Thursday, 10 November 2011 18:11
Blair Kurland
Versión Español
At 4 in the afternoon, when most high school students are unwinding from a day of classes, PPEP TEC night high school students are just beginning them.
"I've always liked coming to the night school," said Robert Garcia, 18, a senior at the Celestino Fernandez Learning Center. "I've always been able to wake up during the day, clean up my house, and come here to work at night."
The Celestino Fernandez School is one of 10 PPEP (Portable Practical Education Preparation )Tec campuses in Southern Arizona, but is the only one to offer night high school for students. Like the other campuses, though, it has open enrollment and a self-paced style of learning so students can continue their education at any time.
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Tuesday, 27 September 2011 19:44
Blair Kurland
 Ruben Romero is on a mission. He wants to give Pueblo High Magnet School students the needed push to get their high school diplomas as well as college acceptance letters.
Romero, the career counselor for Pueblo High Magnet School, brought representatives from eight schools across Arizona and neighboring New Mexico to the gymnasium to meet with the senior class about college options during Arizona Fall College Tour.
Pueblo High Magnet School’s graduation rate has hovered around the 80 percent mark for the past five years, but in 2011 it nosedived 10 points to 70.47 percent. This rate is 9 percent points lower than TUSD’s 2011 average at 79.61 percent, 6 points lower than Arizona Department of Education’s 2009 average of 76.1 percent, and slightly below the national average for 2007 at 71.7 percent.
These numbers show definite room for improvement for all divisions of education, but particularly for Pueblo High Magnet School, which has taken the hardest hit of all.
New programs have shifted the emphasis from ending the educational experience at a high school diploma, but to pique students’ interest and motivation for pursuing a higher education.
Marcos Enriquez, an admission counselor representing the University of Arizona at the event, recognized that students in South Tucson have the determination to attend college, but limited access to the materials and information they need.
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Tuesday, 27 September 2011 19:41
Leah Adler
 At age 16, Xaviera Sanchez was pregnant with her first child. “There were a lot of girls pregnant at the time when I was a teen mother,” the now 36-year-old South Tucson resident said.
Sanchez never received information about contraception or health education when she was in her teens. “They never mentioned this kind of stuff in school, and then next thing I knew I was having a baby,” she said.
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Tuesday, 27 September 2011 19:38
Kevin G. Andrade
Versión Español
College enrollment rates among 18-24 year old Hispanics increased 10 points between 2000 and 2009, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. So, Hispanics are enrolling, they just aren't finishing their programs.
Pima Community College is finding success with the Adelante Program. Its focus is on Hispanic males, who among all races and gender are least likely to earn a college degree. Director Frank Velasquez said two out of three Hispanic males who start college do not finish.
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Friday, 06 May 2011 22:28
Alex Gendreau
At one time, people placed bets on Cutter. Now, they read to him.
Cutter, an eight-year-old former greyhound racer, retired to a life at the Sam Lena-South Tucson Branch Library, where he helps children learn to read.
The Read to a Dog program through the Pima County Public Library enlists dogs from the community to listen to children from preschool through mid-elementary school.
“The idea is that this gives children who are learning how to read be able to read to an appreciative, non-critical audience,” said Leanne Yoder, branch manager at Sam Lena.“It also provides some children who have had a difficult experience with dogs in the past to have a positive experience now.”
Cutter, formerly known as Cutthroat Island, started out racing at Tucson Greyhound Park, only a mile from Sam Lena. However, at three years old, he got into a fight with another greyhound at the racetrack. His injuries made it more expensive to treat him than to retire him.
Then, Cindy Nadler rescued him.
“He was afraid of everything,” Nadler said. “That’s why it took [four years] to get him to where he could be [in] Read to a Dog.”
When Cutter was rescued, he was timid. Brooms, hoses, even Nadler’s husband made him shake.
But now, he listens to children with ease.
“He is good with kids, because to him, they are non-threatening,” Nadler said.
Sam Lena gained a friend as well. The library was without a dog for more than a year before Nadler brought Cutter. Now, kids can enjoy the stress-free reading environment that Cutter provides.
“It is a safe place where the children can practice getting closer to the dog,” Yoder said. “The dogs become an ambassador for their breed and also help the children.”
Theresa Le Gros, volunteer coordinator at the Humane Society of Southern Arizona, said the result is therapy on both sides.
“It’s a way to spread the joy,” she said. “The dogs have places to go and interact.”
