CIS of Brunswick County – Advocate’s plea: Don’t starve schools

The Sun News

Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008

Community leaders consider what deters dropouts

By Steve Jones – sjones@thesunnews.com

SUPPLY, N.C. — Bill Milliken, the founder of the national Communities in Schools organization, said Tuesday at a luncheon in Brunswick County that the country will be making a big mistake if it cuts funding to education because of the current economic crisis.

The 1.2 million students who drop out of schools nationally each year are already a big hole in the national ship, he said, and it will be almost impossible to right it without fixing the hole.

“We’d better not shrink what we’re spending on our children,” Milliken warned the nearly 200 people at the Brunswick County Education Luncheon sponsored by the Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce.

Communities in Schools has proved itself a vital part of student success with its 30 years of linking schools with businesses, churches, governments and volunteers to enwrap students with the help many need to stay in schools, he said.

Brunswick County Communities in Schools is the second- or third-largest in North Carolina and has 2,000 volunteers and a number of programs that have proven successful in keeping some students in schools and raising test scores so that program participants are learning at the same grade level as other students.

“We’ve proven in Communities in Schools that children can learn no matter what their background,” Milliken said.

But, he emphasized several times, it’s not programs that give students success.

“It’s relationships that change people,” he said.

And yet, Brunswick County Schools’ top officials said after the luncheon that the system needs a vocational education high school and a new state law to bring down the state’s fourth-highest high school dropout rate.

Some at the luncheon agreed that there seems to be a disconnect between the system’s high dropout rate and one of the state’s strongest Communities in Schools programs. When asked what’s missing locally, they paused to think.

“I don’t know the answer,” said Brunswick County District Attorney Rex Gore, who was given Progress Energy’s annual Power of One Award at the luncheon because of his involvement with Communities in Schools.

Gore was instrumental in encouraging and helping Communities in Schools locally to start the teen court, peer court and parent education programs.

Perhaps the missing link is parental involvement, Gore said.

Maybe, said Brunswick County Commissioner Marty Cooke, a Communities in Schools board member, more one-on-one mentoring is needed.

Cathy Altman, Brunswick County chamber president, said she hopes a program started recently between the chamber and Shallotte Middle School can help. The program will identify students’ interests and then offer speakers from those areas to the schools.

Katie McGee, Brunswick County schools’ superintendent, said she thinks a change in state law will help lower the dropout rate.

Currently, she said, students who leave high school early but then enroll in community college are counted as dropouts, and she doesn’t think they should be.

“The perception is that dropout means that the kid is going to the streets,” she said.

The change in who is counted as a dropout would help, she said, even though she doesn’t know how many of Brunswick County’s high school dropouts then enroll in community college courses.

Shirley Babson, Brunswick County school board chairwoman, said the vocational education high school the board wants to build could be the answer. The school system has tried a number of things to get students to stay in school, she said, but she believes the targeted-learning high school might be key in finally turning the ship in the right direction.

“I wouldn’t be here today if that person hadn’t spent a year helping me turnaround,” Milliken said of his own experience.

He was kicked out of high school in Pittsburgh, he said, and was rudderless until an organization called Young Life reached out to him. He’s since been to college and began his work helping other students at a storefront in Harlem.

That evolved into a program called Cities in Schools in Atlanta and to the organization that today commands a seat at the table of national leaders who work to solve education issues. He has counseled four presidents on education.

Without the hope that a community can give them, Milliken said, young people who drop out of school are either going to hurt themselves or others.

“Programs don’t turn people around,” he said, “relationships do.”

Contact STEVE JONES at 910-754-9855.

