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June 30, 2006

Scholarship Opportunity For All

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: — admin @ 3:27 pm

There are thousands upon thousands of scholarships and institutions dedicated to give free education for all. The question however is: “With countless scholarships opportunities up for grab, are there enough for all?”

With is question at hand, let us look at several types of scholarship opportunities that would somehow give us the final view that there are enough scholarship opportunities for all.

Academic scholarship

The most popular type of scholarship grant is the academic scholarship. Here, applicants must be eligible to keep up with the academic requirements of the sponsor. Most applicants who take this type of scholarship can either be highly proficient in academics or an average person so long as grades can be maintained.

Athletic scholarship

Next to academic scholarship, the athletic scholarship is the second most popular type of scholarship that is up for grab. Applicants of athletic scholarship are usually chosen but it is still open for all. The opportunities here are endless since there are several types of activities you might be proficient with that would fall to athletic scholarship. However, since there are many athletes would want to finish college through athletic scholarship, there is a fierce competition between applicants.

Colleges and universities give both the academic and athletic scholarships but there are other institutions that give these types of scholarships.

Institutional scholarships

Here, the sponsors are groups or institutions who willingly devote themselves in providing students with the opportunities to finish college without worrying about the finances. Institutions can have their special groups to answer. There are institutions that grant scholarships to Hispanics, African-Americans, minorities, women, disabled, and Native Americans. There are also institutions that provide free education on a specific field such as Nursing, Engineering, Medicine, Law, Business, and Sciences among others.

Institutions would also refer to religious groups that could provide free education to their members who qualify for the grant. It would also include large corporations that stretch their services in providing students with free education. This does not stop here, after finishing a degree, the scholars will surely get an immediate job under the same company that gave then their free education.

Institutions can also include local governments. Like large corporations, becoming a local government scholarship would provide you an immediate job soon after you finish the degree.

Institutions would also include unions that provide free educational opportunities to children of their members.

All these could give each scholarship seeking every chance to get free education. The task, however, is to make sure that you get the right scholarship suited to your need.

June 29, 2006

School Fundraiser Niche - Valentines Day

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: — admin @ 6:23 pm

Valentine’s Day Fundraising

Just mentioning the date February 14th stirs feelings of romance and brings visions of heart shaped candies, flowers and little red hearts & cupids. Valentine’s Day, celebrated on February 14th has long been associated with romance. In fact, it has become a festival for celebrating love and romance. Much has been said about the birth of St. Valentine’s Day and without a doubt that discussion will go on. In the meantime, this tremendously popular day with its hearts, candy, flowers and jewelry offers many opportunities to raise funds for your particular cause. Valentine’s Day is great for an assortment of fundraising activities.

Valentine’s Day Fundraising in Schools

Valentines Day fundraising can be very profitable for schools. Most of us are familiar with the fundraising packets children bring home from school every fall. They are an important source of funds for the schools. However, they are always done in the first few months of the school year.

January and February present an excellent window of opportunity to organize and hold a school fundraiser. Generally the sales campaign should be thirty days or less with delivery to purchasers at least three days before Valentines Day.

There are many Valentine’s Day themed products to sell including chocolates, greeting cards, roses, bud vases, crystal, jewelry and many other items. Contact local and online wholesalers well in advance, and where possible have some inventory on hand prior to taking orders. One reliable source is the Fundraising Yellow Pages, is a great source of info for anyone trying to organize a fundraising event.

Valentine’s Day Fundraising Events

Valentines Day fundraising events range widely from parties and local galas to sponsored theme events, challenge events, entertainments, yard sales and even fashion shows. The possibilities for fundraising events are endless, and creative people are constantly devising new ideas. Some of the popular fundraising events are listed below:

Family events - events or activities that families can undertake or attend together.

Consider a themed Valentine’s Day Social for families (guests will be honored and presented with a rose or other Valentine’s appropriate gift).

Have a Valentine’s Day Tea wherein women honor other women for their achievements (honorees presented with a rose, chocolates or other Valentines Day gift).

