I Reading - Action Alliance for Children

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iPági
Non-Profit Organization
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PAID
Oakland, CA
Permit #1846
ADV CAT
PUBLISHED BY ACTION ALLIANCE FOR CHILDREN
CAEYC 1998
Commitment to
Children Award
California Association for the
Education of Young Children
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2003
jead
I
Consejos para
padres sobre
como preparar
a sus hijos
para leer
Readingreadiness
tips for
parents
Prepa
IN THIS ISSUE / EN ESTE NUMERO
REGULAR FEATURES/ARTICULOS REGULARES
The world of autism
El mundo de autismo
GRASSROOTS SNAPSHOT:
Community organizing at schools
INSTANTANEA DE COMUNIDAD:
PromociOn comunitaria a las escuelas
Business advocates for
child care
ASK THE ADVOCATE:
Faith-based child care
“Mainstreaming” kids with.
special needs
PREGUNTELE AL DEFENSOR:
Cuidado de ninos de base religiosa
2003 Multicultural Calendar
ACTION ALLIANCE FOR CHILDREN
•
THE HUNT HOUSE
•
IN MY OPINION:
Standardized tests and
low-income students and
students of color
1201 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. WAY
wwwfchiIdren.orq
•
OAKLAND, CA 94612-1217
TABLE OF CONTENTS
S
ADVOCATE
The bimonthly Children’s Advocate is published
by Action Alliance for Children, a nonprofit org
anization dedicated to informing and e,npowering
people who work with and on behalf of children.
Volume 31
3 Grassroots Snapshot: School districts turning
to community organizing for answers
Instantáneas de Ia corn unidad: Distritos
escolares buscan respuestas en Ia prornoción
cornunitaria
By Leslie Albrecht
Executive Director
Philip Arca
Editor
Jean Tepperman
Accountant
Pam Elliott
Outreach Manager
Melia Franklin
4 Ask the Advocate: Creating faith-based child
care
Outreach Associate
Erica Williams
Pregántele al Advocate: Creando centros de
Online Community Manager
Jessine’Foss
cuidado de ninos de base religiosa
Por Marissa Brownell
Copy Editor
Laura Coon
Volunteer
Patty Overland
5
Interns
Leslie Albrecht
Marissa Brownell
Publication Design and Production
lockwood design
AAC Logo Design
Mitche Manitou
Printing
Fricke Parks Press
Distribution
Jane Welford
Legal Counsel
Nonprofit Legal Services Network
Board of Directors
Charles Drucker, President
Catalina Alvarado, Vice President
Victor Rubin, Interim Treasurer
Carlos Castellanos, Secretary
Adam Ray
Randy Reiter
Marguerite Stricklin
Ernest Ting
Advisory Council
Jill Duerr Berrick
University of California
Child Welfare Research Center
Margaret Brodkin
Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth
Maria Campbell Casey
Partnership for the Public’s Health
Hedy N. Chang
Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund
Jonah Edelman
Stand for Children
Louis Freedberg
San Francisco Chronicle
Dana Hughes
Institute for Health Policy Studies
Herbert Kohl
Author & Educator
Milton Kotelchuck
University of North Carolina
Professor, Dept. of Maternal and Child Health
Arabella Martinez
Spanish Speaking Unity Council
Effie Lee Morris
California Library Services
Daphne Muse
Multicultural author and editor
Lucy Quacinella
National Center for Youth Law
Wilson Riles, Jr.
American Friends Service Committee
Giovanna Stark
Assembly Select Committee on Adolescents
Principal Consultant
Alan Watahara
California Partnership for Children
Stan Weisner
UC Berkeley Children & the Changing
Family Program
Rev. Cecil Williams
Glide Memorial Church
Action Alliance for Children is a tax-exempt organization
supported in part by a California State Department of
Education (SDE) grant. However, the opinions expressed
herein do not necessarily reflect those of SDE and opinions
expressed by contributors or writers do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of this paper. We reserve the right to
refuse advertising for any reason.
Children’s Advocate assumes no liability for products or
services in its features or ads. As this is a copyrighted pub
lication, permission to reprint material appearing on these
pages must be requested.
Circulation: Children’s Advocate is available at select
child care centers, retail outlets, social service organiza
tions and public libraries throughout California. Available
by bulk order or individual subscription.
Subscription Rates (see page 11)
$18 for one year • $34 for two years
First-time subscribers $12 for one year
Sample copies are available for $3 each.
For information about our annual multicultural calendar
write or call:
Action Alliance for Children
The Hunt House
1201 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
•
•
Oakland, CA 94612-1217
Tel (510) 444-7136
V
V
Fax (510) 444.7138
1%
e-mail: [email protected]
www.4children.org
© Children’s Advocate NewsMagazine ASSN 0739-45X
Next Issue: March/April 2003
Advertising Deadline: February 10, 2003
2 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2003
Business leaders: “Unlikely allies”
Some advocates for early care and education
have successfully involved business leaders in
pushing for more public support
By Jean Tepperman
6 Getting ready to read
Parents can help their kids tune into language
and books—starting when they’re babies
By Eve Peariman
7 Preparando a los niños para leer
8
•
Number 1
10 “Into his own world”
Autism is affecting a growing number of
California children
by Heather World
11 “En su propio mundo”
El autismo afecta a un nómero creciente de ninos
en California
Por Heather World
12 In My Opinion: Does the state standardized
testing program help or hurt low-income students
and students of color?
By Irene Moore
13 Special needs, “mainstream” classroom
Inclusive education isn’t easy, but it benefits kids
with—and without—disabilities
By Kathy Flores
14 Children’s Advocates Roundtable: Budgetcut proposals: Roundtable response; Healthy
Families worksl; iHealthy Families funcional;
Hunger in California; Hambre en California;
Applying the new federal education law
Los padres pueden ayudar a sus niños a concen
trarse en Ia lengua y Ia lectura desde bebés
Por Eve Pearlrnan
15 Children’s Advocates Roundtable:
Propuesta de recorte presupuestario: Respuesta de
Children’s Advocates Roundtable; Poniendo en
vigor Ia nueva ley federal de educación
2003 Multicultural Calendar
UN. International Decade for a Culture of Peace
16 Children’s Advocates Roundtable:
Governor proposes cuts this year; El gobernador
propone cortes para este año
EDITOR’S NOTE
W
e’ll begin this new year, as always,
teaching children to share, help oth
ers when they need help, and “use
your words” rather than violence. But this
year we are especially aware of problems with
some of the adult role models. In the state, it’s
battles over the budget. In the nation, it’s
preparation for real battles with guns and
bombs. They both threaten our society’s abil
ity to care for children—and adults, and the
planet.
With this in mind, I was inspired to sit at
the December meeting of the Children’s
Advocates Roundtable and hear participants’
determination to continue pressing for the
services that children and families so urgent
ly need. It’s an honor to be part of this com
munity of advocacy for children—along with
you, our readers.
The new year also marks an anniversary
for us: the 30th year of publication of the
Children’s Advocate. The organization that
became Action Alliance for Children started in
1973 as part of the grassroots women’s
movement that created our network of child
care resource and referral agencies. It’s also
an honor to share that heritage.
Our bilingual cover story in this issue was
written in response to many requests that we
provide tips for parents on what they can do
with their babies, toddlers, and preschoolers
to get them ready to read when it’s time (pgs.
.6 and 7). Rather than bore or pressure little
kids with direct instruction in reading, parents
can play, talk, read, and listen in ways that
teach children important language skills.
Of course most parents also need, quality
care and education for their kids while they’re
at work. Two stories this issue describe very
different ways of working to build the supply
of quality care—religious congregations start
ing child care in their buildings (p. 4) and
business leaders advocating for public funds
for early education (p. 5).
The growing number of parents of young
children with autism face special challenges.
In our bilingual story on pages 10 and 11, we
look at the increase in autism, describe some
of the issues, and suggest ways that neigh
bors, friends, and child care providers can
help.
When children with autism and other spe
cial needs get to school, they face a new set
of issues. We are very lucky to have in this
issue an article (p. 13) by Kathy Flores, a vet
eran teacher and leader in the field of special
education, who describes some of the benefits
and challenges of including kids with special
needs in mainstream classrooms.
Advocacy for schools that meet kids’ needs
is an ongoing necessity. Our Grassroots
Snapshot (p. 3) describes a community-orga
nizing approach developing in some Los
Angeles schools. In My Opinion (p. 12) con
tributors tackle the question of whether the
state’s standardized testing program helps or
hurts low-income students and students of
color.
In our report from the Children’s
Advocates Roundtable we outline current
news about proposed state budget cuts and
advocates’ responses. We also identify some
new resources to help parents and communi
ties figure out and use the new federal edu
cation law, the No Child Left Behind Act.
And as always in January, we are proud to
present our Multicultural Calendar, this year
illustrated with drawings by children in the
Draw Your Heart Out class, taught by
Jacqueline Ruben at the Sharon Art Studio of
the San Francisco Recreation and Parks
Department. We asked them to create art on
the theme of peace, in the hope that we can
carry inspiration from their images into the
months ahead.
—Jean Tepperman
Cover photo by Kathy Sloane,
School districts turning to commUnity
organizing for answers
By Leslie Albrecht
V
Q
n July 1, 2000, Bernadino
arrived at Trinity Elementary
in Los Angeles, hair combed,
shirt tucked in, ready for second grade.
But at Trinity, with 1,800 kids in a
building designed for 600, students
take turns going to school year-round
in three “tracks.” Bernadino wasn’t in
B Track, which starts July 1, so he was
sent home.
When Bemadino showed up for the
third day in a row, school staff walked
him home. Bernadino’s parents were at
work, and his two toddler brothers had
been left with an uncle, who was
asleep upstairs. But funds for child
care for “off-track” kids wouldn’t be
available until October. So Bernadino
stayed home.
Parents had been complaining for
years about this delay in B Track
funds—not only for “off-track” child
care, but also for tutoring kids who
needed extra help.
When Principal Robert Crdova
came to Trinity in 2000, he says,
“There was a group of parents who
thought to make change you had to yell
at the principal and the superinten
dent.” In that energy, he saw potential.
L.A. METRO: “RELATIONAL MEET
INGS.” So Cordova called community
organizers at L.A. Metro Strategy
Industrial Areas Foundation, a veteran
community orga
nizing movement
that’s working, in
an unusual alliance
with the school dis
trict, to build “core
gmups” of leaders at
25 Los Angeles
schools. They start
with “relational meet
ings,” where parents
and teachers get to
know each other by
discovering shared
values and goals.
Cordova began
School.
by holding one-on- Now parents frequently meet and affend events at Trinity
one conversatons
mit.” The strong turnout convinced
“We
with parents and teachers.
LAUSD Superintendent Roy Romer to
thought he was nuts at first because no
set up regular meetings with L.A.
one had ever talked to us about ‘rela
Metro school leaders.
tional culture’ before,” says 30-year
When Cordova told Bernadino’s
veteran teacher Donna Palmer. But
story in one of these meetings, it “was
gradually Cordova found a group of
a launching pad for [our] relationship
interested parents and teachers and
with Romer,” says L.A. Metro organiz
worked with them to organize the com
er Sister Maribeth Larkin.
munity—an unusual role for a princi
pal! Soon they held a neighborhood
DISTRICT AS ALLY. The “old way” of
cleanup and a successful campaign for
approaching school officials, says
school crossing guards.
Cordova, was: “It’s your fault, we’re
gonna hurt you.” In contrast, says orga
CITY-WIDE MEETINGS. In July
nizer Celeste Lofton, “We came to
2001, LA Metro Strategy brought 800
Romer saying, ‘We’re trying to figure
community leaders from Trinity and
out what’s best for our children and we
other schools to an “educational sum-
Thanks to the David and L.ucile Packard Foundation for its support of this page.
think you’re a good ally.”
Then in May 2002, at a public meet
ing with 500 people,V Cordova asked
Romer to make tutoring and child care
funds available during B Track. Romer
said yes.
CHANGES AT SCHOOL. “Before,
kids would be at home for two months
during the summer watching TV Now
we have raised their education to a bet
ter level,” says Elvira Garcia, parent of
two former Trinity students.
And the organizing changed the
school. “I see a growth of teacher
involvement with parents—and parents
are taking charge of events otherwise
hosted by the school,” says third grade
teacher Claudia Ramirez.
