Meet the Team Leaders: Allison Hunter

Allison Hunter, CalSERVES Team Leader at RL Stevens

My name is Allison Hunter and I’m 23 years old. I was raised in Petaluma by my mother and father and have always loved the country life. I speak four languages and have a deep passion for travel, culture, and of course, teaching! I attended UC Santa Cruz where I received my bachelors in American History with a focus on Latin America. While in Santa Cruz I was also the lead teacher at Little Legends Preschool. After finishing school I moved back up to Sonoma County and started looking for a new job. After some failed searching my sister told me that some people from a place called CalSERVES came to her school at Sonoma State to talk about what the program and she thought, “Hey, my sister would love that!” After a bit of my own research I had to agree with her and I applied right away! I signed up as a literacy tutor but in the interview I was asked if I’d be interested in being the team leader and, of course, I was. I’ve always had leadership qualities and the fact that I get to exercise that leader part of me while also helping the kids is something that I’m enjoying thoroughly.

I hope that during my time here at Robert L. Stevens Elementary I can learn to be someone who has the ability to help both the tutors and tutees become everything they want to be. That may seem like a vague statement, but what I mean is that I want to be able to help my tutors not only hone their teaching skills but gain a life enriching experience while helping the children at my school gain the tools they need to be academically successful as well. For myself, I know this experience will give me the building blocks I need to shape a purposeful life for myself both professionally and personally. I’ve been very fortunate to have been teamed up with a fantastic group of AmeriCorps members and classroom leaders.

Everyone I’ve been working with is so driven and just as motivated as I am about helping children succeed in their scholastic endeavors. A lot of the people I’m working with are returners who worked for this program before and they have helped me feel right at home. Their prior knowledge of the students and the way things work here has been helpful in more ways than I could say. My site supervisor is a gem; she has been on site for years and knows all the ins and outs of this place. I also have come to build very pleasant relationships with the teachers on campus here. All in all, I’ve come to love this school – the kids, the teachers, my coworkers – everyone has contributed to make this a great experience.

After my service in CalSERVES I plan to leave the country to teach English abroad. I’m not sure where yet, but I know that I will be applying the skills I’ve learned at CalSERVES when teaching abroad next year (and for the rest of my life). I cannot sign off without giving some advice to anyone who is interested in being a team leader: there is never a dull moment and sometimes there’s more to do than one person can handle, but this experience is something that I would never want to take back. I’ve already learned so much about myself and how to interact with other people, and children. Every day is different and new, and the kids make your day never devoid of excitement. I wouldn’t change a thing!

By: Allison Hunter, AmeriCorps Team Leader, Robert L. Stevens Elementary

Meet the Team Leaders: Lauren Loeffler

Lauren Loeffler, CalSERVES Team Leader at Wright Charter School

Having first joined the CalSERVES family last year as a V.I.P, Lauren Loeffler is now the Team Leader at Wright Charter School. Her belief that that every person, whether they are tall, small, young, or old, deserves a chance to learn and have access to the proper tools that will enable that learning, is what first led Lauren to apply at CalSERVES and is what keeps her involved in the program.

After graduating from University of Minnesota, Duluth and suffering from what she calls an early quarter-life crisis, Lauren went to live in Florence, Italy where she worked as a travel guide for a travel company. While she enjoyed the job and loved traveling and experiencing the world, she knew something was missing in her life; she wanted to fill her time and put her energy into something more substantial and worthwhile. This desire and her interest in the education field led her to the CalSERVES program.

Lauren initially joined CalSERVES because the field of education not only interested her but concerned her as well. That is, she was, and still is, worried that due to budget cuts and other reasons, the United States has seen a decline in the quality of its education. Dedicated teachers are working hard to bridge the gaps and give children the education they deserve and need. However, there needs to be more resources and people willing to commit themselves to improving schools and learning for kids to thrive. Lauren, during her time at CalSERVES, wants to gain further experience so that she may continue working with those striving to improve the academic lives of America's students.

As a Team Leader, Lauren hopes to encourage independence by giving her students the tools they need to succeed. Despite how much she cares for the kids, Lauren doesn't want them to need the scholars or classroom leaders; she would rather see them do able to do everything on their own and help others in a similar situation. Additionally, Lauren loves how the entire team (AmeriCorps members, classroom leaders, and the school staff and administration as well) at Wright is so supportive and eager to help the students succeed. Lauren says she is proud of them and the work they are doing and absolutely loves working with them everyday.

