December 1, 2003
CAPE grants making an impact
By Andy Graham, Herald-Times Staff
Writer
CAPE grant-funded initiatives designed to increase parental involvement
in education, such as the program pioneered by Rogers Elementary and Middle
Way House's The Rise, are occurring all across Monroe County and at every
level of education.
Here are quick updates on just three of many such programs, one at the
junior high level, another at the high school level, and the third at the
post-secondary level.
· Ivy Tech Community College, $13,000, "College for Kids and Parents."
A program intended for middle school students and their parents, with
parental involvement part of the course curriculum, Ivy Tech partnered with
the YMCA to create summer and weekend classes.
"We had 86 students last summer, and the feedback we got was phenomenal,"
said Ivy Tech's Janet Wingard. "Through the CAPE grant, we were awarded
$2,250 for scholarships regarding the weekend workshops we're running. "
They are doing workshops with all three Monroe County Community School Corp.
middle schools, starting with Batchelor.
Several course offerings will come on-line at various times after the
first of the year, such as a cooking class called "Kids in the Kitchen"
featuring Matt O'Neill of the Bloomington Cooking School. Some others are
"Successful Study Strategies," "Mad Science," "Website Savvy" and "Model
Rocketry."
"We'll have classes where kids and their parents take the courses
together," Wingard said. The first Saturday workshop day is Jan. 24, and
parents or grandparents and their kids can sign up together.
· Edgewood High School, $10,580, "Enhancing Parental Involvement
and a Caring School Climate at EHS"
The CAPE grant is helping fund the school's student leadership and mentor
program, the Leadership Academy, which is helping plan Edgewood's
sixth-annual "All-Nighter" event.
"We do that on a Friday night every February," Edgewood assistant
principal Dirk Ackerman said. "It goes from 10 p.m. till 5 a.m. and gets
bigger every year. More than half our students attend, and it's a lot of fun
for them, parents and staff. It helps school feel a bit more like home.
"We need a lot of parent volunteers to help run the activities, so a lot
of people meet each other and meet our staff. We also try to introduce
students to peers they might not yet know."
The school has a sign-up and Ackerman takes all 400 or however many
student names and puts them into groups with people they don't know.
"I see kids break out of their shells," he said.
· Edgewood Junior High, $25,542, "Enhancing Parental Involvement
and a Caring School Climate for EJHS"
Edgewood Junior High principal Larry Sparks hopes to use CAPE grant money
to, among other things, start monthly Open House sessions at the school.
He wants to have parent forums to talk about issues which concern them
about junior high-age students, and what parents can do to help, Sparks
said.
There will be teachers there to talk about helping with homework, and
counselors and social workers to talk about teen issues.
"We want to try to eliminate reasons for people not coming into the
school. We'll have food, providing supper for those nights. We'll have
tutoring for their junior high-age students, so they can get their homework
done, and some sort of day care in the gym."
Sparks noted that the day-care plan provides just one example of a
positive by-product from such an open house.
"The younger kids, getting the day care, can already start familiarizing
themselves with our building," he said. "The transition to junior high can
be difficult, but perhaps somewhat less so if they've already been in the
building a few times."
Reporter Andy Graham can be reached at 331-4346 or by e-mail at
graham@heraldt.com.
September 26, 2003
Monroe County CAPE grants
Listed alphabetically by organization, with grant amounts in parentheses
Guidance Team Project, Arlington Heights Elementary ($3,500): Will
supply guidance for students in grades 5 and 6 in study habits,
goal-setting and decision-making.
Breakfast at Bethel, Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church
($28,000): An expansion upon BEEP (Bethel's Excellence in Education
Program) by offering breakfast and tutoring on two Saturdays a month.
Transition to Adulthood, Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Central
Indiana ($18,255): Provides asset-building opportunities for 75 adults and
75 youths to highlight the importance of adult role models. A
collaborative effort with Girls, Inc. and Boys and Girls Club.
New Parents Initiative, Bloomington Hospital ($28,000): Will serve
school-age parents who attend a MCCSC high school; teen parents who have
dropped out of school or chosen to complete their education at home; and
young incarcerated parents.
New Student Transition, Bloomington High School North ($28,000):
Designed to support the developmental needs of students transitioning from
middle school to high school.
Caring School Climate, Bloomington High School South ($10,182):
Expanding efforts to help new and entering students feel welcome,
comfortable and nurtured.
Parent Involvement, Bloomington High School South ($17,560): A Parent
Coordinator will be hired to foster parent involvement at school and
greater home-school communication through e-mail distribution lists,
newsletters and monthly events.
Teen Action Program, Bloomington Volunteer Network ($26,740): Will
present a Community Training Series for organizations and will develop a
Teen Leadership Corps, as a partnership between the Bloomington Volunteer
Network and Leadership Bloomington-Monroe County.
Youth Mediation and Education Project, Citizens for Community Justice
Inc. ($18,540): Youth will develop conflict resolution skills to cope with
stress and have roles as mediators.
Parental Involvement and Caring School Climate, Edgewood High School
($10,580): Includes the student leadership and mentor program and an
expansion of existing programs such as the Parent/Teacher Open House and
leadership academy.
Parental Involvement and Caring School Climate, Edgewood Junior High
School ($25,542): Providing monthly meetings for students, parents and
teachers to support student learning and promote parental involvement.
Asset Building Booklet and Tool Kit for Businesses and the Media,
Franklin Initiative, Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce ($25,485):
Produce and distribute a booklet and tool kit about the developmental
assets and the Kids Count initiative to Chamber members and other
interested community partners.
Increasing Parent Engagement, Harmony School ($25,000): Will allow the
school to reflect on the impact for families of student transitions from
elementary to middle school, from middle school to high school and from
high school and beyond.
Kids and Community Action, Indiana University ($26,000): Elementary,
middle school, and high school students and adults will work together to
create and implement community education projects.
College for Kids and Parents, Ivy Tech Community College-Bloomington
($13,000): Encouraging exploration and career planning for middle school
students. Partnering with the YMCA to bring a summer and weekend college
for students 12 to 15 years old.
Community Alliances to Promote Education, Jackson Creek Middle School
($24,125): Increasing communication and involvement of parents through an
e-mail list and telephone network for parents without access and "Family
Fun Nights."
Youth Participation Opportunities in Government, Jordan Shifriss,
independent contractor with the Franklin Initiative ($25,451): To enable
20 area high school youths to have a direct voice in the affairs of the
city of Bloomington. This project builds on an initiative by the National
League of Cities.
Building Family Skills for Lifelong Learning, Middle Way House
($28,000): Families at The Rise will strengthen connections between parent
and child as well as families and school. Staff from Rogers Elementary
will be guests at monthly Family Focus Dinners.
Time for Families Radio Program, Monroe County Step Ahead Council
($14,000): A weekly radio program during "drive time/dinner prep" hour,
6-7 p.m.
Monroe County Community Relational Aggression-Prevention Project:
Monroe County Community Schools - Batchelor, Tri-North and Jackson Creek
middle schools ($27,900): Based on the National Ophelia Project to address
relational aggression among students, particularly girls.
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