Northwest Gold Coast

i-Ball founder Kyle Keyes has experienced many personal struggles, but through them all  has found sports to be a means to carry on and find success. As a child Keyes was raised in a broken home where he received very little mentoring or advocacy.  From the age of five Keyes was involved in sports - playing basketball, football, baseball and soccer. Throughout his childhood and youth he excelled as a team leader and set personal records in each of the sports he played. 

As Keyes grew older he set his sights on one sport – basketball.  After high school he attended Bellevue Community College and then he transferred to the University of Montana.  At the time of the transfer he was hiding a shin injury from his teammates and coaches.  Because Keyes did not take care of his injury properly, it did not heal and so he sat out his first year at Montana.  Then before his senior year he tore the ACL in his left knee.  After college Keyes temporarily shelved his basketball career.  However, he  knew that he wasn’t done playing the game he loved.  Once he was healed sufficiently he drove to Portland to tryout with the Globetrotters.  He made the team and his basketball career began heading in the right direction. Shortly after this time he was invited to a couple of NBA pre season camps.  While he did not make any of the NBA teams, he regained his confidence and climbed back from injuries and a harsh family life to show that anyone can overcome trials.

Today Keyes plays for the Vancouver BC Titans in the International Basketball League and during the off season coaches students through i-Ball, a non-profit organization that he has founded.  Keyes saw a need for more affordable professional level basketball coaching in communities and created the i-Ball program to eliminate economic barriers to this coaching.  Keyes wants to give back to students who are in the same position that he was as a child.  He wants to be that mentor, the leader that can help them get past their failures and improve their basketball game. Currently,  i-ball programs are available in Washington and Canada and are supported by a staff of nine coaches, including Keyes. 

To learn more about i-Ball visit http://www.i-balllive.com/.

Tags: Education, Services, Sports by Nicholas Nair
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Puget Sound Skills Center (PSSC) unveiled a new Building and Construction Trades curriculum at an event hosted with the Building Trades Leadership. The pilot program, dubbed “multi-craft core curriculum,” has been a joint project, under development over the last 18 months, between PSSC’s Construction Technology Instructor Ken Pierson and the Seattle Pipe Trades, Local 32, and sanctioned by the Building and Construction Trades of the AFL-CIO.  Instruction will take on a unique format with instructors from the Seattle Pipe Trades, Local 32, and PSSC staff.

On-hand for the kick-off were Sean McGarvey, Executive Director Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO from Washington, D.C., and Dave Johnson, Executive Secretary, Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council.

The new curriculum is a pre-apprenticeship program, and successful students will earn three college credits from the National Labor College and two national certifications; one in OSHA 10 and the other CPR-First Aid. PSSC’s Ken Pierson noted, “These national certifications make students imminently more employable upon graduation. They leave here with more tools in their toolboxes than other candidates competing for the same jobs.”

Students who successfully complete the full Construction Technology program at PSSC can earn 40 college credits for one year and up to 113 college credits for the two-year program.

This new, multi-craft core curriculum is the second teaming of Puget Sound Skills Center and the Seattle Pipe Trades. In 2008, PSSC introduced a welding program, with classes actually taught at the Local 32 facilities.

Interested students should contact the Skills Center at 206-631-7300 or pugetsoundsc.org

Puget Sound Skills Center, located at 18010 – 8th Avenue South in Burien, is a free, public high school serving students from Highline and Federal Way Public Schools, Fife, Tahoma, and Tukwila School Districts and is hosted by Highline Public Schools.

Tags: Education by admin
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Launching July 1, 2009, a new program aimed at assisting students in U.S. colleges and universities will be available through AffinityCare, Inc.  The program consists of a wide range of prepaid services including relationship, emotional wellness, financial, and legal consultation.

As a population, college students report that when they become stressed or feel anxious, depressed, and even homesick, their academic performance is negatively impacted.  According to the American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment in Fall 2008, approximately 47% of students surveyed felt hopeless at one or more times during the prior school year and about 30% of the surveyed students felt depressed to the point of not functioning.

