Over the subsequent 250 years, the intensity of student protest has ebbed and flowed. Now, like in the 1960s, we find ourselves in a period of social upheaval and increased student activism. Generation Z is made up of internet natives who have precociously used widespread access to the internet, smart phones and social media to network with one another and to broadcast their views at a previously impossible scale and pace.

AB 361 and board meetings:

Whether virtual or in person, how do boards hold and manage their meetings?

ith a return to in-person instruction after school closures for much of the previous academic year, district and county boards are trying to determine the best way to hold their meetings. The surge in COVID-19 pandemic cases brought on by new variants has brought about more challenges by forcing schools to again close their classrooms and forcing boards that were back to in-person meetings to revert to virtual meetings.

In Riverside County, home to the third-highest number of foster youth in California, Corona-Norco Unified School District’s All-Stars Foster Youth Program aims to close achievement gaps for this often underserved population by providing them with a community that supports and invests in them. The Golden Bell Award-winning program began at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in 2020.

The program empowers youth by providing the resources needed to help them self-advocate, make healthy choices and prepare for their future, aided by school site and central office staff committed to providing a strong community of support and connection in order to maximize each student’s social-emotional health and academic potential.

The comprehensive academic and social-emotional program began organically after the high school opened 15 years ago. A campus counselor who was a former foster youth noticed how many foster youth attended Eleanor Roosevelt High. He would provide extra support to them and eventually started holding meetings to bring everyone together. These regular meetings became a model for the district.

Santa Ana USD keeping students in school through weekly COVID-19 testing

ur Santa Ana Unified School District community has been among those hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of our parents serve as essential workers in our region, and families live in one of the most densely populated areas.

The next phase in these efforts began in October when we started providing weekly COVID-19 testing for all students and staff members at every school site. This marked an important step in our goal of keeping our schools among the safest places for children in our community. Unanimous approval for this initiative by our board of education also sent a strong message that our district was dedicated to maintaining a healthy and safe environment for learning.

Supporting educators and students through a disaster

Sonoma County has long experienced flood-related disasters, and fire-related disasters are now common as well, with four significant wildfires over the past five years. The Tubbs Fire of 2017 came without warning in the middle of the night and changed the community, its infrastructure, its families and, most importantly, our children for years to come. In addition to three more wildfires and one flood, the ongoing global pandemic is affecting children’s ability to connect with the world and learn in the way previous generations have. Lessons learned in Sonoma County from multiple disasters can be applied to the COVID-19 pandemic in order to support students’ emotional and behavioral well-being. These lessons are one piece of a bigger puzzle California is putting together to support students.

AMI Expeditionary Healthcare (AMI) is physician owned and physician led and committed to helping our California education partners keep schools safe and operating through the challenges of COVID-19.

Teamed with California based strategic partner, Maclean Health, AMI delivers a unique combination of turnkey healthcare solutions composed of extremely flexible teams of health practitioners, fixed and mobile medical facilities, air ambulance services, and highly refined medical processes. We have one goal — and that is to provide the best patient care and clinical outcomes in whatever setting however challenging, remote, and under-resourced the setting may be.

AMI’s capacity goes beyond its ability to provide medical services and personnel in any setting, including some of the world’s most difficult environments. We have delivered over 6,000 medical personnel and healthcare solutions to over 70 hospital settings on four continents. As a global leader in expeditionary medicine, we are culturally competent and hire multilingual clinicians and staff to serve the needs of every patient that we care for.

Can you tell us a little about your background, including your own K-12 education and professional experience?