Exceptional Education Outreach Bahamas
Exceptional Education Outreach Bahamas
Bringing New Opportunities to Children and Communities
in the Bahamian Family Islands
April 2010
Spring Newsletter
Open a book, open your mind.  Read
TEN Years of Reaching Kids on Harbour Island and Eleuthera!
Inspired ..... by EEO Director, Lang Hudepohl
Greetings!

Lang and student.
Lang and student
Send to a Colleague

This December I was delivering invitations to our 10th year anniversary fundraiser to local hotels and businesses on Harbour island and Eleuthera and I encountered many former EEO students who were now successful members of the community and working in local establishments. I remembered teaching them years ago and having them be so excited to reach the next level of reading ...boys that I sang the 'vowel song' with.  They are now well-spoken young men that are holding respected jobs and have goals for their futures. It made me smile to be called "Miss Lang" by these men that towered above me now.

    Here are just a few of the students I crossed paths with:
  • Peter Higgs: Charismatic Peter is now partners in  a landscaping business called Hibiscus Landscaping and doing excellent in this field.
  • Rodney Dieque: Looking dapper and  professional, Rodney greeted me in the lobby of Ramora Bay. His boss raved about the great job he does at the hotel and marina.
  • Tony Cleare: Tony works at Pink Sands Blue Bar and aspires to be a chef at a restaurant in Nassau.
  • Kinson Beauchamp: Working as captain for one of the yachts at the Valentines Marina, Kinson travels and earns a living doing what he loves.

Peter
kinson 2
Kinson

kinson
(a young) Rodney 
 tony
Tony
In This Issue
Amazing Professional Support!
One Boy's Triumph
Collaboration Aboard
10 ways that you can honor our 10th anniversary
EEO 10th year fundraiser!
Our silent auction at Pink Sand's Blue Bar this winter was a great success thanks to the generous supporters and friends of EEO who attended and purchased the gorgeous art. It wouldn't have been possible without the amazing help of the Pink Sands Hotel, the artists & photographers, the volunteers who helped organize (Will, Silma, Jackie, Elizabeth and Monique!), and the donations from Bristol Cellars and Bacardi.

Thank you to everyone that attended for helping us raise these critically needed funds to keep EEO's programs going this year !
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Amazing Professional Support!

This year we have been blessed with such a strong show of support from professionals that donate their time and expertise to help with EEO's programs.

Therapist visits:
In November Physical therapist Natasha Bravo and Occupational therapist Andrea Hayward visited both Harbour Island and Eleuthera for a two day whirlwind of evaluations, follow-up therapy strategies and a workshop on Behavior Modification . There are many students whom have challenges that require specific advice from therapists to help them reach their potential. They work with teachers, parents and students. This was the third trip of these dedicated ladies and they are seeing progress from the heartfelt time spent with the students they have been working with .

On-Line training Website:
Dr.Kim Bishop has met with EEO staff and helped create an online professional training website for the Bahamian educators that EEO works with. It will feature videos of workshops and supporting documents from seminars on the latest information on various learning challenges and literacy strategies.  Specific strategies will also be modeled in videos to help with volunteer teacher training on EEO practices. Dr. Bishop along with her colleagues have donated the space and the time for training. We are very excited for the possibilities this offers us to expand training to other Family Islands and work towards a more sustainable program for the future.

Colombia University Read and Write Program returns:
Emily DeLiddo, our dedicated EEO scholar, is returning to Eleuthera and Harbour Island to fill two days with workshops and in-class modeling of ways to motivate the reading/writing connection in the classroom. This will be her fourth volunteer visit. We are so grateful for the knowledge and heart she shares with EEO teachers and students.

Week of Professional Training:
Dr. Claire Verden organized a group from Westchester University, Pennsylvania to assist Eleuthera schools the second week of March. They started the week off by offering a workshop on 'Positive Behavior Modification' to the Southern District of Eleuthera. The Ministry of Education endorsed the seminar and closed schools early so that over 50 educators were able to attend. They spent the remainder of the week offering in-class modeling and training strategies. Covering various special education and literacy topics, they traveled to the following schools: Rock Sound Primary, Center for Exceptional Learners in Governors Harbour, and Gregory Town Primary School. They also came with a generous amount of donated school supplies form our important Amazon Wish List and books. EEO students and teachers benefited from these dedicated educators.

