DKG California Support Team for Emerging Professionals

 Books have always been a central part of my life. I experienced so much through books as a child and as a young adult. I learned of many places in the world through books, feeling as though I had experienced them in real life. When I finally did get to experience them, I felt a familiarity. Books also helped me to focus on my topics of curiosity. How others lived at the turn of the century, how religions grew in society, who the Maori are, which countries speak French, I found all the answers in books. As educators, we must be careful of the books we choose to ban. There may be a life inspiring or life changing event for your students in a certain book. We never know until the magic happens. Think of your favorite book. Think how it made you feel. Think about how it made you THINK! -Gloria Brown Brooks For more information about banned books, please visit the ALA website at: https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks

School is starting in the next few weeks in California. There are many undertakings at the present time to address class size, curriculum coverage and teacher availability.  Prior to the Covid-19 Pandemic, California began losing teachers at a higher rate than in previous years. At the present time fifty percent of teachers are leaving the profession within the first five years. There is also another statistic that is equally alarming. There were 100,000 less students enrolled in the public school system in our state last year. Where are these students? How can we return them to the educational system? If they were in High School, how do we graduate those that have not been in school? What effects does this have on the Community College and the four year Colleges? The shortage of teachers + the shortage of students does not = quality educational experience. What happens if one third of the missing students show up? Will we have the ability to educate them given the teacher statisti...

 Please read and enjoy this reflection on the DKG International 2022 Convention by our STEP chair Gloria Brown Brooks: I was honored to be a greeter on the first day of our Delta Kappa Gamma (DKG) 2022 convention. Although tired from their travels the majority of the participants had warm greetings and friendly hellos. One particularly enthusiastic greeting was “Alpha Alpha in the house!” The greetings carried throughout the lobby, as many sisters had not seen each other in a few years due to Covid-19. As soon as my volunteer time in the lobby was done, I went to a “NEWBEE” meeting. The NEWBEEs were first time International convention attendees. There were approximately 200 of us in attendance. There was also a room set aside for us to ask questions. My greeting partner was also a NEWBEE and we go to see each other again. I also met many new sisters in that room. I particularly enjoyed the Parliamentary procedures and the interactions and different points of view different states. ...

 Over 1 million people in America have passed in the last few years from Sars Covid-19 and or complications from the disease. We are a nation in grief.  Not just grief from the Covid situation, but many of us are grieving the changes that occurred in our lives during that time. Not being able to see our loved ones or going about our daily habits, such as going to the supermarket or going to work and or to worship.  Educators across our country had an extremely challenging time with the readjustments to their jobs. Some areas of the country chose to have no school at all. In California we had to instantly adjust to online learning. This was a hard problem for many, causing another grievous situation.  Babysitting while teaching, cooking while teaching, learning all the latest programs and how to deliver the curriculum caused grief for many others as well.  Families suffered as well. I will save that for another time.  Covid is not gone. We are still working ...

     The STEP Committee would like to celebrate two of our local female heroes in education, including one of our own DKG California members. Krystal Lomanto, Superintendent of San Benito County Schools Superintendent Lomanto is in her 33rd year in education. Krystal started her career as a high school science teacher, coach, class advisor and a teacher on special assignment.  Krystal was offered an Assistant Principal position in 2004 at San Benito High School District that served close to 2,900 students. She was in the Assistant Principal position for four years. During this time, she was also a North County Joint Union School District board member for six years and a volunteer coach in community.  Krystal moved into the principal position at San Benito High School in 2007. She led the site during the last recession helping to close the achievement gap for English Learners and Latinx students. Krystal was a champion for equity, access and inclusion for all stu...

                                   I never thought that I would start writing with a definition from Wikipedia. I was so happy that the definition shown there included the word feminist. In my generational growth, the “Glass Ceiling” was spoken of quite often in magazine articles, women’s magazines in particular and even movies. A glass ceiling is a metaphor used to represent an invisible barrier that prevents a given demographic from rising beyond a certain level in a hierarchy. The metaphor was first coined by feminists in reference to barriers in the careers of high-achieving women.  Wikipedia The two women we will read about next, had dreams, goals, families and the drive to shatter the                “ Glass Ceiling” Indra Nooyi,  When I first read about Mrs. Nooyi I was quite moved. I personally have not agreed with many of her outspoken state...

                       This Month brings us to the Intersection of two very important months. The completion of “Black History Month and the start of “Women’s History Month. I will post, in regards to two very important, women who have helped shape our history. Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer stood against all injustices in the United States. As an uneducated woman from the American South, she chose to speak out! This was a time that “A COLORED should be seen, BUT not heard”. Mrs. Hamer used her voice to address the injustices and plights of rural Blacks in Mississippi. She spoke about Voting rights, Food rights, and the right to a Quality Education. On Education and Black Power, she stated “What we mean by Black Power, is we mean to have not only Black political power, but Black economic power, to have a voice in the educational system that our kids will not only know the Black kids, but the White kids should know the contributions made...