Attend the Seattle College Bound Resource Fair

The Alliance for Education is partnering with a number of organizations from the Washington College Access Network (WCAN) and the Seattle College Access Network (SCAN) to host the 2010 Seattle College Bound Fair.

The College fair will be held on Saturday, June 12th 2010 from 9:00am to 12:00pm at Seattle Central Community College.

This event will engage families in the college preparation process and build community support for all College Bound Students. It provides an opportunity for College Bound Students and their families to learn more about the scholarship and other support/resources in the community that are available to them as they navigate their pathway to college. There will be workshops for students and parents on getting into and paying for college, career pathways, and goal setting.

The Seattle College Bound Conference presents an excellent opportunity for your individuals and organizations to connect with over 400 College Bound students from 7th to 10th grade. We encourage organizations that provide social and/or academic support to youth to participate in this event by hosting a booth.

If your organization has summer programs and is looking for students to recruit, the college fair is the perfect opportunity. Students who attend the event will be eager to learn about 2-year and 4 year colleges as well as community resources to help them prepare and get into college, including service opportunities and academic support.

Please encourage all College Bound eligible students to attend.

This is a free event that will be open to the public. Seattle Central Community College is located at 1701 Broadway Seattle, WA 98122.

We look forward to seeing you at the fair.

If you are able to participate and host a booth please contact Lee Lambert at (253) 439-5805 or via email at LLambert@collegesuccessfoundation.org.

- Mark Yango, AFE

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The College Bound scholarship is a state-funded scholarship designed to motivate 7th and 8th grade students to pursue a college education. It is four-year scholarship that will cover the cost of tuition, fees, and books. The amount of the scholarship will be based on tuition rates at Washington public colleges and universities and will cover the amount of tuition and fees (plus $500 for books) not covered by other state financial awards.

Students in the 7th or 8th grade who meet one of the following requirements should apply:

• Are eligible for or receive free or reduced-price lunch
• Are a foster youth (regardless of income)
• Receive TANF benefits
• Meet the family income requirements on the College Bound Scholarship Application

http://www.hecb.wa.gov/Paying/waaidprgm/CollegeBoundScholarship.asp

Since 2007, approximately 55,000 students have signed up for the College Bound Scholarship, the first cohort graduates high school in 2012. In the Seattle Public Schools there are 1800, 9th and 10th grade students who have signed up for the scholarship and another 2700, 7th and 8th grade students who are eligible. These students will need your help and support to graduate high school college aware, college eligible, and college ready in order to collect their scholarships.

Teacher Appreciation Week

As you may know, the Alliance has been involved in addressing the issue of recruiting, supporting, and retaining the strongest teachers in Seattle Public Schools. At the heart of this work is the recognition that a strong teaching corps is the most valuable asset of a school system. The vast majority of our teachers do not receive the credit they deserve. We would like to acknowledge the great teaching that goes on day after day in our schools.

Teacher Appreciate Week began on Monday, May 3rd. This is a unique opportunity to show our teachers how much we value their diligence and commitment to our students. The role of being a teacher is no simple undertaking, nevertheless most of our teachers are passionate, engaged, and student focused. Let’s all take this time to express our gratitude for their work.

Send an email, write a letter, stop by your neighborhood school and drop off a personal gift, or simple say THANK YOU! My son’s fifth grade teacher at Leschi Elementary is a dynamic instructor, mentor and role model. I truly value the impact she has on my son’s life and academic career. Thank you Ms. Blackwell for your amazing work in our public schools!

-Solynn McCurdy, Community Engagement Manager

Click on the links below for gift ideas and other information on teacher appreciation week.

http://www.pta.org/teacher_appreciation.asp
http://www.teacher-appreciation.info/

2010 Alliance for Education Community Breakfast - A Great Success

Last Wednesday the Alliance for Education held its 8th Annual Community Breakfast to the beat of the Denny Middle School Steel Drum Band. Over 900 individuals attended the Community Breakfast. Turn out for this year’s breakfast was the largest ever, many of them community members, students, teachers and principals of Seattle Public Schools that believe a city’s success starts with the public school system. This year’s breakfast featured Mayor Mike McGinn, Seattle Public School Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson, and Wendy Puriefoy, President of the Public Education Network.

Moved and inspired by the performances and testimonies of students and teachers, over $215,000 was raised to support the Alliance for Education, which will use the funds to boost academic achievement in Seattle Public Schools.

Sara Morris, President and CEO of the Alliance, addressed the recent progress of the Alliance for Education as well as what still needs to be done to ensure that every child in the Seattle Public School District receives the best education possible.

Daniel Nguyen, the ASB president and senior from Franklin High School emceed the event which featured performances from the Denny Middle School Steel Drum Band and the S.C.A.T.S. acrobatics team from Dearborn Park Elementary. Keynote speaker Wendy Puriefoy, the President of Public Education Network from Washington D.C., spoke about education reform and the importance of community in the efforts of achieving quality public education.

The breakfast also celebrated the achievement of certain individuals and made the public aware and proud of what’s going on in their community. The following awards were recognized:

• Comcast Leaders and Achievers Awards for Student Excellence,
• Swain Teacher Awards for Excellence, and
• Thomas B. Foster Award for Principal Excellence

We are grateful for everyone's support for the Alliance -- a partner and advocate for every student in Seattle Public Schools.

