Tag: schools

For fourth-grader Leah Rainey, the school day now begins with what her teacher calls an “emotional check-in.” “It’s great to see you. How are you feeling?” chirps a cheery voice on her laptop screen. It asks her to click an emoji matching her state of mind: Happy. Sad. Worried. Angry. Frustrated. Calm. Silly. Tired.

Some school systems around the U.S. extended their holiday break Monday or switched back to online instruction because of the explosion in COVID-19 cases, while others pressed ahead with in-person classes amid a seemingly growing sense that Americans will have to learn to co-exist with the virus.

Schools with students who have higher levels of substance use and depressed feelings have a higher prevalence of school discipline and school-based police contact, according to a study by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health researchers.

State legislators know nothing about Critical Race Theory (CRT). Descended from Critical Theory (CT) created by the Marxist German Frankfurt School, CRT is the latest effort to divide Americans by race and create a hierarchy of victimhood to use in the war against America’s history and our free-market economy, with the goal of turning the United States into a Marxist state.

Fulfilling its mission to “support public education in our communities,” the State California Retired Teachers Association awarded 40 $100 teacher grants to California public school teachers – including two local educators – randomly selected from over 40,000 applicants in their recent October drawing. Amanda Weden, a fifth-grade teacher at Taawila Elementary School in Menifee, and Tahquitz High School Special Education teacher, Odalmy Cecala, were announced as grant recipients. As an added bonus, both teachers also received a matching $100 from CalRTA Division 33, for a total of $200 each to use in their classrooms. Weden plans to use the $200 to buy supplemental materials to help her students with hands-on classroom experiences. Ms. Cecala says the $200 will go a long way in purchasing sensory equipment for her many Special Education students. The next CalRTA statewide teacher grant drawing will be held in March, with online entry forms available between February 16, 2022 and March 9, 2022. To access the entry form, go to www.calrta.org/teacher-grants or check out CalRTA’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/CalRTA.