The purpose of the AffinityCare Student Assistance Program (ASAP) is to help college students work through the issues that can cause undue stress or depression so that they can be more successful in their studies and personal life. The service includes a confidential 24 hour/7-days a week helpline, unlimited direct phone consultation and assessment with Masters-level counselors, face-to-face consultation, and extensive online resources and educational materials.  The program can be purchased for a low monthly flat rate directly through the ASAP website, www.studentassistanceplan.com/signup.php.

The concept of an assistance program is not new. Many businesses have been providing this type of support to their employees since the 1940s when R.M. Macy and Co. and the Northern State Power Company began providing this service to employees. The goal was to help employees with personal issues so that they could maintain high attendance and work performance.

“Expanding the assistance program concept to support students and their parents was a natural development for our company as we had already been offering these types of services to employer groups and insurance organizations for many years.  As the father of a college age student, I became aware of the need to provide an additional level of support to students.  Most educational institutions provide on-campus support services for students. The reality is that many students are just not comfortable scheduling an appointment on campus, but would be more comfortable calling a professional from the privacy of their dorm room whenever they need to talk.  We see our program as an additional safety net supporting students and parents as they go through these tumultuous transitional years,” states Ken Larsen, AffinityCare, Inc. President.

For more information, visit their website at www.studentassistanceplan.com

Tags: Education by Elizabeth Paulsen
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While most people in our community still have jobs, homes, and plenty of food, it nags at us that there are many who are living in fear of failure. It is most painful when we see that many of those living in fear are the youngest in our community. Thankfully, there are community leaders who know that it takes investment of time and self to help young children become successful and confident. Below are two programs underway in Federal Way that help children learn that they can succeed.

Two programs, one private and individual, the other aimed mostly at the public schools and systemic reform, offer rich investment opportunities. Communities in Schools, with strong support from the Federal Way Chamber of Commerce, manages the Personal Academic Student Support (PASS) Mentoring Program. Mentors receive an initial half-day training, along with support materials. After clearing background checks and filing a successful application, they are paired with an eager student, most often from a middle school, though the program now includes fifth graders. These mentees are eager and capable. The students selected are not the habitual problem children. Rather, counselors select those who show much promise but who have a few factors that could lead to problems, without some additional support. In other words, mentors work with those they can really impact positively. The mentoring sessions are generally an hour long and take place on the school campus. Unlike traditional tutoring opportunities, mentors talk with their students, often while playing cards or board games. For many of the mentees this is the one time in the week when an adult listens attentively to them. As the relationship builds, students share their lives and mentors can offer bits of wisdom, experience, and most of all, genuine human care to the students. For more information on the PASS Mentoring Program and an application, visit http://federalway.ciswa.org.

Kids at Hope (KAH) is a fascinating approach to working with children, systemically, through public schools, or private after-school clubs. The founding principle of the organization is that all children are capable of success – no exceptions! Rather than focusing on risk factors, human dysfunction, and the many barriers children face, KAH traffics in hope. It does so by training school staff and child-centered organizations and programs in a thorough-going philosophy and system of hope. Adults are taught to catch children doing well and to report their observations to them, “Giving Aces,” to children so they can build their hope and learn to believe in their own success. When children are encouraged to believe that they can excel, in time, they do excel. Some might initially dismiss such optimism as unrealistic and feelings-based. However, the program is backed by scientific research and grounded not in mere self-esteem but in celebrating real achievements – real success. The KAH website offers a wealth of information, examples of their own success stories, and the means by which this dynamic and positive approach to children can come to your school or organization.

Whether you help one child through a mentoring program like Personal Academic Student Support or you bring systemic redirection through hope-based programs like Kids at Hope, there is nobility and legacy that comes with investing in children. Make your success the community’s by improving a child’s future.

