March 2021

March has marched into the calendar bringing Spring along with a renewed sense of hope as more and more people choose to get vaccinated for COVID-19 that will significantly reduce the number of patients who will end up in the ER or an ICU allowing counties to fall into the lower tiers of red, orange, and eventually yellow.

These are much needed good news as a year ago counties began to enforce stay at home orders, schools and businesses were forced to shutdown, and eventually California made the decision to impose statewide measures.

Now, we are slowly trying to get back to the daily activities we have missed so much over the past year, from siting down at our favorite diner, to seeing old classmates and coworkers whose faces became squares in a grid of online meeting apps.

The challenge is far from over and we must remain cautious and informed as the situation may change given the nature of viruses and their ability to adapt, mutate, and survive, but we are up to the challenge and we will continue to gain knowledge and research new methods that will help us in the end defeat this foe.

Manuel R. CortezRodas - Educator

Copyright 2021.  MRCR Educational Consulting Firm.  All Rights Reserved

Education and COVID in 2021

 As California approaches the 1 year mark of Covid-19 and the following statewide shutdown of the school system it is worth taking a look at what can be done this year in service of all students.

-California's dedicated teachers, administrators, and support staff have exceeded expectations in adapting to distance learning.

-Students and their families have done their best to accommodate to this new method of academic instruction.

-The scientific and medical communities have been at the forefront of research and development creating tests that identify the presence of the virus as well as vaccinations that helps strengthen immunity.

This disease caught the world off guard and spread faster than anyone could have been able to adapt to it.

Over the past year people have done their best to adapt to unforeseeable situations, the instability of society's foundation, and the constant change of orders issued by elected leaders.

Patience has been pushed to the limit.

Discipline has been brushed aside.

Order has been careful balanced chaos.

These is no doubt that there are many challenges ahead, but it is time to begin the transition back to normalcy, and what better way to do so than by opening schools to students and restarting the education process that once was.

Manuel R. CortezRodas - Educator

Copyright 2021.  MRCR Educational Consulting Firm.  All Rights Reserved.

Stay at Home Education

What is Stay at Home Education?

Stay at Home (SAH) Education is an of education method offered by schools as an alternative to on site education due to the government mandated regulations issued to contain and prevent the spread of COVID-19 that were implemented in the Spring of 2020.  Stay at Home Education is based on the concept of instruction being delivered to the student's place of stay, or residence, primarily by way of digital dissemination of information.

Stay at Home Education Regulations

• Stay at Home Education is student based.
• Stay at Home Education is regulated by the school and district implementing it.
• Stay at Home Education must meet State Standards for academic and subject instruction.
• Stay at Home Education requires that students be fully engaged as they would be if instruction were taking place in the classroom with teachers, school support staff, and classmates.
• Stay at Home Education requires that a compromise in principle be reached between the parents/guardians of the students and school leadership with regards to efficiency, security and privacy of such method of education.

Assessment of Stay at Home Education

Stay at Home Education should be assessed utilizing formative assessment in order to ensure education standards are being met or exceeded by all students, collect data on student performance, and allow time to implement preventive measures for students not meeting such standards as required at grade level.

Manuel R. CortezRodas - Educator

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

September 2020

 

September has arrived recognizing the labor that educators do day in and day out regardless of whether it is a school day, holiday, or Labor Day.

This could not be more true as teachers, administrators, and school staff have come together to create the best possible distance learning protocol to serve the students they care so much about.

It has not been the best of circumstances under which to begin a school year, but all stakeholders in education are doing their best to adapt to new rules and regulations.

New challenges emerge almost on a daily basis regarding connectivity, access to technology, privacy, and high quality education that meets or exceeds state standards, all while also addressing the social issues currently taking place.

September also reminds us to acknowledge the contributions made by Latin American / Hispanic communities. Gracias!

Manuel R. CortezRodas - Educator

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

The Education Reset of 2020

EDUCATION IN 2020

2020 has forever changed the way society goes about their daily lives including how to administer education to students who are unable to attend school due to COVID-19.  In the Spring of 2020, as Business Shutdowns and Stay-at-Home orders were being implemented, teachers began to face the new reality of Distance Learning, and how to redesign those amazing lesson plans that were meant to be completed in class, as a group, under the supervision and guidance of the teacher.

As the school year came to a close, there was a sense of hope that things could get better over the Summer, and school would start as it normally would, but that hope began to fade and the realization eventually came that schools would not be able to begin the new school year with the rush of students sharing summer stories, figuring out schedules, and meeting new and old friends in familiar surroundings.  2020 has forced all educators to reassess and reevaluate how instruction can be delivered to all students while maintaining a safe distance and meeting academic standards.

As the new school year began to approach, students, parents, teachers, administrators, and all support staff and personnel waited in uncertainty as the State, Counties, Health Departments, and School Districts debated if schools were to be fully reopened, gradually or partially opened to some students at a time, or to implement complete distance learning.  Each school began to make preparations for all the possible scenarios that they could face to start the school year, and the staff began to make preparations accordingly.

Now that the school year has begun there will no doubt be new challenges that will have to be addressed as they arise in this education reset of 2020.  Issues like: access to technology, cyber-bulling, managing a classroom through a computer screen, privacy in the form of remote video recording and capturing screenshots, live parent involvement during instruction. and many more that have yet to manifest themselves.

This will be one of the most challenging years in education but there is no doubt that if we rely on our dedication to education and our passion of advocating for students and their learning as a strength, while relying on each other for moral and emotional support, we will succeed.

