Club member Arancha introduced today’s speaker, Jamie Weintraub of Main Street Scholars. Arancha spoke warmly of Jamie, calling her “to me, an angel” who embodies “service above self,” working with families and children who have been saved from fighting, trouble just getting to school, and her own work helping them “just breathe again” after all that. School doesn’t have to be a struggle or a fight but a place to grow in confidence, she said, adding that she had seen kids deemed as “hopeless” turn around under “beautiful care.” Arancha, who has known Jamie for many years and whose husband recently died, noted that Jamie came to her husband’s funeral and told Arancha that her kids were safe with her, and that we are blessed to have Jamie in this community. Jamie came in with her medium-small dog in tow, and amid applause, Jamie stepped up to speak.
Jamie spoke of how Arancha helped her through “scary times” when her husband was still alive, of how all negotiated and learned about being together after his death, understanding what the children were going through, how to “respect and honor” their father and family, and what they wanted for the kids. It was a scary time but real. She added that one of the kids is in Oregon and another due to graduate in May, others have had acceptances into colleges, and how this story is not about her but rather about the kids and the families, and how 10 years ago this all started. She mentioned that Steve Wilson is a good friend too. They knew each other, and she was teaching in the city, in Pacific Heights.
She told this story: Her daughter has four sons and son No. 3 was miserable. He didn’t want to go to school, and was crying all the time and starting to get in trouble; he was labeled a discipline problem. Despite what the teacher was trying to do, he decided he was just was going to read. He’d already read the books they had, and just didn’t want to go along with the curriculum. When asked a question, he would respond with, say, a lecture on how bees work, as bees had come up in a math problem. So he was being put outside the classroom so the teacher could do her work, then brought back in. When he moved up to middle school things got worse; he didn’t want to go. So Jamie’s son-in-law called her to say they couldn’t send him to school and what should they do?
The boy was in sixth grade and they encouraged just letting him read. They took him out of school and he spent the next several months reading, and recovered from that process, but he still didn’t want to go back to school, so now what should they do? So Jamie learned about homeschooling and wrote a seventh-grade curriculum for him. That created a new problem as her daughter could do the English and history work but her grandson ended up not doing math or science for a year. Eventually, she and her husband started a school here, in an “attic office” for one kid. But the other kid needed help, but he was an athlete; in time she learned of other kids who needed help, including her own two grandsons.
Now, 10 years later, she works with around 500 families. It didn’t matter if it was school or coaching or essay writing; her focus, she said, is “What do they need and how can we help?”
She identified her school business as Main Street Scholars, a “college high school,” and academic coaching center. It began when they started thinking about kids and how to invest in their futures. She listened to the kids more than to their parents, because the kids are the ones who tell her what they need and how to do school. Together, parents, kids and staff invest on what the child is trying to do – which became their mission. “What we really do is, we build confidence,” where they take their learning and move it in a way that the students engage in; a way they look to, to change their life. This became the Scholars’ mission – confidence with faith in self.
“We do school different,” she said; going from dropping kids off at school at age 5 to taking them home 13 years later, and then the kids move out – a repetitive thing. They have accreditation now, they are certified; and they write all their own curriculum. They used to try to use curriculum and textbooks, and those are certainly references; but they write it all, so they might write a class for one kid. For example, they have one kid who does coding – the only kid who wanted to do it -- so they have an approved curriculum written by them. The core classes are all written.
Current enrollment is a big deal, because it started with Jamie’s grandson: when he was 14 he had run though the high school curriculum, so she started looking into college classes for him. He took his first college class then at age 14, and by the time he graduated high school he had finished with the first two years of college, complete.
Values, she asked? In this case you have to address what your learning outcomes are; so they don’t follow standard procedures, like you are able to do this or do that. “We say, that they will value who they are, and the value that they bring to themselves through their own education,” so they own it, she said.
Main Street Scholars does everything one-on-one or in small classrooms; currently their large classroom has five kids in it. If you look at a class, you might not know what grade anyone there is in; and that doesn’t matter to them or to the kids. “This is what value stands for,” she said, adding that this is what they talk about to the kids. For example she told of a graph they did, with one student creating a menu from two local restaurants – an expensive meal and one not so expensive – and using that data in creating graphs. The student engaged with it, using math skills to figure out how to do percentages through which she learned about tax and tips.
“So we do it that way,” she said; “we’re looking for kids to have agency – to have their life become their own” before they leave the parents, so that when they go to college they have to learn to do laundry or find food, but not to learn to sign up for classes, work with a professor or speak for themselves. They had learned that. “This is what we call the college/high school experience,” she said, because when the kids enter 10th grade, they start college. And what’s cool about it is, when they do go to college, these classes (here) they start with passion and interest. So that by the time a couple of years have passed, they’re on a path and they have degrees in mind.
“This is the way we do it – this is the team, student, teacher, parent” and the kids themselves, she said. She pointed out a photo of kids sitting on a couch, creating a video about something they learned about the Holocaust.
