Arab American Heritage Month Curriculum & Instruction

CCCOE's Curriculum & Instruction team develops instructional materials to support those monthly resolutions. The materials are intended to provide resources and prompt discussions as part of the Social Justice Standards in elementary and secondary grade levels.

DOCUMENTARY FILM AIRING ON CCTV & EDTV THROUGHOUT APRIL

About FROM BAGHDAD TO THE BAY: The film intersects with some of the most important, diverse and relevant topics of our time, from the polarized debate around immigration and the pervasive animosity towards people from the Middle East, to the aftermath of war and contentious torture tactics, to Human & LGBTQ rights. Centered around Ghazwan Alsharif’s powerful personal story, the film evokes conversations about how these issues intersect and urges us to reflect on these issues globally.



The film is not only socially relevant but also a spectacular emotional roller coaster ride. It is a raw and deeply personal look at one man's harrowing and heartfelt journey to be true to himself amidst extreme adversity and a true embodiment of the "American Dream." Ghazwan illustrates the hope and spirit that the United States still inspires - in spite of the current state of affairs portrayed in the mainstream media.

The program “From Baghdad to the Bay” will air the following dates and times on CCTV. CCTV is available to watch on Comcast Cable 27, ATT/U-Verse 99, and Astound 32 & 1027 .

The program “From Baghdad to the Bay” will air the following dates and times on edTV. edTV is available to watch on Comcast Channel 32, West County on Comcast Channel 24, and AT&T U-Verse on Channel 99.

PARENT EDUCATION NIGHT - PLEASE SHARE WITH FAMILIES

MEDI-CAL INFORMATION - PLEASE SHARE WITH FAMILIES

English Learner Professional Development Opportunities

This interactive virtual series builds the capacity of LEAs in developing a data culture, systems, and processes that are aligned to all four principles of this critical and aspirational policy. For District and School site leaders, teacher leaders and COE staff.

4/12;

9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Participants will explore tools and resources from the CA Practitioners’ Guide for Educating ELs with Disabilities designed to provide guidance on:

Pre-referral Interventions, Assessment and the Referral Process

Access, Equity & Instructional Practices, Reclassification from EL Status.

4/18;

3:15 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.

Classroom practices, teaching and learning, and specific instructional strategies. Guided by Principle #2, in modules 3 and 4, and continue to develop in the area of integrated and designated ELD, immersion in the ELD standards, and understanding integration of language, and learning high-leverage strategies that build comprehension, support active engagement, and focus on all four domains of language.

4/20 at 3:15 a.m. - 5:15 p.m.;

5/4 Community of Practice

at 3:15 p.m. -4:30 p.m.

This Trainer of Trainers has been specifically designed to support secondary site administrators, TOSAs, and coaches with limited time to support educators’ knowledge and implementation of Integrated and Designated ELD. Participants will become acquainted with the guidance, framework, and research about high-impact instructional strategies that build comprehension, active engagement, and language in all four domains, as well as how the ELD standards support student development in content areas. 

5/18 at 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

or

5/23 at 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

More Professional Development Opportunities

CPIN – California Preschool Instructional Network  

CPIN invites you to attend our regional professional development sessions for PK/TK teachers, IAs, home based providers and others in the early learning field. Additional Spanish Sessions have been added! See a full list of our sessions, at this link. Otherwise, see below for April opportunities. 

Language and Literacy Series  

Audience: PK and TK teachers, assistants, administrators, coaches, family day care providers and other early learning professionals 

Dates/Times: April 15, 29, 29 and May 3, 2023 from 8:45 -11:15 a.m. on April 15 and 29 (Saturday mornings) and from 5:45 p.m.- 8:15 p.m. on April 19 and May 3.   

Location: Virtual 

Cost: Free 

Register

Registration closes April 7, 2023 

Nuggets at Nighttime – Visual and Performing Arts Overview with a CoP 

Audience: PK and TK teachers, assistants, administrators, coaches, family day care providers and other early learning professionals 

Dates/Times: April 18, 25 and May 2, 9, 2023 from 5:45 p.m. - 8:15 p.m. 

Location: Virtual 

Cost: Free 

Register

Registration closes April 11, 2023 

SPANISH Language and Literacy: Conversations 

Audience: PK and TK teachers, assistants, administrators, coaches, family day care providers and other early learning professionals 

Date: April 27, 2023 from 5:45 p.m. - 8:15 p.m. 

Location: Virtual 

Cost: Free 

Register

Registration closes April 19, 2023 

Create CA Arts and Culture Summit 

Enjoy speakers, workshops, and tours at the Arts and Culture Summit to support your arts programs. 

