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Wednesday, August 25, 2010
News Good news for the first day of school
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Wed, Aug 25, 2010 at 10:48 AM
I've heard from just as many youth who roll their eyes when you ask them about returning to the classroom as I have kids who are actually looking forward to the school year. Just a reminder kids, it always seems like a big, long ordeal while you're in it ... then all of a sudden you're out for the winter holidays, then spring break and then the year's over. Before you know it, you'll be competing with your parents for jobs.
Hang in there, do a good job, don't give your teachers a hard time and know we've got your back. In the meantime, there are a few student- and school-related headlines I want to share with you.
First, the government has some really good news for you — about $400 million dollars worth of good news. Here's a snippet:
North Carolina has been named a winner of up to $400 million in the national "Race to the Top” school reform grant competition. Other winners are Georgia, New York, Ohio, Florida, Maryland, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.North Carolina was one of 19 finalists competing for a share of $3.4 billion in grants from the U.S. Department of Education.
Under the state's proposal to win the grants, North Carolina could remove principals from low-performing schools that don't improve and would build networks of schools focused on math and science. The state would also create training for new teachers modeled after the Teach for America program, which recruits top college graduates to teach in poor schools.
Read the rest of this News & Observer article here.
Charlotte Jewish Day School (@CJDschool on Twitter) is hot on the tail of half a million dollars! (No kidding.) And, you can help.
It's a David and Goliath story.Charlotte's only Jewish school - with a mere 118 students - is locked in battle with the big guys, the mega-schools in New York, Texas, California.
And David is winning.
Which is great news because $500,000 is at stake.
Charlotte Jewish Day School, located at 5007 Providence Road near Fairview Road, is taking part in a nationwide competition sponsored by Kohl's. Any school across the country can visit the Kohl's contest page on Facebook and vote for their school.
Each person gets 20 votes, but only five of those votes can go to a single school.
Read the rest of this South Charlotte News (a Charlotte Observer publication) article, by Caroline McMillan, here. And before cast five votes for Charlotte Jewish Day School here.
Also, West Charlotte High School is in the news for its new mentoring program:At West Charlotte High School, where more than 75 percent of students come from economically disadvantaged households, nearly half of the freshman class will drop out before graduating.
Mayor Anthony Foxx, a West Charlotte grad, said that many of the 1,700 students there simply need someone positive to look up to.
“Young people can be successful, but they have to see examples of success,” he said.
Elected officials, members of the faith community, business leaders and community groups from Charlotte’s west corridor recently announced the West Charlotte Mentoring Coalition, a collaborative effort to eliminate the drop out rate by providing mentoring and tutoring support for ninth graders at West Charlotte High School.
West Charlotte Principal Shelton Jeffries said the graduation rate at his school is a serious concern. He believes the work of the coalition will be powerful in reversing those trends by positively influencing the lives of young people.
“Mentorship is the tool by which we build and will have a significant impact in increasing the graduation rate,” he said. “By engaging community stakeholders we have our opportunity toward that end. The power and symbolism of this initiative is enormous.”
Read the entire Charlotte Post (@thecharpost on Twitter) article, by Michaela L. Duckett, here.
And! Some area students are spitting on stage ... but it's not what you think (it's actually something very cool):
Four Charlotte teens took the stage Sunday at Duke Energy Theater, part of the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center in Spirit Square, to share what's on their minds and compete for cash and prizes. The evening, a regular monthly happening sponsored by the award-winning Slam Charlotte, is called "Speak Up Youth."And, by the way, when you're a slam poet you don't recite poetry, you "spit" it--and you back your words up with raw emotions. So prepare to be moved.
Read the rest of this Crossroads Charlotte (@crossroadsclt on Twitter) bulletin here.
Here's a video, shot by Lashawnda Beacoats, from Sunday's Speak Out Youth poetry slam:
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