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Inspiring New Beginnings: A Decade of Graduations and Neurodiverse Achievements

I have savored the time to hear the inspiring graduation speeches for reflection, purpose, and a moment of gratitude to celebrate these milestones from many different student experiences.  Graduation ceremonies this year were extra extraordinary. I celebrated my 10th and final year as a school learning specialist and cheered clients at their graduations and parties, a hallmark of their accomplishments and reflection for gratitude. Lastly, my household was marked by two graduations, 8th-grade Recognition, and 5th-grade Commencement ceremonies. The parents, blended families, and friends come to celebrate the growth of each child; a sense of personal and academic completion with...
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Summer Life Skills for College-bound Students

Over a Zoom session with a college-bound senior looking fresh into summer, they were in disbelief at how quickly, with tutoring, camp, and work, summer would pass them by. As they filled in the Google Calendar to work on scheduling and planning, they realized that their senior year and last summer in high school were going to look a lot different than the nostalgic summer breaks they once had.  Before heading off with their family for a summer vacation, it was clear that summer was seemingly shorter and had more responsibilities than open-ended days of bliss. July camps, events, and...
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Supporting Neurodiverse Students Navigating School Life Together

Seniors celebrate over the next few weeks as graduation is in the air, from awards, to speeches, the prom and ending with graduation; Another May has arrived. This is a celebratory time for the student experience and us parents. Our journey is a hallmark of witnessing our children grow from childhood into emerging adulthood. Chapters end and new ones brightly begin for college-bound enrolled, seniors from Disneyland to Magic Mountain, a beach day, or the park; from friends' homes to family pot-lucks, the events continue. To celebrate that we accomplished this together is why I love this time of the...
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Collaboration for Student EF Skills

In my early career as a school educator, I would always welcome visitors from the greater Los Angeles community, as I was eager to connect and collaborate with professionals to hear about their shared experiences, exchange knowledge, and be inspired as we connected over our experiences. I knew that I could only do my best work in supporting students with continued professional development and, more than that, really diving into learning from educational stakeholders and parent partnerships.  With the post-pandemic recovery in Los Angeles, it has been a slow road back to anything but finding normalcy again in school. Yet,...
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Teacher Appreciation Week

This week is teacher appreciation week, I can smell the sugar glaze donuts down the hall in the faculty lounge from thoughtful parents. Yet, for me as a parent of two and educator, it is a time to pause and give gratitude to all of the ‘teachers’ as Albert Einstein shared “...it is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.”    We acknowledge teachers during this appreciation week to recognize all forms of teachers and caring adults who play a role in the lives of others - similarly to Mother’s Day this weekend....
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Student Life Coach – for Parents

In the last few years, as I approached a new decade, I realized that I was searching for more meaning in my career; as an educator. In recent years, I have supported students and their families to the best of my ability, surpassing the school learning specialist or consultant role. One day in 2021, I introduced myself as an “educational first responder,” which led me to the Coaching profession.    As a Life Guard for the City of Santa Barbara, I was a real first responder at 18. As an adult attempting to teach over Zoom during the lockdown, I...
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The Integration of Professionals for Supporting the Overall Well-Being of Students for Parents

Parenthood is more overwhelming today in our culture than ever before.  Even with or perhaps more because of our access to Google, the latest research and technology, social media (the good and bad), the higher education levels of parents today, and various professional and school viewpoints from child-centered to nurturing millennial parents (like me). The millennials are uprising in numbers as they now have middle and high school students, and soon the majority of parents with school-age children are figuring out as families how to navigate life after the pandemic.    In my journey as a parent, on a school...
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Senior Update & A Mind-Body Practice: Emotional Freedom Techniques

Spring is here, and many student’s are gathering their final acceptances and learning about a potential wait-list status (if fortunate!) as they prepare with their parents for the enrollment deadline – May 1st. College Enrollment Day is when colleges and universities require a minimal financial commitment to secure a placement. The tuition is due in late summer, so student’s are focused on making their final decision. The three most common questions I hear from student’s now are merit aid award appeal, financial aid appeal, and the wait-list process with supportive supplements. The merit scholarship award may be appealed by contacting...
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A Mind-Body Practice: Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)

As learning specialists, professional tutors, and teachers alike, over the last decade, many of us have witnessed firsthand with our students and clients that soft academic skills and educational strategies are not enough. For the long educational journey ahead, naturally, our academic and social responsibilities increase as we move toward adulthood. Our student’s today thrive when they have learned specific healthy coping skills. The use of these skills coupled with school accommodations in the learning moment is a powerful combination for success. When a student has healthy coping skills accessible in their own “toolbox,” for them to use in the...
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Financial Literacy: Understanding Financial Aid & Merit Awards

The cost of college is the second largest expenditure besides owning a home in the United States. The average cost of college (direct costs, not including indirect costs) in the US is $35,551 per student per year, including books, supplies, and daily living expenses (Hanson, M. 2022). Unsurprisingly, this places parents and students today facing new fiscal challenges as the average cost of college has more than doubled in the 21st century, with an annual growth rate of 7.1% (Hanson, M. 2022).   Considering student loan interest and loss of income, an accepted alternative in our culture in the 1990s...
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