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News
City of Morgantown
"Year of the Child" Initiative
2008 Children's Day
at the Legislature
America's
Promise 2008 100 Best Communities
First in Your Family College Prep Conference
AmeriCorps Energy Express Member
Visits White House
First Lady Launches Website -
Literacy
Grant Awards -
Distinguished West Virginian
Events
Volunteer Focus Group
National Forum on Children, Families and the Court
State
Conference on Volunteerism, National Service &
Service-Learning
American School Counselor Association Annual
Conference
Calendar
Morgantown's Work to
Help Kids Lauded
City of Morgantown "Year of the Child"
Initiative
In an
effort to keep kids safe, support academic achievement and help
working families, Morgantown's efforts to provide supervised
activities to youth during the afterschool hours has led to a
partnership with the National League of Cities (NLC) to create a
citywide system of supporting young people. Through NLC's "City
Leaders Supporting Afterschool and A New Day for Learning" project,
Morgantown hopes to close gaps in services for middle and high
school aged youth through the Mayor's Task Force on Child Care and
Out-of-School Time. The city also hopes to further engage the
business community in its afterschool efforts.
Morgantown along with seven other cities including Albany, NY;
Cincinnati, OH; Omaha, NE; St. Paul, MN; Tampa, FL; Tulsa, OK, and
Vancouver, WA will work to solidify its citywide afterschool system
and expand learning opportunities for young people.
For
additional information or to get involved:
http://www.morgantown.com/year-of-the-child.htm.
Calendar of Youth and Family Friendly Events in Morgantown:
http://cityofmorgantown.hosted.webevent.com/cgi-bin/webevent.cgi?cmd=opencal&cal=cal3
2008 Children's Day at the
Legislature
First Lady Gayle C.
Manchin welcomed the 2008 Children's Day at the Legislature Public
Policy Forum attendees on February 12th. The opening session
included a presentation, "The Maltese Budget" by Stan
Collender, Qorvis Communications Managing Director. The
presentation was informative and entertaining. Ted Boettner of the
WV Center on Budget and Policy presented "A Primer on the West
Virginia State Budget".
The opening session was
followed by several concurrent workshops: "Virtual Field Trip to
the Virtual Floor"; "Win Your Policy Issue Without Moving
From Your Couch" and "Election Commitments for Children"
.
Following the workshops
Most Reverend Michael Bransfield, Bishop of the Diocese of
Wheeling-Charleston delivered the keynote, "A Commitment to Health
and Well Being in West Virginia".
Sister Janet Peterworth received the "2008 Champion for
Children Award".
On
February 13th West Virginia lawmakers heard from
the youth of WV during a YouTube Forum. Students
from around WV participated via YouTube and attended the forum in
the Great Hall at the Cultural Center.
Students' had a variety of questions and comments:
-
Educational: Why
aren't additional teachers hired for speech, debate; more AP
classes; and teachers who care?
-
Health care - concern
about students without health care. Why don't child sex
offenders receive more jail time?
-
School bus safety -
Concerned about the lack of discipline on school buses.
-
Concern on teens
losing drivers license for poor grades.
June Robinson, WVPASS, attended
the Children's Day Public Policy and YouTube Forum.
2008
100 Best Communities for Young People
In its third year,
America's Promise 100 Best spotlights those communities that find
unique and effective ways to ensure their young people receive the
resources necessary to stay in school and succeed.
More than 300 communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia
and Puerto Rico entered this year's competition. The winning
communities included cities, towns and counties of all sizes and
regions from 37 states. Of that list, 44 communities were
three time winners.
"The 100 Best competition is more important than ever because
it's become harder for cities and towns to focus on the needs of
their children with all the challenges facing them and we see the
impact of this in our dismal high school graduation rates," said
Marguerite Kondracke, president and CEO, America's Promise Alliance.
"These communities rose above and through their actions, remind
us that there are cities and towns that are going the extra mile
everyday to make sure young people reach their potential. On
behalf of the Alliance, I congratulate these communities and call on
others to follow their lead."
Congratulations Mercer County &
Monroe County!
Mercer County is
one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People for the
third time. One program in particular, Creating Opportunities
For Youth (COFY) coalition, has reached out through various programs
to sway youth away from the pressures of alcohol, tobacco and other
drugs. Mercer County was the recipient of the 2006 Governor's Red
Wagon Award.
For additional
information, please contact:
Greg Puckett
Community Connections, Inc.
307 Federal Street, Suite 305
Bluefield, WV 24701
drugfreemercer@ccifrn.org
304-323-3472
Monroe County is
one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People for the
second time. The county's universal preschool, in collaboration with Head
Start and day care, propels its youngest citizens on the road to
success. Monroe County was the recipient of the 2007
Governor's Red Wagon Award.
