June is a Month Chock-full of Multicultural / Equality / Healthy Lifestyles Celebrations

June is a month in which we love to celebrate. We tend to celebrate the end of our academic school year, graduations, the beginning of summer and.......

1) Juneteenth - Is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. It was on June 19, 1865 that Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. This was two and a half years after President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which had become official on January 1, 1863. (Please see resource section below for activity ideas.)

2) LGBTQ Pride Month - Is currently celebrated each year in the month of June to honor the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan, but also to recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals have had on history locally, nationally, and internationally. (Please see resource section below for Teaching Tolerance lesson plans.)

3) Great Outdoors Month - June is a special time to celebrate America's great outdoors. Help youth celebrate the natural wonder and outdoor spirit by getting them outside and engaged in a variety of outdoor activities. Click here for outdoor games to engage youth in.

Now let's take a peek and see how a few expanded learning programs in the region have been engaging youth in STEM / enrichment learning activities.



Name of Expanded Learning Program Provider: 
Sacramento Chinese Community Service Center

Name of District: Sacramento City Unified School District

Grade Level of Activity: 1st -6th Grade

Number of students who took part in the activity: 15

Type of Activity: S.T.E.A.M.

Learning Outcomes - Students were able to:

• Learn about the periodic table of elements
• Learn how and why carbonated drinks actually help plants grow

Expanded Learning youth learning about how carbonation helps plants grow.

For more information on this activity please feel free to email Expanded Learning 

Site Coordinator Teresa Hernandez at teresa@sccsc.org.

STEM / Expanded Learning and Other Pertinent Articles:

1) Learning is Social, Emotional, and Academic 
    (Education Week article by Linda Darling-Hammond and 
     Tim Shriver, May 1, 2018)

2) Immigrant Students: Our Kids, our Future 
    (Learning Policy Institute Blog: Education and the Path to Equity)

3) Closing the Communication Gap and Finding Time
    (Learning in Afterschool Blog)

4) Juuling Craze: Schools Scramble to Deal with Student Vaping
    (Education Week article by Evie Blad, May 4, 2018)

5) Ways to Integrate Writing into Science Classes
     (Education Week Teacher Blog)

6) The Power of Sharing Circles
    (Learning in Afterschool Blog)

7) Happy Teachers Practice Self-Care
    (Education Week Article by Madeline Will)

8) The Science Behind Student Engagement
    (Pearson- Whitepaper)

9) Early-Grades Science: The First Key STEM Opportunity
    (Education Week article by Madeline Will, May 22, 2018) 

10) Why Children Aren't Behaving, and What You Can Do About It
      (NPR Education article by Cory Turner, June 2, 2018)


STEM (and other core content) Activities / Websites / Media Content:

1) Parent Engagement as a lever for Equity and Achievement
    (Education Week Conversation: Video)

2) Meet the Women Who First Integrated America's School's
    (NPR Podcast May 29, 2018)

3) Asian American Heritage Month Activities (Pre-K-12th)

4) Teaching Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month 
    (NEA Activities: K-5)

5) Summer Reading Resources (NEA)

6) NEA Science Resources Page (K-12)

7) Gender and Sexual Identity Lesson Plans (Teaching Tolerance Activities)

8) Children's Activities for Juneteenth

9) Activities / Resources / Videos for Juneteenth

10)  7 Games from Around the World


STEM / Educational Grants: 

1) CAN Funding Opportunities Webpage

2) Impact Foundry Grant Page

3) Afterschool Alliance Grant Page

4) Bank of The West Grant Page


STEAM / Misc. Professional Learning Sessions / Contest / Events:

1) How Kids Learn Conference (December 6, 2018) (Oakland)


We will share items as they come across our desk before the next blog post.



Thanks again for all that you do in the field. Please keep us posted about STEM 
events / activities in your area. Please feel free to contact us at any time.

Monica Gonzalez-Williams (SCOE: Region 3: After School Regional Lead):
mgonzalez@scoe.net

Phil Romig (SCOE: Science Curriculum Specialist): promig@scoe.net

Mark Drewes (SCOE: Project Specialist II: Expanded Learning) mdrewes@scoe.net

Women's History Month: STEM-azing Facts about Ellen Ochoa

March is Women's History Month and as we celebrate the achievements that female STEM pioneers have engineered for us to make our lives easier, we here in Region 3 have decided to highlight the achievements of Ellen Ochoa (a space lover) in this month's Region 3 Blog Post. It also seems fitting that we highlight Ellen Ochoa and her accomplishments as the US enters its fifth decade in Space Exploration and understanding our complex universe.

Ellen Lauri Ochoa (born May 10, 1958) is a former astronaut and current Director of the Johnson Space Center. Ochoa became the first Hispanic woman in the world to go into space when she served on a nine-day mission aboard the shuttle Discovery in 1993.

