President Barack Obama is promising a “big push” for his proposal to provide pre-K for all 4-year-olds.
Source: Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is promising a “big push” for his proposal to provide pre-K for all 4-year-olds.
Obama says having the world’s best education system will help create jobs and boost the middle class, but it starts with early childhood education.
He said studies show that pre-kindergarten kids do better in school, are less likely to become teen parents and are more likely to attend college, have a job and form stable families.
Obama announced the proposal in his State of the Union address last week. Republicans have questioned the cost, which the White House has yet to reveal.
In an interview broadcast Friday with radio host Yolanda Adams, Obama says, quote, “we’re going to make a big push on that.”
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Adults who’ve begun working toward their GED are being urged to finish up this year, before the test for a high school equivalency diploma changes and they have to start all over.
GED Testing Service will introduce a new version of the test, given nationwide, on Jan. 1, 2014. Developers say the first major changes since 2002 will align the test with the new Common Core curricula adopted by most states to increase college and career readiness. It also will shift test-taking from pencil and paper to computer.
Joyce Monroe, 24, is feeling the pressure as she puts in dozens of hours in class every week at the Buffalo Educational Opportunity Center. Two practice tests showed she’s ready for writing and science but needs slightly more work in math, along with social studies and language arts.
“I’m really trying to get in before it changes. I’m so close,” said Monroe, who said she left high school before graduating for family reasons and is trying to set an example for her 5-year-old daughter. “I don’t want to start all over. That would make me want to drop GED like I did high school.”
Those who administer the test have begun to alert the million or so adults who have passed some but not all of the five parts of the current test to complete the missing sections by Dec. 31. If not, their scores will expire and they’ll have to begin again under the new program Jan. 1.
“If they are in the pipeline, they need to get it done,” said Dr. Danis Gehl, education director at the University at Buffalo’s Educational Opportunity Center.
There is also financial incentive to complete the GED this year. At $120, the computer-based version is double the cost of the current test. Several states subsidize some or all of the expense but the student share is widely expected to rise.
About 700,000 people take the GED exam yearly in the United States, said Armando Diaz, spokesman for Washington-based GED Testing Service, the trademarked test’s creator. About 72 percent passing to earn their states’ high school equivalency credential. More than 1 million people are expected to try in 2013 in advance of the change, a number that could strain preparation programs and testing sites.
Although the General Education Development exam has undergone regular updates since being introduced in 1942, the upcoming changes are the most dramatic yet.
“We see that higher ed has new standards, the workforce, the economy’s changing,” said Diaz. “We decided it’s time to completely give the testing program a facelift.”
Instead of five sections, the test will be re-aligned into four: reasoning through language arts, mathematical reasoning, science and social studies. The current stand-alone essay section will be incorporated into writing assignments within the language arts and social studies sections, Diaz said.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a harder test, I just think we’re testing different skills,” he said.
Tashia Malone of Buffalo is taking no chances, spending her mornings at the Seneca Babcock Community Center’s preparation class in hopes of sitting for the two-day test in May.
“I should have done it already. Procrastination is my middle name,” said Malone, 34, who dropped out of high school when she became pregnant. “I heard it’s going to be a lot harder and cost more next year so I want to get it in now.”
EOC Executive Director Julius Gregg Adams suggested that adults unfamiliar with the Common Core standards, a uniform school curriculum heavier on writing and content analysis, may be more comfortable getting the test out of the way this year, though he’s reluctant to say the new test will be harder.
“The current test more than likely reflects learning standards that individuals have been exposed to when they were in secondary education,” he said. “The Common Core standards more than likely probably reflect standards that individuals have not been exposed to.”
In New York City, the Fund for Public Advocacy-led Campaign to Finish has set up a hotline to refer students for tutoring, targeting those who’ve taken the test before but haven’t passed all sections.
“It’s going to be more difficult. It’s going to cost more money next year, so I think that motivates people,” said Juan Santos, 34, who is preparing for the GED in Methuen, Mass., with the goal of becoming a police officer in Florida. “I couldn’t believe I waited so long.”
While the GED, initially developed for U.S. military personnel who had not completed high school, is the pathway recognized by every state toward a high school equivalency diploma, New York and other states are exploring development of an alternative. Without the computer infrastructure statewide to test large numbers of people and one of the lowest pass rates in the nation, at 59.4 percent, New York has solicited bids for development of a test that would maintain the paper and pencil option for the time being and more slowly phase in the Common Core standards.
“We’re trying to make the transition to the test a little more seamless, a little softer, not put so much stress on our programs, on our infrastructure and most especially our students,” said Kevin Smith, the State Education Department deputy commissioner for adult career and continuing education.
