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Obama on Parental Involvement “In
the
end,
there
is
no
program
or
policy
that
can
substitute
for
a
parent
--
responsibility
for
our
children's
education
must
begin
at home. That is not a Democratic issue or a Republican issue. That's
an American issue." Obama on Outsourcing
Parenting President
Obama
addressing
the
NAACP
on
its
100th
anniversary,
stressing
the
importance
of
parenting
and
responsibility.
"That
means
putting
away
the X-Box." Standardized Testing The No Child
Left Behind Act is up for renewal this year, so Katie Couric wonders
whether standardized tests truly measure how kids do in school and
life. (CBSNews.com) Obama
extends grants into 2011with
a
$1.3
billion
investment
in
the
Race
to
the
Top
Fund
&
$500
million
for
the
Investing
In
Innovation
Fund. The third
round - which still needs congressional approval - is
worth $1.35 billion. New Rule: Don't Blame
TeachersWhen
there
are
no
books
in
the
house,
and
there
are
no
parents
in
the
house,
you
know
who
raises
the
kids? That's right, the television. Kids aren't keeping up with their
studies; they're keeping up with the Kardashians. We're allowing the
television, as babysitter, to turn us into a nation of idiots. Teach for America The founder
and president of
Teach for America on Charlie Rose. Teacher of the Year
2010President
Obama thanked and honored the 2010 National Teacher of the Year. College Bound A series of
programs designed to aid parents in preparing their Middle School and
High School children for college entry. Fitness: Childhood
Obesity! First Lady
Michelle Obama kicks off
“Let’s Move”, a program designed to tackle childhood obesity by
encouraging exercise and healthy eating. Family Time During
School It can be
difficult
for parents to keep on top of what their children are doing, especially
when those parents work at night. a Clovis Elementary school is trying
to help those families by encouraging family time during the school
day. Intro to Special
Education Aimed at
parents of students with
disabilities, this video covers the special education process,
including Evaluation, Referral, Creation of the Individualized
Education Plan, Placement, and Annual Review. Low Student Achievement A national
report found that an alarming number of high school seniors lack
proficiency in reading and math. Katie Couric says we must do a better
job of educating our kids. (CBSNe
Project
Appleseed Requests $15 million
In DoEd i3 Funds to Organize Three Cities
Aug 3, 2011 - The U.S. Department of
Education'sInvesting in
Innovation Fund, provides competitive grants to applicants with a
record of improving
student achievement and attainment in order to expand the
implementation of, and investment in, innovative practices that are
demonstrated to have an impact on improving student achievement or
student growth, closing achievement gaps, decreasing dropout rates,
increasing high school graduation rates, or increasing college
enrollment and completion rates.
With its Capacity Building Partnership
grant request, Project Appleseed, will
collaborate with three school districts to turn around persistently
low-performing
urban schools in two states under Absolute Priority 4. This Validation
Grant proposal contains a targeted, research-based approach to reform
that integrates organized parental involvement into the school model to
address non-academic barriers to student achievement and create
multiple pathways for students to earn regular high school diplomas.
Because organized parental involvement will enable kindergarten through
grade 12 (K–12) students, particularly high school students, to
successfully prepare for, enter, and graduate from a two- or four-year
college, the initiative also meets Competitive Preference Priority 7.
The primary components of the proposal
are parental engagement and
community organizing.
Mobilizing Title I parents, grandparents, and caring adults, the
Capacity Building Partnership will recruit 50,000 family volunteers in
Maryland and 47,000 Title I family volunteers in Missouri – to benefit
100,000 students. The initiative will center on three metropolitan
regions: Baltimore, Maryland, and in Missouri, St. Louis and Kansas
City. With an investment of $15 million of Investing in Innovation
Funds, the partnership will produce over $54 million in volunteer
time. Start-up cost per student $24.10.
Official Partners:
LEA’s, Baltimore City Public Schools,
MD., St. Louis Public Schools, MO., School District of Webster
Groves, MO., nonprofit Mid Atlantic Equity Consortium, nonprofit Impact
St. Louis. Additional LEAs nonprofits are expected to join.
Winning applications will be announced on October 3, 2011.
