Cougar Theatre Students Share their Experiences
Media Done Responsibly
Formerly Mother's Day Radio
I currently serve as MDR's Director of Curriculum Development and Community Partnerships. I have brought the program to ODLHA and it has made a significant impact on the students. MDR looks forward to future collaborations with ODLHA, and I am proud to make that happen.
Response to Intervention
Meeting students where they are. Giving students what they need. Disregarding some rules in the process.
My first priority is always the child in front of me.
My first priority is always the child in front of me.
Mentorship & Advocacy
The gallery below shows my students through out the years. Some I have just met and others I have been in their lives from grade 3 to grade 12.
Student Testimonials
For six
years, I served Gear Up Project STEPS as a mentor, tutor, college
advisor, and administrative intern. In those years, I worked one-on-one with
a caseload of 50+ students. Following these students throughout both their
middle and high school years, I grew extremely close to them. As a member of
the community in which I worked, I was able to develop close bonds
with the parents and families of students as well. Project STEPS has
successfully graduate upwards of 1,200 students with more than 80% moving on to
4-year institutions. Each student means the world to me, and the rapport
I managed to build with the kids will never fade and
continues today as I actively track their progress throughout
college.
Some of my former students and mentees were kind enough to share their thoughts with me.
Some of my former students and mentees were kind enough to share their thoughts with me.
Ms. O, was a great mentor to me during my high school years. She guided me throughout my classes & helped me out so much in Geometry, the class I struggled in the most. If it wouldn't have been for all her advice on how to prepare for that class & for the CAHSEE, I don't think I would have graduated High School on time. Not only did she guide me through it, but most of all, she believed in me when no one else did. She wasn't my teacher, but she was a great mentor and was always there to give me a helping hand. Ms. O-C is a very intelligent and loving individual who truly cares for the students she mentors and teaches. She deals with all types of children, including difficult and hard headed children, like me, but she never once stopped caring about my well-being and my future. The biggest contribution she has made in my life is sending me to college and helping me take academics more serious. Before meeting her, I was a person who took everything as a joke and through her sincere mentoring and guidance; she helped me take things a lot more serious and now I am at a 4-year university. Through her experiences and her time as a college counselor and mentor, she is more than capable of teaching children more than just the fundamentals of learning; she can teach her children how to be successful in life and she will guide them through each and every step of the way. Having her in my life was a blessing and I appreciated everything she has done for me and I know that she can do a lot more for her future students, so take this amazing individual seriously, because she is going to be the reason why your children attend prestigious colleges and why they are so successful in life. |
Ms. O has known me since I was in middle school. She was with me throughout middle school till the last day of my senior year. Throughout these years, she's helped me stay on track with my grades and helped me managed being a student and also being involved in school activities. Whenever I lacked in a subject, she provided many options so I can achieve in that certain subject. She helped me with the whole college application process as well as with the process for financial aid. I can say that she really was my guidance in high school and I ended up graduating with great grades and I owe it all to her. I have known Ms. O for a very long time now and I can definitely say that she is a woman of character, strength, desire, and selflessness. She was my mentor throughout high school and every time I talked to her I always left with a smile and motivation to continue bettering myself. She was always responsible and determined to make sure that I was on the right path towards college. She supported me in everything, and has continued to do so till this day. I remember on one occasion where she teared up because I couldn’t qualify for financial aid for college, and she said that if she were a billionaire she’d pay for my tuition. Even though we both knew that she wouldn’t be finding a billion dollars any time soon, she comforted me and that was more than enough. She shared my suffering and didn’t leave me alone to dwell in it. Ms. O is passionate for her work, education and students. She loves what she does because she knows that knowledge is something that will never be taken from you. She understands that the future of our world depends on the generation of today, and that is why she is an amazing woman. |
Lit Just Got Real:
Relevant, Empowering, & Authentic LiteraturE
A Culturally Conscious Approach to Literacy Employing Hip Hop and Pop Culture as Alternative Teaching Tools to Meet the Needs of African American Students
"African American students continue to suffer from the effects of a widening achievement gap. Students of this demographic often struggle to meet grade-level literacy benchmarks. With reading and writing fundamental to comprehension and the advancement of multiple literacies across all content areas, literacy must remain a school-wide priority. Lit Just Got REAL, a culturally conscious approach to literacy, is a series of pedagogical and curriculum changes that employ hip hop and aspects of pop culture in the selection of materials and instructional design to create an environment that is relevant, empowering, and authentic. This report outlines this approach and provides a three month implementation plan."
"African American students continue to suffer from the effects of a widening achievement gap. Students of this demographic often struggle to meet grade-level literacy benchmarks. With reading and writing fundamental to comprehension and the advancement of multiple literacies across all content areas, literacy must remain a school-wide priority. Lit Just Got REAL, a culturally conscious approach to literacy, is a series of pedagogical and curriculum changes that employ hip hop and aspects of pop culture in the selection of materials and instructional design to create an environment that is relevant, empowering, and authentic. This report outlines this approach and provides a three month implementation plan."
lit_just_got_real.docx | |
File Size: | 69 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Get In Where ya' Fit in, NAWMEAN:
Empowering African American Students & Fostering Academic Achievement through Race Identity development & Hip Hop Pedagogy
Abstract
In 2011, the black-white academic achievement gap persists despite society’s progress. Though African American students have earned the right to an education, after years of struggle led by civil rights leaders, some scholars attribute low achievement rates to a lack of motivation disregard. Other studies have described African American students as “anti-intellectual” and afraid of high achievement. Recent bodies of work have countered such arguments citing the implication as paradoxical considering the number of black lives lost in the struggle for education. Research shows achievement and motivation amongst African American students is dependent upon the healthy development of racial identity and a sense of empowerment. The examination of motivation theory through a cultural framework may gleam solutions towards closing the black-white achievement gap. This paper seeks to determine the best practices and strategies suited for empowering African American students and increasing intrinsic motivation, as well as, academic achievement through a review of the literature pertaining to motivation, racial identity development, and culturally responsive/ hip hop pedagogy.
In 2011, the black-white academic achievement gap persists despite society’s progress. Though African American students have earned the right to an education, after years of struggle led by civil rights leaders, some scholars attribute low achievement rates to a lack of motivation disregard. Other studies have described African American students as “anti-intellectual” and afraid of high achievement. Recent bodies of work have countered such arguments citing the implication as paradoxical considering the number of black lives lost in the struggle for education. Research shows achievement and motivation amongst African American students is dependent upon the healthy development of racial identity and a sense of empowerment. The examination of motivation theory through a cultural framework may gleam solutions towards closing the black-white achievement gap. This paper seeks to determine the best practices and strategies suited for empowering African American students and increasing intrinsic motivation, as well as, academic achievement through a review of the literature pertaining to motivation, racial identity development, and culturally responsive/ hip hop pedagogy.
get_in_where_you_fit_in.docx | |
File Size: | 59 kb |
File Type: | docx |