Recently she interviewed some parents who asked what their job was? and she said, just be parents. Did the kids eat, did they shower, did they know where they need to go at the end of the day? She said her school doesn’t send home homework as the kids voted that out when she started 28 years ago; they also voted out tests 15 years ago. When they hit the college level these started reappearing; and the school staff also helps take care of that with them, she said.
“This is our team,” she said; “this is the difference of our school year because the grades start with us;” the kids have their individualized schedules, and are at the school 4 to 5 hours a day. They build in time for homework and independent work at school, as they would at high school. They follow the college schedule; classes are tailored to allow for the students to drive to Skyline or CSM; teachers also come and go on schedule. The days might look long but there are breaks or students are moving from school to school.
The classes all count toward a high school diploma as mandated by the State of California. College credits count for high school and college. And high school classes can be GE covered for college; shortening the time which works well for parents looking at university costs.
She listed some schools they have visited to see what the kids are doing, and found that the conventional college model is not necessarily what parents and kids need to follow. At the community level, she said, some of the kids are getting AA degrees or certificates while others are going to four-year schools. One kid stayed in community school and transferred; others are choosing degrees ahead of time. She pointed out one student who went to Santa Clara law school, who was her grandson, who went to university on a scholarship; and is now in law school on a 100 percent scholarship.
These kids, she said, figure out that school has value and they start owning it, it has monetary value too that they’re not aware of but the parents are.
It’s not just for college/high school kids – that’s our school – but all these Half Moon Bay kids are welcome whenever they have time. They have coaches that are specialized in their subject area and kids can come. They have down to second and third-graders up to college kids, coming back for coaching (as opposed to the disliked term “tutoring.”)
One of their teachers works for the district and also for night school; their afternoon students are local college kids or adults. They are paid. With academic coaching, they just did something different: one student, Arancha’s son, wanted to take calculus 1 but did not feel confident so he found an online class and then Jamie found a teacher who took the class together with him. He got the credit along with assurance of learning, and did two semesters in two years and got an A, with almost a 4.0 GPA with 39 college credits, all transferable. He’s looking ahead.
She spoke of Main Steet Scholars’ community outreach and speaker series, that touches on how to fill out forms and things like SATs; or college essays. The series touches on explaining some of this stuff, which has changed a lot since Covid. She discussed upcoming sessions around finances, economics, costs, saving, investing and more; she also hooked a student up with a financial advisor with Prudential, to help him understand these topics. She spoke of the interest in and understanding the kids have of these issues. “These kids are rock stars,” she said.
“That’s who we are,” she said in closing, and thanked Arancha and Steve for having her. She spoke of one teacher who had a playful interaction with students, even while interacting with them. And she introduced her canine companion: Danny Boy, who had been a wonderful companion since her husband’s death.
She added that costs were on the Web site, of about $12,000 per semester for five classes, and the coaching center is based on kids’ age; $70 per hour for younger kids and up to $115 per hour for college kids.
Rose asked if any of the kids had difficulty going from this environment to a conventional college environment. Not from us to college, she said, because we’re doing it with them; maybe some challenge at first but, with adjustments, it works out.
Arancha noted that what she loves about the school is that the kids get the college experience, with support, while they are in high school. Jamie also mentioned Arancha’s older son, in his third year of college, who asked about becoming a pilot and pursued that interest with their encouragement.
Liz noted that she had met Jamie and perceived her vision and how she has carried it out. Then she informed Jamie that 15 children had been inoculated against polio in her name. Hearty applause followed.
CLUB MEETING, FEBRUARY 1, 2024
Pledge of Allegiance
Liz called the meeting to order and asked “the returning Vietnam traveler person”, Mary Rogren, to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Inspirational Thought
Then Liz noted that Dianne had stepped in as greeter because the scheduled greeter wasn’t there, and asked for words of wisdom, to which Dianne responded: Her sister had sent her a particular birthday card with these “good” words: “Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.” That drew a general laugh before everyone sat down.
Guests
First, Liz invited up some guests from Abundant Grace --- program managers Eric DeBode and Susie Mahoney --- with an announcement about volunteer opportunities in the community, and some flyers. One highlighted the “Step Up for the Homeless” fundraising event from Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14) to St. Patrick’s Day (March 17), and he said there will be a followup party at Abundant Grace on the following Saturday. Go to StepUpForTheHomeless.Org to learn about it and register; this is their second one. He thanked the club for all the ways Rotary supports them, from helping with the community breakfasts to building their fence three years ago.
Susie added that they are trying to develop layers of their programming to help participants get out in the world to pursue goals and dreams. She invited Rotarians to come share stories about their lives, successes in business, or hardships overcome as the speaker felt comfortable; and then join in talk before starting their work programs. She said they thought it would be nice for participants to see different people from the community, hear their stories and inspirations, and connect with resources. She passed out business cards. Liz pointed out that we all try to do this for young people but we all need someone to share stories of what they were successful at or not successful at, as it impacts each other.
Birthdays!
Barb Nielsen (who absent, being instead at the Interact club) and Ralph Ely (Feb. 23), and Pat Roma (birthday Feb. 22). Everyone sang “Happy Birthday” even without kazoos. Rotary anniversaries followed: Dianne, Feb. 2011; Bella, Feb. 2022. Rose and Ginger were also recognized: Rose for being the club’s Sunshine Queen even when she is at home and in pain though still emailing Sunshine greetings, and Ginger who stepped up to help Rose.
