Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Students Launch a Business

High school students in Middle Creek are reinforcing their classroom learning by starting a business and having a lot of fun.

Click here to learn more.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Mentorship Program Helps Struggling Students

A group of mentors in University Place School Districts is reaching out to African American boys who are struggling in school. Students in the program are bringing up their grades with the encouragement of their peers and mentors.

Click here to read the story.

Voices of Children Contest

5th Annual Voices of Children Contest
What living with a grandparent, aunt, uncle or other relative has meant

What is the contest?
Voices of Children Raised by Grandparents and Other Relatives is a contest for children in Washington State who are being raised now or in the past by a relative other than their parents. The contest honors both the children and the more than 35,000 relatives in Washington State who are raising them.

What do you do?
Write a poem, short essay, or draw a picture that describes how living with a relative (such as a grandparent, aunt, or uncle) has made a positive difference in your life. Entries will be judged in three age categories 5-7 year olds, 8-12 year olds, and 13-19 year olds.

What are the rules?
• All participating children must live in Washington State and be 5 -19 years old.
• Poems should be 21 lines or less.
• Essays should be 200 words or less.
• Use colored pencils, markers, pencil, or crayons on any drawings. Make your art as big and bold as possible and add a statement that explains your drawing.
• Writings may be submitted on the attached entry form or on a separate piece of white paper. Drawings should be on white, unlined paper. If the entry form is not used, make sure to include your name, age, address, phone number, and e-mail (if available).
• Entry must be original, in English, and unpublished.
• Winners will be notified in early May and all decisions of the judges are final.
• We reserve the right of first publication and use of writings and drawings.
• All entries may be published in a 2008 book called Voices of Children-Raised by Grandparents and Other Relatives.

What are the prizes?
The first 200 entries will receive special gifts. The top two entries in each age division will receive $100 from Twin Star Credit Union and more!

Questions?
If you have questions, please call Family Education and Support Services at 1-877-813-2828 or e-mail Shelly Willis at ShellyWillis1@qwest.net.

All entries must be submitted or postmarked by April 10, 2008.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Teaching Tolerance Offers Grants to Schools & Districts

Teaching Tolerance is offering grants of up to $10,000 for programs that equalize students' experience in school. Letters of inquiry are due by May 15, 2008.

Click here for more information.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Seeds of Compassion Coming to Seattle

Seeds of Compassion is a five-day event celebrating kindness and the nurturing of children in Seattle from April 11-15.

The Dalai Lama will be at KeyArena on Monday, April 14. He'll sit down with children and leaders to speak about empathy and compassion. Schools are invited to participate in the "What Does Compassion Look Like" campaign, or are encouraged to initiate compassion programs in their schools.

Those who cannot attend are invited to watch the worldwide Webcast. Tickets are free and travel costs will be reimbursed for schools.

Click here to learn more.

Tolerance.org Gives Pointers on Family Engagement

Tolerance.org published an extensive article to celebrate Bring Your Family to School Week, February 10-16. It covers several key areas of family engagement: initiating contact, inviting engagement, overcoming language barriers, using plain terms and recommended resources.

Click here to learn more.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

African American Legislative Day – Students Top Priority

Washington State’s Capitol building was all a buzz February 4, 2008, with nearly 1,400 students and adults taking part in the African-American Legislative Day. One of the top legislative priorities outlined by the Commission on African American Affairs is House Bill 2722. The Bill was introduced by Representative Eric Pettigrew, to create a strategic task force on reducing the achievement gap for African American students.

What makes this African American Legislative Day different from years past is the strategic positioning of legislation aimed at closing the racial opportunity and achievement gap for African American students. The Black Education Roundtable, an informal advisory group convened by the Washington Commission on African American Affairs has been instrumental in initiating and rallying support for this Bill.

Thelma Jackson, one of the presenters for the session on Education-The New Civil Rights Arena, made it clear that HB 2722 is not a study Bill. Dr. Jackson indicated that we already know from the alarming facts and figures that show African American students are falling behind. While there are initiatives to address the achievement gap there isn’t a thoughtful, comprehensive and inclusive strategy for addressing specifically African American Students. If passed by both Houses, and approved by the governor, HB 2722 will charge the CISL department the task of convening an advisory committee to conduct an analysis of the achievement gap for African–American students, the best and promising practice models for the students and a plan for implementation, benchmarking and evaluating.

Click here to visit Washington State Commission on African American Affairs website for more information regarding HB 2722, African American Legislative Day or other issues concerning the African American community. ---Victoria Moreland

Federal Way Mentors Recognized

Federal Way School District's Heritage Leadership Camp earned recognition in a local newspaper article. The camp is a part of the district's partnership program led by Trise Moore. It is good to see these programs getting recognized for their work.

The leadership program was featured in a video called "Successful Schools: Families Matter," produced by the Center for the Improvement of Student Learning.

Click here to read the story.

Click here to learn more about the DVD "Successful Schools: Families Matter."