It's in the Books: Community Groups Committed to Literacy at Greenleaf

From its first days as a school in 2007, Greenleaf Elementary set out to build a culture of literacy and strong English Language Arts (ELA) achievement, and when Outreach Coordinator Rodolfo Perez connected with Judy Zollman and Oakland’s Temple Sinai, he found the perfect community partner to support that effort.

Since Temple Sinai’s People of the Book volunteers began visiting Greenleaf, the school’s library has been transformed: They cleaned the library, retired old and damaged books, and most importantly, replaced them with scores of new books on a range of subjects and reading levels.

In its devotion to supporting not just reading aptitude but a love of books, the organization is careful to connect Greenleaf scholars with suitable texts. “We really want to find books that fit the interest and reading level of the kids,” explains Temple Sinai’s Judy Zollman. “Watching students get excited when they find something that fits them, to see kids so enthusiastic about books – that’s just a wonderful thing to see happen.” To continue the momentum that started in the library, Temple Sinai has staged two book giveaways a year, for three years running.

“Judy Zollman and Temple Sinai have been terrific in organizing [Greenleaf’s] school library and related activities,” says Judy Pam-Bycel, outreach manager for the Jewish Coalition for Literacy (JCL), another key community partner. Completing another piece of the literacy puzzle, JCL has teamed up with Greenleaf to match students with volunteer reading tutors.

In keeping with Greenleaf’s focus on individual student improvement, JCL tutors have been matched with kids needing “that extra boost,” says volunteer Joan Diengott. Along with fellow JCL volunteer Deborah Sosebee, Diengott has been working one-on-one with 3rd-graders in Amy Young’s class.

“They’re great kids,” says Sosebee. “It’s been really rewarding for us and feels very positive. It’s great to see them get excited about reading and improving.”

I was in orange and yellow and when Joan helped me, I went to green because I tried really hard.,” reflects 3rd-grader Alejandra. “I enjoyed it because it was fun.” 3rd-grader Alexis, who worked with Deborah, speaks excitedly of moving from yellow to blue.

Both partnerships have also turned into “wraparound” community efforts. Zollman says Temple Sinai has brought teachers to the temple to educate members on the needs at Greenleaf. As the result of a meeting about student nutrition, Sinai organized a produce drive for the campus. “Our temple is very generous and socially active,” says Zollman. “When we see the needs, we want to fill them.”

For its part, JCL has brought the experience full-circle by relaying the stories of Passover and other Jewish holidays. All of the different connections have established a real foundation, and Diengott and Deborah feel energized after every visit. “The kids are always happy to see us and work with us, and there’s a lot of civic pride and classroom pride here,” reflects Diengott. “I always leave feeling like this was the best part of my week!”

Family First: Greenleaf Firms up Family Engagement Focus

The Williams and Carcano families both have three children at Greenleaf Elementary School, so the ability of staff to involve parents is of great importance to them. “[The Greenleaf community] is helping just fabulously with my family,” says Joey Williams, whose children are 5th-grader Jordan, 4th-grader Leerane, and 2nd-grader Freenita. “The school is really close-knit, and they are like family to me. The staff is very lovable, considerate, caring, and patient.”

“I have always admired how the principal and staff understand each individual student’s needs,” says Erika Carcano. She cites the board on Principal Monica Thomas’s office wall where Greenleaf tracks every single student’s academic progress. “The staff and everyone go out of their way to be in contact with the parents…so they understand how their kids are developing academically, and based on that they are able to participate and help their children achieve.”

Not only does Carcano speak frequently with all of her kids’ teachers about how she can support their learning, but she’s involved on a larger scale as a Parent Representative. In that role, she’s involved in decisions and goals at the classroom and school level, and is responsible for sharing those with other students’ families.

Carcano also praises the school’s whole-child focus, an approach embodied by the music story on page one. (Carcano’s daughter Katherine is the flutist quoted in that article.) “It’s not simply academically that we’re trying to advance our students,” she says, “but really trying to understand the child as a whole, including what’s happening at home. Greenleaf really looks at the child holistically.”

Williams concurs. “Academically, socially, and emotionally they have built students’ self-esteem up to where they can be great in every avenue,” she says. “My children have matured a lot. The things we have been going through, inside and outside of the home, [Greenleaf staff] have allowed their counselors to come and talk to my children, and they’ve helped them overcome major hurdles.”

“What I like most about Greenleaf is learning more every day at school,” reflects Carcano’s daughter, 5th-grader Katherine. “My favorite subject is Language Arts.” Her sister Samantha sides with Math, while her brother Angel says he can’t decide – he likes Math and Language Arts equally.

Carcano is proud that all three scored Proficient on the recent California Standards Test (CST), but she’s hoping they can all move up to Advanced. “I’m sharing with them the importance of continuing to advance and how that’s going to benefit them in the future,” she says.

As we reported in the last Greenleaf Scholar, our school-wide CST scores showed some of the most impressive growth in all of Oakland, and our Academic Performance Index (API) score rose to 777. Two short years since opening, we are already just shy of 800, the state target.

“Scholastically, oh my goodness, they’ve really improved tremendously,” says Williams. “And why is that? [Because the school community] is so spirited and loving and meaning business at the same time. It’s just a beautiful learning party!”