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Greetings All,
Happy (almost) Fall! And welcome back to school for K-12 and college students, staff and faculty alike. September is always a busy time of year and this year is no exception. Check out the resources and events below including the PHENND College Success Network's first webinar of the academic year.
And, as per usual, don't forget to send us any information you'd like included in future newsletters.
Best,
Janine Wright
K-16 Partnerships Manager
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College Success Network Webinar:
Creating a Culture of Wellbeing on Campus
Tuesday, September 20, 2022, 10:00am to 11:30am featuring Dr. Ian Edwards, Duqesne University
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Join Dr. Ian Edwards, Assistant Vice President for Student Wellbeing & Director, Counseling Services at Duquesne University for the PHENND College Success Network's first webinar of the academic year. Dr. Edwards will discuss some of the biopsychosocial effects that the pandemic has had upon college students and address several of the economic, psychological, and social challenges that students continue to face. He will also highlight how university communities can help students navigate those challenges and speak to how Duquesne University is working to integrate wellbeing programming into the classroom and other campus spaces. Come bring your questions and share how your school, campus or program is meeting this challenge.
Please register in advance for this webinar at:
https://upenn.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0kc-2tqDkpGNFqugABTa-H2B-afLHI3izy
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Nadira Branch, MPA (left) with Honorable Minister Ramata Bakayoko-Ly,
Minister of the Ministry of Women, Family, and Children for the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire.
Fulbright in the Classroom
The Fulbright in the Classroom (FIC) program will officially relaunch in Philadelphia in September 2022. Founded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and implemented nationally by the U.S. Fulbright Association, FIC is an educational outreach program designed to expose K-12 educators and students to the Fulbright programs’ broader mission: “to bring a little more knowledge, a little more reason, and a little more compassion into world affairs and thereby increase the chance that nations will learn at last to live in peace and friendship.”
FIC achieves its mission by enabling U.S. Fulbright alumni and visiting Fulbright Scholars from over 160 countries to discuss their experiences participating in America’s premier international education program. Thus, FIC’s ultimate goal is to inspire the next generation of Fulbright Scholars, and this year’s theme is to specifically inspire BIPOC, LGBTQ+, first generation, and other underrepresented student populations.
Last year, Nadira Branch, MPA, a recipient of three Fulbright grant programs, participated in FIC. She spoke with African American and Hispanic/Latino students at Central High School, Global Leadership Academy, Boys Latin High School, and the West Oak Lane Charter School. On two occasions she co-presented with international Fulbright Scholar, Wael Aloqaily, a structural engineering doctoral student at the University of Delaware and native of Jordan. Through their joint presentations, students understood how international exchange programs can transform lives and expose all to new cultural perspectives.
Locally, FIC will be spearheaded by the Philadelphia/Delaware Valley Chapter of the U.S. Fulbright Association. The Philadelphia/Delaware Valley Chapter is excited to collaborate with local schools to relaunch this amazing program. K-12 schools with diverse student populations can simply complete this form by September 30, 2022 to express interest in participating in FIC for the 2022-2023 school year. Presentations are generally 45-60 minutes, and they can be in-person or virtual. For more information about FIC, please visit this website.
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Shout out to our Summer Associates!
Congratulations to this year's PHENND Summer Associates cohort. This group of rising college freshmen and sophomores worked with younger students in summer programs at the Netter Center at Penn and CCATE in Norristown. Funded by Next Steps AmeriCorps, they also attended a week-long, pre-college boot camp hosted by PHENND. Those that accumulated 300 service hours also received a Segal Education Award which they can use towards tuition.
Three of the Associates are pictured above: Yesenia Zavala Jimenez, Drexel University; Daniely Castaneda-Angel, Drexel University and Ayanna Reese, Bryn Athyn College. Good luck this year!
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Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging
Reflection is one of the most important and powerful skills for anyone to engage with, and it’s important for educators to introduce this concept to all students. Far too often, students with disabilities are not afforded the opportunity to learn about reflection and how it can help them succeed in school.
Reflection encourages students to evaluate and understand their mistakes while supporting a growth mindset to develop either solutions or action plans to improve their skills in order to master a topic or standard...
Stop Talking in Code: Call Them Black Boys from learningforjustice.org
...In my eyes, language is a problematic part of the way we think about Black boys. Language can bias our thinking, as our brains love to take shortcuts in coming to an “understanding” of something. Indulge me for a moment as I explain further. Fill in the blank: The suspect was a _____. Yes, you know the answer: Black male.
We hear the phrase on the news and have become desensitized to who the suspect really is. We’ve seen his image yet only recognize him as the “receptacle for which we place our fears,” as one writer put it. In order to address the bias against Black boys, we must first acknowledge the bias attached to the term “Black males”...
What it’s like to be a trans kid going back to school in Philly from billypenn.com
...Back-to-school season can be overwhelming for anyone. There’s a more relaxed COVID policy on the books and the district is dealing with a persistent teacher shortage. It’s been a record-breaking year for anti-trans legislation across the U.S., with some transphobic policies affecting students in the Philly suburbs. Add on the gendered practices common in all schools, and education can quickly feel treacherous for trans and nonbinary students.