Maria Zamora, parent of two Trinity
students, agrees. “We don’t have any
problem talking to teachers or Cordova
at any time.”
V
• L.A. Metro Strategies, 213-273-8420
Do you know of a grassroots
effort the world should hear
about? Contacy Melia Franklin,
outreach manager,
510-444-7136,
aocmelia4chiIdren.org
Traducción al castellano:
Lucrecia Miranda
Distritos escolares buscan respuestas
en Ia promoción cornunitaria
Por Leslie Albrecht
E
110 de julio del 2000, Bernadino
llegó a Trinity Elementary en
Los Angeles con el cabello
peinado, camisa dentro del pantalón,
listo para empezar segundo grado. Pero
Trinity tiene 1800 niflos en un edificio
diseflado para 600, por lo que durante
el año se turna a los estudiantes para is
a la escuela de acuerdo a tres grupos o
“vias”. Bernadino no estaba en el
Grupo o “VIa” B—el cual comienza el
10 de julio—asI que fue enviado de
vuelta a casa.
Cuando Bernadino apareció por ter
cer dla consecutivo, personal de la
escuela lo acompafió a casa. Los papas
de Bernadino estaban trabajando,
mientras sus dos hermanitOs pequeños
quedaban al cuidado de un tb que, en
aquel momento, estaba durmiendo en
el piso de arriba. Pero los fondos para
el servicio de guarderla para niflos
“fuera de via” no estaban disponibles
hasta octubre, por lo que Bernadino
tuvo que quedarse en casa.
Los padres han venido quejandose
por años de este retraso en las subven
•ciones para niiios en la via B, lo cual no
solo imposibilita en muchos casos que
puedan acceder a servicios de cuidado
de niflos sino también contar con un
tutor cuando necesitan ayuda extra.
Cuando el director Robert Cordova
llegó a Trinity en el afio ‘2()00, declara
él mismo, “habia un grupo de padres
que pensaba que para producir cambios
tenla que gritarle al director y al super
intendente”. Cordova vio potencial en
aquella energIa.
L.A. METRO: “ENCUENTROS RE
LACIONALES”. Cordova llamó a
promotores comunitarios de L.A. Metro
Strategy Industrial Areas Foundation,
un movimiento veterano de promociOn
comunitaria trabajando en una alianza
inusual con el distrito escolar para con
struir grupos centrales de lfderes en 25
escuelas de Los Angeles. Comienzan
con “encuentros relacionales” en las
que padres y maestros llegan a cono
cerse descubriendo valores y objetivos
compartidos.
Cordova comenzó a mantener con
versaciones uno a uno con padres y
maestros. “Primero pensábamos que
estabä loco, porque antes nunca nadie
nos habIa hablado sobre la ‘cultura de
relaciones”, dice la veterana maestra
con 30 aflos en educación Donna
Palmer. Pero de a poco Cordova con
siguió crear un grupo de padres y mae
stros interesados y trabajO con ellos en
actividades de promoción comunitaria,
jun papel inusual para el director de
una escuela! En poco tiempo habIan
llevado a cabo una limpieza generaliza
da en el barrio y una exitosa campalia
para conseguir guardianes de cruce
peatonal para la escuela.
REUNIONES EN TODA LA CIU
CAMBIOS EN LA ESCUELA. “Antes
DAD. En julio del 2001, L.A. Metro
Strategy convocó 800 lideres comuni
tarios de Trinity y otras escuelas a una
“cumbre educativa”. El éxito de la con
vocatoria convenció al superintendente
del Distrito Escolar Unificado de Los
Angeles, Roy Romer, a reunirse regu
lannente con los lideres de las escuelas
de L.A. Metro.
Cuando Cordova contó la historia de
Bernadino en una de esas reuniones,
“esa fue la plataforma de lanzamiento
para nuestra relación con Romer”, dice
una de las promotoras comunitarias de
L.A. Metro, la Hermana Maribeth
Larkin.
nuestros nilios se quedaban en casa por
dos meses durante el verano mirando
television. Ahora hemos llevado su
educación a un mejor nivel”, dice
Elvira Garcia, madre de dos antiguos
estudiantes de Trinity.
Asimismo, el trabajo de promociOn
comunitaria cambió la escuela. “Veo
que los maestros se involucran más con
los padres, y que los padres se están
ocupando de eventos de otro modo a
cargo de la escuela”, dice la maestra de
tercer grado Claudia Raxnfrez.
MarIa Zamora, mama de dos estudi
antes de Trinity, concuerda. “No ten
emos ningtin problema en hablar con
los maestros o con Cordova en ningtin
momento”.
EL DISTRITO COMO ALIADO. La
“vieja manera” de dirigirse a los fun
cionarios escolares, dice Cordova, era:
“Es tu culpa, te vamos a castigar”. Por
el contrario, dice la promotora Celeste
Lofton, “nosotros nos dirigimos a
Romer diciendo, ‘estamos tratando de
ver qué es lo mejor para nuestros mfios
y pensamos que usted es un buen alia
do”.
Luego, en una reunion ptiblica con
500 personas en mayo del 2002,
Cordova le pidiO a Romer que hiciera
disponibles los fondos para tutores y
cuidado de nifios durante el curso de la
“via B”, y Romer dijo que si.
• L.A. Metro Strategies, tel. 213-273-8420
àSabe usted de algOn esfuerzo
comunitario de base del cual
todo el mundo deberia esc
char? Póngase en contacto con
Melia Franklin, director de
promoción comunitaria,
510-444-7136,
aacmelia4children.org
CHILDREN’S ADVOCATE 3
Creating
faith-based child care
ASK THE.
By Marissa Brownell
Q. How can our church help
meet the need for quality, afford
able child care?
ing faith-based child care programs
advise interested congregation mem
bers to follow these steps:
A:
• Discuss the idea with the lead
er of your congregation. Often
Many communities have a huge
unmet need for quality, affordable
child care, and a religious congrega
tion—a church, temple, or mosque—
has icey resources: a group of caring
people and a building with empty
space. Creating a child care center was
“just another way to use our facility,”
says Terry Hitch, the former director of
First Steps Early Childhood Education
Center in Fresno First Baptist Church.
With the church contributing space, a
child care center can charge lower fees
and still provide quality care.
In addition, some religious organi
zations provide more resources. The
California Council of Churches’ FaithBased Child Care Capacity Project
does intensive outreach in a few coun
ties but is available to give any congre
gation information and advice on start
ing child care centers and improving
child care quality. The Bureau of
Jewish Education (BJE) in Los Ange
les provides information and start-up
grants to local child care projects.
People with experience in develop-
he or she receives information from
faith-based organizations that offer
advice, support, and sometimes fi
nancial resources for child care.
• Organize a child care working
group. The group can contact the
local child care resource and referral
agency (R&R) to fmd data on the
community need for child care and
think through issues for the congr
gation: What is our goal in creating
child care? How would a child care
center affect our congregation and
the community?
• Meet with the congregation’s
governing body. Dr. Leila Al
Marayati, a member of the Muslim
Women’s League, says a key step
for groups starting child care centers
is to go to the board of the mosque
for authorization and support.
• Aftend local meetings of the
state Communily Care Licensing
Division. Armine Lalaian-Sanjar,
improvement director of after-school
programs for Los Angeles Catholic
Charities, says the meetings provide
valuable information on equipment,
meals, staffing, facilities, and other
topics.
• Hire a director—or find an
existing child care program as
a partner. Two-thirds of faithbased child care programs are run
by a partner such as Head Start or
the YMCA, says Virginia Green
wald, who works on child care
issues for the California Council of
Churches.
• Tackle the issue of funding.
Your congregation may be able to
get donations to cover some costs.
Sometimes funds are available from
a religious organization—when
Batsheva Spector set up a child care
center with the Jewish Iranian Com
munity Temple Committee, BJE
provided start-up funds. Most faithbased centers are supported by par
ent fees, says Greenwald, but her
organization is encouraging congre
gations to contact R&Rs to help
low-income families apply for state
child care subsidies.
• Communicate and work with
the congregation. “A successful
partnership takes cooperation, sup
port, and compromising,” says
Lalaian-Sanjar. Respect the needs of
others using the building. Keep con
gregation members informed—
some may know families looking
for child care, others may be inter
ested in volunteering to help.
RE SO U RC ES
• Bureau of Jewish Education of Los Angeles,
323-761-8605, www.bjela.org
• California Council of Churches, 707-669-1502,
www.calchurches.oralorojects4.html
(This web site offers a downloadable resource
guide on faith-based child care at
www.calchurches.ora/publicationjdfs/
CCBooklet.pdf)
• Catholic Charities, 916-313-4005,
cccalifornia.org
Have a question for Askihe Advocate”? Contact Melia Franklin at 510-444-7136 or aacmelia4children.org
Thanks to the David and Lucile Packard Foundation for its support of this page.
Troducción ol castellano:
Lucrecia Miranda
Por Marissa Brownell
PREGUNTA: cCómo puede ayudar
nuestra iglesia a satisfacer Ia
necesidad de provision de un
servicio de cuidado de niños de
calidad y a un precio asequible?
RESPUESTA: Muchas comumdades
tienen una gran necesidad insatisfecha
de servicios de cuidado de nifios de cal
idad y a precio asequible. Las congre
gaciones religiosas (con sus iglesias,
templos o mezquitas) cuentan con
recursos dave: un grupo de personas
dedicadas y un edificio con espacio
libre. La creación de un centro de
cuidado de nihos fue “una manera más
de usar nuestro edificio”, dice Terry
Hitch, el antiguo director del Centro de
Educación Infantil First Steps en la
Primera Iglesia Bautista de Fresno.
Con Ia iglesia conthbuyendo su espa
cio de manera gratuita, los centros para
el cuidado de nifios pueden cobrar tarn
fas más bajas y aán asI proveer servi
cios de calidad.
Asimismo, algunas organizaciones
religiosas proveen otro tipo de recur
sos. El Proyecto de Capacitacidn de
Base Religiosa para el Cuidado de
Niflos del Consejo de Iglesias de
California ileva a cabo una convocato
na intensiva en algunos pocos conda
dos, pero se encuentra dispomble para
brindar información y consejo a
cualquier congregación sobre cómo
establecer centros de cuidado infantil y
mejorar la calidad de este servicio. El
Consejo de Educación JudIa en Los
Angeles (BJE, segtin su sigla en inglés)
provee información y subvenciones
para proyectos locales de cuidado de
nilios.
Personas experimentadas en el
desarrollo de programas de base reli
giosa para el cuidado de ninos aconse
jan a aquellos miembros interesados de
diversas congregaciones seguir los
siguientes pasos:
• Discuta Ia idea con el lIder de su
coiigregación. A menudo la persona
en cuestión recibe información de
organizaciones de base religiosa que
ofrecen consejo, apoyo y algunas
veces recursos fmancieros para el
cuidado de mflos.
• Organice un grupo de trabalo sobre
cuidado infantil. El grupo puede
contactar la oficina local de referen
cia y recursos para el cuidado infan
til (RyR) para procurar datos sobre
la necesidad de servicios de
guarderfa en la comunidad y pensar
en algunos temas vinculados a la
congregación: LCuál es nuestro
objetivo en la creación de un servi
cio de cuidado de nifios? i,Cómo
afectarla iin centro de cuidado infan
til a nuestra congregación y a la
comunidad?
• Reánase con las autoridades de Ia
congregación. La Dra. Leila Al
Marayati, miembro de la Liga de
Mujeres Musulmanas, afirrna que
un paso dave para grupos procuran
do establecer centros de cuidado de
nifios es dirigirse al consejo de la
•mezquita para obtener autorización
y apoyo.
I Asista a reuniones locales de Ia
Division de Certificaciones para Ia
AtenciOn Comunitaria del estado.
Armine Lalaian-Sanjar, directora
para el mejoramiento de programas
extracurriculares para la organi
zación Catholic Charities de Los
Angeles, afirma que las reuniones
constituyen una valiosa fuente de
información sobre equipamiento,
comidas, personal, instalaciones y
otros temas.
