Summer Dreamers and Swim & Water Polo get a video with student statements

Coverage of news for Summer Dreamers results in the Post-Gazette.

Proposal for a new afterschool activity: The GUARD

This proposal was sent in for consideration.

Enrichment Provider Application

Pittsburgh Public Schools is now accepting applications from enrichment providers who are interested in providing services at 21st century funded After-School Academy sites. Special consideration will be given to APOST quality campaign members. Grants for programming will be awarded between $500 and $3500 based on the proposal submitted to APOST. The application is open until all enrichment providers are filled.

Name: Mark Rauterkus

E-mail address: Mark@Bloomfield-Garfield.org

Phone number: 412-298-3432

Organization name: Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation (BGC)

Program name: The GUARD, from BGC's Swim & Water Polo Camp

Program description:

The GUARD is an aquatic fitness and job leadership activity proposed for both Perry High School and Brashear High School.

At basic levels, students get to visit, use, explore and discover at the school's indoor, six-lane, 25-yard, shallow-deep swim pool. Swim pools are powerful learning laboratories. Swim pools are places built for the crafting and study of individual and group excellence. Typical competitions at swim pools are measured in increments of .01 seconds. Swimming is a lifetime, lifesaving sport done all around the world. The oldest team sport in the modern Olympic Games is water polo. Furthermore, diving, synchronized swimming, scuba, fin swimming, underwater hockey, SKWIM, lifeguard competitions, paddle sports, deep water running, and water basketball are a few of the other pursuits that can and should unfold at public school swim pools.

Learning to swim, pool safety, following instructions, personal health, fitness, problem solving and other aspects of playing well with others are some of the elementary elements with The GUARD. Team building, demonstrating, rule following, competitions and matters of effort, energy and efficiency are explored from many perspectives.

The more advanced concepts within The GUARD concern the strengthening of knowledge, skills and confidence of high school participants to become lifeguards, swim instructors, camp aids and counselors. The GUARD is for job training and mentor development. Within The GUARD, the participants stride along a pathway to certifications and meaningful employment in health-related, educational rich, tech-savy, athletic professions. Knowing First Aid, CPR, and responsible behaviors at the age of 16 could lead to medical school one day or even a more knowledgeable and confident Good Samaritan in a city neighborhood in the hours to come. Most of all, participants in The GUARD get the inside track on summer jobs in roles such as Citiparks Lifeguards and Coaches with the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation's Swim & Water Polo Camp as part of Pittsburgh Public Schools' Summer Dreamers Academy.

Activities can begin at Perry in Feburary 2015 and at Brashear after the high school swim season ends, in March 2015.

What is the primary focus of your program? (Ranked checks applied below.)

Priorities in ranked order.

1. Recreation, Sports, or Physical Fitness

2. Career or Employment

3. Leadership or Character Development

4. Mentoring

5. Service Learning or Community Service

6. Social, Emotional, or Behavorial

7. Civic Engagement, Activism or Organizing

8. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math)

9. Academic or Education Enrichment

What grades do you serve? (Please check all that apply)

The GUARD in year one is to serve those in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12.

Furthermore, The GUARD enabled special events throughout the fall, winter and spring can refresh relationships from the ranks of past and future Swim & Water Polo Camps. Therefore, Swim & Water Polo Camp participants from recent summers, from grades 3 and above, get to be involved too. So, in essence, The GUARD can serve students from a wide rage of grades.

What is your staffing model? (Please check all that apply)

The GUARD's staff includes Executive Head Coach, Mark Rauterkus, Varsity Swim Coach at Obama Academy. Another Obama Varsity Swim Coach expected to work with The GUARD is Jacob Boyce, PPS Teacher. Both have been contracted employees with the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation.

Most of the other employees in leadership roles are swim coaches in the area. Volunteers are expected as well, but they will have minor roles in operations, helping with certain topic areas as guest presenters and as on-going competitors and mentors. All workers / employees are to be paid as part-time staff with the BGC.