CISNC – Linda Harrill Named Honorary Co-Chair Of The 2008 North Carolina Summit On Youth And Families

Raleigh, NC (OPENPRESS) October 30, 2008 – Communities In Schools of North Carolina (CISNC) (www.cisnc.org), has announced that Linda Harrill, president and CEO, has been named an honorary co-chair for the 2008 North Carolina Summit on Youth and Families to be held November 19-20 at the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel, located at 421 S. Salisbury St. Harrill will serve as co-chair alongside Howard N. Lee, chairman of the North Carolina State Board of Education, and will lead a panel on the topic of leadership. The goal of the 2008 Summit is to examine the current and future status of North Carolina’s youth and families, and will focus on strengthening economic opportunities, striving for educational excellence and improving health and well-being. For more information, visit www.ncsummit.org.

Communities In Schools of North Carolina (CISNC), an independently incorporated nonprofit, was established in 1989 as a part of the national Communities In Schools network. The organization is the nation’s largest community-based dropout prevention program with nearly 200 communities serving 1.2 million youth in the United States. For more information about CISNC, call (800) 849-8881 or visit their Web site at www.cisnc.org

CIS of Gaston County – YORK CHESTER MIDDLE: Superintendent gives career advice to students

Gaston Gazette

October 29, 2008 – 4:48PM

Gaston County Schools Superintendent Reeves McGlohon was the guest speaker at the Sept. 24 meeting of the sixth grade CTE Career Decisions class at York Chester Middle School.

He was invited by Lisa Bolding, Communities In Schools, under the sponsorship of the Alliance for Children and Youth, a United Way Agency, and Ms. Cardwell, one of the Career Decision teachers.

He spoke about his career and the employment skills needed to be successful in the job. He spoke to two small groups of students, for a combined total of 48 children. The class was held in Ms. Davis’ Life Skills classroom. Mr. Rick, another Career Decision teachers, assisted with the setup.

CIS of Cape Fear – Mary Mosley Performace Learning Center re-opens

Submitted by WWAY on 29 October 2008 – 3:42pm.

New Hanover school officials and many others came together to celebrate the re-opening of the Mary Mosley performance learning center.

The district revamped the former Lakeside High School this school year, and turned it into a non-traditional high school with computer based learning. Honored guest Mary Mosley was there to inspire students to continue their path of learning. “This is something I’ve always wanted. Just to make sure that children get the best education they can get, and to develop into citizens of worth,” Mosley said.

The Mary Mosley Performance Learning Center is part of a partnership with Communities In Schools. It also receives funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

CIS of Moore County – Kids learn through school gardens

Carolina News 14

Kids learn through school gardens
10/22/2008 10:05 AM

By: Conan Gasque

Teachers use the garden for almost every class.

MOORE COUNTY — Taking care of the environment isn’t just for adults; some schools are now using gardens to teach kids how to keep the environment healthy.

Tjaden Gaddy has found all kinds of things in the school garden at Academy Heights Elementary in Moore County. Students like him help plant and care for the garden while at the same time learning about the environment and healthy eating.

“It teaches them that the environment is important,” said teacher Kathy Rallings. “It is important to take care of nature. It’s extremely important to recycle and compost.”

Teachers use the garden for almost every class, be it science and health or math and reading.

“You can’t learn this in a book, you can’t learn from a poster or a video tape – this is true hands-on learning,” said Rallings.

The idea was created by Kathleen Byron of Moore County Communities in Schools. Through the help of local and state grants, Moore County will soon feature the gardens in five schools. Byron hopes to expand even further.

“We would love to see this be able to be replicated not only on a regional but on a state level,” she said.

SAS CEO Jim Goodnight Addresses High School Dropout Crisis with NC Superintendents

Laptops, Online Curriculum Among Ways to Increase Student Engagement

Last update: 12:00 p.m. EDT Oct. 21, 2008

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Oct 21, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — SAS CEO Jim Goodnight today discussed the state’s dropout crisis and the importance of technology in education. At the NC Department of Public Instruction’s quarterly meeting of superintendents and education leaders, Goodnight emphasized the need to increase student engagement, highlighting current efforts under way in the state.