• Contrate a un director—o encuen
tre un programa ya existente de
cuidado de niños para asociarse
con el suyo. Dos tercios de los pro
gramas de base religiosa para el
cuidado de niiios están conducidos
por algtin asociado tal como Head
Start o el YMCA, dice Virginia
Greenwald, quien trabaja en temas
de cuidado de nifios para el Consejo
de Iglesias de California.
• Aborde el tema de Ia financiación.
Es posible que su congregación
pueda obtener donaciones para
cubrir algunos costos. Algunas
veces hay fondos dispombles prove
nientes de alguna organización reli
giosa. Por ejemplo, cuando Bat
sheva Spector creó un centro para el
cuidado de mfios con el Comité del
Templo Comunitario Judfo-franI,
BJE proveyó dinero para financiar
el comienzo del proyecto. La may
oria de los centros de base religiosa
son financiaclos por la matrIcula que
pagan los padres, dice Greenwald,
pero su organización está alentando
a las congregaciones a contactar a
las RyRs para ayudar a las familias
de bajos ingresos a solicitar subsid
ios estatales para el cuidado de
nifios.
• ComunIquese y trabaje con Ia con
gregaciOn. “El éxito de un Irabajo
conjunto exige cooperación, apoyo y
compromiso”, dice Lalaian-Sanjar.
Respete las necesidades de los demás
cuando use el ediflcio. Mantenga in
formados a los miembros de la con
gregación; puede ser que alguien
conozca familias buscando servicios
de cuidado de nliios, o que otros se
encuentren interesados en ofrecer
ayuda de modo voluntario.
RECURSOS
• Comité de Educación iudIa de Los Angeles, 323761-8605, www.bjeIa.org
• Consejo de Iglesias de California, 707-669-1502,
www.caldiurches.org/proiects4.html (Este sitio
web ofrece una gula de rewrsos en ingles sabre
cuidado de niños provisto por organizadones de
base religiosa, el cual puede bajarse del Internet
en el sitio www.calchurches.org/publicalion_pdfs/
• CCBooklet.pdf)
• Catholic Charities, 916-313-4005, cccalifornia.org
iTiene alguna pregunta para “Pregántele al Defénsor”? IJame a Melia Franklin al 510-444-71360 e-mail aacmelia4children.org
Business leaders: “Unlikely allies”
Some advocates for early care and education have successfully involved
business leaders in pushing for more public support
By Jean Tepperman
an you picture business lead
ers lobbying for more state
spending on early care and
education? Sound unlikely? That’s
why it’s effective, say children’s advo
cates who have been working to enlist
these “unlikely allies.”
Last spring, Kinko’s founder Paul
Orfalea testified in support of child
care spending before the California
Assem-bly’s Budget Committee. “It
was the first time a corporate person.
testified in a legislative hearing for
child care,” says Patty Siegel, execu
tive director of the Child Care
Resource and Referral Network. “I
think people really noticed.”
In the last few years, more business
leaders have been getting involved in
advocacy for child care, after-school
care, and other children’s issues.
• In Massachusetts, executives of
many of the state’s largest compa
nies have been among the leaders
of the Early Education for All cam
paign, which last month filed legis
lation calling for universal pre
school for three-, four-, and five
year-olds.
I In Florida, dozens of the largest
corporations have committed their
lobbyists to spend “An Hour a Week
for Kids,” talking with legislators
about children’s issues. And the
state Chamber of Commerce
Leadership Council has made early
education a priority issue for the
year.
• A year-old national organization,
Corporate Voices for Working
Families (CVWF), including 32
Fortune 500 companies such as
Marriott and Abbott Laboratories,
in November issued a briefing
paper, Early Learning and After
School, and plans meetings on uni
versal preschool with federal legis
lators and the White House.
Although some employers provide
child care and other benefits to
employees’ families, spending by pri
vate companies pays only about 1
percent of the nation’s child care bill.
Spending by employers can’t meet the
need for quality preschool experiences
for all children, says Donna Klein, a
former Marriott executive who’s now
CVWF’s president and CEO. That’s
why CVWF is organizing to “raise the
profile on early education as a busi
ness issue to state and federal politi
cians.”
C
Why involve business
leaders?
When Massachusetts children’s
advocate Margaret Blood surveyed
state legislators, she says, they told her
“children’s issues are important, but
you need to get people with clout, like
business leaders.”
Abby Thorman leads a Kansas City
campaign called Partners in Quality,
which has organized business execu
tives to promote state programs to
improve quality in earl,r education.
“The business ‘capital’ that’s most
important,” she says, “is their political
connections,
their ability to
gain entrée to
places of power.”
In addItion,
says Children
Now vice presi
dent Amy Do
minguez-Arms,
policy-makers
see business peo
ple as “rational
and moderate,”
without the self
interest that child
care providers
have in expand
ing child care.
Bifi Nelson,
chair of George Kinko’s founder, Paul Orfalea enloysa game in a child care center.
K. Baum Asset
Management,
helped found Kansas City’s Partnership
What’s happening in
for Children. After the group persuaded
California?
the state of Kansas to pass a law reducing
In California only a few business
barriers to childhood immunization, he
leaders, such as Paul Orfalea and Jim
says, “in Missouri I went to...the governor
Wunderman of Providian Bank, have
and said, ‘Look, Mel, here’s a solution.”
long been active advocates for chil
Nelson says he already knew the gover
dren. During the past year, Children
nor because “I’d supported his campaign,
Now, the Child Care Resource and
helped raise money for it.”
Refeiral Network, and the Orfalea
Why do business
leaders get involved?
Business executives give two main
reasons for pushing public investment
in early education:
• Workers are more productive when
they know their children are being
well cared for.
• Early education contributes to suc
cess in school and later in work.
Orfalea says advocacy for child care
is “a natural extension of the work I
began at Kinko’s,” where he estab
lished an on-site child care center at
company headquarters. “I...found that
when I could help [workers] deal with
the challenges they faced in their lives,
not only did I feel good, the business
prospered. Productivity increased,
turnover was lower.”
Alan Macdonald, a former GE exec
utive, now heads the Massachusetts
Business Roundtable. He first got
interested in the issue, he says, because
“at GE we had a lot of young families
who needed day care nearby to main
tain a full-time work schedule.”
But when he helped survey business
leaders, he says, “they were not inter
ested in day care. But they were very
interested in preschool. [That] stems
from their interest in K-12. All the
studies show that if you get children
early, at three and four, they’re better
prepared to meet the standards. And
there are other benefits—not as much
conduct problems, not as many kids in
special education. In the long term,
people who have more ability in read
ing, writing, and general problem-sol
ving are quicker to ‘adapt to worker
training....Having productive citizens
is good for everybody...if they’re buy
ing into the system and getting some
thing out of it.”
Family Foundation nurtured a fledg
ling effort called Business Voices for
Working Families.
Last spring the group urged legisla
tors to support spending on child care
and after-school programs, in letters
signed by executives from Clorox,
Levi Strauss, Macy’s West, and other
companies. Dominguez-Arms says,
“We’re hoping to step up these efforts
in the coming year.”
Siegel sees the greatest potential in
“engaging the business sector to articu
late long-term solutions” like universal
preschool. “But this year,” she adds,
“the survival of California’s child care
system will depend in part on revenue
enhancement—and building support
for revenue enhancement in the corpo
rate community is a challenging task.”
How to involve
business:
advice from the pros
“Don’t call it child care. Call it
early education. Use the data
[about the effectiveness of early
education]. It’s very compelling
to them.... It’s key to have a few
business leadeis involved, then
they can get others to step
up....Use business leaders’ time
sparingly and strategically....
Political and business leaders
need to get credit, to get visibility.”
—Margaret Blood,
president, Strategies for Children,
Massachusetts
“We need to clearly articulate
the business case [for early edu
cation]. We’ve learned through
our experience that there’s a
strong tie-in between education
and child care and employees’
productivity.”
—Bernadette Fusaro,
vice president of Global Work!
Life Strategies, Merrill Lynch
“You need to have a clear mes
sage—hw this benefits the
community—and clear action
steps for them. How are their
skills and assets going to be
maximized? It’s not different
from working with preschoolers.
You set people up for success,
give them clear goals, and fol
low through. They’re just taller
and have more money.”
—Abby Thorman,
program manager,
Metropolitan Council in Child Care,
Kansas City
Resources
.
• Dr. Sandra Burud,
(convenor of “A Stakeholder’s
Roundtable: Bringing Business
to the Table” in October
2000), Claremont Graduate
University, 626-256-3423,
sandyburud.org
• Children Now, 510-763-2444,
www.childrennow.org
• Corporate Voices for Working
Families, 301 -380-6856,
www.cvworkingfamilies.org
• Council for Economic
Development (a business
think tank that published its
report, Preschool for All,
in February 2002),
202-296-5860,
www.ced.org
• Florida Children’s Forum,
850-68 1 -7002
• Foundation for Child
Development, publisher of
Business Leaders as Legislative
Advocates for Children, by
Margaret Blood and Melissd
Ludtke, 212-697-3150,
www.ffcd.org.
• Orfolea Family Foundation,
805-565-7550
• Partners in Quality, do
Metropolitan Council on
Child Care (Kansas City),
816-474-4240
• Strategies for Children
(Massachusetts)
61 7-330-7380,
strategiesforchildren.org
1+
Getting ready to read
Parents can help their kids tune into language and
books—starting when they’re babies
By Eve Pearlman
Resources
Materials
• American Library Association,
800-545-2433, has a program
called Born to Read: How to
Raise a Reader, including infor
mation sheets in English
(www.ala.org/alsc
raise_a_reader.html) and
Spanish (www.ala.org/alsd
btrspanish.html) with links to
more materials.
• The National Association for the
Education of Young Children,
800-424-2460, has many publi
cations including a one-page
sheet of tips, Raising a Reader,
www.naeyc.org/resources
eyly/1 998/1 9.htm
Programs
• Even Start is a federally funded
program to help parents gain lit
eracy and parenting skills. In
California contad Joanne Bass,
California Department of
Education, 916-319-0277,
jbass(cde.ca.gov
• Two home-visiting programs
teach parents how to help
children learn:
• Home Instruction Program for
Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY),
718-549-1993, hippy.org.
In California, call Clinton
Pearson, 619-607-0412 or
619-264-1554.
• Parents as Teachers,
866-PAT4YOU
(1 -866-728-4968),
patnc.org
arents and preschool teach
ers know that kids don’t just
wake up one day knowing
how to tie their shoes or use a fork.
Learning these skills takes lots of
attention and help from adults.
Likewise, children don’t just auto
matically show up to kindergarten
ready to start reading.
The skills children need to help
them become good readers are put
into place slowly during the first five
or so years of their lives, as all their
senses are fine-tuned and sharp
ened. Before they go to school,.
children need to learn to pay atten
tion to the sound of language and
to recognize the shapes of letters.
They learn to tell stories, listen to
stories, ask questions, and, most of
all, to make thinking and discoveiy
port of their lives.
Here are a few tips to help you
help your children get ready to
read.
p
Start reading early
Even before babies can sit up on
their own, they can cuddle on your lap
and look at board books with black and
white drawings or pictures of faces.
“Making the habit is so important,”
says Catherine Held, director of litera
cy programs at the California Parent
ing Institute. “We work with a lot of
parents who didn’t believe that a ninemonth-old or a two-year-old would sit
still for a book—and they’re amazed.”
The earlier you start, the more com
fortable your child will be with sitting
together and reading.
Monica Canels says her three-yearold daughter loves the songs she has
learned in her own adult English class
through Even Start in Santa Rosa.
“Sarahe loves to have me sing to her,”
says Canels, “especially ‘Santa Claus
is Coining to Town,’ because she rec
ognizes it from the mall.” Canels has
also taught her daughter other favorites
like ‘if You’re Happy and You Know
It’ and ‘Itsy-Bitsy Spider.’ Her daugh
ter likes to sing the last word of each
line with her.
Lynda Gilgun, a literacy instructor
in San Diego, says this is all part of get
ting ready to read. “People have played
‘Pat-a-Cake’ with their children for
years, and there’s a reason for it,” says
Gilgun. “Rhyming games tune our ears
to the sound of words. if children
understand rhyming, when it comes
time to read they can identify a whole
lot more words.”
Ask questions, explore
ideas
Make it routine
Reading together, says Held, can be
a way to carve out peaceful time in an
otherwise hectic day. “As parents, we
have too few opportunities to relax and
enjoy our kids.” Many families pick a
particular time of day—often bedtime,
because reading is a cozy, calming
activity.
