Author Archives: Spur Local

Pictures for the Day – Part 2

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By LearnServe International

Last week, we offered a glimpse into LearnServe International, which guides students through the creation of their own “social venture” and empowers them to make a difference.

This week: meet Khadijah Wilson, a student at Luke C. Moore Academy. She is a phenomenal artist, a LearnServe Fellow, and a child in the foster care system.

Over the two years that she has been in foster care, Khadijah has become an outspoken advocate for other foster children. Through LearnServe International, Khadijah has launched “Foster Teen Expression,” an initiative to help other foster teens cope with the past and present trauma through artistic expression.

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A Meaningful Mother’s Day

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By Kathy Widenhouse, Healthy Babies Project, Inc.

For twenty-five at-risk DC teen mothers, Mother’s Day 2012 was not only their first as new parents or parents-to-be. It was also especially meaningful.

On Monday, May 14, Healthy Babies Project paid tribute to these young women with a special Mother’s Day Dinner Celebration. It was a fitting way to honor one of HBP’s principal constituencies — teen moms enrolled in HBP’s cornerstone Teen Parent Empowerment Program (TPEP) — and the steps these disadvantaged young parents are taking to turn their lives around.

At HBP’s inception in 1991, the District of Columbia had among the highest infant mortality and infant illness rates in the nation — rates on par with some Third World countries. Today, those rates have been cut in half, thanks in large part to HBP. The agency works to reverse this needless cycle of poverty, illness, and despair by equipping at-risk DC families to have healthy babies. Case management, health education, and life skills training are keys to the agency’s success. HBP’s infant mortality rate is nearly two-thirds lower than the District’s; HBP client low birth weight rate is half that of other delivering mothers in DC.

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The Loan Crisis

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By Hannah Lardent, Catalogue Development Associate & Executive Assistant

In recent weeks, the student loan crisis has become a hot topic — due in part to the impending deadline for Congress to prevent student loan interest rates from doubling. The New York Times article, “A Generation Hobbled by the Soaring Cost of College” (May 13) offers real life examples of the harsh realities of student loan burdens; and this infographic from LearnVest shows that the average debt burden for graduates is $25,000, while the median starting salary is just $2,000 above that.

On May 10, Community Partnerships Coordinator Marie LeBlanc and I attended a briefing at the White House on College Affordability hosted by the Office of Public Engagement. There was a panel discussion, keynote from Vice President Joe Biden, and a Q&A session. Members of the audience included college students from local universities, campus action groups, and players in DC community engagement. Catalogue was proud to be included in the discussion.

The briefing focused on the Obama administration’s efforts to make college more accessible and affordable. And while student loans will continue to be a reality for a high percentage of college graduates, he hopes to make repaying those loans as manageable as possible. If Congress does not act by July 1st, student loan interest rates will double from 3.4% to 6.8%. Keeping student loan interest rates low helps keep college accessible. If you are interested in getting involved in this political issue, reach out to your Congressman.

A college degree is an essential factor in economic mobility and prosperity. By 2018, 63% of new jobs will require at least some college education. And while DC currently has one of the highest concentrations of individuals with college degrees, the city also possesses a deep wealth gap. But thankfully, numerous Catalogue nonprofits are tackling the problem of college access and affordability in the greater Washington area. Here are just a few:

College Bound: College Bound targets under served junior high and high school students who have the drive and desire to attend college.Each week, students meet one-on-one with college-educated mentors who assist them in math, SAT prep, and college admissions, with the goal of improving the District’s historically low test scores and college-attendance rate. Mentors explore scholarship opportunities and help students navigate the college application process.

Reach for College!: In the District, only 43% of students graduate high school and nearly half of those never attend college. So every day, as part of their academic schedule, 2,000 students in more than 40 classes in DC use Reach for College!’s curricular materials to boost their skills in college-level reading, writing, and time management. Classes in SAT prep, college selection and application, and financial aid, help them navigate the application maze.

The Posse Foundation: The Posse Foundation identifies public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential who might otherwise be overlooked in the college admissions process. It helps them pursue personal and academic excellence by placing them in supportive, multicultural teams (“posses”) of ten students that act as traveling support systems. Posse expands the pool from which top universities recruit students, helps create more inclusive campus environments, and ensures that Posse Scholars persist in their academic studies and graduate (an astonishing 90% of them do).