The Humane Society of Southern Arizona trains many dogs like Cutter to become visitation dogs. Through their “Pet V.I.P.” program, dogs of all breeds and sizes learn to be around people. The Read to a Dog program is one of the many programs their graduates are placed in.
At the library, children get to sit on the floor and show pictures to the dog as they turn the page.
“The child is the boss. They choose what to read,” said Yoder. “It is all about a positive experience and having a good warm feeling about reading.”
The program has seen a change in the kids who participate: after a few weeks, they feel more confident in their reading.
“Children have received a lot of corrections while reading, and they tense up or make a mistake,” Yoder said. “But dogs don’t do that. They are interested in the child’s movement of the hand, they are interested in the story and they are looking at the story. No one is stopping them.”
Eventually, Nadler is hoping to have Cutter go to schools.
“He will always be shy,” she said. “But I can see it working. I can see how important it is. He gets to interact with people and kids and they get to see how gentle a greyhound really is.”
 At one time, people placed bets on Cutter. Now, they read to him.
Cutter, an eight-year-old former greyhound racer, retired to a life at the Sam Lena-South Tucson Branch Library, where he helps children learn to read.
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Friday, 06 May 2011 22:07
Karissa Nowakowski
Sitting in a half-circle around Paula McPheeters, a teacher at Ochoa Magnet Elementary School, students wait excitedly to see what they will select from their school garden that day.
In a white chair next to a faux fireplace with family portraits on the mantel, McPheeters uses a blue marker to spell out words to her preschoolers.
“S-O-I-L,” the 10 students spell aloud as the letters are written on the board. “That spells soil,” they say with broad smiles.
McPheeters praises them. She has them spell out lentils, garbanzo, compost and worm; things the students will find in the garden just around the corner from room 13.
Ochoa Elementary is one of the five schools that participate in the University of Arizona’s School of Geography and Development School Garden Program.
With the help of UA interns and different partnerships, the garden program enables Tucson teachers to sustain school gardens.
The interns provide support and labor to help develop the garden in a time when teachers are really strapped for time and resources, says Sarah Moore, assistant professor for the School of Geography and Development.
Joey Orozco, a student sitting by McPheeters, scratches his face and thinks as he helps “Ms. Paula” spell out words.
“I like planting chili,” he says. After it’s picked from the garden, he takes it home for family dinners.
With more than 98 percent of Ochoa students qualifying for free or reduced-cost lunches, the program benefits both students and families.
Students are able to make salads and soup in class, and parents can take food home. When there is a surplus of food, it is donated to the Community Food Bank and soup is taken to the Casa Maria soup kitchen.
Julianna Gonzales, Joey’s classmate, says she likes planting strawberries, watering the garden and saving peels for compost.
Angelita Gonzales, her mother, calls the program amazing.
“It’s lovely to know that the children can learn something so wonderful to take with them as they grow,” she says. “I hear her talk to her siblings to let them know that she needs to save compost… she explains what it is and she’s only five years old.”
Moore says the garden program helps make soil science less abstract.
“I think the children are realizing that gardening is certainly about planting seeds, watering and pulling weeds,” McPheeters says.
 Sitting in a half-circle around Paula McPheeters, a teacher at Ochoa Magnet Elementary School, students wait excitedly to see what they will select from their school garden that day.
In a white chair next to a faux fireplace with family portraits on the mantel, McPheeters uses a blue marker to spell out words to her preschoolers.
“S-O-I-L,” the 10 students spell aloud as the letters are written on the board. “That spells soil,” they say with broad smiles.
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Friday, 08 April 2011 22:28
Jessica Hale
With a need to decrease dropout levels and bring technology-based education to students, Sunnyside Unified School District has created an innovative program that addresses both issues.
SUSD introduced netbooks for students in 2007 through Project Graduation: The Digital Advantage, in response to a 63 percent graduation rate. As a result of the high dropout rate, a Johns Hopkins University Study labeled SUSD a “dropout factory.”
“Project Graduation focuses on achieving the four A’s: academics, attendance, extracurricular activity and attitude,” said Monique Soria, director of public relations for SUSD. “Freshman students are encouraged to meet those standards, and those who do receive a netbook laptop computer.”
While netbooks serve a function similar to a normal laptop, they are smaller than average and double as textbooks for students. Students are still able to access the web, use programs like Microsoft Office and are able to lighten the loads on their backs by having access to required texts on their computers.
In just two years, more than 1,500 students earned laptops. SUSD saw their statistics improve dramatically. The number of graduates increased from 505 students in 2007 to 821 in 2010.
