Small Victories

GIRIJA MAHAJAN, Educational Programming Specialist

While all our students make great strides at Emily K during the academic year, we also want to highlight the small victories that encourage us to keep working hard. Group 7 has lots of things to be proud of this week:

Yemni, “I had kinda a low grade in English last quarter. So this quarter I spent more time asking the teacher questions about stuff I didn’t understand, and practicing my vocabulary. I just got my progress report and I have an A in English!”

Rafael, “In my Social Studies class we were studying the history of Africa and on Monday we took the unit test. I got 19 out of 20 right!”

Angel, “I got my progress report a few days ago and it was really good. I am improving in my classes. I did much better in English because I pay attention in class more and am taking better notes.”

Claudia, “In my Social Studies class I have to blog. This week I caught up on all my blogging and wrote five posts. I got all of the points for the assignment.”

March 11, 2010 at 5:58 pm | Our Students | No comment

Early College and Beyond!

 

DeSean Wilson, Class of 2013

GIRIJA MAHAJAN, Educational Programming Specialist

A few weeks ago the NY Times featured an article on the short-term and long-term benefits for students enrolled in Early College High Schools (ECHS). According to the Early College High School Initiative, sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, early college high schools are smaller schools designed so that students can earn both a high school diploma and an Associate’s degree or up to two years of credit toward a Bachelor’s degree. The article reported “that students who attend early college high schools have higher high school graduation rates, and are better prepared for high-skill careers because of their college preparatory curriculum.” A majority of the programs recruit students from low-income backgrounds as a means to bridging the gap between high school and college.

DeSean Wilson, Scholars to College participant, is a freshman at Josephine Dobbs Clement Early College High School (partnered with North Carolina Central University), which is one of 70 early college high school programs in the state. From a young age, Wilson has set high academic and careers goals for himself, and isn’t afraid of a challenge. It was this sentiment that motivated him as an 8th grader to apply to Josephine Dobbs Clement High School in Durham, North Carolina. He explained, “The academic coursework is not only advanced but rigorous. The first month we had to turn in a 1,000 word essay in English class and we were all really worried, but now that is pretty easy for me to do.”

Most early college programs are smaller than traditional public high schools, allowing for more student-faculty interaction and relationship-building. Last fall, Wilson was selected by the principal to represent their school at a leadership and ethics conference at the North Carolina School of Math and Science. He attended workshops on religion and current events, and networked with local high school students.

After graduating high school Wilson wants to pursue a career in either law or biomedical engineering. “I have always wanted to go to college. Being at JDC High School and participating in the Scholars to College program has encouraged me to do well in school and offered me the tools to achieve my goal of getting as many degrees as I can. I will be the first grandson in my family to graduate from college.” Wilson shared with a proud smile.

March 4, 2010 at 5:07 pm | Our Students | No comment

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February 26, 2010 at 2:56 pm | Our Organization | No comment

Nora Chipaumire at the Emily K Center

Duke Performances brings in top artists from around the world.  As part of their residencies, these artists are given a chance to interact with the Durham community.  Last night students participating in the Girls Club at the Emily K Center had a once-in-a-lifetime chance to work with Zimbabwean dancer Nora Chipaumire.

 

 

 

February 26, 2010 at 2:47 pm | Our Students | No comment

Emily K Center Partners Honored with “Sammie” Awards

Lauren Gardner, Chief Operating Officer

After a long day of school and an intense few hours working hard at the Emily K Center many of our students also participate in evening programming at the Center.  Hand-on science and engineering education, mentor programs, and sports all fill our evenings and add important character and leadership development to our students’ experiences here.  However, we could never do this on our own.  We rely heavily on partner programs that provide quality curriculum, volunteers, and outcomes. 

This past Tuesday we were extremely proud of the fact that two of the groups we partner with were recognized as 2010 “Sammie” Award winners during the annual Samuel Dubois Cook Society Award Dinner.  The Girls Club was recognized for their seven years of committed service to mentoring middle school girls and Professor Gary Ybarra was recognized for the array of work he does in the community including the FEMMES program that teaches math and science to girls at the Center.

