Hats Off to HOPE Academies – Black History Month Roundup

Black History Month is an important time to reflect and learn from past events ranging from slavery and the abolition movement to the civil rights effort to the election of the nation’s first biracial president. The HOPE Academies took some time this past month to explore and celebrate African American heritage with some educational events and activities:

HOPE Academy Canton

In addition to having Black History Month trivia contests throughout the month of February, HOPE Academy Canton celebrated with a bulletin board contest focused on African American heritage. Entries were judged on creativity, relevancy to Black History Month and visual appeal.

The school also held a special Black History Month program on Feb. 25, attracting more than 100 parents. Students in each grade level gave presentations relating to Black History Month.

HOPE Academy Chapelside

In conjunction with Black History Month, HOPE Academy Chapelside in Cleveland held its “Man of Chapelside” event, which encourages young male students to adapt to their environment, be goal-oriented and appear polished and poised. On Feb. 3, the school hosted Gary Norton, mayor of East Cleveland, and Roger Chanoine, former NFL player, as speakers.

Additionally, on Feb. 27, the school hosted a Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Workshop to prepare students and their parents for exploring this unique set of post-secondary educational programs. Attracting more than 200 people, this free event was organized by assistant administrator Anthony Brown, one of the school’s five staff members who attended an HBCU.

HOPE Academy Northcoast

A poster created by HOPE Academy Northcoast’s Meranda Sajn, an eighth grader. Sajn’s poster depicting famous African American author Alice Walker took top honors in the school’s contest.

On March 5, HOPE Academy Northcoast held a special Black History Program for its students including skits, poetry readings, choir performances and a poster contest.

Approximately 25 students chose to act out a skit, read poetry or perform with the choir – all of which were completely voluntary. The “Who am I?” skits, which were brief portrayals of famous African American figures, encouraged audience members to guess their identities. Among the songs performed by the choir was “Oh! Oscar Micheaux,” in honor of America’s first black filmmaker.

All of the school’s students in grades three to eight were required to create a poster in honor of Black History Month. Each poster was on display for the entire school to see, and the top three creations in each grade – as judged by the Black History Committee – were recognized. Eighth grader Meranda Sajn was chosen the overall winner for her poster depicting Pulitzer-Prize-winning author, Alice Walker.

Hats Off to LifeSkills of Akron

It’s amazing how a creative activity can really get students involved in their education.  At LifeSkills of Akron, Alison Stahlheber came up with a hands-on activity that got people talking.  Alison is a science teacher at the school, and for Black History Month, she suggested that the students have a poster and poetry contest involving a famous African-American historical figure.  The contest was completely voluntary, and no class credit was given for participation.

In total, 15 students put together posters or poetry, and the staff voted for their favorites.  The contest did more than just get students working, it got them talking.

“It really generated some discussion with the students and teachers,” said Mick Rogers, the school improvement lead teacher at LifeSkills of Akron. “The students were really proud of their work.  They were happy to hang them up in the hallway for everyone to see.”

Myiosha Bethune and Javontay Hollinshed (pictured left to right), students at LifeSkills of Akron, with their winning Black History Month poster.

First prize went to Javontay Hollinshed and Myiosha Bethune, who worked together on a poster about Madam C.J. Walker, a famous African-American business woman.

“I thought it was important to do the poster because a lot of people didn’t know who she was,” said Myiosha. “I knew a little about her, but I learned so much more doing the project.”

Javontay said that the poster held personal meaning to her.

“I’m inspired by what she did; she led that way for so many people,” said Javontay. “Her legacy is still going on today.”

Myiosha was glad to participate but noted that she did get something out of the contest besides knowledge and pride.

With a chuckle, she added, “We also got free pizza.”

A well deserved perk for participation in such an engaging project.

Hats Off to LifeSkills of Pinellas County Graduates

Chas Williams suffered a tragic setback when his mother died during his senior year of high school, which negatively impacted his academic motivation.

“That was my best friend, so I kind of didn’t want to do much of anything,” Williams told Bay News 9, regarding his mother’s death. “It was like school, family, none of that really mattered, it was just money and music.”

Williams eventually found LifeSkills of Pinellas County and decided to go back to school a year ago. Now he’s proud to be graduating with a high school diploma.

Read more about Williams here and see a video interview here.

Hats Off to LifeSkills of Leon County Graduates

Salutatorian of LifeSkills of Leon County, Sophia Mitchell, was due to have a baby at her graduation ceremony Jan. 14. But, she didn’t let that stop her from attending.

“My daughter is what made me stick with it,” Mitchell told the Tallahassee Democrat. “I am doing this for her.”

Valedictorian Daniel Stribling was homeschooled most of his life, but came to LifeSkills to finish the credits he needed to earn a high school diploma and move on to college. He’s now studying mechanical engineering at Florida State University.

Read more about the graduates of LifeSkills of Leon County here and view a photo gallery from the graduation ceremony here.

Hats Off to LifeSkills of Hamilton County and Cincinnati Graduates

Syllicia Cash and Steve Stephenson, both 19 years old, walked across the stage at Schiff Conference and Banquet Center in Cincinnati Jan. 15. They proudly earned their high school diplomas from LifeSkills of Hamilton County and LifeSkills of Cincinnati, respectively.

“I never thought I would graduate,” Cash told Fox 19 in Cincinnati. “I’ve always seen other graduations, and I always say, ‘well, one day, I want to be like that’.”

Having spent time in foster care and group homes, Cash was determined to finish her education. Stephenson, who dropped out of traditional high school his freshman year, also had a wake-up call.

