could also affect this work-study program method.
What's my personal connection to this reform? What's my experience with education?
- All my life I have attended Catholic schools because of the poor public schools in my urban neighborhood of Logan Square.
- Those schools did not have a great variety of resources and were known more for violence and discipline problems than education quality.
- My father attended public school his entire life while my mother attended Catholic schools. Attending Roberto Clemente high school for my father who lived in, Humbolt Park, a neighborhood at times known for its poverty, crime, gangs, and violence was not something he often spoke about.
- Clemente high school today still has the same racial tension, lack of resources, and violence that my father saw daily and managed to overcome.
- My mother has always been a hard worker going to so called "good" schools her whole life.
- My father and mother both had parents similar to those that I imagine send their kids to the Cristo Rey schools.
- Their parents both came from Puerto Rico only speaking Spanish and not speaking a word English until they came to the U.S. What helped my mother and father succeed was concerned and caring individuals who believed they could succeed.
- For my mother it was her family and teachers and for my father it was his family.
- Both of their communities made it possible for their success through involvement in programs such as after school tutoring and work-study jobs.
- Just like the students we read about in "Our Schools Suck" some of which came from poor neighborhoods and first-generation families my parents too struggled with education and at times what felt like a lack of support from those around them.
- Both my parents have always encouraged me to be proud of my Puerto Rican culture but to not let that pride cause me to go into a "cool pose" mode where I start acting as if the only thing important to me is "acting ghetto" or trying to portray a stereotype so others will accept me.
- Like the girl mentioned in the "Our Schools Suck" book I don't feel as if acting white is a reason I have succeeded I feel that being myself is the reason I have succeeded. I do not often portray the stereotypical role of a Hispanic student. I speak without a Spanish accent and without using slang or a variety of vulgar words when I carry on a conversation.
- Some have told me in the past why am I trying to be something I am not and why can I not accept who I am. I tell those people I am not a stereotype and I act the way I do so that others will take me seriously and never judge me or underestimate me basaed on how I look or what languages I know.
- My caring teachers and involved parents were key to my school success and that is why community schools are at the heart of my reform effort.
What organizations or programs support or deal with community schools? What do articles think about community schools?
1.The Fund for the Improvement of Education which was authorized by Sec. 5411 of ESEA supports national programs to improve elementary and secondary education at the state and local level and to help all children with meeting academic and achievement standards. Under this the Full-Service Community Schools program encourages coordination of education, developmental, family, health, and other services with the help of partnerships between:
1. Public elementary and secondary schools
2. CBOs and public-private ideas.The idea behind this is to create a comprehensive education along with social and health services for not only students but their families and communities.
2. The Cristo Rey Network supports schools being open longer with more after school programs and also with work-study jobs to help fund education.
3. The National Community Education Association works to advocate increased parental involvement in schooling, increasing community involvement in schooling, community partnerships to help schools in their area, and the expanding of life-long learning opportunities for everyone in the community.
1. Public elementary and secondary schools
2. CBOs and public-private ideas.The idea behind this is to create a comprehensive education along with social and health services for not only students but their families and communities.
2. The Cristo Rey Network supports schools being open longer with more after school programs and also with work-study jobs to help fund education.
3. The National Community Education Association works to advocate increased parental involvement in schooling, increasing community involvement in schooling, community partnerships to help schools in their area, and the expanding of life-long learning opportunities for everyone in the community.
Interviews and Opinions on Education
The following questions were asked to Kari Bailey and Kassandra Padilla regarding their educational experiences.
1. Do you feel your community has helped you in school at any point in time?
Kari: "My parents would help me with homework if I really needed. Some of my teacher were available after school to help if I really needed it. I did not talk to my school counselor or with faculty on a regular basis about things other than school. My main support system was my friends. My aunt tutored me in the 7th and 8th grade and was a mentor to me. In high school she believed in me, came to my school events, and gave me advice relating stories from her life to mine."
Kassandra:"Yes and no because my school was located in ot the best community. It was a private school. I saw my surroundigs and decided I did not want to end up in a neighborhood like that. I wanted to graduate from a neighborhood like that. I want to come back to that neighborhood someday and help people so they can go to school and better themselves and their lives."
