TLC NEWSLETTER January 2025

January Highlights

  • TLC hosted three book fairs this month (one at each site), thanks to a grant from Reading is Fundamental. Students were able to choose three books each to take home and keep. We will include photos and a recap of all fairs in next month's newsletter.
  • TLC La Mesa celebrated the opening of our newly remodeled school site with a ribbon cutting and open house event earlier this week. We will share photos and more information about this event in next month's newsletter as well.

Social-Emotional Learning

Create Meaningful Quality Time with your Family

The following comes from the San Diego County Office of Education's Transformative SEL newsletter.

For some of us, one of the gifts during the lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic was that all our social and work obligations were reduced because we couldn’t be with each other in public places. In those moments, people and families started to slow down to bake, take care of our plants, learn new hobbies, read more, take our time to enjoy our coffee and tea and actually be present with our families. As soon as it was “return to work and school”, the old, not necessarily healthy, routine came back. Our lives returned to the fast-paced, driving kids around for school, soccer, and cheer practices, making lunches, going to work and it became hectic again. How do we find meaningful quality time together as a family and why is it important?

Let’s start with the why: Studies indicate that family relationships play a role in helping us manage stress, develop healthy habits, and boost self-esteem, ultimately contributing to greater overall well-being. It makes sense that cultivating relationships with the people who are connected to us is essential to each family member’s wellbeing.

If you didn’t make some shifts in your family routine after the height of the pandemic and are having a hard time, don’t worry. Start small:

1. Model for your kids by finding your peace

a) Our children are sponges and often mimic what we do as parents. It is important to demonstrate self-care to our children so they can identify what that looks like. Take time to show them how you treat yourself to some pampering.

b) It could also be helpful to set boundaries on activities that do not serve you or your family. Instead of spending 4 hours at a family get togethers, just spend 2 hours. It could also be saying no to events in order to have some quiet time on the weekend without having to go to all the “obligatory” activities.

2. Try new things together to disrupt the routine

Try going on small local adventures, whether it is exploring a new beach or a new ice cream shop, finding new places around San Diego can help to build new fun memories together.

3. Play games

Start by playing games like “who blinks the first loses!” or follow the Tik Tok trend by filling your mouth with water and closing your eyes. Try not to open your eyes at the same time as your partner and if you do, try not to burst out laughing or be the recipient of a big splash! “Playfulness predicts humor, creativity, teamwork, and an appreciation of beauty. It's also great for forming and keeping healthy relationships.” (The Science of Happiness Podcast, 2024)

4. Do the thing your child loves to do together with them

If your teen loves puzzles you could compete with each other on New York Times Wordle, Strands, and Crossword, or take some time to do physical puzzles. Or you could play Minecraft with your 6-year old -- whatever the activity is that your child enjoys, you can take a part in it.

5. Active Listening

Practice active listening with your family with these 36 questions to increase closeness. You do not have to do it for 45 minutes like the activity suggests, just start with one or two questions and really be mindful about your body language, really paying attention to the responses with your child or partner and not interrupting. It would only take 5 minutes, but if you want to dive a bit deeper, you could ask open questions that you cannot possibly anticipate the answer to, “What surprises you? What did you take away from the experiences? Where did it feel in your body?” Stay with the person’s language, “You said that this was an amazing experience – could you say more about what this means to you?”

Over time, these small shifts can bring positive changes to your routine. Remember that it takes about 2 weeks for a habit to form, so keep at it! Here’s to creating more meaningful family time!

Celebrating Our New La Mesa Facility

Earlier this week TLC hosted a ribbon cutting and grand opening event to celebrate our newly remodeled La Mesa school site. We will share photos of this event in next month's newsletter. If you have not had a chance to see the new facility yet, check on the video below for what a day at our new La Mesa campus looks like.

National School Choice Week

National School Choice Week (NSCW) is an annual celebration that aims to raise awareness of the different types of schools and education options available to parents. Through events and engagement opportunities across the country, this week informs, inspires, and empowers parents to discover the K-12 education options available for their children, including traditional public, charter, magnet, online, private, and home schooling.

As a public charter school, The Learning Choice Academy is proud to participate in National School Choice Week. In addition to an event at our La Mesa campus earlier this week, there are a number of ways for parents and students to take part in promoting school choice. Here is a link to a digital backpack that includes activity ideas, ways to advocate for educational choice, and celebrations near you.

We thank you for exercising your educational choice and choosing to be part of TLC!

The Learning Choice Academy Blog

The below blog post is also now available on our website for a shareable link.

How to Develop Elementary Students Within a Nurturing School Community

The Learning Choice Academy (TLC) proudly nurtures our littlest learners at all three of our school sites. The early years of a student’s education are pivotal. Students in grades TK through 3rd, in particular, are gaining new skills and knowledge at a rapid rate and are ripe for growth and development. If they are supported appropriately during this time, it has positive associations for their middle and high school success. However, if their learning is not fostered during their younger years, it has long-term negative effects on their life outcomes.

