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Toyota reading grant will benefit three schools

Eric Martinez, student at Stanley Elementary, and his mother Matilde read a book together as part of the Toyota Family Literacy Program. Photo by Susan Arensman

Park, Stanley and Colvin Elementary Schools celebrated a $600,000 three-year grant their schools received during an event at Park on April 25. The Toyota Family Literacy Program, a partnership with the Wichita Public Schools, Toyota, Wichita State University and the National Center for Family Literacy, is a unique program aimed at boosting the literacy skills of ESOL children and their parents. Wichita was one of five districts across the U.S. to receive the grant.

The program is designed to ensure that both parents and their children succeed in the classroom, and to also increase parent involvement in the school. One of the key components is that parents and their children spend time in the classroom together. The students receive education while parents participate in adult ESOL classes and parenting support classes. Then the parents spend time in their child’s classroom doing activities with their children. Besides increasing the students’ and parents’ literacy skills, the program also increases the parents’ involvement in the school.

“We all know that parent involvement is key to a student’s success,” said Superintendent Winston Brooks.

“This program will provide better opportunities for my son,” Matilde Martinez, Stanley parent, said at the event with her son, Erick, by her side. “We help each other with homework. I see him becoming more confident with his schoolwork and I can better communicate with his teachers.”

Superintendent Brooks thanked the parents for their commitment to themselves and their children.

“It’s important for your children to see you learn and to see that education is something you value,” he said. He told the students to be proud of their parents for going back to school.

“This program has really empowered our parents,” said Julie Bettis, Stanley principal.

Twenty families at Colvin, 15 families at Park and 15 families at Stanley are participating in the program.

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Students receive Gates and Dell scholarships

Gates Millennium Scholarship recipients Brian Fairchild, North High School, and Yasmin Henderson, Northeast Magnet High School

Seven high school students have received thousands of dollars to further their education from the Gates Millennium and Dell Scholars Programs.

Yasmin Henderson, Northeast Magnet High School, and Brian Fairchild, North High School, are the recipients of the Gates Millennium Scholarship. It is a full-ride renewable scholarship at the school of the student's choice. The Gates Millennium Scholarship will also provide masters and doctoral funding if the student pursues education in certain fields. The scholarship is given to students who demonstrate strong leadership, community service and strong academic achievement. The Gates Millennium Scholars Program's goal is to allow these students to attend the college or university of their choice without the burden of tuition and to build a diverse new generation of  leaders.

Dell Scholarship recipients Nancy Cobos, Liliana Jimenez and Ngoc Nguyen, North High School. Not pictured is Roman Raymundo, East High School, and Mary Doan, Southeast High School. Photos by Susan Arensman

Roman Raymundo, East High School; Mary Doan, Southeast High School; Nancy Cobos, Liliana Jimenez, and Ngoc Nguyen, North High School, have each received $20,000 from the Dell Scholars Program. The scholarship is awarded to students participating in college readiness programs. Raymundo and Doan are in the Upward Bound program and Cobos, Jimenez and Nguyen are in the AVID program. Dell Scholars are chosen because they have demonstrated hard work, determination and perseverance to succeed despite personal challenges. Besides the financial assistance, they will also receive additional support to help them earn their college degree. Wichita is the only school district outside of Texas and California with five students awarded Dell Scholarships.

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Cessna Chairman Emeritus Russ Meyer, center, with Board of Education President Sarah Skelton and Superintendent Winston Brooks received a 2007 Friend of Education Award. Photo by Susan Arensman

The 2007 Friends of Education Awards were presented on April 21 during a banquet at Heights High School. The Friends of Education Awards, presented by the Confidence in Kansas Public Education Task Force, recognize the outstanding work of dedicated school volunteers across the state. Districts submit nominations for school volunteer, community leader, community/civic organization, partner activity, and private/public institution awards. There were six 2007 recipients from the Wichita Public Schools.

Russ Meyer, Chairman Emeritus of Cessna Aircraft Company, received the 2007 Friends of Education Community Leader Award of Excellence for work that benefits Wichita's children. As chairman of the Cessna Foundation, he facilitated a $50,000 donation to the district's Education EDGE foundation. This corporate donation was matched by Meyer and his wife Helen with

Terry Behrendt, Grants and Development Executive Director and Education EDGE Steering Team members Bill Hanna and Ross Hollander. Photo by Phyllis Rowley

a personal commitment of $50,000 to the Education EDGE. Mr. and Mrs. Meyer have also established a scholarship that has benefited 41 students and granted more than $280,000 in financial aid.

