Jim: Coming up on Inside California Education:
Ruta: In Uganda I didn't go to school because
I had to work.
Jim: Refugee and immigrant students in San Diego
experience the challenges and rewards of an
American education.
How one school district is using co-teaching to help
these students assimilate.
Students: One team!
Oh, ah!
Jim: Meet the City Year AmeriCorps members in
Sacramento who have committed a year of their
lives to helping underserved public school students
succeed.
Tom: Okay guys, have a great day!
Jim: Experience the day in the life of a
school bus driver.
Philip: Sometimes I wonder why we do it,
when we know it hurts?
Jim: And members of the community share stories of
discrimination with students at a Modesto high school as
part of an annual "Day of Respect."
It's all next on Inside California Education!
Annc: Funding for Inside California Education
is made possible by:
Since 1985, the California Lottery has
raised more than $32 billion dollars in supplemental
funding for California's 11-hundred public school
districts from kindergarten through college.
That's approximately $191 for each full-time student
based on $1.5 billion contributed in fiscal year
2016-17.
With caring teachers, committed administrators,
and active parents, every public school student can
realize their dreams.
The California Lottery: Imagine the Possibilities.
The Stuart Foundation: Improving life outcomes for
young people through education
♪♪
Jim: Thanks for joining us on Inside California Education.
I'm Jim Finnerty.
Starting at a new school can be difficult for any
student.
But think of the challenges that you might face if that
new school was in a new country,
and classes in a language you didn't understand.
Well that's the case for the many refugee and immigrant
students who come to California.
Let's visit a school district in San Diego taking
an innovative approach to helping these new arrivals
make the transition.
♪♪
Nicole: So yeah the earth moves.
The earth shakes.
The earth quakes, the earth changes.
So the cause and effect
Jim: It's not your usual
English class and Nicole Rawson is not your
usual English Teacher.
She is an English Language Development Coach at
Horace Mann Middle School in San Diego.
Nicole: We have a unique situation at this school
because our students are from so many
different countries.
Some have never been to school because they are
refugees and there was no schooling accessible
to them.
Some of them think they've been to a lot of school but
there really wasn't any rigorous teaching going on.
But across the board, their English proficiency is very
limited and it makes it extra difficult to teach
English when there's no primary literacy in their
primary language.
Jim: Nicole's class provides an opportunity for these
refugee and immigrant students to not only improve
their English but share their stories of life before
coming to the United States.
Ruta is a young girl from Uganda.
Ruta: When I was in Uganda, life was so bad.
In Uganda if you don't work you can't have food.
In Uganda I didn't go to school because
I have to work.
Now everything is okay.
I like school, I eat and drink.
And I thank my mom to bring me here.
(Applause)
Zakareya: When I was in my country
there was a lot of war going on.
And we could not live there because the war is so bad.
If we stayed there you will die.
Or they will took you to the jail.
They took my dad to the jail.
Allen: We have some Syrian refugees,
a large population from the Congo,
from Africa, from Yemen, Southeast Asian immigrants,
Burmese, Cambodian, Kayin minority from Burma,
some Lao.
And then we also have Mexican and Vietnamese
immigrants.
So we're kind of represent the world.
Nicole: Today we're doing a thinking part,
so as we're listening to the story in their own dialect,
I want you to think of some questions you might have.
Jim: Much of Nicole's language development
coaching is done in a "co-teaching" environment.
Working with a core subject teacher,
she will not only help the students improve their
English, but also help them understand new
academic concepts.
Erica: A benefit for teachers in co-teaching is
that there's two people actually thinking about
the child.
What is the best way to teach this group
and that group?
So we get to have a dialogue of ideas.
What is the best approach?
Jim: The San Diego area and the San Diego Unified School
District have one of the largest populations of
refugee and immigrant students
in the United States.
Facing that challenge prompted the district to
establish eight school sites that provide specialized
approaches to improving language skills and
academic readiness.
Sandra: So we have eight international centers in
San Diego Unified, two at the elementary level,
two at the middle school level,
and four at the high school level.
We educate roughly around 300 students
in those international centers, every year.
Alex: Is that present tense or past tense?
Student: Present.
Alex: It's present tense.
Jim: Alex Kunkel is the English language Development
coach at San Diego's Crawford High School.
Students with little or no proficiency in English are
assigned to his class to improve their English
comprehension and better understand the work
required in their other high school classes.
Alex: So even if your language skills are not
proficient, we still try to offer you access to the
regular curriculum as is appropriate
most of us believe.
Along with that, we offer you the extra supports,
so your math teacher is helping you to learn all
of the English words that you would use in math,
as well as the math concepts.
Jim: English Language Development teachers assist
their students with one on one coaching.
And computer programs are also available to test
language readiness and writing skills.
