Guest speaker, Blanca Pacheco, a local Attorney and councilwoman, visited the MADE Work Experience students late last week to discuss the realities of being a professional and some of the expectations young people may have for certain fields of work and study.  Ms. Pacheco began by speaking about her personal story and why she became an attorney.  Using video clips and real-life examples Pacheco was able to lift the veil so-to-speak.

In her words, “people think that being a lawyer is always about having an exciting or high-profile case, and working in the courtroom.  But there are attorneys that never step foot inside the courthouse or speak in front of a judge.”  Not to say that this is a negative thing, but it’s one of the many misconceptions that many people have about her career.  Pacheco did a great job showing, not just telling.  For students to truly understand what a career is like, they must experience it.  In order to do so, Pacheco put the students through an exercise.

The biggest part of Pacheco’s practice isn’t always constructing an argument for her client in the courtroom.  Her student exercise was meant to put students through a realistic, everyday, type of scenario.  That being said, what’s more important than a living will and healthcare directive?  While it may be true that most kids don’t think about these kinds of things in their teens, the activity provided DUSD students with a look into what keeps an attorney, such as Pacheco, busy and allows her practice to keeps its doors open.

The MADE Work Experience program is giving incoming seniors a rare look into the lives of professionals in many different fields, not just the practice of law.  Recently, Alan Zack, the President of Carrot, paid a visit to the program.  Carrot is addressing the unprecedented challenges that our society and the world are facing.  The company is centered upon innovative problem solving and designing programs to incentivize young people to change the world for the better.  Mr. Zack is one of a few business people that were chosen to speak with the participants.

Later this week, the program will come to an end.  Most of the 35 students who have participated are finished clocking their hours and are now working on the culmination presentations.  On Thursday, July 27th, at Vazza Café in Downey, participants will show off everything they’ve learned and will celebrate their experience with local leaders, business owners and DUSD faculty.

Over the course of the 2016-17 school year, Downey Unified School District high school students have been ramping up for a once-in-a-lifetime experience through DUSD’s MADE program.  Students are connected to a worksite, where they are expected to perform and grow as young professionals.  Using grant funding, DUSD has created an environment where students spend the school year learning how to build a resume, perform in interviews, and use 21st century skills to succeed outside of school.  When all is said and done, these students are able to earn money and gain hands-on knowledge of what it’s like to have a real job.

This past week, the Bayha Group had the opportunity to visit a select group of students at their worksites.  In total, there are 19 workplaces and 35 students participating in this summer’s experience.  Worksites such as Friar Tux, Embassy Suites, and Gerinet have successfully created an environment where DUSD students are challenged, safe, and provided with unique opportunities that many students do not have before graduating high school.

Two students were placed at Gerinet, which is a local home hospice service, located in Downey, that serves Los Angeles and Orange County.  At Gerinet, two students are supervised by the Volunteer Manager, who walked us through the extensive training program used to teach their staff members.  These two students have also gained experience by partaking in this exercise and have seen what it is like to provide top quality care to patients.  This is not uncommon ­– worksites are expected to treat students as adults.  As a result, every student involved has an advantage in the workplace, relative to their peers.

The MADE Work Experience program will culminate at the end of this month.

Stay Tuned!

As it stands, a small percentage of students entering the engineering field are women – an average of 15%.  This number is a good sign, in the “1980s approximately 6% of engineers in the U.S. were women” (ASME.org).  Reasons for this have traditionally pointed to a lack of role models and various societal misconceptions of what it means to be an engineer.  Downey Unified School District is putting their finger to the pulse of this issue and has been doing so for two years in a row.

Sticking to their vision, Downey Unified School District has been a part of the growing Femineers movement and has developed a strong partnership with local university Cal Poly Pomona.  Cal Poly Pomona has been a valuable partner to the district, leading their students and cultivating interests.  In a statement, DUSD’s Director of CTE and STEM notes that, “We are very proud that Downey Unified is represented so thoroughly within the Femineers program” (thedowneypatriot.com).

