When Sheri Frantilla tells students and parents that they could go to college for free, the response she gets most is: What’s the catch?

“It does seem too good to be true,” she said. But the College Bound scholarship is real, and the Cheney School District has ramped up efforts to enroll students who meet the eligibility requirements.

The College Bound scholarship is open to seventh-and eighth-grade students who meet family income requirements, are eligible for free or reduced lunch, are foster youth or receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits.

“You only need to meet one of the eligibility requirements,” Frantilla said.
Once students sign up, if they graduate with a 2.0 cumulative GPA or higher, don’t commit a felony, submit a Federal Application for Student Aid and apply to a college in Washington, the state will pay for any tuition not covered by grants and other scholarships. College Bound also provides a $500 stipend per year for books.

The scholarship started in 2007, with $7.4 million allocated from the state legislature. That money was invested and has since grown to about $10 million, enough to fund the at least two years of College Bound scholars.

“Washington has a lot of people who are very well educated but those people are immigrants from other states,” Keith Slim-Tolagai, the College Bound scholarship counselor for ESD 101, said. “They wanted to create a college-going culture and have the kids here be the ones educated in Washington state.”

He said educating the community about the scholarship was a struggle at first.
“It was really tough, actually,” he said. “When it first started in 2007, they didn’t really get a big turnout. Hardly any eighth-graders signed up.”

Slim-Tolagai and other counselors created tool kits for schools to promote outreach, including posters and brochures as well as strategies to inform students about the scholarship.

Frantilla, the Communities In Schools site coordinator at Cheney Middle School, said the strategies and a lot of time spent on outreach have helped boost enrollment numbers at CMS. She said 37 students enrolled that first year. Last year, they signed up 182.

“It really is our goal to make sure that every student who is eligible understands what this scholarship is and has an opportunity to participate,” she said. “We would love to have 100 percent of our kids enrolled.”

Frantilla said fall conferences would start this year’s outreach campaign, Nov. 18, 19, 22 and 23. A box of envelopes in her office contains the one-page applications, which were filled out with student information from the school’s database, for students that definitely qualify.

“All parents need to do is look it over and verify and then sign,” she said, adding that the pre-filled applications and the contact at fall conferences has proven to be a great way to reach busy parents.

Both Slim-Tolagai and Frantilla said there’s an advantage in reaching kids early to get them thinking about college.

“Many students have not even geared their thoughts that way. They haven’t even considered it as a possibility. And so, aside from the money, the biggest thing that this scholarship provides is the possibility,” Frantilla said. “It can really shift the way that kids think, the way that they see themselves, the way that they see their futures and how they approach those high school years, so I think that’s huge.”
Slim-Tolagai pointed out that middle school students who enroll still have to do the hard work to prepare for college, and high schools are encouraged to focus on College Bound scholars. There are also college preparation events hosted by the College Success Foundation, like the recent “Eastern Washington is College Bound” held at Eastern Washington University.

“There are other programs as well to kind of help the kids along the way,” he said.
Eighth-grader Sierra Alsup is enrolled in College Bound. She said she wants to teach math and science someday, and plans to attend EWU.

“I thought it was kind of cool because I want to go to EWU and that’ll help me get to college and pay for it,” she said. “It makes me want to work harder so EWU will accept me.”

For more information about the College Bound scholarship in Cheney, call Sheri Frantilla at 559-4401 or visit www.hecb.wa.gov/collegebound.
Becky Thomas can be reached at becky@cheneyfreepress.com.

Dropout prevention, bringing local resources into schools for students, and helping young people stay healthy are among Communities in Schools’ goals. The national nonprofit was drawn to Spokane because of its dropout rate – one in three students. The local branch was established here in December 2007. Since then, executive director Ben Stuckart has helped bring dental services into several schools, provide food to more hungry children on weekends, and joined the steering committee for an effort to establish a fund that could improve the graduation rate.

Q: How does Communities in Schools connect local resources with schools?

A: We do that by putting a site coordinator in specific schools. So, in Spokane, we have coordinators at Cheney, Glover and Chase middle schools. There’s a volunteer coordinator at Sheridan Elementary School. Their job is to bring outside resources into the schools. For example, the dental-sealant service, Tooth Savers, is one we brought in.