Providing elementary school students with a nurturing school community ensures they are in an environment in which learning can take place. TLC creates a nurturing school community and helps our elementary school students develop into their best selves through some of the following strategies:

Focus on Relationships

The Learning Choice Academy is a community first and foremost. We take a number of steps to develop this community through fostering strong relationships between our students, teachers, parents, and more. We do this through:

  • Restorative Practices - Restorative practices have a proven impact on building strong communities and effectively resolving conflicts when they arise. TLC teachers utilize circle practices in our elementary school classrooms, in which teachers facilitate a space for students to share information about themselves, their thoughts on a certain topic, or another agreed-upon discussion point. TLC teachers receive training on these practices to ensure they are done with fidelity. When implemented well, circle practices have been shown to increase students’ empathy and compassion for one another, to build strong relationships, and to promote a positive community.
  • Field Trips & Events - TLC recognizes that our community extends beyond the classroom walls. We are a multi-grade, multi-program, and multi-site school community and there is great value in people being able to form relationships with those in their immediate circles and beyond. TLC provides our students and parents with a number of opportunities to connect with one another outside of the classroom and school. We offer families numerous field trips to choose from each month, including educational, cultural, and recreational options. In addition, we host a number of school-wide events throughout the year, such as a Welcome Back event, to help new and returning families meet one another and begin to form positive connections.

Parent Involvement

  • Hybrid-Homeschool Model - The Learning Choice Academy offers two educational programs for our families, a Hybrid Program in which students attend on-site classes three days a week and homeschool two days a week, and a Homeschool Program in which students homeschool five days a week with a parent serving as the primary teacher. Due to the nature of both programs, parents are actively engaged in their student’s education. This direct involvement of parents means that they can tailor the learning experiences of their children on homeschool days according to their interests and specific needs. This provides a personalized, one-on-one, and nurturing approach to meeting a student where they are and ensuring they are receiving the attention and support they need to grow.
  • Triad of Support - TLC parents are not alone in supporting their student’s academic and social-emotional development. TLC’s model pairs an Educational Partner (a credentialed teacher) with each student. The parent, student, and Educational Partner form a triad; they are all connected in their support of the student’s learning. This holistic approach means that students are receiving personalized support at both home and school – from their parents, from their teachers, and from a broader community.

Staff & Student Supports

  • Counselors - In addition to restorative practices such as circles, which help students’ develop their own social-emotional skills, The Learning Choice Academy also provides a number of social-emotional supports for students. For example, we have a full-time School Counselor at each school site. Our School Counselors are caring figures outside of a student’s family or teachers, who can provide helpful guidance, a safe space for sharing, or simply a kind presence to cultivate all students’ emotional development. Ensuring that students’ social and emotional needs are met, and that they feel safe in a school environment, are foundational precursors to them being able to learn and grow academically.
  • Student Volunteers - Since TLC is a TK-12 school, our elementary school students learn in proximity to middle and high school students. This gives our young learners a chance to look up to and be inspired by older students, while also providing ample opportunities for formalized mentorship. At our San Diego site for instance, middle and high school students volunteer in the K-5th grade classrooms, where they serve as Teacher’s Assistants and Reading Buddies, and even run small group activities. This type of initiative gives older students experience with mentorship and volunteering and is an example of TLC’s commitment to collaboration among teachers and students of all ages.

Personalized Academics

  • Data Driven Instruction - At TLC, teachers use multiple forms of assessment and benchmark data to pinpoint areas of strength and areas of growth for all students. These include work samples, NWEA scores, Math Diagnostic data, and more. The use of multiple measures means that TLC is continuously assessing whether students’ are meeting state standards while also identifying how much individual students are growing academically each year. Through the work of our accredited elementary homeschool programs, we identify where individual students are thriving and where they need more help, which allows TLC to provide personalized and targeted interventions to support the growth of all students.
  • Personalized Support - After identifying where students may need more support, classroom teachers deliver this through 1:1 or small group tutoring, enrichment learning opportunities, and by providing differentiated work to students on their homeschool days. At TLC we recognize that every student is coming in with their own unique abilities and we aim to provide resources that ensure all students have success in building foundational skills for both reading and math.

These are just some of the ways that TLC develops elementary students within a nurturing school community.

Our K-5 students are building the foundational skills required to be successful throughout their K-12 experience. Not just academic skills, but their social emotional as well, which is why we spend so much time working with students to provide positive learning experiences. -K/1 teacher, Amanda Sowell

TLC prides itself on providing our youngest learners with the academic and social-emotional supports they need to grow in their young years. While their high school and adult years may feel far off, we recognize that the ways in which we nurture them in elementary school will directly impact their long-term outcomes. Our nurturing school community gives students the foundational education they need to develop into their best and brightest selves.