Tags: Community Involvement, Education by Oksu Ellis
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This school year marks my 18th consecutive year as a parent of students in Highline Public Schools. Over that period of time I have witnessed many changes in curriculum, schedules, staff training and school structures. In my opinion, however, the greatest of these changes has been at the high school level. The transition of Highline’s high schools from large comprehensive high schools to small theme-based schools plus a renewed emphasis on preparing every student for college have introduced a whole new vocabulary to our family and circle of friends.

Over the past five years phrases like “Advisory”, “Portfolio”, “13th Year”, “LAHS” and “CGS” have crept into our home. Ask any high school junior or senior to describe these terms and you will learn that:

• Advisory is a regularly scheduled class period in which each student meets with a small group of peers and one teacher for the purpose of reviewing tips for success in school, college preparation steps and individual progress towards goals.
• Portfolio refers to an electronic collection (could be in the form of a website with attachments or a CD or thumb drive with many files) of an individual student’s cumulative work. Each student is required to develop a portfolio and is trained how to use it to present his/her work to parents, guardians, prospective employers and prospective college entrance professionals.
• 13th Year refers to a graduation requirement in which each student must have a written plan for what he/she will do the year after he/she graduates from high school.
• LAHS or Life After High School refers to a one-day fair-like event in which students can talk to representatives of after high school opportunities such as two and four year colleges, technical institutes, apprenticeships, military and Job Corps.
• CGS is College Goal Sunday. Students attend this event with their parents or guardians to get free help in completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). As a parent who has had to complete the odious form four times and who has many more times to go, I recognize this as a huge help. My first attempt at this form was a mess.

As you read this you may be skeptical and be thinking that these are just new names for things that existed before and that really things are still business as usual. However, as a parent and as a volunteer who works with many high school students from many of the different high schools, I can attest that there is a real change. I see and hear more students with a plan – more students who are moving on to more opportunities straight from high school. Some are choosing two or four year college, others are choosing technical training or apprenticeships while others are choosing military and Job Corps opportunities.

While my observations are anecdotal, reports from the school district confirm what I am seeing. According to Superintendent John Welch’s January 2009 Memorandum to Employees:

The number of students taking the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test required by many four year colleges and universities) is up significantly for the second year in a row. Over the past two years, an additional 89 students have taken the SAT. That’s like adding another large high school campus to our SAT participation.

More students than ever are taking Advanced Placement classes (credits that transfer to college) in high school. In 2007, 248 students took AP exams. A year later, that number was 376. More students are enrolling in Algebra II (a college prerequisite course).

Though we are not where we want to be, our graduation rate is climbing. In 2008, our on-time graduation rate was 72%; for students who needed more than four years, our graduation rate was 80%.

The numbers of graduates meeting entrance requirements for four-year college have gone up dramatically, from 38% in 2005 to almost 50% in 2007.

So… as you are out and about, I encourage you to ask high school students to share with you their 13th Year Plan. From each student you can expect an articulate and interesting response as more and more students are embracing a vision for their futures.

Tags: Education by Elizabeth Paulsen
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Highline Public Schools and the City of Burien have partnered to distribute housing incentives to newly-hired teachers in an innovative program geared toward attracting and keeping quality teachers in high-demand academic areas.   The grant will provide up to $250 per month to qualified teachers who rent or purchase a home in the city of Burien. The pilot program is funded by the Washington State Legislature and the Housing Trust Fund.

Twenty teachers who meet eligibility for the program will be selected in the first year of the two-year program. An additional twenty teachers will be selected for the 2009-2010 school year.   The program targets hard-to-fill endorsement areas such as math, science, or special education.

“Our goal is to recruit teachers who are the best-of-the-best,” said Director of Recruiting and Retention Nancy Pappas Barnhart.   “It is an exciting opportunity to work with the City of Burien to attract professionals to our community. The housing allowance adds to our list of unique benefits for teachers.”

“Encouraging these teachers to live in Burien will enrich our vibrant and growing community with more young professionals who we hope will put down roots here,” said Jenn Ramirez Robson, program manager with the City of Burien.

Tags: Education by admin
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