Q: What are a few of the activities Communities in Schools is involved in?

A: We have a pretty robust afterschool program … where we have more than 50 students participating each night at each of the three locations. They bring in outside resources like Red Cross, which teaches baby-sitting courses. And Girl Scouts teaches “uniquely Me” – a program that addresses the critical nationwide problem of low self-esteem among adolescent and pre-adolescent girls.

It’s all community partners offering those programs. And we’re brokering them in and connecting them with children.

Another need that we came up with was nutrition. Schools offer free and reduced lunch programs, but then kids at night and over the weekend are hungry. We have a partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank to do food backpacks that we send home over the weekend. I think we’re up to over 60 children.

There’s a growing low-income area in Airway Heights, so we talked to Second Harvest Food Bank and the organization opened a Kids Café at Cheney Middle School. It serves free and abundant food every day that’s nutritious: granola bars, sunbutter (a spread made from sunflower seeds) and jelly sandwiches, fruit and vegetables. We probably feed 75 to 100 kids at Cheney Middle School.

Q: Why did the nonprofit get involved in the Children’s Investment Fund initiative?

A: I’ve seen the need directly. Our job is to connect community resources to schools, and I’ve seen the number of services available to our kids in schools through nonprofits has shrunk.

I understand the dropout rate, and I think it’s a huge social and economic issue that we need to address. Our organization can’t address it alone. I think there’s a need for something larger here in our community.

The 8-year-old had been put at ease by Gail Heacox, who explained the tools of her mobile dental office as Tyrese lay on her portable chair in the temporarily converted nurse’s office at Sheridan Elementary School.

Heacox is the first hygienist in Spokane County to offer the school-based dental sealant program, a preventive effort overseen by the Washington Department of Health. The veteran hygienist was brought into the schools through Communities in Schools, a nonprofit that seeks to connect students with community resources.

“If kids’ teeth hurt, they can’t learn,” said Ben Stuckart, director of Communities in Schools.

According to the Washington Department of Health, an estimated 51 million school hours are lost per year in the United States because of dental-related illnesses.

The need for dental care was discovered during conversations in the schools where “dental and medical kept coming up,” Stuckart said.

“One of the problems is that if a single parent works all day, they do not have time to get kids to an appointment,” Stuckart said. “Access at the school is key.”

A national report on dental policies and children released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Pew Center applauds Washington for its school-based sealant program and federal or state reimbursements for dental services to youth. But the state was criticized for a lack of fluoridated water in some communities – Spokane being the largest one.

Heacox launched her for-profit business, called Tooth Savers, late last spring at Chase, Glover and Cheney middle schools. The business was expanded in January to include elementary and high schools.

Before the visit, each school is informed when the dental hygienist will be coming. Forms are sent home with students to get parents’ permission and insurance information. If a student doesn’t have insurance, the dental care is done free of charge.

Heacox assesses the students’ teeth, cleans them, then uses sealant to close cracks where a cavity could easily grow. Other services include oral hygiene instructions and painting the teeth with a highly concentrated fluoride that makes them stronger.

“Children who receive dental sealants in school-based programs have 60 percent fewer new decayed pits and fissures in back teeth for up to 2 to 5 years after a single application,” according to the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

An informational sheet is sent home to the parents indicating whether the child has cavities or other problems that need to be addressed by a dentist.

Tyrese was one of five Sheridan Elementary School students treated Monday. His two sisters were also seen. Two weeks ago, the hygienist was at Rogers High School where she helped about a dozen students.

“She does such a great service,” said Heacox’s assistant, Toni Carey. “Some of these students would never be seen by a dentist.”

When Heacox started dental work, she never planned to focus on children, she said. “It’s been the most fun, rewarding … and challenging job I’ve ever done.”

Students at Cheney Middle School now have the opportunity to get free snacks and sandwiches as part of the new Kids Café.

Presented through a partnership between Second Harvest Food Bank and Communities in Schools, a program that helps kids to stay in school, the Kids Café opened last Tuesday at the middle school.