Host a Valentine’s Day Romantic Dinner and Dance for couples.

There are several possibilities for making money with these types of Valentine’s Day fundraisers. Actually, most fundraisers would agree that a combination approach is best. The combination includes:

Sell tickets for admission (or get an organization to sell them for a percentage of each ticket).

Sell advertisements to businesses and individuals for a souvenir brochure the attendees will take with them.

Have Valentine’s Day gift items available for sale before, during and after the event.

These are but a few general ideas of the possibilities for Valentines Day fundraising. The key is to do your research and start early. It is critical that you have a reputable and reliable source for the Valentines themed products to be sold directly to customer or purchased for decorating tables, the banquet facility, etc.

Do not take anything for granted and ask as many questions as you need to ask. Take the time to meet with organizational officers, church members. Local leaders, charity executives and fundraising consultants to get the assistance you need and you will have a successful event that may become your major annual fundraiser.

Schools And Services In Dallas Schools

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: — admin @ 5:13 pm

Perhaps one of the most famous cities in the state of Texas, Dallas has many things to recommend it. From the beautiful downtown architecture to the Dallas Cowboys football team, it seems that everything Dallas is wonderful. This includes the Dallas Schools.

Dallas Schools honored 13 schools as “exemplary” and 67 as “recognized” this past February, at an IBM Corporation-sponsored dinner. No other urban school district in Texas had a larger number of exemplary and recognized schools in 2006. In order to be rated exemplary, 90% of all students in Dallas Schools must pass all subject areas of the TAKS, officially known as the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test. To earn a “recognized” status, 70% of all students in Dallas Schools must pass all subject areas. “The students, teachers, administrators, and parents who worked hard to achieve these high Texas Education Agency rankings deserve applause and congratulations,” said Dallas Schools’ General Superintendent Michael Hinojosa. “They are an inspiration to all of us.”

Improvements continue to multiply throughout Dallas Schools. This past February, additional funding was received from a new arts coalition that will allow for 140 new certified music and art teachers. These teachers will be hired by the Dallas Schools’ district over the next 6 years, including 60 who have already been hired. And by 2009 the district plans to have all Elementary Dallas Schools offering 45 minutes of art and music each week. The Wallace Foundation, one of the members of this arts coalition, will give $8 million during the next three years to Big Thought. Big Thought is a Dallas-based nonprofit arts group, which will help establish the Dallas Arts Learning Initiative. This initiative seeks to increase the amount and quality of arts education students in Dallas Schools will receive.

In addition, the Dallas Schools’ Talented and Gifted magnet and the School of Science and Engineering have been named the two top high schools in the country by Newsweek Magazine. It is the second straight year that the Talented and Gifted magnet (TAG) has earned the honor. “This is a credit to everyone involved with both schools,” said Hinojosa. “These schools are setting the example for others in both the district and the rest of the nation.” The Science and Engineering magnet (SEM) moved from 8th on the list last year to 2nd in 2006. Also, during the last five years, the Dallas Schools’ Science and Engineering magnet has been the number one in the nation for minorities passing Calculus AB and BC exams regardless of size, and the number one school in the world for students passing Calculus AB. “This is the accumulation of several years of extraordinary work by the students and staff affiliated with the school,” said SEM principal Richard White. “We have had a healthy competition for years with the TAG Magnet, and now that both schools are named the best in the county, everyone has benefited, especially the students.”

Indeed, Dallas Schools are something to get excited about. From efforts to expand services at the elementary level, to nationally and globally recognized schools, the opportunities abound for the students of Dallas Schools. In an era of budget cuts and high-stakes testing, Dallas Schools show some remarkable successes.

June 28, 2006

School Fund Raising Idea - Custom Gift Wrap

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 10:18 am

Some of the best fund raising ideas for schools are those which involve the pupils in some kind of creative activity. I’ll bet if you asked most young children what they enjoy most at school the answers would include drawing or painting. Combining the talents of our children with parents and grandparents willingness to spend money is a winning combination.

