About Lillian Mongeau

Contact Lillian Mongeau

Education:

Bachelor of Arts, Barnard College

August 2001 - May 2004

English, with a concentration in Creative Writing. Magna Cum Laude.

Published Stories:

Richmond High prepares students for future in engineering

Crosscurrents from KALW News

Bay Area schools are scrambling to add the science, math, and engineering courses that will keep their students competitive, and they aren’t waiting for the funding to trickle down. Richmond High School got a little corporate help to make a brand new engineering lab.

Castleers sing blues over scheduling change

The Bay Citizen

The Castleers are the oldest student singing group in Oakland. But since last autumn, a scheduling change has hobbled the venerable singing program. The choir’s status was changed from a for-credit course that met during school hours to an extra-curricular activity with an after-school meeting time. While this might not pose a problem in a more secure district with after-school buses, in East Oakland it raises serious safety concerns.

New texting program lets students tip police anonymously

Oakland North/The Bay Citizen

Public school students in Oakland now have one more way to let authorities know if something is making them feel unsafe on campus: texting. Beginning last Thursday, a new program allows students to send anonymous text messages to Oakland Unified School District police about anything that worries them, from rumors of a fight on campus to concerns that a weapon has been brought to school. [Link provided is to OaklandNorth.net, the article was also picked up by the Bay Citizen on January 24.]

Afraid to go to choir practice...

North Gate Radio

This story is about singing. And about violence. And about how one sometimes stops the other. The Castleers choir was founded in 1929 at Castlemont High School. Since then a number of their graduates have become professional musicians, including well-known performers like the men in Tony! Toni! Tone!. In the 1970s and 1980s The Castleers performed everywhere from Jamaica to the White House lawn, where they sang for Jimmy Carter’s birthday in 1980. Until last year, the Castleers continued to sing at EOSA. Now, they’ve moved their rehearsals to a local church.

In Oakland School Board Election, a Dearth of Candidates

The Bay Citizen

What if a city held a school board election but nobody wanted to run? In Oakland this election season, that isn’t far from the truth. Oakland public schools have improved steadily, say education advocates, but they still face an uphill battle to corral funding and improve student achievement for Oakland’s poorest.

Michael Lewis gives 'Money Never Sleeps' two thumbs down

The Bay Citizen

Michael Lewis' neon green sneakers are glowing in the darkened movie theater, one bobbing with that bouncy energy extreme extroverts have. "What I think we're going to see is a movie made for money by a man whose heart is in South American dictatorships," Lewis says, gesturing at the blank screen with his soda in hand. "He didn't know what a CDO was." A CDO is a collateralized debt obligation, and the man in question is Oliver Stone, who directed "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps," which is about to start rolling on screen 1 at the Rialto Cinemas in El Cerrito.

In Bend, a safe place for visits

The Bulletin

Alisha Dobkins never thought the court would order that she was only allowed to see her daughter Hailey King, 5, during supervised visits. But in the summer of 2007, the situation with her partner exploded and that’s exactly what happened.

Bend bakeries make bagels

The Bulletin

Despite the lack of faith in West Coast bagels from East Coast transplants, there are a few bakers in Bend, many from the East Coast themselves, who are working hard to create the best replica of a traditional New York City bagel they can manage. And as the local population of both East Coasters and Jews has grown, so has the number of shops trying to unlock the bagel magic.

Is ailing economy thinning the herd? Fewer animals shown at Deschutes County Fair

The Bulletin

There were fewer hogs than usual in the FFA Swine Showmanship Competition on Thursday morning. The event was followed by the 4-H version of the same competition and that contest was also smaller than last year.

Oregon cuts Seniors’ in-home care: A loss for living independently

The Bulletin

For more than 30 years, seniors like Carol and Robert Illinik have depended on OPI to help them with basic tasks, like vacuuming, that allow them to stay in their homes. Now, that safety net is disappearing. The program will end Aug. 1, the Central Oregon Council on Aging announced last week, because of state budget cuts.

Learning in Golden Gate

Oakland North

[Multimedia package] Our goal for this research project was to create an audio-visual map of the learning resources in the Golden Gate neighborhood. Click on the interviews to the right and the maps, infographics and slideshows below to see what we found. Mongeau led a team of five graduate students from different U.C. Berkeley graduate schools to create this package.

Teach For India

GOOD.is

Skinny arms stretched high—59 eager hands rose above 60 equally eager faces. This is the classroom of Rahul Ranjan and Iffat Khan, two of the first to heed the call of Teach For India, a new program that trains and places recent college graduates and young professionals in slum-area schools in Mumbai and Pune.

Adult education in Oakland faces budget cuts, layoffs

Oakland North

In addition to GED classes, Oakland’s Adult Education program has historically offered courses ranging from English as a Second Language to enrichment classes for senior citizens. Like the city’s K-12 system however, Adult Ed is facing massive cuts and administrators have had to narrow the program’s focus.

Tech students who stayed in class got a lesson in funding

Oakland North

While nearly 2,000 people were protesting cuts to higher and K-12 education on the Oakland streets, most Oakland Tech students were in class. Those that stayed – including one particular Spanish class – got a lesson about California’s funding crisis.

This story appeared as part of a larger package on the California Budget Crisis

Protesters arrested, removed from freeway

Oakland North

Approximately 150 protesters who temporarily shut down the 980/880 freeway were arrested on an off-ramp this afternoon by Oakland police.