In addition to the language and academic support,
schools provide supplementary programs from
breakfast and lunch to after school enrichment classes:
Providing more opportunities to have the general school
population interact with the refugee and immigrant
students and understand the diversity in their school.
Erica: Little by little, they start asking questions,
like, because it's part of their normal,
like, "Where did you come from?
Oh, tell me about that place,"
And we start building those bridges that
we don't see color or language anymore.
It's more like, "Oh, tell me about that experience
that you've had."
Jim: Those "experiences" tell the story of what these
youngsters have left behind and what they
see for the future.
Rayan: One day my dad went to buy
my little sister clothes.
When he got there, the police took him to the jail.
After a year ago my dad got out of jail.
We wanted to go to Jordan.
One day after we left the school we lived in everyone
died from a bomb.
When we came to the U.S.A.
we didn't know any English.
But we come to school here to learn.
(Applause)
Nicole: Just seeing these children
blossom and becoming these confident young people that
have such high hopes for themselves and want to help
others and can articulate this now,
it's wonderful to see them so happy If we can do the
best we can to educate these students,
we're doing a great job.
It's really a profound, unique thing that we're
doing here for them.
♪♪
Narr: In the last 15 years, California has welcomed more
than 100,000 refugees, with the majority settling in
San Diego, Los Angeles and Sacramento.
In recent years California's refugees have been mostly
from Iraq, Iran and other Middle Eastern countries,
with a significant number also coming from Africa and
Southeast Asia.
Jim: Now, let's discover the power of mentorship.
At City Year AmeriCorps, recent college graduates
work side-by-side with teachers in public schools.
It's happening in 28 cities across the country with
great success, including some classrooms we visited
in Sacramento.
♪♪
We live to serve another day.
Students: And that's a beautiful thing.
Rob: For these students, each school day begins with
a welcoming cheer designed to inspire the spirit and
ignite their enthusiasm.
You'll find it at seven Sacramento City schools
targeted for educational intervention.
Mentors: Good morning!
Open Hearts!
Mentors: Good morning!
Open minds.
Mentors: Good morning!
And a positive can of energy.
Mentors: Good morning!
Alright, team on one.
Mentors: One team woo haa!
Rob: The team is a group of mentors with
City Year Sacramento, part of the national service
organization AmeriCorps.
Fresh out of college, these mentors join students and
teachers to bring hands-on help into classrooms at more
than 50 schools state-wide.
There's a particular focus on Los Angeles,
San Jose and Sacramento.
In total, the program supports more than
21,000 students across the Golden State.
And it's all about connecting with kids.
Jamiah: I see myself in these kids.
This is corps member Jamiah King,
serving at Rosa Parks Elementary School
in Sacramento.
Mentors: Rosa Parks pride!
Woo ha!
Rob: Ten hours a day, 5 days a week,
she focuses on each student with extra help with reading
and writing.
But you quickly to notice this is much more than just
lessons from a book.
Jamiah: Students that may not feel confident reading
out loud because they feel like they're dumb.
Or they can't pronounce that word.
I'm like, let's break it up.
The first part, do you know how to say that?
And then?
So put it together.
I make mistakes all the time, too.
There's this one word that I definitely don't know how to
say it, you know, just like literally helping them
through that and they're like,
"Oh I want to read now," and I'm like,
"Yes!"
Rob: Corps members like Jamiah are deeply involved
with the schools they serve.
They're here before, during and after school,
helping to ease the burden on the teacher.
Mentors help with everything from behavioral management
and attendance to reading and math intervention
circles - anything to help students thrive.
Teachers say City Year members are more
than a mentor.
Tascha: I feel like I have a partner.
It's not just another adult in the classroom,
she's a partner in my teaching day.
She helps me teach, she helps me discipline,
she helps me take care of the kids,
she helps me all day long.
And "helps" isn't really the right word,
there is a lot of co-working together.
Rob: There are 66 corps members in Sacramento
for a one-year commitment.
They are some of the brightest college graduates
in the country, dedicating a year of their life to
service above self.
You'll find corps members from Harvard,
Yale, Stanford and other prestigious universities,
willing to work for a modest stipend of 1,000 dollars
a month.
Hajala: City Years have helped me learn better
because if I need help, and there's City Years in the
classroom, they can just help me.
My City Year in my classroom is closer to me,
so I don't have to raise my hand I just like whisper
and be like, "City Year, I need help."
Rob: What does that one on one attention mean to you?
Hajala: It means, like, it makes me feel special.
I know that I have somebody to talk to.
Jamiah: When they first see you,
they don't think that, you know you carry yourself a
certain way and they think they know everything
about your life.
And when you tell them that,
"Wait, I've been through that too," they're like,
"Whoa, really?
You?"