“Parents always talk about how
much more creative their children
become when they start reading to
them,” Held adds. “It’s because chil
dren are exposed to new things, new
art, new words.”
Sing, rhyme, play
(4
MarIa Abazán says that when she
was growing up in Mexico her family
didn’t read to her. But for her, reading
to her sons, especially her four-yearold who doesn’t read yet, is a special
way to spend focused time with them,
to talk and explore ideas together.
“Little by little,” she says, with the
help of such programs as the Home
Instructional Program for Preschool
Youngsters (see Resources), “I’ve
learned how to read to them. I look at
the picture on the cover and see the title
and author. Then I read, but I also ask
questions: What’s that character’s
name? What’s going on in this picture?
What do you think is going to happen
next?”
She especially likes listening to her
children talk about the book after they
read it. “They learn everything,” she
says proudly. “They’re thinking about
so much.”
Set an example
Abazan is not just reading with her
children, she’s also taking English
classes. When they see her doing
homework, she’s modeling just how
important books and learning are to
her. “They like to see me study,” says
Abazán. “They see they’re like me—
we are all going to school.”
Get into the drama
“I like to make it real so my kids can
understand better what’s going on and
so they pay attention,” says Paula
Barajaf, who enjoys reading with her
two youngest children, five and three,
every day. She puts a lot of drama into
her animal sounds and character’s
yoices. “When they say ‘Mommy read
it again,’ and try to imitate me, I know
they’re understanding,” says Barajaf.
Tell your own stories
If Barajaf, a native Spanish speaker,
doesn’t know enough of the English
words on the page to understand the
story, she makes up the narrative.
“That’s perfectly OK,” says Held,
“Kids are learning anyway. They’re
learning how to turn the pages and
they’re learning to connect the stories
their parents are telling with the pic
tures.”
“They like to see me study.
They see they’re
like me—we are all
going to school.”
—Maria Abazán, parent
Learn about letters any
time, any place
Whenever Canels and her six-yearold son Victor go shopping, they make
a game out of identifying words on
road signs, billboards, and ads in
stores. “He loves to ask me what every
thing says,” says Canels. ‘We talk a lot
about what we see.”
Three- and four-year-olds can
search for letters on everything from
food packaging to newspaper head
lines. Being familiar with the shapes of
letters and the sounds they make is an
important step toward getting reading
to read.
“The challenge,” says Gilgun, “is to
teach kids these skills through play but
not through drilling. They need to be
active listeners.”
2003 Multicul
U.N. Interniitiona1 Deca
JANUARY
1
New Year’s Day: first day of the Gregorian cal
endar year •:• Emancipation Proclamation
takes effect 1863.
2
Ancestor’s Day (Haiti).
6
Epiphany, Dia de los Reyes, Twelfth Day:
Christians celebrate the visits of the Magi •.
Birthday of Kahill Gibrán: Lebanese/American
poet.
11 Girl Scouts USA founded in 1912, Savannah,
Georgia.
4 Birthday of Rosa Parks (1913-): civil rights
activist.
17 St. Patrick’s Day (Irish) + South African ref
erendum to end Apartheid, 1992.
6 Birthday of Bob Morley (1945-81): influential
reggae musician in the Rastafarian move
ment.
17 Purim (Jewish): celebrates the ancient rescue
of the Jews from religious persecution with
plays and pastries.
9 Birthday of Alice Walker (1944-): African
American author and activist.
21 Vernal equinox (Northern Hemisphere): first
day of spring •:. Ibo Afo Festival (Nigeria):
celebrated with shouts driving out the old
year and applause greeting the new year +
Noruz (Persian New Year): rebirth of nature
celebrated with 3,000-year-old rituals, which
indude germinating seeds.
12 National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP) established in 1909.
14 Valentine’s Day.
15 Teng Chieh (Lantern Festival) marks the end
of the Chinese New Year holiday period +
Birthday of Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906):
early women’s rights advocate + Birthday of
John Trudefl (1946-): lakota activist, poet,
spoken-word artist.
7 Armenian and Orthodox Christmas: observed
in Ethiopia, Greece, Russia, and other coun
tries following the old Julian calendar.
8 Midwife’s or Women’s Day (Greece): Men do
all the housework and women spend time in
cafes.
9
3 Setsubun (Japan): Bean-throwing Festival
celebrates the end of winter.
17 International Friendship Week.
18 Birthday of Toni Morrison (1931-): African
American author + Presidents’ Day.
Birthday of Rigoberta Menchü (1959-): Quiche
Maya activist for the rights of Indigenous peepies in Guatemala.
19 Japanese Internment National Day of
Remembrance: commemorates the incarcera
tion of Japanese Americans during World War
II •:. Birthday of Amy Tan (1952-): Chhiese
American author.
13 Makar Sankrant, Pongal (India): Hindu holi
day to mark the sun’s changing position.
Sweet things and foods with sesame seeds are
eaten.
23 BirthdayofW.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963): soci
ologist who helped found the NAACP.
15 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day (1929-68):
celebrates birthday of African American civil
rights leader Humanitarian Day: celebrates
those who changed racial segregation laws in
America.
24 Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (1890-1964) led
20,000 women in the 1912 1
Bread & Roses
1
textile strike in Massachuset DIa de Ia
Bandera (Mexico): Mexican flag day.
16 DIa de San Antonio (Mexico): blessing of ani
mals.
17 Tu B’Shevat: Jewish holiday tohw respect
and appreciation for trees and plants begins at
sundown + Birthday of Alan Alexander Milne
(1882-1956): author and creator of Winnie
the Pooh.
19 World Religion Day: dedicated to increasing
interfaith understanding and cooperation.
23 Babin Den (Bulgaria): Grandmother and
Midwives Day.
25 Sojourner Truth (1797-1883) addressed the
first African American women’s rights conven
tion in Akron, Ohio, in 1851.
27 Day of Remembrance for Victims of Nazism.
MARCH
Women’s History Month
2 Birthday of Dr. Seuss (Theodore Geisel, 190491): children’s book author.
3
FEBRUARY
African American History Month
I Yuan Tan (Chinese New Year), Year of the
Sheep (4701) + Tet begins: week-long
Vietnamese celebration. Children pay respect
to their elders and receive gifts of money +
African American students staged a nonviolent
protest of segregation in 1960 at a lunch
counter in North Carolina, launching
widespread civil rights activities National
Freedom Day: commemorates the 1865 aboli
tion of slavery in the U.S. •:. Birthday of
Langston Hughes (1 902-67): African
American writer.
2
Groundhog Day •:. DIa de Ia Candalaria
(Mexico): celebration with dances and proces
sions.
Hina Matsuri (Doll Festival, Japan): a special
festival for girls .. First law regulating hours
of employment for children passed in 1824.
4 Awwal MuharramlAl Hijra begins the Islamic
New Year (1424) Carnival, Fat Tuesday,
Mardi Gras (Brazil, Caribbean, Italy): celebra
tion of the cycles of life with music, costume
balls, and parades, the last day before
Christian Lent • Peace Corps founded 1961.
6
Birthday of Gabriel Garcia Márquez (1928-):
Colombian author.
8
International Women’s Day: widely observed
holiday started by U.S. women garment work
ers demonstrating for the right to vote.
9
Barbie debuts 1959.
10 Death of HarrietTubman (1821-1913): leader
of the Underground Railroad and self-liberat
ed slave.
24 Take Our Daughters and Sans to Work Day.
25 Arbor Day.
27 National Child Care Professionals Day + Deaf
Moms & Dads Day (CODA).
30 Spank Out Day, promoting alternative meth
ods of discipline .: Dia de los Nihos (Mexico,
U.S.)
IL
I
22 International Day for the Elimination of
Racial Discrimination (U.N.) •. Birthday of
Benito Juarez (1806-72): Zapotec leader of
resistance to foreign invasion in Mexico +
Day of the Indian Child (Mexico).
I
I
24 Birthday of Harry Houdini (1874-1926):
magician and escape artist.
29 Youth Day (Taiwan).
31 Cesar Chavez Day (1927-93): celebrates the
birthday of Mexican American labor leader
who organized migrant farmworkers in the
U.S.
MAY
2 Indonesian New Year on the Saka calendar
(1925) •:. Varsha-Pratipada begins the Hindu
New Year (2058).
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
1 Worthy Wage Day, established to increase
awareness of the need for adequate wages for
child care workers to ensure quality care for
children + international Workers’ Day, May
Day: celebrated around the world to honor
workers + Lei Day (Hawai’i): leis are made
and worn to celebrate May Day + Mother
Goose Day: reappreaute old nursery rhymes.
4
Birthday of Maya Angelou (1928-): African
American author.
3
World Asthma Day.
5
Birthday of Booker T. Washington (18561915): African American leader and educator
•:• Ch’ing Ming (China), Han Sik’il (Korea):
celebrates the coming of spring and honors
ancestors.
5
Cinco De Mayo (Mexico) •:• Occupation of
Wounded Knee, South Dakota, by the
American Indian Movement ended in 1973 +
Children’s Day (Japan and Korea).
6
National Teachers’ Day.
APRIL
Child Abuse Prevention Month
Month of the Young Child
1 April Fool’s Day (U.S.)
5
20 Ali-Atihan (Philippines): celebrates an ancient
peace pact between the Ati of Panay and the
Malays, early migrants to the islands.
22 Earth Day: first celebrated in 1970 to honor
the earth and promote environment-friendly
lmng
Gayanashagowa (Great Binding of NatiOns):
Iroquois confederacy was established uniting
six Native American nations, became the
model for the U.S. constitution.
6
Week of the Young Child begins.
I
Day of Vesak: birthday of the Buddha (India)
(563-483 B.C.)
9
Birthday of Paul Robeson (1898-1976):
African American actor, singer, activist.
10 Birthday of Dolores Huerta (1930-): Chicana
labor rights leader and social activist.
13 Thingyan (Burma), Songkram (Thailand):
water is splashed on others and on Buddha
images to bring in new year.
16 Passover begins at sundown: Jewish celebra
tion of liberation from slavery Birthday of
Selena (1971-95): legendary Chicano singer.
17 Holi (India): Colorful spring festival. Children
celebrate by squirting each other with brightly
colored water.
20 Easter Sunday.
21 Birthday of Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852): the
father of kindergarten and originator of the
progressive education movement + Birthday
of John Muir (1838-1914): naturalist and con
servationist.
11 Mothers’ Day (U.S.)
14 Mawlid al Nabi celebrates the birthday of
Muhammad (570-632), the Islamic prophet.
17 Desegregation in public schools mandated by
the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954 (Brown v.
Board of Education).
19 Birthday of Malcolm X (1925-65): African
American nationalist and civil rights activist.
22 Birthday of Harvey Milk (1930-78): gay rights
leader.
25 African Freedom Day commemorates the inde
pendence of Chad, Zambia, and other African
countries with sports contests, political rallies,
and tribal dances.
27 Memorial Day (U.S.)
31 World No Tobacco Day (U.N.)
JUNE
Gay and Lesbian Pride Month
1 Children’s Day (China) Stand for Children
Day.
4
Dragon Boat Festival (China): boat races hon
oring third-century poet and statesman Ch’u
Yuan, who protested injustice and corruption.
6
Birthday of the Dalai Lama (1935-): Tibet’s
spiritual leader.
ural Calendar
[e for a Culture of Peace
7 Muhicultural American Children’s Awareness
Day: share the talents of all children.
dren’s mental development . International
Day of the World’s Indigenous People (U.N.)
12 Philippines Independence Day.
12 Trung Nguyen: Buddhist Day of Wandering
Souls (Vietnamese) • American Indian
Religious Freedom Act, giving Native
Americans the right to practice their tradition
al religions, passed in 1978.
14 Flag Day (U.S.) + World Juggling Day.
15 Fathers’ Day (U.S.)
16 Cherokees were forced to begin the 1,200 mile
Trail of Tears to Oklahoma in 1838.
15 Birthday of Oscar Romero (1917-80): arch
bishop who worked for justice and peace in El
Salvador.
19 Junèteenth: African American celebration of
the day in 1865 when Union General Granger
proclaimed the slaves of Texas free •: Birthday
of Aung San Suu kyi (1945-): Burmese leader
for democracy and nonviolence.
