ACE Spectrum
ACE Spectrum
Ace Spectrum is about you — the ACE Learning Centers.
It’s a quick sharing of ideas, inspiration, opinions and best practices among our continuing education organizations.
Please join the conversation.
It’s About Community – Alpha Parent Center Provides Desks for Students
By Martha Sessums, President, ACE
For many students, dealing with virtual learning is hard enough. Add the fact that many homes are small and finding a good place to be online and do homework can make the learning experience even more difficult.
But one of the nice things that has come out of the pandemic is our recognition that we are all in this together. We are a community. And communities help and support their members as much as they can.
Virtual learning using a desk.
One way that the Alpha community helped is with providing wooden desks to some students that were in particular space need. Many students share a small space with the entire family so learning is done on couches, beds or the floor. Plus, most of the students have siblings and sometimes work-from-home parents, so space gets very tight. Where does a student get comfortable to learn?
“We saw how much students were struggling and finding a reasonable place to do the learning work was one issue,” said Alejandro Espinoza, Parent Learning Center Lead. “Thanks to a colleague, we made a connection with a community member who was building desks to support students engaging in virtual learning.”
Alpha obtained 10 desks to give to students. The Alpha community identified families that were in need and gave five to middle or high school students and another five to elementary school students.
Yoda says one student immediately decorated his desk.
“The students loved them, and one student immediately decorated his new desk,” said Espinoza. “The desks were really nice in the homes because having an extra desk really helped the families.”
The desk makers didn’t have expertise in wood working or building desks, but they saw a need and wanted to support families in the community.
“We admire and respect that attitude,” said Espinoza.
So does ACE. It’s about community, and we admire and respect those that work hard to support their community, whether it’s nearby or worldwide.
Nothing like learning with a desk.
Poetry’s Amazing Recent Moments Has Raised Community Voices
By Martha Sessums, President, Association for Continuing Education
Poet Amanda Gorman has brought poetry back into the spotlight at a much-needed time. She became a sensation when she delivered her poem The Hill We Climb at the U.S. presidential inauguration. Her performance and the power of her poem was (and continues to be) reported on from around the world and on social media. She was also asked to become the first poet commissioned to write a poem to be read at the Super Bowl.
Poetry. At the Super Bowl. Amanda’s poem honored the essential workers today – an ICU nurse manager, a U.S. soldier and an educator – who were named “Honorary Captains” for their leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic. Touchdown.
Poetry has always been important, but Amanda’s performances have struck a chord with so many. It’s a chord that pulls on all our community voices to listen and respond. A chord that needed to be pulled. That was waiting to be pulled.
ACE supports a poetry contest every April, the National Poetry Month, and here’s what Elisa Aguilar Cinto, a 2019 winner from San Francisco International High School, said in January prior to the inauguration.
“We can move forward together by supporting each other,” she wrote. “When I say supporting each other I mean to say that the leaders could care about human rights and that would allow the communities to share their opinions and ideas of how to build and manage a good and peaceful government that includes community voices.”
Community voices. A chord ready to be pulled.
Amanda has pulled the chord for the power of poetry and community voices in her performances and the many interviews she has given. In a CNN interview, she left Anderson Cooper speechless after revealing the very personal mantra she uses prior to each performance. For Time Magazine, she discussed with former First Lady Michelle Obama the role of art in activism and the pressures Black women face in the spotlight. In one interview, Amanda pulled the chord even harder.
“Poetry is the language of reconciliation,” she said. “It often reminds us of our best selves and common values . . .There is a specific power in poetry to sanctify, purify, and rectify, even amidst discord. . . In fact, poetry is the language of the people. I’d tell other young people that poetry is vibrant and ever-changing, and the art form belongs to us all, not to a select group. We need your voices, we need your stories, so don’t be afraid to pick up a pen.”
The chord was pulled by Amanda. Inspiration will arise. Voices will be given power. Community voices reflecting reconciliation for our communities and supporting each other. The power of poetry is one of the paths for our voices so we can all pull the chord.
The ACE Poetry Contest acts as an inspiration for our Learning Center schools to teach poetry and inspire students to write poetry. Last year it became an online experience where contestants performed their poems in their Zoom classes. We look forward to the poems of 2021 and their power to raise community voices and pull chords. Thank you, Amanda, for showing the power of poetry.