And I'm like, "Yeah, I have.
And you look up to me.
I'm not even where I want to be yet but just the fact
that you look up to me that lets me know that you can be
there too."
Rob: At City Year Headquarters in Sacramento's
Oak Park neighborhood, City Year leaders meet regularly
with Corps Members.
City Year was founded in 1988 in Boston and launched
in Sacramento in 2012.
At this headquarters, there's a great deal of
focus on "service above self."
They take a pledge to honor, respect,
provide, lead, celebrate, serve,
and to just "be."
Jeff: What our City Year AmeriCorps Members do best
is they inspire hope and they influence kids that are
living in some really challenging circumstances
to believe again.
That they can achieve whatever it is they want to
achieve.
They have the right to dream big and that they can in
fact fulfill their full potential.
Rob: City Year says it's the whole school,
whole child approach.
Each day brings a new set of challenges.
Many students bring their problems into the class,
making it hard to graduate, and for some - even focus.
The consequences are real: students who drop out are
eight times more likely to become incarcerated and
three times more likely to be unemployed.
That's why City Year Corps members try to create a safe
space where learning grows, one teacher,
one child, one mentor at a time.
Tascha: It's not even describable,
the difference.
It's the difference between touching emotionally every
child in the class every day,
and not.
The sun is the star that is closest to earth.
Jeff: It's the golden rule, which is helping others.
That's what we all should be about and what City Year is
all about, which is service to others.
Putting others in front of yourself.
Which is if we have the power and the ability to
help others, it's our responsibility to do that.
Jamiah: Education is literally what you can give
back to the youth.
As cliché as people say, they're the future,
definitely, so I think we need to give back to
education and we need to bring it to the forefront
and why it's so important and truly just represent
these kids in the best way possible.
♪♪
Narr: City Year was founded in 1988 by two
Harvard Law School roommates.
Just as students complete each year of school,
the founders believe young people should also
complete a "city year" of service.
Today, City Year is in 28 cities across the U. S.
and has international affiliates in the UK
and South Africa.
Jim: Still ahead on Inside California Education,
sharing stories of discrimination and lessons
learned with students at a Modesto school.
But first, a day in the life of a school bus driver.
Tom: Well this is a small community,
a lot of people know each other.
Everybody seems to get along really well here in Winters
because it's kind of an old fashioned town.
You have a combination of a bunch of different families
that lived here all their lives.
I'm Tom Ryel.
I'm a school bus driver for the Winters Joint Unified
school district and I've worked here for
the last 8 years.
Well I usually start off at about 5:30
in the morning.
I, uh, get my bus checked, check out the bus,
get in it and leave and I do the rural route of Winters.
Good morning guys.
Good morning bud.
The kids here are pretty special kids.
Good morning buddy.
What's up?
♪♪
And the rewarding part of your job is is how they care
for you.
Student: This is why we love you Tom.
You're good at this.
Tom: Okay guys, have a great day.
It's more of a family because once they really get
to know you, they'll love you.
If you respect them and show them love,
they'll show it right back to you.
You've got to be close to the kids.
I try to really support them so they know that I care,
and I cheer for them.
Alright man, see you tomorrow at that
basketball game.
It's a great responsibility to drive children
in a school bus and you need to have patience
and take your time when you're driving.
Always be aware of things outside the bus,
make sure that you're safe all the time.
You can't take anything for granted.
And there is some parents that don't have the money
for a car or transportation and you know they really
depend on you and they're very grateful that you
take the children in.
Most gratification I get is is watching the children.
Watching them grow, develop, get older going on with
their lives.
You get that close relationship where
it's almost like they're your own kids.
My job's great.
I wouldn't trade this job for nothing.
(Bus driving away)
Jim: Finally, let's visit a school in Modesto where
students are hearing from members of their community
who have experienced discrimination.
The goal of this annual "Day of Respect" is to teach
young people lessons in compassion.
♪♪
Estefania: Have you ever felt like someone made fun
of you and you were disrespected?
Raise your hand.
Raise your hand high so we could all see.
Kristen: It's a seven letter word packed with a million
emotions, and in many high schools,
respect or rather lack of can be a painful problem.
Phillip: All of us know what it feels like to be
called names.
It doesn't feel good.
It never feels good.
And sometimes I wonder why we do it?
When we know that it hurts.
♪♪
Kristen: For two decades now,
Modesto High School has held their annual
"Day of Respect."
It's an event that encourages understanding and
empathy by inviting members of the community to come and
speak to students about struggles they've faced
in their lives.
Andrea: It's a day where people come together
and they celebrate differences and they talk about stories
that they've had and discrimination that they've
suffered and they talk about how they've overcome it.
Kristen: The Day of Respect was started in 1998 by
Modesto High teacher Sharon Froba,
who has since retired.
