damian trujillo: hello, and welcome to "comunidad del valle." i'm damian trujillo. today we talk about education, and what a better time to get some good news on your "comunidad del valle" ♪♪♪ damian: we're gonna begin today with something that is near and dear to my heart, that is, help for farmworkers all across the bay area. with me is kimberly gomez and also claudia zavala. they're members of direct action for farmworkers. we'll start with you, kimberly. welcome to the show. kimberly gomez: hello, hi. thank you for having me here. damian: thank you for being here. now tell us, first of all, about your organization, the direct action for farmworkers.

kimberly: yeah, so direct action for farmworkers is a group of volunteers organizing and collecting resources in the bay area and redistributing them into agricultural regions in northern california. we formed in response to the wildfires and the wildfires that started in august 2020, and that forced the farmworkers to comprise multiple obstacles such as home evacuations, job loss, wage loss, smoke inhalation, in addition to existing pesticides and covid-19 exposure or air quality in its location. our goal is to provide instrumental support to communities of campesinas battling the current pandemic and ongoing natural disasters. damian: and there you saw one of your volunteers at the very end.re distributig masks to all the campesinos. and, kimberly, you know as well as i do that it doesn't matter

if it's floods, fires, heat, rain. the farmworkers are still out there. they're not--they don't stop from picking the crops or growing the crops. they're still workin'. kimberly: that's correct. regardless that there was the fires happening and the pandemic, farmworkers were still out in the fields, working, and that was very devastating, and that is the main reason why we formed as a group. we have been able to distribute thousands of masks out in sonoma county and also in livingston. we have been very fortunate that the community has come together to donate ppe items and also other essential needs that have been very necessary to give out to farmworkers. damian: and, claudia, we're gonna go to you now because how

does it feel to visit all of these farms, these fields up ane growers that is handing out these ppes to the farmworkers. it's people like you as volunteers who say something needs to be done. claudia zavala: yeah, well, i mean, we've been fortunate to be able to help as much as we have been, but, you know, i always say that, in a perfect world, we wouldn't be here because it really isn't our responsibility to have to do this. our government should really be stepping up because our essential workers, our farmworkers, are feeding our nation, and they should be valued as such. so, you know, it's been a good experience for us. we've been really happy that we are able to put--step up to the plate and actually help people the way we have, but it's such a much larger need than we have been really able to, you know, provide, but we're doing our best, and it's been good to see people at least get a little bit of help, a little bit of relief

and know that there's people out there that want to help them and care about them, and that's been the best part of knowing that the community knows were there for them and that we're here to provide support. damian: and, claudia, how easy is it to get that help, for people to step up and say, "wow, i didn't know that they didn't have these ppes. i wanna help in any way." i would imagine that people are stepping up because they see, you know, and i consider myself still a farmworker. we're at the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to the american labor force, and to when people see that that is part of the issue, i bet that the volunteers step up. claudia: yes, people have really, really stepped up. the response has been amazing. it was larger than i expected, you know, so--and i was the person who was just sitting at home, not really realizing what was happening, and then, when i found out about this, i stepped up and became a volunteer. so i think as long as we're educating people about what's going on because a lot of people just did not know. so that was part of the issue, but once we started educating

people and people were realizing about the disparities and realizing that, you know, there was people working in--behind evacuation lines without masks, without protective equipment, then they really stepped up, and the response is really amazing. we've had people driving as far from, like, gilroy to sonoma to give supplies, so it's been really amazing, and people have really stepped up. damian: yeah, and, kimberly, you know, it's difficult for people, us city folk now, to breathe this air when it's smoky the way it was this past summer. you know, how was it for those farmworkers? you saw it firsthand when they're right in the thick of things, and they're having to breathe all of this contaminated air. kimberly: yeah, it has been already hard for us that we'reee smoke inhalation, but we definitely saw farmworkers that

and, as we may know, a lot hospital or go to their local e clinics without fearing that something could happen to them due to their immigration status and also, you know, paying a fee to go to the doctor is just overwhelming, and we were able to come together as a community and reach out. a lot of mutual groups arise from this pandemic and also the wildfires, and everybody has their expertise, and there were mutual aid groups that were assisting with health services, and they weren't charging farmworkers for their services, so i'm just very thankful that the community came through and

showed up for farmworkers and having just the ppe was a huge relief and being able to give out all of those masks. there is your information. it's called direct action for farmworkers. there's the instagram address and an e-mail address if you want to help. we'll be back with these great ladies. stay with us. ♪♪♪

direct action for farmworkers. and so how does this work, kimberly? do you go out in farmworker caravans and you distribute these? how often do you do it, and what do you need from this community? kimberly: yeah, so with direct action for farmworkers, we are a selective group. we are a bunch of volunteers that come together to distribute resources in different areas in california.