2. Who's your mentor? Is it someone in your community? What do you consider your community?
Kari: "My aunt is my mentor because she send me letter all the time in the mail. She helped me move into college and always gives me positive encouragement. In a way my frends are metnors too because if I ever need anything or just want to talk they are there. To me community is the people around me like those at Lake Forest College or those in my neighborhood."
Kassandra: "My parents are my mentors. I look at them and how hard they work, the problems of the household, dinner on the table, and the efforts they have made to put me through school. All of these things helped me realize life is not as easy as it sems on TV. I want to one day graduate and repay my parents for all they have done. I want to show them the appreciation they deserve to be shown."
3. What skills do you think allowed you to succeed in high school? Where did you develop those skills?
Kari: "I think having time management, a hard work ethic, and being organized helped me succeed in high school. Also, I was on sports teams and in extra-curricular activities which kept me going. I learned skills to succeed by going to school daily and getting involved in and out of the classroom."
Kassandra: "My family support, and those who have not been able to succeed before me. I develop those skills at home and throughout life and in my community. From the moment of birth you develop skills."
4. Do you feel you have a support system? If so who? If your family or school support system was not there do you still think you would be succeeding?
Kari: "Yes, I think my family and friends are my support system but when it comes to discussing certain problemes my friends are better to talk to then my parents. It really depends on the situation though. If I did not have any support system I think I would not be doing well in school. This is especially bad if you have no positive role models or no one to talk about what is bothering you with."
Kassandra: "Yes, my family. If I did not have my parents there I do not believe I would be where I am at now. They are my everything in life, my motivators, and guides into life."
5. Do you think being connected with your community is a good thing?
Kari: "Being connected with your community is definetly a good thing and I would not even question it. The more connected you are, the better you will be and feel. No one wants to be isolated or feel as if they do not belong."
Kassandra: "Yes and no it depends on how your community has been there for you and how it has impacted your life."
6. What would you have liked to have changed about your education?
Kari: "I do not know what I could have changed about it."
Kassandra: "I wish I would have taken it more seriously, not coast through but work harder at my studies."
7. What type of reform do you think is needed to make education better? Do you think more community involvement would assist in that?
Kari: "It depends on which level of education you are discussing. But an effort to make each student feel connected to their community should be made because more community involement and positive role models would help improve a students' ability to learn."
Kassandra: "We need teacher who have a passion for education, who have the desire to help students expand their minds. If you succeed in the community you came out of you should go back and help other that were or were not struggling like you so they too can make it out to a better life."
1. Do you feel your community has helped you in school at any point in time?
Kari: "My parents would help me with homework if I really needed. Some of my teacher were available after school to help if I really needed it. I did not talk to my school counselor or with faculty on a regular basis about things other than school. My main support system was my friends. My aunt tutored me in the 7th and 8th grade and was a mentor to me. In high school she believed in me, came to my school events, and gave me advice relating stories from her life to mine."
Kassandra:"Yes and no because my school was located in ot the best community. It was a private school. I saw my surroundigs and decided I did not want to end up in a neighborhood like that. I wanted to graduate from a neighborhood like that. I want to come back to that neighborhood someday and help people so they can go to school and better themselves and their lives."
2. Who's your mentor? Is it someone in your community? What do you consider your community?
Kari: "My aunt is my mentor because she send me letter all the time in the mail. She helped me move into college and always gives me positive encouragement. In a way my frends are metnors too because if I ever need anything or just want to talk they are there. To me community is the people around me like those at Lake Forest College or those in my neighborhood."
Kassandra: "My parents are my mentors. I look at them and how hard they work, the problems of the household, dinner on the table, and the efforts they have made to put me through school. All of these things helped me realize life is not as easy as it sems on TV. I want to one day graduate and repay my parents for all they have done. I want to show them the appreciation they deserve to be shown."
3. What skills do you think allowed you to succeed in high school? Where did you develop those skills?
Kari: "I think having time management, a hard work ethic, and being organized helped me succeed in high school. Also, I was on sports teams and in extra-curricular activities which kept me going. I learned skills to succeed by going to school daily and getting involved in and out of the classroom."
Kassandra: "My family support, and those who have not been able to succeed before me. I develop those skills at home and throughout life and in my community. From the moment of birth you develop skills."
4. Do you feel you have a support system? If so who? If your family or school support system was not there do you still think you would be succeeding?
