The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission--Envision Prince George's.

Dear Prince George’s County Parent,

You may have heard about an initiative launched by The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission--Envision Prince George's. Its goal is to get people more involved in helping to create a great future for our county. Envision Prince George's is a call to action to develop and implement a vision for our county's future with a vibrant economy and a high quality of life for all. As parents of our youngest residents you and your family members should be involved and have your voices heard.

During the past several months, Envision has actively engaged more than 1,000 people in community forums and other activities throughout the county. In all of these programs we have been asking people what they like about life in Prince George's County, the challenges we need to overcome and what they want our county to be like in the future.

The Envision Prince George’s 21st Century Town Meeting will take place Saturday, March 20th at the Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex in Landover. We are expecting a historic event with more than 1,000 people gathering to give their views about the future of the county and to help plan some specific action steps to implement the visions being created.

This Town Meeting will be very different than any meeting you have ever attended. The size and diversity of the crowd will be quite unusual as well as the fact that this will be a highly participatory meeting. Like the Community Forums we had this past fall, the Town Meeting will feature the use of extensive table discussions and electronic keypad polling on lots of issues. Each table will also have a computer to use to record their views on the different issues that are discussed.

I hope you will plan on being a part of this important and unique experience so your voice can be included as we talk about what needs to be done to ensure a high quality of life in the future.

Go to www.envisionprincegeorges.org for more information, to sign up for the Town Meeting on March 20th. Visit this streaming link to view the Public Service Announcement about the event: http://media.favornetwork.com/Media_FNS/D-REEL.html.


Sincerely

Karyn Lynch
Chief of Student Services




--
Karyn T. Lynch
Chief, Student Services
Prince George's County Public Schools
301-952-6384

Teacher of the Year Student Essay Contest!

Maryland Teacher of the Year

The Maryland Teacher of the Year Program recognizes the work being done by the state's outstanding teachers. Drawing from a pool of nominees representing each county, one individual teacher is selected for the honor of representing Maryland in the National Teacher of the Year competition.

For eligibilty and nomination process information, please review the Prince George's County TOTY 2010 Brochure. Complete the TOTY 2010 Application Form and include with the nomination items listed in the brochure. Nomination Deadline - Friday, March 19, 2010, 4:30 p.m.

Teacher of the Year Student Essay Contest! To honor and celebrate the Prince George's County Teacher of the Year, the Department of Publicity and Publications will sponsor an essay contest for students in Grades 10, 11, and 12 with the theme, "How My Teacher Changed My Life." The deadline for submissions is March 26, 2010.

First, second, and third place winners will be selected in each of the three grades, with one of three first place winners being named Most Inspirational. The Most Inspirational winner will read their winning entry during the Prince George's County Teacher of the Year celebration at the Newton White Mansion on April 28.

Education and the Community Survey

Please take the Education and Community Survey.

We want to know, which factors influence your decisions to move into or to leave a community. To take part in our survey, simple click the link below:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/forestoftherain-educationandcommunity

Do you know any 11-18 year old students in DC area who could be Dream Leaders?

Hello from Dreams for Kids,

I know you are busy and thank you for any time you can take to read our note. We believe in this program and its proven results and appreciate any advice or leads you may have that could help us identify DC youth that could benefit from our program this Saturday.

This Saturday's Dream Leader conference is a unique event that will bring together children between 11-18, from all backgrounds and of all abilities (Children from public schools, private schools, schools for children with disabilities and other programs targeted at the underserved) to expose our participants to new and different communities and teach them how to work together to create and engage in service projects that help kids around the world who have less. It is empowerment through giving and does wonders for kids self esteem and confidence, especially when they are coming from adversity themselves. The Dream Leader program celebrates the ability in every child and shows them that they can make a difference in the world.

Some info on the program can be found here www.dreamsforkids.org/dreamleadersdc and I am attaching the application for any students that you would like to have apply.

The program is free for all participants (meals included) and we want to make sure that we are reaching as many children from the DC area that could benefit form the program as possible. We know how busy you are and appreciate any time you can take to help us identify potential Dream Leaders.

If you have any questions about the event this Saturday or about our unique program offerings please call me at 703-475-9322 or email me at ahorn@dreamsforkids.org > . I am happy to help in whatever way I might be able.

The event will run from 9-5 this Saturday and is being held at 920 U St. NW (right next to U St.. Metro station)

Thank you for time and look forward to hearing from you. To learn more about Dreams for Kids, please check out our website at www.dreamsforkids.org/dc


Andrew Horn
Executive Director
Dreams for Kids (National Office)
703-475-9322
www.DreamsforKids.org/dc
2451 18th St NW *
2nd Floor
Washington, DC 20009

Microsoft announced the Bing “Earth Day Photo Contest for Students

On Friday at the NCCE teacher conference here in Seattle, Microsoft announced the Bing “Earth Day Photo Contest for Students.” Bing is inviting students of all ages in the United States to “Explore the World Through Photos” to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22nd.

