Join Us for Champions for Children

Are you ready for Faith Network's 3rd Annual Champions for Children 5K Walk/Run?

Mark your calendars and tell your friends to join you for the Champions for Children on October 26 at Lake Merritt in Oakland! 

Register Now:

• Click here to register online
• Call our office at 510-836-5100
  

What to Expect:

• Prizes for top fundraisers and runners!
• Skyline High School Jazz Band  
• Special Guests: OUSD school officials and community leaders
• Fun for everyone!

Event Day: October 26

• Check-in at 8:00 am
• Race begins at 9:00 am 
• Check-in and Starting Line at Edoff Memorial Bandstand in Lakeside Park (behind Fairyland)

Join us for the Champions for Children 5K to help Faith Network raise funds and awareness for programs that serve students at under-resourced schools in Oakland.  Faith Network is a collaboration of community-based organizations, individuals, businesses, educators and civic leaders mobilized to invest their time and other resources to improve the whole health of children and families of the East Bay.

A Summer With CalTrans

It has been an eventful summer for Faith Network.
Just as the school year was winding down, we launched the Carolyn Yee Future Scientist Fund (CYFSF), which will serve to enrich students in science, technology, engineering, and math through experiences, classroom supplies, internship stipends, and teacher support.

Things quickly fell into place, and we were able to provide stipends for CalTrans interns this summer through the CYFSF. Just last week, with their work drawing to a close, the interns gave a presentation about their experiences. Not only did these college and high school students have the opportunity to tour the new Bay Bridge (above and below!), but each student also had a mentor that they worked closely with during the summer. Some worked with the archives, organizing boxes of work orders and records. Others assisted engineers, hazardous materials containment, and public relations. Each student expressed appreciation for this historic opportunity to work on a world-class project.

Below are some pictures (courtesy of Steve Babuljak of Babuljak Photography) of the intern presentation. Each student received a certificate to commemorate their summer experience in addition to professional and personal lessons that will they will carry for a lifetime!

Oakland Reads 2020

Lately, I've been reading about the positive changes that Oakland's Operation Ceasefire program has been bringing to our community. At first, people were doubtful that this initiative would be effective--after all, the same program had been invoked in 2009 with little results. This time around, the public is seeing results in the arrests of gang members, and traffic stops that provide leads to seizure of drugs and illegal firearms, mainly because law enforcement is enforcing the law.

In the midst of these flashy triumphs comes the news of another initiative: Oakland Reads 2020. Though less sensational than busting drug dealers and pimps, increasing literacy in our schools will have a profound effect on future crime rates. Inadequate reading skills are such a strong indicator of future delinquency that the California Department of Corrections uses 3rd grade literacy rates to determine the future capacity of our state's prisons.

Oakland Reads 2020 is an eight-year initiative that is part of a national vision to bring kids up to reading at grade level. While the ceasefire's goal is to immediately squelch violence in our streets, improving literacy for Oakland schoolchildren and their families will hopefully counter truancy and crime 10+ years before they happen. With the power to read, kids are more likely to stay in school and pursue higher education.

The Oakland Literacy Coalition started Oakland Reads 2020 as a part of fulfilling their mission statement to "increase the capacity of literacy providers to improve early learning outcomes in order to ensure that all Oakland children are reading at a proficient level by the end of third grade. We fulfill this mission through collaboration, promotion of effective practices, resource development and policy work." Not surprisingly, one of their collaborators is (...you guessed it) Faith Network. Additionally, the program is receiving financial support from the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, the Rogers Family Foundation, and the East Bay Community Foundation--all champions of early literacy and also funders of Faith Network's Succeeding by Reading program. We are grateful for their support and glad to do our part!

If you would like to help a child with reading this summer, please contact varetta@faith-network.com. It will be an investment into our future.

Celebration!

We had our last day of tutoring two weeks ago, and our celebration day was last week.

Erick was able to get a prize from the prize box for reading another twenty books. He seemed a little discouraged by the choices that were left in the box (many kids have been earning prizes!). I held up a rubber popper and asked him if he knew how to make it jump.
Erick shook his head, so I turned it inside out and placed it back on the table.
"Now you have to wait for a little bit," I said.
After a couple seconds, the popper flipped and surprised quite a few of us by flying up close to the ceiling and landing on the floor.
"I want it! I want it!" Erick yelled, his face completely alight. Scooping up the popper, he pocketed it immediately. And so it was that Erick's final reading prize was the most powerful rubber popper I have ever encountered.

When it was time to give out certificates, Erick was quite embarrassed, but I also think he was also rather proud of his accomplishments. I congratulated him on finishing all the boxes of sight words while he ducked his head and blushed. I also gave him a copy of Frog and Toad are Friends--this is the last book that were we reading together and we didn't have a chance to finish it.

