Making a difference and Community Collaboration

Today I will facilitate another Scholarship Workshop in the computer lab at Diamond Lakes Library. Wednesday's workshop was fun, everyone learned something new and students connected with others they may not have met on the street.


We run through a Google Presentation that is shared with the public and participants can view it at their own pace before, after, or during the workshop and for those who cannot physically visit the library, the chat function in presentations is used. I provide them with a printed handout that is also available through Google Docs and ask them to share any golden nuggets of what is working or has not worked for them. This document is updated by participants so it is a continuous project. So this post is used to document lessons learned and consolidate the resources.

We also walk through the library to see the options of printed books, from the reference section of books that do not leave the library to the library books that range from college life to tests available/required for career and college options that can be checked out. We also point through the glass of the available study materials that can be checked out and used in the library.  


It was 2 years ago that I gave my last workshop at the library before transitioning to North  Carolina. My local library was also one of my first stops when I returned to Georgia. While I was glad to see the library offering free wi-fi and basic computer classes during the day, I was sad that no one had picked up the Google products and Scholarship workshops even though all materials used are available on the web and printed copies were left with the library.


So what did we learn?
Everyone shared something and everyone learned something new.
Everyone was registered through GACollege411 and Fastweb.
Everyone has a resume but not available online.
Everyone used Google to see what is associated with their name and screen names used on other sites and viewed the web results, images, news, and maps.
Everyone understands that competing for scholarships is as challenging as competing for jobs.
Almost every scholarship source has some type of social media connection.
School counselors still do not provide information to students that dual enrollment is an option during high school. 
Google Alerts
Google Books
Google Voice
That volunteering can lead to a real job.
We (as a community) lack support and encouragement for our young adults in the tech world at the local college and high school levels.


I limit the workshops to one hour and it seems to be the quickest hour of my day, even after a long day on the job with our service members in the professional military education (PME) system. I stay afterwards for those who have additional questions or recommendations or to just use my library for the many resources available. This time I am giving the participants a printed copy of the Tech Sharing gift certificate and a challenge to share what they learned with a friend, a parent, a neighbor and to return to the library to do it.


The follow up emails, texts, and voice mail messages are what keep me going back. I believe in our replacements, regardless of their computer skills, race, sex, age, national origin, religion, ability/disability and/or sexual preference. Regardless of how you feel about a younger generation, you eventually will be replaced. What is your continuity plan as you look to exit a position, a community, or life? After you are gone, it is the difference you made represented by the dash in between the date you entered the world and the date you expire.


The Dash by Linda Ellis
The story behind the poem
Movie  Time: 2:47
A Teacher's Dash
A Mother's Dash

How are you making the difference in your replacement's life?
Comments, recommendations, and/or check the block of the Reaction boxes are always welcome.

Coke Rewards for Schools

You can now donate to your school even if the school is not registered for Coke Rewards for Schools. If a school is not registered, they have until June 15, 2011 to redeem points. If the school does not register, accumulated points will be donated to a participating organization.


Like many other programs, Box Tops for Education, Campbell Soup Labels for Education, Target's Take Charge of Education donation program, Office Depot's Back to School Program, Donors Choose, Staples and Do Something Give Back Join a Pack program the participants are as diverse as your community. With the economy the way it is, cuts to many budgets, from local to federal, opportunities exist to encourage community support for our schools. 


My Coke Rewards now allows you to support schools that have not registered yet. 
What can schools select with Coke Rewards? Browse the catalog.

Refresh Your School Technology Sweeps - Donate points to help your school win $20,000 in computers, cameras, tvs and more from Best Buy®. Every 5 points donated earns a school 1 entry. School that register by 9/13/2010 are entered in this sweepstakes.

Q: How does my school earn entries for the Refresh Your School Technology Sweeps?


A: From July 29 – September 30, registered schools can get 1 entry for every 5 points donated by a My Coke Rewards member. During this same time, any school that registers for the program will earn 1 entry for registration and 1 entry for every 5 points donated by a My Coke Rewards member. See sweepstake rules for full details.

Q: What brands participate in the My Coke Rewards for Schools Program?


A: Any My Coke Rewards points earned from codes found on participating brand packages can be donated to a school. My Coke Rewards participating brands include Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Sprite, Sprite Zero, DASANI, POWERADE ION, Minute Maid, VAULT, Pibb Extra, Fanta, Fresca, Barq’s, and Mello Yello. For a full list of participating brands and packages, check out the “Pick Up Points” section of My Coke Rewards. Any Bonus Points earned can also be donated to schools. Participating brands may change so check the site for a complete list of current participating brands and packages.

Q: How can I help my school get registered?

A: Help put your school in play and make great things happen. Talk to your school principal, parent teacher group leader or faculty member and ask them to appoint a School Coordinator for yourschool - or even volunteer to be one. The School Coordinator is responsible for managing the school's account, encouraging community point donations, and redeeming rewards for the school. Use our email tool below to forward a message to your school and encourage them to register. Or, if you are authorized to be a School Coordinator, get your school signed up today.