Although there are two others at community centers in Spokane, it is the first of its kind to be in a school, according to Ben Stuckart, executive director of Communities in Schools of Spokane County.

“We really made an effort to bring food out here,” Stuckart said. Communities in Schools offers an after-school program at Cheney Middle School as well as Glover and Chase Middle schools in Spokane. Students can get help with their homework, take cooking and drama classes, and learn first aid for pets, and now they can take time out for a snack before the classes begin and even get to take home sandwiches for later.

Seventh-grader Annie Woods spoke during an opening ceremony for the Kids Café. She said that the after-school programs helped raise her grades last year and she hopes to stay on that path this year. She also enjoyed the additional classes.

“Last year I participated in drama, which was a very good experience for me,” she said.

Woods said she received a winter coat through Communities in Schools, and it inspired her to write a poem, “Diamonds in the Sky,” which she read in front of the students.

Second Harvest also brought out its mobile food bank – a large truck full of 9,000 pounds of food to give to members of the community. Jason Clark, executive director of Second Harvest, said that anyone who came to the truck could get food without filling out any paperwork. He said that the truck is available at various locations throughout the organization’s service area about once a month.

Clark said that the students received apples picked at Green Bluff the previous weekend. There were also bulk bins of various kinds of fresh produce such as potatoes and mushrooms.

Sherry Barrett, program director for Communities in Schools, said the Kids Café helps teach kids about healthy eating and nutrition. The classes are free for students, and the program uses community resources and finds other low-cost means to pay for them.

“(We have to) buy the food, but we don’t have to incur the staff cost,” Barrett said of the cooking class.

The cooking class was taught last week by Cheney Middle School teacher Diane Turbeville. As well as instructing the students how to make calzones, Turbeville stressed the importance of safety and cleanliness in the kitchen.

“Don’t eat off of anything we don’t wash first,” Turbeville said of the kitchen utensils and dishes.

The students could eat the calzones they cooked at the end of class, and Turbeville said they could take home their leftovers as long as they didn’t leave them in their lockers.

Back at the Kids Café, around 50 students enjoyed their apples, pretzels, yogurt and sandwiches after school last week.

“I hope everyone gets to enjoy the Kids Café,” Clark told the students.

That’s because those 710 kids are more likely to need public assistance or land in jail, have long-term health issues, higher mortality and suicide rates, and higher rates of admission to mental-health programs. More than 700 students dropped out in just one year from Iowa’s largest school district. Now do the math. Five years, 10 years, more; the larger the numbers, the more it begins to mean to the taxpayers paying for those services.

Des Moines is not alone. Take a quick check of the most recently reported data from Iowa’s other urban school districts, and here’s what you’ll find: Burlington’s and Sioux City’s numbers more than doubled; Waterloo saw almost a 2.3 percent increase.

Widen the lens to what’s happening nationwide and the statistics are staggering. According to Bill Milliken, nationally-renowned author of “The Last Dropout: Stop the Epidemic!” and founder of the Communities in Schools organization, a March 2006 study from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation reported that, “About one-third of all young people and 50 percent of poor and minority youth fail to graduate with their peers.” The economic impact is enormous. Again, according to Milliken, “The combined income and tax losses from a single year’s dropouts is about $192 billion – 1.6 percent of the gross domestic product.”

Consider this reality: High school dropouts create the equivalent of a permanent national economic recession. Bring that back to the local level: Every dropout is projected to earn a lifetime income $648,000 lower than someone who graduates from high school. The bottom line – and now you should realize it really is a bottom line – is that students who drop out are everyone’s problem. Everyone should care.

The good news, if there is any, is that community and school leaders recognize the problem and are taking vigorous action to combat Des Moines’ dropout trend. United Way of Central Iowa, along with many other representatives from higher education, business, and social and human services, have teamed with Des Moines public schools to analyze, strategize and mobilize to reverse the slide. In fact, United Way and the community have announced a goal to increase the number of central Iowa students who graduate on time by 475 by the year 2020.