Audience: K-12 Educators and Administrators 

Date: April 17 and 18, 2023 

Location: The Sofia Theater, Sacramento 

Cost: $200 

Register

Embracing Community: Understand and Valuing Community-based Educational Spaces to Holistically Support Youth of Color 

Drawing on decades of research with community-based youth workers engaging Youth of Color, this talk will offer educators a broader understanding of community-based spaces and youth work practice while offering tangible tools for bridging schools and community-based spaces. As the sociopolitical context of community-based education creates tensions within the field, this talk isn’t a romanticization of these spaces but rather an effort to reimagine how we think about community and young people’s educational futures. 

Audience: District and School site leaders and teachers 

Dates: April 20, 2023; 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. 

Cost: Free 

Register

Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) Training

YMHFA teaches participants to identify, understand, and respond to youth, ages 6-18, who may experiencing emotional distress, mental illness or a substance use issue. This training gives adults the skills they need to reach out and provide initial support and help connect them with appropriate and timely care.

Training Prerequisites: Participants must complete 2 hours of self-paced online instruction prior to the live virtual instructor-led training.

Audience: Adults who work or interact with youth ages 6-18 years old

Date/Time: April 25, 2023; 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Cost: Free

Register

Early Care and Education Trainings 

Quality Matters Contra Costa invites you to participate in our upcoming professional development series: CLASS Strategies Series, presented by Teachstone. Please note that in order to be credited PD hours, it is a requirement to stay the full duration of each registered training. 

About the Trainings 

Positive Peer Interactions during Play 

Date/Time: April 26; 12:30 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.

Presented by Mary Margaret Gardiner 

Free Play is a perfect time to let children set the pace or direction of the interaction or experience. This session stresses the power of choice and flexibility for engaging in meaningful interactions with toddlers. 

Register

Creating Clear Behavioral Expectations 

Date/Time: May 6; 8:30 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.

Presented by Mary Margaret Gardiner 

One of the simplest yet most important elements of effective classroom management is to set clear expectations. This session gives tips and tactics for establishing behavioral expectations for your students. 

Register

Redirecting and Reframing Misbehavior 

Date/Time: May 13; 8:30 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. 

Presented by TBD 

We’ve all had students who push limits, struggle to manage their feelings, or constantly demand attention. This session provides a variety of tools and strategies for proactive responses, misbehavior prevention, and modeling desired behaviors. 

Register

Joyful Math & Science, Fostering Belonging Collaboration with CRS (Community Resources for Science)  

CRS invites TK-5th grade teachers from across all East Bay districts to learn and co-create grade-level specific teaching resources (including sample lessons, teaching strategies, and tools) for integrating math and science in joyful learning experiences that foster student engagement, interest, connections to their daily lives and which cultivate a sense of belonging in STEM. 

Audience: TK-5 Educators  

Date: Various dates in June 2023 - 1 day in person, 2 days virtual, with support in the fall 

Location: CRS, Berkeley 

Cost: Free, Teachers will receive a $500 stipend plus materials 

Register

CCLA Online Courses for Learning Acceleration 

The California Collaborative for Learning Acceleration (CCLA) offers access to free self-paced courses that provide evidence-based strategies to boost learning acceleration in the classroom.   

Available Online Courses: 

Learning Acceleration Introduction Course: This course provides an understanding of what learning acceleration is and why we need it. It introduces the five components of CCLA: mastery of priority content, evidence-based strategies, Universal Design for Learning, culturally sustaining pedagogy, and social-emotional learning practices. 

Online Content Courses: These courses support evidence-based strategies to accelerate learning in math, literacy, and language development. 

Audience: All TK – 12 educators 

Cost: FREE 

Website & Online Course Access 

Summer of CS 

Seasons of CS is funded by the California Department of Education and the Educator Workforce Investment Grant (EWIG). The Educator Workforce Investment Grant (EWIG) in Computer Science was awarded to UCLA and its CSforCA coalition, along with the CDE Foundation and Sacramento County Office of Education to implement Seasons of CS professional learning program across California's Statewide System of Support. Seasons of CS is a research-backed professional learning model for K-12 educators, paraprofessionals, administrators, and counselors who are interested in bringing computer science to their students. The goal of this program is to expand systematic capacity for equitable, scalable, and sustainable computer science education in California. No computer science experience is necessary. Review our FAQ, check out this overview slide deck, view the Office Hours zoom recording, or contact us at seasonsofcs@cdefoundation.org. 

Audience: All TK-12 Educators 

Date: June/July 2023  

Cost: Free 

Website

Registration

New Video Campaign 

The Library recently launched a new video campaign. A series of videos highlighting the many free resources available at the library are currently airing on cable TV, as well as on many streaming platforms you may use on your Smart TV, desktop, and mobile devices. Keep an eye out for them and let us know what you think. The videos, available in English and Spanish, are also available on our YouTube channel, @theccclib.

