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The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced this morning that Shawn Pan of White Station High School and Ray Xiong of Cordova High School are among the distinguished seniors from across the country to be awarded in the 2008 National Merit Scholarship Program.
NMSC provides $2,500 single-payment scholarships to honor students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. Recipients can use their award at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university of their choice. Pan intends to use his Merit Scholarship to pursue a degree in engineering, while Xiong will use the award to help achieve his goal of attending law school.
More than 1.4 million students competed in the 2008 National Merit Scholarship Program, with only 15,000 students who met the highest academic standards advancing to the Finalist level of the competition. Finalists posted the top scores in their state on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) as juniors and demonstrated significant contributions and leadership qualities in school and community activities.
This is the second round of National Merit Scholarships awarded in 2008. Earlier this month, Sarah Stephens and Benjamin Yang, both seniors at White Station High School, received the NMSC Corporate-Sponsored scholarship. NMSC will announce its next group of 2008 scholarship recipients on May 28.
To learn more about the National Merit Scholarship Program, visit www.nationalmerit.org.
James Griffin, World History teacher at Fairley High School, has been awarded the Ashbrook Presidential Academy Award for 2008.
One teacher from each state is awarded this honor, and Mr. Griffin will be representing Tennessee in the summer academy. The four-week academy is rich in content and the use of primary documents for study and classroom implementation. It focuses on pivotal turning points in American history and the documents that embody the ideas that drove these changes. Participants will see how these key events in history, infused with fundamental ideas, shaped and continue to shape our national identity. This will create a discussion across time that will equip these award-winning teachers to continue the conversation of historical and present-day issues in their own classrooms.
Randy McPherson, Professional School Counselor at Trezevant Career & Technology Center in Memphis, successfully completed an intensive training program earning the designation High Performance Career Development Facilitator. Mr. McPherson is one of only 17 professionals in the nation with this credential and the only one in Tennessee.
This training is offered through the National Career Development Association (NCDA) and Workforce Development Professionals Network (WDPN). As an HPCD Facilitator, McPherson is now eligible to assist workforce development programs or systems as they apply for the Center of Career Development Excellence (CoE) accreditation, offered by the Center for Credentialing and Education (CCE). McPherson completed the program and passed a rigorous pre-screening application process distinguishing his commitment to quality improvement in the field of career and workforce development.
HPCD Facilitators are specifically trained in the CoE system and HPCD standards through a three-step process. This process consists of training and field work, followed by working with a mentor to provide services to an entity seeking CoE accreditation.
As a Facilitator, McPherson will work with an organization enrolled in the CoE accreditation program at their site, or in a collaborative HPCD CoE Learning Lab, to facilitate the detailed program self-assessment. Facilitators assist teams in reaching group consensus scoring on HPCD standards, in continuous improvement planning, and with CoE application preparation. He will also assist the HPCD Lead Auditor in preparing the Program Report Card, a requirement for the organization’s accreditation process. With this designation, McPherson earned his listing in the NCDA Registry of HPCD Facilitators and Auditors. He has since achieved the Level II status.
NCDA, WDPN, and CCE partnered in 2007 to establish the CoE accreditation. The accreditation provides a rigorous framework for evaluating career development programs and systems, verifying that the highest level of services is being provided to customers.
For more information about HPCD training or the CoE accreditation, visit or call the Workforce Development Professionals Network www.wdpn.net (412) 269-9376, the National Career Development Association www.ncda.org , or the Center for Credentialing and Education www.cce-global.org (336) 482.2856.
Memphis City Schools’ Division of Nutrition Services is again sponsoring a Summer Food Service Program for children in Memphis. Unlike past years, the 2008 Summer Food Service Program will not be based on family income. All youth ages 18 and under will be eligible for free meals between June 2 – August 1, 2008.
This Summer Food Service Program is provided as part of an agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). For site locations and meal times, call the Division of Nutrition Services, (901) 416-5550.
The application period for free and reduced-price meals during the 2008-09 school year will begin on Tuesday, July 1, 2008. Applications will be posted on the MCS Web site, www.mcsk12.net, prior to the start of the application period. Applications will also be available by calling the district’s Division of Nutrition Services, (901) 416-5550. Parents who plan to apply for free or reduced-price meals at the start of the school year should turn in their completed applications during the 2008-09 registration period.
Memphis City Schools was selected among the Top 100 in the first-ever netTrekker d.i. Safe Search Awards Program, recognizing districts that are keeping kids safest when searching on the Internet.
“We’re honored to recognize your district for your outstanding usage in the 2006-2007 school year and for an extremely successful district-wide implementation of netTrekker d.i., “ said Jill Allen, Manager of netTrekker’s Customer Relationship Management.