It’s not going to be easy. Ask any expert and they’ll tell you that as many dropouts as we have, there are that many different reasons why those kids failed to make it to graduation. Dropping out is a process, not an event. The reasons can be dramatic or mundane, not always because of academics, but the result is always the same. The reasons are varied and many, which means the solutions have to be varied and many, too.

Des Moines public schools and United Way are spearheading Destination Graduation, a citywide initiative to increase graduation rates. We know there is no silver bullet, but the efforts have begun in earnest. This school year, the school district has established the early indicator system to identify and deal with at-risk students as young as kindergarten. Communities in Schools, the nation’s largest dropout-prevention organization, is now established in our district, funded by United Way, bringing the much needed connection of social and human community resources into our schools to help youth who are struggling with situations that might lead to their dropping out. There is a new Middle School Alternative Education Center, designed to address the behaviors of at-risk youth to keep them in school. These efforts are in addition to existing programs like Future Pathways, Scavo Alternative High School, the Project Connect mentoring program, SUCCESS case managers and services, GEAR UP! and much more.

Tomorrow, nearly 300 community and school volunteers will hold the first-ever Reach Out to Dropouts event. The volunteers will be walking door to door to visit with youth who didn’t show up the first couple weeks of school to tell them personally, “We want you back,” and assist them in the re-enrollment process.

Join us in being a part of the solution, won’t you? Everyone should care.

Original article taken from DesMoinesRegister.com

Written by Nancy Sebring and Shannon Cofield.

Sept. 25, 2009

By BECKY THOMAS, Staff Reporter

Children in Cheney Middle School’s afterschool program will have to find a new excuse. Now they can’t say they’re too tired to participate in activities. They’ll be provided with substantial nutritious snacks from the new Kids’ Café. Cheney Middle School has partnered with Second Harvest Inland Northwest and Communities in Schools of Spokane County to provide the free afterschool snacks, as well as sandwiches that kids can take home. It’s part of an effort to keep kids healthy and well-fed in the school district. Kids’ Café is the third program of its kind in Washington and the first to reside in a school. The cafe was launched Tuesday and will be open to kids who participate in CMS’s afterschool program. Jason Clark, executive director of Second Harvest, was at the kickoff event. “It felt like a really easy fit,” he said of bringing Kids’ Café to Cheney. “I think this is a great setting.” Clark said the Kids’ Café is implemented in areas where more than half the participants come from low income homes. Ben Stuckart, executive director of Communities in Schools, was also in attendance at the kickoff. He said the need for healthy food has risen recently, and that Kids’ Café was a great way to address the problem while increasing participation in afterschool programs. He also said the program will help students in other areas of their school life. He said better nutrition will reduce behavioral problems and help students focus on the classroom. Second harvest also brought their mobile food bank to CMS Tuesday. Clark said the food bank couldn’t run without local volunteers who meet the tucks at distribution sites. Residents lined up to receive potatoes, onion, strawberries, and more on Tuesday.

Becky Thomas can be reached at becky@cheneyfreepress.com

Attached are some excellent picture Yvonne took at the launch of the kids café at Cheney Middle School yesterday.

Yesterday CIS served over 60 students at the kids café and hosted a mobile food bank in the parking lot.  In conjunction with 2^nd Harvest Food Bank 148 families were served and 5 days a week children participating in after-school activities will be fed healthy and nutritious food.  This is the first school-based kids café in the State of Washington.  Go team CIS!!

A special thank you to Sam Paret, our Americorp/VISTA who organized the mobile food bank and Sheri Frantilla, our Cheney coordinator, who organized the launch event.

There will be an article in the VOICE section of the Spokesman tomorrow, an article in the October Fig Tree, an article in the Cheney Free Press and an article I n2nd Harvest’s quarterly newsletter!

Remember to finish calls this week and get me the spreadsheets.  I need to evaluate where we are at with donated items and I need to start collecting them.

Thank you!