Here are a few other STEM-azing facts about Ellen Ochoa:

1) Ellen Ochoa received a bachelor of science in physics from San Diego State
    University in 1980 and a master of science degree and doctorate in electrical
    engineering from Stanford University in 1981 and 1985, respectively.

2) Ellen Ochoa is a co-inventor on three patents for an optical inspection system, an
    optical object recognition method, and a method for noise removal in images.

3) Ellen Ochoa is a veteran of four space flights, logging more than 950 hours in
    space.

4) Ellen Ochoa's technical assignments have included flight software and computer
    hardware and robotics development, testing and training.

5) Ellen Ochoa was a crew member of STS-96 Discovery (May 27th to June 6, 1999),
    which was a 10-day mission during which the crew performed the first docking to the
    International Space Station.

For more information on Ellen Ochoa and her career, please click here.


Now lets take a closer look at and see how the students in expanded learning program 
have been engaged in STEM activities during the month of February.



Name of Expanded Learning Program Provider: Sacramento Chinese Community 
Service Center

Name of District(s): Sacramento City Unified School District

Name of School Site: Burbank High School 

Grade Level of Activity: 9th and 10th

Number of Students Who Took Part in The Activity: 20 students

Type of Activity: Computer Robotics and Programming (C-STEM Center UC Davis)

Learning Objectives of C-STEM Day:

C-STEM Day is organized to build public awareness and advocate for Integrated Computing and STEM education. The C-STEM Center and our partners organize curriculum-based RoboPlay Competitions in various regions on C-STEM Day at the end of May each year to further engage students in project-based team activities and to showcase their accomplishments and creativity not only in math and engineering, but also in writing, art, music, and film production.

Luther Burbank ASSETs students engaging in C-STEM activities.

For more information on the above STEM activities please contact Linda Vongthongkham at

linda@sccsc.org.


Name of Expanded Learning Program Provider: Sacramento Chinese Community 
Service Center

Name of District(s): Sacramento City Unified School District

Name of School Site: Rosemont High School 

Grade Level of Activity: 9th and 10th

Number of Students Who Took Part in The Activity: 20 students

Type of Activity: First Robotics


Learning Objectives of First Robotics: The mission of First is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in exciting Mentor-based programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership. 

Rosemont HS ASSETs students working on their First Robotics robot.

For more information on the above STEM activities please contact Brandon Alvarez at

brandon@sccsc.org.

STEM / Expanded Learning Program and Other Pertinent Educational Articles:

1) We Must Continue to Invest In After School Programs
    (Carlos Rojas, OC Register, March 5, 2016)

2) Why Students Should Take the Lead in Parent-Teacher Conferences (KQED, 2014)

3) Students Who Learn About Famous Scientists' Struggles Do Better In School 
    (Allison Eck, PBS, March 2,  2016)

4) Why Teaching Poetry is So Important
   (Andrew Simmons, The Atlantic, April 8, 2014)

5) Afterschool Special: Sacramento Youth Learn Food Literacy
    (Annamarie Sysling, Feedstock, March 3, 2016)

6) 5 Words and Phrases That Can Transform Your Work Life
   (Michael Grothaus, Fast Company, March 2, 2016)

7) Arts Integration Allows Students to Engage Abstract Concepts in New Ways
    (KQED, March 1, 2016)

8) State of Summer Learning (National Summer Learning Association)

9) 5 Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Unmotivated Students
   (Jennifer Gonzalez, Cult of Pedagogy, February 20, 2016)

10) The Wrong Way to Teach Math (Andrew Hacker, NY Times, February 27, 2016)

11) Research Shows Diverse Classrooms Improve Learning For Everyone
      (Anya Kamenetz, KQED, February 29, 2016)

12) How Poor Science Education in Kindergarten Harms Kids
      (Lydia Lum, The Atlantic, February 27, 2015)

13) Acting Ed. Secretary John B. King says he's a believer in after school
      (Jillian Luchner, Afterschool Alliance, February 25, 2016)

14) Understanding Gender Identity in Young People (LIAS Blog March 2016)



STEM (and other interdisciplinary core content) Activities / Videos / Websites:

1) Teach girls bravery, not perfection (TED Talk Video)

2) Elementary teacher creates "Gentleman's Club" to teach students life lessons
    (The Southern Weekend Video)

3) Sacramento Teen Wins CA Poetry Out Loud Competition (NPR Podcast)

4) How to Create a Culture of Trust (ALEX Kajitani Video)

5) Monroe Howard, SCUSD and Summer Learning (Sacramento and Co. Video)

6) 5 Books Guaranteed to Make Kids Love Science (Science Friday Book List)

7) PBL in the Arts Resource Guide (Education Closet- Free Resource)

8) Measurement - Monster Math Mix Up (Pinterest Resource)