All the reading students and tutors ate strawberries, cherries, and grapes, and we handed out certificates of achievement to each student. Each tutor gave words of encouragement to their students and the students had words of gratitude for their tutors. Most simply said, "Thank you for reading with me each week."

It was a sweet time, and I will definitely miss Erick next year.

I like to think that our picture together reflects how sad he is about our time being over, but I think he might just be hamming it up for the camera.

Animals besides spiders

This week, Erick read a book about various semi-scary animals, including the great white shark, desert scorpion, grizzly bear, king cobra, crocodile and hippopotamus.
I thought the inclusion of the hippopotamus was a little strange since they are vegetarians, but as Erick turned to the hippo page, he was somewhat horrified. Staring back at us was a giant hippo with its mouth gaping wide, showing us all its huge teeth and a pale, wrinkled tongue.
"Do these eat people?" Erick asked.
I assured him that hippos do not eat people and pointed out that the (very) large back teeth of the open-mouthed hippo were quite blunt.
"I think they eat grass or water plants," I said.
After that, we started a book about fire fighters.

But...the hippopotamuses in the book did pique my interest. In the animal book, they were simply described a large animals that like water. After some research, I discovered that hippos are one of the most feared animals in Africa. They are quite strictly herbivores (mostly grass), but they cause more human deaths than any carnivore. Even crocodiles will avoid attacking hippos and their young despite living in the same body of water.
I found out that hippos are very territorial and their primary defense is to charge their massive, three-ton bodies at a threat while gnashing their teeth. While many carnivores will ignore humans and some will even run away, hippos will attack with little provocation.

So Erick was correct to interpret the hippo's open mouth as a threat (that is how hippos intimidate each other). I will definitely have to share my discoveries with him next week.

Spider-Man II

Erick surprised me this week by picking out another Spider-Man book. He was curious to know more about this superhero. We reviewed a little about what we learned about Spider-Man the previous week, including why spiders are important and the web aspect. Erick was concerned that Spider-Man does not have flying capabilities.
"Spider-Man doesn't fly, but he can use his web to swing from high places," I explained. "So it's a little like flying."

We also talked about how Spider-Man's real name is Peter Parker, but when he puts on his costume, he is Spider-Man. Erick remembered many details about our costumed hero, and the most troubling thing to him was the fact that Spider-Man didn't want people to know who his identity. That is a hard thing to explain, and I thought it might take too long to talk about safety and the desire to live a somewhat "normal life." So we dived into the book.

With many colorful illustrations, the book showed many instances of Spider-Man saving people and fighting crime. We observed how Spider-Man helped police and firefighters do their jobs. The conclusion of the book was the basic message: If Spider-Man knows there is trouble, he is going to help.

Now that is something to think about.

Spider-Man vs. the spiders

Erick picked out a superhero book this week: The Amazing Spider-Man. Unfortunately, the book had quite a few words that Erick has not encountered before such as "radioactive," "goblin," "wrestler," and "skyscraper." Even understanding the purpose of an enemy was a little daunting. As he read and asked questions, I realized that Erick didn't know very much about Spider-Man. He asked if Doctor Octopus was one of Spider-Man's friends (no). He asked if Spider-Man could make webs (yes). He asked how Spider-Man became a Spider-Man (let's keep reading and find out!).

As we read on about Spider-Man, I could tell that Erick did not have the same enthusiasm for this superhero as he did for regular spiders and Super Mario. From his perspective, I think it might be confusing to have a fantastical character dwelling in the real world as Spider-Man does. After all, it did take Erick a long moment to get over the fact that Spider-Man lives in New York City. Perhaps he will have a greater appreciation for the messiness of the superhero world when he is older.

After finishing that book, we read the crocodile section of an animal book and then Erick did some word puzzles. As an extra challenge, I had him write the puzzle words on a white board without looking at the spelling. Then he checked his work against the puzzle pieces. He did pretty well, but still has some trouble with the silent 'e' that makes short vowels into long vowels (e.g.: how "can" becomes "cane" with that silent letter at the end).

We only continue to meet together for about a month-and-a-half more. I'm hoping that Erick will recognize short and long vowel patterns before summer comes.

Changes for OUSD

Right now, the biggest news in OUSD is the sudden resignation of superintendent Tony Smith. He and his family are moving to Chicago to be closer to his father-in-law whose health has been in decline. You can read his resignation letter here.

Now board members and officials are faced with the task of finding a new superintendent.

This interview can illuminate some of Tony Smith's accomplishments and controversies during his four years at OUSD as well as bring to light the difficulty of finding someone to fill his position.

