Together We…Mold Future Leaders

Alexis Ramirez is our site coordinator at McKibben Elementary in South Whittier. She started working for Think Together because she wanted to make an impact in the lives of students and help mold future leaders. We are excited to share Alexis’s story with you.​​​​

You’ve experienced both distance learning and in-person learning, how have you seen the pandemic affect our kids?
The pandemic has affected our kids, especially with the social and emotional aspects of the school day. You do your best with distance learning but seeing them in person again was just amazing. I noticed that the kids miss that social interaction aspect and the mentorship they get from our staff. Being in person we can give the students more 1:1 conversation time and support them with their needs that maybe their parents weren’t able to help them with at home like connecting to their online classes and whatnot.

Can you tell us a story about a student you impacted?
When I first started as the site coordinator five years ago, I had a student who had been struggling with his behavior and in school. I developed a relationship with him and learned that he likes to talk things through so you can understand his perspective. A year or so later he was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, so I worked with him and gave him a chance to use his voice and he blossomed and became one of our student leaders. He’s been doing great in our program. He’s now in 6th grade and he’s going to be going off to middle school. To see how much he’s grown with his behavior with his attitude like just being much happier at school and feeling accepted… that’s why I do what I do.

Do you have any goals professionally that you want to achieve in the next year?
I want to keep building those partnerships with my district with my principal and learn from this experience of education with distance learning or what school will look like when in person again. I think it’s a great experience for me to build on so that way if I do become a quality assurance coach for Think Together or if I am a teacher in the next few years, this experience now is just going to help me grow professionally for the future.

Tell us a little about your education, where did you go to college?
I went to Cal State Long Beach and graduated with my bachelor’s in sociology with a concentration in interaction and group relations. I’m applying to go back to school to get my teaching credentials so that is something I’m looking forward to.

How do you feel your relationship with your school’s principal is helping the kids at your school?
My partnership with my principal is really strong in communication, partnering for events, and working together to align with the school day. We let each other know what student needs are occurring and work together to support them with those needs with services like math intervention. Even before COVID we had a good relationship and would partner with the school to run events like a spelling bee that ended up becoming a district-wide initiative. Partnering with her on these events is helping our kids be more confident and strengthen their skills in different subjects.

What do you think the secret is for running a great Think Together program?
My secret for running a good Think Together program is rolling with the punches and being flexible. Things change at any moment and you have to be willing to adapt to any situation. With the pandemic and in general, we have to always be ready to adapt and meet the moment.

Alexis, thank you for all of the hard work you do for your students.

During the pandemic parents are not only focused on their careers but now are also the frontline for their child’s education. They have to work hard to find a balance between the two. Terry Bonilla is one of those parents.

Terry, a mother to a two-year-old and a nine-month-old, works in-person for Think Together’s State Preschool programs in Buena Park as the enrollment clerk. When the pandemic hit, she wanted to make sure her toddler son Nico was still able to get started with his education.

Before joining Think Together, Terry was an AmeriCorps member assigned to our Early Learning programs. She served for two years before becoming a Parent Educator. In her position she provided parents with resources on parenting styles, methods, and guides on how they can be a part of their child’s learning.

When Terry was looking for programs for her son, she already knew what the best for him would be and enrolled in Think Together’s virtual early learning program. “Where I started my love for child development, my son now gets to experience it.”

Terry has the unique experience of at one point being the teacher helping parents and their children learn together, and now experiencing it herself with her husband and son.

“He [Nico] looks forward to seeing his teachers and friends. He is recognizing his letters, colors, animals, and this week he counted 1 to 5. I was in complete shock and so proud. He loves when the teachers do music and movement. He gets to shake his sillies off. I am so thankful for all the hard work the teachers put into virtual learning. They are always smiling, happy, and motivating the children and parents. I can see that they try so hard to make the best for us,” she says.

Now working as our enrollment clerk for Buena park state preschools, Terry goes above and beyond to make sure that families are getting the support that they need. If state preschool isn’t the right stage yet, Terry helps refer them to our early learning programs and other resources within the community.

Terry, like many, has been on an emotional rollercoaster, making sure that she is supporting her family as well as Think together families.

Being the enrollment clerk means that Terry is the one to make sure that families meet eligibility requirement for our state preschool programs. She has seen first-hand through the enrollment process that many families are struggling right now.

One family she worked with recently wasn’t eligible for the program because they were a frontline healthcare worker, and between hazard pay and extra hours, they had just gone over the income threshold. Looking at the hours, the hard work and the risk this family was experiencing, Terry knew that there had to be something Think Together could do and found a solution for them to make sure their child is safe and learning while they were working long hours.

Parents across the country are facing the challenge of balancing work and family this past year. Terry’s advice is to try to slow down and take it all in.