This story appeared as part of a larger package on the California Budget Crisis

Oakland Tech's rendition of "Hamlet: Blood in the Brain"

Oakland North

[Audio slide show]

The talent and energy in “Hamlet: Blood in the Brain” is a testament to the hard work of the students and teachers of OakTechRep, Oakland Technical High School’s student theater company. The play, written by Naomi Iizuka, sets Shakespeare’s Hamlet in 1989 Oakland.

Teachers' balks at proposal to increase teacher pay

Oakland North

The Oakland School Board is considering supporting a ballot initiative that would raise taxes to pay higher teacher salaries. But the proposal has encountered an obstacle on the question of charter schools.

The Story of a School Lunch

Oakland North

[Multimedia package]

Follow one meal served at a west Oakland elementary school from start to finish.

Note: Lillian worked with a close-knit team - Laurel Moorhead and Tasneem Raja - to design and produce this story which is a full web page worth of multimedia features and reported stories.

Obama Risks Losing Disillusioned Young Voters

The Oregonian

Mongeau wrote this op-ed for The Oregonian in her capacity as a occasional guest columnist offering a "young voice" to the debate. The announcement that Obama would send additional troops (most of whom will be very young) to Afghanistan prompted the op-ed.

Back to school for grown-ups: Oakland's principal for a day program

Oakland North

As part of Oakland’s Principal for a Day program, Port official Diann Castleberry learns how to write tardy slips, subs for the secretary, and grapples with the Odyssey.

New schools head Tony Smith: "This is the future of democracy."

Oakland North

Oakland's new superintendent of schools, who'll be participating in a public town hall at North Oakland's International High School this Wednesday, talks to reporter Lillian R. Mongeau about the achievement gap, the challenge of useful teacher evaluations, and "cutting zeros off the budget."

Gen Y: People with Promise, and Problems

The Oregonian

In the final installment of her occasional opinion column, "mY generation," for The Oregonian, Lillian Mongeau, class of 2011, writes that Generation Y has the potential to be the most important generation since the Greatest Generation.

Awards:

Dean's Award for Distinguished Public Service Journalism (March 2010)

This award recognizes exemplary reporting, editing, and other professional-quality contributions to Oakland North during the 2009-2010 school year.

Anna Quindlen Fellowship (April 2004)

Monetary gift made by Anna Quindlen to the Barnard College Writing Fellows in recognition of exceptional service and dedication to the program. The award is given annually and is granted to one senior Writing Fellow per year.

Lenore Marshall Prize for Prose (April 2004)

Awarded by the Barnard College English Department for exceptional work in creative prose.

Work Experience:

California Report Intern

KQED  - San Francisco CA  ( January 2011 - May 2011 )

Produce spots. Conduct interviews and advance report stories for staff reporters. Prepare readers and cut and script bits for KQED News.

Reporter

The Bulletin  - Bend OR  ( May 2010 - August 2010 )

Wrote daily news for The Bulletin as a general assignment reporter. Wrote features, front page news and daily local news. Averaged one story per day.

Reporter

Oakland North  - Berkeley CA  ( August 2009 - December 2009 )

Write short and long pieces and produce art and multimedia for Oakland North, a hyper-local news website covering North Oakland. Oakland North is run through UC Berkeley and is funded by a grant from the Ford Foundation.

Content Curator, Resource Editor

Teach For America  ( October 2008 - May 2009 )

Secondary English/Language Arts Content Curator: Use existing and ever-expanding network of content specialists to gather high-quality teaching resources for TFA’s Resource Exchange database. (5-7 hours/week) Resource Editor: Review, edit, and tag resources for TFA’s Resource Exchange to improve usability. (10 hrs/week) Lillian worked from Hood River, OR as a remote employee for this New York, NY based non-profit.

Community Outreach Lead

Insitu, Inc  - Bingen WA  ( June 2007 - June 2009 )

Community Outreach Lead (Oct 2007-June 2009): Coordinate with local non-profits to organize volunteer and fundraising efforts by Insitu, Inc. **Originated current Community Outreach program: tripled employee participation in local events. **Won Building the Future Award in October 2008 Other Positions held with Insitu: Contracts Administrator (Oct 2007 – Oct 2008), Marketing Intern (June 2007 – Sept 2007)

Seventh Grade English Teacher, Teach For America Corps Member

Roma Middle School  - Roma TX  ( June 2005 - May 2007 )

Seventh Grade English Teacher: Wrote curriculum designed to drastically improve below grade-level performance. Planned and taught lessons for 130 students in six classes of twenty or more students. **Achieved significant gains with students as measured by statewide writing test. **Wrote and received Guerra Grant that allowed students to complete a photo-essay project. Corp Member: Dedicated to the movement to end educational inequity by placing highly effective teachers in under-resourced schools now, and maintaining an informed alumni network to ensure systemic change in the future.

Head Writing Fellow

Barnard College  - New York City NY  ( September 2002 - May 2004 )

Attached to a writing-intensive course each semester and tutored fifteen students on all essays for course. As Head Fellow, served as liaison between professor, students, and other fellows attached to course. **Chair of Peer Tutor Conference for peer writing tutors and advisors from seven northeastern colleges. **Extended annual public high school essay contest to include day-long college writing skills workshop for students from under-resourced public high schools.

Skills:

• Languages: some Spanish, some German
  Software: Excel, Final Cut Pro, Photo Shop, Soundslides, Garage Band
  Technical: trained on photo, sound, and video equipment
  Other: former teacher, experienced traveller, expert-level skier