We can only hope for stability and wisdom with OUSD leadership as the district moves forward.

No More Yawns!

This week, I picked two nonfiction books for Erick to read. One was titled Mighty Spiders! and the other, simply, Frogs!

The books did not need their exclamation points to draw Erick's attention.
"I love spiders!" he said, grabbing the spider book. Inside its pages we learned about different kinds of spiders. Some spiders are large enough to eat birds and frogs. Other spiders live under rocks. Some spiders can make air bubbles to travel underwater. Yet others have bright coloring and horns.
At the end of the book, there were small labeled illustrations of each spider that had made an appearance in the book. Erick pointed to each one, repeating, "I like this one! I like this one! I like this one!" When he pointed to the last one, he closed the book and said, "I love them ALL!"

I don't have half as much enthusiasm for spiders as Erick does, but I was excited to see him reading some of the harder words, like "creeping" and "catch" and "insects."

The frog book was similarly engrossing for Erick. Did you know that some frogs are large enough to eat mice and other frogs? Some frogs are also so small that they can sit on the edge of your fingernail. When we turned to a photograph of a frog puffing its throat, Erick cried, "Ew! That's so sick! Ew! I don't want to see that!"
"Well, if this book is too gross, we can pick a different one to read," I responded. I was a little taken aback because I thought the spiders had been much more disgusting.
Erick paused.
"No. I'm going to finish reading it."
"Well, if you see a picture you don't like, you can put your hand over it."
"No. I'm okay."

And he was.

Writing and Puzzle Practice

With his new workbook, Erick gets to write more, and this week, he made two short 'i' sentences. First he wrote, "The fish looks like a rainbow." Before beginning his second sentence, he asked if he could use "fish" again. I told him he had to pick something else, so he picked "wish" and quickly wrote, "I wish the fish was jumping."

We worked on some short 'o' words and moved onto reading. We started A Fly Went By which involves a fly being chased by a frog that is being chased by a cat that is being chased by a dog that is being chased by a pig...and that's where we stopped because Erick was yawning.

"Would you like a break?" I asked, and Erick gladly accepted.
"Let's do a puzzle!"

Erick likes the word puzzles. The first few times that we worked on the puzzles, I noticed that he put the letters together based on whether or not they physically fit. He wouldn't even look at the words that he was forming. It would take 20 minutes to make eight words.
Now Erick pays attention to the letters as he lays them down and he spells the words out based on the letters on the puzzle piece rather than the shape. He can finish the same eight words in about five minutes now.

Next week is Spring Break for OUSD, and the week after, I will select some science books for Erick to read. I noticed that he is not as interested in fiction (though he does like Dr. Seuss books) as he is in learning about space and animals. Good thing we have some books about animals with photographs so there might be less yawning next time we meet!

Prizes and Prizes!

How did they get 30 stickers in here?

After reading, working on his second phonics book, and finishing his last box of sight words, Erick got his prizes this week: a Cat-in-the-Hat bookmark and superstar sticker for finishing his first phonics workbook, and then a very special Super Mario surprise box for finishing the last box of sight words.

Even though it doesn't look like much, Erick immediately recognized it as a Glow Block that Mario can pick up in the game to light his way. "Thank you, Miss Madalyn!" he exclaimed, "I like it!"
"It's not just a box," I replied. "There's something inside!"
At this revelation, Erick became so excited that he had to ask for my help to open this little box. Inside, to his amazement, there were 30 stickers of different characters from the game.

I was a little worried that Erick would be let down by the stickers. I had gotten it from a toy dispenser, not knowing which capsule would fall out. I was a little disappointed myself when I opened the box beforehand and discovered that all the characters inside were villains--Bowser, grumpy mushrooms, snapping flowers, flying turtles, and not a single Mario or Yoshi--but I didn't have time to go back to try my luck at getting a different set. It turns out that I didn't have to worry, because as soon as Erick saw the stickers, he shouted "YES!" while pumping his fist in the air. And if that were not assurance enough, he said, "Wow! I really like this! I'm going to show my mom! Thank you! Thank you!"
"You're welcome." I replied. "It's because you have been working so hard and you did such a good job with your sight words! And...maybe you can use your little Super Mario to fight all those bad guys."
"Maybe." Erick said. Then, "I'm going to put these in my bed."
I think that must be where he hides his small treasures. I was about to ask him about it when he said, "You and me--we can be friends forever. Okay?"
"Okay!" I agreed, as I did my own mental fist pumps.

Reading is Exciting!