The Education EDGE Steering Team received the 2007 Friends of Education Community/Civic Organization Certificate of Merit, for their efforts to create the district's Education EDGE foundation, which supports classroom mini-grants, athletics and fine arts. Through the Steering Team's efforts, $1.4 million has been pledged to support the Education EDGE.

Cessna Aircraft Company and Junior League of Wichita

Johnnie Cartledge, Plant Manager at Cessna's 21st St. Campus. Photo by Phyllis Rowley

both received the 2007 Friends of Education Partner Activity Certificate of Award for their support. Cessna was nominated by Metro-Midtown Alternative High School for establishing the Cessna Flying Colors grade incentive program. The Flying Colors program gives monetary awards to students for academic achievements and community service and to date, Cessna has invested more than $160,000 in the program and 747 students have

Lynn Ward, President and Kimberly Haag, Events Chair of Junior League. Photo by Susan Arensman

benefited.

The Junior League of Wichita was nominated for numerous projects that have supported student achievement in the district. The Share a Story project is designed to stop inter-generational illiteracy and has reached more than 3,600 students in the past three years. The Junior League also partnered with Youth Entrepreneurs of Kansas to implement Money Talks, Financial Literacy for Teens curriculum that is

Seltzer art teacher Marcia Scurfield, principal Denie Sprulock, Liz Kennedy, Arts Partners, and Rose Boundy, McCollom art teacher and Arts Partners consultant. Photo by Phyllis Rowley

used in several Wichita high schools.

Arts Partners received the 2007 Friends of Education Partner Activity Certificate of Merit for integrating the arts into the curriculum in collaboration with educational, civic and cultural organizations. Arts Partners provides basic services to all 94 Wichita schools and direct services to students at 67 partnership schools via professional development, arts-in-education services and technical assistance. Arts Partners was nominated for the award by Seltzer Elementary.

Jay Allbaugh, Cox Communications

Cox Communications received the 2007 Friends of Education Private/Public Institution Award of Excellence. Cox Communications was recognized for its Cable in the Classroom initiative, which has provided cable connections to every school building in the district free of charge and has provided commercial-free programming to support classroom learning. Cox was also recognized for being the first company to pledge $50,000 to the Education EDGE foundation. Cox has given the district a four-year, $200,000 grant to support student achievement.

The Friends of Education Awards Banquet is sponsored by the South Central Kansas School Public Relations Association (KanSPRA).

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Anderson receives TRC grant
Anderson Elementary was award the Technology Rich Classroom grant from the Kansas Department of Education. The two-year, $100,000 grant, funded primarily through the federal Enhancing Education through Technology Grant program, is designed to focus on content areas of reading, math and science.

Anderson will use the grant to buy a wireless laptop cart to use in their fourth-grade classrooms. The school will also purchase web cameras and software to integrate technology into their classroom and to create virtual classroom activities.

“We know technology is what motivates kids in great ways,” said Rebecca McIntyre, Data Leader at Anderson. "Many students do not have the opportunity to work with computers at home. The grant will help bridge the gap for those students.”

Staff development is also a key component of the grant. Anderson will also have the opportunity to collaborate with other schools in Kansas that have received the grant.

The Anderson staff members that will be involved in the grant are McIntyre, Gina Pearce, Danielle Ripley, Effie Conway, Karie McIntosh and Sheryl Erickson. Past recipients of the TRC grant include Cloud, Irving, Linwood and Pleasant Valley Elementary.

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Emerson student wins Tot Trot t-shirt contest

Paige Minor, student at at Emerson, and her art teacher Jacquelyn Junkins, stand behind the winning t-shirt design for the Wichita River Festival Tot Trot. Photo by Susan Arensman

Paige Minor, second-grade student at Emerson Open Magnet, was honored on April 26 for drawing the winning t-shirt design for the Wichita River Festival's Tot Trot. She was the first-place award winner for the 5 - 7 age division and the overall Tot Trot artwork winner. Her design was chosen from more than 1,600 entries. Representatives and sponsors of the River Festival presented Minor with a shirt featuring her winning design and other prizes. Her art teacher, Jacquelyn Junkins, also won a prizes to support her classes.

"I didn't think I'd win, but one of my classmates thought I would," Minor said.

The second-place winner in the design contest for the 5 - 7 age division was Julia Carson from Seltzer and the third-place winner was Celina Nguyen from Seltzer.

The Wichita River Festival's River Run and Tot Trot is May 12.

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