Tag Archives: Youth

Pictures for the Day

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Today, let’s catch a glimpse into … Capital Partners for Education, which serves motivated students from under-resourced neighborhoods who both need and want a rigorous high school preparatory education. On the road to college, CPE offers students a unique package of tuition assistance to attend one of 17 partner private secondary schools, as well as adult mentors to guide them. Psyched for the new school year, the freshman class of 2015 jumped (or perhaps climbed) into into this past September’s Back to School Retreat.

For the past five years, 100% of CPE’s graduating seniors have gone on to college. You can help CPE maintain that perfect record right here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7 Questions – Tamara Wilds Lawson (Posse Foundation)

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We’re psyched to introduce … Tamara Wilds Lawson, director of Posse DC. The Posse Foundation, which has grown to eight sites across the country, identifies public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential and send them to college in supportive teams (or” posses”) that act as traveling support systems.

1. What was your most interesting recent project, initiative, partnership, or event?

We are currently in the final push for our annual Power of 10 fundraising event taking place on October 5, 2011, at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre here in downtown DC. The event will highlight our Posse Scholars and our programs, which both prepare them for and help sustain them through their collegiate experiences. We will also honor Barbara Harman, The Catalogue for Philanthropy’s dynamic president and editor.

2. What else are you up to?

This is a busy time of year for Posse DC because we have started our Dynamic Assessment Process (DAP), which is the unique way we identify the talented young leaders from area high schools we will send to top colleges and universities across the country on four-year full tuition scholarships. This fall, we have already interviewed over 1,000 potential Posse Scholars.

3. Is there a moment, person, or event that inspired you to do this particular work?

Most recently, my exposure to the talented young people participating in programs at the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center motivated me to seek fulfilling work that would highlight the kind of intellect and capacity for excellence they consistently exhibit. I am thrilled that The Posse Foundation, which has been providing opportunities for incredible young leaders like them to go to college for over 20 years, through the vision of its president and founder Debbie Bial, is the perfect place for me to do just that.

4. Who is your hero in the nonprofit/philanthropy world?

Reggie Van Lee, who is an Executive Vice President with Booz Allen Hamilton where he leads the firm’s not-for-profit and public health businesses, is a phenomenal leader in the philanthropic world! Although he has a national profile, which he developed over the course of a 25 year career in which he has helped transform public and private organizations, he is personally involved with several local projects in New York City and Washington, DC. He is beloved in DC because of his unique ability to see the intrinsic value of productive non-profit organizations, regardless of their size, and support them unconditionally. I am inspired by the breadth of organizations and lives he has transformed on a national and local level.

5. What is the single greatest (and non-financial) challenge to the work that you do every day?

One of the biggest challenges we face as an organization is that there is an overreliance on standardized test scores by many institutions of higher learning — which leads to countless capable, dynamic students being overlooked. As a result, we find that the demand for our Posse leadership and merit scholarships far outweighs our capacity to provide opportunities for all of the great young people we encounter to get a college education.

6. What advice do you have for other people who want to work in your field?

Chose an organization doing work you are passionate about because that passion will help sustain you when the work becomes intense and your responsibilities seem daunting. My advice for future directors is don’t underestimate the importance of hiring a strong team of professionals who are a good fit for the organization and consistently supporting them once they’re on board!

7. What’s next?

As the new Posse DC director and a native Washingtonian, I am looking forward to building new partnerships with local organizations and strengthening our existing relationships with key supporters.

EXTRA:?If you could have a power breakfast with any three people (living, dead, or fictional) who would they be?

Ella Jo Baker, Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Frederick Douglass.

In The News …

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DC parents raise concerns about middle schools (Washington Post via Greater Greater Washington): “Middle schools are the latest hot spot in DC public education. With preschool and elementary enrollment ticking up for the first time in decades, parents and policymakers are scrutinizing the lack of attractive middle-grade options with increasing urgency […] Without dramatic improvement in middle school quality, the long-term prospects for reform are bleak.” Back in March, we commented on a New York Times piece on the development of middle school pedagogy. Arguably, the “middle years” are neglected nationwide as much of the attention goes towards elementary school (formative years) or high school (pre-college years). Has the same been happening here?

Dismal DCPS Statistics Shared at Council Hearing (DCist): “[Tuesday] afternoon, D.C. Public Schools chancellor Kaya Henderson and other officials appeared in front of the DC Council’s Committee of the Whole to talk about middle school education […] Among the figures that Henderson and DCPS officials quoted: 18.4 percent of DCPS middle schoolers have missed classes because they didn’t feel safe traveling to school; 13.9 percent of middle school students were afraid of being beaten up at some point in the last year; around 40 percent of DCPS ninth graders repeat the grade, while one in three DCPS ninth graders fail algebra.” In other words, many of the most dire problems in DC middle schools have little to do with academics. Schools need to be effective, absolutely, but they also need to feel safe and protected.