“They gave me the courage to move on when I thought I couldn’t,” Stephenson told Fox 19, of the staff at LifeSkills. “They did a lot of great things for me.”

Read more about both Cash and Stephenson here, and watch a video of their Jan. 15 graduation ceremony here.

Hats Off to Pontiac LifeSkills’ Graduates

Just a few credits shy of graduating, Regina Williams turned to LifeSkills of Pontiac to complete her high school diploma. With personalized attention and motivation from her teachers, Regina was able finish her high school education and was asked to speak at her graduation ceremony.

One of her teachers said to the Oakland Press, “She came here a very shy young lady and was excited from previous learning experiences,” he said. “Now she goes out of her way to be helpful with the staff and wants to participate and make the school environment a positive one.”

Read more about Regina’s experience at LifeSkills in the Jan. 7 edition of the Oakland Press.

photo credit: carbonnyc

Hats Off to Middletown LifeSkills’ Graduates

Chelsea Manns, Daniel Bray and Steven Carpenter received their high school diplomas Thursday, January 14 with the help of their supportive teachers at LifeSkills Middletown.

With more than 680 students graduating from LifeSkills since the program started in 2002, these students are thankful for this program that worked around their schedules and pushed them to succeed.

Read more about their stories in the Jan. 13 edition of the Middletown Journal.

Hats Off to the HOPE Academy Broadway Be a CHAMP Program

HOPE Academy Broadway recently launched a school-wide behavioral expectation program during mid-January that allows students to learn personal responsibility while receiving positive reinforcement from teachers and staff. Be a CHAMP…Bulldogs ROCK, an acronym for Respect, Observe safety, Conflict resolution, and Know your responsibilities, will encourage students to treat each other and themselves with respect while receiving positive reinforcement from the teachers and staff.

This program incorporates and reinforces the C.H.A.M.P.s program, Character Development Program, and the Progressive Discipline Procedures which are currently in place at all HOPE Academies.

“This program is not only a plan for teaching students how to act in the classroom; it also educates them on how to act outside the classroom setting such as in the lunchroom, or on the school bus,” said Elizabeth Hibbs, Testing and Data coordinator at HOPE Academy Broadway. “More often than not, people tend to focus on the negative; the Be a CHAMP program allows us to focus on the good things, too,” she added.

Here is how the program works: when a student demonstrates one of the four characteristics, he/she receives a ticket. Once the school collects 100 tickets, they receive a homework pass and it is announced over the intercom system.  Their goal is to earn 1,000 tickets by the end of the year. If the students meet this goal, they can vote on their reward: ice cream party, pizza party, school dance, etc.

In addition to awarding the entire school, Broadway will also award individual prizes every week and month with the help of the community. Outback Steakhouse has generously donated 600 meal vouchers as rewards for students which include a meal, drink and dessert. In addition to Outback’s contributions, there are several local restaurants that have also chipped in toward this great cause.

“By positively aligning our choices and expectations, students should see improvements in daily school tasks and state testing as well,” said Hibbs.

Hats Off to LifeSkills of Cleveland and Demetrius Treadwell

Demetrius “Tree” Treadwell is now a senior at Euclid High School and a member of the school’s varsity basketball team, averaging an impressive 23.2 points, 16.8 rebounds and 5.8 blocks per game. But just a year ago, Treadwell made the tough decision to leave Euclid as a junior – and give up basketball for a year – to enroll in LifeSkills of Cleveland and get his academic life back on track.

“I needed a whole change of scenery,” Treadwell told the News-Herald in January 2010. “I needed a drastic change to help me get a lot of things back together in my life before I could concentrate on basketball. I feel like now I am on the right track.”

Said Euclid basketball coach, Andy Suttell, “He did a ton of work at Life Skills to get himself back in order off the court to get back playing. He’s come a long way, and it’s a good story.”

Read more about Treadwell’s story and his plans for the future in the Jan. 9 issue of the News-Herald.

photo credit: tcp909

Hats Off to Anthony Brown

As a graduate of The Great Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, FL, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), Anthony Brown developed a passion for helping students see the benefit of attending these unique types of universities. HBCU’s have significantly increased the percentage of African Americans who are able to attend college as well as create numerous leadership opportunities. With that, Brown has stepped into the field of education to help students find their passion and increase their knowledge of the many opportunities they have in front of them.

For twelve years, Brown was a high school teacher during which he played an active role in the district’s United Negro College Fund (UNCF) fundraising committee as well as forming his own consulting firm, A. B.etter Way Productions. During that time, he helped raise awareness of the funds available to students from the UNCF as well as helped educate students and their parents about HBCUs.

“I found that many students were not aware of the benefits of HBCUs or college in general,” said Brown. “I was able to take my experience and give them a glimpse of what they can accomplish.”

Brown has continued to develop his consulting endeavors while becoming fully entrenched with his responsibilities as the Assistant Principal at HOPE Academy Chapelside Campus. In his spare time, he continues to help students see how pursuing a higher education can take you places. This past January, he worked with students and their parents from Chapelside and surrounding schools to coordinate a trip to the Presidential Inauguration.

“It was a great experience for the kids,” said Brown.

Brown is truly passionate for helping kids succeed and has continued to work with students to educate them about all of their options through mentoring, advising and consulting about life preparation, college options and career choices. In addition to his efforts as Assistant Principal and a higher education consultant, Brown is also a co-host of Another Look Cable Television Show (Time Warner Cable-NEON).