Addressing Conditions of Children

Keeping kids in school is the key to helping them prosper. That's one of the conclusions suggested by the annual Community Forum on the Condition of Children in Orange County, held Nov. 17 on campus. 

The forum, at which the annual Report on the Conditions of Children in Orange County was discussed, focused on keeping kids interested in and staying in school. 

Caption: Ted Smith, chairman and CEO of the MIND Research Institute delivered the keynote address. Photo by Karen TapiaDownload Photo

Ted Smith, chairman and CEO of the MIND Research Institute, talked about the technology-based math programs which the Institute has implemented in schools nationwide, with dramatic improvements in test scores as a consequence. The MIND Research Institute is a non-profit organization conducting basic neuroscientific, mathematics and education research to improve math education and advance scientific understanding. 

Smith explained that the programs, which feature math games with increasing levels of difficulty, were created after decades of breakthrough neuroscience and education research to engage students' spatial temporal reasoning abilities to explain, understand and solve multi-step problems. 

"The games are intuitive," Smith said, and teachers can keep track of their students' progress as part of the program. 

Smith said that 270,000 students in 1,000 schools in 20 states have taken part in the lessons and have improved their math skills. At Madison Elementary School in Santa Ana, for example, he said, only 25 percent of the pupils, most from low-income families, were proficient in math before they started MIND's math program. In 2009, after completing two years in the program, proficiency had climbed to 82 percent. 

"So, it can be done," Smith said, adding that funding is needed to develop and implement new technologically-advanced programs for schools to use now and in the future. 

Technology partnerships with businesses and other innovative programs aimed at keeping kids in school, preparing for college and out of prison are key to future success, said Sharon Barlow, owner of the Santa Ana-based Sharon & Sons Floor to Ceiling, Al De Grassi, vice president of Plaza Bank in Irvine, and Alicia Berhow, director of Orange County Business Council's Workforce Development. 

Barlow, De Grassi and Berhow said businesses are willing to partner with schools and should be tapped to contribute. 

Barlow joined the Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce three years ago and got involved in its High School Inc. Academies, learning academies that prepare Santa Ana high school students for careers in Orange County’s top growth industries — automotive/transportation, culinary arts, engineering/construction, global business, health care, manufacturing and new media. 

"Valley High School in Santa Ana has the largest dropout rate and teen pregnancy rate in the county," Barlow said. "These academies, with the help of business partners, help students identify career interests." 

Students feel valued when they see members of the business community show interest in their education, and that propels them to desire a college degree and a good career. 

Talitha James, a Cal State Fullerton Guardian Scholar and human services major, shared her story about growing up in foster homes and her journey to college.

Caption: Talitha James, a Cal State Fullerton Guardian Scholar and human services major, talked about her experiences as a foster child. Photo by Karen TapiaDownload Photo

"I would cry myself to sleep and had no dreams of college or anything like that," she said. James credited a social worker, an aunt and a teacher for encouraging her, telling her she was smart and giving her words of affirmation. 

Now completing her senior year with dreams of becoming a social worker, James said, "I couldn't have done it alone." 

James "is a shining star and excellent role model,” said Michael L. Riley, director of Orange County Social Services Agency's Children and Family Services. 

"You can't make it without someone helping and supporting and mentoring you," he said. "That's why we're all here. What we want to do with this Conditions of Children Report is look at the whole child so we can help." 

Indeed, said Michelle Berelowitz, director of the university’s Center for Community Collaboration. The center and the Orangewood Children’s Foundation produced the 16th annual report, which is sponsored by the county of Orange and the Children and Families Commission of Orange County. 

The 204-page report, which is available online, is filled with statistics on the health, economic status, safety and education of Orange County’s youth. It is used by agencies throughout the county to help determine what can be done to improve children’s lives, Berelowitz said. She presented a PowerPoint summary on the report. To obtain a copy of the free book, call the Center for Community Collaboration at 657-278-5681.

Caption: Michael M. Ruane, executive director of the Children and Families Commission of Orange County, moderates a panel of speakers from private business — Alicia Berhow, of the Orange County Business Council, Al De Grassi, of Plaza Bank, and Sharon Barlow, owner of Sharon & Sons Floor to Ceiling — during the 9th Annual Community Forum on the Conditions of Children in Orange County. Photo by Karen TapiaDownload Photo

Nov. 18, 2010