…The new dawn blooms as we free it
For there is always light,
If only we’re brave enough to see it
If only we’re brave enough to be it.*
*From The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman
National youth poet laureate Amanda Gorman recites her inaugural poem during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. Joe Biden became the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, Pool)
KALW “Teaching Newsroom” Wins Eight Society of Professional Journalist Awards
By Ben Trefny, News Director, KALW, Audience Supported Public Media, and David Exumé, Audio Academy ‘21
KALW has received a station-record eight awards from the Northern California Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists! (Full disclosure: I am the current president of this organization, but I am not a judge in any audio or video categories — and for the first time, this year, we won in both!) This is a testament to how a “teaching newsroom” — much like a “teaching hospital” — can combine top notch quality journalism with a top-notch training program. Here’s the press release, and here are short write-ups about our many honorees:
ARTS & CULTURE (radio/audio): Lisa Morehouse, James Rowlands, Gabe Grabin and Shereen Adel of KALW for the “New Arrivals” series, featuring books by Bay Area authors, including an in-depth look at “Home Baked,” a memoir about one woman’s subversive response to the AIDS crisis.
COMMENTARY/ANALYSIS (radio/audio): Jenee Darden, David Boyer, Audrey Dilling and Gabe Grabin of KALW for “Bay View: A Black Woman’s Journey Through Depression,” in which Jenee Darden shares her mental health journey.
COMMUNITY JOURNALISM (radio/audio): San Quentin Radio and the Uncuffed team at Solano State Prison with KALW for “Uncuffed,” a show about life in prison, including episodes about creating music to express remorse, rebuilding family relationships, getting through the holidays and facing the coronavirus threat.
COMMUNITY JOURNALISM (TV/video): Jenee Darden, Jen Chien and Zoe Mountain of KALW for “Where is East Oakland?”
EXPLANATORY JOURNALISM (radio/audio): Lee Romney and Lisa Morehouse of KALW for “California School Districts Lag on Dyslexia, Hurting Low-Income Kids of Color Most.”
FEATURES JOURNALISM (radio/audio): Christopher Egusa (Audio Academy class of 2020), Gabe Grabin, and James Rowlands of KALW for “Dancing Out Loud: Antoine Hunter Uses Dance To Express The Deaf Experience.”
SCIENCE, ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH REPORTING (radio/audio): Marissa Ortega-Welch of KALW for her reporting about predatory gulls eating other birds, using controlled fire to manage wildfires in the Eastern Sierras, backpacking in the age of smartphones, the history of Oakland’s Lake Merritt as the nation’s first wildlife refuge and camping safely during the pandemic.
SPORTS REPORTING: Ben Trefny, Jenee Darden and Bo Walsh (Audio Academy class of 2018) of KALW for “Bounce: The Warriors Last Season In Oakland,” a podcast series examining the impact of the Golden State Warriors move from Oakland to a new facility in San Francisco not just for basketball fans but for the community.
Very excited about that, and about the work we’re currently airing. Here are a few new features produced by our current Audio Academy fellows:
Librarian On The Frontline Of Contact Tracing Effort — Annelise Finney
From Live Shows To Live Streams: A Musician’s Pandemic Blues — David Exumé
I asked David to share some thoughts about his experience at KALW so far. Here’s what he had to say:
David Exume, Audio Academy ’21
The Audio Academy has helped me move forward, at a time when everything’s come to a standstill. This is no small way thanks to my KALW mentors and the rest of the staff, who have encouraged and challenged me every step of the way. Halfway in, and I’ve built a portfolio of written and recorded pieces, with more on the way. And KALW’s extensive professional network has given me absolutely vital info on freelancing, connecting to interviewees, professional experience, and other realities of the industry. They’ve also given me an opportunity to explore interests in ways I didn’t know I could over radio. When I mentioned to my editor that I had an interest in creative writing, she directed me to someone who explored fiction in audio.
KALW’s Audio Academy has taught me valuable professional skills and given me a strong network in the field of audio journalism. I’m incredibly grateful to be able to grow alongside other aspiring professional journalists.