4/23 Meet Amelia Hill, District Community Liaison

Amelia began her work in Oak Grove as a parent volunteer in 1997.  She formally joined OGSD as an employee in May of 2001 as a community liaison with a special focus of support our African American community.  Recently, Mrs. Hill was recognized by ALLIED with a Lifetime Achievement Award during the Dream Keepers ceremony for her years of service.  In her role as community liaison, she supports school sites to connect families with the districts programs and services.  She is there to welcome families and provide them with information to make the best choices for their families and to connect then with the bigger community.

Mrs. Hill was one of the originators of the DreamKeepers Awards, Koffee Klatch Parents Group, and Koffee Klatch Kids Clubs, and is one of the founding members of the Lantern Literacy Project.  Her passions and drive is to provide service to our students, parents and the African American community. Through creating and facilitating events such as the STEM & Leadership Program Coordinator, Dr. Greene Scholars, 100 Black Men, NAACP, 100 Black Women, Intel Carver Scholars, SCCABE, Black Engineers, Black Physicist.

She launched the Lantern Literacy Reading Program at 5 schools with the support of  BLACK & SCCABE Community Leaders and Volunteers, Retired Teachers, Unity Care, and other community groups. She also coordinated/facilitated: Field Trips, Cultural Enrichment Programs, and Clubs for Black/Brown Students of Color during or after school that included the following specific activities: Girls of Color Writing Club, Reading and Math Tutoring Club, Girls Role Model & Princess Club, College Tours [SJSU, Santa Clara University, UC Santa Cruz, Stanford, UC Davis, Berkeley, Evergreen, De Anza & Foothill College], ALAS Conferences and Historical Black College ([HBCU) Field Trip and Conferences.

Amelia shared her beliefs regarding the district’s core values:

“Student Learning: My belief and mindset is that all children should have the opportunity to become   academically successful. Discuss with the parents that our schools are safe and nurturing for all student success.”

“Positive Interdependence: Provide examples to the parents of how our schools value student relationship with the teachers as they connect and tie-in day-to-day instructions being mindful of your child’s home environment.”

“Quality Performance:   I reassure the parents that our schools are committed to the students with creative and motivated learning with the best and ethical teacher instructions.  I support the schools to provide 21- Century activities and project base learning to show that the students are moving and advancing educationally.”

“Inclusivity:  I discuss with the parents that the schools environment respect and values all students by providing the opportunity to learn and acquire the best educations possible with a little work and support. We want all ethnicity, cultures, genders, race and nationality to be able to express themselves in a comfortable and safe environment.”

“Integrity:  Discuss with parents that we all want and provide ethical and honest communication and positive interaction between students, teachers and staff for a full experience at school.”

“Respect:  We want our students and parents to know that the district and schools value and respect all individuals, their differences, and diversity within the community”.

2/11/21

Meet Kellee Humphrey – English Language Development teacher at Caroline Davis Intermediate    

Ms. Humphrey has been an OGSD educator since 2005, working with students as a classroom teacher and/or instructional coach. She is active in several district committees including the DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging) as well as a part of the OGEA teacher’s union leadership as the Committee Chair for Equity and Human Rights. 

Here is her story:

“I am honored to have received various district-level recognitions but my most fulfilling accomplishment is seeing the growth of my students over time. The smiles and the laughs, as well as their academic achievement, verify that I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing, creating joy and the love of learning. Those smiles and laughs shared with me are what keeps me going and returning year after year. Sometimes there are tears and heartache but that too, inspires me to give all I can as their teacher.

Academic success is important but academic access is my goal. My passion as a teacher evolves as I mature and the world around us changes. The root of my passion lies in helping students find who they are, appreciate who they are, love who they are, and to dream as though they have no barriers. After 16 years working in elementary, there is one thing that remained the same at the intermediate level in reference to student engagement... relationship building! Distance learning has made this a challenge but it is still important, perhaps even more important now. I have found it necessary to approach students on their own terms and respect their limitations. In Distance Learning, I am providing more space and time for students to share and discuss. I try to create lessons and assignments that are relevant and interesting. All the while, offering grace and opportunities to be the best they can while experiencing something that is new to all of us.  

District adopted curriculum is the core of my lessons and provides a general pacing guide for the year. However, I adjust the curriculum to make sure it is accessible to my students. This may include altering time frames and incorporating supplemental material. I also like to offer diverse perspectives and images that relate to the students and purpose of the class.

I believe our greatest resource is communicating and sharing with one another. We all can take time to find links and such, but having the opportunity to dialogue with one another is powerful.    “