What type of training does your staff receive?

Staff gets ongoing professional development with certifications in Lifesaving, CPR, First Aid. Additional training happens with online lesson plans, technology tools and joint practices where coaches work sessions with students together.

What is your behavior management policy?

Mr. Igims, PPS P.E. Teacher at Langley K-8 and Activity Coordinator for Summer Dreamers in the past years, said, “Kids in Swim & Water Polo can't miss-behave because they are swimming.” At the pool we have a respectful and mindful approach to our bodies and communications among teachers, lifeguards and students. More specific “rules” and “guidelines” can be crafted for these activities with the advice of other staffers and program leaders.

Of course pool rules and safety first policies must be followed.

What is the standard ratio of students to staff in your program?

Ten to one is an average. A good coach and a functional team can operate at 20-1 ratios, but that would not be ideal in these settings with the initial programming seasons.

How do you track attendance?

Our attendance tracking software, TeamUnify, is fantastic. It matches photos, emergency contact info, and other results to every trusted teacher via smart phones.

How much experience do you have working with PPS students and communities?

Extensive.

Sessions are generally 90 minutes each. How many days a week do you need to operate?

Seems as if PPS and APOST seek to have ONE session per site per week at this time. That is fine.

Extra swim sessions every week are going to be made available to the students in that every FRIDAY is COMMUNITY WATER POLO at the Thelma Lovette YMCA on Centre Avenue in Pittsburgh's Hill District. That program is open to high school students and adults, free of charge. Our students are strongly encouraged to attend those sessions on Fridays from 5 to 8 pm. Saturday sessions and sessions at other city facilities are hoped for as well.

What do students accomplish by the end of a semester?

By May 2015, students can accomplish steady improvements in swim fitness, stroke technique and understanding of various water games including SKWIM and Water Polo. Students get a framework for progression from newbie to varsity competitive swimmer speed. Finally, an awareness of Lifeguarding, CPR and First Aid is shared with the students. Those seeking those certifications would be better prepared and need to take additional classes, perhaps with Citiparks on nights and weekends. Also, The GUARD could be made to expand to 3 or more days per week and the CERTIFICATIONS can be delivered then.

How do you motivate and engage the students?

Pay checks and employment contracts help motivate students. Being hired as a staff member is valued come June, July and August. Seeing improvement in abilities is always rewarding. Doing things never done before, such as swimming in the deep end or swimming a non-stop for 500 yards are big milestones.

Our technology tools that use photos, apps and wiki pages can be important to show progress and to make the work documents that are repeatable and reviewable for others in the years to come.

How do you engage parents/guardians?

We have robot auto calling capabilities. We use wiki pages, blog postings and Facebook often. We could establish our own web pages for each site. We expect to offer open-house visits at the schools too.

How do you incorporate 21st century skills?

See other artice on 21^st Century skills.

How do you incorporate high-school and/or college-readiness? *This question applies to middle school and high school programs only.

There are college scholarships for LIFEGUARDS. Every college campus hires lifeguards for hourly work too.

Most colleges have swim teams, water polo teams and other happenings in aquatics that our students could join when they get to campus for fun, personal recreation, new friends and support.

Some colleges REQUIRE students pass a swimming proficiency test to graduate.

To certification process for lifeguards, for example, covers content similar to a low-level college course. Independent study and following established, standardized course curriculum with multimedia part of the process.  

Fwd: Free eBook Is Here! 14 Hard Questions for Libertarians -- Answered!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Tom Woods <woods@mises.org>

