Wilson Modernization Funding

(from The Northwest Current, Wednesday, April 8, 2009)

MAKING THE BEST INVESTMENT IN OUR FUTURE

Mayor Adrian Fenty has often emphasized his wish that neighborhood schools become centers of community activity. Those of us in leadership positions at Wilson High School believe that the upcoming modernization of Wilson provides the perfect opportunity to create an incredible community resource.

However, the current D.C. Public Schools Master Facilities Plan shows a funding level for Wilson that is obviously inadequate. For instance, the funds allocated are roughly the same as being spent for the modernization of Deal Middle School, which will open this fall with an enrollment about half of Wilson's -- and with 105,000 less square feet than Wilson’s proposed 286,000.

At the proposed level of funding, the city would squander an opportunity to make Wilson a great school and a great community resource. That would be a loss for our kids, for our community, for the city that our school serves and for taxpayers.

Woodrow Wilson High School was built during the Great Depression, opening in September 1935. When funds ran low, cost-cutting measures left Wilson with a building on 11 levels -- resulting in useless corridors taking up space in a constrained building area and limited accessibility for disabled students and faculty (of course, this was prior to federal disability laws). It is the D.C. Public Schools system’s only high school with this daunting and potentially costly modernization challenge. Wilson's gymnasium was built in the 1970s; the corners cut then meant that it was substandard on the day it opened. We cannot allow our students and our community to be shortchanged again.

A conceptual design developed for Wilson over the past year showed how a modernization could create a model school and provide the following in community enhancements:
• a gymnasium built beside the new Wilson pool to provide a neighborhood recreation complex that would provide sorely needed services while achieving long-term economies of scale in operating costs related to management, maintenance, utilities and security;
• a media center accessible to the public during non-school hours for workshops and meetings;
• a new state-of-the-art performing and visual arts center also available during non-school hours;
• new underground parking available after-hours for pool users and attendees of community events.

We believe the existing plan could be implemented comfortably if Wilson’s allocation were equal to at least the average per-pupil level proposed for the other D.C. Public Schools high schools. Instead, what is contained in the plan put forward by the mayor and the Office of Public Education Facilities and Modernization is a funding level that, in the opinion of both architecture and education professionals, would make it very difficult to meet the educational program requirements for a 21st-century school.
Among the city’s comprehensive high schools, Wilson is the largest and most diverse, with a current enrollment of 1,500 (projected at 1,600) students from all wards and all 22 Zip codes. Based on projected enrollment for modernized schools, Wilson’s per-pupil spending is the lowest in the facilities plan for all high schools. Its per-pupil spending is $40,088 vs. an average of $62,029 for the other 12 high schools. What is fair about that? Wilson’s overall budget of $64 million compares unfavorably with recent similar projects in Arlington -- that is, schools that were a combination of rehabilitation and new construction: Washington-Lee High School at $95.2 million (1,500 students at $63,467 per pupil) and Yorktown at $92 million (1,600 students at $57,500 per pupil).

Mayor Fenty campaigned on a promise to make our schools the best in the country. A first-class school needs a first-class building. A fully modernized building, properly designed and built, could provide a top facility for our students, as well as our whole community, and serve the city for the next 75 years. This will be the most important investment made in our community in decades.

We need to work together to make sure that when the final budget is approved, the mayor and the D.C. Council properly fund a modernization of Woodrow Wilson that will provide a vital anchor for our community.

Mary Giffin and Susan Carter are co-presidents of the Wilson High School Parent-Teacher-Student Association, and Mary Froning is chair of the Wilson Local School Restructuring Team.

MOREHOUSE SUMMER PROGRAM

Here's a summer program for young men.

Morehouse Summer Program @ Morehouse College in Atlanta , GA - will be offering a Summer Institute (Project Identity) for African-American males entering the 10th and 11th grades.

Three weeks at Morehouse - June 7 - 28

Creative Writing - SAT Prep - Debate - Pre-Calculus - Leadership Development - Enrichment

$400 fee (includes meals, housingand activities).

FOR MORE INFO GO TO: http://www.morehouse.edu/projectidentity/index.html

Historial Black College

Rankings

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college/hbcu-search

Minority Internship Programs

Seek Candidates For 2009

Several minority internship programs targeting African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans are now welcoming applications for 2009. The internships will take place in various cities across the country during the spring, summer, fall, and winter seasons.
The programs are being administered by a combination of major corporations, non-profit organizations, and government agencies. Many of the opportunities offer compensation for students, and some will even pay for=2 0a student's travel needs.

Applicable majors include business, computer science, engineering, psychology, communications, marketing, advertising, and many more. Students are encouraged to apply right away, as many of the programs have early deadlines. Here are just a few of the opportunities that are available:

· AAAS Minority Science Writers Internship
· IBM Minority Research Internship
· Louis Carr Internship
· Google Diversity Internship
· NASCAR Diversity Internship
· Nationwide/Tom Joyner Foundation Internship Program
· Minority Access Internship Program
· American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Minority Internship
· INROADS Internship

For the complete list and for more details on how to apply for the opportunities,

Dante Leedante@diversitycity.com
614-595-6063

FAA Hiring Notice

If you have or know children between the ages of 18-31 with a high school diploma, the Federal Aviation Association is taking applications for airtraffic controller school.