For additional
information, please contact:
Judy Azulay
Monroe County Board of Education
P O Box 330
Union, WV 24983
jazulay@access.k12.wv.us
304-772-3094
The 2008 winners were chosen by a distinguished panel of judges that
included some of the nation's most well-known civic, business and
nonprofit leaders such as: Gayle Manchin, first lady of West
Virginia, United Way President Brian Gallagher, former Mayor of
Denver and President of Webb Group International, Wellington Webb,
Thomas Donohue, president and CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Carol
Coletta, president and CEO, CEOs for Cities, Christine James-Brown,
president and CEO, the Child Welfare League of America, and Dr.
Suzanne Morse, executive director of the Pew Partnership for Civic
Change.
College Prep Conference
A Success!!!
First in Your Family, in October 2007, partnered with Shepherd
University to host a College Prep Conference in conjunction with the
annual College Fair.
The Conference was opened by Jack Wiseman, Director of WV PASS
(Partnerships to Assure Student Success) and delivered information
on additional resources that can help local school achieve their
goals.
The free, day long conference covered a wide range of topics.
Sessions included:
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Planning for college;
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ACT and SAT test preparation;
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Options in higher education institutions;
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Skills needed for emerging industries;
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Scholarships and grants;
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Overview of the financial aid process;
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How to find the right school;
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Today's job market; and
Other sessions that would help students and parents plan and pay for
higher education.
The conference was attended by 230 students and parents. The College
Fair included displays for local colleges and universities and
organizations that provided information on youth development;
tutoring; leadership training; international study opportunities and
scholarship programs.
For additional information, visit
www.firstinyourfamily.org.
AmeriCorps Energy Express Member Visits White House
 On
May 18, 2007, President Bush welcomed West Virginia AmeriCorps
member Alivia Sturgill to the Oval Office as part of a nationwide
recognition week for the AmeriCorps national service program as it
reached a historic milestone of 500,000 members. "I am grateful
for all those involved with AmeriCorps for your dedication to a
cause greater than self. Your compassionate efforts demonstrate the
great character of our country and inspire others to build a more
hopeful society," the President said. Ms. Sturgill is an
AmeriCorps member with the Energy Express program in Mingo County,
West Virginia. After meeting with the President, Sturgill joined 100
of her fellow members for a reception at the Indian Treaty Room at
the White House.
Ms. Sturgill will mentor low-income elementary students in rural
Mingo County this summer as part of the Energy Express AmeriCorps
program run by West Virginia University. Alivia will serve as a
mentor, help the children increase reading scores, make family
visits, and work with her site team on a community service project.
Serving as an Energy Express AmeriCorps member has a special meaning
for Alivia -- in the fifth grade, she was a student in the program.
Now Alivia will be able to give back the same guidance, instruction,
and loving attention that helped her on her own path to success.
After a family-style breakfast with her group of eight children,
Alivia will lead integrated reading, writing, art and drama
book-based activities. On May 12, Alivia graduated from Midway
College in Midway, Kentucky, with a bachelor's degree in Elementary
Education. Her career goal is to be an elementary school teacher.
Ms. Sturgill started volunteering in the sixth grade and has been
involved in range of community service projects including serving as
a reading partner, organizing book drives, providing art and drama
activities for kids, and training other volunteers.
Energy Express is a six-week summer AmeriCorps program operated by
the West Virginia University Research Corporation promoting the
school success of children living in rural and low-income
communities across West Virginia by providing summer learning
experiences focused on reading, serving two nutritious family-style
meals each day, and developing strong partnerships involving
parents, schools, communities, and state agencies and organizations.
Energy Express engages 492 AmeriCorps members in promoting the
school success of children living in rural and low-income across the
state by providing summer learning experiences focused on reading.
The target populations are those children who typically lose ground
both academically and nutritionally over the summer months. Since
its first AmeriCorps funding in 1996, Energy Express has engaged
4,423 AmeriCorps members who have provided mentoring, meals, and
summer reading instruction to more than 34,000 low-income and rural
children across West Virginia
For information on Energy Express, visit their website
http://www.energyexpress.wvu.edu/.
West Virginia First Lady Launches
Website
On April 20, 2007, First
Lady Gayle C. Manchin officially launched the WVPASS (Partnerships
to Assure Student Success) website
www.wvpass.org.
 Mrs. Manchin said,
"As a former
educator and life-long community volunteer
in West Virginia, I believe in creating the opportunity to bring
a variety of people together to share ideas,
communicate and network, which in turn allows programs at all
levels, grow and become self-sustaining - that is WVPASS." Mrs. Manchin initiated
WVPASS in 2003. WVPASS also connects partners to help
facilitate unprecedented collaboration and serve youth with far
greater resources than they would otherwise receive. "The website
contains a myriad of training programs and grant opportunities. It
is a timely resource that benefits all West Virginians," said
Jack Wiseman, WVPASS Director.
