Monterey Bay Charter School, a school worth investing in!

Charter schools as a whole are exceptionally underfunded causing a recurring challenge faced by these institutions. Despite receiving yearly support from the state due to cuts in education and increasing costs in the state, many charter schools are left insufficiently funded. Most charter schools in California are categorized as a Basic Aid district and funded by the State of California depending on the Average Daily Attendance (CDE, 2016). Monterey Bay Charter School (MBCS) is a nonprofit, tuitionfree, public charter school that strives for diversity and accessibility. MBCS was founded in 1998 by teachers and parents who were inspired by the innovative Waldorf model of education. Monterey Bay Charter School has been educating and inspiring students through alternative teaching methods to further help students learn (MBCS, 2017). The school’s mission is to, ‘Inspire joyful learning and courageous living’, in their students through their faculty (MBCS, 2017). The school’s budget is supplemented with grants, fundraising as well as donations to fill the gap where the state falls short. A video commercial was developed to showcase Monterey Bay Charter School and its unique programs. To further establish its presence in Monterey County and bring awareness to their need for funds. The school is currently running off of a paper based system that causes delays in day to day operation from student attendance to lesson readiness. The school is also now required by the state of California to have student computers for standardized testing by mid-year of 2018. By utilizing the commercial with a link to a GoFundMe account, the goal is to raise funds for staff/ student computers and awareness of Monterey Bay Charter School in Monterey

PARENT INVOLVEMENT AND EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES AMONG LATINO FAMILIES

Parent involvement has been identified as a vital factor in determining children\u27s success in school and life. Research has largely shown that direct parent involvement improves grades and graduation rates. Research has also shown that the major factors contributing to parent involvement are socioeconomic status and educational attainment. This study explores what prevents Latino parents from effectively engaging in their children\u27s high school education. For Latinos, parent involvement is a struggle due to significant barriers to higher education system knowledge, level of parental acculturation, and technology limitations. This study used a quantitative descriptive approach. The researchers created a survey instrument using Qualtrics. The sample size for the study was 66 participants with a non-probability convenience sampling method. The findings show that participants with technological access better understand the education system. Additionally, the findings demonstrate that Latino parents’ level of acculturation relates to their involvement—school system knowledge related to their awareness and comfortability with their students\u27 schools. In summary, educational marginalization for Latino groups contributes to the perpetuation of a lack of educational attainment. Social workers can advocate for training and awareness in this community by highlighting the importance of technology and its role in improving parental involvement. Future research should explore in-person surveying options to gauge participation from parents who may not have access to technology

Feral Horses Disrupt Greater Sage-Grouse Lekking Activity in the Great Basin

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter, sage grouse) and feral horses (Equus ferus caballus) co-occur within Great Basin sagebrush ecosystems of western North America. In recent decades, sage-grouse populations have declined substantially while concomitantly feral horse populations have increased drastically. Although multiple studies have reported feral horses adversely impacting native ungulate species, direct interactions between feral horses and sage-grouse have not been documented previously. We compiled sage-grouse lek count data and associated ungulate observations from 2010 and 2013-2018. We used Bayesian multinomial logistic models to examine the response of breeding male sage-grouse to presence of native (i.e. mule deer, pronghorn) and non-native (i.e. cattle, feral horses) ungulates on active sage grouse leks (traditional breeding grounds). We found sage-grouse were 9.5 times more likely to be present on active leks concurrent with native ungulates compared to non-native ungulates. Of the four different ungulate species, sage-grouse were least likely to be at active leks when feral horses were present. Our results suggest that the presence of feral horses negatively influences sage-grouse lekking activity. Because sage-grouse population growth is sensitive to breeding success, disruption of leks by feral horses could reduce breeding opportunities and limit breeding areas within sage-grouse habitat

Invisible transitional justice : a comparative case in the Catatumbo and Montes de Maria regions (Colombia)

This thesis, which is grounded in ethnography and participatory action research methodologies, takes as its starting point the contention that war victims tend to prioritize truth and justice to overcome the legacies of gross human rights violations. Focusing in two war-affected regions in the 50-year-long civil war in Colombia (Catatumbo and Montes de Maria), the question that it seeks to answer is whether the particular survivors’ demands fit within the agenda of transitional justice (TJ) at both the international and national level. This question has explored three dimensions. Firstly, this study identifies the main elements of the global agenda of TJ, evidencing that despite the profound changes in its traditional settings, the field remains petrified in its initial assumptions and institutions. Second, to determine the constituent elements of the TJ system in Colombia, this thesis looks beyond the legal dimension of TJ to delve into the politics of the transitions of these processes. Finally, the greatest emphasis is placed on the identification of the expectations of 130 victims to leave a troublesome past behind, considering exclusively their own understandings and realities. The notion of the everyday is used here as it captures those elements that condition their demands, seeing them as no longer restricted to their victimization but related to their immediate requirements and choices to address different types of violence. A stark discrepancy between the macro TJ priorities and the preferences of those who are the alleged main beneficiaries of these policies has been found. While the former are based on a limited concept of justice that seeks to resolve the visible marks of violence, the latter seek to transform those structures that gave rise to, and continue to, perpetuate violence. Therefore, despite the fact that at international and national levels, there have been great debates and disputes about justice and truth as the adequate response towards closure of a painful and divisive past, in the contexts studied and in the testimonies of the victims, TJ has remained, at best, invisible