Kari: "Yes, I think my family and friends are my support system but when it comes to discussing certain problemes my friends are better to talk to then my parents. It really depends on the situation though. If I did not have any support system I think I would not be doing well in school. This is especially bad if you have no positive role models or no one to talk about what is bothering you with."
Kassandra: "Yes, my family. If I did not have my parents there I do not believe I would be where I am at now. They are my everything in life, my motivators, and guides into life."
5. Do you think being connected with your community is a good thing?
Kari: "Being connected with your community is definetly a good thing and I would not even question it. The more connected you are, the better you will be and feel. No one wants to be isolated or feel as if they do not belong."
Kassandra: "Yes and no it depends on how your community has been there for you and how it has impacted your life."
6. What would you have liked to have changed about your education?
Kari: "I do not know what I could have changed about it."
Kassandra: "I wish I would have taken it more seriously, not coast through but work harder at my studies."
7. What type of reform do you think is needed to make education better? Do you think more community involvement would assist in that?
Kari: "It depends on which level of education you are discussing. But an effort to make each student feel connected to their community should be made because more community involement and positive role models would help improve a students' ability to learn."
Kassandra: "We need teacher who have a passion for education, who have the desire to help students expand their minds. If you succeed in the community you came out of you should go back and help other that were or were not struggling like you so they too can make it out to a better life."
Waukeegan High School Student Interview
Alberto was asked similar questions to those asked of Kari and Kassandra regarding his education.
His responses were as follows:
1. As far as community helping in my education I would say my teachers are the main community members who have tried to help me.
2. My mentors in education were my cousin who is 30 years old with children who although he did not go to college was very intelligent and knows a lot about success and how to attain in the real world and my teacher Ms. Muehler who taught my U.S. Government class in high school. She listened to my dreams which throughout the years changed from wanting to be a lawyer to a graphic desgner and a pediatrician.
3. I view myself as a leader in many ways I have been there to help students when I tutor on Tuesday and Thursdays for other AVID students, I better understand what it is to help others when I volunteer at the grammar school my mother works at. I help these children succeed because they just as I did need mentors in order to succeed and I want to be one of those mentors changing lives for others.
4. My motivation in education is my family and teachers. My father works hard as does my mother to support our family. She encourages me to do my best even when it is difficult and they never lose faith in me. They never told me I have to go to college. But, I want to for me to better both my life and there's so that one day I can give back to the people who helped me.
5. To be a successful student I feel that you have to have that awant to do better and get better for yourself, you need enough self-motivation to push through school and go on to succeed. What helped me was the AVID program and the writing component of its structure. Through time my writing has improved greatly and so have my grades thanks to this program whose at first I did not understand but now I do.
6. Without community I would not have been able to succeed and be where I am at now. I would have lacked structure and motivation which are the two things that most influenced my education.
His responses were as follows:
1. As far as community helping in my education I would say my teachers are the main community members who have tried to help me.
2. My mentors in education were my cousin who is 30 years old with children who although he did not go to college was very intelligent and knows a lot about success and how to attain in the real world and my teacher Ms. Muehler who taught my U.S. Government class in high school. She listened to my dreams which throughout the years changed from wanting to be a lawyer to a graphic desgner and a pediatrician.
3. I view myself as a leader in many ways I have been there to help students when I tutor on Tuesday and Thursdays for other AVID students, I better understand what it is to help others when I volunteer at the grammar school my mother works at. I help these children succeed because they just as I did need mentors in order to succeed and I want to be one of those mentors changing lives for others.
4. My motivation in education is my family and teachers. My father works hard as does my mother to support our family. She encourages me to do my best even when it is difficult and they never lose faith in me. They never told me I have to go to college. But, I want to for me to better both my life and there's so that one day I can give back to the people who helped me.
5. To be a successful student I feel that you have to have that awant to do better and get better for yourself, you need enough self-motivation to push through school and go on to succeed. What helped me was the AVID program and the writing component of its structure. Through time my writing has improved greatly and so have my grades thanks to this program whose at first I did not understand but now I do.
6. Without community I would not have been able to succeed and be where I am at now. I would have lacked structure and motivation which are the two things that most influenced my education.