18 Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitu
tion ratified in 1920, giving women the right
to vote.
21 Summer solstice (Northern Hemisphere).
24 Inti Raymi (Incan): festival of the sun god cel
ebrated with bonfires, dances, processions.
27 Birthday of Mother Teresa (1 910-97): devoted
her life to caring for the destitute of Calcutta,
India.
26 Release of Smoke Signals, the first major U.S.
movie to be entirely written, directed, and pro
duced by Native Americans, in 1998.
28 March on Washington in 1963, where Dr.
Martin Luther King ir. gave the ‘I Have a
Dream” speech.
28 Stonewall Riot in New York City (1969), con
sidered the beginning of the gay liberation
movement.
SEPTEMBER
Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15)
29 Birthday of Julia Lathrop (1856-1932): pio
neer in the struggle to establish child labor
laws.
JULY
1
Childhood Injury Prevention Week begins
Car Free Day.
+
3
Labor Day (U.S., Canada) •: Frederick
Douglass (1817-95) escaped from slavery in
1838 and became a leader in the struggle.
National Grandparents’ Day (U.S.)
1
Canada Day.
7
2
Birthday of Thurgood Marshall (1908-93):
first African American Supreme Court justice.
10 Chusok (Korea): harvest thanksgiving festival.
3
11 Trung Thu: Vietnamese autumn celebration.
Children parade through the streets with
lanterns and moon cakes are baked
Ethiopian New Year (1995) Coptic New Year
(1718).
Child laborers strck for an 11-hour work day
and a six-day work week in Patterson, New
Jersey, in 1835.
4
Independence Day (U.S.)
7
Star Festival (Japan): children tie poems to
bamboo sticks and offer them to the stars.
12 Birthday of Pablo Neruda (1 904-73): Chilean
poet and diplomat.
15 Bon Festival (Japan): lanterns and bonfires lit
to honor the dead.
1$ Birthday of Nelson Mondela (1918-), South
African black leader against apartheid.
Imprisoned for 27 years, he was elected presi
dent of South Africa in 1994 + Children’s
Defense Fund (then the Washington Research
Project), founded by Marion Wright Edelman
in 1967.
19 Seneca Falls convention (1848): where women
drafted the ‘Declaration of Sentiments’
asserting women’s right to equality
21 United Nations International Peace Day.
22 Banned Books Week begins + Birthday of the
ice cream cone in 1913, originated by halo
Marchiony, who sold lemon ice from a pushcart
in New York.
23 Autumnal equinox (Northern Hemisphere):
first day of autumn.
26 Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) begins at
sundown (Year 5764).
28 Teachers’ Day and Confucius’s birthday (551479 B.CE.), Taiwan, China.
AUGUST
Hiroshima Day commemorates the 1945
atomic bombing and promotes jeace Youth
Day (Zambia).
8
9
Raksha Bandhan (Brother and Sister Day,
India): brothers and sisters promise to be
good to each other.
Birthday of Jean Piaget (1896-1980), Swiss
philosopher and psychologist who studied del-
29 Education for All Handicapped Children Act
passed in 1975.
Birthday of Desmond Tutu (1931-): South
African archbishop and leader in the struggle
against apartheid.
30 Andres Bonifacio Day (1863-97): Birthday of
Filipino leader who led the nation’s revolt
against Spain.
10 Birthday of Ken Sara Wiwa (1941 -95): Ogoni
environmental and human rights activist in
Nigeria + Succot: Jewish harvest festival
begins at sundown.
12 DIa de Ia Raza (Mexico)
Indigenous
People’s Day (U.S.) •:• Lights On Afterschool!
celebrates after-school programs and publi
cizes the need for additional programs.
IL!L
22 Girls Day (South India): Families recognize
girls.
23 Birthday of Pele (1940-): Brazilian soccer star.
24 Establishment of the United Nations in 1945 to
work for world peace.
25 Divali (Festival of Lights, India): lights and
fireworks celebrate wealth in many forms
(family, wisdom, values).
31 Halloween.
NOVEMBER
Native American Indian Heritage Month
I
4
6
9
DIa de los Muertos (Day of the Dead, Mexico):
Cemeteries are visited and shrines decorated
to honor departed loved ones.
Election Day (U.S.) •: Child Protection Act
banning hazardous toys and artides passed in
1966 + Wuwuchim (Hopi New Year): celebrat
ed with songs, prayers, and dances.
Ramadhan (Middle East, North Africa,
Indonesia) begins: Muslim holy month of fast
ing and prayer.
Berlin Wall opened in 1989, symbolizing the
end of the Cold War.
10 Sesame Street, the children’s educational tele
vision program, premiered in 1969.
10 Veterans Day (U.S.)
18 Birthday of Wilma Mankiller (1945-): Chief of
the Cherokee nation from 1985-1995 •:•
Children’s Advocate newspaper began publi
cation in 1973.
Child Health Month
27 Thanksgiving (U.S.)
2
Walk to School Day •:• Birthday of Mahatma
Gandhi (1869-1948): leader of the nonviolent
World AIDS Day •: Arrest of Civil tights leader
Rosa Parks for refusing to give up her seat in
a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955. This
set off a bus boycott which ended segregation
on buses throughout the southern U.S.
3
International Day of Disabled Persons (U.N.)
+ Birthday of Anna Freud (1895-1982):
authority on mental disorders in children. She
warned against the effects of neglect and
harsh discipline.
10 U.N. Human Rights Day.:. Birthday of Thomas
H. Gallaudet (1787-1 851), pioneer in the edu
cation of deaf people.
11 United Nations International Children’s
Emergency Fund (UNICEF) established in
1946.
12 Feast of the Virgen de Guadalupe: patroness
of Mexico.
16 Las Posadas (U.S., Mexico), Simbang Gabi
(Philippines): candlelight parades commemo
rate Joseph and Mary’s search for shelter in
Bethlehem, lasts until January 6.
19 Chanukkah (Jewish Festival of Lights) begins
at sundown.
20 Birthday of Sandra Cisneros (1954-): Mexican
American author.
22 Winter solstice (Northern Hemisphere).
24 Birthday of Ricky Martin (1971-): Puerto Rican
singer and actor.
25 Christmas.
26 Kwanzaa begins: seven-day African American
family festival in recognition of traditional
African harvest festivals.
30 Rizal Day: Date of execution of Dr. Jose Rizal
(1861-96), Filipino reformer and writer.
31 New Year’s Eve + World Peace Meditation.
This calendar contains a sampling of multicultural
celebrations and significant dates. For more infor
mation, consult:
+
28 Buy Nothing Day: activists urge no shopping
on this day to draw attention to overconsumption (U.S.)
Chase’s 2003 Calendar of Events. Chicago:
Contemporary Books, 2002. Includes over
12,000 day-by-day holidays, historic anniver
saries, birthdays of significant persons.
The Folklore of World Holidays, edited by
Margaret MacDonald. Detroit: Gale Research,
Inc., 1992. Describes customs and history of
over 340 holidays and festivals from 150
countries.
17 National Children’s Book Week begins.
OCTOBER
Universal Children’s Day (U.N.)
1
21 Boys Day (India): Families recognize boys.
25 Eid al Fitr: Muslim feast at the end of
Ramadan.
1
DECEMBER
12 White Sunday (Samoa): A feast Is prepared by
parents and served to children.
15 Shichi Go Sun (Japan): festival to honor chil
dren ages three, five, and seven + Children’s
Day (India): commemorates the birthday of
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964), India’s first
prime minister.
29 Parents’ Day (U.S.)
/4
Death of Teaimseh (1768?-1813): Shawnee
leader who spoke out against unfairness of
treaties with white settlers + Yam Kippur:
Jewish Day of Atonement begins at sundown.
13 Parent Involvement Day: encourages parent
participation in children’s development and
education (U.S.)
26 Americans with Disabilities Act signed 1990.
6
7
17 U.S. Constitution signed in 1787.
24 Birthday of Amelia Earhart (1898-1937?):
record-setting aviator.
International Clown Week begins.
5
15 Mexican Independence Day.
20 First Special Olympics held in Chicago in 1968.
1
struggle for Indian independence • Birthday
of Charlie Brown and Snoopy (1950).
+
Shop Calendar of Religious Festivals,
www.support4learnina.ora.uklshap
Calendar originally compiled by Daphne Muse. Revised
and updated this year by Jean Tepperman.
Drawings by students in the Draw Your Heart Out doss
taught by Jacqueline Ruben at the Sharon Art Studio, Son
Francisco Recreation and Parks Department.
‘Into his own world”
Autism is affecting
a growing number of California children
By Heather World
What is autism?
Autistn is a developmental disorder,
usually appearing before age three,
defined by:
• Problems in communication, such
as major delay in spoken lan
guage or lack of spontaneous
play,
• Problems in social interaction,
such as inabilily to hold eye con
tact or play with others, and
• Obsessively following routines or
repeating words or actions.
The National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development
recommends a dodor evaluate a
child for autism if he or she:
• Does not babble or coo by 12
months
• Does not gesture (point, wave) by
12 months
• Does not say words by 16 months
• Does not say iwo-word phrases
by 24 months
• Has a loss of language or social
skill at any age.
Resources
• Autism Sociely of America,
12 chapters in California,
800-3AUTISM,
www.autism-societyorg
• California Department of Deve
lopmental Services, 21 Regional
Centers, 916-654-1690, www.
dds.cahwnet.gov/rc/rclist.cfm
• Parent-run Parent Training and
Information Centers, California
Department of Special
Education, 916-445-4613,
www.cde.ca.gov/spbranch/
sed/caprntorg. htm
ina Davis knew something
was amiss with her son
Austin when, at ten months
did
old, he
not babble the way her
friends’ children did. At two, Austin
still did not talk. Nor did he seem to
hear his mother’s voice, though his
hearing was normal.
At 22 months, Austin was hospi
talized for an E-coli infedion. “He
really declined after that,” says
Davis, who lives near Palm Springs.
“He went into his own world.” By
his third birthday, Austin was diag
nosed with autism.
Austin is one of an estimated
11,500 children under age nine
diagnosed with autism in Califor
nia. The rate of autism, a develop
mental disorder with no known
cause orcure, has tripled among
California children since 1987. It’s
four to five times more common in
boys than girls and affects all ethnic
and economic groups.
G
Problems
communicating
There’s no laboratory test for
autism. Doctors identify it by chil
dren’s behavior: serious problems
communicating and relating to people,
along with repetitive behavior patterns.
Some autistic children have much
more severe symptoms than others.
Austin, now six, still does not speak.
He laughs and smiles, but does not cry
or seem to feel physical pain, says
Davis. “He cut his foot open one day,”
she says, “and he was just running on
it.” When she examined the cut, she
found a piece of glass inside.
But Austin does know how to soothe
himself. “When he’s over-stressed he
goes in his room and puts on classical
music,” Davis says.
Autism rate soars
Dr. Robert Byrd of UC Davis led a
recent state-sponsored study of the
reported increase in autism. He says he
expected to find that more kids are now
called autistic because doctors are
diagnosing autism better, or because a
wider range of problems are labeled
“autism.” Instead, he found, it’s true:
more children have autism—now it’s
one in every 500 children born in
California.
The causes of autism are
unknown, though most people
agree it’s partly genetic. Many
parents suspect immunizations,
but federal studies and a review
by the American Academy of
Pediatrics found no link be
tveen autism and vaccination.
Early treatment is
critical
Every child is different—
even some who get intensive
therapy never speak, says Dr.
Susan Schmidt-Lackner, medi
cal director of Vista Del Mar
Child and Family Services in
Los Angeles, which runs a ther
apeutic school specializing in
autism.
“Other kids will seem almost
typical—they’re quirky, but you
wouldn’t know they have au
tism,” she says. “When I see a
kid who’s two, it’s hard to know
where he’ll end up, but we want
to blast that kid with interven
tion.”
Kids practice skills
Treatments vary depending on the
child, she says, but usually include
speech and language therapy as well as
occupational therapy, like learning how
to stack blocks.
For Austin, the state disability sys
tem paid for occupational therapy, and
counselors at the Elk’s Club helped
him learn skills like holding a spoon.
Af-ter he turned three, Austin en-tered
a public preschool geared toward autis
tic children.
