President’s Message:

It's been part of my good fortune, while visiting our school programs in Los Angeles recently, to be repeatedly inspired by so many students. Our young people have had to deal with so much during the extended pandemic. Yet despite hardships, they show genuine enthusiasm about returning to school, reconnecting with friends, and engaging in learning. It is heartwarming to experience school administrators, teachers, and afterschool staff working so earnestly with students who are facing a variety of stresses and challenges.

The process of healing includes supporting our students’ social, emotional, and mental health needs – enveloping them in a culture of caring, both in the classroom and throughout the campus.

To develop a nurturing, positive school climate requires our own awareness that such support is an “inside job.” It begins with each of us, as we build our individual “positive climate” of self-awareness, empathy, and self-forgiveness, encouraged by a gentle commitment to our own self-care. Only then can our personal Heartset ripple out organically – and collectively, we can begin to create a compassionate learning setting where students can thrive.

Building a Growth Mindset and a Growth Heartset®  

Most people are familiar with the idea of a growth mindset – a positive, “can do” frame of mind that influences one’s motivation, effort, and approach to life’s challenges.

A Growth Heartset is a kindness of heart. It builds genuine communities of caring, where young people can flourish in spite of the uncertainties and challenges that are so prevalent today. EduCare’s eight Growth Heartset skills (Seeing the Best in Everyone – Honoring; Positively Reinforcing – Praising; Listening from the Heart; The Power of Choice – Being personally responsible; Moving from Judgment to Forgiveness; Turning Challenges into Learning Opportunities; and Giving and Receiving) can all be taught and developed.

Perhaps the essence of a Growth Heartset is best summed up in a Mayan greeting of honoring people:

“In Lak'ech,” which means “I am another yourself.” It also means, “I am you, and you are me. If I do harm to you, I do harm to myself. If I Love and Respect you, I Love and Respect myself." – Luis Valdez

Holding a positive vision for our schools

Imagine schools where human connection and kindness is the norm; where no young person would go unnoticed; where students who may want to remain invisible and dangerously slip through the cracks are seen, not forgotten, and are valued and loved; where both the bullied and the bully are noticed, deeply seen, and helped. Imagine an afterschool program, a school, an educational system, a government, and a society that steps up like a family that deeply cares. Imagine people looking with eyes willing to see each other, not for the differences that we think divide us, but for the goodness of who we each truly are.

I invite you to join us in holding this heartfelt vision and taking action in ways that ignite the best in ourselves and one another.

With my gratitude for the opportunities ahead,

Stu Semigran
President and Co-Founder

News from the Field: ACE Programs

Creating more communities of caring in 2021

At the foundation of Heartset Education, EduCare’s ACE (Achievement and Commitment to Excellence) Program has been EduCare’s nationally recognized flagship program since it was launched as a pilot program in 1987. Since then, over 50,000 students have participated and improved their social-emotional development.

With its focus on Character Development, Personal Management, Emotional Intelligence, and Interpersonal Skills, ACE effectively addresses barriers to learning by teaching students attitudes and behaviors that support well-being and success. Workshops are available for middle- and high-school students in one-day and three-day formats, with monthly follow-up sessions.

Starting in July 2021, the ACE Program has been provided at more than 27 schools.

Introduced in 2017, ACE Initiative (AI) weaves Heartset Education into the fabric and culture of a school, providing on-site staff and an integrated, year-long foundation of ACE workshops, events, and support activities for students, educators, and parents. AI offers professional development trainings for teachers and afterschool staff, and customized workshops for parents to encourage more active participation. School administrators are given tools and resources encouraging them to create caring school cultures, supporting student achievement, engaging parents, and supporting teacher development.

In the current school year, ACE Initiative has expanded and is providing support services to 14 high schools, for more than 10,000 students.

ACE Heartbeats, started in 2020 as an online introduction to ACE, introduces students, teachers, and parents to EduCare’s eight Heartset skills (Seeing the Best in Everyone – Honoring; Positively Reinforcing – Praising; Listening from the Heart; The Power of Choice – Personal Responsibility; Resolving Conflict; Moving from Judgment to Forgiveness; Turning Challenges into Learning Opportunities; and Giving and Receiving). These concise, engaging workshops. ACE Heartbeats are now being offered both online and in-person.

In July, we led 70 ACE Heartbeats workshops in elementary schools.

ACE Programs, ACE Initiative, and ACE Heartbeats are bringing the principles and experience of Heartset Education to thousands of students, educators, and parents – sparking even more school communities of caring and compassion!

News from the Field: Afterschool Programs

Joyful in-person return to LAUSD (Beyond the Bell), Lynwood Unified, and Green Dot school sites

On August 14, 2021 – after 18 months of online-only activity – EduCare was delighted to return to in-person afterschool programs at 29 middle and high schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), Lynwood Unified School District, and Green Dot Public Schools!

Since the return to campus, over 2,000 students each day are participating in academic tutoring, college readiness, fitness, sports, leadership, art, music lessons, mental health support, and the many other terrific options available, including our newest activity: E-Sports, a pilot program for organized, competitive multiplayer electronic gaming.

