From the Director...
Welcoming back everyone to the semester has a special meaning this fall as we become part of the College of Health and Human Services. Thanks to a host of departments including the Provost’s Office, Faculty Affairs, Human Resources, Fiscal Affairs, and ORSP, and to individuals: Don Taylor, Christina Alacantra, Ryszard Dziadur, Laslo Lucas Ford, Peter Johnson and Jim Brehaney, this has been a smooth transition. While transitions of such magnitude can be fraught with challenges, the faculty and staff at the Institute and the Child and Adolescent Development program have felt very supported.
From the perspective of the Marian Wright Edelman Institute, I am looking forward to expanding our collaboration and support for faculty and students within CHHS. Currently, we have projects that include faculty and/or students from Nursing, Social Work, and Health Education. Our programs and affiliates include the Child and Adolescent Development Program, San Francisco Head Start and Early Head Start, Jumpstart, the Child Study Center, WiRED International, Valencia Health Services, Diversifying Nursing Leadership and the Gateway to Quality Child Care Evaluation Program. To learn more about these programs, their contacts information, and how they might be of benefit to your faculty or students, please visit the Edelman Institute website at: http://edelman.sfsu.edu/" .
One effort we are making as an Institute is to join with the Mayor to participate in the Project Homeless Connect held every other month at the Bill Graham Auditorium. For a first-hand view, read the articles written by our student assistants in this newsletter.
I give a special thank you to all our colleagues in CHHS for their warm welcome. We look forward to getting to know and work with all of you as we broaden our partnerships across the campus and the community.
Welcome back, Charlotte Ferretti
CAD Connections
By Rene Dahl
Director of the Child and Adolescent Development Program
Congratulations to CAD Graduates!
On Sunday, May 21, at the McKenna Theatre on campus, we honored 149 CAD graduates from August 2005, December 2005, and May 2006. Because of the huge demand for seating in the theatre, two graduation recognition ceremonies were held to accommodate everyone. The first ceremony was for CAD graduates in the Young Child and Family and the Research and Public Policy concentrations, while the second ceremony was for graduates in the School Age Child and Family and Youth and Family Services concentrations. Each CAD graduate received a rose and congratulations from Dr. Rene F. Dahl, Director of the CAD program, and SFSU cum laude (unofficial) graduates also received a certificate.
Special awards were handed out as well Cassandra Upshaw from the School Age Child and Family concentration received two awards first, she was recognized as the CAD Program Honoree who represented the program at SFSU’s Undergraduate Honors Convocation. She received this award for earning the highest overall gpa among all graduating CAD students. Cassandra also received the CAD program’s Seashore Achievement and Service Award, again for her exceptional academic work, but also for her service to the community. She has served as a tutor and mentor to children at academic risk in elementary and high schools. The Seashore award honors Dr. Marjorie Seashore, former Associate Dean of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences and one of the founders of the CAD Program. Congratulations to Cassandra!
Congratulations are in order for Nina Pratchios, as well, who received the Perry Achievement Award for academic excellence. This award is named after Dr. Shannon Perry, one of CAD’s first directors who exemplified excellence in her work to build the CAD program. Nina is in the School Age Child and Family concentration and has earned high academic honors throughout her time at SFSU.
CAD returns to Italy
Seven CAD students enrolled in CAD 680 traveled to northern Italy from May 24- June 4. Their schedule was busy with visits to preschools, high schools and the Montessori professional development center in Milan, Bergamo, Florence, Reggio Emilia, and Bologna. The seven students were: Tiffany Chan, Dawn Dillard, Cristin Fong, Mandy Li, Christina Parra, Eric Subido, and Amber Uribe. Side trips were made to Venice and Siena.
Eileen Cristobal awarded the 1st Paff Scholarship!
Congratulations to Eileen Cristobal who is the first recipient of the Shereen Paff Scholarship. This $2,000 scholarship was generously bestowed by Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Paff in memory of their daughter, Shereen Paff, a longtime special educator in San Francisco. A focus on special education and a minimum grade point average of 3.5 were some of the criteria required for consideration. Eileen is enrolled in the Early Childhood Special Education Credential and Master’s degree program and has spent the past six years working in a variety of special education roles such as therapist, co-teacher, and instructional assistant. This past spring she worked as an intern preschool special education teacher in the San Francisco Unified School District. She has worked primarily with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder but is also interested in learning more about other disabilities.
Our new college in Health and Human Services:
Effective July 1st, the CAD Program, along with the Marian Wright Edelman Institute, became part of the College of Health and Human Services (HHS). Many of the programs in this college are like us, pre-professional and based heavily upon community involvement. We are pleased with the move and believe that we will prosper in our new home! Our new dean is Dr. Don Taylor and his office is in HSS 239.