Ben

Cheney Middle School Site Coordinator Sheri Frantilla and Superintendent Larry Keller

give a snack to 7^th grade student Anie Woods. Anie will be the student speaker at the

CISSC fundraiser next month

Cheney MS student volunteers help package fresh produce for distribution

by Second Harvest Food Bank after the dedication of the Kids Café

Anie Woods addresses crowd during Kids Café opening festivities

Ben Stuckart

Executive Director

Communities In Schools of Spokane County

http://www.spokane.ciswa.org

Second Harvest and Communities In Schools

Slated to open Kids Cafe at Cheney Middle School

SPOKANE, WA September 2009 – On Tuesday, Sept. 22, Second Harvest Inland Northwest and Communities in Schools of Spokane County will join forces to launch a Kids Cafe that provides healthy food to children who attend Cheney Middle School’s after-school programs. The recognition program will take place at 3:15 p.m. at Cheney Middle School’s cafeteria, 2716 N. Sixth St.

The collaborative effort of Second Harvest and Communities in Schools of Spokane County will help hundreds of school-age children who participate in after-school activities at Cheney Middle School. Hearty snacks will be provided free of charge, filling a nutritional gap for children from struggling households. Snacks will include dairy and other protein-rich products, juices, fresh fruits and vegetables.

“Communities In Schools is dedicated to bring the right resources to the right kids at the right time,” said Ben Stuckart, executive director of Communities In Schools of Spokane County. “When food insecurity issues came up, we contacted 2^nd Harvest.  We did not expect they would open the first school-based kids café in Washington State at one of our locations, but were thrilled they did.  This is how community partnerships should develop in our community– like-minded organizations collaborating to find a solution that benefits all children.”

A Second Harvest Mobile Food Bank will distribute food to people in need following the Kids Cafe kick-off from 4  to 6 p.m. Low-income families and seniors are encouraged to come to the Cheney Middle School and receive nutritious food items, including wholesome fresh products.

Kids Cafe, a nationwide program launched in 1993 by Feeding America, has 1,700 locations across the nation providing free meals and snacks to children from low-income families. Second Harvest opened the first Kids Cafe in the state of Washington last year at the Northeast Youth Center in Hillyard. A second was opened at Spokane’s West Central Community Center this past June.

“Communities in Schools of Spokane County has a strong program that helps hundreds of children successfully learn, stay in school and prepare for life’s challenges,” said Jason Clark, executive director of Second Harvest. “We are proud to partner with Communities in Schools of Spokane County and Cheney Middle School to provide children with the healthy food that they need to learn and grow so they can reach their full potential.”

For more information about Kids Cafe, contact Rod Wieber, Second Harvest’s director of donor and community relations, at (509) 252-6259. Information also is available online at www.2-harvest.org. For more information about Communities in Schools of Spokane County, contact Ben Stuckart, executive director, at (509) 413-1436.

About Second Harvest Inland Northwest

Founded in 1971 as a central warehouse for 13 emergency food pantries in Spokane, Second Harvest is the pioneering organization that leads the fight against hunger in the Inland Northwest. Today, partnerships with 275 neighborhood food banks and meal centers make it possible for Second Harvest to provide food to more than 48,000 hungry people each week. Second Harvest’s food bank network spans 21 counties in Eastern Washington and five counties in North Idaho – just over 51,000 square miles. Second Harvest distributes more than one million pounds of donated food each month throughout its vast service area.  Second Harvest’s food helps fill the nutritional gap for people in poverty, the working poor, elderly and disabled people on very low fixed incomes, and children and families in temporary crisis. To learn more, visit www.2-harvest.org.

About Communities In Schools of Spokane County

Founded locally in 2007 as a response to the dropout crisis in Spokane County, Communities In Schools connects needed community resources to schools to help students stay in school and prepare for life.  Communities In Schools recognizes that schools cannot do it alone so they put a site coordinator at specific schools and bring outside resources to at-risk youth.  In Spokane County Communities In Schools has coordinators in Chase, Cheney and Glover Middle Schools.  There are also programs at Lewis and Clark and North Central High School.  Communities In Schools works! During the 2008-2009 school year over 60% of tracked students decreased their behavioral referrals and increased their attendance.  Over 70% of the students tracked for academic issues either improved or maintained their performance.  For more information, visit www.cisspokane.org.

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