Member News
Paul has a new badge and spoke of a recent addition in his family to make 10 great-great-grandchildren, including two from India who were premature and just got out of the hospital. Joe thanked John and Larkin Evans for coming to hear him speak recently to the Rotary Club of Pacifica.
Ginger noted that her injured shoulder is healing and the orthopedist is pleased.
Irwin is soon going to his first President-Elect training session and Kevin will do grants training which will help us get out GEF money back. Irwin listed the three Web sites he has to learn: Clubrunner, District and International. And, he said, “somehow they dovetail” and will take work; it’s not like things were when he was President before; “pencil and paper” then, he joked, even though they did have telegraph then, and carrier pigeons.
Millbrae Rotary is coming up on their annual Lunar New Year banquet on Feb. 29 from 6 to 9. Those interested should call Liz. She will send emails to tell us about it.
John talked about Suzanne (he added to suspense as he talked); she listed places she wanted to see like the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, Disneyland and Yosemite; turns out that the Google campus is the most famous place in the world to her, and she’d like to see that. They went to Ikea, and John talked of how a little money, creativity, a site plan and a building can be “contemporary and environmentally interesting.” He spoke of the gift shop, noted how this was “the best day of her life,” and listed her grades; Advisory, passing; art spectrum, A; broadcasting, A-minus; chemistry, A-minus; economics, A; senior English, A; effort, commendable; pre-calculus, A. Happy applause followed as Liz urged John to tell her how proud we all were of her.
Rosi shared a quick recipe for the chili she prought to the potluck dinner at Bill's.
Dianne spoke going to Houston for a NASA's Day of Remembrance honoring the crews of Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia who had died and the dedication of a Memorial Tree in remembrance of Bo. After bad weather here, flight cancellations, terrible rain and lightening storms in Houston, there was sunshine and blue skies for the ceremonies. This was the sixth event that honored Bo since his passing, bringing things full circle, Dianne noted; her sister and husband and their son, and Rotarians Liz, Terri, many astronauts, wives including Apollo program wives, long-term friends, and former neighbors attended a luncheon Dianne hosted. Liz said she was honored to be there with Dianne, and described a special tour provided for Dianne and a few good friends of the Johnson Space Center, Mission Control and reconstructions of the Mission Control room used for the moon landings. Liz wryly described the rain in Texas where ”everything is bigger and better” like the bolt of thunder that seemed loud enough to bring the building down. She also described an attack of fire ants next day during the playing Taps and the moment of silence for the fallen astronauts. She added her feeling of honor at being there with Dianne and seeing the four-man flyover with the “missing man” formation: the moving moment of how one plane peels away from the formation, and how special that was The ceremony was held in “beautiful” memorial grove of live oak trees dedicated to the astronauts, and how every astronaut has a marker with his/her name.
Announcements
Drew spoke of the school district and Adult Education: There will be a big Open House on March 12, for which they partnered with T-Mobile who will come down. This will apply to adults who make less than $100,000 a year, who can receive for $11 a 10-inch tablet and five years of free Internet connectivity. So you could have Internet for your home, Liz said. They also want to involve the credit union to help students with bank accounts, and find a barber and stylist to help kids who need to look good for job interviews. He said this struck him as a perfect opportunity to recruit new Rotarians and involve older folks to volunteer.
He recently saw Superintendent Sean McPhetridge who wanted to thank Rotary for the opportunity to talk about the work force housing they’re potentially planning on; he is happy to come back and give us a presentation. Drew will be speaking Saturday at the California Council for Adult Education about the impact of AI on adult education and education in general. He noted that “we are wildly unprepared” for the changes that will come in about three years around how education operates in this setting.
Marble Game - 
Who Could This Be?
Finally, Liz did her “who could this be?” game. The Rotarian a lout whom she was hinting is not into sports; favorite music is pop of the 80s; favorite colors are red, blue and pink; favorite food is donuts; best friends include Bonnie Jo for 28 years and her sister; best job is the one this person has; the person is a financial advisor; favorite place is Spain; collects orchids; favorite pastime is traveling; hobbies include traveling, hiking and reading romance novels (which Liz said she would never have imagined😉 has two daughters, 21 and 16; married for 23 years to a very famous comedian; their degree is in econ and Spanish; attended Simmons University in Boston; favorite club event is Pumpkin Festival which she ran for us on the Sunday; favorite club projects are our cleanup projects and Life Skills; has been club President and on the club board; a member for 18 years; lived on the coast since 1987; lives in Frenchman’s Creek; was born in the Philippines; was 50 years old last year; and a chorus of voices guessed Mitone. President Liz happily asserted that that was so. Liz went on to say that in her new district capacity Mitone will be in charge of 44 Rotary clubs. She was recently on a boat crew, as the one who directed the team what to do.
Next Week
Next week’s meeting will feature Nancy Wolfberg giving a shop talk. Liz asked if Nancy could bring some of her incredible artwork; if not personally, then via Powerpoint.