As for advice for future Team Leaders or Service Scholars, Lauren says to get ready for an elaborate juggling act. The job requires you to do, and be, so much more than what is stated on the job description, but it is worth all the stress and tiredness you feel when you know you are helping students learn more and live better lives.

By: Jacquelene Bennett, AmeriCorps Content Leader and Lauren Loeffler, AmeriCorps Team Leader, Wright Charter School

Gratitude, CalTURKEY Style.

In the spirit of the Thanksgiving holidays, the CalSERVES staff wanted to show their appreciation for each school site by acknowledging the hard work and dedication that each site and their team makes for their students and schools on a daily basis.

When you think of the month of November, the first words that might come into mind are: Thanksgiving or maybe even turkey.

Now imagine this: You are sitting around the table on Thanksgiving and it’s that time when each person says what they are thankful for. Got that picture in your mind? Well, now imagine all of the people who work in the CalSERVES office sitting around the table and each one is saying how grateful they are for each school site. It’s almost like a little CalSERVES Thanksgiving!

Due to scheduling conflicts, there wasn’t enough time to actually have a CalSERVES Thanksgiving, but a few office members came up with the next best thing! The staff wanted to show how much they appreciated the school sites by creating a turkey-like figure using the CalSERVES logo and on each of the feathers, the members of the office wrote an appreciation for each of the schools.

Afterwards, a couple of members from the office delivered those CalTURKEYS. As stated on each turkey, we are TRULY thankful to all of the site supervisors, classroom leaders, AmeriCorps members, and volunteers!

The communities served are fortunate because of the time and passion that is put in by every member of each school site. Keep up the great work and keep being the change and positive difference that our communities need to help our students reach their full potential!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

By Sandra Hwang, CalSERVES Regional Leader

Meet the Team Leaders: Rebecca Dunckley

Rebecca Dunckley, CalSERVES Team Leader at Kawana Elementary

A local to the North Bay area and with first-hand experience on how after school programs can change a child’s life, Rebecca Dunckley is the Team Leader at Kawana Elementary School. This is Rebecca’s third year working for the CalSERVES program and her love for the program and how it positively impacts children’s lives is what has kept her involved with CalSERVES for so long.

As a team leader, Rebecca hopes to become an active and strong support system for her AmeriCorps members and wants to help them be great tutors/mentors for the students. She loves watching people work together and come up with creative ideas that can help the students grow and learn. As for working with the students, Rebecca wants to be a source of confidence for the kids; she wants to establish one-on-one relationships with her students and make them feel comfortable enough to go to her for help of any kind. Additionally, Rebecca is extremely excited and appreciative about the team at Kawana. She says that they have been tremendously patient with her as she learns and adjusts to the job as team leader. Classroom leaders and AmeriCorps members alike are amazing with their students and are always coming up with amazing lessons for the kids. Rebecca also is grateful for the support from her site supervisor, Katherine Brooks, whom Rebecca says has been helpful, supportive, sweet, and fabulous at her job and Rebecca is honored to be a part of her team.

Overall, as a team leader, Rebecca hopes to be a role model that the students can look to for advice or guidance and help be a positive force in a really important time and area of these kids’ lives. Rebecca states that she gets to leave work every day knowing that she is making a difference in these students’ lives and that is something that she loves.

As for advice for future Team Leaders or Service Scholars, Rebecca says to wear really good and comfortable shoes; "you are all over this place and you won’t be able to sit down a whole lot!"

By: Jacquelene Bennett, AmeriCorps Content Leader
 and Rebecca Dunckley, AmeriCorps Team Leader, Kawana Elementary

Meet the After School Regional Leader: Sandra Hwang

Sandra Hwang, AmeriCorps After School Regional Leader

As the After School Regional Leader, Sandra Hwang is based in the CalSERVES NCOE – West Office and oversees all the school sites located in the Sonoma County division of the CalSERVES program; her job is to provide support, training, and guidance for each and every AmeriCorps member that is currently serving.

After graduating from the University of Colorado, Boulder with a degree in Spanish Literature & Language and Elementary Education and deciding to defer becoming a full time teacher, Sandra applied to be a part of the CalSERVES program to not only help kids in their educational development but as a way to give back to the greater community before deciding on what to do as a career.

As the Regional Leader, Sandra hopes to gain meaningful experience during her time in the program. She wants to learn something new about herself through this experience and wants to learn all that she can from the people she works with every day. More importantly, Sandra hopes to inspire kids, parents, teachers, AmeriCorps members, staff, and the rest of the community through her optimism and enthusiasm. Through her position, Sandra wants to be able to shed light onto, and provide solutions for, any difficult situation that might arise at any of the school sites. She also wants to  encourage and support everyone with whom she interacts and works.