Erick is always very excited during our tutoring time. Before I have a chance to say, "Hi, Erick!" he greets me with, "Hi, Miss Madalyn!" which is usually quickly followed by a question such as, "Is that your car?" or "Why do you wear a name tag?" or "Do you speak Chinese or Spanish?" or "Where is your sister?"
Oftentimes, my answers lead to more questions, and I have to steer him to our task at hand. It always surprises me that he is equally enthusiastic about learning more about reading as he is about our conversations before we start tutoring. I take this as a sign that Erick values our relationship as well as becoming a strong reader. We are a bit like gym partners, working out our literacy muscles.

This time, he said, very seriously, "I want to tell you something."
I asked him, "What is it?"
Then he told me about how he got lost in Sears during the weekend, and the security guards helped him find his mom.
We talked a little about getting lost and helpful people, then Erick started his work.

He finished his phonics workbook and whizzed through most of his sight words. He then read a book to me that amused him greatly: Put Me in the Zoo.
This is a book about a bear/dog creature that can change the color, shape and size of his spots as well as  transfer them to other objects (including people), juggle them, make them fly, and form them into sock-shapes. Though it sounds like an odd book based on my summary, it makes a lot of sense when you read it. Erick enjoyed it immensely. "Oh! I like his spots when they are blue!" he said, and, "Look. Now his spot is shaped like a big egg."

 

As with the last two weeks, Erick picked a book to take home. This week, he took home a story about a the adventures of a boy and his large dog. Next week will bring more excitement as Erick collects his prizes for finishing his sight words as well as his phonics workbook!

A Treat for Our Students

During our last tutoring session, we had a special treat: all the students got to pick a book to take home. Erick mulled over his choice for a long time--so long, in fact, that most of the students picked the books that interested them and he was left looking at what they had already glanced through.

He was looking for a book that not only had a good number of pictures to go with the words, but also one that was interesting to him. He passed up a book about construction (too many long words), one about forest animals (too many pictures and easy words), and one that appeared to be a colonial biography (no pictures at all!).

Erick eventually decided to take home a book called A Trip to the Doctor. It had some difficult words, like "stethoscope" and "receptionist," but also pictures to go along with them. He was glad that there were kids in the book and that there were real pictures instead of illustrations.

Perhaps this book could inform his next trip to the doctor or even a career choice!

Erick's Prize

Erick finished his first book worm and is starting to fill in titles on his next book worm. The prize that he picked was a orbit ball which we immediately discovered bounces in unexpected directions when dropped.

So far, Erick has read twenty-two books and knows the majority of his sight words. He is working on long vowels, like in the words "gate," "teeth," "bite," "slow," and "cute." I also found out that he really enjoys doing word puzzles and looking at the miniatures that we keep to teach similar sounds.

Most recently, we looked at the "wh" and "th" puzzles, and put together "thorn," "bath," "whale" and "white." Then we looked in the "wh" and "long e" tubs that had in them models of a tree, whale, wheat, set of teeth, whistle, cheese, whiskers, the number three, and two wheels. We talked about why there are two wheels (because it starts with "wh" and also has the long "e" sound!) and then we mixed up the objects and Erick separated them into their two groups. Then he rolled the two wheels in a synchronized manner to make an invisible bike.

Erick informed me that the next prize he would like to claim is the pull-back race car. With the rate at which he is reading, I think that day will come soon.

Green Eggs and Ham

Erick is so close to completing his 20-book list that his excitement is off the charts!
During our last time together, we read three books, the most memorable of which was Green Eggs and Ham. A little ways through the book, we had this conversation:

Erick: (reading) "...I will not eat them here nor there. I will not eat them anywhere" (then a pause as he flips through the following pages)
Me: Hey! No skipping ahead!
Erick: I know what happens at the end!
Me: Really. What happens?
Erick: In the end, this guy eats the eggs and ham and he likes it.
Me: Oh no! You ruined the ending! Are you sure that happens?
Erick: Yes! He says, "no, no, no, no, no, no" and then in the end he says, "okay."
Me: I don't believe it. Keep reading and let's see what happens!

As Erick reads, he becomes more rushed and makes some mistakes. Part of it is the excitement of getting a prize for reading twenty books and another part is showing me that the main character becomes amenable to verdant consumables in the end. I ask him to slow down here and there, and he manages for a while but then picks up again. He tumbles over most of the words with success and increasing volume until we arrive at the end where he practically shouts with triumph: "I do so like green eggs and ham! Thank you! Thank you, Sam-I-am!!"

And so...with much thanks to Sam-I-Am and Dr. Seuss, we have just two more books before Erick gets a prize from the prize box. Finally, speaking of boxes, Erick also finished a second box of sight words and will be tackling his third and final box next time we meet!