What seemed to resonate most with the judges in the 2013 Scholastic Art Awards contest was the sophisticated level of talent shown by the hundreds of students who entered works of art.
One judge, Tonnie Wolfe, wrote that he found the students did “incredibly mature work for most categories.”
“Loved the vision of all entrants,” Wolfe wrote as part of his comments.
Another judge, Carm Pierce, appreciated the high level of creativity and technical execution shown by the students.
“I really enjoy seeing great young artists emerging from our local school programs,” Pierce commented.
Schack Art Center will present artwork from the 2013 Scholastic Art Awards in its main gallery.
Among the pieces on display will be the works done by the five outstanding American Vision/Best of Show recipients:
Megan Davis, from Glacier Peak High School; Orlando Esquivel from Henry M. Jackson High School; Marcela Gaspar from Lake Stevens High School; and Holly Hillman and Annalissa Winters, both from Stanwood High School.
There were more than 800 entries received from 37 Snohomish County schools for this year’s contest.
Since 1996, Schack Art Center has been the only regional affiliate in Washington state for the National Scholastic Art Awards, exhibiting thousands of 7th- through 12th-grade Snohomish County artists in the process, according to a press release.
Schack will exhibit all the award-winning entries in its main gallery from Feb. 18 through 24. An opening reception will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. Feb. 20 at Schack Art Center, 2921 Hoyt Ave., Everett.
A public recognition of the winners will be given starting at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 20 during the Scholastic Art Awards Ceremony at the Everett Civic Auditorium, 2415 Colby Ave., Everett.
Leadership Snohomish County and Economic Alliance Snohomish County present Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs
Everett, WA – How does your own mindset allow you to make, not just find, opportunities in the world? What really drives the thinking of wildly successful entrepreneurs?
To find out, join Leadership Snohomish County and presenter Ian Ayers on Friday, April 12th, at Jackson Center at Everett Community College for Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. Learn how your way of thinking can allow you to thrive in the face of uncertainty. Come for the morning workshop, from 8:00 to 11:00 AM, or stay and take advantage of the small group session from 11:30AM to 2:30PM as well.
“It’s essential that we all use entrepreneurial thinking to strengthen our communities, our companies, and our organizations,” said Sarri Gilman, Executive Director of Leadership Snohomish County. “We’re excited to offer this workshop because the information is very accessible and it’s relevant to every aspect of building thriving companies and communities.”
Presenter Ian Ayers is the creator of the Effectual Method, a system that teaches entrepreneurial expertise through doing. The morning workshop is a mix of theory, storytelling, exercises, and breakthrough moments. You’ll learn five principles you can apply right away to grow your business, develop your team, and solve problems. Based on research published in INC Magazine, “How Great Entrepreneurs Think,” you’ll grasp the fundamental differences between causal, or predictive thinking, and effectual thinking. And, you’ll leave with a set of practical next steps and a way to move forward.
Stay for the small group afternoon session (maximum 30 people) and continue to work with Ian Ayers, diving deeper and applying the principles learned in the morning workshop.
“Co-creation is central to this method, and the best way to improve is through doing, “ said Ayers. “So, to make sure you hit the ground running, we’ll try some live co-creation within our group and make new opportunities right before our very eyes.”
Shannon Affholter, Vice President of Business & Economic Development at Economic Alliance Snohomish County, endorses and is sponsoring the workshop.
“Attending the Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs workshop will help community leaders better understand the important qualities that make entrepreneurs succeed in our current economy,” said Affholter.
Co-sponsored by Economic Alliance Snohomish County, Everett Community College, and the Greater Everett Community Foundation.
Register for Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs at www.leadershipsc.org. Fee is per person: $65 morning only (includes coffee and snacks), $175 all day (also includes lunch). Please note: tickets may be transferred to another attendee but are not refundable.
About Leadership Snohomish County
Leadership Snohomish County develops leaders for a lifetime by providing education and opportunities for people and organizations to strengthen our community. Our program helps participants acquire an understanding of the critical issues affecting the region and the leadership and stewardship capabilities necessary to resolve them.
Phil Bradley, music instructor for the Absentee Shawnee Tribe, teaches using music for expressing emotions and overcoming challenging situations. (Margaret Starkey)
By Brian Daffron, Indian Country Today Media Network
Many people throughout the world find peace and solace through music. For the prolific writer Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., music was the only proof needed “for the existence of God.” Victor Hugo, the original author of Les Miserables, wrote that music “expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.”