For CAD students, this means that instead of utilizing the BSS student resources center, you can now stop in at the CHHS Student Resource Center in HSS 239. The hours are M-F 8:30 to 5, the phone number is 405-3533 and their email address is: srcenter@sfsu.edu. Some of the services there include general education advising and career advising.
Welcome to Dr. Julie Law
We are delighted to welcome Dr. Julie Law, our newest CAD tenure track faculty. Dr. Law received her Ph.D. from Ohio State University in Human Development and Family Studies. For the past four years, she served as Program Coordinator of the Center for Child and Family Studies at UC Davis, where she managed the Infant and Toddler Program. She also served as adjunct faculty at UC Davis, Solano Community College, Sacramento City College, and Santa Rosa Junior College where she taught courses in child development, human development, and early childhood education. Dr. Law took part in the week long Reggio Emilio Study Intensive in Italy in 2003. She has conducted research on domestic violence and has contributed to text books on human development and education.
CAD graduates first Cañada College cohort
SAN FRANCISCO - A collaboration between San Francisco State University and a San Mateo community college is yielding its first graduating class in early childhood education, a field that could change radically this summer if a ballot measure passes.
California could join more than 25 states that require a bachelor’s degree for preschool teachers this summer if the Preschool for All Proposition 82 passes, part of a national trend toward greater education requirements for people working with children from birth through kindergarten. Experts in the field say they believe higher credentials mean better care for children, and that degrees will encourage the higher pay needed to halt large turnover rates, SFSU spokeswoman Janet Egiziano said.
The joint program helped thirteen Peninsula students prepare for this future, part of a much larger overall class. The students majored in child and adolescent development and took SFSU classes at Cañada College, one of three community colleges in San Mateo County.
The program started in 2001 at Cañada’s new University Center to serve what they called place-bound students, Egiziano said. Redwood City is 30 miles from the nearest public four-year university, and many motivated students had simply remained in community college. Redwood City resident Kaiyette Jensen, for example, started the program with 129 units of credit earned in community college, while only 120 units are required for a bachelor’s degree.
Thanks to this program, I was able to get my bachelor’s degree to support my family, said Jensen, a single mother who teaches preschool in the Redwood City Elementary School district. We should have had this years ago.
Fear of taking core subject require- ments and the long commute to San Francisco both stood in these students’ way, Egiziano said. But by working closely with Cañada, which charges SFSU no rent, the university was able to bring its curriculum down the Peninsula.
Jensen and fellow student Anna Mrsny said they were motivated by the desire to work with children. But they will also command better pay and have more opportunities with a degree, regardless of Prop. 82.’s success. Some school districts are already putting bachelor degree requirements into place for their preschool teachers, a factor that motivated Jensen to finish her degree this year.
Nondegreed child care workers make between $10 an hour and $27,000 yearly, reports indicate. A degree-holder makes around $30,000 and can make $50,000 or more, Egiziano said. Prop. 82 would require teachers be paid similarly to public school teachers, funding the cost through a tax on Californians making more than $400,000.
kwilliamson@examiner.com
The Examiner
Jumpstart finishes another great year
This program year, 150 Jumpstart students from both San Francisco State University and City College of San Francisco served a combined 82,000 hours of service working on 21 teams in 18 early childhood centers throughout San Francisco. Jumpstart is excited to announce continued expansion for the upcoming fall academic year, partnering with 3 additional early childhood centers in the Visitacion Valley, Bayview and Hunter’s Point neighborhoods. Additionally, Jumpstart will be working with the CCSF Phelan campus child development center.
On May 20, 2006 Jumpstart celebrated another successful year of service! An end of the year celebration and BBQ was hosted by Jumpstart in Stern Grove Park. From hot dogs and hamburgers to wiffle ball and a bounce house, over 250 Corps members, children and their families came out to celebrate. Jumpstart staff held its first annual Corps member awards ceremony at Stern Grove, with Site Managers presenting awards to students who went above and beyond for the 2005-2006 school year.
On another note, Jumpstart plans to set a world record in support of school readiness. On August 24, 2006 adults and young children nationwide will read The Little Engine That Could together in their homes, libraries, parent groups, preschool centers and major public venues to show support for early learning, engage in the very practice that helps young children thrive, and set a world record.
We encourage everyone to participate in Read for the Record! You can get involved by registering to read, telling a friend, learn about early literacy with our online reading training hosted by Matt Lauer, host a record-setting event or buy a book for an at-risk preschooler. For more information about Jumpstart’s efforts go to http://www.readfortherecord.org/ or contact the Jumpstart San Francisco office.