And how do you get all that creativity on to something that displays our children’s artistic skills to as wide an audience as possible? You print it on gift wrapping paper. Possibilities for themes are endless, but parent’s pockets aren’t, so selling the gift wrap at a couple of events a year should be just right. The most obvious are the Summer Fete or Fair and at Christmas.

Get the children to create their works of art on A4 paper sheets. They can be on white paper, or for an interesting effect spread a few different coloured papers among the pupils. A standard sheet of Gift Wrap is 500mm x 700mm or similar. When the children’s illustrations are reduced down in size, you can fit any number from about 72 up to 288 images on to a sheet. It depends on the effect you want to achieve. The white background tends to work better with the lower numbers and the multi-coloured papers with higher numbers. Duplicate images as desired or necessary to make up the numbers.

The children’s images are scanned and montaged using design software and printing should be carried out by a printing company. How much of the work of creating the gift wrap is carried out by the school will depend on the school’s own capabilities. However, it is recommended that the assembly of images and final printing is carried out by professionals. The minimum quantity for printing gift wrap of this kind is 1000 sheets. The profit on this amount should be at least 100% after printing costs are taken out. For larger quantities, the amount raised by the school would be even higher.

At Christmas time, an additional fund raiser is to have greetings cards printed with images from the gift wrap. The advantage with these fund raising projects is that they can be repeated annually with different sets of children taking part. As well as the money raised, the expressions on the children’s faces when they see their work in print is priceless.

June 26, 2006

School Is Where The Home Is

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , — admin @ 6:44 pm

Schools are learning institutions with set values and philosophies that they tend to inculcate in their method of teaching. Usually, a parent’s decision as to which school to send their children to are based on precisely the values and philosophies that these institutions are known for. If however, as a parent, you feel that no school or learning institution share your values then perhaps you are better off home schooling your child or children.

Home schooling differs from regular, traditional schooling only in the sense that the child learns all the regular lessons except that he or she does not learn this inside a school room.

It is important to note however that home schooling should include taking field trips, incorporating music and physical education into the child’s curriculum, and other duties involved in a regular school day like grading papers and such. It is also important that the child’s social development not be taken for granted.

One of the main contentions in home schooling verus traditional learning is that the child or children may not be able to exercise and develop social skills properly since they are not around other children that they would otherwise be in contact with inside a traditional classroom.To get the most out of home schooling and to know if home schooling is for you and your child, below are links to really good home schooling resources on line.

Jon’s Homeschool Resource (.midnightbeach.com/hs/)

This site is one of the largest home schooling resource you will find on the Internet because of the amount of useful content it has in it. Even better is the fact that this is a non-commercial site which means that the site will not try to sell you anything so that anything you read or learn from the site can be considered neutral as opposed to sites that offer information on home schooling as a marketing tool to sell their products.

The author of the site is a parent who actually does home schooling for his children. You’ll find useful and empathetic answers to your frequently asked questions on this site.

The Home Schooling Advantage for Socializing (homeschooling.about.com/cs/faqs/a/socialjacobs_2.htm)

As mentioned above, one of the biggest concerns raised against home schooling is that home schooled children may not be able to develop social skills as well as children who are taught inside a traditional setting. In this particular site however you will find an article by someone who was actually home schooled as opposed to learning inside a classroom.

Here you will read about how learning at home as opposed to in a classroom did nothing to deter him from developing the proper social skills needed for a fully functioning adult in our society.

Look out also for other useful links found in the pages of the article to point you in the right direction on learning more about home schooling and other rich resources on line.

Learn in Freedom

(learninfreedom.org/hsguides.html)

Here is another great home schooling resource online that showcases what’s new and current in the home schooling world. The page is straight forward and easy to navigate, and puts more meat into their content rather than their appearance. This a great site to get started or improve your home schooling.