In Philadelphia public schools, LGBTQ students are protected by a set of guidelines called Policy 252, which guarantees their rights to use the names, pronouns, bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity. It also protects them from bullying, and enshrines their right to participate in the gym class that matches their gender...
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What We're Reading, Listening to, and Watching
Brightbeam and the Center for Black Educator Development combine forces to deliver the essential podcast on developing a strong Black Educator Pipeline to ensure our students have the representation they deserve.
President Biden announced today that he will cancel up to $10,000 in student debt for Americans earning less than $125,000 per year (or $250,000 for couples filing taxes jointly) with additional relief for borrowers from low-income backgrounds who received Pell Grants. He will also extend the current pause on student loan payments, slated to end Sept. 1, for an additional four months, through Dec. 31.
“In keeping with my campaign promise, my administration is announcing a plan to give working and middle-class families breathing room as they prepare to resume federal student loan payments in January 2023,” Biden said on Twitter...
Kids are at low risk for monkeypox, but schools can take precautions, CDC says from Chalkbeat National
Children and teens are at low risk for contracting monkeypox, but schools can still take steps to prepare for possible exposures or cases, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.
So far, a handful of the 14,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox in the U.S. have been among kids under 18, a CDC official said. In other countries, monkeypox has been much less common among children than adults, too...
Philadelphia outlines school safety plan in response to escalating violence from Chalkbeat Philadelphia
Philadelphia city and school officials Monday sought to reassure the public that children will be safe during the next school year by outlining new programs and policies designed to monitor and prevent threats in schools and neighborhoods. ..
Keep an eye on your student's mental health this back-to-school season from NPR
Students across the country are moving into dorms or getting ready to board school buses for their first day of class.
But unlike the past two years, COVID-19 numbers are down nationally and most students are walking in the school doors without masks. From kindergarten all the way through college, educators are trying to convey a sense of normalcy, and for Dr. Richard Martini, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the University of Utah, that push comes with added baggage...
New book advocates using pandemic lessons to reinvent education from the Hechinger Report
In 2020, as the pandemic, polarization and racial justice uprisings upended the status quo, calls to use the moment to build a better education system to address the country’s inequities became ubiquitous. In the two years since, that will to reinvent has largely dissipated.
Frustrated at seeing so many people fall back into the old ways of schooling, Michael B. Horn, author and co-founder of the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, created a blueprint for schools and educators to reinvent the current education system, despite the challenges. “I wanted to give a template for how they could escape it and what they can do instead,” Horn said...
Make the most of back-to-school night. It's a valuable opportunity to learn important information about your child's classroom experience.
Along with shopping for school supplies and adopting earlier bedtimes, back-to-school night is an important ritual marking the beginning of the new school year. On this night, your child’s teacher explains their goals for the class and for your child. They’ll share information about their teaching style and methodology, how they grade and the requirements for a good grade. You’ll find out what supplies your child will need for the year and what projects are coming up...
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More Resources & Information
School District of Philadelphia Back to School Resources
For information about the 2022-2023 academic calendar, Chromebooks, extreme heat protocols, transportation and much more, please click here for the School District's Back-to-School resource page. Information is updated on a regular basis.
Twenty-five free museums and activities. Free SEPTA transportation. Campus Philly block party. Swag, giveaways, contests and more! All. Weekend. Long. For more information and to register, click the link above.
Empowering Youth Using Mentoring Strategies: Virtual training presented by MENTOR Independence Region on September 10, 2022 or September 14, 2022
In this virtual training, participants will develop a mentoring mindset with which to approach youth, examine power dynamics in mentoring, practice strategies to empower youth,and explore setting and maintaining healthy boundaries. This free training for academic support volunteers, mentors and other school-based partner staff will be facilitated by MENTOR Independence Region.
Register for a session today:
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2022 Refugee Education Summit and Paving the Way to Educational Success Conference September 26, 2022 to September 29
NEW! 2022 Refugee Education Summit: Creating Belonging in Schools and Communities is a one-day training, preceding the Paving the Way Conference, for Pennsylvania educators and community staff who work with refugee students. Plan to attend to learn more about understanding, supporting, and engaging newcomer students and their families.
2022 Paving the Way to Educational Success Conference is a unique opportunity for professionals to deepen their knowledge, enhance best practices and hear innovative solutions for working with students experiencing homelessness and students in foster care. For more information and to register, please click here.
Applications due October 24, 2022
The Neighborhood Literacy Fund supports community-driven solutions to the early literacy crisis by awarding up to $2,000 for projects that help grow Philadelphia’s young readers.
One of Philly’s greatest strengths is our heart. Whether you call it mutual aid, grassroots leadership, or being a good neighbor, the energy of the community propels so much positive change in this city. We see the work you are doing to help young readers and their families. And we want to give it the funding it deserves.
Over the past several months, we partnered with literacy advocates citywide to design a fund to lift the work communities are doing to support young readers—one that is accessible, informative, and transformative. If you have an idea to change the narrative and the outcomes for Philly's young readers, this opportunity is for you.
Information sessions are coming in September in English and Spanish. For more information about the Neighborhood Literacy Fund and to apply, please click here.
The Neighborhood Literacy Fund was made possible by a dedicated collective of community partners and the generous support of Vanguard Strong Start for Kids™.
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