Former Nashville writer and studio musician Phil Bradley, an enrolled member of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe, has similar philosophical insight about the need for music in our daily lives.
“I believe music helps folks reach their inner being, their soul,” Bradley says. “[Music will] reach really deep into your soul, and teach you that you’ve got something more than just working every day or going to school and coming home, and doing it again tomorrow.”
Bradley’s journey back to his Absentee Shawnee people came with the illness of his mother.
“I came back [to Oklahoma] because they said in 2000 my mom had been expected not to live, say, for a year,” says Bradley. “I said, ‘Well, I’ll come back there and visit her.’ The Lord saw fit that she live three more years.”
By February 2010, Bradley had been contacted by the Absentee Shawnee Tribe’s Behavioral Health Department and written into their Meth and Suicide Prevention Grant. For this new program, the tribe wanted to include both music and drug education. The free music program started with just one child from an abused home. Now Bradley works with more than 85 children and elders.
“There were so many youth in our communities—Native Americans—that had troubles,” says Bradley. “They came from troubled homes—alcohol and drug abuse homes. A lot of them are just thrown aside and not given a chance for anything.”
Since then, Bradley’s position has changed to where he is now the head of the tribe’s Music and Arts Department. Bradley finds himself working up to 13-hour days at times, and teaching guitar, bass guitar and piano in the towns of Shawnee and Little Axe, both of which are within the tribe’s jurisdiction in central Oklahoma. At press time, Bradley had 58 active students ranging in age from teenagers to elders in their 80s.
“The therapists have said it’s been a big benefit to the [students],” says Bradley. “I teach them to respect who they are, and that they have a gift inside them.”
The Music and Arts department’s other endeavors include raising money for their annual summer program and helping with the Meth and Suicide Prevention Walkathon, which takes place annually in October. Bradley also has plans to collaborate on a Shawnee language DVD that will be produced by the tribe.
“I teach them attitude can move mountains,” says Bradley about his style of teaching music. “It can take you places that only people can dream about. That’s our logo. It’s on my wall.”
Students from Highland Hall Waldorf School visit Ute Mountain Tribal Park in Towaoc, Colorado at the end of their studies. (Image courtesy UteMountainUte.com)
Indian Country Today Media Network Staff
The school’s website says it’s a place “where education is a journey” and Noah Williams, who teaches history at Highland Hall Waldorf School in Northridge, California takes that seriously.
When he teaches his students about Native American history, they don’t just read out of books, they listen to the oral histories of the Inuit, Ute Mountain, Cheyenne and Pomo and end their studies with a trip to Ute Mountain Tribal Park in Towaoc, Colorado.
“Reading the myths and legends of the Pomos and Cheyennes isn’t just about introducing literature; these are stories handed down through an oral tradition. They were told and heard. So retelling them is really a lesson in listening,” Williams explains in a press release. “I ask the students to put down their pens, be present, and live in the words.”
After various lectures the students travel 15 hours by train and bus for a 3-and-a-half-day camping trip in a remote canyon where they go without electricity and running water. The students gather wood, make fires, learn cooking skills and experience a star-filled night sky surrounded by silence.
“The experience that made the deepest impression on me was when we visited one of many ancient cliff-dwelling ruins,” says Highland Hall 10th grader Casey Gardner. “First we hiked a steep path up the side of [the] canyon. The weather was hot, the rocks were unstable, and we all carried weighted backpacks filled with our belongings. Finally, we reached the ruin. It sat strong and resolute on a thin ledge overlooking the abyss. After lunch, our Ute Indian guide Rick encouraged us to have a moment of silence and take in the astounding view. To me, the silence became a living thing; one could hear and indeed even feel the silence. It made me think of an ancient Native American, probably sitting in the same spot, marveling at the same sight that I was taking in. We usually associate silence with aloneness, but being with my class, people I’ve known for most of my life, made the quiet a shared experience.”
Zumba instructor Ossha Williams teaches the kids some dance moves.
By Jeannie Briones and Kim Kalliber, Tulalip News staff
Tulalip Tribes Youth Services are working to educate elementary grade kids about the importance of eating healthy and staying active, along with the devastating affects that smoking cigarettes can have on the body.
The Healthy Lungs, Healthy Lifestyle after-school program provides kids with information on tobacco and overall health, along with teaching them that in order to stay active in daily living and to participate in sports, they need to have clean, healthy lungs.
Over a dozen kids danced, exercised and laughed in the Quil Ceda Elementary School Gym during the Healthy Lungs, Healthy Lifestyle gathering on February 6th.
The kids learned basic dance moves with help from the host of the day, Zumba instructor Ossha Williams, of Health Quest Fitness Studio. Once the music started, the electrifying beat filled the gym with contagious energy that made the kids move their bodies to a combination of hip-hop, salsa, soca, and mambo music, while incorporating martial arts and aerobic elements into their workout.
“This program is a great thing because it gives the kids something do and shows them ways to stay healthy. It sends a positive message, because there is a high smoking rate among Native Americans,” said Rachel Steeve, Youth Services Smoking Cessation Specialist.
Kids are also treated to a healthy snack and drink, and can participate in hands-on projects and crafts.
Healthy Lungs, Healthy Lifestyle program will be held every other day in the Quil Ceda and Tulalip Elementary gym after school.Monday 3:35-5:00 p.m., Wednesday 1:05-3:00 p.m. and Friday from 3:35-5:00 p.m.
To enroll your child in this fun, education program contact Rachel Steeve, Youth Services Smoking Cessation Specialist, at 360-716-4936; email rsteeve@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov, or stop by Youth Services at 3107 Reuben Shelton Dr, Tulalip, WA 98271.
By Kim Kalliber and Jeannie Briones, Tulalip News Staff
Eighteen year-old Tulalip tribal member Braulio Ramos took an unexpected journey into self-discovery during his senior year at high school. What did he learn? That he’s pretty darn good at public speaking, and reciting poetry.
With no real interest in learning poetry, Braulio, a student at the Bio Academy at Maryville’s Getchell High School campus, joined the Poetry Out Loud nationwide recital contest. His natural charisma, topped with mad memorization skills, won him first place in the high school level competition in December 2012.
That win landed him in Burlington, Washington where he took part in the regional poetry recital competition on January 30th.
Over 50 audience members, including four judges, filled the Burlington Library to watch 13 contestants from high schools around the northwest, do their thing. Each contestant had to recite two poems of their choosing from the Poetry Out Loud pre-approved list of poetry. Their performance is judged on physical presence, voice articulation, dramatic appropriateness, level of difficulty, evidence of understanding, and overall performance.
Braulio spent hours rehearsing lines to ‘Bilingual/Bilingue’ by Rhina P. Espaillat and ‘Jabberwocky’ by Lewis Carroll.
“The first one [I read], I was kind of scared, for the second one I was more confident and playful,” said Braulio.
Though Braulio did not place in the regional competition, he’s confident that he put on a good performance.
Numerous audience members thanked Braulio for his performance, praising his strong voice, and the originality and flare that he lent to his poems.
Kayla Dowd, 16, a junior at the International School of Communications at Marysville Getchell High School, is the volunteer public relations organizer for the upcoming Marysville-Tulalip Relay for Life fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. The event will be held the last weekend of June. Photo: Genna Martin, The Herald
Marysville student is organizing fundraising event for her community
MARYSVILLE — Raising money for the American Cancer Society is a major focus of volunteer efforts in Snohomish County. During May, June and July, there are 10 Relay For Life fundraisers scheduled.
Marysville Getchell High School junior Kayla Dowd is one of the hundreds of people planning the Marysville-Tulalip event and those elsewhere.
Kayla, 16, is the public relations chairwoman for the relay. As a student in the International School of Communications at Marysville Getchell, Kayla hopes to use some of her new-found writing and speaking skills to let people know about the fundraiser.
The Marysville-Tulalip Relay for Life, like all the other relays, is an overnight event during which teams of people take turns walking or running laps around the field. Each team keeps a member on the track at all times. Relay for Life celebrates those who have survived cancer, helps people whose loved ones have died from cancer, raises money for cancer research and encourages people to fight cancer in their own lives, Kayla said.
Last year, the Marysville-Tulalip relay had 50 teams, honored 100 survivors and raised about $155,000. This year, organizers have set a goal to honor 150 survivors, involve 80 teams and raise $200,000.
“I think we can do it,” Kayla said. “Interest is growing each year. I’m involved because I’m one of those people whose life has been touched by cancer.”
A few years ago, Kayla lost her maternal great-grandmother to cervical cancer. Then her grandfather, Pat Dowd, 67, of Smokey Point, was diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer.
“He overcame that, but two months ago we learned that my grandpa has brain cancer. Recently we found out that his tumor has gotten a little smaller,” she said. “So, this has been a journey of ups and downs for my family. Grandpa is so dear to my heart. He is a go-getter and a role model for me. The money we raise at this remarkable event can help keep alive mothers, fathers, grandparents, sisters, brothers and friends.”
