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Early college acceptances, STEAM, merit aid, teacher evaluations

There are exciting early college acceptances coming out of Sonoma Valley High School. Selena Caruso was accepted at University of Pennsylvania Early Decision, Suzanne Amaral and Jersey Wittous were accepted Early Decision to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Gaby Peterson plans on attending St. Mary’s College.  Anna Stewart was accepted Early Action and will attend Georgetown University. Alex Conners will be running cross-country at Yale University in the fall of 2012.  Early Decision applications are binding, Early Action are not. Other four-year college-bound seniors are encouraged to keep the College and Career Center informed about their acceptances.

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No matter what your child’s age, it is never too early to introduce them to the concept and value of community service. Not only will they have a better sense of how fortunate they are, it is also a rising factor in college admissions. DoSomething.org has returned with its annual Community Service and College Study. They surveyed admissions counselors at more than half of the top 50 colleges and found that community service now ranks number four in importance in college admissions decisions after GPA, scores and extra-curriculars, and ranks higher than interviews, essays and legacy relationships to the school. Check out www.dosomething.org.
Instead of staring at a TV screen over the holiday break, urge your high school or college student to use the break to squeeze in a short internship or to volunteer for a position related to their interests. If they are interested in the medical profession, they could volunteer at a local hospital; interested in teaching, contact a local school, library, or childcare provider. Many professional offices are also short-staffed with folks on vacation and might be happy for an extra pair of hands.

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You have likely heard the acronym STEM (science, technology, engineering, math). At the Big Ideas Fest, everyone was talking about STEM. Not as a curriculum but as a framework for teaching. With the Arts such a big element of engineering and science, there is logic to this, though controversy abounds. The consensus was that teaching how to think across disciplines is a more effective way to teach and better preparation for real world applications of knowledge.

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Speaking of the arts, El Verano’s most recent mural, a salute to the performing arts, is almost completed. The school’s sing-a-longs, plays and band are highlighted in this most current work of art. It is a beautiful example of student work directed by acclaimed local artist Gayle Manfre.
I love it that Woodland Star has implemented a 360 degree teacher evaluation process in which all parents were asked to give their feedback about their experience with their children’s’ teachers. They use the feedback to make determinations about teacher support, mentoring and placement. Unlike the environment at many public and private schools, parents at Woodland were encouraged to share their concerns, their appreciations and their questions via the quick online survey. All evaluations were required to be signed but were kept confidential.  Feedback is only shared with teachers in general terms.

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Sonoma Valley High School has announced its spring play, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” by William Shakespeare. Auditions were last week. More news to follow.

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What a great idea …  Sonoma Charter School has a wish list on the parent’s resources page of their website that can be viewed by item needed or by classroom. On the list, there are items ranging from used hammers to green pens to folding tables. What a simple and easy way to improve life in your child’s classroom. Maybe other school’s have this set up as well; this is just the first ongoing formal one I’ve seen. (www.sonomacharterschool.org)

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I love this idea. The Boys and Girls Club is having a final exam study party on Wednesday, Dec. 21 from 6 to 9 p.m. Tutors will be available in most subjects (including math, science, biology, chemistry, English/writing and Spanish) as well as food and drink, a quiet study place, computer access and free printing.

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How great to hear that Prestwood has added a salad bar to its school lunch program. Any child can get a cup of cut fruit, veggies, or a banana, apple or kiwi. They even have ranch and Italian dressing to dip in.

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The Sonoma Education Foundation has a very good-looking and comprehensive new website, developed by www.addwater.com.  It has a lot of interesting information on the programs they fund and the progress of various initiatives (www.svgreatschools.org). Rick Bolen Photography helped with the images.

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There will be an ACT practice test offered at the high school on Jan. 21 for sophomores and juniors.  Sign-ups will begin on Saturday, Jan. 9. The cost is only $10 and this is a terrific way for students to become more comfortable with the ACT format before taking the test for real at the end of their junior year.

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If you are looking for ideas for Christmas, this one looks interesting in light of all the recent news reports that young men aren’t succeeding in school in the same way that young women are. “Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men,” by Michael Kimmel, details the many challenges modern day young men face in becoming adults. With a diminishing population of young men entering and graduating from college, “Guyland” advocates that each adult has the opportunity to be the charismatic role model that could help to turn things around for a struggling young man. I’m guessing that the Mentoring Alliance folks would agree with that.

My favorite new college planning website is www.meritaid.com. It is the web’s first comprehensive directory of merit scholarships. Merit aid is basically grants and scholarships for high performing middle class (and above) students, and it can reduce the cost of attending a college by tens of thousands of dollars a year. Which colleges grant merit aid is one factor to consider in addition to the other aspects of college fit. And while merit aid is usually higher for students with strong grades/scores, many merit scholarships require only a 2.0 GPA and take into account accomplishments in leadership and community involvement. The site is free.

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There is a lot of talk about college debt but a new story in The New York Times found that only one-tenth of 1 percent of college freshmen, and only three-tenths of 1 percent of bachelor’s degree recipients, accumulate more than $100,000 in undergraduate student debt. Even among recipients of bachelor’s degrees, 90 percent manage to graduate with less than $40,000 of debt.  (Debt is higher for those going on to grad school). When you combine these statistics with all the recent information about how much more employable college grads are than those without degrees, the case for college continues to be very strong.

If you are down in San Francisco with your kids, take a minute to stop by The Pirate Store at 826 Valencia. This is both a super fun store and, hidden in the back, one of the most exciting new nonprofit ventures in K-12 education. The 826 National is an organization co-founded by author Dave Eggers thst runs tutoring centers in major cities, dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their writing skills and helping teachers get their students excited about literary arts.

www.826valencia.org.