9) Anti-Racism Activity: The Sneetches (Teaching Tolerance Activity)

10) Sci Girls STEM Activities (PBS Activities)

11) Great Video Resources for Teaching Math (Edutopia)

12) 10 Simple Interactive Whiteboard Tricks (Scholastic)

13) Resources for Filmmaking in the Classroom (Edutopia Resources)



STEM / Educational Grants:

1) National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM): Enhancing Student 
    Mathematics Learning Through the Use of Tools and Technology  
    ($3,000 grants are available)
    (Deadline: May 6, 2016)

2) Math Moves U: Math Hero Award (Math hero receives a $2,500 grant and school 
    receives a matching award) (Deadline: Applications open Spring of 2016)

3) Youth Service America (Grant Database) (Currently no grants available at 
    this time, but a great site to add to your "History" bar. )

4) Best Satellite Providers: Technology Grants for Educators 
    17 Resources for Future Proof Kids

    (Deadline: Varies by Grant Opportunity)

5) California Regional Environmental Education Community (Grant Database)

6) The Big List of Educational Grants and Resources (Edutopia List of Grants)

    (This webpage has been updated since January and offers new grants)

STEM / Misc. Professional Development / Contest / Events:

1) Enter the Cypher: Hip Hop Education Series - A three session workshop

    series focused around the best practices to empower Expanded Learning 

    Practitioners to use Hip Hop as an engaging and exciting tool within their 

    program. Presented by the Low End Theory Collaborative

    (Dates: March 15, and April 12) 

    (Fee: $22.00 per session)

2)  Energenius: Out of School Time Pilot Program Session II

    (Free) (March 23, 2016)

3) Santa Clara County Office of Education's 1st STEAM Conference

    ($150 per participant) (April 22, 2016)

4) CA STEM Symposium 2016 (October 9-11, 2016: Fee: $285 per participant 

     before April 30, 2016)

Thanks again for all that you do in the field. Please keep us posted about STEM events/activities in your area. Please feel free to contact us at any time.

Monica Gonzalez-Williams (SCOE: Region 3: After School Regional Lead):
mgonzalez@scoe.net

Phil Romig (SCOE: Science Curriculum Specialist): promig@scoe.net

Mark Drewes (SCOE: Project Specialist II: After School) mdrewes@scoe.net

     

Oh! The Places You'll Go!

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

The stanza above was written by Dr. Seuss for the Poem titled Oh! The Places You'll Go!

The Grant Managers, Expanded Learning Program Providers, Program Directors, Site Coordinators, and front line practitioners have visited many places this year. They have visited the outer limits of our galaxy courtesy of the Discovery Museum Science and Space Center. They have soared to new heights within Earth's atmosphere via a trip to the Aerospace Museum of California. They have also visited the different biomes of the Effie Yeaw Nature Center. These are just a few of the known locations that the professional development in Region 3 has taken those in the Expanded Learning world. There are countless destinations that haven't revealed themselves yet; for when you invest in your craft, the destinations are limitless and do not always reveal themselves right away. Being a life long learner will take you to places that you have never dreamed of.


There are a plethora of life long learners in the Region 3 Expanded Learning Program field and here are  two courses that some from the region enrolled in during March of 2014:

Professional Development Training: Advanced Project WET (Click to view News Story)
(Water Education for Teachers) 

Trainer: Brian Brown: California Project WET Coordinator

Contact Information: projectwet@watereducation.org

Date of Training: March 12 and 13, 2014

Brief Description of Training: This was an advanced training for participants who have already attended a Project WET training in the past. Participants were encouraged to bring their copies of the Project WET instructor guide that they received at a prior training. At this training, Brian Brown, led the participants on an in-depth exploration of 10 Project WET activities at the site of the American River. This training not only focused on how to incorporate these activities into their Summer Learning Program, but also how to make their field trips more impactful. This training and the activities that were facilitated also helped these Expanded Learning Program educators make a stronger correlation between the drought that California is currently experiencing and the effects that it has on our local environments.

Effie Yeaw Nature Center was the site of this training.

Brian Brown leading the group towards the American River.

Participants conducted a simulated bio-assessment of the American River by sampling aquatic macro invertebrates.

Participants play a game of tag to stimulate the effects of environmental stressors on macro invertebrate populations.

Professional Development Training: California Teacher Pathway STEM Institute:
Module III (Moon Rovers)

Trainer: Ryan McCarthy: Statewide Training Director for California Teacher Pathway

Contact Information: ryan@cateacherpathway.org

Date of Training: March 27, 2014

Brief Description of Training: In this professional development training, the Expanded Learning Program educators worked in collaborative groups to experience this activity first hand. They were asked to think like scientist and explore the idea of how a car works. Through this activity they identified real world variables that had effects on their moon rovers that they built such as friction, weight distribution, alignment, etc. Also by experiencing this activity first hand, the participants were also able to trouble shoot any potential road bumps that some of their students might face. 