We recently had the opportunity to touch base with the participants at from Doty, Stauffer, and Griffiths middle schools, and they shed light on their experience in the program over the last 1-2 years.  When asked to define this in one word, DUSD’s Femineers said: Inspirational, empowering, unforgettable, encouraging, challenging, awesome, adventurous, and unique.  These ladies made it very clear how special being a Femineer is for their future.

One student wrote, “The whole experience opened my eyes to multiple new possibilities.  I now know that I can do many things that I didn’t know I was capable of doing.” Overall, the response from DUSD’s Femineers illustrates that they are being challenged and presented with opportunities to pursue their dreams and are gaining a competitive advantage for their future in this field of study.

This year’s MADE Work Experience Program is off and running.  Today the Bayha Group visited the Southern California Gas Company’s facility in Downey, CA where the final set of student/employer interview sessions was being held.  It was quite a sight to see; students were dressed to impress and the location was absolutely amazing.

Downey Unified students participated in what will be the first steps towards an eye opening summer.  By now, they have completed mock interviews, group sessions at school, built resumes, and are now ready to begin the next two months in a professional setting.  We spoke with students who are matched with employers such as ASPIRE (a local after-school program for youth), the YMCA, law offices, and also a security firm that is operated nationwide, among others.

This program has opened up the door for students by giving them a look into the future and what it means to be a professional.  Needless to say, we are looking forward to hearing more about their upcoming experiences once the program culminates.

This summer, Downey Unified will send two students to UCLA’s Nanoscience Lab Summer Institute.  Through this one-of-a-kind program, these students are introduced to the rigors of college-level course work and are tasked with hands-on experiments.  Not only is this a fun and exciting 5-day program for DUSD’s students, it teaches them the key concepts of nanoscale phenomena that make nanoscience and nanotechnology one of the most exciting fields of research today.

A few days ago we caught up with last summer’s participants.  We were curious about their experience at UCLA and how it affected their senior year of high school.  One student from Warren High School voiced that, “It helped me figure out what I want from my college experience, even though I plan on studying something that’s not directly related to nanoscience.”  The 5-day program encourages students to work and collaborate on their projects and presentations, allowing them to share skills and build each other up.

Through seminars, experiments, data collection, and observations students learn the various approaches to nanoscience.  On top of this, UCLA’s staff teaches participants how the technology is already being applied across different scientific fields.  Another student from Downey shared her experience.  “I really liked working with people who are doing nanoscience and developing these new creations,” she expressed, “reaching into the mind of someone who is so much more experienced and educated than I am, and being able to see what they’ve figured out and how they’re changing the world.”  If you want to change the world, you have to change your ‘self.’

UCLA has worked hard to create an environment where students can do just that.  By working in teams, with college students and professors, content that is otherwise overwhelming is within grasp.  It is because of this kind of program that Downey students continue to have doors opened and are exposed to nurturing, challenging experiences.

For more information, visit the Nanoscience Lab Summer Institute website

WORDS: JOANNA BANKS

As the visiting team from Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21) passed through the front office of Downey High, a tour guide pointed out two guitars on display. Both belonged to Downey graduates and icons of the music industry: Metallica front man James Hetfield and George Pajon Jr. of the Black Eyed Peas. “We may be in school, but we can still rock out,” quipped Phil Davis, Downey Unified’s director of CTE, STEM and Support Programs. Rock star status isn’t far fetched.

On June 1st, the P21 team toured two Downey high schools, two middle schools and an elementary campus to see if the district’s educational programs were really as good as they looked on paper. Downey Unified school District had applied for P21 “exemplar” status earlier this year in hopes of sharing successes with others and becoming a role model in education. Five administrators from the Los Angeles County Office of Education, National Council for the Social Studies, educational leader Goddard Systems, Inc., and Hanson Consulting Group got a firsthand look at the district’s college and career focus. The visit is part of a nationwide search to find the best — to crown those creating truly globally competitive 21st Century learners.