The success of the program has not gone unnoticed. SUSD’s governing board was awarded a 2011 Magna Award by the American School Board Journal and Sodexo School Services, which honors governing boards for “outstanding programs that advance student learning and encourage community involvement in schools.”
SUSD Governing Board President, Louis C. Gonzales, is confident the program will continue to promote useful skills to allow students to go further in their educational and professional pursuits.
“People think that we are just giving laptops away, but we’re not,” Gonzales said. “These students have earned them.”
The success of Project Graduation and the advantages of using netbooks paved the way for the extension of the program to students down to the fifth grade, and to some teachers and parents.
In 2010, more than 1,400 fifth-graders received netbooks. Teachers received 1,075 netbooks and 150 laptops were made available for students and parents to use at home.
In addition, teachers are now able to work better and more efficiently with students on a case-by-case basis. With the incorporation of netbooks, fifth-graders have an outlet for constant communication with teachers.
“A lot of the students here are learning English as their second language, and sometimes when students need help, their parents don’t understand how to help them,” Gonzales said. “These laptops are helping with that barrier because they are able to go online and contact their teacher for help.”
While some have voiced concerns about the use of taxpayers’ money for laptops when school budgets are so tight, Gonzales said that funding comes from donations, vendors, businesses and other sponsors, which costs taxpayers little.
Despite the state’s weak economy, SUSD Superintendent Manuel L. Isquierdo raised $1.6 million in seven months for the netbook program.
With the four-year program in its third year, the district is seeking more funding and is researching ways to ensure the program continues to provide for students in the future.
SUSD is working on a marketing plan to sell the program to other districts. Project Graduation will choose eight other school districts across the nation that are also considered “dropout factories” to purchase the program in attempt to increase their graduation rates and change their statistics.
The districts chosen by SUSD to participate will be charged a fee for all of the information regarding the initial study. This fee will include the program proposal and execution plan, technical support and a guide that includes timelines, experiences and actions that SUSD is confident, if followed correctly, will ensure success.
“The board will do everything in its power to make sure this program keeps running,” Gonzales said. “This program enhances students’ ability to learn, and this is just the beginning.”
The netbooks bring visual and audible supplements to the classroom and allows students to see and understand history, writing, research and even the technology itself, in ways they might not have been able to before.
Gonzales said not only has he witnessed these results as an overseer of the program but also as a grandparent to a fifth-grader benefiting from the program.
“Grandpa,” Gonzales’ grandson said. “I can go anywhere in the world with my laptop.”
The ability to use technology properly has become an essential job skill, and SUSD is determined to make sure students and faculty are building these skills.
“The feedback has been very positive for the most part,” Gonzales said.
“Teachers, parents and students alike are all benefiting from the doors that have been opened. Of course there are ups and downs, but it’s a learning experience for everyone involved.”
This program encourages students to realize the importance of graduation, take advantage of the technology both at school and home and most importantly become invested in their education.
“Kids are not afraid to be educated,” Gonzales said. “They just want to enjoy it.”
With a need to decrease dropout levels and bring technology-based education to students, Sunnyside Unified School District has created an innovative program that addresses both issues.
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Friday, 11 March 2011 20:41
Tammy Stephens
The deadline for freshman applications to Arizona universities is fast approaching and the Metropolitan Education Commission Regional College Access Center is the place to go for help.
“There is a motivation to go to college but some students don’t have the information that they need to go,” said Vicky Mullins, center coordinator.
The center is set up to help students and parents fill out college applications, financial aid forms, search for local and national scholarships and more, said June Webb-Vignery, director of the Metropolitan Education Commission.
Mullins said the center targets low-income high school students who will be the first in their family to go to college.
Webb-Vignery said that first generation college students and their parents often find that they need lots of help in preparing to go to college.
“In fact, we have found the parents are using [the center] as much as the students,” she said.
Advising is available to everyone in Pima County, including high school students and adults. Assistance is available in English and Spanish in person or at the center’s website.
“It gives us the ability to reach everyone,” Webb-Vignery said.
Students can look at what colleges are available, get help choosing a major for the career they want and get information about financial aid and scholarships.
“You will find out stuff that you didn’t even know existed,” she said.
With the online College Toolkit, students can sign up under an account or just browse.
“Our recommendation is that you sign up with an account,” Webb-Vignery said. “If the student has an account, then they can interact with their school counselors and get more use out of the website.”
For more information about the program, contact Vicky Mullins at 670-0055 or visit the center’s website at www.metedu.org/rcac. The center is located at 930 E. Broadway Blvd.
The deadline for freshman applications to Arizona universities is fast approaching and the Metropolitan Education Commission Regional College Access Center is the place to go for help.
