Greetings!
IMPACT is energized for a busy fall and I am delighted to send you this, our first, Snapshot, which gives you a glimpse of recent successes and stories from our work. Our monthly Snapshot will highlight some important calls to action too.
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Silver Spring Loves Teachers!
A Call for Successful Multicultural Teachers
Silver Spring Loves Teachers: Immigrant and Minority Parents' Exploration of Good Teaching is a new report aimed at creating
multicultural schools to support children's best educational outcomes by
starting in the classroom.
A team of
IMPACT's parent leaders produced the report that shows the importance of
teachers skilled in developing relationships with students and parents from
diverse racial, cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
The report provides a list of key qualities
in a successful multicultural teacher and lays out recommendations and some
initial tools and processes for collaborative action by parents, teachers and
schools to make this a reality. Click here to read more
Already, the report has produced strong support
from community parents. On September 4,
a group of over 100 diverse parents, children and school staff members held a community walk to demonstrate their commitment to their children's education
and to issue a call to action for each local school to increase the number of
multicultural teachers in the classroom.
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Building Bridges between Renters and Property Managers
Councilwoman
Valerie Ervin participated in a meeting this summer with 10
property managers from Silver Spring complexes.
The discussion created a first step to better communication and
understanding between renters and property managers aimed at improving the
quality of life in Silver Spring apartment housing.
Managers said that better exchanges between them and renters will
lead to fewer problems.
Early findings are that:
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Managers
are committed to providing safe, quality living environment;
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Managers often feel isolated in making decisions impacting a lot of people; and
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They
feel often misunderstood by tenants.
A second
gathering will take place on September 9.
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A Call to Action: Your Opinion on Downtown Silver Spring
In July,
IMPACT co-hosted with Downtown Silver Spring/PFA, Regal Theaters, Community Bridges and Maryland Multicultural Youth Center a free movie for young people.
The event was organized by and for minority youth who have been hanging out in downtown Silver Spring. We surveyed over
150 youth about their attitudes and needs relating to the shopping and plaza
area.
We will survey
retailers in the downtown area this fall.
A diverse
group of youth and adults are meeting to explore findings and the issues.
We want to hear from you!
How can
we create a downtown Silver Spring that serves our many diverse youth and adults?
How would YOU answer this question? What would
you do if you were managing the downtown area? What if you were a local County
Council representative? Send us your reactions by clicking here. |