Media
featuring Project Appleseed
10
Unsung Nonprofits
That Should Be Household Words Project
Appleseed, Ms. Foundation &
More, Recognized
As Japan’s global relief missions move quickly to aid the mind
boggling earthquake and tsunami recovery, school students throughout
the U.S. are holding bake sales to swap lopsided muffins and chewy
brownies for the feeling of being part of the giant cog of good will.
In many
respects, this is how the little guns that run lesser known nonprofits
make a dent, using what fuel and funding they have to reach out and
stir passions. In essence, it’s about changing the world via one
dougnut, app or Tweet at a time.
Here
are some of the little engines that could make a significant dent in
aiding women, children and the planet at large.
By
Alvin Reid - The 16th
Annual Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Community Celebration in Webster Groves
featured keynote
speaker,
Project
Appleseed
president,
Kevin
Walker, “Service
is
the
most
important
thing
that
we
can
get
out
of
Martin Luther King’s
message,” said Walker, a Webster Groves High School graduate. “King is
remembered for his heroic leadership and his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.
He gave his life, in essence, while asking us to help each other. At
the
end
of
the
day,
a
little
action
could be what Martin Luther King
called ‘that one small spark’ that could lead to great things,” Walker
said. “People doing small things add up to big things.”More...
NASHVILLE (AP/CBS NEWS)
November 19, 2010 -The Tennessee Department of
Education is encouraging all parents and guardians take an active role
in their child’s education. November 18th, 2010 marked Project
Appleseed's 17th annual
National Parental Involvement Day.
In recognition, Tennessee is
promoting new Parental Involvement Standards - which mirror Project
Appleseed's Six Slices of Parental Involvement. Missouri and many
other states share these standards. Tennessee Governor Phil
Bredesen says more frequent participation from parents both at home and
in the classroom is needed.
“Parent
involvement is a critical part of achieving a high quality education
system and helps ensure student achievement,” said Governor Bredesen.
“It is important that parents and educators form strong partnerships
that will result in higher achievement of students.”
Tennessee Education Commissioner Bruce Opie
says more needs to be expected from parents and guardians and not just
students. He said in a statement that active parents can influence
policies, practices and programs that support expanded learning
opportunities.
Opie
released the comment in conjunction with the 17th annual National
Parental Involvement Day sponsored by Project Appleseed. He
said Tennessee can successfully rise to the top only with the help of
parents. Gov. Phil Bredesen
said it’s important that parents and educators form strong partnerships
that will result in higher student achievement.
NBC &
Project
Appleseed
New school years are
chock-full of optimism and opportunity. For teachers and students at
seven (7) schools featured in the new NBC series “School Pride,”
the year started off in newly remodeled classrooms outfitted with
modern learning technologies from Promethean.
NBC
is
highlighting
Project
Appleseed as a national resource for
schools. Find out how you can help Project Appleseed, a place
where they understand that it takes a village to help our schools
excel. To get the best results from your parental involvement
efforts, we want you and your schools to join our movement to plant the
seeds of school improvement in your local schools with National Parental
Involvement Day and Public School Volunteer Week!
Calling
on
parents
to
stop school bullying
ST.
LOUIS (KMOX/CBS Radio)Oct. 26, 2010
– The White House and the U.S. Department of Education held a
conference call Tuesday with school administrators to address the topic
of “bullying.”
The head of Missouri-based Project Appleseed says
his group thinks parents should also be involved in talks about
violence and harrassment in schools, “Bullying is a problem in schools.
Parents need to be aware that children are not so cordial and helpful
to each other, and that negatively impacts the learning
environment.”
Kevin Walker says his group has been at the forefront of
advocating parental involvement in public schools for nearly 20 years.
Experts say bullying leads to low self-esteem and poor grades
among students, and could spurn acts of violence or suicide.
Teachers
rule
in
experimental
school Detroit, MI. (Sept. 3,
2010) - Students at Palmer
Park
Preparatory
Academy this
year won't have to worry about being sent to the principal's office.
Their
school won't have one.
When Michigan's first teacher-led school opens Tuesday in
the former Barbara Jordan Elementary, the principal and assistant
principal
will be replaced by two lead teachers and an executive administrator.
Committees of teachers and service workers will
make
curriculum and operational decisions for the pre-kindergarten through
eighth-grade school and, teachers say, do away with the time used to
complete
paperwork and await approvals from district administrators....