Participants are working on creating one of their concave moon rover wheels.

Participants have just finished adding all four of their concave moon rover wheels to the chassis.

Finished Moon Rover called the Rainbow Rover

STEM and Other Pertinent Articles:

1) What Keeps Students Motivated to Learn?

2) Introducing Programming to Preschoolers

3) Should Kids Learn to Code in Grade School?

4) Why Programming Teaches So Much More Than Technical Skills

5) Demand for Computer Science Classes Grows, Despite Digital Divide

6) Why It's Imperative to Teach Students How to Question as the Ultimate Survival Skill

7) Follow the School Funding Formula (LCFF)

8) Districts Develop Goals for Foster Youth

9) SB 1221 (Hancock) Would Prioritize Year-Round Learning

10) After-School coding program in Mill Valley crammed with kids

11) California STEM Learning Network Supports AB2319 
      (Supplemental funding for Common Core and NGSS)

12) Quality After School STEM Necessitates Quality Teaching and Learning

13) AB 1879 Would require after school consultation in LCAPs


STEM (and other Integrated Core Content) Activities/Videos/Websites/Podcast:

1) Does Teaching KidsTo Get 'Gritty' Help Them Get Ahead?

2) Learn to Code, Learn to Code

3) PBS How to Use Digital Tools Webpage

4) Student Science Resources

5) STEM-Finity (Free STEM Resources for K-12 educators)

6) Soap Souffle

7) Sun Science App from Lawrence Hall of Science (Free +Activities)

8) Lawrence Hall of Science Programs for Schools

9) Learning In After School and Summer (LIAS) in the News

10) Roadtrip Nation Career Roadmap

11) Natural Heroes Curriculum (KVIE)

12) SPARK Physical Activity Kit through CASRC 

13) Predators and Prey Kits through CASRC

14) Real Math Games Home Connection Kit

15) Discovering Science Through Inquiry Series



STEM Profesional Development Opportunities:

1) Techbridge Summer Institute ($800 per person)

2) STEM Academy for Elementary School Teachers ($450 per person)

3) Steve Spangler Story Time Slime / Online Training ($199.00 per person)
    Connecting Science and Children's Literature

4) Click2Science Professional Development Program (Free)

5) Technical Writing for Science Class (Free)

6) Edge Up University Provides Online Professional Development (Free)
    Professional Development training for Informal After School Educators
    provided by Region 8

7) Crafting a Winning Needs Statement: Give your grant proposals a competitive 
    advantage Webinar: April 23, 2014 10:00am PST (Free)

8) Beyond Sponsorship: How to Create Value Driven Corporate Partnerships
    Webinar: April 23, 2014 10:00am PST (Free)


STEM / Misc. / Events / Grants / Contest:

1) Speak Up! Speak Out! CalSAC's 10th Annual California Afterschool and Summer 
    Challenge (May 12 and 13, 2014) Register online

2)  Teichert Foundation Grants (August 2014 Deadline)

3) American Honda Foundation STEM Grants (May 1 Deadline)

4)  Batters Up USA (Baseball and Softball Gear) 
     (New Applications Posted May 1, 2014)

5) UC Davis Day of Service and Science (May 8, 2014)

6) Meet the Machines: Children of all ages have the opportunity to touch, climb on and 
    explore an expansive collection of machines and unique vehicles. (May 10, 2014)

7) Saucony Run for Good Foundation Website: Program: After School, 
    At-Risk/Character, General Education, Health/PE
    Maximum Grant: up to $10,000 (Deadline: June 13, 2014)

8) Best Buy Children's Foundation Program: After School, Arts, General Education, 
    Health / PE, Math, Reading, Science/Environmental, Social Studies, STEM, 
    Technology Maximum Grant: up to $6,000 (Deadline: July 1, 2014)

9) Innovation Corps Sites Program: After School, Arts, General Education, Health/PE, 
    Math, Reading, Science,/Environmental, Social Studies, STEM, Technology 
    Maximum Grant: up to $6,000 (Deadline July 1, 2014)

10) Procter and Gamble Educational Grants Program: After School, Early Childhood, 
      General Education, Health/PE Maximum Grant: up to $10,000 
      (Deadline September 26, 2014)

Thanks again for all that you do in the field. Please keep us posted about STEM events/activities in your area. Please feel free to contact us at any time.

Monica Gonzalez-William (SCOE: Region 3: After School Regional Lead)
@ mgonzalez@scoe.net

Phil Romig: (SCOE: Science Curriculum Specialist) @ promig@scoe.net

Mark Drewes: (SCOE: Project Specialist II: After School) @ mdrewes@scoe.net