right now, we've been focusing in sonoma county. we've built a relationship over there with the campesinos and also the community. how we've been functioning is that we do a call of actions through our instagram, and we ask our followers and anyone out there to donate through our venmo account and also through supplies. we've been able to collect so many essential supplies, you know, like food, camping gear, and also masks, and what we do is we grab all of those donations. we sort them out, and then we drive to sonoma county to drop it off to its location that it's going to be distrib we have also done the distribution ourselves. we've done a food distribution which we collect, and we gave

out rice, beans, and maseca. we also gave out diapers, toilet paper, and baby wipes because those were essential needs that farmworkers were needing at that moment and still do--yeah. damian: and, claudia, if i can switch over to you. we have the farmworkers who are dealing with this contaminated smoke inhalation from, again, from all those fires, battling covid. it's like a perfect storm that they are working under those conditions right now. it's gotta be doubly difficult for you to get these supplies that are needed to help them do their job safely. claudia: yeah, they're--it's been difficult because there's just, you know, one crisis over another on top of another, and, you know, right after the fires, the next crisis that hit with unemployment because so many of the farmworkers--the crop was

lost, and they were actually left with--just completely unemployed and without access to unemployment benefits. so that's where we concentrated on food staples and essentials because it's really about survival at that point and just getting food on the table. and we've also tried to raise money for financial assistance for rent assistance. because so many were left unemployed, they didn't have money for rent. and with covid, we've done, kind of, like, drive-through distributions, and we've also done distributions where we go to everyone's home, and we drop off the supplies outside to do contact-less because it's been very important for us to try to be safe with covid and make sure that we're, in our distribution, also keeping the people we're trying to help safe as well. damian: when you see what you're doing, do you ever think, "dios mio, it's not enough. there are so many people in need"? is there a sense of desperation sometimes with that need? claudia: yes, of course, i mean, every time we do something, we think, "this isn't enough." you know, we have limited resources, and every time we go

out and we do a distribution, there's always someone else that needs something, and, you know, we never turn anyone away, but there's always a need, and there's always more, and there is a little bit of a sense of desperation, but, you know, we try to keep our hopes alive by thinking that we're just doing our little piece, and, hopefully, other people will be inspired to do more as well, and, you know, it goes from there. damian: and, kimberly, how does it feel right here? how full is your heart, knowing that you're doing what you can do to make it easier for them? kimberly: no, it's a beautiful feeling just being--the distributions, being able to see the faces of the farmworkers when they are getting the supplies that they need. that's what keeps us going and then seeing the lines. seeing how many people we're able to assist makes you feel like, "what is the next step? what are we doing next?" like, we need to show up again.

we need to continue the momentum. we need to keep educating because it's "out of sight, out of mind," and we wanna keep this. we wanna keep informing our followers and the community that farmworkers are still being affected by the fires and by covid. so i'm just very thankful that we've continued to get those donations in through our venmo and also people doing fundraisers for us. it has been beautiful that people contact us, and they ask us, like, "hey, we want to fundraise for the efforts that you guys are doing. by?" so that's how we've kept the momentum going. damian: that's great. well, we have your information on the screen. it's direct action for farmworkers. there's their instagram account and their e-mail address.

you'll be able to gather their venmo account there if you'd like to donate for those farmworkers. thank you so much, ladies, for doing what you are doing, the direct action for farmworkers, here on "comunidad del valle." godspeed. thank you, and up next on "comunidad del valle," the importance of education. the superintendent of public schools in santa clara county is with us, stay with us.

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and it's not the same as in being in person, a classroom. but how--give us the state of education, if you will. how are we doing? dr. dewan: i would just briefly say that distance learning is still the primary mode of instruction in santa clara county at this time, and largely that's due to the case educators that they're eager for return to in-person instruction soon, and we have a lot of hope on the horizon due to the recent dissemination beginning of the vaccine, and so i think more updates and more to come with regard to in-person instruction as the vaccine rollout continues this spring. damian: that's great. well, we're gonna talk for a couple of segments on early childhood education. what can you tell us about the programs in place in santa clara

county to make sure that, you know, it works as well as it should? dr. dewan: well, i think it's really this time and opportunity to share some updates with the parent community and also with providers of early learning and child care. as of july 1, the county office of edu for what's called resource and referral, and what "resource and referral" means is the ways in which families find child care in santa clara county, and we recently provided an online portal that gives information to parents in the community about all of the available licensed child care options for zero-to-five-year-olds. and it also is a place where families can find out about the free and reduced-cost child care that may be available to them as well, and that information can be found on our landing page.

now, we hear a lot from parents even more so right now because of distance learning, and so the r&r, resource and referral site, provides that kind of access to families. we also wanted to update community to let everyone know that the child care programs operating in santa clara county are operating in accordance with the licensing requirements as well as all of the guidance for safe operations during covid-19. i mentioned that the child care portal is available to families. it's also available to child care providers, and so if there are providers in the community, family child care homes or centers who've not yet registered in the child care portal, they can do so by visiting the child care portal

and establishing an account. and we just wanna share for both parents and providers, the website is www.childcarescc.org. damian: and you're looking at that website on the screen. so we're talkin' about child care. you know, we used to think that the education for children started in preschool, and now it's we're talking tk, but you're talkin' child care, and kids are goin' there and maybe at three years old. i guess education starts as early as possible, right? i mean, you gotta get the kids in a classroom setting where they're learning the very, very basics. dr. dewan: yeah, i think that our understanding of brain development and child development has really evolved a lot over, you know, the last 50 years or so, and so we really understand the importance of investing in early childhood education and quality child care experiences for our young people.