The winning student photo submission will be the featured photograph on the Bing homepage on Earth Day. We think this photo contest will capture the imagination of students, parents, and educators. It will motivate students to take a look at their world through the lens of the camera and share it online through the contest homepage: http://www.earthdayphotocontest.com/.

Parents and teachers tell us that students are inspired by the amazing array of photos featured on Bing…now it’s the students’ turn to inspire us. In addition to the grand prize winner seeing their photo on Bing.com, we’ve pulled together some great prizes for both students and their schools. Winners across the four age groups (ages 5-10, 11-13, 14-17 and 18+) will win a trip for two to Seattle to take part in a Bing editorial team meeting where we pick images for future homepages. Additionally, each winner will receive equipment from HP and Canon to help build digital photo resources at their school. Prizes for individual winners and their schools across the four age groups will total over $70,000.

· 1st place prizes: Individuals receive an HP Pavilion desktop and monitor and a “Digital Photo Lab” for their school.

· 2nd place prizes: Individuals receive an HP Pavilion desktop and monitor and a “Digital Photo Kit” for their school.

· 3rd place prizes: Individuals receive an HP Pavilion desktop and monitor and a “Digital Photo Starter Set” for their school.

Even better, we think, is that we’re partnering with DonorsChoose.org to give away “GivingCards” during the voting stage from April 13 – April 19. Bing will give a $5.00 GivingCard for DonorsChoose.org to the first 20,000 people who vote each day. Voters can then decide what classroom projects (like math, science, art, reading) will benefit from Bing’s donation. If you do the math, we’re talking up to $100,000 a day to help schools across the country. Each day you can return to the site to cast another vote and have an opportunity to pick up another GivingCard.

To find out more about the contest, visit http://www.earthdayphotocontest.com/,where you can sign up to receive a reminder when we open the contest to submissions on March 29. Teachers will also be able to order free posters for their classrooms in coming days, as well as take advantage of other resources on the site.

Finally, the Bing team is partnering with the USPS Education Marketing and Sales team on the photo contest and they are making a tremendous investment in education. Sig Behrens at Microsoft is the executive sponsor of the photo contest.

Let’s all go show that we can get the students, teachers and administrators in our schools and universities excited about this contest and using Bing as their decision (and learning) engine.

Thank you!

The HBCU Bus tour is coming up soon

Greetings,

The HBCU Bus tour is coming up soon. We were able to stop by a number of schools and drop off flyers but if we did not here is the information.

The HBCU Bus Tour is April 5 -7, 2010. The tour is $475 per student, The 3 day, 2 night tour covers a visit to seven schools, hotel fees, and 2 meals per day. Scholarships are available for the tour. Please go to our website for more information hbcubustour.com. You can review information about the HBCU Bus tour company, sign up and get scholarship information. It is also a great way for counselors and students to get information about admissions and other pertinent information.

Our goal is to get at 5 students per school and at least 40 students for the bus. Please let me know if any of your students are interested and I am looking forward to working with you soon.

Denise M. Cook, M.A.
Youth Advocate
Event Coordinator for Youth Programs
"Molding Youth for Tomorrow"
301 996 7980

Council for Opportunity in Education (COE)

University of Maryland-Educational Opportunity Center

Programs at a Glance

Students enrolled in today's TRIO Programs mirror our nation's multi-cultural and multiethnic society. Thirty-seven percent of TRIO students are White, 35% are African-American, 19% are Hispanic, 4% are Native American and 4% are Asian-American. Twenty-two thousand TRIO students are disabled.TRIO college graduates are working in business, industry, government, medicine, law, education, communications, sales, finance, politics, transportation, publishing, law enforcement, computer science and technology, engineering, and accounting.

Educational Opportunity Centers

Educational Opportunity Centers located throughout the country primarily serve displaced or underemployed workers from families with incomes under $33,075. These Centers help people to choose a college and a suitable financial aid program. There are 124 Educational Opportunity Centers in America serving 195,000 individuals. A study of EOC participants found that 57% of college-ready students were admitted to institutions of higher learning and 56% of EOC participants who had been college dropouts had re-enrolled.

Student Support Services

Student Support Services projects work to enable low-income students to stay in college until they earn their baccalaureate degrees. Participants, who include disabled college students, receive tutoring, counseling and remedial instruction. Students are now being served at 947 colleges and universities nationwide. On average, students enrolled in the program saw their GPA rise from a 2.3 in their freshman year to a 2.6 by their senior year. Similarly, 77% of those who started college in the 1998-1999 school year were in good academic standing and by their senior year, 88% were in good academic standing.

Talent Search

Talent Search projects serve young people in grades six through 12. In addition to counseling, participants receive information about college admissions requirements, scholarships and various student financial aid programs. This early intervention program helps people from families with incomes under $33,075 (where neither parent graduated from college) to better understand their educational opportunities and options. More than 363,000 students are enrolled in 466 Talent Search TRIO projects. According to the more recent data collected by the Department of Education, 79% of Talent Search participants were admitted to postsecondary institutions.