Continue reading →

Pictures for the Day

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As we continue our recap of cool spring/summer events, catch a glimpse into … The Theatre Lab’s Dramathon fundraiser for the “Send a Kid to Theatre Camp” campaign this past May. The Dramathon participants that raised the most for the campaign (between April 4 and May 6, 2011) had the chance to perform alongside some of DC’s most recognized professional actors in an evening of original ten-minute plays by local playwrights.

So how does this story end? The Theatre Lab exceeded its campaign goal by 19%, bringing in $58,676 for their youth scholarship fund, which enables low-income local youth to participate in The Theatre Lab’s drama programs at little or no cost. The Dramathon was to thank for over one-quarter of those funds. Check out the stars below — and learn here how you can support programs at the Theatre Lab all year round! Continue reading →

Pictures for the Day

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Today, catch a glimpse into … Liberty’s Promise, which combines professional development and civic education to sustain and support young immigrants in need — while encouraging them to be active and conscientious American citizens. You can read about just a few of Liberty’s Promise’s young participants right here.

This past June, Liberty’s Promise hosted their Annual Flag Day Fundraiser at Venable LLP, which was drew over 150 guests and successfully raised funds to support their critical work low-income, immigrant youth. Youth from the High Point High School after-school program spoke about their experiences with Liberty’s Promise; and The John Greely award was presented to Prince George’s County Council Member Eric Olson for his ongoing support of Liberty’s Promise’s Prince George’s County programs. Check it out:

Congratulations to all — and best wishes for the coming year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7 Questions – Tim Payne (For Love of Children)

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Welcome … Tim Payne, Executive Director of For Love of Children. For hundreds of children and teens, FLOC offers carefully paced, one-on-one tutoring that bring them to grade-level proficiency in reading and math and after-school workshops teach teamwork, leadership, and community service. Learn more!

1. What was your most interesting recent project, initiative, partnership, or event?

Our biggest news is that for the sixth consecutive year, 100% of FLOC seniors have graduated from high school on time and have enrolled in postsecondary institutions for the fall. We celebrated this news with many great projects and partnerships. Among the most exciting is a donation from TerpSys, an amazing corporate donor and partner. TerpSys, led by CEO Ed Woods, gifted a laptop to every graduating senior in FLOC’s 2011 class. Owning their own computers would have been impossible for these students, but TerpSys’s generous donation made it a reality for each of them. We hosted an inspiring event at our headquarters where Ed and his team presented the laptops to students.

I am also extremely proud that FLOC awarded scholarships to all of our 2011 graduates through our own Fred Taylor Scholarship Fund. We celebrated this news at the annual Fred Taylor Scholarship Dinner, which featured an extremely moving media project that used film and photography to tell the story of each graduating scholar. Our scholars helped create this project through a grant awarded to us by Boston University Center for Digital Imaging Arts. It was a fantastic evening where students, families, volunteers, staff and supporters came together to celebrate another successful year at FLOC. Check out the video here.

It is truly amazing to watch our students graduate from high school prepared academically, financially, and technologically for postsecondary success. Continue reading →

In The News …

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How to make a musical (Washington Post): “The 46 kids with parts in the show (another 16 work backstage or on costumes and lighting) auditioned in April. But rehearsals didn’t begin until the performers arrived at a summer camp that runs every afternoon for six weeks — and requires a lot of hard work […] But opening night, [director Lorraine] Robinson said, is very special, and gives all the kids an incredible sense of accomplishment.” Do read the full piece to learn more about Catalogue non-profit Sitar Arts Center’s production of Bye Bye Birdie, which will open this coming weekend in Adam Morgan. All the shows are sold out, but you can arrive one hour before curtain and jump on the waitlist.

First charter school approved in Montgomery County?(Gazette.Net): “Charter schools usually don’t appeal to Montgomery County Board of Education President Christopher S.

Barclay. But Monday night, he supported Community Montessori Public Charter School’s application, because he believes it might help the school system consider education from a holistic perspective. Community Montessori, which will serve students in pre-kindergarten through the third grade in Kensington, was approved in a 6-2 vote Monday evening by the Board of Education […] The school will be run by [Catalogue organization!] Crossway Community, a nonprofit organization that serves low-income women and children and already operates a Montessori school for children.” Continue reading →

7 Questions – Sarah Leavitt (Lambi Fund of Haiti)

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This week, let’s meet … Sarah Leavitt, Digital Outreach Manager of the Lambi Fund of Haiti! Based on the premise that Haitians themselves understand how development is best achieved in their own communities, Lambi Fund supports small-scale economic development projects that are conceived, implemented, and evaluated by community-based organizations.