North Carolina’s 2008 graduation rate was 70 percent, leaving nearly one-third of students without a high school diploma, the essential credential for the workplace and for further education. Those students face an uphill battle, according to Goodnight.

“Statistics show that students lacking a high school diploma experience lower wages, higher unemployment, and increased likelihood of criminal activity,” said Goodnight.

High dropout rates also decrease the talent pool. Employers needing skilled workers in today’s knowledge economy must look outside the state or the country for qualified employees.

“It’s not just student competitiveness at stake; American competitiveness in a global economy is threatened,” he said.

However, there is good news. North Carolina ranks first nationally for number and percentage of national board-certified teachers, and seventh in Education Week’s listing of state efforts to improve teacher quality. Goodnight highlighted promising efforts to increase student engagement already under way.

For instance, the North Carolina 1:1 Laptop Pilot initiative provides 21st-century resources to teachers and students at several North Carolina high schools. Lessons learned in the pilot will be applied as the program is expanded. The initiative is a public-private partnership of the Golden Leaf Foundation, SAS, the North Carolina General Assembly, the governor, the New Schools Project, the NC Department of Public Instruction and the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation.

Goodnight also lauded the North Carolina Virtual Public School’s Learn & Earn Online initiative, the Performance Learning Centers established by Communities in Schools and the federally funded IMPACT program. All these programs integrate technology into education – the key to improving student engagement, he said.

“Where instructional and learning technologies are prevalent, students have a passion for learning,” said Goodnight. “They master the ability to solve complex problems and are better equipped with the skills that companies around the world need today.”

About NC DPI

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction provides leadership to 115 local public school districts and 100 charter schools serving approximately 1.4 million students in kindergarten through high school graduation. The agency is responsible for all aspects of the state’s public school system and works under the direction of the North Carolina State Board of Education.

About SAS

SAS is the leader in business analytics software and services, and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market. With innovative business applications supported by an enterprise intelligence platform, SAS helps customers at 45,000 sites improve performance and deliver value by making better decisions faster. Since 1976 SAS has been giving customers around the world THE POWER TO KNOW(R).

SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. (R) indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright (C) 2008 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.

SOURCE: SAS

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Jack Tate had a vision for children

 

The former bank president and creator of advocacy organizations died Tuesday at 91.

By Kerry Hall
khall@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2008

Jack Tate: “A giant for children and families in the community.”

John Austin “Jack” Tate – a Charlotte banker, civic leader and longtime advocate for children’s causes – died at his home Tuesday after a brief illness. He was 91.

A retired First Union executive, Tate helped create many of the Charlotte organizations that serve children: Child Care Resources, a nonprofit child care resource agency; Communities in Schools, which works to keep at-risk students in school; Success by 6, an effort to improve the lives of preschool children; and ThinkCOLLEGE, a center to help students find financial aid.

“Jack was a man of vision and verve,” said Rolfe Neill, former Charlotte Observer publisher. “He was a person with a bias for action. He was a good thinker, and when he arrived at a conclusion and thought that he had a solution, or at least a potential solution, he went at it.”

Tate was the patriarch of a family that transformed the way Charlotte looked at early childhood and public education. His first wife, Dolly Tate, who died in 1991, was a nationally known child advocate who organized TAPS (Teenage Parent Services) and was the first president of the Council for Children.

After her death, he married Marjorie Warlick, director of Child Care Resources. His son, John Tate, served on the school board in the 1990s and has been on the state Board of Education for several years.

Friends described Tate as organized, tough-minded and plain-spoken, with a contagious laugh.

A native of Charlotte, he was dedicated to his community and the Presbyterian church. He grew up on Queens Road with a brother and two sisters, attending Charlotte public schools and McCallie prep school in Chattanooga, Tenn., before entering UNC. After graduating in 1937 with a degree in economics, he attended Harvard University, receiving his master’s degree in business. He served in the Navy and held various banking jobs before becoming president of Piedmont Bank in 1968.

