Our guest at our February Action Team Meeting (ATM) will be Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Marie Goodloe Johnson. Come to listen, learn and support the new initiatives on education in our neighborhood. Come to support the educational priorities we have for Rainier Beach.
We will also at this time reveal the schedule of topics for discussion through the year!
Date/time: Thursday, February 18, 2010, 6:30 pm
Location: Rainier Beach Family Center
For more information, contact:
Phone: 206.914.1762
email: rainierbeachneighborhood@hotmail.com
I hope that this event is jam packed with our youth. Will there be an opportunity for the Who’s Next Campaign to make a presentation? The website is http://www.whosnextcampaign.org.
Will there be flyers posted for the RB community at the kiosk located at Mapes Creek?
Best Wishes
Greetings Colleagues,
The 17th Annual Conference of the Washington Alliance of Black School Educators (WABSE) is fast approaching on March 18th-2oth and registration is now available. The theme is “Achieving Academic Success for African American Students: Programs, Practices, and Resources That Work”. This conference is happening at a time when many districts, this state and the nation are confronted with the problem of academic under-performance for many African American students. With so much focus and concern about the achievement gap, drop-outs, low graduation rates, high incarceration rates, high unemployment, and other indicators of a failed system, this conference is very timely. We are developing a Resource Manual for use in working with African American students to achieve success. It will be unveiled and distributed at the conference for your use.
Attached are a conference flyer, conference schedule, and a registration form. Additional information is available on our website http://www.wabse.org and includes workshop topics, Youth Institute flyer and Youth Registration form. Please share this information with your colleagues and professional contact list. This conference will be an excellent professional development and in-service training opportunity for you and your co-workers. Clock hours will be provided by OSPI.
We look forward to your attendance and participation. Thank you for supporting our conference.
Sincerely.
Thelma A. Jackson, Ed.D.
Aviation High School
I’d like also to comment on another component of our work with the communities surrounding the airport. I have had the distinct privilege of serving on Aviation High School’s Founding Board since its inception. Aviation High School is truly a unique educational institution and a wonderful example of what is possible when a school partners with industry, higher education, parents and families and the community at large to create a learning experience that simultaneously prepares students for the rigors of college and the performance demands of a high-tech world workplace. I applaud the Highline School District for turning the concept into a reality and am thankful for the leadership and foresight shown by the school’s Principal and CEO, Reba Gilman.
Located currently in the City of Des Moines, Aviation High School is the only college-preparatory, aviation-themed high school in the Northwest. The school opened in 2004 and is now at capacity with just over 400 students. The school’s goal is to become the premier school of choice for science, technology, engineering and math in the Pacific Northwest.
Partnering with the School
A large part of the school’s educational philosophy is a focus on including as much hands-on instruction in its curriculum as possible. And that is where Sea-Tac Airport and all the school’s aviation and aerospace partners come in. Through a variety of programs and joint ventures, we at Sea-Tac help provide the students with the real-world context for what they are learning in their classes. Our objective is to help them understand why what they are studying is relevant to their eventual career paths and to expose them to the wide range of jobs connected to airports and aviation. For example, freshmen at Aviation High School shadow Port of Seattle Aviation Division staff on multiple occasions throughout the year to experience first-hand what a typical day is like for an airport employee. All sophomores at the school take part in a month-long environmentally themed program that features lectures, hands-on activities and a field trip – all developed and presented by Aviation Division staff. The month-long program, known as the Airports & the Environment Curriculum, ends with teams of students presenting before a panel of experts their solutions to a hypothetical aviation-themed environmental challenge. Aviation High School students also have served as full-time, paid summer interns at the airport in a variety of Aviation Division departments.
A $15 Million Commitment
Finally, through an agreement between the Port and the School District, the Port committed $15 million of its tax levy funds to Aviation High School. Of that amount, $10 million will be dedicated exclusively to the construction of a new, permanent high school next to the Museum of Flight. It is currently anticipated to open in 2012. With more than 200 aviation-related businesses nearby, the new school — which will be known as Raisbeck Aviation High School — will be ideally situated to take advantage of partnerships with aviation and aerospace leaders and to further strengthen its aviation-themed curriculum.
Expect to hear from me again soon. And, as always, if you have questions about anything at all, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Mark M. Reis
Managing Director
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/03/07/magazine/20100307-teacher-videos.html#/readingaloud
Watch and Listen to how effective teachers teach. Very short, between 1- 2 minutes.
Very inspiring…5 stories.
Please forward…
This young man is more than an inspiration. This oration should be
taken to heart by all our “cultural” leaders, and spread widely.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMyp8y8SkUM
This is terrific, Secret, thanks for sharing it with us!