Oklahoma HSTW Updates

Closing Out FY08
FY08 fiscal year-end of June 30 is quickly approaching. Review outstanding encumbrances, travel, and invoices to satisfy the HSTW reimbursement obligations. Please make sure all claims are filed prior to July 31, 2008 to meet the FY08 deadline to accept any reimbursement claims.

Thank you for your assistance to close-out FY-08!

Student Awards in the Mail
Thursday, June 5 via UPS Ground SREB mailed the 2008 HSTW Award of Educational Achievement certificates and individual student reports. All schools should have received their materials by Friday, June 13.

The names printed on the certificates and reports are based on how names were bubbled-in on the assessment answer documents. Some names may have been bubbled incorrectly or the scanner may have misread them. In the event a student name is misspelled, a corrected certificate and/or student report can be printed and mailed. Contact Cheryl Bell at cbell@okcareertech.org for a form that must be completed if your school needs to have a certificate or name corrected. Requests for corrections must be sent to ETS by June 27. ETS will reprint and mail all corrected certificates after June 27.


PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

SREB Summer Conference
If attending a pre-conference: All pre-conference workshops will end at noon on Wednesday, July 9, 2008. Certificates of participation will be issued at noon on Wednesday ONLY to those who participate in the entire workshop. Pre-conferences P-2 through P-15 will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 8, 2008. The $225 registration fee includes continental breakfast on Tuesday and Wednesday, lunch on Tuesday, breaks and workshop materials.

Continue to check the SREB Website. They will post the full conference program to help your team plan which sessions to attend in order to gain the most from the conference!

Personal Growth Plans
What are the different ways to obtain professional development without having to travel?

Read, read, read! There are many professional learning opportunities. We must block time for our personal growth and learning. Such as:
· Web blogs like those at inspiringteachers.com or edweek.org
· Staff meetings that focus on small group discussions concerning school and education issues
· Observe and be observed by our peers – Demonstration classrooms and mentoring

2 Million Minutes
View a You Tube video “2 Million Minutes” with faculty for a discussion – “How will our students spend their 2 Million Minutes preparing for the global marketplace?” http://www.youtube.com/2MillionMinutes
Website: http://www.2Mminutes.com

State Superintendent's Regional Curriculum Conferences
There's still time to register for the State Superintendent's Regional Curriculum Conferences, "Oklahoma PASSages." Select the "SDE Conferences" button on the Oklahoma State Department of Education homepage, <www.sde.state.ok.us>. Register for a conference close to you by selecting the "Oklahoma PASSages" icon. On site registration is also available. Conference dates and locations include:

June 17 -- Southwest Regional, Lawton Central Middle School
Southeast Regional, McAlester High School
June 18 -- Oklahoma City Regional, Westmoore High School, Moore, OK
Tulsa Regional, Tulsa Will Rogers High School
June 19 -- Northwest Regional, Woodward High School
Northeast Regional, Grove High School


STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES


ENVIRONMENTALLY GREEN SCHOOLS
Is Your School Clean? Ok, But Is It Green Clean? What a great science project for students. To see the effect and cost on your schools budget and how going green can also provide health benefits. To learn how a school in Illinois benefited read the following articles:
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=184833
http://www.tylerstarnews.com/News/story/new77_572008103105.asp

ENCOURAGE TEEN WRITING THROUGH BLOGGING
What do educators need to learn for blogging to become a part of our classroom? A recent survey explored the links between formal writing and informal communication which teens do for school to exchange email and text messaging. eSchool news staff report that emoticons and abbreviations have crept into students' formal writing assignments. However, another interesting finding that proves promising was blogging helps many teens become more prolific writers. Teen bloggers write more frequently both online and offline. In fact, 47 percent of teen bloggers write outside of school for personal reasons at least several times a week compared with 33 percent of teens without blogs. In addition, 65 percent of teen bloggers believe that writing is essential to later success in life.
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=53663;_hbguid=e0da166a-2d66-434d-9c7c-01286ec3b126

ARE WIRED KIDS WELL SERVED BY SCHOOLS?
Many teens are hyper-motivated with special skills to create podcasts, directing YouTube videos, publishing a website or hacking an iPhone, reports Stefanie Olson for CNet NewsBlog. However, teachers largely have not kept up with this trend and remain unable to inspire much of the same ingenuity. Researchers have noticed that digital media is minting a new brand of kids who are creators of media rather than simple passive consumers. Within digital environments, kids who create and evaluate media derive a sense of competence, autonomy, self-determination and connectedness among their peers. In fact, many kids are drawn to create media online because their work can be immediately recognized and evaluated by their peer groups and potentially a much larger audience. In contrast, it can take kids much longer to reap the rewards or build recognition from hard work in school. So, can we balance learning with the use of media to motivate student learning?
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9928174-7.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=NewsBlog