“I’m learning this as a parent, to be patient. They are only so little for such a short time. They grow up, they go off to college. These days go by so fast and you can’t take them back.”

Wendi Quintos, McKinley Elementary School Site Coordinator in Colton Joint Unified School District (CJUSD), would do anything to make sure her students stay on top of their schoolwork. Wendi has been a Site Coordinator in our San Bernardino region for several years, and everyone who knows her knows exactly how much work she puts in to foster a community her students thrive in no matter if in-person or online.

Wendi says, “I want students to know we are here for them, that they matter, they’re heard, and someone cares for them. That they can be anything they want in life and to never limit their dreams. They are the reason I come to work, day in, day out. They motivate me to be the best version of myself so that I can be the leader they need.”

Think Together’s San Bernardino region has been solely providing programming via distance learning since March 2020. Many schools statewide experienced the challenges of connecting with students and making sure no one falls in-between the cracks. At first, this was a challenging new territory for all. However, Wendi says that “seeing kids show up each and every day pushed us to evolve, think on our toes, and see this as an opportunity to grow as educators and as leaders.”

Communities that Think Together serves have been some that have been hit hardest by the impacts of the pandemic; facing technological divides, resource limitations and financial insecurities. One of the greatest challenges has been to make sure students and families are provided for, learning, and most importantly, healthy.

McKinley Elementary School is a mid-sized school with the highest enrollment in comparison to any other schools in the district for the last five years. While statewide the news has reported attendance rates for schools to be far below average, McKinley has remained at 100% attendance. So, what’s the secret?

Wendi takes Think Together’s mission statement “partnering with schools to change the odds for kids” to the next level. She believes the secret is creating an inviting space and positive classroom culture while also building a strong rapport with school admin, teachers, parents and especially the students. Wendi participated in Orenda Education meetings and training to better understand the needs of her students and her role in helping them. With all of this, Wendi has built trust and every student knows she has their back. 

“I’m really glad that Wendi is our Think Together Lead at our site, and I’m grateful for her willingness to step up and collaborate and meet our school goals,” says McKinley’s Principal Judith Servin. 

Virtual classroom with a “Prizes of the Month” slide and students smiling during a video call.

One way Think Together and McKinley have partnered together during distance learning is by running a Math Intervention program for grades 2-6. Working closely with school-day faculty allows for a strong support system that families are in need of more than ever, and a safe space that students are eager and excited to come back to each and every day.

Think Together is proud to provide our school and district partners like McKinley Elementary and CJUSD with quality and adaptive programming that meets the needs of both the students and our stakeholders.

Think Together is proud to partner with Inland SoCal United Way and Union Pacific Railroad and is grateful for these two organizations support in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Like many nonprofits, Think Together pivoted to address the challenges presented by COVID-19 by offering distance learning support, in-person program using strict health guidelines and other critical services such as meal and device distribution.

To help meet the moment, Inland SoCal United Way and Union Pacific Railroad stepped up to provide grants that support these initiatives for students in these regions. Collectively, these regions serve in 17 school districts and up to 29,240 students.

Due to local guidelines amid COVID-19, both regions are primarily conducting class using distance learning. Our San Bernardino region was one of our first regions to start our virtual summer learning programs back in May.

One of our San Bernardino site coordinators, Gabriela Lomeli shared what this experience has been like for her:

“At the start of working remotely at home, due to COVID-19 back in March, everything I thought I knew about my role in Think Together did a complete one-eighty. Within a matter of days, our entire working day was now at home, and all online. Up until that time, I didn’t know what Zoom and Google Meet was, nor how to really use it. Like my peers, I had to quickly adapt and get myself and my team ready for the beginning our new normal.

As the end of the school year came to an emotional close, the beginning of summer would at least allow us to feel optimistic and prepare for any possible outcome for the beginning of the new school year. We wanted to be ready for anything that came our way, and if we knew we still had to continue the start the year working from home, then at least we knew this was going to be our chance to finally be able see our students, even if the first day back at program was online.”

Through our front-line staff’s hard work, many students are thriving in the distance learning environment and are recouping their learning loss.

“Distance learning has been a challenge to some students. At Van Buren we have a 3rd grade student who had been struggling with distance learning. Her family stated that due to the language barrier it was difficult for them to support her with her assignments. Within the first week of her attending our Think Together learning hub her school day teacher said that she had noticed a substantial improvement. Not only did her attendance improve, she also accomplished her first completed assignment since distance learning. The student, program leader, site coordinator and teacher are all working together to support this student and help her accomplish a successful school year.” Maria Montes, Riverside Site Coordinator

All of our regions, including San Bernardino and Riverside, have given their 110% effort to make sure that students feel supported, successful and making sure they are still having fun. With support from our corporate and foundation partners like Inland SoCal United Way and Union Pacific Railroad, we are continuously able to adapt to fit the needs of our times and make sure that our students never slip.

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