Developed to provide appropriate searches for K-12 educational content netTrekker d.i. is known as the #1 safe educational search engine and i. is now used by over 11 million students, 600,000 teachers, and 20,000 schools in all 50 states in the United States.
Schools are increasingly seeking ways to keep students Web-safe while, at the same time, helping them achieve. netTrekker d.i.’s solution offers a "humans-plus-tech" approach—a search engine built from the ground up by a hundreds-strong team of educators who have eliminated links to any pornographic, offensive, useless or commercial sites. The key: going back to basics by having educators hand-pick only academically relevant, standards-aligned sites and marrying that human review to potent proprietary technology that scrubs the entire Web for what kids don't need to see. The end result: students stay on task and stay focused on the content they’re learning.
Exemplary high school student artworks will be featured at the Memphis City Schools 2008 Visual Art Showcase Friday, May 16 from 5 – 7 p.m. in the Main Gallery of the Memphis College of Art, inside Overton Park.
Student artists and their teachers will be on hand at the event.
For more information, contact Gregg Coats at 416-2920.
Olympic Gold and Silver Medalist Rochelle Stevens is looking for track stars – whether they are city, regional, state, or neighborhood champions, champs of their day cares, schools, churches, community centers, little league or football teams, or whether they are young or old.
Anyone who likes to run or jump is invited to participate in the 18th Annual Rochelle Stevens Invitational Track Meet, scheduled for Saturday, May 24 at Kirby High School, located at 4080 Kirby Parkway.
Registration begins on-site at 8 a.m. Opening ceremonies will include music, entertainment and special guest Dough Williams, Washington Redskins Quarterback and a Super Bowl MVP.
There will be a special 50-meter dash for two-year-olds through five-year-olds, and unlimited events for people ages six through 60. Awards will be given to top finishers.
Rochelle Stevens is a two-time Olympic Gold and Silver Medalist, a four-time U.S. Track and Field National Champion, a U.S. Olympic Trials 400 Meter Champion, NCAA 400 Meter Champion, and a member of three Halls Of Fame.
For more information, call 365-0505.
Bank of America is offering the Teacher Flex mortgage program for most full or part-time teachers and full-time school employees working in public or private elementary and secondary schools.
As a teacher, your impact on children's lives is tremendous. You influence what they learn, their future and their dreams. Bank of America wants to help you with your dream of home ownership. At Bank of America, we understand buying a home is a huge step. That is why we have developed the Teacher Flex mortgage program. We know you spend time in and out of the classroom helping your students, and your time is precious. With the Teacher Flex mortgage program, we simplified the process and made it more affordable and easier to qualify.
The Teacher Flex Program offers a wide range of benefits:
Little or no down payment required depending on the property
Flexible credit guidelines
No income restrictions
Visit www.bankofamerica.com/loans, call 1-800-900-9000 or visit a local branch. Ask for more information about the Teacher Flex mortgage program.
As part of our commitment to the communities we serve, FedEx Kinko's Office and Print Centers offer an exclusive savings program for educators.
The Educator Savings Program gives teachers, professors, faculty and staff members an automatic 15 percent savings on most products and services they purchase at FedEx Kinko's during the school year. The program is open to teachers and school staff in grades K-12, college and post-graduate programs. What's more, your discount goes with you nationwide-meaning you can still take advantage of FedExKinko's services at a reduced rate when you are traveling on school business.
You MUST sign up for the Educator Savings Card online at https://psg.kinkos.com/educator/ to receive your 15 percent discount. Once you sign up, your card will be mailed to you. If you have any questions, please contact a local FedEx Kinko's Service Center.
The Art Center Supply Store located at 1636 Union Avenue offers the following discounts to MCS teachers:
15 percent off purchases $1-$149
20 percent off purchases $150-$350
25 percent off purchases $351-$500
You must Flash Your MCS Badge to receive the discount. If you have questions or want more information, please call The Art Center at 276-6321.
Do you know of an educator who defines compassion and promotes respect for the animal kingdom? If so, Animal World wants to hear from you.
The publication is soliciting nominations for the Humane Educator of the Month awards, the first of which will be presented later in the spring. It will be announced during "Be Kind to Animals Week" in the May issue of "Animal World." Students, fellow educators, parents and principals may submit nominations.
Nominations may be sent to info@theanimalworld.org or faxed to 901-753-0793. Nominations should be 500 words or less.
In addition, The Animal World will visit Memphis City Schools through principal approval on a monthly basis starting in late April. The visits will take place in the latter part of the month and be reported on in the following month's issue of The Animal World. For more information, click on http://www.animalworldusa.org/teacher.htm