Imagine having a 10-second warning BEFORE an earthquake? Starting today, you can receive an alert on your smartphone that will give you 10 seconds to get to safety before an earthquake occurs!

The Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) will be delivered through the same system that Amber Alerts go out AND you can also install MyShake, a phone app that has partnered with USGS ShakeAlert and CalOES.

Here’s how it works:
“The California Earthquake Early Warning System will marry a new smartphone application with traditional alert and warning delivery methods such as Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA). The system uses ground motion sensors from across the state to detect earthquakes before humans can feel them and will notify Californians so that they can “Drop, cover and hold on” in advance of an earthquake,” the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services said in a press release announcing system launch on Thursday.”

Share this with your family and friends! This could save their lives! 10 seconds is plenty of time to get to safety, put on shoes, and grab a flashlight.

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I vividly remember Oct 17^th, 1989. Jaclyn was an infant so she and I hid under a table on the first floor while Nicole was napping in her bedroom on the second floor. Cabinets flew open, our microwave bounced to the floor, and photo frames shattered everywhere. The tremors kept rolling and ceramic pots landed on me as I made my way up the stairs to call for Nicole.  Meanwhile, barefooted Nicole managed to walk through the broken glass in the hallway without cutting her feet. We were terrified as we all walked through the house and garage out to the driveway. Huge cabinets had fallen over and it looked like a hurricane had whipped through our house. Then we looked over at our neighbor’s house and saw the entire hillside tumbled with giant boulders. This scared me to my core.

Today marks 30 years from the Loma Prieta Earthquake. We had to evacuate our home for 3 years while we shored up the hillside behind our house. Immediately, we prepared for the next “Big One” by putting earthquake kits (now called Go Bags) in our cars, earthquake kits on the property (for food and clothing), and an earthquake plan (where to meet).  But that was 30 years ago. 

A few years ago, I opened up our earthquake kit to see what was in there – it had been a few decades since I created it.  I found diapers and formula for Jaclyn – who was in college at the time! The food had all expired, the water wasn’t safe to drink, and the clothes wouldn’t fit any of us.

On this anniversary, it’s time to restock our earthquake kits and create our go bags. Check out ShakeOut.org to find your region and learn what you can do to prepare for the next earthquake.

Create your Go Bags

Let Oct 17^th be a great reminder to plan and prepare for the next big earthquake.

Starting with the 2022-2023 school year, California classes will start later: 8:00 am for middle schools and 8:30 am for high schools. It’s about time! Kids need to sleep at least 8-9 hours per night, and most can’t fall asleep before 11:00 pm.  Do the math – our students are getting 5-7 hours of sleep per night in order to be in their classroom seats by 7:30 am start times.

I have been advocating for later school day start times for decades.  When students start school later in the day, they have increased attendance and graduation rates, improved grades and performance – especially in math and science courses, and decreased car accidents in the mornings.

At Merit Academy, I set the start time at 9:00 am for all classes.  When students get more sleep, they are more alert in class and perform better on exams. The later start time also allows kids to drive to school later than the early morning commute traffic jams.

Encourage your school administrators to push back the start time for school before the 2022-2023 school year.  Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation on Sunday that makes California the first state to require the later class start times, but that doesn’t mean we have to wait until then to make the change. Let’s give our students the opportunity to get more sleep now.

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In this podcast, I talk about free child care, how to get it, why you’d want it, and my book “The Millennial’s Guide to Free Child Care in Your Home”! 

To listen to this podcast, find GakkoMom on iTunes and subscribe to my podcast, or listen to it below:

Although high school counselors often recommend that students attend a community college and transfer into a 4-year university, the odds of getting into an elite or top institution are slim. Princeton hasn’t accept any transfer students for decades and selective universities like Stanford’s transfer acceptance rate is only 1% (freshman admit rate is 5%).  The story isn’t much different for Harvard.

This news comes on the heels of the college admissions scandals where wealthy students receive extra tutoring to ace the SATs or ACTS, engage in competitive sports with private training to stand out (or be photoshopped into photos to appear to stand out), and can buy buildings on campuses to ensure admission. The economic reality is that many students attend community colleges because it reduces the cost of their overall tuition by half.