There, says Davis, “they learn by
repetition.” For example, counselors
spent weeks showing Austin how to put
two Legos together. Then they moved
on to three. In the same way, they teach
Austin how to play.
Parents share
information
Davis also got the Regional Center
of the California Department of
Develop-mental Services to pay for
three hours a day of in-home tutoring.
She’s been sharing her knowledge of
resources with other parents in the
For friends, neighbors, teachers
Hosting an ootistic child in your home or child care program can be
challenging. Here are suggestions from Reva Guimont, who provides
parent support at Exceptional Parents Unlimited jr-i Fresno, arid Edie
Bartnof, vice principal of the therapeutic school at Vista Del Mar Child
and Family Services in Los Angeles.
1. First, ask the parent about the child. Does the child like touch or hate
it? What may trigger a tantrum?
2. Ask the parent how you can help. Do you have a room where the
child could be alone? What can you do to reassure the child?
3. When you ask questions, leave lots of time for the child to come up
with an answer.
4. Try to keep autistic children away from cluttered, chaotic, and noisy
environments.
.
Coachella Valley chapter of the Autism
Society of America (CVASA), of
which she’s now president.
Parents often don’t realize, she says,
that Regional Centers will pay for res
pite care and in-home services. And
low-income parents are eligible for
Thocial security.
Families need
understanding
Sylvia Vann of Fresno says when
she takes her four-year-old autistic son,
Alex, out shopping or to church, many
people judge his rocking and highpitched screams as bad behavior.
“You get a lot of criticism,” she
says. “Then you try to explain autism
to someone and they look over your
head. My goal is to write a book to
make the public aware.”
Vann herself has attended every
autism workshop she could since Alex
was diagnosed at 18 months. Now,
with occupational and speech therapy,
Alex is progressing. “He’s saying a lot
of words!” Vanu reports.
Austin, too, has made progress. He
now responds to his mother’s requests
and has even joined a game of tag with
other children.
“Something is going on in that mind
of his, and I would love to know what
it is,” says Davis. “But I’m learning.
You have to have an unbelievable
amount of patience.”
N.
Y
PINION
Does the state standardized testing program
help or hurt low-income students and
students of color?
By Irene Moore
ritics of California’s state
wide standardized STAR test
often charge that such tests
are unfair to low-income students
and students of color. But support
ers of the statewide testing program
argue that disadvantaged students
have the most to gain.
The STAR test has two parts: a
national test that compares the stu
dent with others across the country,
and a test based on the California
curriculum. Scores on this test have
consequences. For a school, low
test scores mean missing out on
financial rewards for the school and
its staff. Low scores could also tar
get a school for outside interven
tion. Low-scoring students might be
assigned to lower-level classroom
groups or courses, or required to
repeat a grade.
Does this standardized testing
program help or hurt disadvan
taged students?
C
“For too many years,
California held students to
widely different standards,
with no uniform testing
program to shed light on
the shockingly low
achievement of vast
numbers of students.
—Kern,’ Mazzoni
• California Secretary of Education
“If they get low scores, the
kids are punished, because
the school doesn’t get
money. And they are
using test scores to make
decisions about promotion.
They are telling kids
‘You are dumb.”
—Gabriel Medel
Parents for Unity
IT HELPS!
IT’S JUST A REALITY!
HIGH EXPECTATIONS: “[Those]
PARENTS’ RESPONSIBILITY:
who argue that standardized testing is
unfair fail to recognize that disadvan
taged students are the greatest benefi
ciaries of the state’s testing and ac
countability system. That’s because,
after years of holding low-income stu
dents to loW expectations and accept
ing widespread academic failure, the
state now has a system that expects
schools to raise expectations and focus
attention on those stu
dents—and for the first
time gives both assis
tance and financial
incentives for them to
succeed.
“Information from
testing can be used to
determine which stu
dents need help and
which areas of the cur
riculum need focus.
“For too many years,
California held students
to widely different stan
dards, with no uniform
testing program to shed
light on the shockingly
low achievement of
vast numbers of stu
dents. Under Califor
nia’s testing program, there are no more
excuses.
“The Academic Performance Index
[based on test scores] informs the pub
lic and the parents about how their
school is doing. The system is not per
fect, but it’s a vast improvement over
several years ago, when parents and the
public had no way to discern how our
schools were performing compared to
others in the state and country. We’re
on the right track. [Rising] scores—
including scores of English learners
and those whose families are in pover
ty—attest to that fact.
—Kerry Mazwni,
Calfomia Secretary of Education
“The tests are required by law, and
since we can’t change the law, it’s very
important to know what the system
requires. Therefore, it’s the parents’
responsibility to get their kids pre
pared.
“What’s wrong with prepping them?
Knowledge is power. There are tech
niques parents can use, even lowincome parents. For example, they can
ASSESSING NEEDS: “The tests
can be good tools to assess where kids
are weak. The teacher can find out
what they’re not learning, so he/she
can teach that material. If the district
has a good sound curriculum, the
teacher teaches that curriculum, and
the tests are based on it, then students
who fail the tests should be held back.
Minority and low-income kids should
take the tests like the rest of the class.
“The problem occurs when the tests
are on material never covered in the
classroom. Since [low-income stu
dents] often don’t have the same
enrichment at home, [tests should
include only] material covered in the
classroom.”
—Forrest Werner
former high school teacher counselors
and school board membe,
Newport-Mesa Unified School district
.
drop out. African American children
have a lower dropout rate—they don’t
drop out as much physically but they
drop Out mentally because they are not
performing at the level they should be,
because of low expectations.
“In high school they are excluded
from college entrance courses, which
leads to low-paying employment and
sometimes a lot of crime in the com
munity.”
—Goldie Buchanan,
African American Parent/Community
Coalition for Educational Equity
TEACHING
THE TEST:
teach their kid one new word a day,
turn the TV to PBS, the Science and
Nature channels. They must do things
that are natural, like pointing out bugs
vs. birds. Instead of lamenting about it,
they must say, ‘I need to adjust and
adapt.’ With a library and dictionary,
for example, this can be done.”
—Jimma McWilson,
San Diego Urban League
IT HURTS!
DROPPING OUT MENTALLY:
“if kids were given the same quality
and standards of instruction, [tests]
would be OK. But poor kids are not
expected to achieve the same level as
more privileged kids. The difference is
in the quality of instruction in the class
room. High-quality teachers with re
sources can prepare kids for anything,
but low-income neighborhoods are five
times more likely to have non-creden
tialed teachers. Teachers are thrown
into the situation without the proper
support, so the quality of instruction is
different, leading to lower scores on
the standardized tests for low-income
[students] and kids of color.
“The tests can be used as elimina
tors to eliminate a child from progress
ing to the next step. At a very young
age, children’s self-esteem is crushed
by continually telling them they are
low-performing. By middle-school,
that’s where problems with children’s
behavior show up more. And disinter
est in school. Many Latino children
TO
“One
must look at what kind
of stakes are attached
to the tests. Lowincome [students] and
kids of color have
pressure around the
test, which affects the
teaching. Instructors
actually teach worse
because they teach
only the information
they think is going to
be on the test. Reading,
writing,.and thinking at
deeper levels are not
being taught [in lowincome schools], but
they are in wealthier
districts. It’s not the test, but the pres
sures associated with the test. The
result is a poor quality of teaching.”
—Susan Sandler Justice Matters
KIDS PUNISHED: “I agree that we
need an assessment to see how schools
are producing, but the tests are not the
right tools for that. The reason is that
the tests are not in tune with the cur
riculum and the curriculum is not in
tune with English language learners.
The reading program is in English,
with no tools to teach children who
speak a different language, although a.
new curriculum is underway that’s
more sensitive to language and culture.
But the Los Angeles school district is
70 percent Latino, and 50 percent of
those are ESL.
“If they get low scores, the kids are
punished, because the school doesn’t
get money. And they are using test
scores to make decisions about promo
tion. They are telling kids ‘You are
dumb.’ Parents say ‘The school recom
mended an IEP [special education
plan] for my child. They say he’s not
learning, not reading. But he reads in
Spanish fine with me.’
“There are other ways of assessing
how kids are learning. For example, a
combination of parental involvement,
teacher evaluations, kids’ evaluation of
the work and portfolios, would provide
a more comprehensive assessment.
With portfolios, a collection of student
work done throughout the year, parents
and teachers can see how the kids have
improved.”
—Gabriel Medel, Parents for Unity
Special needs, “mainstream” classroom
Inclusive education isn’t easy, but it benefits kids with—
and without—disabilities
By Kathy Flores
V
alerie is passionate about mu
sic, loves parties, and enjoys
hanging out with friends. She’s
a doting big sister and an avid Giants
fan.
She’s also severely disabled. A dis
ease called Rhett Syndrome robs her
body of all voluntary movement except
for minimal use of one hand. She eats
with feeding tubes and communicates
with a voice output device.
With the help of adaptive technolo
gy, Valerie is perfomiing on grade level
in regular classes in a San Francisco
public school. Her mom, Audrey de
Chadenedes, fought hard to get her into
regular classes. “I wanted Valerie to be
part of the community at school and
feel comfortable in the world,” she
says. ‘When I was growing up, I never
saw disabled kids, and that wasn’t
right. The world is full of. all kinds of
people, and they all have value. Kids
should learn that.”
“INCLUSIVE EDUCATION”
Federal law says students with dis
abilities should be included with other
kids as much as possible, but many
children with disabilities have been
separated in special education classes.
Prompted by a group of parents, the
San Francisco Unified School District
has been pursuing an ambitious inclu
sion initiative since 1993—so far near
ly half of the district’s schools are pat
ticipating.
Other districts are also moving
toward greater inclusion. The Los An
geles Unified School District has been
working on inclusive education to
implement a 1996 court order stem
ming from a parent lawsuit.
For some children, like Valerie,
inclusion means spending all day in
“mainstream” classrooms. Others
study core subjects in special education
classes and join mainstream art, music,
or physical education classes. “There is
no one model of inclusive education,”
says Deborah McKnight, San Francis
co’s interim executive director of spe
cial educatIon. Special education, she
says, “is a service, not a place. It is
about meeting the needs of students,
whatever those needs may be.”
THE BENEFITS: FOR KIDS
WITH DISABILITIES
Here are three examples:
Cruz, who is autistic, is in a regular
first-grade class with the assistance of a
paraprofessional aide. His teacher’s
special picture cues, the reading of sto
ries about social situations, and partici
pation in class meetings all help him
learn appropriate behavior. He is happy
in school and making ffiends.
Tony, who is developmentally de
layed and has severe behavior prob
lems, was mainstreamed in a drama
class. With the teacher modeling
acceptance, the other ,cJfldren helped
Tony follow directions, and participate.
His behavior imprved, he made
friends, and according to his grateful
mother, had the best school year of his
life.
Patrick, who is deaf, attended an ele
mentary school where he received
some of his instruction in classes for
deaf students, the rest in mainstream
classes with the aid of an interpreter.
He learned to relate to and make
friends with both hearing and deaf peo
ple.
“Inclusion also results in greater
academic gains,” says Lois Jones, ex
ecutive director of Parents Helping
Parents of San Francisco, “and, just as
importantly, language gains for chil
dren with disabilities.”
THE BENEFITS:
FOR OTHER KIDS
• Greater understanding: Aruna Sub
ramanian, inclusion specialist at San
Francisco’s Cesar Chavez School,
says, “Parents learn the benefits by
watching their children interacting.
Parents of nondisabled children see
that their kids’ learning is enhanced by
the presence of the disabled kids.”
“[Special education] is a
service, not a place. It is
about meeting the needs
of students, whatever those
needs may be.”
Deborah McKnight,
San Francisco
special education director
Kim Lind has a student with Down
Syndrome in her fourth-grade class at
West Portal School in San Francisco.
His aide is there only part of the day, so
the other kids help him when he needs
help. “Sometimes I think that the other
kids in the class get even more out of it
than he does,” she says. “They learn
how to treat other people who aren’t
just like them.”
• Better teaching: “You have to learn
to be a better teacher to teach different
kinds of kids,” Subramanian adds. “It
makes learning better for all kids.”
Including students with disabilities can
prompt teachers to use more creative
methods,such as cooperative learning
and differential instruction (teaching to
children’s different learning styles),
which benefit all their students.
