Wow! Big update time! I've been meaning to post for about 3 weeks. I've come across so many engaging articles related to higher education since my last post but have been a bit too busy to have time to write a decent post. This is the real high time in the Joyce Ivy Foundation's year as we read applications for the 2013 Summer Scholars program. We've had a record number of applications for this cycle, and are narrowing in on a truly remarkable group of young women. There are always more deserving candidates than we have the ability to fund.
In addition to the exciting Joyce Ivy work, my day job has been busy, as well. I work with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders at an urban charter school in New Orleans. We serve a low income population; over 95% of our students are on free- or reduced-lunch. We're the only school in the lower 9th ward; you may recognize our roof from when people from the neighborhood were rescued via helicopter during the flooding that followed Hurricane Katrina. Its green rivets were featured quite prominently on the national news. We've come quite a long way from that difficult time and now have near state-of-the-art facilities.
This week is standardized testing time at the grade school level here in Louisiana, and the weeks leading up to this one are a big final push to try to get kids up into the mastery/basic/approaching basic levels by reviewing skills highlighted by the Louisiana Grade Level Expectations. While I usually work with students who, for a variety of reasons, typically struggle with some skills and may be more at the "basic" level, I am administering tests for the large group of 3rd graders at our school who do not have accommodation testing. We are through 3 of the 4 testing days and have completed math and English-Language Arts testing. Tomorrow, we hit science and social studies. Overall, the kids seem to be rocking and rolling, and I am very proud of their level of focus! I'm hopeful for their scores, and am looking forward to hearing the results of the test. I'm not a huge fan of the standardized testing culture that has emerged out of the last 10-15 years of federal and state legislation, but that's enough material for at least three other blog posts, and mostly I just wanted to take a paragraph to brag about how proud I am of my 3rd graders as this is their first "real" test experience and they seem to be doing pretty well.
Anyway, back to higher education--!
Per usual, the New York Times is doing a top notch job of covering a variety of topics relevant to our readers.
March 28, 2013 -- Elite Colleges Are As Foreign As Mars - An absolutely stellar op-ed that sums up an experience similar to that of many of the Joyce Ivy Summer Scholars. We have supported a large number of girls from rural Midwestern communities to attend academically rigorous summer programs and the response we receive back, year after year, from girls from all types of backgrounds, is one of astronomical eye-opening, boundaries-expanding, and awareness-launching (ex. profile on Anne Gentry, JIF '10). This is the crux of the Joyce Ivy Foundation, and the type of enlightenment that we hope to ensure in all of our Summer Scholars, parents, and JCAS attendees. It's a big academic world out there, and the options for the best and brightest go far beyond the regional college where your basketball tournament was held or you took the SAT. We hope that the Joyce Ivy Foundation is making a small dent in the lack of reach that the Ivy League has into these kinds of communities.
April 8, 2013 -- North American Universities Get Middling Grades in Helping Poor - short article about the differences between being a leader in healthcare research and how well American universities are addressing global health problems. I thought this one would be of interest to many of our Summer Scholar alumnae as we've had quite a few pre-meds with eyes on international issues come through our program.
April 9, 2013 -- Rigorous Schools Put College Dreams Into Practice - Of the articles I'm featuring in this post, this one is my favorite. This is the first I've heard of early college high schools. I'm really excited about the idea of a top notch curriculum really working for students who come from families and/or neighborhoods that are beleaguered with violence and economic woes. Many urban schools and teachers do settle on a less than challenging curriculum (for many reasons), and it really does hurt the students who have the drive but not necessarily the means to go to a 'better' school across town.
April 10, 2013 - Living In A Van For Graduate School - I love this article, too! This author does a fantastic job of intertwining the reality of extremely high university costs with the evolution of his views of what he values most. I had a similar attitude change as a result of making that first step into the unknown. With my decision to go away to school came a whole new slew of open doors and opportunities that I would never have known about otherwise. Had I stayed in the Midwest for college, I doubt I would have ever lived abroad, gotten involved with the music industry, or moved to New Orleans. Like the man in the article, I, too, chose to live out of my car (though just for a couple months) in 2010, something I would have been very judgmental about in high school. But by doing so, I was able to successfully complete an independent research project that I am passionate about on a shoestring budget. Perspectives change as experiences broaden. My life is now more "why not?" rather than "why?" Living out of a car is not comfortable, but it certainly creates a new awareness of what one really needs to get by.