This is a great opportunity to encourage community support for your school. I have tried to get anyone at Butler High School to register the school since 2006. Today I searched for schools in our district by zip code then conducted another search by city and state. Here are the results:


A BRIAN MERRY ELEM SCHOOL - Not Registered
A R JOHNSON HEALTH SCI ENG HS (Magnet) - Not Registered
ACADEMY OF RICHMOND CO HS - Not Registered
AQUINAS HIGH SCHOOL - Not Registered
AUGUSTA CHRISTIAN SCHOOL - Not Registered
BARTON CHAPEL ELEM SCHOOL - Not Registered
BAYVALE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - Not Registered
BUNGALOW RD ALT CNTR - Not Registered
BUTLER COMPREHENSIVE HIGH SCH - Not Registered
COLLINS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - Not Registered
COPELAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - Not Registered
CRAIG-HOUGHTON ELEM SCHOOL - Not Registered
CROSS CREEK HIGH SCHOOL - Registered
DAVIDSON FINE ARTS SCHOOL (Magnet) - Not Registered
EAST AUGUSTA MIDDLE SCHOOL - Not Registered
EVENING SCHOOL - Not Registered
GARRETT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - Not Registered
GLENN HILLS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - Not Registered
GLENN HILLS HIGH SCHOOL - Not Registered
GLENN HILLS MIDDLE SCHOOL - Not Registered
GOSHEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - Not Registered
GRACEWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - Registered
HAINS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - Registered
HORNSBY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - Not Registered
JENKINS WHITE ELEM SCHOOL - Registered
JOHN M TUTT MIDDLE SCHOOL - Registered
JOSEPH LAMAR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - Not Registered
JOSEY HIGH SCHOOL - Not Registered
LAKE FOREST HILLS ELEM SCHOOL - Not Registered
LAMAR-MILLEDGE ELEM SCHOOL - Registered
LANGFORD MIDDLE SCHOOL - Not Registered
LUCEY C LANEY HIGH SCHOOL - Not Registered
MEADOWBROOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - Not Registered
MONTE SANO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - Not Registered
MURPHEY MIDDLE SCHOOL - Not Registered
NATIONAL HILLS ELEM SCHOOL - Registered
REYNOLDS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - Registered
ROY E ROLLINS ELEM SCHOOL - Not Registered
SEGO MIDDLE SCHOOL - Not Registered
SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - Not Registered
TERRACE MANOR ELEM SCHOOL - Not Registered
TOBACCO ROAD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - Not Registered
TUBMAN MIDDLE SCHOOL - Not Registered
WALKER TRADITIONAL MAGNET SCH - Registered
WARREN ROAD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - Not Registered
WESTSIDE HIGH SCHOOL - Not Registered
WHEELESS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - Not Registered
WILKINSON GARDENS ELEM SCHOOL - Not Registered
WINDSOR SPRING ROAD ELEM SCH - Not Registered

Do you support schools by participating in any of these programs, Box Tops for Education, Campbell Soup Labels for Education, Target's Take Charge of Education donation program, Office Depot Back to School Program, Donors Choose, Staples and Do Something Give Back Join a Pack program, local businesses to major corporations?

Do you have a favorite? Which programs to you recommend when seeking community support? Do you support schools not in your district to support family and friends that do not live in your community? What ways do you encourage/participate in community opportunities to demonstrate your support for learning, education, and those who will eventually replace you?



Comments are welcome.

3 References - Do your students have them?

One of the many challenges I encounter when working with our youth is their inability to provide a minimum of 3 references that are not family members or some unknown digital connection made through social media. Most adults do not have an issue with providing three references because of their life experience.

Working with students and even some adults while developing a student resumes, you can see the struggles as they learn to document their own accomplishments. Many of them discount what they do in their community, schools, churches, and extra curricular activities.

One thing I kept for my daughter throughout our travels was a binder that we titled, "Me book" which contained everything from certificates of accomplishment/achievement/appreciation that she received over the years. This binder played a role when she created her first student resume in middle school. The "Me book" continued to be a repository for points of contact and organizations, which allowed her to reflect about adults she could list as references during her job searches and volunteer activities.

This activity also ties into them setting up Google Alerts for their own names and searching for those they list as references. Some students want to list their high school teachers as references when they apply for jobs or volunteer activities because it is where they spend the majority of their high school life. They are also encouraged to contact everyone they want to list as a reference and ask their permission and to verify contact information.

So encourage and work with your students, your children, your neighbor's children to get involved and make the community connections needed. If someone asks you if they can list you as a reference, be honest. Some people do not want to be listed as a reference and other people do not mind at all, they just want to be aware if and when their name is being used. It can be challenging to hide the surprise when recieving a call about a particular student and to reference their work, character, or lack of when an organization calls to verify a listed reference.

If you had to provide 3 references for a career or volunteer position, could you?

If your students wanted to list you as a reference, how would you respond?

From Past to Present

I came across the first blog I started in support of Butler High School. It is titled, Part of the Solution and allowed me to share information with others about things anyone could do to help out this school, the students, and to help eradicate the "Disgusta" mentality that so many of our students associate with Augusta, GA.

My last post on that blog is associated with a written response to 15 questions we presented to the school board after 90 days of submitting the written request to them and after they attended a "Meet and Greet" event at the school. To this day, responses to some of those questions have not been answered. It doesn't mean I gave up, I just redirected my efforts to support the students who will one day replace those making the decisions.

I was looking at the blog post in reference to encourage people to register their Target cards in support of their school of choice.

GEORGE P BUTLER HIGH SCHOOL AUGUSTA, GA 30906
Target’s most recent donation(September 2006): $136.97
Total of all of Target’s donations through September 2006: $2422.34
Amount accumulated so far toward Target’s next donation* 0.0
Number of Target® Visa® and Target® Card holders who have designated this school: 213

Here is the latest information:

Butler High School Augusta, GA 30906-3547

The most recent Target donation to this school (March 2009): $84.45

Total of all Target donations to this school through March 2009: $3223.83

Amount accumulated toward the next Target donation: *$57.45

Number of REDcard holders who have designated this school: 33

So if you have a Target card, support a school you never know how far a few extra cents will go if you designate a school you used to attend, a school your children or grandchildren attend, or a school in your community.

More information on Target's Take Charge of Education

When people discover the blog they question why I have not deactivated the blog or deleted any information...I remind them that many of the posts support my own educational pursuit in the field of Educational Technology Management and they provide an audit trail which can be used for personal and professional references.