With some effort they could reach a salary of over $100,000 with benefits in about 3 years.

You need only a high school diploma to apply and credit is given for college on the exam.

http://www.faa.gov/jobs/job_opportunities/airtraffic_controllers/

Nursing Program/Free Tuition

If you know of anyone between 18-28 years old, interested in the Nursing field, the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is offering FREE tuition, FREE books, a $250 monthly stipend, and guaranteed job placement as a nurse at Providence Hospital upon graduation (it's a 3 year program) with a starting salary of $40,000.

Contact Ms. Beshon Smith (202) 266-5481
Bsmith@urbanalliance..org

Scholarship Money Possibilities

No one is going to knock on our doors and ask if we can use a scholarship. Take the initiative to get your children involved. Money shouldn't be returned to donating companies because we fail to apply for it. If you are a college student or getting ready to become one, you probably already know how useful additional money can be. Here's a list of potential scholarship money possibilities.

1) BELL LABS FELLOWSHIPS FOR UNDER REPRESENTED MINORITIEShttp://www.bell-labs.com/fellowships/CRFP/in fo.html

2) Student Inventors Scholarshipshttp://www.invent.org/collegiateh ttp://www.invent.org/collegiate/

3) Student Video Scholarshipshttp://www.christophers.org/vidcon2k.html

4)Coca-ColaTwoYearCollegeScholarshipshttp://www.coca-colascholars.org/programs.html

5) Holocaust Remembrance Scholarshipshttp://holocaust.hklaw.com/

6) Ayn Rand Essay Scholarshipshttp:/ /www.aynrand.org/contests/

7) Brand Essay Competitionhttp://www.instituteforbrandleadership.org/IBLEssayContest-2002Rules.htm

8) Gates Millennlum Scholarships (major)http://www.gmsp.org/nominationmaterials/read.dbm?ID=12

9) Xerox Scholarships for Studentshttp://www2.xerox.com/go/xrx/about_xerox/about_xerox_detail.jsp

10) Sports Scholarships and Internshipshttp://www.ncaa.org/about/scholarships.html

11) National Assoc. o f Black Journalists Scholarships (NABJ) < / B>< /FONT>http://www.nabj.org/html/studentsvcs.html

12) Saul T. Wilson Scholarships (Veterinary)http://www.aphis.usda..gov/mb/mrphr/jobs/stw.html

13) Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fundhttp://www.thurgoodmarshallfund.org/sk_v6.cfm

14) FinAid: The Smart Students Guide to Financial Aid scholarships)http://www.finaid.org/< style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">

15) Presidential Freedom Scholarshipshttp://www.nationalservice.org/scholarships/

16) Microsoft Scholarship Programhttp://www.microsoft.com/college/scholarships/minority.asp

17) WiredScholar Free Scholarship Searchhttp://www.wiredscholar.com/paying/scholarship_search/pay_scholarship _search.jsp

18) Hope Scholarships &Lifetime Creditshttp://www.ed.gov/inits/hope/

19) William Randolph Hearst Endowed Scholarship for Minority Studentshttp://www.apsanet.org/PS/grants/aspen3.cfm

20) Multiple List of Minority Scholarshipshttp:/ /gehon.ir.miami.edu/financial-ass istance/Scholarship/black.html

21) Guaranteed Scholarshipshttp://www.guaranteed-scholarships.com/< /SPAN>

22) BOEING scholarships (som e HBCU connects)http://www.boeing.com/companyoffices/educationrelations/scholarships

23) Easley National Scholarship Programhttp://www.naas.org/senior.htm

24)MarylandArtists Scholarshipshttp://www.maef.org/

25) Jacki Tuckfield Memorial Graduate Business Scholarship (for AA students inSouth Florida)http://www.jackituckfield.org/

26) Historically Black C ollege & University Scholarshipshttp://www.iesabroad..org/info/hbcu.htm

27) Actuarial Scholarships for Minority Studentshttp://www.beanactuary.org/minority/scholarships.htm

28) International Students Scholarships &Aid Helphttp://www.iefa.org/

29) College Board Scholarship Search< style="FONT-31) Burger King Scholarship Program">www.bkscholars.csfa.org/

31) Siemens Westinghouse Competition/html/fundfind01.htmles/educationrelations/scholarshi'ttp://cuinfo.cornell.edu/Student/GRFN/list.phtml?category=MINORITIES< /A>

32) RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS AT OXFORD'ttp://www..rhodesscholar.org /info.html

33) The Roothbert Scholarship Fund'ttp://www.roothbertfund..org/schol