During his 15-year tenure, Tate guided Piedmont’s growth from a $12.5 million asset bank in 1968 to a $153 million asset institution. Piedmont merged with First Union in the early 1980s, later bought Wachovia and took their name.

Tate plunged himself into civic issues, particularly ones affecting children. In 1981, he became the first president of Child Care Resources, which became a national model for educating parents about day care services. He pressed for more funding, concerned about the ability of poor families to find quality care – at one time calling a news conference to declare that child care problems in the area were a “catastrophe.”

A Democrat, Tate ran for mayor in 1967, but lost to Stan Brookshire by 43 votes. He was also among the early advocates of a strong downtown, and called the 1980s decision to build the Charlotte Coliseum on the city outskirts the “biggest government mistake of my lifetime.” That coliseum has since been torn down and a new arena constructed uptown.

“I would say that he will be remembered, first and foremost, as a good public servant,” said his son, John Tate. “He was about the common good, building community, and trying to help kids. He wanted to make sure they had a fair chance and he knew the best way to achieve that was through education.”

Janet Singerman, current president of Child Care Resources, described Tate as “a giant for children and families in the community.”

“He was willing to challenge the status quo on behalf of children and he leaves an incredible legacy in that regard,” she said. “The world is truly a better place for him having been here.”

His family will receive visitors from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the home of Tate’s son, John, and his wife, Claire, at 1431 Biltmore Drive. The funeral service will be Friday at 2 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Charlotte.

Powerful intervention – Dr. Mentor visits Pitt County in NC

Powerful intervention

By Brock Letchworth
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
The Daily Reflector

When Susan Weinberger discusses the role her Aunt Lilley played in her life, she speaks enthusiastically and gratefully.

Weinberger says her aunt taught her about a myriad of things ranging from ways to meet the right man to the Boston Red Sox. Forty-six years of marriage and a couple of Major League Baseball championships later, Weinberger says she knows her aunt did something right.

“She was my mentor, and that made a big difference in my life,” said Weinberger, who has gone on to found the Mentor Consulting Group and travels internationally to help with designing, implementing and evaluating community-based mentoring programs.

Weinberger, whose efforts have earned her the nickname “Dr. Mentor” was the keynote speaker Tuesday during a training workshop provided by Communities in Schools of North Carolina and the North Carolina Mentoring Partnership.

During the presentation, Weinberger presented to a group involved with mentoring in the region her beliefs about the benefits, most effective designs and best recruiting strategies for their programs.
She also discussed potential barriers to mentoring and ways to overcome them.

“In my lifetime, I have never witnessed a more powerful intervention to make a difference in the life of kids than mentoring,” Weinberger said. “There is no such thing as a kid who couldn’t benefit from it.”

Weinberger defines mentoring as a structured and trusting relationship that brings young people together with caring individuals who offer guidance, support and encouragement aimed at developing the competence and character of the mentee.

She said the two most important components of an effective mentoring program are a strong infrastructure of organization and reliable mentors.

Weinberger emphasized the importance of utilizing mentors with qualities such as stability, leadership, patience and reliability. Appropriate mentors, Weinberger says, present no physical, social or emotional threat to children and they have the personal characteristics to create a positive developmental relationship with youth.

“In many cases, the children who are in need of the mentoring have had a lot of disappointments,” Weinberger said. “A mentor can do more harm than good if the child can’t trust them or doesn’t feel comfortable with them.”

Weinberger also stressed the need for more male mentors, saying that some men feel they are not nurturing enough and feel they will be unsuccessful.

She said the four things youth need today are action, consistency, truth and time.

“If you are successful in your business or professional life, chances are you have had at least one person impact you,” Weinberger said. “That is what mentoring is all about.”

Contact Brock Letchworth at bletchworth@coxnc.com or (252) 329-9574.