Congratulations to both our partner programs!

February 19, 2010 at 10:49 am | Our Team | No comment

Volunteer Spotlight

GIRIJA MAHAJAN, Educational Programming Specialist

An intergral component of the DREAM DO ACHIEVE model is the outstanding volunteer support our students recieve on a daily basis. Nadir Ijaz, a sophomore at Duke University, has been volunteering at Emily K since his freshman year and is featured in our volunteer spotlight.

What inspired you to start volunteering at the Emily K Center?

Before my freshman year at Duke, I heard about a program called “Project Child,” in which Duke students would tutor younger children at local schools and after-school centers. I had always enjoyed tutoring in high school, so I decided to volunteer. I was placed with Emily K Center, and so it began. Now, one and a half years later, I’m glad it was Emily K.

What are some of your favorite Emily K Center memories?

I remember one time a fifth grader drew me a picture of “Gallon Man” - a way of remembering the number of quarts in a gallon, the number of pints in a quart, and so forth. It was so funny, because I had never heard of “Gallon Man,” and when I told this to my tutee, she proudly drew me one to take home so I wouldn’t forget it. I also remember helping one of my tutees write a rap for a project. It was the first time either one of us had written a rap, so finding words that rhymed and still worked in context was tons of fun. In the end, we both had a blast (even though it was a homework assignment).

How has volunteering at the Emily K Center impacted you personally?

Sometimes, I think we all tend to forget what it was like being a child or a teenager. Through volunteering at Emily K, I can unleash the kid in me! Whenever I enter the front glass double doors, I forget the outside world for 1.5 hours and just concentrate on my tutees. Emily K is honestly something I look forward to every week, and I probably owe a large part of my sanity to it, considering the stress that comes with life as a college student.

How has volunteering at the Emily K Center impacted your academic and or career goals?

I am hoping to go on to medical school, and Emily K Center has really impacted the way I interact with kids of different ages. Although I am still considering many different fields of medicine as possible choices, pediatrics is something I’ve started thinking of recently, probably prompted by my volunteering at Emily K.

February 5, 2010 at 11:05 am | Our Team | No comment

Pioneer Scholars Look Forward to 2010

GIRIJA MAHAJAN, Educational Programming Specialist

The oh-10s are upon us. Check out some of our Pioneer Scholars setting big goals for the new year.

January 15, 2010 at 3:11 pm | Our Students | No comment

Tail Waggin’ Tutors

TREAT HARVEY, Director of Development

Last Friday I was distracted by the sound of happy children’s voices — squeals of joy, actually — emanating from the lobby.  Of course I had to see what was happening out there, so I peeked out.  There were at least 12 of our kids, huddled around something I couldn’t even see.  Michele said, Oh yes, that is Rudy the Service Dog.

Rudy and his trainer will now come to meet with our students every Friday so that our students can read to him.  The program, called Tail Waggin’ Tutors (promoted by Therapy Dogs International), allows youngsters who are nervous about their reading skills to become more relaxed about overcoming their fears while reading to a non-judgmental dog.  It sounds like we have a line-up of young readers who will be practicing their reading skills on Rudy again this week.  This is another excellent example of the Emily K leveraging existing top-notch resources in the community on behalf of our students. 

WRAL did a great story covering this piece of our Pioneer Scholars program.  Check out this link to learn more about two of our student (Ariel and Naida) working with Rudy.

December 1, 2009 at 10:36 am | Our Team | No comment

Triangle Community Foundation Visit

Last week Andrea Bazan, the President of the Triangle Community Foundation paid a visit to the Center.  She had a chance to meet with staff and speak with some of our Pioneer Scholars students.  She has put up a great post (which includes a video of two of our young scholars).  Enjoy!

November 24, 2009 at 3:09 pm | Our Organization | No comment

New Duke Blue Planet Article about the Center

Check out the article on p. 48-49 of the Duke Blue Planet about some of the great freshman that are involved here at the Emily K Center.  For those of you who are Duke fans, the rest of the magazine is a great read too!

November 13, 2009 at 5:20 pm | Our Students | No comment

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