January 21, 2014 View this email in your browser LATEST NEWS Another Free eBook Is Here! Derived from material I've covered on my show, 14 Hard Questions for Libertarians -- Answered is a great resource to help equip you to deal with common objections. Click here for the Kindle version and here for a PDF. (Of course, as with all Internet downloads, you'll need to right-click, not left-click, on your mouse, and choose the option to save to your computer.) Covers questions like: What would the poor do without government schools? Why don't you want to ban sweatshops? Shouldn't we restrict gun ownership to keep people safe? Don't you care about the environment? Why don't you support "net neutrality"? Jan 24, 2015 Mises Circle in Houston Houston, TX April 9, 2015 American University Washington, DC April 25, 2015 Event in the works! Montreal, Canada May 22, 2015 Event in the works! Dublin, Ireland Does the Constitution Bind Anyone? A second show on Lysander Spooner, this one on his views on the Constitution. Spooner advanced the radical argument that the Constitution does not and cannot bind anyone. I discuss his arguments in this episode. Lysander Spooner: Anti-Slavery, Pro-Secession Lysander Spooner is like Frederic Bastiat: the kind of thinker who changes you when you read him. Today I discuss the arguments in his 1845 work The Unconstitutionality of Slavery.  A Renegade History of the United States Here's U.S. history the way it's never been told before — and official left and right don't know what to do about it. Join me for a great discussion with historian Thad Russell! Free Community College: Here's Why Not Bryan Caplan is at work on a book provocatively entitled The Case Against Education. Who better to discuss the recent White House proposal for "free" community-college education? Liberty in Our time: Here's How Ian Freeman of Free Talk Live joins me to discuss some of the exciting liberty efforts going on in New Hampshire. They're unconventional, but that's why they're working. Piketty Taken Down for Good Thomas Piketty's Capital in the 21st Century was hailed by fashionable opinion upon its release. But it turns out that the author massaged his data, pulled numbers out of thin air, and rewrote history to conform to his biases. Phil Magness takes him down for good. If you haven't already, please subscribe to the Tom Woods Show on iTunes or Stitcher so you don't miss an episode. I release a new episode every weekday!   Thanks for reading, Copyright © 2014 The Tom Woods Letter, All rights reserved.

Mindful presentation in five segments. Presenter is Richard King.

Part 1 = 21 minutes.



Part 2 = 1 minute and 53 seconds.



Part 3 = 3 minutes and 26 seconds.



Part 4 = 5 minutes and 12 seconds.



Part 5 = 40 seconds.

TED Talk: Sports are great.

Fwd: We need your help on Saturday - Please consider Volunteering some time.

From: Summit Against Racism <summitagainstracism@gmail.com>

Volunteer for the 17th Annual Summit Against Racism Register Today Black & White Reunion's annual Summit Against Racism is coming up quickly and we still have a need for volunteers for the day. On January 24, 2015 We will hold the 17th Annual Summit Against Racism at the East Liberty Presbyterian Church. Our theme This year is: "From Ferguson to Pittsburgh: Challenges Ahead for the Racial Justice Movement." We need volunteers for many roles including Friday evening set up, Early morning (7:30am) on the day of the summit to help with final set up and registration, to help with the many great workshops, and to serve both Breakfast and lunch. If you would like to help please fill out the form at this LINK Share Forward Using the proceeds from the annual Summit Against Racism, the Black & White Reunion continues to provide Jonny Gammage Scholarships to African American law students who win our essay contest.  This past year we were able, in partnership with NEED, to offer two $2,500 scholarships to assist two students on their journey to becoming attorneys working for justice.  Invite your freinds Copyright © 2015 Summit Against Racism, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you attended the Summit Against Racism either this year or years prior. We are just getting our contact list together so if you don't wish to be on this list please find the unsubscribe button at the bottom of this email. This intends to be a relatively low volume email list with announcements about local organizing around police brutality and the annual summit against racism. Our mailing address is: Summit Against Racism c/o East Liberty Presbyterian Church 116 S. Highland Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15206 Add us to your address book

Proposal slide show for the creation of Tech Captains, a school-based computer programming club

Fwd: Wendy's Drops Sodas from the Kids' Menu

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Margo Wootan" <actionalert@cspinet.org>
Date: Jan 15, 2015 11:53 AM
Subject: Wendy's Drops Sodas from the Kids' Menu
To: <mark@rauterkus.com>
Cc:

Dear Mark, For more than a year, CSPI supporters like you have asked Wendy's to drop soda from the children's menu.  I have good news to share: Wendy's heard your concerns.  Wendy's no longer includes soda in its children's meals or lists it on the kids' menu! Soda is a leading promoter of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.  Soda and other sugary drinks are the largest source of calories in children's diets and provide nearly half of their added sugar intake.  However, most major restaurant chains continue to push soda through their children's meals.  That's why CSPI and our coalition partners at MomsRising and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility have been urging restaurants to stop promoting sugary beverages as part of meals for young children.  Thank you for helping to make this change happen.  It is a good reminder that companies can and will change, but only if companies hear from you. Please join us in thanking Wendy's for taking this step to support parents' efforts and children's health. Soon we'll be in touch about urging Burger King, Applebee's, and IHOP to drop soda from their kids' menus too—stay tuned. Warm regards,   Margo Wootan, D.Sc. Director, Nutrition Policy Center for Science in the Public Interest P.S. – CSPI takes no money from companies or the government.  We rely on the generosity of supporters like you to achieve victories for children's health.  Please click here to make a donation today.   Unsubscribe

cspinet.org

Fwd: 9 Days til the next Summit Against Racism - Check out the Great workshops

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Summit Against Racism" <summitagainstracism@gmail.com>
Date: Jan 15, 2015 7:59 PM
Subject: 9 Days til the next Summit Against Racism - Check out the Great workshops
To: "Mark Rauterkus" <Mark@rauterkus.com>
Cc:

17th Annual Summit Against Racism is only 9 Days away Take a look at all the great workshops we have planned.  Register Today Chin to the Sky: The Life Sentence of Avis Lee –        Chin to the Sky is a multi-media creative story-telling performance of the circumstances surrounding the Life Sentence of Avis Lee that illuminates the underlying causes of gender-based violence and fighting oppression which contribute to their imprisonment. This 30 minute performance will be followed by discussion.           When Avis was 18 she was the look out in a robbery that ended in death. Avis is now 54 years old and has spent 34 years in prison. She has no chance of getting out unless her sentence is commuted. She never pulled the trigger. We believe she deserves a second chance. The story comes to life with an amazing performance by Blak Rapp Madusa starring as Avis Lee, a vibrant bird costume made of paper designed by Leslie Stem, and a tiny suitcase show illustrated by Just Seed's artist Alec Dunn. Life Without Parole affects the lives of over 5,100 people in PA. This sentence that is death by incarceration disproportionately affects people of color and poor people in Pittsburgh and all of PA. Acting Out: Creative Problem Solving to Address Everyday Racism       Curious about how to address your classmate, co-worker or that stranger on the bus when they say things that are racist? Wondering how to shift your volunteers, school projects or staff meetings from thinking that is perpetuating injustice? In this workshop, brainstorm and build resources to interrupt the racism that is affecting our schools, workplaces, families, and lives. Please come and share your frustrations as well as your ideas and hopes! Strategies for Achieving Racial Justice & Building our Human Rights City            This strategic planning and networking workshop will help identify priorities and build a strategy to advance the Human Rights City Action Plan, which aims to make peoples lived experiences in Pittsburgh more consistent with our status as a "Human Rights City." Panelists will discuss elements of the Action Plan that help advance racial, cultural and economic justice. They will assess how activists and groups in Pittsburgh can work to improve racial justice in the city and will offer concrete proposals for projects or actions that can advance the Action Plan. The discussion will include how the history of colonialism and racism are intertwined and the importance of truth telling about our history as part of the work for racial justice.   You and the Police: Rights, Responsibilities and Reality       "You and the Police: Rights, Responsibilities & Reality" will be an interactive exploration, discussion and instructional exchange focused on managing police encounters safely and with common-sense. The team's composition is diverse in race, gender, roles and functions giving participants access to practical advice & insight from people experienced and informed about community concerns & risks, police management & philosophy, and police accountability. The inherent dangers to civilian and officer safety in police encounters, pedestrian and traffic, will be analyzed from a practical perspective. Q&A, role-playing scenarios, general discussion and a tabletop exercise will be incorporated as the team & participants review a new informational brochure, "You and the Police: Rights, Responsibilities & Reality" produced by a civilian and law enforcement team, including some of the panelists.   Discipline: Moving Beyond Zero Tolerance toward Justice        This workshop will explore student disciplinary practices and consequences for African American students in Pittsburgh Public Schools and how students, parents and community groups are working to change them.  We'll take a deeper look at restorative justice practices as promising alternatives.  Participants will become more informed and empowered to work for change in and out of school.     Then and Now: An Exploration of August Wilson's Works and the Evolution of Local Racism       This workshop will use the writings of August Wilson to explore the everyday experience of race in the Pittsburgh area. It will begin with readings from excerpts of Wilson's plays, taken from his Century Cycle, set in different historical periods.  These will act as prompts for a group discussion on the meaning and significance of Wilson's words and characters, and how they reflected the situation of black Pittsburghers in the past and still resonate in the present. We will conclude with writing prompts seeking scenes from a Wilson-inspired play set in the 2010's. Lessons from "Facing Race" – Report Back from National Conference for Racial Justice       In November of 2014, 1600 people gathered in Dallas, Texas for the country's largest multiracial conference on racial justice.  The 4th annual Facing Race conference was hosted by Race Forward, who publishes the daily news site Colorlines.  In this presentation you will hear stories and strategies learned from locals who attended workshops, panels discussions, and the Racial Justice Leadership Institute. Presenters will share information about the use of Racial Equity Impact Assessments, trends in mainstream media's coverage of racism, strategies to move philanthropy towards a racial justice and tales of overcoming divide and conquer tactics in coalition organizing. Land and Housing Justice – Who's Land, Our Land!       This workshop will look at the history of the expropriation of land and exclusion from quality, affordable housing in communities of choice that have prevented African Americans and other people of color including Native Americans from having control over their land and access to quality, affordable housing and from building wealth. Strategies for combating systemic racism in national, state and local land use and housing policies will be discussed with workshop participants, including the campaign to mandate affordable housing for very low income households in all publicly financed or assisted development projects from the Lower Hill District to other major development sites in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. In addition, participants will gain an understanding of Community Land Trusts as a method for resisting gentrification by ensuring community control over land for permanently affordable housing, small businesses, and greenspace. Two sides of the same coin -- Teen Dating Violence and Intimate Partner (Domestic Violence Prevention)              Intimate Partner (Domestic) Violence is a hidden dilemma in the bigger conversation of violence in our communities, which no one wants to talk about.  It often begins during the teen dating years, when teens are still working out how to have healthy relationships.  This workshop will use the action points listed in the Coalition Against Violence (CAV) document -"Strategies for Change: Building More Peaceful Communities" – sections on Domestic Violence Prevention and Teen Dating Violence.       