|  SSIA Spring Debate:
Registration is now underway for the spring session of SSIA Debate Club. Registration forms available in your school office. Questions? debate@schoolsinaction.org
Classes begin the week of April 7th – June 9th
Tournament: Saturday, June 14th
Schedule:
COE – Wednesdays, 3:10-4:25 in the library. Coach: Josh Anderson
HAY – Wednesdays, 3:25-4:40 in rm 211E. Coach: Ceci Chiu
LAWTON – Tuesdays, 3:25-4:40 in rm 210. Coach: Betsy Berger
BLAINE – Thursdays, 3:10-4:25 in rm 143. Coach: Christina Billingsley
Tutoring Program - Get in on the ACTION
If you have ever wondered how you might really connect with students in your community and make a difference for them academically then you have come to the right place! The seven SSIA partner schools include a wide variety of students and programs, and endless opportunities for Volunteer Tutoring.
At SSIA we work to establish committed, sustainable relationships through careful consideration of your skills and availability paired with our familiarity with individual schools’ needs. This is just one of the reasons our program, now in its third year, is on such a successful track. Nearly 25% of our Community Tutors from the 2006-07 school year are returning to the classroom this year.
You’ll notice ours is a Tutor Program, not simply a volunteer program. This is because our mission is to place trained tutors in the classroom during the school day to assist teachers with students primarily in small group and one-on-one situations. To accomplish this we offer you one-on-one training to add confidence to the skills you already possess. We have created a Tutor Training Packet that includes tutoring techniques as well as useful reference information and resources.
Whether it is in math, literacy, Special Ed., ELL, or general academic help we know students thrive on being surrounded by caring adults. And volunteering through this program is a wonderful way to support public schools. Right now our greatest tutoring requests are for math at all grade levels. We will never have too many Volunteer Tutors. We look forward to hearing from you!
If you would like to know more about how to support public school students by becoming a Community Volunteer Tutor please contact our Tutor Program Manager, Flo Minehan at flominehan@schoolsinaction.org or 206-378-0797.
Work Experience
This new program provides eighth grade students at McClure, and 8th-12th grade students at the SBOC, the opportunity to learn about different career and job opportunities in our community. Students are placed in neighborhood businesses and organizations that best match their interests. Placements may range from law offices to retail stores to banks to non-profit organizations. Students “work” one-two days each week, learning all different aspects of the business through their active participation. Through daily journals, interviews, photography, and other media, students document their experience, culminating in a final presentation to peers, teachers, and the community. SSIA greatly appreciates the support and help from the McClure 8th grade teacher team and SBOC staff and administration in making this program possible.
Debate Club
Debate Club is an after school program co-sponsored by Successful Schools in Action and the Seattle Debate Foundation. The program is offered to fourth and fifth grade at our four elementary schools. There are two sessions annually, each culminating in an exciting cross-school debate tournament with community volunteers as judges. Each team argues an affirmative and a negative round, and recognition is given to top individual speakers as well as teams.
This program broke new ground as the first debate program for elementary age students in the Seattle Public schools, and is still unique in this regard. To date students have debated topics concerning alternative fuel and technology for vehicles, the use of standardized tests, mandatory school uniforms, and the nutritional value of school lunches. Working in two-person teams, students gain confidence as they practice public speaking, engage in critical thinking, and learn the value of teamwork. In the Fall of 2007 we offered Debate to McClure Middle School students as well, with one McClure team placing third in the city-wide middle school tournament. Blaine Middle School will implement the program in Winter 2007 as well.
School and Community Collaborations
We are dedicated to helping facilitate school and community collaborations. In October 2006 we hosted two teacher collaborations. Elementary teachers gathered together in grade level teams and spent several hours together sharing ideas, discussing best teaching practices, and learning new instructional strategies. SSIA has also hosted an Art Teacher Collaborative where the art teachers from our schools met to collaborate on project ideas and leverage resources. Both of these teacher collaboratives were immensely successful, with teachers requesting more conversations for longer periods of time. As one teacher stated: “This was the best professional development opportunity I’ve ever participated in!”
SSIA has also hosted collaborative conversations between PTA presidents and school volunteer coordinators, and will continue to facilitate additional collaborative workshops between teachers, support staff, and parents across all our partner schools, including between fifth grade and middle school teachers.
In another powerful example of community and school collaboration, in September 2005 Successful Schools coordinated a relief effort for 1,000 students in Louisiana who had been displaced by Hurricane Katrina. With the help of our community and the participation of all of our partner schools, we raised over $30,000 in less than a week, enabling us to send backpacks filled with school supplies and enough money for two school uniforms for each student.
|