June 25, 2006

School Rankings - Influencing From The Community

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , — admin @ 4:25 pm

School Rankings are considered by many different groups. Parents and students use the data provided in a report of School Rankings to determine which school the students should attend. Most parents don’t want to send their kid to a school that has a low-performance level. Looking at these reports can help them see which schools are doing well and which ones are not. Administrators of schools and their districts can use School Rankings in order to see how their school measures up to others around them, or to other schools that have the same demographics, characteristics, ethnic groups, or socioeconomic backgrounds. State boards of education look at School Rankings to compare how the schools throughout their states are doing, and then look at how they measure up against other states’ schools.

Other groups that may look at School Rankings are community organizations or business leaders. These groups may want to make a cash donation or award a grant to a particular school, and examining School Rankings is a good, easy way to determine which school needs the monetary support these groups can give.

Oftentimes, schools that are high in School Rankings gather the most attention from these outside agencies. High-performing schools and those with innovative, successful programs often benefit from their high placement in School Rankings; they can receive cash rewards for their high achievements and dedication to excellence in education. It is of great interest to these schools to keep their place at the top of the School Rankings, as they will benefit from extra money in their coffers. Extra money means they can hire better-qualified teachers, purchase additional supplies from printers to pianos, and that money also ensures the continuation of the programs that have helped them achieve such a high placement in the School Rankings.

But what about the schools who fall to the bottom end of School Rankings? How can their ranking help them? While I’m not suggesting that schools should try to fail, receiving a low spot on the list can help them out. Their struggles just may draw the attention of various community organizations (such as churches or rotary-type clubs) and business leaders (from small business owners to multi-million dollar corporations). Schools that find themselves at the bottom of School Rankings find themselves in desperate need for assistance; not just in new program implementation and student support, but financially as well. In fact, in order for either of these steps to be undertaken with any amount of success, money is necessary. Groups that are interested in helping out schools that sit low on School Rankings can find out which schools they are, and help them as they are able and see fit.

June 24, 2006

School Reform Is Hot Topic For Philadelphia Schools

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: — admin @ 6:37 pm

Philadelphia Schools are in dire need of reform. In an effort to achieve this goal, two committees, The Right to Education Task Force and The School Reform Commission, have been formed to focus on improving the situation for all Philadelphia Schools students. A new mission statement, a Declaration of Education, an anti-truancy effort, and summer programs have all been implemented within the district of Philadelphia Schools.

The Right to Education Task Force, which focuses on special education and persons with disabilities served by Philadelphia Schools, strives to do the following:

• Review state and national legislation that affects improvements of special education classes

• Participate in active and meaningful discussion about education concerns, and give recommendations to resolve them

• Serve as advisors and advocates to protect the rights of students with disabilities

• Encourage and facilitate cooperation between public and private agencies and their officials to provide services to persons with disabilities

Philadelphia Schools has put a “School Reform Commission” in place in order to continue the improvement of Philadelphia Schools. The commission’s mission statement is as follows: “The mission of …Philadelphia Schools is to provide a high quality education that prepares, ensures, and empowers all students to achieve their full intellectual and social potential in order to become lifelong learners and productive members of society.” The Commission has set several target goals for themselves, teachers, administrators, and staff, which they hope to achieve by June of 2008. These goals include Early Literacy, Academic Achievement, a Safe and Orderly Environment, Community Collaboration, Equity, Efficient and Effective Philadelphia Schools, and improved Support Operations.

Among other efforts, Philadelphia Schools have teamed up with Mayor John F. Street to implement a citywide anti-truancy initiative. The program is designed to ensure that school-aged children and teens are actually present in their Philadelphia Schools, and that their parents are aware of truancy laws. The initiative also intends to assure that parents and students alike are aware that the City, Philadelphia Schools, and the Family Court plan to hold them accountable.

In addition, Philadelphia Schools offer numerous summer programs that both keep kids off the streets, and serve to help students who have fallen behind in their studies. The programs are focused on academic enhancement and enrichment, and are mandatory for any 1st &ndash 8th grader who did not achieve proficiency in a core subject, such as Math or Reading. Eighth graders who need additional help meeting Philadelphia Schools promotion criteria and 12th graders needing additional credits to graduate are eligible.