Almost half of all college students start their college education as a community college, but only 5% of students who graduate from elite colleges started at a community college. According to the Jack Kent Foundation, community college students who enroll in 4-year colleges DO succeed. These students are more likely to be from underrepresented minority groups, low-income families, and/or the U.S. military.

Elite universities have a history of NOT admitting minority, low-income, or veterans in their incoming transfer student classes. Generally speaking, they admit about 86% of their students as freshmen, 9% from 4-year universities, and about 5% from community colleges. The numbers change slightly with less competitive colleges: 63% of their students as freshmen, 16% from 4-year universities, and about 21% from community colleges.

The University of California prides itself on admitting California transfer community college students before 4-year state colleges. Last year, they admitted over 28,000 transfer students and a majority of them were from California community colleges. Because these students and their families are California tax payers, the UC Regents gives Californians the advantage in transfers to their 10 UC campuses.

To be a competitive community college transfer student, consider doing a project.  This will give you the opportunity to stand out among the competition and land you one of the coveted admissions offers. 

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What do frat brothers and priests have in common?  They’re both protected from prosecution for rape.

Rape is rape, and rapists should be put behind bars to protect others. Period. Just because most college rapists belong to fraternities or athletic teams does not give them a pass.  This isn’t the “good-ol’-boys club” where with a wink and a nod the administration excuses them because “boys will be boys.”

If colleges offered bystander training to fraternities and athletic teams, frat brothers and team members could stop sexual violence and potentially prevent rape from occurring in the first place. Students need to understand that we expect them to promote respect and healthy relationships.  I believe that this culture can change with more awareness about sexual violence on college campuses.

A recent study found that 46% of college rapists admitted to raping more than 10 times. In the real world, they would be serial rapists.  Because most rapes take place at the hands of a small percentage of the student body, the administration should expel them. This would send a clear message that rape is serious and that perpetrators will be prosecuted.

The Greek society has its place in the college culture but fraternities should not be allowed to harbor a few psychopaths with a history of raping women. Instead, the administration should find these bad apples and remove them so that Greek life – and student life — can prosper.

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Susan is spreading the news about ProjectMerit and the book Beat the College Admissions Game with ProjectMerit!  Her latest interview is with Loraine Ballard Morrill of the Philadelphia Community show.  The interview is an excellent way to spend a few minutes and is available here:

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As California Mother of the Year, I’m creating easy and doable things that everyone can do to mitigate the acceleration of the impending climate crisis. 

My clients are doing incredible projects that will reduce CO2, increase oxygen, clean water, reduce plastic waste, and more. I am also pulling together brilliant people who want to work with us to guide my students and layout step-by-step solutions to change the trajectory of this crisis.

Want to join us? It’s exhilarating and rewarding – I find it’s the best way to personally deal with the onslaught of corruption, deception, and lies that have caused this hot mess we’re in.  Please get in touch with me and let’s do this!

Susan is spreading the news about ProjectMerit and the book Beat the College Admissions Game with ProjectMerit!  Her latest interview is with David Lile of KFRU!  The interview is an excellent way to spend a few minutes and is available here:

Back in 2000, Jaclyn campaigned to move trick or treating to the Saturday before Halloween (Oct 31^st). She wanted to be able to spend the day getting her costume ready, carving pumpkins, and then trick or treating with her friends until she reached the last house with lights on! Knowing that she had school the next day bothered her because she wanted to sort and trade candies with her sister and friends after trick or treating, and then sleep in the following day. 

Jaclyn reached out to local dentists, doctors, and assemblymen to get their endorsements.  She has a scrapbook full of these letters. After hearing that Halloween is not a national holiday but instead a social holiday so there are no laws to pass, Jaclyn rallied her friends to join her on the Saturday before October 31^st.

At 12 years old, Jaclyn made fliers and posted them in her favorite neighborhoods so everyone would be prepared to pass out candy before Halloween. She was surprised how receptive people were to her idea and they indeed were there to pass out candy when she trick or treated on the Saturday before.

Almost 20 years later, Jaclyn’s idea is gaining traction.  The Halloween and Costume Association has started a petition and has almost 100,000 signatures so far. They claim that the date change to the Saturday before Halloween will be safer and stress free. Over 60% of children don’t carry a flashlight, which makes them twice as likely to be hit by car on Halloween night.

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