Manuel R. CortezRodas - Educator

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

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.

Class of 2020

Congratulations Class of 2020!!!

You have reached the end of your educational journey.

A journey that has been filled with difficult challenges.

A journey that began in the shadows of a post 9/11 world.

A journey with an unprecedented financial collapse.

A journey with tragedy and loss of innocent lives.

A journey whose path became steeper and more dangerous with every passing moment.

A journey that would make even the most well trained people abandon it...

But not you.

You stay through it to the end.

You stay through it day after day, year after year.

You stay through it by persevering.

By making course corrections while maintaining your heading.

By adapting to new technology and means of communication.

By helping each other out and ensuring no one would be left behind.

Even as you were presented with more unprecedented challenges,

An unknown virus, personal sanitation, stay at home orders, mandated masks,

A death at the hand of those responsible for the protection of the people.

You wore your caps and gowns,

You logged on through your devices,

And you became the newest graduates,

The Class Of 2020.

Congratulations!!!

Manuel R. CortezRodas - Educator

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

May 2020

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Thank You.

For all you do,

We Love You.

Happy Mother's Day!

May has arrived and we take time to acknowledge our mothers.

Thank you for all you do, the many hats you all wear.

Nurturing. Caring.

Protecting. Advocating.

Loving. Supporting.

Specially during these tough times we are going through,

with COVID-19, Distance Learning, a future uncertain.

We turn to you for leadership, guidance, and shelter.

To return faith to the dreams of the class of 2020,

as they face a must difficult task ahead.

Thank you to all the mothers and mother figures.

Whose impact in out lives has made a difference.

Created the ever growing person we continue to become.

Thank You!

Manuel R. CortezRodas - Educator

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

The Spring of COVID-19

"Even the darkest clouds must eventually give way to the sun."

I has been a difficult and challenging time in education.

There was no lesson plan or training that prepared educators to deal with the consequences of a global pandemic such as COVID-19.

No staff development, or professional development, or college class, or credential program could have prepared administrators or teachers for what the state of education is today.

To have to abandon the educational structure so familiar to all.  It's scheduled calendar and class schedule in a school and classroom setting where social interaction is one of the key components of the students growth and development.

It has been indeed a dark time in education.

Nevertheless, educators did what educators do and have always done.

Educators have taken on the distance learning challenge and have manage to continue the education process for students and their parents.  They have elevated their lessons above the dark clouds for students to reach in the safety of their homes.

Educators have done their best to ensure that the class of 2020 is prepared for the challenges that they will face ahead as they continue on with their education and schools prepare for their return.

Thank You, Educators!


Manuel R. CortezRodas - Educator

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

April 2020

The effect of COVID-19 in our daily lives continues.

While there have been many improvements made to stop the spread of this deadly virus, there is much work that remains to be done until it is fully under control.
Treatment continues to be limited, so we are left with preventive measures such as: Stay at Home, Social Distancing, and Face masks.

Education, however, continues through these difficult times, as it has and will continue to be.

The Parent-Teacher dynamic has become stronger during this time as both collaborate to implement distance learning.

The role of the Para-educator is now being adapted to include online collaboration and support of students and staff.

As preparations get underway to close the 2019-2020 academic school year, and prepare for Summer school and next year, take time to reflect and acknowledge on the newly discovered relationship bonds that will continue to make education the supporting pillar of society.


Manuel R. CortezRodas - Educator

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

Distance Learning Guide

Schools are now facing the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic will not be a minor set back of a few weeks of learning lost, but rather a long term displacement of education.

Districts are doing the best they can, with the resources available, to take on the unprecedented task of mobilizing in classroom daily instruction into online webinars, home packages, and conference calls.

Gone is the daily social interaction of students and school staff that was so familiar to us for so many years...getting to school by the start of class, talking or playing before getting started, doing group work or silent reading, meeting with a reading buddy, going to the lunchroom to supply nutrients and more playing games in the school yard, lining up for PE or media center, access to supplies and materials for school work... all that is now gone, or to be fair, on hold until further notice.

Parents are now the principal and teacher to their own student-child.  Classrooms are now in a home's living room, dining room, or bedroom.  Classmates are now a profile picture on the sidebar of an online chat.

To help schools, teachers, parents and students adjust to this new way or distance learning, MRCR Education has designed a "Distance Learning Guide" that is available to all.  We hope that it provides you with some needed support as we continue to adjust to the challenges during this time of need.

Stay healthy.


Manuel R. CortezRodas - Educator

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

March 2020

Dear Educators,

These are difficult times.

No classroom, school, or district could have foreseen the unprecedented events that have taken place due to the Corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic that has affected the entire world.

Even as educators improvise and come up with creative and inventive ways to deliver education remotely to students, the conditions keep changing daily, even hourly, as new information becomes available and elected officials enact new orders.

This much is clear: Education must go on.

How schools proceed to serve students and their families will continue to be debated in the days and weeks to come, but distance learning is now going to be a primary method of service.  So what does this mean and how does it look? Is it a live webcam broadcasting from our homes during school hours? Uploaded lessons for students to download and complete at home? Individual emails to students? Does each student have the technology to receive this type of instructions? Do educators?

There is no doubt that there are many questions and challenges that educators must face during this time of education and social interruption, but by maintaining communication channels open with faculty, administrators, departments, para-educators, office staff, etc. we will be able to do that which we have always done...

Provide the best education for students while supporting them in their time of need.

Thank You.

Sincerely, 


Manuel R. CortezRodas - Educator

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