* A special Thanks to Mrs. Anna Horton from Ministry of Education on Eleuthera for assisting us with reaching as many teachers as possible.

One Boy's Triumph by EEO teacher Joann Cambridge
joanne and boy    

When I started working with Jerome he was so shy that he didn't look you in the eye or respond to questions. He had been struggling academically for so long that he had pretty much lost motivation. We work together individually or  in a very small group of four students and every day we start with a song about being "Ready to Learn". Within a semester, he had made such leaps in his reading that he had gone from beginning alphabet skills to reading level two books and had the most stars on our Reading Games Chart. He comes to me with enthusiasm and is so proud of every small step he accomplishes. He is still shy but he now tries and is making progress that he can feel proud of.     

   Being a special education teacher there are often times that the numerous challenges are overwhelming. I  wonder if I am  are doing enough. Then it is the individual triumphs like Jerome's that make such a difference. Children open up and begin to believe in themselves . It's a blessing to be part of this process.
Collaboration Aboard by Dr. Claire Verden
CFEL kids

During the first week in March I was fortunate enough to bring 4 students majoring in special education and a faculty colleague from West Chester University in Pennsylvania to spend a week on Eleuthera working in several schools that are supported by Exceptional Education Outreach. My students had the kinds of experiences and memories that can shape a career in teaching! They were continually amazed by the children and how receptive they were to instruction and how much they loved learning. After spending two mornings at Rock Sound Primary School and Gregory Town Primary School my students couldn't believe how on-task and invested in school the students were. The children just loved everything that was presented to them and their impeccable manners impressed us in particular. For my students there were many lessons learned about how to adapt lessons to different learning levels in the middle of a class and how to plan without all the resources and supplies that they are used to having easy access too.

We spent two days with Mr. Holland at The Center for Exceptional Learners in Governor's Harbour and were amazed by all that he and his assistants are able to accomplish given the unique characteristics of each student there. Many of these children have more significant disabilities and require individualized attention to get their needs met. Of course it is the children that we remember and their particular stories that make our memories so vivid and poignant. From the boys at Rock Sound who were so proud to show us their drumming skills during their break time, to the girls who shared their coconut cake with us at Gregory Town ... we cannot forget the faces and the experiences we had during our too short of a visit! From Alexis teaching us how to use sign language to read a book and the excitement of Christian and Fernisha as they received new school supplies, we treasure the time that we spent at the Center for Exceptional Learners and know that these children made a strong impact on us and in particular on the students plans to become special educators.

We plan and hope to maintain our partnership with EEO and will continue to hold book fairs and other fundraisers to get some needed supplies to the schools and to help in other ways as much as we can.

Send to a Colleague

Generosity
Z boy
Other Great news:

EEO got an audiometer donated by James Stewart which is fantastic news because now we can do hearing screenings and save the therapists visits for children already identified and needing more in depth assessments. This along with many other great educational tools and books were donated off of our Amazon.com Wish List. This has been a wonderful way to make immediate needed improvements to our resource rooms.

EEO is VERY thankful for all the kind ways that people have helped. The continuous support of our donors is crucial in creating a sustainable program to continue to reach the children that are our future.

"We cannot hold a torch to light another's path without brightening our own."     ~Ben Sweetland

children bloom like  flowers 10 ways that you can honor our 10th anniversary:

1.  Make a donation to sponsor two students at the $2,500 level (See website for student profiles slide show)
2.  Come visit our classrooms for a day and share your talents
3.  Visit Amazon.com and search for "EEO Wish List" and buy something for our resource rooms on Eleuthera and Harbour Island
4.  Make a donation to sponsor therapist visits for a year ($5,000)
5.  Tell a friend about EEO and sign them up for our newsletter by sending their email address to EEOBahamas@yahoo.com
6.  Connect us with people who may have foundations that give to educational programs
7.  Make a donation to sponsor a teacher in one of our classrooms for a month ($500)
8.  Come read a book to our students in our after school program
9.  Sponsor a parent workshop ($1000)
10. Join our Founders Circle with a $10,000 donation towards sustaining EEO's programs
We hope you enjoyed this newsletter.  We thank you all for all you do for EEO.
 
Sincerely,
 
Lang, Gaby, Joann, Maureen, and Bill
Exceptional Education Outreach Bahamas