CIS of Lee County – Black-tie Gala raises $33K for CIS

Black-tie Gala raises $33K for CIS
Sat. October 11, 2008; Posted: 10:46 PM

SANFORD, Oct 11, 2008 (Sanford Herald – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) —

To prepare their home for 230 guests, Mark and Ruth Stewart started readying the house and yard six months in advance.

“It was a long process, but worth it — and I have a very clean house now,” Ruth Stewart said, laughing.

The Stewarts were the hosts for this year’s Communities in Schools of Lee County Gala, an annual black tie event that serves as the organization’s main fundraiser of the year. Friday’s party featured live music from Jackie Gore Entertainment Group and food from numerous local restaurants, and raised a preliminary figure of about $33,000 for the organization’s many projects in Lee County schools.

A former CIS board member, Stewart was thrilled for the opportunity to help the organization.

“Having two children who have come through the public school system makes you aware of the needs that are there,” Ruth Stewart said. “CIS is a wonderful organization that answers a lot of needs that the school system is not able to meet on its own.”

From board members to volunteers to Jason Howard of J.S. Howard Electrical’s countless hours spent engineering the gala’s lighting, it takes a lot of people to put together an event of that size, CIS Board Chair Kim Pritt said.

“It’s my most stressful and most wonderful night of the year,” Pritt said. “I always want to make sure we make the guests happy, so they want to come back next year.”

Guests were chauffeured to the Stewarts’ front door via valets in cars donated by Wilkinson Cadillac-Chevrolet-Pontiac-Buick-GMC, then given a tour of the house before collecting a sampling of Myra’s or Bella’s finest cuisine and mingling by the pool. Items donated by local businesses were available via silent auction, as well as a jewelry raffle. Author Jenifer Fox spoke as a special guest of the Sanford Area Chamber of Commerce.

The bulk of the event’s funds are raised through sponsorships purchased from area businesses and individuals. The rest of the funds come from ticket sales, at $100 apiece. Their major sponsor for two years in a row has been Pentair Water Pool and Spa.

“We understand that the future of our business depends on this community,” Pentair Senior Product Manager Frank Swindell said. “What better way to start supporting that then the community’s young children.”

When the last plate of peach cobbler was eaten and the final notes of music faded away Friday night, CIS swooped in to help with cleanup, so the Stewarts could get their house back to normal as quickly as possible. Ruth Stewart said it had been a good experience, though hectic.

“It’s a great cause, and I would definitely do it again — but probably not right away,” Stewart said.

CIS of Rowan County – Target gives $2,000 for Communities in Schools’ book clubs

Target gives $2,000 for Communities in Schools’ book clubs

Saturday, October 04, 2008 6:17 PM
The Salisbury Post

Target Inc. has provided a $2,000 grant to Communities In Schools of Rowan County.

The grant will be used to continue Breakfast Book clubs at North Rowan and Hanford Dole elementary schools, according to Vicky Slusser, director of Communities In Schools of Rowan County.

At North Elementary, second-graders and their families can attend the book club, with the second semester reserved for first-graders.

“We are hoping to plan events at Hanford Dole this year as well,” Slusser said.

Parents, guardians and siblings are invited to the schools to participate in the book club, where breakfast is served and all share in the story of the month read by a “special reading buddy.”

Each family gets books and work packets to take home to encourage reading.

Since opening its doors, Minneapolis, Minn.-based Target has given 5 percent of its income to organizations that support education, the arts, social services and volunteerism. That translates to more than $3 million every week.

“At Target, our local grants are making a difference in the communities we serve,” Laysha Ward, a Target vice president, said. “We’re proud to partner with Communities In Schools as part of our ongoing commitment to give back to the communities where our guests and team members live and work.”

Communities in Schools in Rowan is a United Way agency and that provides staff at Knox Middle and the two elementary schools. The agency also gets support from the Blanche and Julian Robertson Family Foundation, the Margaret C. Woodson Foundation, the Rowan-Salisbury School System, the Department of Juvenile Justice and Communities In Schools of North Carolina.