Upward Bound

Upward Bound helps youth prepare for higher education. Participants receive instruction in literature, composition, mathematics, and science on college campuses after school, on Saturdays and during the summer. Currently, 964 projects are in operation throughout the United States. In 2005, 77.3% of all students who participated in Upward Bound programs immediately went to college in the fall following their high school graduations. This rate is even higher by persistence in the program: 91.2% of Upward Bound students who particpated in the program for three years or longer and 93% who participated through high school graduation enrolled in a postsecondary program immediately following high school.

Upward Bound Math/Science

Upward Bound Math & Science helps students from low-income families to strengthen math and science skills. In addition, students learn computer technology as well as English, foreign language and study skills. Currently, 117 projects are serving students throughout the country. Overall, 86.5% of students who participated in Upward Bound Math/Science programs go directly to college after graduating from high school. Indeed, 70% of Upward Bound Math/Science programs have postsecondary enrollments of 80% or higher.

Veterans Upward Bound

The Veterans Upward Bound program provides intensive basic skills development and short-term remedial courses for military veterans to helps them successfully transition to postsecondary education. Veterans learn how to secure support from available resources such as the Veterans Administration, veterans associations, and various state and local agencies that serve veterans.

Building Family-School Partnerships the PTA Way

PTA offers a means to develop strong family-school partnerships and involve the community. The process can be tailored to each school. PTA’s process for building successful partnerships is grounded in the National Standards for Family-School Partnerships and consists of three steps:

• Raising awareness about the power of family and community involvement.
  
• Taking action to cultivate involvement through specific programs and practices.


• Celebrating success as your school sees increased involvement and its impact.

Discover the power of partnerships at your school with these links and the resources below.

Join Us in Support of Education!

Join the Prince George's County Board of Education in Annapolis on March 10, 2010 as we testify in support of Senate Bill 835 "Equity in State Aid to Counties Act of 2010". Passage of this Bill will GREATLY impact the amount of state aid Prince George's County Public Schools can receive.

The Board of Education will be providing roundtrip transportation from the Sasscer Administration Building in Upper Marlboro to Annapolis on March 10 leaving at 10 a.m.
Reserve your seat on the bus by sending an email with your name and the number of seats you are reserving to constituent.services@pgcps.org by March 4th. Join us in support of education!

Univisión, White House team up to push Hispanic education

By LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ Associated Press

Univisión will announce Tuesday, February 23, 2010, a multiyear campaign to boost academic achievement among Hispanics by teaching parents about what it takes to ensure their children finish high school and graduate from college. The campaign, entitled in Spanish "The Moment is Now,'' comes as statistics show Hispanic high school and college graduation rates are far below the national average, and that the Hispanic unemployment rate is among the nation's highest at 12.6 percent.

With Hispanics making up about a fifth of the nation's kindergarten through 12th graders, that's a major concern for the entire nation, said Univisión Networks President Cesar Conde. The nation's largest Spanish-language network is teaming with the U.S. Department of Education, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and nonprofits nationwide. Conde said Hispanic parents, like most Americans, value education. And many came to the United States to provide better educational opportunities for their children. But once here, they often don't know how to navigate the system.

"We want to raise the standards and the expectations that we in the Hispanic community have for the youth,'' Conde said. "And we want to educate parents who may not think some opportunities are within their children's grasp.''Univisión will use its television and radio networks and its mobile and Internet platforms to provide information to parents about how to encourage high school completion and college readiness, as well as where to turn for college loans and scholarships -- a key component that can be daunting even for those familiar with U.S. financial and academic systems.According to federal data, about 13 percent of Hispanics in the U.S. have a college degree, compared to about a quarter of the population as a whole. Less than half of Hispanics who attend college graduate, compared to a national average of 54 percent.

"When I first arrived in the U.S. 25 years ago, I still remember people saying the worst problem facing the Hispanic community was the dropout rate,'' said Univisión news anchor Jorge Ramos, who will lead the campaign." Twenty-five years later we're talking about exactly the same thing. Something has to be done.

''An exact cost of the program hasn't been determined but is expected to be several million dollars in cash and donations.Among Univisión's first programs will be a March 6 special that brings together children and their families to talk about the obstacles they face in continuing their education. Ramos said at least two of the teen dropouts he featured have since returned to school as a result of their participation in the show.Univisión worked with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to focus its campaign beyond high school graduation to ensuring students have the skills to make it in college, said foundation spokesman Chris Williams. The foundation will help evaluate and make adjustments to the campaign over time.

Juan Sepulveda, head of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, said the government will help connect Univisión with experts such as federal officials, educators and grass-roots groups that can provide examples of best practices the company can highlight. Sepulveda said it was important to dispel the notion that Hispanic youths aren't succeeding because they don't speak English, or that such campaigns target those in the country illegally.

"It's really a small population of students with undocumented status,'' he said. "The majority are U.S. citizens.''Sepulveda said the administration chose to work with Univisión because of the success it has had in previous campaigns, including its citizenship and voter-registration efforts in the run-up to the 2008 election.

"No one is saying this is going to be an easy task,'' Conde said of convincing parents to forgo the financial help that a high school graduate can bring to the household if he goes straight into the work force."But we need to ensure our parents and community as a whole understand the long-term benefits of a college degree not just for the individual, but for the family.''