In the decades since, the event has grown to what
it is today, nearly 60 speakers from all walks of life,
each with their own story of what makes
them different and why we all deserve respect.
AJ: I have a disability called spina bifida.
It's where the spine doesn't fully develop and I am
paralyzed from the waist down.
Kristen: AJ Mitchell says he has faced discrimination his
entire life, but takes pride in proving that a wheelchair
won't slow him down.
AJ: I climb stairs, I jump curbs,
I roll across grass, um, I work,
I race full marathons.
Kristen: Not only does he race marathons,
he's also hoping to someday compete in the Paralympics.
His is an inspiring story of perseverance that these
students wouldn't have known at first glance.
Through the Day of Respect, they're learning to look a
little deeper and think a little longer about others.
Serah: You know you see people like that on
the news or they have these extraordinary stories of how
they overcome adversity and discrimination and racism
and you never think that you know those people but
really, they're right here.
They're your neighbors.
They're the people you see at the park or
in the grocery store.
Kristen: The stories range from racism to ageism,
from physical differences to religious bias.
The similarity?
They've all suffered discrimination or prejudice
based on who they are, struggles that many of them
still face today.
Estefania: I would like to be asked what my dreams are.
I came to the United States when I was 6 years old and
since I've came to the United States I've known
that I've been in this country undocumented and
growing up undocumented came with its particulars like
experience of life and how I experienced life and when
I went to high school I really felt like
I wasn't understood.
I didn't know what other people thought of me.
I didn't want to be made fun of.
So I just stayed silent.
And that hurt.
Kristen: Teachers admit it's one day each year that has a
profound impact on students, many of whom silently
struggle with some of the same challenges these
speakers are talking about.
While their stories may be different,
the feelings are familiar and that's what organizers
are hoping will lead to greater understanding.
Andrea: Kids need that encouragement.
They need that love, they need that connection,
they need a reason for things and I think a lot of
times the speakers give them that reason to understand,
you know, hey, we're different but we can still
find a common ground, and that's huge with this.
It's just accepting and embracing diversity.
Phillip: I'm always amazed at the reaction I get
from students.
Over and over again I have received letters from
students telling me how much they needed to hear this
message, that often times I was the first gay or lesbian
that they had ever known.
And this is Joe when he was about 12
Kristen: Phillip Langlois began sharing his
story with Modesto High students 19 years ago after
he became a father and wanted to create a world
where his son wouldn't hear the hurtful words
he grew up hearing.
Like many of the speakers, Langlois says Day of Respect
is enormously gratifying.
It's a chance to connect with teens at an important
time in their lives and remind them that
their words matter.
Serah: I think it's important for students to
realize that what they're going through right now,
other people have walked in the same shoes as them
and they have gotten over it and they were able
to overcome it.
AJ: As soon as I got through this mud my front wheel hit
a rock and I fell out of my wheelchair.
I got up, and dusted myself off and kept moving and
I finished this event in 6 hours and 59 minutes.
Andrea: I want them to understand that people
should be loved no matter what or who or where
they're from.
Philip: It gives us a moment to pause out of our super
busy lives and really think about how being respectful,
the words we use, the comments we make,
the ideas that we might have,
what we might need to get rid of certain ideas,
how important it is to talk about them,
and to spend time talking about them.
Kristen: And while this event is focused on
understanding our differences,
the underlying lesson is that we all have something
in common, the need to be respected,
and that's a story that all of these students
can relate to.
♪♪
Jim: That's it for this edition of
Inside California Education.
Now, if you'd like more information about the
program, it's easy just log on to our
website insidecaled.org.
We have video from all of our shows,
and you can connect with us on social media as well.
Thanks for joining us.
We'll see you next time on Inside California Education.
♪♪
♪♪
Annc: Funding for Inside California Education
is made possible by..
Since 1985, the California Lottery has raised more than
$32 billion dollars in supplemental funding for
California's 11-hundred public school districts from
kindergarten through college.
That's approximately $191 for each full-time student
based on $1.5 billion contributed in fiscal year
2016-17.
With caring teachers, committed administrators,
and active parents, every public school student can
realize their dreams.
The California Lottery: Imagine the Possibilities.
Dr. Pascal: So, Greg, it's a lot to take in.
And I know that's hard to hear.
But the doctors caught it early.
Hi, Blake.
My dad has cancer.
And I know how hard that is to hear.
But you are in the right place.
Dr. Pascal and her team, they know what to do.
They know what to do.
The doctors know what to do.
So here's the plan.
First off, we're going to give you (fades out).
The Stuart Foundation: Improving Life Outcomes for
Young People through Education
Additional funding for Inside California Education
is made possible by these organizations
supporting public education:
♪♪
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