Southeastern California Conference

Continued Excellence: SECC’s Instructional Coaching Team Partners with Teachers

By Becky St. Clair

Four years ago, Amy Cornwall became Southeastern California Conference’s first director of instructional coaching, located at Mesa Grande Academy. This unique position was created in an effort to better support K-12 teachers.

“Instructional coaches work sideby-side with teachers on instructional goals in the classroom, as well as on their professional development,” Cornwall explained. “We work both one-on-one and in a group as a school.”

Though initially Cornwall was the only instructional coach in the conference, interest grew, and today there are five in total. The other four are Vicki Karsten at La Sierra Academy, Aime Cuevas at Orangewood Academy, Heather Blaire at Redlands Adventist Academy, and Rachel Romero, SECC small schools coach, who rotates between three schools.

When COVID-19 closed school doors, the coaches knew they needed to expand their work.

“Though our dream is that every school has an instructional coach, that isn’t a reality yet,” she said. “With traditional school temporarily on hold, we knew we had to help our teachers adjust and adapt to the new educational reality.”

First, they established grade-level brainstorming sessions so teachers could talk through what distance learning would look like for their kids. Second, they sent out a survey, asking teachers what would be helpful, which yielded many excellent ideas.

They set up a series of online professional development

Third-grade teachers and instructional coaches gather for their round table discussion through a Zoom meeting during the pandemic.

opportunities, starting with the basics of how to use online educational tools such as Zoom, SeeSaw, Flipgrid, Class Dojo, and Google Classroom at various class levels.

“These are all common vocabulary now,” Cornwall pointed out, “but two months ago, many of us knew nothing about them.”

Teachers who were already experts at using various online platforms presented training sessions, as did the coaches. Altogether they’ve produced over 30 online workshops and training sessions on teaching various subjects

Maria Stratton, teacher at Loma Linda

Academy, presents a workshop on how to use and maximize

Google classroom.

and managing class projects and AP classes. Each live session is recorded for those who can’t attend, and nearly 200 people have attended/watched the training videos.

“This wouldn’t have happened without everyone coming together,” Cornwall stated. “If one teacher knows how to do something and another doesn’t, they show them how. All of our teachers are really pitching in, utilizing all these different methods to make sure the instruction they’re providing is at the same high level they and the students are used to.”

It’s not just on the academic side that teachers are striving for continued excellence; Cornwall points out that across the conference, schools are taking steps to ensure the valued spiritual connection is still present, too.

“We all want everyone to be successful, and we want to be there for our kids,” she added. “They’re why we’re here.”

Typically, community members are invited to come into the distribution center and share their needs with volunteers as they receive their food bags. This allows the church to follow up with community members later and invite them to events.

“The meet-n-greets at distribution centers and the hands-on prayers can’t happen anymore,” Johns said. “Overnight, everything became less personal and more time-intensive.”

Johns decided to pilot a new approach at Mt. Rubidoux church in Riverside. They began recruiting volunteers from the less vulnerable population and split them into groups of 7-10. One group got

A New Model: SECC Food Programs Still Serving…Differently

Having just begun as Adventist Community Services director for the SECC in December, Marquis Johns was barely getting acclimated to his new role and responsibilities when COVID-19 closed everyone’s doors. In February, around 45 churches in the conference were operating food pantries or distribution programs. By mid-March, there were only 20, and the process looks very different.

everything set up the night before, using proper sanitization and social distancing procedures, and another would come in the morning for distribution.

“Drivers pull into the parking lot, greeted by a church member wearing a mask and gloves who finds out what they need,” Johns explained. “The rest of the group gathers supplies, puts them in bags, and deposits them in the trunk. The driver never leaves the vehicle.”

This model worked well, and Johns quickly distributed the procedures to food programs across the conference. Many instituted a similar setup. And when the NAD offered limited funding to conference food programs, Johns made sure the SECC was on their list.

Johns is also working on other options for funding, including utilizing budgets that won’t be used this year due to COVID-19, including evangelism funds typically used to pay Bible workers and print materials related to events.

“Food programs are evangelism,” he said. “I want to offer financial aid to each operating food program in our conference so they can continue the good work.”

By Becky St. Clair

(Far left) Volunteers follow protective guidelines as they ready supplies for the morning's distribution at a pull-through necessities pick-up. (Left) Food programs of churches across Southeastern California Conference have found ways to continue serving the needs of their communities while also adhering to proper social distancing requirements.

These programs are essential. With so many people filing for unemployment, many families are unable to afford basic necessities, and children whose sole daily meal is a school lunch are suddenly without food.

“Jesus said we will have the poor with us always,” Johns said. “The pandemic has simply magnified the need that was already there.”

Johns mentioned Ellen G. White’s concept of “disinterested benevolence,” exemplified by their current distribution model.

“We should mingle with people who need our help, show sympathy and love, but never expect anything in return,” Johns explained. “No asking for phone numbers or urging them into a Bible study— just meeting their needs. Jesus followed this model; He met the people’s needs, and once He had their confidence, then He bade them follow Him. We’ve truly shifted into a full Jesus model in our service to the community, and it’s beautiful to see.”