Site-based schools, which exist in other parts of the
country, are autonomously controlled either by the principal, teachers
only,
parents with the involvement of faculty and staff or a combination of
teachers,
administrators and parents, said Kevin
Walker,
founding
president
of
Project
Appleseed,
an
18-year-old
education
advocacy
group
in
St. Louis. "When
you
have a building with a good manager, good teachers and the support of
the
school community, why do you need the central office?" he asked.
In conjunction with team teaching, the school also will
allow students to remain with the same teacher for at least two years,
deepening the teacher's knowledge about a child's developmental needs.
Parents will be required to sign
a
contract and agree to get
their children to school on time, ensure completion of assignments and
regularly contact teachers. Sept,
3,
2010, More
from
The
Detroit
News
Editorial: Parents
and
Teachers
Chicago,
IL. (August 2, 2010) - In Detroit, Wayne
County Prosecutor Kym Worthy
thinks that authorities should be allowed to jail parents for up to
three days for repeatedly missing a parent-teacher conference.She's serious. Parents with
high-achieving kids would get a pass.
No, we're not going to endorse locking up parents for
skipping a
meeting at school. The threat would probably get more parents into the
school, but it wouldn't make them listen to the teacher. The
parent-teacher conference isn't the litmus test for effective
parenting. Skipping a meeting shouldn't be a crime.
School districts around the country — including some in
the Chicago
area — ask parents to sign a "contract" establishing how they will
participate in their kids' education.
"We know parental involvement works," says Kevin Walker, president of Project Appleseed,
a
national
nonprofit
group
that
helps
schools
reach
parents.
"We
know
it
is
a
more important input than anything else in
education." August
2,
2010, Full
Chicago
Tribune
Editorial...
Opportunities
to
tout
KC
School
District comeknocking
Kansas City, MO.
(July 14, 2010) - Over the
course of four weekends,
volunteers will marshal enough people to knock on every one of about
73,000 doors in
the Kansas
City
school district.
If the campaign succeeds
in hitting most of the
district’s
doors, it may well be the most extensive door-knocking campaign yet by
a school district, said Kevin Walker
of the St. Louis-based Project Appleseed.
“Door-knocking is a
lost art,” said Walker, whose
organization has embarked on a national campaign to rouse involvement
in public schools. “People need to be asked face to face to get
involved. People need to be invited in.” (July 14,
2010) Full
Kansas
City
Star
article...
Editorial: Community
progress starts with
parents
Dallas, TX. (April 14, 2010) - This
week also
provides the chance for parents in the
southern half of the city – as well as the rest of Dallas
– to get
involved with their child's learning. Project
Appleseed's Public School Volunteer
Week starts tomorrow,
with an emphasis on parents taking a pledge to get – and stay
–
involved with their child's education. We
hope this week sparks a conversation at DISD headquarters about how the
district can create its own pledge for parents to sign so they will
remain committed to their child's academic progress.
Over the next few
months, we will
continue writing about
parents and their responsibilities. There's plenty that Congress, the
Legislature and the school district can do to spur this on. But
progress starts with mothers and fathers doing their part, whether
that's something as mundane as getting their child to school on time or
helping them fill out a college aid form. It may take a developer to
put new buildings on a piece of property, like Mark Cuban
is
wonderfully planning for East Oak Cliff. But change really starts at
home, one spark at a time. (April 14, 2010) Full
Dallas
Morning
News
Editorial...
Research
data suggest that organizing efforts are helping to develop new
capacity in schools Annenberg
Institute
for
School
Reform
at
Brown
University
2008
Three factors over which
parents exercise authority- student absenteeism, variety of reading materials
in the home, and
excessive television watching -- explain nearly 90 percent of the
difference in eighth-grade
mathematics
test
scores
across
37
states
Jennifer Ballen and
Oliver
Moles, for the national family initiative of the U.S. Department of
Education 1994
improving student achievement or
student growth, closing achievement gaps, decreasing dropout rates,
increasing high school graduation rates, or increasing college
enrollment and completion rates.
ST.
LOUIS (KMOX/CBS Radio)
– The White House and the U.S. Department of Education held a
conference call Tuesday with school administrators to address the topic
of “bullying.”