So far, Sandra has enjoyed going to the different school sites and getting to know everyone there. She states that every school site is so very different and that she loves watching how well everyone interacts with the students at each site. Sandra believes that there are a lot of wonderful and passionate people that are a part of CalSERVES that will positively contribute to the organization as a whole. Sandra says that she sees a lot of service scholars and team leaders at the various school sites who are willing to go the extra mile to make sure that their students feel well supported, which she believes will make a great team that supports one another and helps build each other up.

Sandra’s future goals include going to graduate school and traveling the world. Her biggest goal in life would be to start her own non-profit organization and to utilize her Spanish speaking abilities to either teach or help in situations where it is needed. Once her time at CalSERVES is up, Sandra is hoping to teach abroad for a short time before settling down to attend grad school. But Sandra’s main goal in life is to change someone's life in a way that is positive and meaningful.

As for advice for future Team Leaders or Service Scholars, Sandra wants them to know that, “You are a special person that brings something unique to this world and who has the ability to change the course of a child's life and help them to be the best that they can be. Keep an open mind and try to realize your full potential and how you can use that to better your experience with CalSERVES. Take every situation with great stride, don't regret your decisions, and stay optimistic!”

By: Jacquelene Bennett, AmeriCorps Content Leader
and Sandra Hwang, AmeriCorps After School Regional Leader

Make a Difference Day Part 3: RL Stevens and Wright Schools

Make a Difference Day, October 27th, 2012, saw some amazing projects around the CalSERVES school sites as AmeriCorps members joined together to provide a day of service. What follows is the third post in series of 3 outlining the projects competed by CalSERVES AmeriCorps members. Each post is written by a Team Leader who worked on that specific project.

In my twenty-four years, I have been lucky enough to travel. I've seen the world. Indeed only a tiny fraction, but I've toured Europe, hitting the highlights: Italy, France, Switzerland, Ireland, etc... And let's not forget that for the past two years, I have been hiding from my frosty Minnesota home in Sunny California, which is where this story takes place.

As I mentioned, I've seen the world. Most importantly for this blog, I have become cultured in those countries: Donatello, Rafael, and Leonardo are more than just Ninja Turtles. They are brilliant artists. And I have seen work from each of them. After Make a Difference Day though, the Renaissance has nothing on Wright Charter or RL Stevens.

The Wright District Dream Team was together at Wright Charter School to work on a beautification project. We had the lofty goal of repainting benches, weeding out the garden, adding a map of the USA onto the blacktop, and oh yeah, painting a mural of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in our main hall.

AmeriCorps member David Ortiz puts on the finishing touches of the newly painted benches in front of the school.

When the ideas were conceived I knew how necessary it was to spruce up our old school, but I didn't know how realistic the goal was. Were a handful of AmeriCorps members going to have the capacity or, not to mention the resources to pull this off?

What we didn't consider is that we work with some of the most thoughtful, caring, engaged, and responsible kids, teachers, parents, and staff in the world. That is, several students, a handful of teachers, and representatives from Wright's PTC all showed up to shine up our old classrooms. Last, with a generous donation from Kelly Moore Paint, we made our goals a reality.

Students at Wright came out to help with projects at their school.

 No cartographer could have stenciled the United States like the RL Stevens team did. Our newly weeded garden is practically Zen-like now that our middle schoolers tore into it. 15 hours later, a cadre of CalSERVians, 2 Wright Mentor Teachers, and of course a dozen of our finest 7th and 8th grade artists immortalized Ellen Nanni's rendering of MLK.

AmeriCorps members were working hard on tracing out the 50 states and painting them in.

Like I said, in my short twenty-four years, I've seen a few things. I've been around. But it wasn't until this Saturday that I've witnessed a community come together more seamlessly than this one did. The school, especially the mural, is, thanks to hard work, and most importantly, extra hands a masterpiece. I'll even go out on a limb and say that Wright is on its way to becoming the new Sistine Chapel. Eat your heart out, Michelangelo!

Classroom Leader at Wright, Ellen Nanni, puts the finishing touches on the MLK Jr. mural.

-By: Lauren Loeffler, Team Leader at Wright Charter

Make a Difference Day Part 2: Kawana, Taylor Mountain, and Meadow View Schools

Make a Difference Day, October 27th, 2012, saw some amazing projects around the CalSERVES school sites as AmeriCorps members joined together to provide a day of service. What follows is the second post in series of 3 outlining the projects competed by CalSERVES AmeriCorps members. Each post is written by a Team Leader who worked on that specific project.