in fact, you know, we speak often about how 90% of a child's brain is actually deverst five g it even more important, you know, that they have this access early on. the first five years are really key to helping young people be ready for kindergarten and school experiences, and we have a lot of data that, for parents, you know, just to assure parents that this investment in early childhood pays off in the long run, where young people have better attendance in school, higher graduation rates from high school, and longer-term outcomes are improved as well, so it's an investment families can feel good about--yeah. damian: go ahead. go ahead. dr. dewan: i just also wanted to say, you know, we were just talking about the first five years, and i wanted to share additionally about that transition from going from early

learning and to tk and kindergarten, and, as such, we launched a campaign this year called steps to success, and this program helps families access all of the resources available to them in santa clara county--child care, preschool, transitional kindergarten, and kindergarten. it gives them a one-stop place to get that information and to find out how to enroll. damian: oh, that's great. well, all that information, i know that's a lot, but you can find it on that website that was given. it's childcarescc.org, and also--there is also the website there for the county office of education. we'll be back with dr. mary ann dewan here on "comunidad del valle." stay with us.

the superintendent of public schools in santa clara county. you know, dr. dewan, we don't wanna say anything positive about the coronavirus, but if there's anything that came out

of it is that all of our kids now are distance learning, and a lot of the children who--and their families couldn't afford to provide the tools that they needed--home internet, the basics, a laptop, maybe a tablet. they now have them. and so if there's anything that came out of the coronavirus, it's that. what are your thoughts? dr. dewan: well, i do think that this covid-19 experience of shifting from in-person to all distance learning did lift up some of the inequities in our community and maybe lack of access and created this opportunity for us to fill in those gaps, and so, as you noted, many schools, the county office of education and other leaders have banded together to help ensure that children who are distance learning at home have a laptop or a chromebook. they have access to the internet and the tools that they need to

paat includes, you know, sof the live instruction as well as the online lessons. so it has been something that has been very positive in the k-12 world, and i would also, you know, suggest that, even in our early learning initiatives, we've been able to provide some virtual experiences for--and supports for children and their parents during covid-19 through our headstart and state preschool programs and through some of the other preschool programs throughout santa clara county. damian: oh, well, that is a positive. thank you for sharing that. the steps to success program, you wanted to expand on that just a little bit? dr. dewan: yes, i think for steps to success, it's really an opportunity for parents to almost have a no wrong door or a one-stop shop to find out all the things that they might need

to know about early learning. our initiative, steps to success, does promote awareness about the impact of quality, early learning and the importance of regular attendance in the programs, but it also provides key information for families so that they can understand what is a quality program for their child and help get their child enrolled in those programs that have spaces. and if there are any families who might be hesitant at this point to enroll, maybe wondering whether in-person is the only opportunity or whether virtual or distance learning options might be available, we just wanna assure them that both are the case, that there are in-person services and programs available at this time as well as some continuation of high-quality programs that are more online.

and so we encourage families, again, to visit our childcarescc.org site to get more information and to enroll. we really think that, during covid, this is a really important time for us not to lose sight of being connected to quality programs for our youngest learners. damian: yeah, and, i mean, i know, at that young age, well, heck, it's difficult for me as a middle-ager too. my attention span is not really there as a tk and as a kindergartner. when you're virtual learning, it's gotta be a little difficult for them to really focus in. that person-to-person in-classroom learning is gotta be what really impacts them at that young age. dr. dewan: yes, and we see that, in a lot of our programs in in-person, headstart, and state preschool, that engagement and that curiosity and eagerness to learn is alive and well amongst our young people.

damian: all right, well, thank you so much, dr. dewan, for holding that torch for us while we battled through this coronavirus. again, that important information, there is the web address at childcarescc.org, and there's also the web address for ion. thank you so much, dr. dewan. we'll see you around campus. if you'd like to get ahold of us, there is my contact information. you can follow me on twitter. my handle is @newsdamian. also pick up a copy of "el observador" newspaper, and support your bilingual weeklies all across the bay area. my instagram address is @newsdamiantrujillo. so follow us there and get the latest information. thank you so much for sharing a part of your sunday with us. we'll see you again here next week. buenos dias. ♪♪♪

neill franklin: a loud bang shatters the silence, followed by a barrage of cops rushing in, guns drawn. these kind of things aren't uncommon, ask alecia phonesavanh about her time in kornelia, georgia. alecia phonesavanh: i'm trying to push the officer off my husband. he's saying, he can't breathe.