Thank you and see you next year!

- Mark Yango, AFE

Community Schools Update

A couple weeks ago, Solynn and I were attended a Community Schools Forum in Philadelphia, put on by the Coalition for Community Schools. Despite a 3:30 a.m. arrival time due to an unexpected redirect of our flight, it was a great opportunity to learn more about national efforts. As we move further into this work it’s highly beneficial to see the experiences that have shaped other efforts across the country.

Several Seattle partners attended the conference representing community based organizations, the Alliance, and a couple district staff who were brought by external community partners.

At the heart of the community schools initiative is the goal of improving student academic success by addressing the many complex needs of our students and families. We had the opportunity to learn how other agencies have identified outcomes, engaged families, and built partnerships which are having a positive impact on students in their regions.

Here are just a few of the many themes that came out of the conference:

· Remember the importance of youth participating in the planning process

· Put the community back in community schools – start planning with community members and parents at the table from the beginning. Note: This summer, the Alliance’s community engagement effort will focus on this area, planning for a strong fall outreach to families and community partners.

· Remember the importance of data. This is about supporting students and what you count counts.

· Health is a very important component for a community schools effort

We’ve been talking about this for a while and the conversation is now moving forward. It isn’t just the Alliance that is working on this effort, but various organizations building a regional effort. Partners include universities, foundations, non-profits and civic leadership. These groups are learning from each other and moving our efforts forward in alignment rather than individual parallel efforts.

We are excited to be part of this process that hopes to build a safety net for all students and ensure that all have the opportunity to succeed.

An Exciting Day

An exciting effort was launched today. The Alliance, in conjunction with 13 other community organizations and several community leaders, issued a joint statement advocating for specific changes to the Seattle Public Schools teacher contract, scheduled to be renegotiated beginning next week. This group, “Our Schools Coalition,” commissioned a citywide poll of Seattle taxpayers, public school parents and teachers. The survey demonstrated overwhelming support for the proposed changes.

Teacher quality is the single biggest point of leverage in the system. A great teacher is the single largest predictor of student success. A strong, vibrant teacher corps, where great teachers are acknowledged, rewarded and supported, will have a demonstrable, positive impact on student achievement.

Guided by a set of core principles that put student success and teacher support at the fore, Our Schools Coalition is advocating for increased teacher preparation and peer collaboration time as well as expanded mentoring and coaching programs. The group also proposes moving to a 4-tier teacher evaluation system, factoring student academic growth into teacher evaluations, and factoring performance into staffing decisions, including placement, transfers and layoffs. Finally, the coalition advocates opening up new career paths and compensation opportunities for teachers that go beyond seniority and credentialing, as well as opening up the teaching field to organizations such as Teach for America.

To view the statement, see the polling data, and sign on, go to www.ourschoolscoalition.org.

Sara Morris, President &CEO, AFE

Update on “Our Schools Coalition”

This is a historic week in education reform in our state and across the nation.

The Obama administration recently announced that Delaware and Tennessee won hundreds of millions of dollars in the first round of Race to the Top funds. Combined, these states were awarded $600 million, which leaves $3.75 billion for Round 2.

This announcement shows that the Obama Administration is serious about rewarding states that take bold actions necessary to reform their school systems. Both states submitted applications that had comprehensive, statewide plans positively impacting all students with wide support from their respective unions and school boards. In return, Delaware and Tennessee will receive significant funding from the federal government to help increase student learning and close achievement and opportunity gaps.

Several months ago, Washington was not in a good position to apply for Race to the Top funding. But this past Monday, Governor Gregoire signed into law education reform legislation which gives Washington state a chance to secure Round 2 Race to the Top money.

Now that the legislation has become law, the real work begins. School districts across the state will now have a chance to sign on as partners with the state, and we have only a few weeks to put together a strong Race to the Top application that will be our blueprint for student success in the future.

Here in Seattle, the Alliance has convened the “Our Schools Coalition.” This coalition is a natural extension of the work the Alliance has been doing on teacher quality for some time now. This coalition is broadly representative of parents, students, local employers, and the community at large, and as such is reflective of the Seattle Public Schools District constituency in these negotiations. Many of these representatives had constituents attending teacher quality forums over the past month. From these forums and from teacher focus groups, the coalition formed based on the following core principles:

• A strong teacher corps is the most valuable asset within any school system;
• Teachers are respected as individuals, professionals, and community leaders, and
• With professionalism comes the acceptance of responsibility for results

The Alliance is in a unique position to leverage relationships with SPS to move this dialogue forward.

All eyes are on Seattle as this is the first teacher contract negotiations taking place since the signing of the Race to the Top legislation. And not only is it the first negotiation, it’s happening in the largest school district in the state.

Stay tuned for more updates on the Coalition.

Mark Yango, Director of Communications, AFE

Teacher Quality Town Hall

Studies show that an effective teacher is the most important school-based factor in raising student achievement.

Join us for a Teacher Quality Town Hall on Tuesday, April 20th at South Lake High School, as we seek to support students and teachers in our school district. The event starts promptly at 6:30pm. Dinner, childcare, and language interpretation will be provided. You can register online Here or contact Rachel Hug at 206.205.0322 and Rachel@alliance4ed.org for more information.

A flyer for the event is also attached for your convenience Flyer. We look forward to seeing you there!

-Solynn McCurdy, Community Engagement Manager