There were three different projects that were completed at Kawana Elementary School. AmeriCorps members and volunteers broke up into different groups to complete a given task. Based on the different project, one could immediately see the various talents of the group.

The first project was to turn the boring, grey-colored “Wall Ball” courts into something more dynamic and visually stimulating. Unfortunately, Kawana has been plagued with graffiti and “tagging”, so emphasis was placed on painting images that could be easily fixed, if such an event were to occur. This project attracted the more creative, artistically gifted.

Classroom Leader at Taylor Mountain, Crystal Ruiz, shows off her artistic skills by painting abstract art
on the wallball walls at Kawana.

The second project was the construction of a tire obstacle course, such as might be seen on a football field. This project involved laying mulch for a solid foundation, drilling holes into each tire, bolting them together and painting the tires. This project was an attraction for those more skilled at construction, and also unafraid of manual labor. Shoveling mulch in the sun is no easy task!

AmeriCorps members from Kawana and MeadowView Elementary take some time from painting the
obstacle course to flash the camera a pretty smile!

 The last project was perhaps the least savory: removing invasive, prickly, Himalayan Blackberry bushes from the Kawana garden. For the task, we were given heavy-duty gloves, loppers, trimmers and shovels, in an effort to eradicate the thorny nuisance. This project was an attraction for all of the gardeners, and similar to the construction crew, individuals not afraid of a little manual labor.

AmeriCorps members stand with pride behind the immense amount of blackberry bushes they tackled.

Although the weather was perhaps a little warm, it was nevertheless a wonderful day to be outside and serve the community. Nearly everyone agreed that the time flew by rather quickly. One of the supervisors of the project, Kristen Mowers, noted how “This is a project where everyone worked the entire time!” The work was very rewarding and the results were stunning. This project is yet another testament to the positive and beneficial works undertaken by CalSERVES and AmeriCorps members in the Santa Rosa and Sonoma County community.

By: NightSnow Vogt, Team Leader at Meadow View Elementary

Make a Difference Day Part 1: Bellevue School

Make a Difference Day, October 27th, 2012, saw some amazing projects around the CalSERVES school sites as AmeriCorps members joined together to provide a day of service. What follows is the first post in series of 3 outlining the projects competed by CalSERVES AmeriCorps members. Each post is written by a Team Leader who worked on that specific project.

I consider Bellevue to be my home away from home and getting the opportunity to add some color and zest to it definitely sparked my interest. This being my second Make a Difference Day, my first being last year, I had high expectations for yet another exciting, fun, energetic, and rewarding service day, and let me tell you something... I was not disappointed!

 I had such an amazing day at Bellevue and was lucky to be able to work with such a diverse group of people. We had the honor of having Community Action Partnership (CAP) AmeriCorps members come to Bellevue to experience what it's like to be a BV Bulldog and we were to excited to have had both our Literacy content leader, Jacky, and our STEM content leader, Katie here as support! It was amazing to look around our school site to see all the members elbow deep in paint, tape stuck everywhere from their backs, sneakers, elbows, etc, and every person had a huge smile on their face.

Caption: Ms. C, the 1st grade Classroom Leader at Bellevue, focuses as she paints the boundaries for recess lines.

With the faint sound of 90's pop in the background, each member was divided into four projects: painting a map of the United States, creating new lines as boundaries for recess, creating and painting a mural for the wall ball courts, and adding classroom numbers on the blacktop for fire drills. Everyone took the projects head on and went right to work! I checked in with each project and there was nothing but the exchanging of smiles and boisterous laughs heard through out the Bellevue Elementary campus.

Laura Sanchez, AmeriCorps member at South Park Community Center, works hard in the sun to help beautify Bellevue.

 I found myself grinning from ear to ear while looking around at everyone giving back to Bellevue and realizing that each and every single member really is making a difference, whether they realize it or not. I am so excited that our Make A Difference Day went off without a hitch and the most rewarding part of the day was coming into school Monday morning and seeing the kids playing games on the newly painted United States and practicing with their classmates lining up at their classroom number painted on the blacktop. I think I can speak for all of the people that were here at Bellevue that we really made a difference at Bellevue on Saturday!

Team Leader at Bellevue, Sara Craige, does her best to paint in the east coast states.

By: Sara Craige, Team Leader at Bellevue Elementary