The limited edition print of The Little Engine That Could will be available during the month of August for purchase at Starbucks nationwide. Because Pearson and its subsidiary Penguin, the book’s publisher, have donated the printing, 100% of the purchase price supports Jumpstart’s work with at-risk children.
Editor’s Note:
The Marian Wright Edelman Institute recently joined in volunteering for Project Homeless Connect. Project Homeless Connect (PHC) is a national best practice model that originated in San Francisco under Mayor Gavin Newsom's leadership in October 2004. PHC is now implemented in 32 cities across the United States. Every other month over 1500 individual community volunteers partner with city government, nonprofits and the private sector to provide a one-stop shop of health and human services for homeless San Franciscans. Services include medical, mental health, substance abuse, housing, dental, benefits, legal, free eyeglasses, California ID, food, clothing, wheelchair repair and more. To volunteer or to learn more, visit http://www.sfconnect.org
Reconnecting with self and others at Project Homeless Connect
by Juanita Hernandez
On Friday, June 9, I broke away from my regular routine to offer my time to the Project Homeless Connect event being held at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in downtown San Francisco. As I stood waiting outside the auditorium for the rest of the “Edelman Crew” to arrive, I was cordially greeted by a disturbed homeless man who began yelling profanities at me. I looked the other way as he left and thought, Today is going to be interesting.
As Charlotte Ferretti, Eric Miller, Judy Bonhiver and I walked through the front doors, we immediately saw the abundance of people, heard the voices of many, and realized the magnitude of this event. Judy was the first to leave the MWEI pack, as we lost her in the crowd. We kept our eyes peeled for her for a few minutes and realized we were all going to be separated eventually in all the excitement. I think the catchphrase for the day was organized chaos, and that’s exactly what it was like.
After a surprisingly delicious spread of gourmet coffee, teas, and pastries, the volunteers rallied together in the upper seats of the auditorium. Mayor Gavin Newsom thanked us endlessly for making the event possible and one of the event organizers explained the logistics of what we were about to experience. The rally was dismissed and we all anxiously proceeded to our posts.
At 10 AM, the side doors of the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium opened and the flood of homeless poured in: women, men, children, elderly, Caucasian, Hispanic, Vietnamese, Indian. No specific demographic could define these unfortunate persons. All that could be said about every single one of them was that they were in need of services and this was a place they knew they’d be able to receive them. I came into direct contact with over a dozen homeless people that day. Each one had a different need, a different story to tell, but all was accomplished with a smile and a thank you for taking time to help them.
The most important benefit I received from this experience was regaining the sensitivity I once had for the homeless. After living in the city for a little over a year, I’d begun looking away from people on the streets, judging them and their situation, but no more. Project Homeless Connect helps the homeless of San Francisco to reconnect with services that they may have once had, and now needed again. Amazingly enough for me, and many others, PHC helped me reconnect with humanity and especially with those who are less fortunate than I.
Giving and receiving at Project Homeless Connect
by Eric Miller
Going in to Project Homeless Connect (PHC), I had no idea what to expect. My thoughts on the homeless in San Francisco were a potpourri of stereotypes, stigmas and ill feelings. The truth of the matter was that “the homeless” weren’t a title. They weren’t a problem to be tackled. They were people in some very real situations in life and I was afforded an opportunity to help in some way.
A group of about 6 of us including office staff and a few of Judy’s friends met in front of the auditorium to gather our thoughts before we entered the venue. There were already two lines gathered at the door: a huge wave of volunteers and “clients” waiting for the doors to open. The seen of people lined up with there shopping carts along the side of the building was almost overwhelming. As we left the rally area, I headed to my station at the social security booth.
Clients were giving a form in triage where their general information was recorded and the services they wished to receive were explained and checked off. An escort then took them around the convention to booths for the services. The booth I worked at was one of the first stops on the tour and my job was to escort out client to their next service.
I met some interesting people along the way and felt like I really helped a few. Some folks were there to get a free meal and a pair of shoes and socks. Others really had some genuine needs met like the HIV testing, methadone services, housing, and phone calls to love ones. One of the most popular areas was the free voicemail for life being offered to those who wanted it. Charlotte was busy with the medical area and the entire day never provided a dull moment.
I struggled and still struggle a bit with the pat on the back I gave myself for volunteering. The “helper and the helped” mentality has never set right with me because we all receive help in some way, shape or form. I heard a few comments about “how bad so and so smelled” and “why isn’t this person grateful”. PHC was a glimpse for me, but this is people’s everyday life. I was helping the same person I might have ignored and not even given my eye contact to a day before. This was an opportunity to connect, and hard feelings might be one of the first things dealt with. My experience was great, because it made me examine my views on a lot of things.