In addition to the exciting Joyce Ivy work, my day job has been busy, as well. I work with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders at an urban charter school in New Orleans. We serve a low income population; over 95% of our students are on free- or reduced-lunch. We're the only school in the lower 9th ward; you may recognize our roof from when people from the neighborhood were rescued via helicopter during the flooding that followed Hurricane Katrina. Its green rivets were featured quite prominently on the national news. We've come quite a long way from that difficult time and now have near state-of-the-art facilities.
This week is standardized testing time at the grade school level here in Louisiana, and the weeks leading up to this one are a big final push to try to get kids up into the mastery/basic/approaching basic levels by reviewing skills highlighted by the Louisiana Grade Level Expectations. While I usually work with students who, for a variety of reasons, typically struggle with some skills and may be more at the "basic" level, I am administering tests for the large group of 3rd graders at our school who do not have accommodation testing. We are through 3 of the 4 testing days and have completed math and English-Language Arts testing. Tomorrow, we hit science and social studies. Overall, the kids seem to be rocking and rolling, and I am very proud of their level of focus! I'm hopeful for their scores, and am looking forward to hearing the results of the test. I'm not a huge fan of the standardized testing culture that has emerged out of the last 10-15 years of federal and state legislation, but that's enough material for at least three other blog posts, and mostly I just wanted to take a paragraph to brag about how proud I am of my 3rd graders as this is their first "real" test experience and they seem to be doing pretty well.
Anyway, back to higher education--!
Per usual, the New York Times is doing a top notch job of covering a variety of topics relevant to our readers.
March 28, 2013 -- Elite Colleges Are As Foreign As Mars - An absolutely stellar op-ed that sums up an experience similar to that of many of the Joyce Ivy Summer Scholars. We have supported a large number of girls from rural Midwestern communities to attend academically rigorous summer programs and the response we receive back, year after year, from girls from all types of backgrounds, is one of astronomical eye-opening, boundaries-expanding, and awareness-launching (ex. profile on Anne Gentry, JIF '10). This is the crux of the Joyce Ivy Foundation, and the type of enlightenment that we hope to ensure in all of our Summer Scholars, parents, and JCAS attendees. It's a big academic world out there, and the options for the best and brightest go far beyond the regional college where your basketball tournament was held or you took the SAT. We hope that the Joyce Ivy Foundation is making a small dent in the lack of reach that the Ivy League has into these kinds of communities.
April 8, 2013 -- North American Universities Get Middling Grades in Helping Poor - short article about the differences between being a leader in healthcare research and how well American universities are addressing global health problems. I thought this one would be of interest to many of our Summer Scholar alumnae as we've had quite a few pre-meds with eyes on international issues come through our program.
April 9, 2013 -- Rigorous Schools Put College Dreams Into Practice - Of the articles I'm featuring in this post, this one is my favorite. This is the first I've heard of early college high schools. I'm really excited about the idea of a top notch curriculum really working for students who come from families and/or neighborhoods that are beleaguered with violence and economic woes. Many urban schools and teachers do settle on a less than challenging curriculum (for many reasons), and it really does hurt the students who have the drive but not necessarily the means to go to a 'better' school across town.
April 10, 2013 - Living In A Van For Graduate School - I love this article, too! This author does a fantastic job of intertwining the reality of extremely high university costs with the evolution of his views of what he values most. I had a similar attitude change as a result of making that first step into the unknown. With my decision to go away to school came a whole new slew of open doors and opportunities that I would never have known about otherwise. Had I stayed in the Midwest for college, I doubt I would have ever lived abroad, gotten involved with the music industry, or moved to New Orleans. Like the man in the article, I, too, chose to live out of my car (though just for a couple months) in 2010, something I would have been very judgmental about in high school. But by doing so, I was able to successfully complete an independent research project that I am passionate about on a shoestring budget. Perspectives change as experiences broaden. My life is now more "why not?" rather than "why?" Living out of a car is not comfortable, but it certainly creates a new awareness of what one really needs to get by.
Comments
Post a Comment