References
Alberto (personal communication, November 18, 2009)
I used my interview with Alberto to show how in order for schools to succeed in educating
all students they must focus not only on curriculum but home surroundings for students
as well. In order for schools to improve they must look at how motivation and having
someone push a student to succeed is sometimes the main reason they succeed. In
Alberto's example his mother and cousin kept pushing him to do well in life and although
they did not specifically mention college he saw that as his gateway to success and my
reform proposal deals with community uniting together to promote student success in
education.
Bailey, Kari (personal communication, December 6, 2009)
Kari provided me with insight into her high school experience and how her support
played a key role in success. She credits her relatives, friends, and involvement in
extra-curricular activities with her ability graduate high school and do well in college.
Blank, M., Melaville, A., Shah, B., & Coalition for Community Schools, W. (2003). Making the
Difference: Researach and Practice in Community Schools. Coalition for Community
Schools, Retrieved from ERIC database.
This article assisted me with more information on where the idea from community
schools originated and how it came to be.
Coalition for Community Schools
Their website provided me with key facts showing how communities when involved in
school do make a difference. Their website gave data on how the problem in schools
were not just resources but motivation, encouragement, and a lack of caring or
extra assistance on the teachers' part to help a student succeed.
Cristo Rey Network
Information from the Cristo Rey Network's website assisted me in finding something
that could be added to the community schooling model in order to make it better. This
organization had a work-study program which not only benefits employers but students
and is an idea that I think should be replicated across the country.
Melaville, A., Berg, A., Blank, M., & Coalition for Community Schools, W. (2006). Community-
Based Learning: Engaging Students for Success and Citizenship. Coalition for Community
Schools, Retrieved from ERIC database.
National Community Education Coalition
From this website I gathered information about what community schools do and what types of involvement they are looking for in their community.
Padilla, Kassandra
Kassandra's interview helped me see a private school students' view on what helped her
succeed. Her interview provided me not only with facts but more real-life information
on how her community was and how she want to go back someday and reform that same
community to make it better.
(2009). 10 Elements Every High School Should Have in Place. Education Digest: Essential
Readings Condensed for Quick Review, 74(9), 49-51. Retrieved from ERIC database.
I used my interview with Alberto to show how in order for schools to succeed in educating
all students they must focus not only on curriculum but home surroundings for students
as well. In order for schools to improve they must look at how motivation and having
someone push a student to succeed is sometimes the main reason they succeed. In
Alberto's example his mother and cousin kept pushing him to do well in life and although
they did not specifically mention college he saw that as his gateway to success and my
reform proposal deals with community uniting together to promote student success in
education.
Bailey, Kari (personal communication, December 6, 2009)
Kari provided me with insight into her high school experience and how her support
played a key role in success. She credits her relatives, friends, and involvement in
extra-curricular activities with her ability graduate high school and do well in college.
Blank, M., Melaville, A., Shah, B., & Coalition for Community Schools, W. (2003). Making the
Difference: Researach and Practice in Community Schools. Coalition for Community
Schools, Retrieved from ERIC database.
This article assisted me with more information on where the idea from community
schools originated and how it came to be.
Coalition for Community Schools
Their website provided me with key facts showing how communities when involved in
school do make a difference. Their website gave data on how the problem in schools
were not just resources but motivation, encouragement, and a lack of caring or
extra assistance on the teachers' part to help a student succeed.
Cristo Rey Network
Information from the Cristo Rey Network's website assisted me in finding something
that could be added to the community schooling model in order to make it better. This
organization had a work-study program which not only benefits employers but students
and is an idea that I think should be replicated across the country.
Melaville, A., Berg, A., Blank, M., & Coalition for Community Schools, W. (2006). Community-
Based Learning: Engaging Students for Success and Citizenship. Coalition for Community
Schools, Retrieved from ERIC database.
National Community Education Coalition
From this website I gathered information about what community schools do and what types of involvement they are looking for in their community.
Padilla, Kassandra
Kassandra's interview helped me see a private school students' view on what helped her
succeed. Her interview provided me not only with facts but more real-life information
on how her community was and how she want to go back someday and reform that same
community to make it better.
(2009). 10 Elements Every High School Should Have in Place. Education Digest: Essential
Readings Condensed for Quick Review, 74(9), 49-51. Retrieved from ERIC database.
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