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  DIVERSITY IN OUR SCHOOLS   

 

In This Issue:
A Positive Development Here To Stay
Study Tip: Mapping Out Your Evening
Coach of the Month: James Karz
Quick Links

 

Academic Success Partner of the Month

 

This month's Success Partner, Educational Therapist Shawn Simon, works one-to-one with children who struggle in school due to one or more learning disabilities. Her areas of expertise include reading, writing, math, study skills, processing deficits and attentional/focus issues. She works closely with the teachers, other professionals and with the families of the children she teaches. She believes strongly in building self-esteem and in empowering children. Shawn obtained her Master's Degree in Special Education from California State University, Northridge.

For more info email Shawn, call 805-777-8182 or visit her website.

Looking for a Student Community Service Opportunity?

  
Meet Rickey Smith, social entrepreneur and owner of the sustainable food business Urban Green. He's started a community education venture called the Urban Green Kids Row program, creating opportunities for kids from diverse backgrounds to participate in many activities related to food sustainability, from planting seeds  to learning about how organic food is grown and harvested. For more info on a terrific community service and volunteering opportunity for kids, email Rickey, visit the website at www.urbangreenla.com

or call (800) 200 3320. 

Check out Our  YouTube Video!

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Academic Success is very proud of the two-minute video we recently produced to give you a feel for who we are, our philosophy and the way we approach our work
How Academic Success Can Support You
At Academic Success we take great pride in finding the right coach to support the unique needs of each student we help.  Please check out the areas where we work on our  web site and let us know how we can support you.

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Looking for a College Counselor or Ed Therapist?
We work and partner with excellent Educational Therapists and College Counselors throughout the L.A. area.  Give us a call and we can recommend the right fit for your child.

310-823-4398

Greetings!

 

With our nation (and Canada) celebrating Black History
Month
, we at Academic Success thought it was the perfect moment to focus on the many aspects of cultural diversity in our educational landscape.

 

While the personal and social benefits that come from exposure to those with a different cultural heritage may be obvious, it is the educational advantages that can be gained from a greater ethnic mix in our schools that can sometimes be overlooked. 

 

This month we'll explore the manifold ways in which the experiences of students of all backgrounds and ethnicities, when working together, have become richer and more productive.

 

At Academic Success, we are committed to an educational system where all voices and perspectives are promoted to contribute to our kids' development. 

 

Please call with any questions at (310) 823 4398 or

 

Find us on Facebook 

 

All the best,

 

Jamie

 

"Diversity has been written into the DNA of American life; any institution that lacks a rainbow array has come to seem diminished, if not diseased."                                 - Joe Klein

Education News

      A Positive Development, Here To Stay

Across the country, cultural diversity in our schools is becoming the norm, with minority students expected to make up the majority in our classrooms by the end of this century. This edifying piece illustrates how schools can help their students to flourish in an increasingly multicultural democracy.

 

Diversity or Quality : A False Choice 

 

Although the numbers show that all schools are becoming more ethnically diverse, the perception remains in some quarters that parents may be sacrificing the quality of their child's education by sending them to a more diverse school. This international leader in the promotion of diversity in schools confronts the question head on. 

 

  Running the Numbers  

 

The latest statistics show that non-white enrollment is way up, not only in typically multicultural towns and cities, but across the spectrum. This New York Times study tells the story.

         
           Pockets of Resistance Still Exist

Not all communities and/or school boards are convinced that diverse student bodies are a positive for their kids. The recent effort at 'resegregation' by a Southern school board is a reminder that parents, educators and students must continue to fight for equal access to quality education for all.

 

Teachers Hold The Key   

 

No matter rich in diversity a school may be, ultimately it will be up to individual teachers to make the most of the opportunities afforded by a culturally varied student body. This education author provides an insightful perspective on how teachers can help students to flourish in the modern classroom.

Study Tips

   Spending Evening Hours Wisely      

   

As any romantic knows, February is the month of

Valentine's Day, and while the joys of young romance may be alluring, they can also be an enormous distraction for teenagers trying to succeed in their academic endeavours. 

A major problem for our students in this digital age is the constant requests for interaction that can flow in through texts, calls and emails. While a student may begin their evening with every intention of studying hard, they can easily lose their way for fear of ignoring or neglecting relationships they care about.

A simple yet powerful way to solve this problem is for students to map out their evening time, allocating periods of time for study before taking scheduled breaks during which they can connect with their friends or boyfriend/girlfriend. This will hopefully allow the student to turn off their phone during study time, knowing that friend time will come at a certain point. 

A student could create a schedule, studying in chunks of time, maybe starting small and building up: 1 hour on, 15 mins off to begin with, as an example, committing to ending all outside contact when their 15 minutes are up.

Clarifying how we intend to spend our time and appropriately prioritizing tasks is a wonderfully effective habit to begin early.

Coach Profile

  Meet James Karz, 
 Coach Profile of the Month
 
The focus of our Coach Profile this month, James Karz, has taken an interesting route to becoming a chemistry, science & physics tutor to our students. James originally graduated from St John's University with a degree in communication arts, before realizing that his passion lay in biochemistry, prompting a return to Loyola Marymount to obtain his Bachelor's degree in the subject, with a view to eventually attending medical school. 
James starting his tutoring career at LMU a few years back. He has an unabashed love of all things science, taking great pleasure in encouraging and awakening the fascination for the subject in his students. When not tutoring James loves to continue learning, is an avid biker and fancies himself in the kitchen.
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We consider it a privilege and an honor to support students and their families throughout the Los Angeles area.  Please call us at any time; we welcome your thoughts and input.  We are available at 310-823-4398.

Sincerely,
 
Jamie Altshule
Academic Success, Inc.