 WVPASS
provides training and technical assistance to integrate America's
Promise, Communities In Schools (CIS), Ruby Payne Training, WV’s
Promise and WV-FAIR (Financial Aid Information Resources) in West
Virginia's communities. The website will enable West Virginia
communities, non-profits, civic organizations, state agencies and
individuals the ability to gain access to state and national grants,
training opportunities and events that assist in community and youth
development.
For
additional information about WVPASS, contact Jack Wiseman or June
Robinson at (304)558-2440 or
jwiseman@wvosea.org or
jrobinson@wvosea.org.
Literacy Grant Awards
The West Virginia Department of Education and
the Arts, Office of the Secretary would like to thank the many
organizations that applied for our literacy grants. We were very
excited to have the opportunity to offer these grants to assist
various organizations with their quest to improve the skills of
low-level readers in West Virginia.
Congratulations!!!
Pre-K through 12 Literacy Grant Awardees:
Brooke
County Schools Pre-K................................Brooke County
Cabell
County 4H Foundation.................................Cabell &
Kanawha Counties
Hamlin
Elementary School.......................................Lincoln
County
PATCH
21st Century CCLC..................................Roane County
Playmates Preschool & Learning Center..................Wayne County
Williamstown Elementary School.............................Wood
County
PATCH 21st Century
Hamlin Elementary School
Williamstown Elementary School
Cabell - Kanawha
 
Adult
Literacy Grant Awardees:
Catholic
Community Services of McDowell.............McDowell County
DAYMARK,
Inc...................................................Kanawha County
Putnam
County Adult Basic Education....................Putnam County
Rainelle
Public Library............................................Greenbrier
County
RESA
IV...............................................................Nicholas
County
WV State
University Land-Grant Program..............Kanawha County
Daymark, Inc.
Putnam Co. Adult Basic Education
 
RESA IV
WV State University Land Grant Program
 
Distinguished West Virginian
Dr. Jane McKee,
Associate Dean for Academic Program at Marshall University, was
recognized as a "Distinguished West Virginian" by Governor & Mrs.
Manchin.
Dr. McKee has devoted 35
years to education. As a 27-year educator in West Virginia,
she has received numerous West Virginia honors. Some of the honors
bestowed upon Dr. McKee include: Logan County Teacher of the
Year; West Virginia Teacher of the Year; June Harless Rural
Education Hall of Fame; Marshall University Distinguished Service
Award and others. Dr. McKee has also written several
educational publications.
During the presentation
First Lady Gayle Manchin stated, "The Governor and I cannot
always let individuals know how much we appreciate their dedication
to West Virginia but presenting this recognition is one way that we
can publicly acknowledge the hard work and dedication of
"distinguished" West Virginians."
At the end of June Dr.
McKee will be "retiring" as a Marshall University employee but she
will continue working with Marshal University and public schools
through various grant projects, including the Professional
Development School Partnership.
Dr. McKee also serves as
a WVPASS co-chair and will continue to serve along with Dr. Jane
Hange.
Events
Volunteer Focus Group
Session:
"The Link to Making a
Difference," sponsored by the WV Commission for National and
Community Service, is a free focus group and information session to
evaluate existing volunteering tools and to present information
about funding and national service opportunities. Attendees
will participate in a facilitated focus group about volunteerism in
the community and the role,
www.volunteerwv.org,
the Commission’s web site can play. Following the focus group
session participants are encouraged to attend information sessions
on national service, volunteerism, and statewide funding
opportunities
To register contact:
Gina Namay at 558-0111 or email
gnamay@mail.state.wv.us
All sessions are from 9:00
a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
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May 2nd: Ramada Inn – South
Charleston, WV
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May 8th: Bavarian Inn -
Martinsburg, WV
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May 14th: Greenbrier County
Public Library - Lewisburg, WV
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May 15th: Tamarack - Beckley,
WV
April 29 - May 2, 2008,
National Forum on Children, Families and the Courts
Philadelphia, PA
http://www.ncjfcj.org/content/view/1070/315/
July 15 - July 17, 2008
The State Conference on Volunteerism, National
Service and Service-Learning
Charleston Civic Center - Charleston, WV
Contact: Moya
Doneghy (304) 558-0111 or
mdoneghy@mail.state.wv.us
June 28 - July 1, 2008
American School Counselor Association Annual Conference
Hyatt Regency - Atlanta, GA
www.schoolcounselor.org
Calendar
Do you have a event you would like
posted?
Contact June L. Robinson via e-mail
jrobinson@wvosea.org
or phone (304)558-2440.
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