Mark S. Schweiker, President and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce sums it up by saying, “The reformation of the Philadelphia public schools serves as a model for the entire nation. As the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce touts the advantages of this region to the world, our rapidly improving public school system is an example that Greater Philadelphia is a progressive place to live and raise a family.”

June 22, 2006

School Security Cameras: Do Studies And Surveillance Mesh?

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: — admin @ 3:51 pm

Do security cameras belong in schools?

The answer to this continues to be the subject of heated debates. Parents and legislators are all for the installation of school security cameras while students and teachers vehemently oppose it. The issue is one that strikes a very powerful chord in schools everywhere, and echoes the dilemma that confront lawmakers on a national scale. Which is more important - safety or personal privacy?

Why the Need for School Security Cameras?

In recent years, the school has been the setting of many tragic and violent incidents. To prevent further bloodshed, educators and legislators have united to make schools safe once more. Some of the strategies that sprang from the collaboration include the deployment of a full-time security officer in school buildings. Another is training students how to handle potentially explosive situations involving their peers. A third, and certainly the most controversial, strategy is the placement of school security cameras.

What Are School Security Cameras?

School security cameras are cameras placed in key areas within school grounds. These cameras use a recording system that allows easy storage, easy recall, and even easier viewing from different monitors, either individually or simultaneously. School security cameras monitor activities taking place within their viewing range. A school personnel or a police officer keeps track of recorded images.

Benefits of School Security Cameras

Supporters of the move claim that school security cameras serve as a good crime deterrent. Because students know that they are being watched, they will not engage in vandalism, for example, or physically hurtful acts. In addition, school security cameras will alert authorities to potentially difficult situations. For instance, security guards can see that a brawl is about to take place, and, therefore, intervene before the fighting even starts.

Another benefit of installing school security cameras is that it provides concerned authorities with evidence that is not likely to be available anywhere else. Because footage is monitored on a regular and timely basis, suspicious activity, criminal or otherwise, can be spotted in a timely manner.

Drawbacks of Installing School Security Cameras

Opponents of the scheme to install school security cameras, on the other hand, aver that school security cameras do not make students and teachers any safer. Everyone knows where the cameras are. Thus, eluding the cameras won’t be a problem to someone intending to do a teacher or a student harm.

Another con of school security cameras is cost. The cost of setting up and maintaining a network of school security cameras can be very prohibitive. Thankfully, prices of surveillance equipment have dramatically dropped in recent years, and it is now possible to purchase the necessary apparatus without breaking the bank.

The most emphatic reason given, however, is that school security cameras will trample people’s rights to privacy. In the wrong hands, video footage of unsuspecting students and teachers can be used disastrously.

Experts believe that school security cameras will help schools return to the beautiful, idyllic learning institutions they once had been. Critics of school security cameras, on the other hand, assert that surveillance will not help curb violence in schools. As a matter of fact, it might even encourage violence because it sends out the message that the school is a potential crime scene, not a community of teachers and learners who can resolve conflict constructively.

It is safe to say that debates over the use of school security cameras will continue to rage for many more years to come. Safety will always be everyone’s paramount concern. The pursuit of safety, however, should not be at the cost of the basic human rights to privacy, free speech, and association.

Scott Parks

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , — admin @ 11:07 am

Scott Parks is the education columnist for the Dallas Daily News. He had some interesting items on his January 2007 wish list for the Dallas schools. Some are poignant and in dire need. Some are possibilities during this new year. Others are down right wishful thinking without much chance of succeeding, regardless of the need. Here are only a few items from his wish list for 2007:

•Bilingual Education Programs. Parks would like Governor Rick Perry and the Texas legislature to standardize the teaching of bilingual and “English as a second language” students. Currently, the bilingual education programs are different from district to district. All students should learn English as soon and as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the bilingual students are held back from succeeding only because of the language barrier.

