New Job!

It finally happened: I have a real job with a real salary! Yay!

I work for the Franklin McKinley School District in San Jose as the executive assistant to the superintendent. The district is kind of in a crappy area so the kids (K-8) deal with some terrible things: poverty, gangs, broken homes, violence. To give you an idea of what I mean, last week I was told that a 5th grader got stabbed by another 5th grader... That's 10 years old! That was Mikey last year! It's just so sad. But I feel good being a part of the people trying to help.

My boss is really passionate about helping these kids and got the works in motion to start a program modeled after one that has been very successful in Harlom (NY). It's called the Harlom Children's Zone and it focuses on education and partnerships with local organizations and law enforcement as keys to community improvement. So for example, last week the SJPD began foot patrols around the schools during the after school hours when the most trouble happens (kids getting beat up/harrassed on their way home) but parents are often still at work. Also, they're going to implement "Baby College" to teach young pregnant mothers how to read and write in english so they will be able to prepare their children to understand what they learn in kindergarten, which is the basis for success in future grades. And adult education will also include english classes and things like basic finance classes for parents. The SJ Mercury News wrote a front page article on the project that explains it better- http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_14435964?nclick_check=1

In other news I'm going to finally be moving into my own apartment! Although not far from home, it's fabulously beautiful and will be all mine.... No more sharing a bathroom that smells and looks like 2 (almost) teenage boys live there! My move in date is April 10th so I will definitely post pictures once I get the keys :) and then I will be expecting visitors!