Free Meals for All Students

This is a friendly reminder that TLC offers complimentary breakfast and lunch for all students regardless of income designation.

Breakfast and lunch are distributed on onsite class days. For breakfast, students can choose cereal or another entree, fruit, and milk. We encourage students to take a fruit as part of breakfast and a fruit and vegetable as part of lunch.

According to FRAC (Food Research and Action Center), each day, millions of students fuel their minds and bodies with the good nutrition provided by the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. There is considerable evidence of the practical role of participation in these programs in alleviating food insecurity and poverty and providing the nutrients students need for growth, development, learning, and overall health, especially for the nation’s most vulnerable children and adolescents. We are fortunate to be able to offer free food to all of our students as part of these efforts.

Please read School Meals are Essential for Student Health and Learning to learn more. This brief reviews the many benefits of the school meal programs. It summarizes the latest research on recent policy changes and innovative strategies increasing program access and improving student outcomes.

Why Eating Breakfast & Lunch is Important

Research shows that eating both breakfast and lunch has a number of benefits, including:

  • Boosting energy
  • Increasing cognitive function
  • Maintaining a healthy weight
  • Stabilizing blood sugar
  • Providing nutrients for overall health

We encourage all students to take advantage of the free meals offered at TLC to reap these benefits and more.

Tip of the Month: Wildfire Preparedness

The devastating fires taking place in Los Angeles are a reminder to all of us about the need to prepare our homes and families for the threat of wildfire.

There are a number of comprehensive, free resources available to help guide families through the steps needed for preparation. This includes how to ready your home to be more resistant to fire, how to prepare your family in the event of a wildfire, and the steps to take afterwards should a fire occur.

We highly recommend that families familiarize themselves with all stages of preparedness. CalFire offers this information to help guide you.

With the existing threat of wildfire upon us, it is important to take the following steps right away, as explained by CalFire:

  • Build a Wildfire Action Plan: Develop a comprehensive wildfire action plan, detailing evacuation routes, emergency contacts, and safety procedures. Ensure every family member understands and can implement this plan swiftly in case of a wildfire threat.
  • Prepare your Family: Craft a family-specific evacuation plan, addressing the needs of all members, including children and pets. Regularly practice this plan to ensure everyone can evacuate quickly and safely during a wildfire emergency.
  • Pack your “Go Bag”: Prepare an emergency “Go Bag” for each family member, filled with necessary supplies for survival during a wildfire evacuation. Include essentials like water, food, medications, and important documents for immediate access.

Safety Drills Recap

This month our La Mesa site conducted a fire drill in 6 minutes with 353 participants. Our San Diego site had a lockdown drill with 111 participants that was completed in 2 minutes and 49 seconds. Our Chula Vista site is conducting a fire drill this week to round out the month.

STAR Student Recognitions

December / January: Fairness

TLC recognizes STAR students each month based on a determined character trait. December and January's character trait is Fairness. Students are nominated by their Educational Partners and School Site Administrators. Congratulations to this month's STAR students!

Malak Aabaichi

Daniel Bojorquez

Jack Carlton

Danisa Castañeda

Aubrey Cole

Valerie Delgadillo

Lyric Early

King English-Williams

Samuel Gladwin

Bella Gonzales

Jaidalyn Grimmett

Eliot Guentner

June Hernandez

Marc Lessard

Skylar Louis Juste

Axel Madrid

Marisa Martinez

Aiden McNally

Chiara Muscarella

Penelope Nava Cruz

Ariyana Parson

Eric Peralta

Kieran Philo

Bella Ramirez

Minnie Ray

Emanuel Reynoso

Carlos Rivera

Ryan Sammarco

Vlada Voloshchenko

Apollo Weis

Inara Weis

Aviana Williams

Joey Wilson

Max Wilson

This month's staff recognitions for Fairness are:

Autumn Barry

Faith Galbadores

Alonzo Garcia

Samantha Medina

Mia Mendoza

Mia Rubio

Crissina Stone

Angela Wilson

Ways To Support

In addition to being a valued member of TLC, there are various ways you can support our school. We'll try to highlight different avenues each month so that you can find a way that feels best for you. And if your support is simply being a member of our community, we're glad you're here!

Spread the word

Do you know a student or family who you think would love TLC? If so, you can let them know our 2025-26 registration is approaching so now is a great time to learn about our school.

If you know someone who might be interested in our school, you can:

1. Direct them to our website

2. Send them our latest blog post

3. Send them this video to learn more.

Credits:

Created with images by MakoPoko - "Blooming flower slowly unfolding with soft natural light showcasing the beauty of growth at its own pace" • Christian Horz - "top view of words NEW BLOG POST written on spiral notepad on desk with laptop and potted plant"