1. What was your most interesting recent project, initiative, partnership, or event?

The Lambi Fund of Haiti just launched an exciting new partnership with a coffee cooperative in Northwestern Haiti. I find this to be an incredibly promising program because we are working with 51 coffee farming groups (with 805 members in all), who are working together to increase coffee production and sales in their region. For the duration of this project, Lambi Fund will work with these coffee producers to modernize their processing plant and to increase outputs during harvests.

In the first phase, Lambi Fund will fund the purchase of a coffee pulper and help the co-op build a glasi (drying surface) which will help improve the efficiency and quality of the co-op’s coffee processing methods. In the second phase, Lambi Fund will fund the purchase of 20,000 lbs. of coffee. Coffee purchased from growers will be processed and placed in a storage facility (to be built) and then sent to sell in international markets. Lambi Fund will also provide 25,000 coffee seedlings and 6,000 shade trees along with the funding and supplies needed to build a tree nursery. This will significantly increase the amount of coffee being grown by farmers in the region.

Throughout the entire duration of this project, we will also be providing training on technical and managerial aspects to co-op members that will ensure program success. Training on modernized coffee processing methods along with project management, and tree nursery care and maintenance will be provided. Its programs like these that really excite me — we are working hand-in-hand with communities to improve their means for agricultural production, increasing the value of goods and strengthening economic opportunities for entire regions in Haiti. Continue reading →

7 Questions – Juliana Ratner (Free Minds Book Club)

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Welcome to “7 Questions” … Juliana Ratner, Program Director of Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop. The club meets weekly at the DC Jail, exploring literature and creative writing and empowering young inmates to transform their lives. Learn more!

1. What was your most interesting recent project, initiative, partnership, or event?

Every day is an interesting project with this job! On Friday, however, we hosted guest writer Michael Mattocks, co-author of the memoir Unlikely Brothers, in book club. That day book club met on the unit itself, where the acoustics are bad and it’s hard to hear, and all the book club members were so focused and attentive. Michael talked about his journey from drug dealing and incarceration to being an involved and responsible father of five boys, and what writing a book had taught him — and they were full of questions and eager to read their own writing aloud. Afterwards Michael said that it had been one of the most powerful moments of his life, to have the opportunity to share his story with them, and to hear their poetry.

2. What else are you up to?

We’re in the process of producing a literary journal of our member’s work. We do a book every year, but this year we’re taking it to the next level. The journal has an editorial board of four Free Minds members, three of whom are in prison and one of whom is home. They have been in charge of every aspect of the book, from selecting the themes for each section to doing the final pick of poems, and it has been amazing to watch. They are committed and insightful editors and so deeply pleased to be able to give back in a positive way, especially if it can influence other people’s lives and choices.

Continue reading →

No More Homework

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Most students have tried to dodge homework at some (or several) points in their academic life. But thanks to a new policy in the second-largest school system in the country, students in the Los Angeles Unified School District will have homework count for a maximum of 10% of their grade in a given class. From Monday’s LA Times:

The LA approach is intended to account for the myriad urban problems facing the district’s mostly low-income, minority population. It’s also aimed at supporting LA Unified’s increasing focus on boosting measureable academic achievement.

According to the new policy, “Varying degrees of access to academic support at home, for whatever reason, should not penalize a student so severely that it prevents the student from passing a class, nor should it inflate the grade.” It was distributed to schools last month. […]

The new policy is commendable but should be combined with helping teachers improve their use of homework, said Etta Kralovec, co-author of “The End of Homework” and a University of Arizona associate professor.

Wheelock College associate professor Janine Bempechat said the district should focus on providing students the support they need to complete their homework, which remains crucial. “To make homework worthy of only 10% of a student’s grade sends a message that it is not important,” Bempechat said.

From my perspective, the policy actually provokes two separate debates. First, what value does homework have? Few would argue that a hard-and-fast homework requirement, which in turn leads teachers to assign busywork, is not that beneficial. But would it make more sense to help teachers craft better assignments, rather than just lessen their importance? Is the problem homework, or is the problem “bad” homework?

Second, while the article does not press the point, Professor Bempecha (quoted above) points out that “the district should focus on providing students the support they need to complete their homework.” In other words, the problem is not the volume or even the quality of the homework, but the unequal abilities of students to complete work at home. And in his estimation, fixing those inequalities falls to the school system.

But does it? The obstacles to completing take-home assignments can range from lack of access to a computer and library to the lack of a stable home environment (and quiet room). When it comes to developing study skills and enabling students to practice them, countless obstacles beyond the simple volume of the homework itself come into play. Can the school system alone, realistically and effectively, help students overcome those obstacles — or is that where education non-profits enter the equation? In particular, non-profits whose purpose is to help out at a specific point in a student’s day? … And by eliminating the worth of homework, are schools tackling the problem or just the symptom?