August 2020

 

August has arrived, and with it, one of the most unusual starts to the school year ever imagined.

COVID-19 continues to affect how society interacts and it has forced education from the school site to a website.

Districts and schools worked diligently over the the Summer of 2020 to prepare for all types of scenarios to start the 2020-21 Academic School Year: On-Site instruction for all students, Hybrid Schedules to limit exposure, Distance Learning with no student contact, and many other possible instructional scenarios that could allow teachers to reach their students while preventing the spread of this highly contagious disease.

It will no doubt be a challenging school year for students, teachers, parents, administrators, and all who are dedicated to providing quality education for all.  The task ahead is a difficult one and we will need to support each other if we are to succeed in making this one of the best years in education.

So wake up, get ready, and log on to your classroom!

Manuel R. CortezRodas - Educator

Copyright 2020.  MRCR Educational Consulting Firm.  All Rights Reserved.

August 2018

Welcome Back August!

It is that time of the year once again.
It is time to get ready to go back to school.

Parents are getting ready to enroll their kids.
Students await New Schedules, Book Pick-up, and Orientation.

In schools, classrooms are getting cleaned up, chalk is being dusted off from blackboards, whiteboards are being cleaned from the accidental use of a permanent marker, screens and monitors are wiped down along with desks, chairs, and tables.

It is the last chance to check the air conditioning that will keep things cool these last few days of Summer as students return to a new year of learning.

Teachers are preparing posters, bulletin boards, cubbie holes, baskets, and welcome back packages.
Lesson plans are in the process of  being developed, and finalized, so they can cover the many strands of standards students must learn.
Plans from previous years, whether they succeeded or failed, are updated and/or reassessed.
Trainings are taking place on topics from School Site Action Plans to new technologies that have been adopted for the classroom.

In this time when We (Students, Parents, Teachers, Principals, Administrators, Support Staff, Education Advocates) get ready to go Back to School let's make sure that we:

-Make Time to Prepare.

-Gather the Necessary Resources.

-Examine and Explore each Site.

-Start with a Positive Attitude.

-Believe in Succeess.



Have a Wonderful 2018-19 School Year!



Manuel R. CortezRodas - Educator

Copyright 2018.  MRCR Educational Consulting Firm.  All Rights Reserved.

August 2017

Students get ready to head back to school.

Gone are June and July.

August now leads to a brand new school year.

Welcome back to the start of the 2017-18 school year!!!

To make things even more exciting, students will be fortunate enough to start school with a Solar Eclipse!

Right of the bat, educators are presented with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to start the school year.  A chance to reach across cultures and traditions from the beginnings of human civilization, and study every strand in STEAM, through this cosmic phenomena.

A way to reach out to the parents and family friends of students for involvement and participation in the educational process for this year.

California also awaits the release to the public of the 2017 CAASPP results.  The state's third year assessment should provide educators a clearer, more accurate view, of student progress and performance, as schools continue to work on preparing a leading workforce for the 21st century and beyond.

I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone: Students, Teachers, Parents, Principals, Support Staff, and all who make education a priority, an amazing and wonderful 2017-18 school year!

Manuel R. CortezRodas - Educator

Copyright 2017.  MRCR Educational Consulting Firm.  All Rights Reserved.

Preparing to go #BacktoSchool

How to  Prepare to go Back to School:

What is needed to Prepare to go Back to School?  As I reflect on what I would need to go back to school, there are four things that come to mind: A map, supplies, transportation, and motivation.  Having access to these four elements would prepare me to go back to school, and they could be helpful to others who are also preparing to go back to school.

1) Map

Where is my classroom located? How about the gym? the cafeteria? Without a map it could be challenging to find the location of areas of importance in school.  Even if we are familiar with the school grounds, there may be a place that is new or unknown to us.  As we take the time to get to know the school grounds, and ask for directions when we don't know where we are going, we will feel more familiar with, and more comfortable in, our schools.

2) Supplies

Every journey requires the necessary supplies to successfully complete the trip, in education there are necessary supplies that are needed.  From the most basic of needs (paper and pencil) to the latest and greatest (Tablet, Phone) supplies for school play an important role in achieving success.  Gathering the necessary supplies helps prepare to go back to school.


3) Transportation

How does one get to school, and once there, how does one get some place else?  Some can walk to school by themselves or with a buddy, others need to arrange complex weekly carpools.  You may have a ride to your after school activities, but eventually have to make your way back home.  With careful planning, some patience, and sense of security, it is possible to arrange adequate transportation to go back to school.

4) Motivation

"I don't wanna go to school..." "I don't want to go to that class."  We hear it.  We think it.  We say it.  We feel it.  Yet we gain the needed motivation to go back to school.  After all, we already have the transportation to get there, the necessary supplies to succeed, and a map to guide us through our educational journey.



Manuel R. CortezRodas - Chief Educator/Founder

Copyright 2015.  MRCR Educational Consulting Firm.  All Rights Reserved.

August 2015

We are going to go back to school.
Soon, in the next few weeks and days ahead,
educators, teachers, students, parents, administrators,
and all personnel who has a task,
a responsibility,
a commitment to education,
prepares to go back to school.

As educators we are leaders to those who want to learn.
We welcome and share with them
the knowledge we've gained,
the skills we've developed,
and we assess their learning
to ensure its value.

Teachers plan ahead the lessons for the year.
Units are broken down and spread across the months.
Old assignments are renovated,
and new ideas are in the process of being developed.
Classrooms will soon be decorated
and supplies will be restocked.

Students and their parents make preparations at home.
Backpacks, notebooks, pens and pencils,
are on many shopping lists,
and the latest ed-tech gadgets as well.
a special section is reserved for school work,
and to study, to read, to write.

Administrators visualize the school year as a whole
and fill the weeks with training, seminars, 
professional development, and the like.
New implementations are carefully reviewed.
Roadmaps are established, redesigned, or upgraded.

It is time to go back to school,
and begin the 2015-16 school year.



Manuel R. CortezRodas-Chief Educator/Founder

Copyright 2015.  MRCR Educational Consulting Firm.  All Rights Reserved.