WHAT MAKES IT WORK?
• Commitment of school leadership.
“If the principal isn’t cooperative,
you’re out of luck,” says J.C. Flores,
mother of two autistic children in Los
Angeles. Inclusion works in schools
like West Portal, where everyone, not
just special education teachers, is
expected to share responsibility for
educating children with disabilities.
• Specially trained staff. In each San
Francisco school with an inclusion pro
gram, an inclusion specialist is on staff
to work with classroom teachers. In
addition, many children with disabili
ties need a specially trained aide with
them in the classroom.
• Adapting the curriculum. Tiffany
Kendall, inclusion specialist at West
Portal, helps classroom teachers make
modifications for students with special
needs: A student with fme motor prob
lems uses a marker and whiteboard
instead of paper and pencil. A student
with severe reading problems has a
peer tutor read to him and listens to
books on CDs. A student with cerebral
palsy uses an adaptive keyboard. A
teacher rings a bell to cue students with
Attention Deficit Disorder to prepare
for a transition.
At Cesar Chavez School, says Sub
ramanian, a developmentally delayed
student in fourth grade “wanted to
work in the same math book on the
same page as the other kids, but he
didn’t know how to do multiplication.
So we let him add the numbers
instead.”
• Training and time for collaboration.
Most classroom teachers need training
and ongoing support to effectively
teach such a wide range of learners.
They also need time to meet regularly
with inclusion specialists. “If there
isn’t sufficient training of teachers and
paraprofessionals, it doesn’t work for
kids,” says Pat Mejia, program director
for Support for Families of Children
with Disabilities.
.•
Teaching children acceptance.
Schools teach inclusive attitudes most
ly by example. In addition, a San
Francisco organization called Kids
Project does school presentations to
educate kids about disabilities. “It
helps. kids to appreciate each other’s
similarities and differences,” says
Emily Bittner, program director. “They
begin to understand that disabilities are
a social, not medical, condition.”
BIG CHALLENGES, BIG
REWARDS
pen more. In addition, there’s rarely
enough time in a typical school week for
the planning and collaboration neces
sary to make inclusion work well.
And mainstream classrooms don’t
work for all students with disabilities.
Bffly, who has development delays,
was fully included in a third-grade
classroom with a teacher who lacked
training in special needs. Bffly was
aware that he could not do what his
peers were doing and became increas
ingly frustrated. His behavior got
worse. Eventually he was transferred
into a special class. With teaching at
his own level and an intensive social
skills curriculum, he showed great
improvement and appeared much hap
pier.
The challenges of inclusion are sub
stantial, but the payoffs come in small
day-to-day moments. Tiffany Kendall
recalls, for example, the time a fifthgrade student with Down Syndrome,
sharing a learning experience with two
non-disabled peers, put his arms
around their shoulders and said, grin
ning, “Friends! I love friends!”
“That,” says Kendall, “makes it all
worthwhile.”
Resources
• California Department of
Education Special Education
Division, 916-445-4613,
www.cde.co .gov/spbranch/
sed
• Information on the educa
tional rights of students with
disabilities, 800-926-0648
• San Francisco Unified
School District Special
Education office, 415-3556904
Inclusive education is, in general,
more expensive, says McKnight. It
means hiring specially trained parapro
fessionals to work with the students
and providing training to classroom
teachers. Some federal funds are avail
able, but not enough to cover the cost—
one reason why inclusion doesn’t hapCHILDREN’S ADVOCATE 13
“.
CHILDREN’S ADVOCATES RDUNDTABLE
Healthy
Families works!
M
ember organizations of the
Children’s Advocates Roundtable met in December to
begin mapping strategies for protecting
children and families from devastating
cuts iii state programs (see page 16).
They agreed on three main points:
• Advocates for children will unite to
oppose harmful cuts in all areas: child
care, health, child welfare, etc.—the
same low- and moderate-income fam
ilies depend on all these services.
• Roundtable members argue that some
of the proposed cuts would end up
costing the state more. For example, if
Applying the
new federal
education law
L
ast year the federal government passed
the No Child Left Behind Act, which
requires states to test public school students
every year and creates many programs
intended to ensure that all students have a
quality education.
Action guide for parents and
community leaders
The Public Education Network has
developed a guide for community leaders,
parents, and educators on how to use the No
Child Left Behind law to advocate for
improved public education. The guide ex
plains the long and complicated law and
identifies 10 main areas for action. It’s
available for downloading at www.public
education.org. You can also order a free sin
gle hard copy at the web site or by calling
202-628-74&.
ACORN report on problems
The Association of Community Organ
izations for Reform Now (ACORN ®) has
released a study documenting problems in
the implementation of the No Child Left
Behind Act. ACORN’s study of 23 states
including California found that:
• Three-quarters of the states, including
California, weren’t doing enough to
make sure children in failing schools
have access to tutoring. (lb find out if
your school qualifies, go to www.cde.
ca.gov, then No Child Left Behind, or
call Maria Reyes, 916-319-0380.)
• More than half the states, again includ
ing California, haven’t yet adopted an
official definition of a “highly qualified”
teacher. That’s important because the
new federal law requires schools to noti
fy parents if their child doesn’t have a
“highly qualified teacher.”
The law also requires that teachers in
schools served by Title 1 (the federal reme
dial education program for schools with a
large share of low-income students) must
have equal experience when compared to
other schools in the district. The law also
gave school districts a 20-30% increase in
Title I funding for this school year.
ACORN organizes parents in lowincome communities to push for better
schools. ACORN groups are monitoring
whether Title 1 schools have teachers with
equal experience to those in other distnct
schools. They have also been pressing
school districts to make sure that the
increased funds for Title 1 are distributed to
schools.
For more information contact ACORN
at 214-826-1443 or go to www.acom.org.
child care for former welfare recipi
ents is cut, many families will be
forced back on welfare. If the number
of families eligible for Medi-Cal is
reduced, those families will go to
emergency rooms for their health
care.
• Advocates will push for a balanced
budget strategy that includes new
sources of income as well as cuts.
Several legislators have already intro
duced bills aimed at increasing state rev-.
enue:
AB4 (Chan) would raise income taxes for
people in the highest brackets, who are
benefiting from substantial cuts in feder
al income taxes.
AB 17 (Escutia) would require counties
to reassess commercial property when
ownership changes, so corporations
would pay a fair share of property taxes.
ACA 11 (Longville) would allow budgets
to be passed by majority vote instead of
the current requirement for a two-thirds
majority.
SB5x (Romero) would place a 5-cents-adrink tax on alcoholic beverages to pay
for alcohol-related services including are
in emergency rooms and trauma centers
and services of “first responders.”
For more information on the Child
ren’s Advocates Roundtable and its re
sponse to budget-cut proposals, contact
the Children’s Advocacy Institute, 916444-3875.
Research shows millions at risk for
hunger
Advocates outline anti-hunger
agenda
A study released in November showed
that more than 2.2 million California adults
are unsure of being able to get enough food
(“food insecure”) and a third of those actu
ally experience hunger. Half of those adults,
1.1 million, live in households with chil
dren. The counties with the greatest share of
hungry people are in the Central Valley,
where much of the nation’s food is grown.
The study was done by the state, UCLA,
and a private research institute.
An earlier study by the U.S. Census
Bureau showed that 5.1 million Califor
nians were “food insecure.” The difference,
says California Food Policy Advocates
(CFPA), is mainly that the federal study also
counted children. Nationally the Census
Bureau found a 10 percent increase in
hunger since 1999. Rates of hunger were
higher for African Americans and Latinos
and higher in central cities and rnral areas.
CFPA notes that only half the Califor
nians eligible for food stamps actually
receive them. They are calling for chan-ges
in the food stamp program to make it easier
for more people to participate:
• Eliminate the requirement for finger
printing
• Allow counties to waive the requirement
for a face-to-face interview
• Make sure former welfare recipients can
get five months of food stamps after they
leave welfare.
• Drop the ban on food stamps for families
with a car worth more than $4,500.
In addition, CFPA wants the state to in
crease funding for school meals, so school
meals can include higher quality food.
For more information, contact California
Food Policy Advocates, 415-777-4422,
www.cfpa.net.
espQñof
lnvestigación muestra millones en
riesgo de padecer hambre
Un estudio publicado en noviembre
muestra que más de 2,2 millones de adultos
en California no tienen la seguridad de
poder procurar el alimento necesario (“viii
nerables alimentarios”) y que un tercio de
éstos de hecho sufren hambre. La mitad de
los adultos a los que reflere el estudio, 1,1
millones, vive en hogares con nibs. Los
condados con mayor proporción de per
sonas con hambre se localizan en Central
Valley, donde se culfiva una gran parte de
los alimentos del pals. El estudio fue ileva
do a cabo por el estado, la Umversidad de
California en Los Angeles (UCLA) y un
instituto privado de investigacitin.
Un estudio anterior de Ia Oficina del
Censo de Estados Umdos demostrd que 5,1
millones de californianos califican como
“vulnerables alimentarios”. La diferencia,
explica California Food Policy Advocates
(CFPA, una organización encargada de
abogar por politicas alimentarias en
California) radica principalmente en que el
estudio federal también contaba a los nibs.
A nivel nacional, la Oficina del Censo
encontrd an aumento del .10 per ciento en
las estadlsticas que reflejan hambre desde
1999 hasta hoy. Asimismo, los Indices eran
mayores para afro-americanos y latinos, asI
como para quienes se encuentran radicados
en ciudades centrales y areas rurales.
Activistas preparan agenda
anti-hambre
CFPA apunta que stilo la mitad de los
californianos con derecho a bonos alimen
tarios (“food stamps”) los reciben de hecho.
AsI, activistas de CFPA están demandando
cambios en el sistema para permitir que mis
gente pueda pia
• Eliminar el requisito de las huellas digi
tales.
• Permitir a los condados el derecho de no
aplicar el requisito de usa entrevista per
sonal cam a cara.
• Asegurar que los antiguos beneficiarios
de asistencia social puedan obtener
bonos alimentarios durante cinco meses
tras haber dej ado dicho programa.
• Eliminar la prohibiciOn de obtener
bonos alimentarios para familias propi
etarias de un vehlculo con us coste
mayor a $4.500 per aflo.
Asimismo, CFPA solicita que el estado
aumente los fondos destinados a las comi
dan en las escuelas, de modo tal que éstas
puedan ser de mejor calidad.
Pars obtener mis información póngase
en contacto con Ca4fornia Food Policy
Advocates a través del teléfono 415-7774422o del sitio web www.c1a.net.
A study of the Healthy Families
program, which provides low-cost
health insurance to children in lowand moderate-income families, shows
that children in the program have bet
ter health and do better in school.
The Health Status Assessment
Project by researchers at UC San
Diego and Children’s Hospital of San
Diego, surveyed families who enrolled
children in Healthy Families a year
ago. Overall, families reported a 25
percent improvement in their chil
dren’s health. Of the children whose
health had improved, more than twothirds reported improvements in “pay
ing attention in class” and “keeping up
with school activities.”
State budget cuts have reduced
funds for outreach to enroll more chil
dren in Healthy Families, but the
California Teachers Association and
the California Association of Health
Plans have begun their own outreach.
The 100% Campaign, a coalition of
child advocacy organizations, has
been working for years to increase
children’s enrollment in public health
insurance and advocate for better
health care for children. For more
information call 510-663-1294 or go
to www.l00perceutcampaign.org.
iHealthy
Families
funciona!
espQñoi
Un estudio del programa Healthy
Families, el cual provee seguro médi
co de bajo costo a nifios en familias de
bajos y moderados ingresos, demues
tra que los nifios que forman parte del
programa tienen mejor salud y logran
mejores resultados en la escuela.
Un proyecto para evaluar el nivel
de salud en los nibs ilevado a cabo
por
-
CHILDREN’S ADVDGATES RDUNDTABLE
espoño,
Propuesta de recorte presu puesta rio:
Respuesta de Children’s Advocates Roundtable
Q
rgarnzaciones miembro de la
Children’s Advocates Roundtable (Mesa Redonda) se re
unieron en diciembre para comenzar a
elaborar estrategias para proteger a los
mflos y sus familias de los devastadores
recortes propuestos en programas (yea a
la página 16).