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Friday, 11 March 2011 20:28
Samantha Ferrell
Hands flit across a white paper and a graphite shape slowly emerges — a dragon with fanning around his eyes and teeth poking out from a grimaced mouth.
The teens “ooh” and “ahh” at the figure and chat about how angry the beast looks and how fast artist Jessica Feinberg drew the picture.
“And then I like to...” Feinberg sticks her tongue between her teeth and lightly draws a butterfly perched atop the furious-looking dragon’s nose.
This gathering constitutes the fledgling Fantasy Art Group hosted at the Sam Lena-South Tucson Branch Librar twice a month.
The group is small. Just three teens and the teacher, Feinberg, who sit at a table in a small study room tucked into the corner of the library with books on drawing, dragons and snakes scattered about.
Ricki VanAlstine draws a dragon-cat, a creature of her own creation that mixes the mythical beast with the common house pet. The figure received kitten paws and ears but boasts a distinctly dragon-like body and face.
“Should it have a cat nose or a dragon nose?” VanAlstine asks Feinberg.
Feinberg decides on a dragon nose so the dragon cat can still breathe fire. VanAlstine is excited by this idea and immediately starts working on it.
This month’s topic, dragons, isn’t being embraced by all of the teens in the room though. Aaron Cadenas sits across the table from VanAlstine and Morales, drawing pictures of fairies and angels.
Last month, Feinberg taught the group all about Steampunk, a style of art that became popular in the ’80s and incorporates industrial elements of the Victorian era in a fantastical way. The example drawing that she shows is a rabbit with the innards of a clock.
“I’d never heard of [Steampunk] until that day,” Cadenas said. “It was a specific practice of drawing.”
Cadenas, an intermittent employee at the library, finds the classes to be an unexpected outlet reminding him of what he calls his passion.
“I decided to do it because I have had a passion for drawing for such a long time that I thought it would be especially beneficial for me and I thought that it would be really fun,” Cadenas said. “I learned so many new techniques from her.”
These lessons become obvious when Feinberg compliments VanAlstine on her lighter touch with the pencil since their last meeting.
The group chats and works while Feinberg furiously draws so that she can do a watercolor demonstration that the group requested at the last meeting.
The topics are diverse, from the usefulness of drawing as a communication tool to the kinds of feathers birds have so that Cadenas might draw a more realistic angel.
Feinberg guides them through the hour and a half session, suggesting ways to make the dragon-cat look less cartoon-like and teaching the entire room how light hits and bounces off of an object to draw shadowing.
“I need to figure out what kind of style I want to draw,” Cadenas said. “I’m still trying to figure that out.”
Feinberg tells him he doesn’t have to pick just one and encourages him to experiment, even if it’s scary.
“That’s a lot of what we’re trying to do here,” Feinberg said. “Get people past the fear of drawing badly. We’re trying to get people past whatever happened to them in their past or in school that scared them out of drawing.”
At March’s meeting, Feinberg will move on to less scary fare to teach kids, teens and adults how to draw fantasy settings.
 Hands flit across a white paper and a graphite shape slowly emerges — a dragon with fanning around his eyes and teeth poking out from a grimaced mouth.
The teens “ooh” and “ahh” at the figure and chat about how angry the beast looks and how fast artist Jessica Feinberg drew the picture.
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Friday, 06 May 2011 22:25
Jessica Hale
For his work with the Sunnyside Unified School District’s netbook program, Superintendent Manuel L. Isquierdo was given an award by the Arizona School Public Relations Association (ASPRA).
He accepted his award on April 21 during a luncheon at the Chandler Center for the Arts.
This ASPRA*tions award was given to Isquierdo for the “Superintendent for Contributions to Public Relations” category. It was awarded to him for his involvement with fundraising for school programs, his work on SUSD website design and for his community outreach.
Much of this recognition comes from his work with the netbook program, “Project Graduation: The Digital Advantage,” which awards netbooks to qualifying freshman students to help graduation rates.
The netbook program has shown increasing success each year since it was launched in 2007. It continues to gain recognition at the state and national levels. Isquierdo alone raised $1.2 million for the Digital Advantage program and then created a marketing plan to sell the program to help schools nationwide.
At the March 9 Sunnyside School Board Meeting, Isquierdo thanked his colleagues for their “consistently outstanding work.”
For his work with the Sunnyside Unified School District’s netbook program, Superintendent Manuel L. Isquierdo was given an award by the Arizona School Public Relations Association (ASPRA).
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