It’s hard not to be impressed by the mechanical engineering and physics pod at Downey High, where an $80,000 wind tunnel for aerodynamic testing sits next to a new HAAS Automation digital manufacturing machine. In the school’s re-envisioned “auto shop,” five donated Mitsubishi cars are aloft garage machinery for students to inspect. They key in notes about oil changes and systems inspections on giant touch screen pads nearby. An English teacher uses UC Curriculum Integration (UCCI) to blend students’ academic subject preparation with a practical career application of scriptwriting and video production.

Throughout the day, it was clear that classroom lectures were nearly obsolete, and hands on Project Lead the Way kits took over. Students coded, programmed, collaborated, drew, measured, built – even cooked – their way through the day. Chromebook lockers, HD projectors, robots, big, networked screens, moveable furniture and hi tech student conference rooms filled the campuses. “It’s kind of like being at summer camp and having a great time, but not knowing that you’re learning,” Davis said. Warren High’s culinary students made turkey and Brie sandwiches, cauliflower soup with mascarpone, fried taro root, and a nectarine and mixed green salad for the dozens of visitors and city officials who came to support Downey’s future.

At Sussman Middle School, 7th grade “femineers” talked about how a Cal Poly Pomona engineering program that aims to engage more girls in engineering programs had inspired their work in a 7/8 manufacturing class. At Stauffer Middle School, one teacher outlined robotics competition schedules on the wall, and had students making “balloon cars” out of straws, plastic water bottles and empty raisin boxes. Fourth graders at Old River Elementary spent the afternoon designing paper airplanes and launching them through targets hanging from doorways. The project exemplified exciting learning spurred by the leadership of 15 teachers promoting Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STEAM) in TK-5 classrooms.

These experiences embody what’s possible when we invest in creative approaches to education. Is learning fun? At the Bayha Group, we think yes. DUSD is dynamic proof that we’re not the only ones who think so.

In our very first podcast, June and I provide a sweet and short introduction to the why and what of our work. We’re so excited to share our story with you all! Be sure to stay tuned for upcoming podcasts on work/life balance, finding the right school for your child, and more!

Last Saturday, the extended Bayha Group crew convened with our family and friends for an Equus Workshop guided by horse whisperers Renee Robinson Sievert and Honor Medina. The workshop was both a celebration of the Bayha Group’s recent launch and a beautiful opportunity to better connect to our coworkers through shared experiences.

Horses are incredibly gifted at sensing energy. It doesn’t matter if you “look” calm; it matters that you feel calm. If you are anxious, nervous, or lacking confidence, a horse will get that and give you the space to work it out on your own. If you are grounded, sure of what direction you want to take, and clear, a horse will respond in kind. In this way, working with horses helps us tap into the kind of energy that we want to radiate out into this world. Horses are mirrors of who we are and not only how we present ourselves.

Over the course of the day, we participated in several courses to help us learn how to tap into our deepest energy. During the morning, we gathered under a cloudy sky (leftover from a week of much-needed rain in our sunny city of San Diego) to set intentions. We observed several horses interact before breaking off into groups to have one-on-one time with the horses. We didn’t ride the horses. Rather, we walked into a pen, and, with Renee or Honor supporting us, figured out what we wanted the horse to do.

What does that mean exactly? For each of us, the experience we wanted with the horse differed. Some of us wanted to get the horse to follow us. Others wanted to get the horse to run in a circle and turn around at a specific point. Me? I just wanted to pet the horse. Renee and Honor invited us to seek out the experience we wanted by listening in on our energy—and figuring out just how our energy was influencing the horse.

The energy within us always exists in conversation with external factors. By honoring this energy and tuning into the wavelengths that we’re emitting, we can learn how to better support our coworkers and how to decide which projects nourish us. We can learn how to establish what set of skills we want to grow and determine what approaches work best with which people.

Because of this, our Equus Workshop wasn’t just fun; it was freeing. For many of the participants, myself included, our time with the horses opened us up to a deeper part of ourselves. I’m excited to bring this revitalized energy back into the workplace and I know the same holds true for the wonderfully open-minded and compassionate Bayha Group crew.