Las organizaciones acordaron tres pun
tos esenciales:
• Activistas por los derechos de los nifios
trabajarán de modo conjunto para opon
erse a los recortes presupuestarios en
todas las areas: cuidado de nifios, salud,
bienestar infantil, etc. Las mismas
familias de bajos y moderados ingresos
dependen de todos estos servicios.
• Se presionará por una estrategia que
permita un presupuesto equilibrado que
mcluya no solo recortes smo también
nuevas fuentes de ingreso.
• Algunos de los cortes propuestos tenni
narfan costándole al estado atm más
que lo que paga actualmente. Por ejem
plo, silos fondos para el cuidado de
nifios de antiguos beneficiarios de asis
tencia social ptiblica es eliniinado,
muchas fainilias se verlan forzadas a
volver al sistema de asistencia ptmblica.
Del mismo modo, si se reduce el
miniero de familias que califlcan para
Medi-Cal, éstas se verán obligadas a
asistir a las salas de emergencia para
atender su salud.
Poniendo en vigor Ia nueva
Iey federal de educación
E
l ailo pasado el gobierno federal a
probó la ley ilamada “No Child Left
Behind Act” (la cual en espafiol podrIa
traducirse como “ley para que ningtin
niflo se quede atrás”) que requiere a los
estados evaluar a los estudiantes de las
escuelas piiblicas todos los afios y crea
una serie de programas destinados a ase
gurar que éstos tengan acceso a una edu
cación de calidad.
GuIa de acción para padres y
Ilderes comunitarios
Public Education Network (Red para
la Educación PuIblica) ha desarrollado
una gufa en inglés para lideres comuni
tarios, padres y educadores sobre cómo
usar la ley No Child Left Behind para
abogar por el mejoramiento de la edu
cación ptiblica. La gula, que ofrece una
explicación de la extensa y complicada
ley e identifica 10 areas principales para
la acción, se encuentra disponible en
Internet y puede bajarse de la red de
modo gratuito a través del sitio web
www.publiceducation.org. Si desea una
copia impresa de la gula puede solicitar
la a través del mencionado sitio web o
del teléfono 202-628-7460.
ACORN reporta problemas en Ia
puesta en vigor de Ia ley
The Association of Community Organ
izations for Reform Now (ACORN ®,
Asociacidn de Organizaciones Comuni
tarias para la Reforma Ya) ha publicado
un estudio documentando problemas en
Ia puesta en vigor de la ley No Child Left
Behind. El estudio realizado por ACORN
en 23 estados, incluyendo California,
encontró que:
• Airededor del 75 por ciento de los
estados (incluyendo California) no
estaban haciendo lo suficiente para
asegurar que los nliios en escuelas con
problemas tuvieran acceso a un tutor.
(Para saber si tu esculea qualifica,
vaya al sitio web www.cde.ca.gov,
entonces No Child Left. Behind, o
ilame a Maria Reyes, 916-319-0380.)
• Más de la mitad de los estados (una
vez más, incluyendo California) atIn
no han adoptado una definición oficial
de lo que sigrnfica un maestro “alta
mente calificado”. Elloes importante,
habida cuenta que latniva ley feder
Varios legisladores han introducido
hasta la fecha una serie de propuestas de
ley destinadas a aumentar la recaudaciOn
estatal.
AB4 (Chan) elevarla el impuesto a los
ingresos para aquellas personas en los
estratos de mayor poder adquisitivo,
quienes estén beneficiándose de los sus
tanciales recortes iinpositivos en vigor a
mvel federal.
AB 17 (Escutia) requeriria a los condados
que revisaran la tasación de las
propiedades inmobiliarias destinadas a uso
comercial en caso de cambio de dueflo, de
modo tal que las corporaciones paguen un
valor justo en concepto de impuestos a la
propiedad.
La ley también requiere que los mae
stros de escuelas servidas por el TItulo I
(el programa de remediación federal para
escuelas con un alto porcentaje de estudi
antes de bajos ingresos) deben tener una
experiencia comparable a la de maestros
en otras escuelas dentro del distrito.
Asimismo, la ley otorgO a los distritos
escolares un aumento de 20 a 30 por
ciento en concepto de subvenciones para
el TItulo I para el presente aflo escolar.
ACORN organiza a padres en comu
mdades de bajos ingresos para demandar
mejores escuelas. Diferentes grupos de
ACORN están llevando a cabo acciones
de momtoreo para evaluar silas escuelas
pertenecientes al TItulo 1 tienen maestros
con la misma experiencia que aquellos en
otras escuelas del distrito. Asimismo, han
estado ejerciendo presión sobre los distri
tos escolares para asegurar que el aumen
to federal de fondos para escuelas del
TItulo I ilegue efectivamente a las escue
las.
Para obtener más informaciOn pOn
gase en contacto con ACORN al teléfono
214-826-1443, o vaya al sitio web
www.acorn.org.
Mama Bears
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I
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including child care, health, education,
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9
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Action Alliance for Children
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espqño/
al requiere que las escuelas notifiquen
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no cuenten con uno de estos maestros,
ACA 11 (Long’ville) pemiitirIa que los pre
supuestos se aprueben por mayorIa de
votos, en cambio del sistema actual que
requiere una mayorIa de dos tercios.
SB5x (Romero) impondria un impuesto de.
5 centavos por botella en bebidas alcohOli
cas para pagar por servicios vinculados al
uso del alcohol tales como salas de emer
gencia y centros para atenciOn de traumas
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CHILDREN’S ADVDCATES RDUNDTABLE
españoi
Governor proposes cuts El gobernador
propone cortes para
this year
este año
ith the total state budget
deficit estimated at $30 bil
W lion and rising, Governor
Gray Davis has proposed a plan to
close the budget gap for the current
year (July 2002 through June 2003)
with no tax increases. Instead, he
would close 85 percent of the gap by
cutting programs and services, the
other 15 percent by shifting funds and
borrowing.
Any budget cuts must be passed by
the legislature, which met in a special
session in December and will continue
in special session in January.
A summary by the Children’s
Advocacy Institute highlights major
cuts that would affect children and
families including:
• Eliminating “Stage 3” child care
subsidies for former welfare recipi
ents who have left welfare two or
more years ago.
• Eliminating the Child Development
Policy Advisory Committee, a for
um where the public can voice con
cerns about state child care programs.
• Eliminating all funds for Healthy
Start school-based services pro
grams (most of the funds were
already eliminated in the budget
passed in the summer).
• Cutting K-12 school spending by
$1.51 billion, down to the minimum
level guaranteed by Prop. 98.
• Bringing back “quarterly status
reports” people must file to stay on
Medi-Cal.
• Cutting the number of two-parent
families eligible for Medi-Cal..
Currently families qualify if their
incomes are under the poverty line.
The proposal would give Medi-Cal
only to families whose incomes arc
below 66 percent of the poverty
level (under $10,000 for a family of
three).
• Reducing Medi-Cal payments to
health care providers by 10 percent.
Already many doctors refuse to take
Medi-Cal patients because they con
sider the payments too low.
• Eliminating cost-of-living increases
for families on Ca1WORKs, SSI and
SSP.
• Eliminating a fund
for foster parent
training and reduc
ing inspections of
foster care residen
tial facilities.
For more infomia
tion, contact the Child
ren’s Advocacy Insti
tute, 916 ‘i’ll 3875,
www. caichildlaw.org.
onfrontado con un deficit cre
ciente en ci presupuesto del
C estado (actualmente cifrado en
30 mil millones de dólares), el gober
nador Gray Davis ha propuesto un plan
para cerrar la brecha presupuestaria
para el aflo en curso (julio 2002 a jumo
2003) sin acuclir aun aumento en los
impuestos. En cambio, Davis cerrarla
ci 85 per ciento de La mencionada
brecha mediante un recorte en progra
mas y servicios; el 15 por ciento
restante provendrIa del desplazamiento
de fondos y préstamos.
Cualquier recorte en el presupuesto
debe ser aprobado por la legislatura, la
cual convocó una sesión especial en
diciembre y continuarti, también en
sesión especial, durante el mes de
enero.
• Un resumen realizado por Child
ren’s Advocacy Institute resalta los
principales recortes afectando a los
nifios y sus familias, incluyendo los
siguientes:
• Eliminación de los subsidios para el
cuidado de nibs conocidos como
“Stage 3” para antiguos beneficiar
ios del sistema de asistencia social
ptiblica que hayan dejado dicho sis
tema hace dos afios o más.
• Eliminación del Comitti Asesor
sobre Poilticas para ci Desarrollo
Infantil, un foro en el que el ptIblico
puede hacer conocer sus preocupa
ciones sobre los programas estatales
de cuidados de nifios.
Parent Voices staged a demonstration at
the state Capitol Dec. 16 to protest
Governor Davis’s proposal to eliminate
“Stage 3” child care subsidies—child care
for former welfare recipients who left wel
fare two years ago or more. Protesters
measured one inch of sidewalk for each of
the 55,000 kids who would lose child care
if Stage 3 were cut, adding up to one mile
circling the Capitol. The Child Care
Committee of the Children’s Advocates
Roundtable continues to meet in four
working groups to come up with a
response to proposed budget cuts. For
more information call Lupe Diaz at the
Children’s Advocacy Institute, 916-4443875 or Nancy Strohl at the Child Care Law
Cente, 415-495-5498.
More on advocates
,
response to state buget
cuts on page 14.
Más información sobre
Ia respuesta de activk
tas a los recortes
presupuestarios en
Ia pagina 15.
• Eliminación total de fondos para
programas de servicio en las escue
las vinculados a Healthy Start (la
mayorIa de estos fondos ya hablan
sido eliminados en el presupuesto
aprobado en ci verano).
• Recorte del gasto escolar K- 12 en
$1510 millones, llcvándolo al mIni
mo establecido por Ia Proposición
98.
• Rcstitución del sistema de informes
trimestrales de situación que han de
presentarse para poder perrnanecer
en Medi-Cal.
• Recorte del nibmero de familias con
madre y padre en el hogar con dere
cho a Medi-Cal. En la actualidad, las
familias califican para ci programa
Si 5US ingresos se encuentran por
debajo de la Ilnea de pobreza. Con La
nueva propuesta, el ingreso a Medi
Cal solo será posible para aquellas
familias cuyo nivei de ingresos se
encuentre por debajo del 66 por
ciento de Ia lInea de pobreza (menos
de $ 10.000 para una familia de tres).
• ReducciOn de los pagos de Medi-Cal
a los proveedores de salud en un
10%: Ya en la actualidad muchos
• medicos se megan a tomar pacientes
de Medi-Cal porque consideran que
el pago que reciben es muy bajo.
• Eliminación de los aumentos per ci
costo de vida para familias en
Ca1WORKs, SSI y SSP.
• Eliminación de fondos para la for
macion de padres sustitutos tempo
rales y reducción de las inspecciones
en instalaciones destinadas a Ia resi
dencia de ninos bajo ci programa de
adopciOn temporal.
Para obtencr más información, pdn
gase en contacto con Children’s Advo
cacy Institute en ci teléfono 916-4443875, o a través del sitio web www.
caichildlaw.org.
La organización Parent Voices Ilevó a cabo una demostración en el Capitolio
del estado el pasado lóde diciembre para protestar contra Ia propuesta del
gobernador Davis de eliminar los subsidios pam el cuidado de niños denim
de Ia categorIa conocida como “Stage 3” (Etapa 3), los cuales están destinados a antigu
os beneficiarios de asistencia social que hoyan dejado el sistema hace dos años o más.
Los integrantes de In protesta midieron una pulgada en In uceru por cada uno de los
55.000 ninos que perderla el derecho al subsidio pam el cuidado de fliflOS Si se cortasen
los fondos destinados a Stage 3, llegando a alcanzar hasta una milla alrededor del
Capitolio. El Comité pam el Cuidado de Niños de Children’s Advocates Roundtable (grupo
de trabalo formado per organizaciones abogundo per los derechos de los niños) continôa
reuniéndose en cuatro grupos de trabalo con el objetivo de elaborar una respuesta para
los codes presupuestarios propuestos. Para obtener más información Ilame a Lupe DIaz,
del Children’s Advocacy Institute, al teléfono 916-4444875 o a Nancy Strohi, del Child
Care Law Center al teléfono 415-495-5498.
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CHLDRE N

I Reading - Action Alliance for Children

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