Education

Jun 23 2011

Excelled academically, artistically and athletically

Gabriel Darren Cobb, the grandson of attorney Dorothy Taylor Cobb of Los Angeles, has accepted an appointment to the United State Military Academy at West Point. The Landmark Christian High School graduate was nominated to both West Point and the Naval Academy by Georgia Cong. Lynn A. Westmoreland (R.-Ga.).

Jun 16 2011

Junior business camp targets teens

Young people ages 14 to 17 who want to learn the basics of how to start and grow a business can participate in a free workshop sponsored by the Urban Media Foundation’s Youth Entreprenuership Project. Called Junior Business Camp, the program takes place Aug. 12 and 13 as part of the West Coast Expo planned for the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Young people who pre-register for the workshop by July 15, will be entered into a drawing for a $100 grant to help toward their new business.

Jun 14 2011

Opponents claim juice has more sugar

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Chocolate and strawberry milk will become a thing of the past on Los Angeles Unified School District campuses beginning July 1.

The LAUSD Board of Education today voted to eliminate flavored milk from school cafeterias as part of a move to provide more nutritious food and beverage options.

The board approved the elimination despite some opponents claiming that flavored milk has less sugar that some juices and is often the only way students get milk at all.

Jun 9 2011

Seeking academic excellence

Compton students recently spent several days exploring opportunities on their academic career paths. At left, Roosevelt Middle School seventh-grader Natachi Onwudiwe, who said she wants to be either a science teacher go to medical school, won first place in the Compton Unified School District science fair with her project Soil Pit to the Rescue. It demonstrated the effect of acidity on soil and plant growth. At right, youngsters from the Kelly Elementary School band and orchestra warm up before a performance at the Arts and Aviation Career Expo.

Jun 7 2011

Staffing, evaluations, tenure, compensation and work schedule

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The Los Angeles Unified School District needs critical reform in teacher evaluation, tenure and teaching assignment policies, according to a national study of the district released today.

The National Council on Teacher Quality, a nonpartisan, privately funded research organization based in Washington, D.C., studied five key policy areas—staffing, evaluations, tenure, compensation and work schedule.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”