•Dallas Schools Leadership. Parks cited several wishes from the Dallas schools leadership:

oBoard of Trustees & Superintendent Hinojosa. Though the Dallas schools’ board of trustees is stronger now than in the past, Parks believes that Superintendent Michael Hinojosa is the district’s best hope for getting the Dallas schools back on track. Hinojosa also has the support of business leaders and the public. Parks was encouraged that trustees Edwin Flores, Jack Lowe and their board colleagues now are focused on education, rather than politics, as in the past.

oTexas Association of School Boards. The board of trustees should reject the TASB’s recommendations. Instead, board members regularly should visit individual Dallas schools, themselves, speaking with both teachers and staff. Then, they will know firsthand what is truly happening within the Dallas schools. Parks makes an accurate point that the Dallas schools’ superintendent and Dallas schools’ board are not a team. The Dallas schools’ board is the boss, and the superintendent is “a valued employee” &ndash and the TASB is not part of the Dallas schools district.

oSpecial Education Students. Parents of these children have enough to do above and beyond the typical parent. Dallas schools’ administrators need to team with these parents to help them understand what the law requires the Dallas schools to do for their special needs children. The current attitude that parents of special needs children are the enemy, who may potentially bring lawsuits against the Dallas schools district, is only hurting the children and their education. As Parks noted, “It’s the right thing to do.”

oCollege Preparation. Somewhere along the line, someone decided that if a child did not attend college, he/she would not succeed in life. Not all children are meant to go to college. Some do very well in careers that began in high school vocational education programs. Neither my daughter nor my son graduated from college &ndash their choice, even though we discussed at length the benefits of a college degree. They each earn more than $60,000 a year &ndash one is self-employed and the other works for a computer-related company that nearly rivals Microsoft

June 20, 2006

Scoring Schools With School Rankings For K-12 Gen Interest

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , — admin @ 7:08 pm

Newsweek, websites, and local blogs- everyone seems to have a hand in rating the nation’s schools. And that little thing known as the No Child Left Behind Act does its part too. Parents browse school rankings for K-12 gen interest on the Internet with increasing frequency. Well, it’s no surprise. National and state standards are being tightened, but no one in the country actually seems happy with the state of education. So I have to ask, just how useful are the school rankings for K-12 gen interest? The long and the short of it is this. Read them. Take them with a grain of salt. Ask questions.

School Rankings for K-12 Gen Interest-Read them

I feel the same way about school rankings for K-12 general interest as I about standardized tests. They do have a place in education, but most people don’t understand what that place is. Look at school rankings for K-12 gen interest for a school you’re familiar with and you won’t get many big shocks. That’s because a lot of the information is purely factual: what sports does the school offer, where is it ranked in the state, what is the teacher student ratio…This is definitely useful information to have. Web sites and community guides that publish this information are awesome because they’ve done the legwork for you, and you can get some basic information fast.

It can also be helpful to get a feel for the neighborhood because low income or percent of children who receive reduced lunches is usually a category on school rankings for K-12 general interest. And the affluence or lack of it in a neighbor hood does impact a school’s climate and effectiveness. But here’s what worries me. Too many people will stop their search immediately if a school isn’t an “A” school, or if the low income percentages are too high. But there are other factors to consider that may or may not show up on school rankings for K-12 general interest.

School Rankings for K-12 Gen Interest-Grain of Salt

Magnet schools are a great example of why I caution you to take school rankings for K-12 gen interest with a grain of salt. Many magnet schools have innovative and progressive focuses, but these schools are usually set in a poor area of town. That’s because magnet schools were designed to draw affluent and educated families into the inner city. What if a school offers a Language immersion program that will graduate fifth graders fluent in two languages? Chances are that that school ranking for K-12 general interest is going to be low in a lot of areas. Test scores specifically are low when minority and low income children are involved. But this could still be a safe school with a unique learning experience that will prepare your child for life as a world citizen.

School Rankings for K-12 Gen Interest- Ask Questions

The only was you’ll ever know what a school is truly like is to visit it with an open mind. Maybe that inner city school just needs a few more involved parents like you to send its school rankings for K-12 gen interest through the roof.

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