Declaration of Democracy

The Contra Costa County Library has signed on to the Urban Libraries Council’s Declaration of Democracy, committing to policies and actions that preserve and protect democracy in our communities. Public libraries are critical cornerstones of democracy, and democracy’s future is diminished when people’s access to power, information, a diversity of voices, and the ability to influence policy are restricted. The battle to protect democracy is a global struggle playing out at the local level and libraries have landed on the front lines. Democracy can only thrive with strong community-level support and engagement. Contra Costa County has committed support legislation that affirms the freedom to access library materials with diverse points of view and to oppose legislation that seeks to restrict it. Read the full Declaration of Democracy at urbanlibraries.org.

Beloved: A Kindergarten Readiness Day for Families of Black Children

Saturday, April 8, 2:00 p.m. - Hercules Library

Enjoy storytime with local author and educator Phelicia Lang. The afternoon will also include activities you and your child can do together including talking, reading, singing, writing, and playing. The activities help to build early literacy skills that support future school success. Representatives from local school districts will be on hand to help demystify the kindergarten registration process. This event was created with Black children as the intended audience but is open to everyone. It is brought to you in partnership with First 5 Contra Costa and West County First 5 Center, with support from the Friends of the Hercules Library.

Pittsburg Library StoryWalk Celebration!

Saturday, April 15, 1p.m. at Small World Park, Pittsburg

Join award-winning author and illustrator Rafael López in Small World Park for the unveiling of a new storywalk featuring his book “We’ve Got the Whole World in our Hands.” The event will feature music, dance and a chance to meet the author. This is the first storywalk in the city of Pittsburg and the first of three books that will appear in the storywalk between April and October.

More Info

For more information on all Contra Costa County Library programs, resources and events, visit ccclib.org.

Andrew McCarter Memorial Scholarship

Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. was founded in 1914 on the the principles of brotherhood, scholarship, and service. Since 1947, Alpha Nu Sigma chapter of Phi Beta Sigma has served Oakland, CA and the surrounding communities embodying these ideals in all of its activities and programs. In the spirit of these values, Alpha Nu Sigma chapter in collaboration with Bay Area Sigma's, Inc. is awarding a $1,500 scholarship to two eligible male high school seniors.

California Grant Portal

The California State Library has launched a new website that streamlines all available state agency grants for education, small businesses, nonprofits, individuals, tribal governments, and more!

CourAGE Youth Health Coalition Now Accepting Applications for the 2023-2024 School Year!

CourAGE (See Our AGE-Advocacy, Generation, Education) is an incredible group of young people, representing communities across our county. It is a youth-led group and the 30+ members work together to identify and address local tobacco and other substance-related issues. Most recently, members presented to hundreds of their peers at the regional Teens Tackle Tobacco middle and high school conferences at UC Berkeley. Please share the flyer with young people and adult allies who may be interested in more information. Applications are submitted online and the deadline to apply is Friday, April 28, 2023. 

Mental Health Resources

Recent events can be tough on children’s overall mental wellness and make access to resources even more important. Resources to help support children who have experienced these events are available on the California Health and Human Services Children's Mental Health Resource Hub web page. Additional resources for students and staff are available on the CA Safe Schools for All Mental Health: Student and Staff Support web page and on the CDE Mental Health web page.

Free Online Homework Help

The California State Library provides free online tutoring for California K-12 students, available through public libraries. Through HelpNow, live real-time homework assistance is available 24 hours a day by laptop, tablet, or phone from qualified tutors using state curriculum and standards. Live tutors fluent in Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Tagalog are available from 10am to 10p., 7 days a week. Additionally, HelpNow features AI translation allowing tutors and students to communicate in nearly any language.

K–12 Online Content Project Adds PBS Video Collection

California public school students and educators now have access to over 1,200 streaming PBS videos covering topics in science, history, current events, music, and drama. The PBS Video Collection (Fourth Edition) from ProQuest, part of the Clarivate company, is the latest addition to the K–12 Online Content Project, a partnership between the California State Library and the Riverside County Office of Education for school library content and tools. Learn more on the California State Library PBS Video Collection web page, which includes highlights and a full list of video titles. Contact RousleySwank@cde.ca.gov with questions. 

Educational Programming of edTV 

Looking for some additional quality Monday-Friday educational programming at home or in the classroom? Check out the latest edTV broadcasts here.

Programs scheduled include (times are approximate):

• Library Storytime, 8:30 a.m.
• Betty McPeek's Circle Time, 8:45 a.m.
• Number Talk, presented by the Khan Academy and CCCOE , K-5 math lessons in English and Spanish: 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
• Farm to Taste, Mother-daughter culinary arts teachers at Mt. Diablo High School host healthy cooking show: 12:00-12:30 p.m.
• STEM in 30, Emmy-nominated program produced by the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum: 12:30 -1:00 p.m.
• National Arts Gallery, outstanding stories about artists and art movements from around the world: 1:00-2:00 p.m.
• Classic Arts Showcase, performances, visual arts, and films that change every week: Airs most nights, depending on programming, 5:00 p.m.

edTV can be found in most of Contra Costa County on cable channels 32 (Comcast) or 99 (AT&T U-Verse). For info: Daily schedule can be found here.