INVOLVE THE COMMUNITY TO CHANGE COLLEGE-GOING CULTURES
Community involvement is an important factor in any college access marketing campaign. Many campaigns forego this vital element. Outreach and engagement within a community will sustain a message and change the college-going behaviors of students. All events, presentations, outreach, partnerships and publications should be strategized and leveraged into a comprehensive community engagement plan. Pathways to College Network provides a new brief with information on how best to target the various community audiences of a college access marketing campaign.
http://www.pathwaystocollege.net/pdf/CAM_Community-Engagement.pdf


GRANTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS

"Staples Grants for Disadvantaged Youth"
The Staples Foundation for Learning provides funding that support or provide job skills and/or education for all people, with an emphasis on disadvantaged youth.
Maximum Award: $25,000.
Eligibility: 501(c)3 organizations.
Deadline: June 16, 2008.
http://www.staplesfoundation.org/foundapplication.html

"Mini-grants for Public Schools and Public Libraries"
Ezra Jack Keats Mini-grant Program supports educators, parents and children in their efforts to spread literacy and love of learning.
Maximum Award: $500.
Eligibility: public schools and libraries anywhere in the United States and its protectorates. Deadline: September 15, 2008.
http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/programs/minigrant.html

"Grants for Math Mentoring Programs Using Actuaries"
The Actuarial Foundation Advancing Student Achievement Mentoring Program awards grants to schools and groups to develop a viable mentoring program involving actuaries in the teaching of mathematics to children in private and public schools. Collaboration among school systems, local actuarial clubs, corporations and other stakeholders in education is encouraged in order to enhance the chances of success, particularly on a long-term basis. (Contact your local banks & insurance agents)
Maximum Award: $30,000.
Eligibility: All schools and groups willing to undertake a math mentoring program that involves local actuaries as volunteers.
Deadline: N/A.
http://www.actuarialfoundation.org/grant/bestpractices.html

"Children's Dental Health Grants"
The American Dental Association Samuel Harris Fund for Children's Dental Health Grants Program awards grants to oral health promotion programs designed to improve and maintain children's oral health through community education programs.
Maximum Award: $5,000.
Eligibility: community-based, not-for-profit, oral health promotion programs in the United States. Deadline: July 17, 2008.
http://www.adafoundation.org/ada/prod/adaf/prog_access_harris.asp#eligibility

"Grants for Music Programs"
The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation donates new and refurbished musical instruments and to underserved schools, community music programs, and individual students in existing K-12 schools that have no other source of financing to purchase additional musical instruments and materials to help them be better students and inspire creativity and expression through music.
15165 Ventura Blvd. • Suite 220 • Sherman Oaks, CA 91403Phone: 818.784.6787 • Fax: 818.784.6788 • E-Mail: info@mhopus.org

Two programs are:
Melody Program helps k-12 school instrumental music programs that take place during the regular school day.
· Schools must have an established instrumental music program (i.e. concert band, marching band, jazz band and/or orchestra) that is at least three years old.
· Schools must apply separately (please provide information for the applying school only, do not include information for other schools within the district even if the music teacher teaches at more than one school.)
· Grants typically range from $500 - $8,000 worth of instruments.
· If your school offers music only, it is NOT eligible to apply.
Eligibility: After-school music programs that are at least three years old or have a music-related umbrella organization that is at least three years. Maximum Award: $8,000.
http://www.mhopus.org/index.asp

Special Projects Program helps after-school music programs.
· After-school music programs must be at least three years old OR have a music-related umbrella organization that is at least three years old to apply.
· Grants typically range from $500 - $8,000 worth of instruments.
· If any portion of your music program takes place during the regular school day, please use the Melody Program application.
Deadline: August 1, 2008
Maximum Award: $500 - $20,000
http://www.mhopus.org/app_special_0.asp

2008 Technology Grant for Rural Schools Program
Technology Grants for Rural Schools program was created to help meet the growing need for innovative technology in the classroom. The grants are funded by a donation from Rural Telephone Finance Cooperative (RTFC) and strive to help public schools in rural areas served by OPASTCO members bring modern computers to every classroom, connect schools to the information superhighway and make sure that effective and engaging software and online resources are an integral part of the school curriculum.
Eligibility: Foundation for Rural Education and Development (FRED) schools must be in an OPASTCO member’s service area. Contact you local phone company to see if you’re in an OPASTCO service area.
Deadline: September 13, 2008
Maximum Award: $4,000 - $10,000
http://www.fred.org/tech.html