| CISPA Advocacy Day |
 On April 21, 2010, Communities In Schools of Pennsylvania will be organizing an Advocacy Day. Our hope is to create a dialogue with legislators around the drop-out epidemic and to introduce the mission of Communities In Schools. Please join us on April 21st! |
| CISPA Twitter Accounts |
| CISPA is currently operating two seperate Twitter accounts that those of you who participate in the "Twitterverse" should follow! The CIS_PA Twitter feed focuses on press releases, newsletters, and articles involving the CISPA network. NoMoreDropOuts is the other CISPA run Twitter feed that focuses on education legislation, the state budget, and various aspects of education in the news. Follow both feeds to stay up to date with CISPA! |
| CISPA's State Office is Moving! |
| Effective April 1, 2010, CISPA's State Office will be moving into our new space located directly across the hall from our current space! Please note that all contact information, phone numbers, and addresses for the state office will remain the same. Our new space will help us save money while continuing to meet the needs of our network. |
| Communities In Schools' Total Quality System |
| CIS of the Laurel Highlands, Lehigh Valley, and Pittsburgh-Allegheny County are currently preparing to go through the process of accrediation for the Communities In Schools' Total Quality System, or TQS.
To prepare our affiliates, we have provided binders that are to be used as a means to store and document progress as the standards required for accreditation are met. Also, we are preparing for preliminary state office conducted reviews at the three previously listed affiliates. All of this is ultimately in preparation for multi-day reviews that will be conducted by Communities In Schools national review teams.
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| CISLH's Ribbon Cutting Ceremony |
On Wednesday, February 24th, Communities In Schools of the Laurel Highlands held a ribbon cutting to celebrate the opening of their recently renovated offices as well as their donation of Dell Netbooks and Scholastic Lending Library books to the school district. Pictured above, from left to right, is CISLH Board Chair, Larry Audley; Cambria County Commissioner PJ Stevens; CISLH Executive Director, Mickie Eberhart; Cambria County Commissioner, Sam Valenti; Director of Admiral Peary Area Vo-Tech, Mark Kudlawiec; and Assistant Director of Admiral Peary Area Vo-Tech, Ken Jubas.
The renovations were done by students of Admiral Peary Area Vo-Tech and they turned out beautifully! Congratulations CISLH! |
| Welcome to the Team! |
| CISPA would like to officially welcome new board members Joanne Grossi, Executive Director of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and Frank Fischer, Senior Vice President of Relationship Management for Members 1st Federal Credit Union, to the CISPA board! |
| Pennsylvania State Budget Update |
| On Wednesday, February 17th, CISPA staff attended a Education Policy Forum that focused on Governor Rendell's Education Issues Budget Proposal for 2010-2011 sponsored by The Education Policy and Leadership Center. The 2010-2011 budget will continue to use the Education Funding Formula which calculates the state share needed to help close the adequacy gap in each Pennsylvania school district. Other highlights of the budget include an additional commitment of $354 million to bring the state's commitment to closing the gap to a total of $929 million, $61.5 million for tools and supports for teachers, $271.4 million in Accountability block Grants, a basic education subsidy of $5.8 billion to make the third-year investment in helping schools reach adequate resources through the funding formula, as well as numerous other investments. CISPA will continue to monitor developments with the Pennsylvania education budget. |
| Looking Ahead |
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American Red Cross Month
Founded in 1881 by Clara Barton, the American Red Cross provides emergency assistance and disaster relief alongside other services such as community service opportunities, services for military members and their families, the collection, processing, and distribution of blood and blood products, educational programs on health and safety, and international relief and development programs. With the latest international tragedy in Haiti being fresh on our minds, this month is a great time to recognize the American Red Cross for its efforts. Teach your students about the history of the American Red Cross and incorporate a student run fundraiser to benefit the organization.
National Women's History Month
March is National Women's History Month and this year's theme is recognizing women who have worked to make the environment and its conservation a prevalent issue. At the Library of Congress' Women's History Month website, there is a section specifically designed for teachers. This section, which you can access by clicking here has lesson plans, activities, and tons more that you can utilize in your classroom to incorporate in your lesson plans. National Optimism Month
With March's dreary weather, we can all find ourselves wondering if spring and sun will ever come. Use National Optimism Month as an opportunity to change that! Have students create crafts that reflect their bright and sunny thoughts and dreams to brighten up the classroom. Encourage students to think positively and be cheery for an entire day and ask them to reflect on how their optimism affected others around them. Ask students to find quotes that make them feel happy and post them around the classroom.
National Nutrition Month
10% of children worldwide are either overweight or obese. In the United States, an estimated 32% of children are obese. The First Lady, Michelle Obama, recognizes this growing epidemic and has implemented a nationwide campaign called, "Let's Move." One of the focuses of this campaign is the importance of nutrition and affordable healthy foods. The website for Let's Move, which you can view here, has a section designed specifically for kids that is a wonderful resource that includes downloadable activity books, games, videos, and other various materials that you can incorporate into your classrooms and lesson plans. Another great resource is EatRight.org which also has a section for event ideas for schools, which you can access here. | |
800 North Third Street
Suite 204
Harrisburg, PA 17102
Phone: 717.233.4330
Fax: 717.233.4331
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| Featured Article |
| March 4th
CISPA Board Meeting
March 10-11
CISPA Displaying at 21st Century Conference
March 17th
St. Patrick's Day
March 19th
PA ED Meeting
April 21st
CISPA Advocacy Day |
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