Schools are actively recruiting more students to participate in afterschool activities, with four new afterschool site coordinators recently hired to meet increasing demand.

On September 29, 225 EduCare students cheered in person as the Los Angeles Dodgers made their comeback win over the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium (11-9 with four home runs in the 8th inning). Each of the five schools – East LA Performing Arts Magnet, Engineering & Technology Academy, The Humanitas Academy of Art and Technology, East Los Angeles Renaissance Academy, and Social Justice Leadership Academy – that comprise Estéban Torres High School sent 40-50 students plus staff to the game. Tickets, hats, and meal vouchers were generously provided by Kids 4 Dodgers Baseball. Kudos to EduCare staff members Alberto Rios (Senior Site Coordinator) and Sandra Padilla (Associate Site Coordinator), who made it all happen.

And while we would not directly credit Corey Seager’s two-run homer to our students, we’re certain that their enthusiasm helped cheer on the home team!

With our strong focus on the safety of students and staff, we are carefully following COVID protocols established by LAUSD and Los Angeles County, with all EduCare staff members to have been fully vaccinated by October 15.

Breaking news…A warm welcome to Birmingham High School, in the Lake Balboa district of the San Fernando Valley – the newest member of our afterschool family!

Spotlight on Staff:

Raul Fernandez

The first thing you notice about Raul Fernandez is his smile. The second is his irresistible enthusiasm. When Raul talks about his students, his work with EduCare, and the journey that led him to his current position as ACE Initiative Site Administrator at Humanitas Academy of Art and Technology (HAAT) at Estéban Torres High School (LAUSD) – you can’t help but smile back.

Laying the foundation

The story goes back to 2003, when he started his job as Co-Principal at Los Angeles High School. EduCare was already present at the school, offering the ACE Program. And one day he decided to attend an off-site ACE retreat to see what was going on.

That experience made him a believer. He saw students empowered with the ability to think things through and make good decisions. He took EduCare’s Professional Development training, and kept working within LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District) until he retired about a decade ago.

A second career

With decades of experience in LAUSD, a genuine love for young people, and direct experience of the positive outcomes of EduCare’s Heartset Education, it seems inevitable that Raul would join the EduCare family – and he did. He joined EduCare’s team at HAAT. And, when the ACE Initiative (AI) launched in 2017, HAAT was one of the first schools to embrace this comprehensive, heart-centered approach to supporting students, teachers, and families.

Now, as AI Site Administrator, Raul starts every Monday morning with a Success Block – a 90-minute meeting with 9th and 10th grade students, focusing on academics, SEL (social-emotional learning), and team building. He coordinates with EduCare’s Afterschool Program site coordinators. He gets to know his students, and helps direct them to the mentors and counselors who will best address the specific needs and goals of each young person. He sees himself as planting seeds, and he gains deep satisfaction from seeing those seeds sprout and grow into beautiful, strong trees.

Raul knows that AI students are gaining the tools and strategies that will empower them to realize their dreams. As a childhood immigrant himself, he understands the challenges faced by young people new to the country, and is grateful to be in a position to make a difference.

The journey continues

Recently, Raul discovered the benefits of mindfulness meditation, and of learning to breathe as a tool for relaxing and coming more present. (Not surprisingly, he learned about the importance of breath by participating in a recent EduCare Parent & Family Skills Workshop.) And never one to turn down a good challenge, he’s committed to walking 10,000 steps a day. He’s up to 169 days – and counting.

Raul Fernandez, we’re so glad that your journey has included EduCare. You are a gift to your students, the Estéban Torres High School Community, and all of us at EduCare. We honor and thank you!

EduCare in the News:

ERC reports on ACE Initiative’s positive impact

Heartset Education is EduCare’s social-emotional learning (SEL) program, designed to assist students as they learn to improve attitudes and self-care behavior while learning to better manage their emotional and mental health.

ERC’s evaluation looked at the ways school-based, universal SEL programs can improve the school success of a high-poverty, mostly Hispanic high school student population.

Effectively Fostering a Strong Base of Support

The study found that EduCare’s AI successfully provided a foundation for students to develop social and emotional skills, and that the skills they learned then helped them to overcome uncertainties and challenges while excelling academically.

These positive outcomes were further advanced by the holistic approach that EduCare’s AI takes by working throughout the full school day, year-round, to support both students and the adults who care for them. In workshops for parents, for example, they learn how to effectively support their child’s development and pursuits. Further, AI supported teachers in focusing on their own social-emotional needs, in addition to those of their students.

EduCare Advances Student Success

Providing SEL and character-building programs that emphasize the development of positive attitudes and wise decision-making results in better behavior, relationships and improved academic performance. The study found that the academic impact of these programs was significant. Across three measures of academic success (GPA, Credits Earned, and School Attendance), students in an EduCare AI school significantly outperformed matched peers at non-AI schools.

ERC provides evaluations for K-12 school districts, county offices of education, institutions of higher education, and professional and community-based organizations. ercdata.com

You can download a PDF of the full ERC report here.

Click here to learn more about EduCare’s ACE Programs and ACE Initiative.