Using the proceeds from the annual Summit Against Racism, the Black & White Reunion continues to provide Jonny Gammage Scholarships to African American law students who win our essay contest.  This past year we were able, in partnership with NEED, to offer two $2,500 scholarships to assist two students on their journey to becoming attorneys working for justice.  Share Forward Invite your freinds HIV-AIDS: Racial and economic disparities in Prevention, Treatment and Social-Economic supports       Workshop will educate and engage participants on health issues and racial and gender stigma faced by Men having Sex with Men (MSM) in the African American community is driving up HIV infections and poor health outcomes for this group. Participants will learn about current strategies and services aimed at prevention, intervention and treatment of HIV and Sexually-Transmitted Diseases among African American MSM. Dismantling Racism in Organizations             This mini-session over lunch is a follow-up to work done by a group of people since a workshop presented at the 2014 Summit Against Racism. Since the Summit, a group has met seven times during the year to continue supporting each other in our work to dismantle racism in our organizations. We'll share out what we've learned, the resources we've gathered, and what we've accomplished. We'll also give participants a chance to consider ways they can take action to help build an anti-racist/racial justice culture in their organizations. Grab your lunch and join us!   From Ferguson to Pittsburgh: Building an Inter-generational Movement for Racial Justice       What are the intersections of Ferguson and Pittsburgh? Join us for an intergenerational panel of local organizers, professionals and artists working across political strategies to strengthen a national movement against police brutality and a racist criminal justice system. This discussion will provide an analysis of events stemming from grand jury and jury decisions in Ferguson and beyond, as well as perspectives on the politics of those jury processes, police-community interactions in Pittsburgh, the criminal justice system, and the impact of youth leadership and coalition building on these issues.   Internalized racism is a concern for all of us: The Omega Dr. Carter G. Woodson Academy as an example of anti-racist education       In February 2015, the Iota Phi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., will begin its 4th year of the Omega Dr. Carter G. Woodson Academy, a 10 week program designed to address the miseducation of Black students, developed as a practical application of Dr. Woodson's - often called "The Father of       Black History" - seminal work, The Miseducation of the Negro. This miseducation includes being taught lies of falsehoods, partial truths and erasures.  One of the results of this miseducation? Internalized inferiority.  African Americans and other people of color have a long history of addressing internalized inferiority in their children, but what of White people? Are not White children also miseducated with the critical difference being internalized superiority? This session will share the Omega Dr. Carter G. Woodson Academy as an example to racial justice advocates, particularly our white colleagues, of a way to connect the abundant literature and conversation about internalized racism to the education of children and in doing so help develop youth as racial justice advocates. Shaping the Vision: A Conversation with the Community on Planning August Wilson Center 2.0        This workshop held by the AWC Recovery Committee in collaboration with local artists will discuss a series of questions for participant response with the goal of further clarifying an AWC 2.0 program framework which will be inclusive and sustaining. Questions include 1. how to create programming that embodies AW's love of community, pioneering, and progressive spirit; 2. how can we foster  a strong sense of "community" as a central value (and essential support) of the AWC's future programming. The Revolution will Not be Funded: A Critical Look into the Department of Human Services and Non-Profit Organizations       In some communities, law enforcement symbolizes racism and injustice. Numerous accounts show that an institution proposing to protect and serve often fails poor people and people of color. This is also true for many social services. The unwritten belief is that these institutions do not work; they are, instead, tearing communities apart and driven more by their funding sources then the agency mission and needs of the people they serve.  This presentation will focus on the complexities of social work. It will first give a brief history and then discuss present challenges. The presenter will break down all parties involved, discuss specific institutions that are especially damaging, and present some local agencies that are making positive change. The presentation will also include an open discussion about ways to combat the nonprofit industrial complex. Environmental Justice is Racial Justice: What the intersection of environmental and racial issues means to the future fight for justice and equality       This workshop will focus on racial disparities in the placement of environmentally hazardous projects - incinerators, coal plants, and landfills - in or near predominantly low income communities of color. These projects have huge health impacts on these communities, which sometimes go unnoticed. This racial and economic disparity of environmental impact, in combination with the low engagement of environmental groups with communities of color, make it challenge to organize people and gain the public's attention to change these conditions. Educating low income minority communities about environmental justice issues is necessary to gain traction in putting our transition to clean , livable and just planet in motion. Minority communities must be at the front of the fight for climate justice, a movement centered around the most marginalized and the most silenced people around the world. An action goal of the workshop is to engage participants in the new community-based campaign to make the Cheswick Coal-fired power plant cleaner and less harmful to low income minority communities in Pittsburgh. Copyright © 2015 Summit Against Racism, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you attended the Summit Against Racism either this year or years prior. We are just getting our contact list together so if you don't wish to be on this list please find the unsubscribe button at the bottom of this email. This intends to be a relatively low volume email list with announcements about local organizing around police brutality and the annual summit against racism. Our mailing address is: Summit Against Racism c/o East Liberty Presbyterian Church 116 S. Highland Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15206 Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences