Go Seniors! Go Students!

//A blog by YDA tutor Sergio Centeno

With California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) testing having finally arrived, this week at Avalon was an important one for the seniors, and it had all of us cheering them on with support. The underclassmen held the fort down, so to speak, studying hard and continuing on in tutoring as they have been doing these past few weeks. While they did not have to take the CAHSEE this time around, watching the seniors and knowing their turn would eventually come had them amped up and motivated for the tutoring sessions.  They seemed keenly aware that preparation is part of the journey to success.

The English section of tutoring kicked off strong this week. Students brought in the essays they have been working on for review with the tutors. Personally, I was very impressed with their work. The immense improvement over the past few weeks is crystal clear. It seems like a light has been turned on inside of these students. When it comes to these essays, all they need now is someone to double check their work and give them an occasional high five.

The positive atmosphere of hard work lingered through the week; the only thing that changed was the subjects we covered each session. The week started with focusing on the structure of a five paragraph essay and moved seamlessly to mathematical formulas for finding percentages. During the Math section it became clear that this week was different from previous weeks; the students were finally getting comfortable and feeling more open to ask us questions. From my perspective, this represents a major breakthrough!!! The increasing level of trust between us makes it easier for us tutors to identify the trouble areas for our students and help them overcome the academic challenges they face.

By the end of the week, we were able to gather information on what these students are struggling with the most. By doing so, we came to the conclusion that the basic essentials of math are not as strong as they should be at this point. Now we know what we have to work on moving forward. Having watched the seniors meet the CAHSEE head on, the younger students are more than ready to follow suit and keep working hard to do a remarkable job on the CAHSEE.


laying a firm foundation

//A Blog written by Michelle Lee, YDA tutor

After two weeks of English and Math tutoring sessions at Avalon High School, I am proud to report that the students are one step closer to passing the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). As Rosie shared last week, the students were given English and Math assessments to gauge their readiness for the upcoming test in October. This week’s goal was to provide them with the necessary tools to achieve a passing score.

On Monday afternoon’s English session, Mr. Anthony simplified the essay portion of the exam into a useful template from which the students can build. He reminded them of the basic skeleton that makes up the classic five-paragraph essay – things like the thesis and topic sentences. While these basics were familiar to some students, others were learning about it for the first time. But now, as we go into week three, every student can strengthen his/her essay writing skills using the foundation Mr. Anthony laid out. Wednesday’s Math session was also beneficial; it equipped the students with five basic math formulas – things like finding the perimeter of a rectangle, or the area of a triangle. And while some of the tutors (including me) were more confident helping with the English portion of the exam, Wednesday’s session was just what we needed to get our brains warmed up to numbers and equations again.

The end of week two at Avalon High School also marks the beginning of some great relationships between tutors and students. Even though we only have three hours a week with them, we’re starting to understand personalities and learning habits. Peter*, a sophomore who will be taking the CAHSEE for the second time in October, is shy and soft-spoken, but when I crack a cheesy joke, he reveals a warm smile that let’s me know he is listening and attentive. In just two weeks, we’re gaining ground and off to a great start at Avalon High School. And on behalf of all the tutors, we are extremely hopeful for the success of each student. Bring it on, CAHSEE!



Counselors Put On Their Training Wheels

On Saturday morning, Sharefest held its yearly counselor training for the Summer Youth Development Academy (YDA). Around 20 counselors and 10 junior counselors met at CSU Dominguez Hills to prepare for the camp.

They started by learning about each other—with a twist!—answering questions as their 13 year old self. Anwar, the camp director, explained the importance of this task: the counselors must remember what it's like to be a middle schooler so they will know how to communicate with their kids and keep them involved during the academy.

"It's all about the kids!" Anwar said.

Anwar also talked about safety and camp programs before taking the counselors on a tour of the campus.

There's no doubt that these counselors will do a great job supporting and encouraging the kids during camp!



a food revolution.

There is much buzz around the country with Jamie Oliver's new season of Food Revolution (on ABC). This season the TV show is targeting LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District) and its nutrition program for students. Given our interest in the youth of Los Angeles and our partnerships with LAUSD, I thought I would chime in on this interesting issue relating to youth development in our communities.

I enjoy watching Jamie Oliver's show and commend his vision for the youth of our world. Nutrition is a critical component of Sharefest's work with youth, so we share his commitment. For instance, with our upcoming Summer Youth Development Academy (YDA) at Cal State University Dominguez Hills, we are once again intentional about the food we will provide them. And in our curriculum at Summer YDA and our Year-Round YDA (at Avalon High School), we firmly instill in our students the importance of proper nutrition and diet.

Sharefest has worked tirelessly to develop and maintain a positive relation with LAUSD. We understand the difficulties of initially establishing a partnership with such a huge entity – the largest public school system in California and the 2nd largest in the United States. But from our experience with LAUSD,  we know that the people there are indeed interested in students' development and their educational environment. This year, in fact, they have once again stepped up and are one of our major sponsors for our upcoming 8th Annual Workday (May 14th), which will be serving several LAUSD schools (e.g. Gardena High School).

This morning I heard Jamie Oliver on an interview with Ryan Seacrest (KIIS-FM) and it seems that he is making progress with the LAUSD (with its new Superintendent, John Deasy). I am glad to hear that both Jamie Oliver and LAUSD are moving in the right direction for our youth. At Sharefest, we look forward to this food revolution in Los Angeles and embrace the nationwide attention to bring about positive change in the lives of our youth and schools.