Coupons.com Incorporated and KaBOOM! are leading in the construction of a playground and playspace for the students at Roses in Concrete Community School. “America’s kids are playing far less than any other previous generation, with only one in four children getting the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity or active play per day,” said Darell Hammond, CEO and Founder of KaBOOM!. “We are thrilled to partner with Coupons.com and Roses in Concrete to give students the balanced and active play they need to thrive.” This playspace will provide a true childhood experience to many children living in poverty who often wouldn’t otherwise have such an opportunity.
Read and watch an interview with our kindergarten Spanish teacher, Reena Valvani, who was named a HEROE (Hella-awesome Educator Revitalizing Oakland Education for students) by Educate 78.
HEROES Profile- Reena Valvani November 29th, 2016uppercloud
Violence pervades many neighborhoods of East Oakland leaving youth subject to its physical and emotional repercussions. This article discusses how many communities – particularly communities of color – suffer from PTSD. This form of constant post-traumatic stress, resulting from day-to-day trauma, has been more specifically coined as CPTSD – complex post-traumatic stress disorder. This stress, caused by poverty, violence, and the overall neglect of a community, place youth at far higher risk of death than those who don’t experience such adverse living conditions.
Public schools within these neighborhoods don’t often acknowledge that violence and its impacts on learning and success, therefore perpetuating its existence and negative effects. Roses in Concrete Community school offers the pedagogy and dedicated, well-trained staff to combat those harsh environments and celebrate the tenacity of the children who are forced to live among it; Roses is dedicated to stopping the cycle of violence and growing confident, empowered youth with bright futures.
Afeni Shakur visits a fourth-grade classroom at Roses in Concrete Community School in Oakland, California.Source: Reena Valvani
Oakland Elementary School Uses Tupac’s Poetry to Help Children Deal With PTSD November 29th, 2016uppercloud
The Wraparound Approach | A new dual-immersion charter, Roses in Concrete, debuts in East Oakland and strives to function as a center of health for the neighborhood. | By Emily Wilson | Read full article here.
Jeff Duncan-Andrade, Vidrale Franklin, and Lil Milagro Henriquez are on the team at the new dual-immersion charter school Roses in Concrete Community School. Photo by Pat Mazzera.
Read the perspectives of three team leaders – Vidrale Franklin, Jeff Duncan-Andrade, and Lil Milagro Henriquez to learn what inspired and excited them about the Roses in Concrete approach to education. All educators have found, through their experiences, that children who live with some level of trauma have a harder time in the classroom; therefore, a school must care for the “toxic stress” of its students with communication, understanding, and provision of resources.
The Wraparound Approach November 29th, 2016uppercloud
This work-in-progress video refers to Jeff Duncan-Andrade’s research in Tucson, AZ, looking into the remarkable success of the Ethnic Studies program in the Tucson Unified School District. Arizona’s new Attorney General Tom Horne has built his political career by pushing legislation to outlaw this program. Duncan-Andrade and Horne were scheduled to debate in the summer of 2010, but Horne pulled out abruptly after a rough appearance on CNN. This interview was conducted shortly thereafter.
DUNCAN-ANDRADE ON TUCSON, AZ ETHNIC STUDIES CONTROVERSY November 29th, 2016uppercloud