Kayla leads her own Relay for Life team of elementary school-age students, who raised $1,200 last year. When not working on fundraising, Kayla spends Tuesdays after school helping at the food bank in Marysville. She hopes to attend Washington State University and would like to study to be a nurse.
Raising awareness about cancer research in the state and Cancer Society services to cancer patients is big part of her job, Kayla said.
And Kayla’s just right for the task, said Kristin Banfield, the chairwoman of the Marysville-Tulalip Relay for Life. In her day job, Banfield is the public information officer for the city of Arlington.
“It’s really exciting to see a young woman, a teenager, stepping up in her community,” Banfield said. “This is a great experience for Kayla and we’re already getting a lot of good work out of her.”
Kayla said she is happy to help with Relay for Life.
“It’s a worthwhile thing, because everywhere you look, there is cancer,” Kayla said.
Kyle Thiessen, the state of Washington’s code reviser, looks at a shelf of pending legislation in his office on Jan. 30 at the Capitol in Olympia. Photo: Ted S. Warren, Associated Press
By Rachel La Corte, Associated Press
OLYMPIA — In Washington state, dairymen, freshmen and even penmanship could soon be things of the past.
Over the past six years, state officials have engaged in the onerous task of changing the language used in the state’s copious laws, including thousands of words and phrases, many written more than a century ago when the idea of women working on police forces or on fishing boats wasn’t a consideration.
That process is slated to draw to a close this year. So while the state has already welcomed “firefighters,” “clergy” and “police officers” into its lexicon, “ombuds” (in place of ombudsman) and “security guards” (previously “watchmen,”) appear to be next, along with “dairy farmers,” “first-year students” and “handwriting.”
“Some people would say ‘oh, it’s not a big thing, do you really have to go through the process of changing the language,”‘ said Seattle Councilmember Sally Clark who was one of the catalysts for the change. “But language matters. It’s how we signal a level of respect for each other.”
About half of all U.S. states have moved toward such gender-neutral language at varying levels, from drafting bills to changing state constitutions, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Florida and Minnesota have already completely revised their laws as Washington state is doing.
The final installment of Washington state’s bill already has sailed through the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee with unanimous approval. The nearly 500-page bill has one more committee stop scheduled before full Senate debate.
Crispin Thurlow, a sociolinguist and associate professor of language and communication at the University of Washington-Bothell, said the project was admirable.
He said that as language evolves, such efforts are more than symbolic.
“Changing words can change what we think about the world around us,” he said. “These tiny moments accrue and become big movements.”
Clark and former councilmember Jan Drago — the Seattle City Council has long eschewed the terms councilwoman or councilman — brought the issue to Sen. Jeannie Kohl-Welles in 2006 after they came across references to firemen and policemen in the mayor’s proposed budget, as well as in state law dealing with local-government pensions.
Clark and Drago’s findings sparked the initial gender-neutral language law that was passed in 2007, immediately changing those terms and directing the state code reviser’s office to do a full revision of the rest of the code. A 1983 Washington state law had already required all new statutes to be written in gender-neutral terms, so state officials were tasked with going through the rest of state statutes dating back to 1854 to revise the rest.
As in past bills on the issue that have tackled sections of the state code, some revisions were as simple as adding “or her” after “his.” Others required a little more scrutiny. Phrases like “man’s past” changes to “humankind’s past” and a “prudent man or woman” is simply a “prudent person.”
Kyle Thiessen, the state’s code reviser who has been working on the project along with two attorneys since 2008, said that the work was not without obstacles.
Words like “manhole” and “manlock” aren’t so easily replaced, he said. Substitutes have been suggested — “utility hole” and “air lock serving as a decompression chamber for workers.” But Thiessen said those references will be left alone to avoid confusion.
Republican state Rep. Shelly Short, of Addy, has voted against earlier gender-neutral language bills and said she plans to do the same this year.
“I don’t see the need to do gender neutrality,” she said, adding that her constituents want her to focus on jobs and the economy. “We’re women and we’re men.”
Kohl-Welles, who has sponsored each of the gender-neutral language bills, said that while this project hasn’t been her top legislation every year, “overall, it has important significance.”
“I believe,” she said, “that the culture has changed.”
OLYMPIA — Here’s a look at terms being considered in a final installment of a move to revise more than 3,500 Washington state statutes in order to make them gender-neutral.
Brakeman: brake operator
Chairmanship: position of chair
Dairymen: dairy farmers
Draughtsman: drafter
Ex-servicemen: add “or ex-servicewomen”
Fireman (The 2007 bill took care of the firefighters who work for fire departments and put out fires. This fireman reference is for railway employees who tend fires in steam engines): fire tender
