Project Achievement Initiative Report

Whether on the scale of a school district, a state, or the nation, achievement gaps exist. Wealth seems to be the deciding factor, with race coming in at a close second, but these do not (and should not) be deciding factors. The State of Texas has developed The P-16 Initiative which seeks to close theses performance gaps between the poor and wealthy. Our textbook reads: “The P-16 is an effort to work with stakeholders collaboratively to foster a more integrated education system, while addressing issues of college readiness standards, teacher education, and educational

Following college, I moved to Portland, Oregon and looked for ways to continue developing my skills and fostering my passion for social responsibility. I started at Impact NW as an AmeriCorps member, where I served two terms helping run the AKA Science program. In my role, I managed hundreds of volunteers, wrote curriculum, and trained instructors; but above all, I learned how to work with corporate partners. Aided by corporate volunteers, our program served thousands of students each year. I quickly realized the importance of establishing meaningful, long-term relationships. Companies gave back to our community and in return we provided them a chance to hold an engaging experience for their employees. Every committed corporate team we cultivated helped us build capacity and redirect vital resources back into our program. We also encouraged volunteers to share their skills and as a result they would provide us with amazing insights. For example, one group of volunteers from Nike world headquarters helped streamline our processes by sharing ideas from their work in lean manufacturing. These experiences sparked something for me and I realized that my strengths as a creative thinker and a leader and my passion for giving back unite.

One particular activity that I feel has made a difference in the community is my participation in Mini-THON, a student-led philanthropic organization that raises money for research in pediatric cancer and benefits Four Diamonds and Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital. I have served as the Junior and Senior Co-Chair, or President, for the past two years, respectively. Each year, my responsibilities have expanded from simply attending meetings and contributing ideas for fundraisers, to actively coordinating meetings and organizing fundraisers with local businesses. For example, our club held our first annual “Teenie-THON” for elementary school students. We spent countless hours creating advertisements and permission slips for the participants.

Throughout my life, I’ve always had an immense interest in helping others. Being involved in the National Charity League for 5 years has given me the opportunity to be involved with charities that I otherwise would’ve never known about. I’ve had the privilege to help with over b charities in and around my community throughout my years as an NCL member. By far my favorite would have to be Grace’s Feed Our Kids that I have volunteered at every summer since my start in NCL. Through this charity, we are able to provide lunches and fun games to underprivileged kids in Grapevine during the unbearably hot Texas summer days. Each day we serve different meals, either donated from local restaurants or homemade by my NCL class, and have a variety of things for the kids to do, like coloring, water guns,

Due to my involvement in my school, I have a plethora of opportunities that affect my community. As a member of the National Honor Society, we stay involved in activities that benefit our chapter and Walkerton itself. For instance, we annually undergo a food drive at our school in order to supply food for the people in the community. Then we transport the food to the food pantry and once every month we take turns to distribute the food to the people who need it. This distribution we do for the community aids the people in need as most people receiving the food are unable to transport the food themselves. Alongside the food drives, I spend hours of volunteering for concessions, tutoring students after school, and aiding for the band teacher.

Over the summer I will be working with an organization called Sacred Road, which is on a Native American Reservation in Yakima, Washington. Sacred Road was started by Chris and Mary Granberry, a couple from Alabama who moved to the Reservation in 2003 to serve the struggling community there. When they moved there, one hundred percent of the homes on the reservation were affected by alcohol/drug abuse, and the average life expectancy is 40 years old. Sacred Road works with members of the community to rebuild homes, counsel teens, and run a children's care center, along with starting a church. Since the Granberry’s have moved in, the average life expectancy has increased, the suicide rate has dropped immensely, and the amount of thefts

In my opinion, getting involved is the best thing you can do in your college experience. Within my floor I see many of my residents finding where they belong in the community and many others with untapped potential. For instance one of residents came in third place in our university for fundraising National Eating Disorder Association(NEDA). What really made me proud was that she reached out to everyone in our building to help her fundraise in the early weeks of school. I think this is a perfect example of how the Seven C’S in The Social Change Model of Leadership is being used on my floor. My resident found a cause that really spoke to her values and beliefs which follows the consciousness of self and congruency. She then became motivated to help and serve the cause by signing up for the walk and fundraise, which would be a prime example of commitment. For collaboration, my resident reached out to our floor during our floor meeting and emailing the entire building asking the other residents to engage in her cause. When the other residents saw how passionate she was about this because they felt compelled to help her reach her

The achievement gap, as most educators know it, isn’t just something seen or experienced at a district level. This is something with national implications, which will be felt for generations to come if it is not addressed now. Yet many people ask “so what? Why do anything about it?” According to a report from The Center for American Progress, longstanding racial and ethnic gaps in education and other areas are growing in part due to income and wealth inequality. This suggests that decisions made today, will directly impact America’s economy tomorrow.

The widening achievement gap contributed to inequality of wealth in the classroom is a topic that educators tackle on a daily basis. In his article The Widening Income Achievement Gap, Sean Reardon discusses how, historically, lower income students have not performed at the level of higher income students (Reardon, 2015). What causes this disparity in academic achievement? Is it simply access to money that gives students from higher income families a leg up when it comes to school or are there deeper, farther reaching contributing factors?

Their many issue's that I'm trying to solve in the community. One of the more important issues to me is Hunger. Their are so many people who have to go to shelters, Food Banks & Local Community centers for food.Which is why I'll be volunteering at one of those establishments . In the most recent “Hunger in America 2010” study by Feeding Amer­ica, the Commonwealth of Virginia’s food banks served 42% children. Which shows how effective they are for so many kids who need food.

Currently, I am compiling a list of small and local businesses I can contact to donate to this initiative. I know they cannot always afford to donate

The agency where I am interning is Partnership with Children. “Partnership” as it is called, works to strengthen the emotional, social and academic skills of at-risk children to prepare them for success--academically, socially, and in life. “Partnership’s” programs aim to bridge the gap between those who have a vested interest in working within New York City’s highest-need public schools, and those in need. “Partnership’s” goal is to transform the overall culture of many of the city’s struggling schools by helping students cope with the extreme stress of living in poverty. Helping students thrive in safe and supportive schools that encourage

During my high school career, I have become highly involved in a program we call People Helping People (PHP). This organization’s main priority is to interest students in benefiting their communities and the members in it. PHP consists of many projects from student mentoring, to volunteering at the local shelters; however, the project that has had the greatest impact on my life and personal growth is known as “Project Unify”.

They help provide food, shelter, healthcare, and skills to people severely affected by poverty. My mom used to be on the board of directors there so I have volunteered there many times. I think it would be extremely cool for the NJHS members to help raise money for the center. A way that we could help raise money is to do a 5k run/walk. It would cost 10$ to run and all proceeds would go to the heart ministry center. Volunteers could plan it and make sure everything runs smoothly.

In order for me to be successful at CWU is being strict with my time management, when I get invited to go out and hangout I usually say yes. Unfortunately I still have work to get done, so I have to work on saying no to my friends. Another thing I need to work on is to focus more in class, we are all paying money to go to class. So I need to "get my money's worth" when I go to class.