YOUTH TOPICS NEWSLETTER Department of Community IN THE JUNE 16 EDITION: and Human Services (CLICK ON TOPIC TO GO TO SECTION) EVENTS CAREERS/VOLUNTEERISM RESEARCH & RESOURCES EDUCATION YOUTH WELL-BEING WORKSHOPS & WEBINARS EVENTS How to Develop an Online Audience (June 20) The Torpedo Art Factory in partnership with the Virginia Small Business Center is presenting a workshop on the secrets of building a social media audience from 6 – 8 p.m. The event is free, but RSVP is highly recommended. 8th Annual Youth Arts Festival (June 24) The festival sponsored by the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority (ARHA) is an all-day event at the Mount Vernon Recreation Center (2701 Commonwealth Avenue). Aligning Systems and Policies to Support Multiple Postsecondary Pathways (June 26) Presenters will share evidence-based strategies for aligning systems and policies around student and workforce needs as well as opportunities to promote structured and supportive pathways to postsecondary and workforce credential attainment. Boxed lunches will be provided from 11:30am - 12:00 p.m. on a first-come, first-served basis to registered attendees. The event is scheduled for 12 – 1:30 p.m. The Late Shift: Freestyle (June 30, 7 p.m. to Midnight) Part skatepark and part street market, Freestyle will feature late-night festivities in the Torpedo Factory and along the riverfront with music, digital video projections, artists from all over the DMV, a photo booth, and a poetry slam. Military Children: A Constellation of Strengths and Challenges (July 31 – August 2) The conference sponsored by the Military Child Education Coalition at the Renaissance Washington in downtown D.C. will feature panelists and presenters discussing ways in which they share resources to support the psychological well-being of military children and families. Global Youth Justice Training Institute (September 26 – 28) Those attending the event in Cape Cod, MA will learn strategies to enhance and establish volunteer-driven youth diversion programs—teen, peer, youth, and student courts and peer juries. A half-day grant writing session will also be offered. Back to Top CAREERS/VOLUNTEERISM Adaptive Sports Grants The Kelly Brush Foundation awards grants to individuals with paralysis due to a spinal cord injury for the purchase of adaptive sports equipment for either recreation or competition. Preference will be given to those applicants with financial limitations and demonstrate a desire to achieve an active lifestyle. The funds must support the purchase of 1 sport and recreation equipment, from the ordinary (handcycles, monoskis, sport chairs, etc.) to the less typical (scuba equipment, bowling ramps, equestrian saddles, etc.). Applications are due September 30. College Media Project The Poynter Institute, in partnership with Associated Collegiate Press, is accepting applications from college student media organizations for a new leadership program designed to encourage campus journalists to embrace their role as community facilitators in the marketplace of ideas. Three organizations will be chosen to receive grants of up to $3,000 in support of a reporting project or event that advances civil discourse on campus; a one-day in-person reporting, editing, and storytelling workshop for the entire staff; exclusive admission to six online training events during the academic year where participants will hear from professional trainers (as well as other campus organizations) about their projects; training on the best techniques for watchdog reporting that holds the powerful accountable and establishes campus media as a fair and trusted advocate for students; and insights into the tools of dialogue that model the search for mutual understanding and tolerance through reporting projects and real-life events The program is designed for student media organizations that are independent (i.e., student editors make the content decisions); staff must be willing to cover the stories that matter most to their campus audiences. Applications are due July 19. Innovative Anxiety Disorders Research The American Psychological Foundation is awarding a single grant of up to $8,000 to support novel basic and clinical research on anxiety and anxiety related disorders. Applicants must be a graduate student or early-career researcher (no more than ten years postdoctoral), and be affiliated with a nonprofit charitable, educational, or scientific institution, or a governmental entity operating exclusively for charitable and educational purposes. The deadline to apply is September 15. Teacher Professional Development Grant The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is accepting applications for a program that supports professional development opportunities for middle school mathematics teachers. Grants of up to $3,000 will be awarded to persons currently teaching mathematics in grades 6-8. Applicants must be a current NCTM member and teach mathematics in grades 6-8 at least 50% of the school day. The deadline is November 3. Eugene C. Pulliam Fellowship for Editorial Writing The $75,000 award by the Society of Professional Journalists allows fellows to take courses, pursue independent study or travel, and pursue other endeavors that enrich their knowledge of a public interest issue and results in editorials and other publishing writings, including books. Applicants must hold a position as a part-time or full-time editorial writer or columnist at a news publication located in the United States with at least three years' experience. Applications also are welcome from freelance opinion writers who devote a majority of their time, or derive a majority of their income, from that pursuit. Applications are due June 22. Physician-Scientist Training Award The annual program of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation provides physicians who wish to pursue a career in cancer research with the opportunity for a protected research training experience under the mentorship of a highly qualified and gifted mentor after they have completed their clinical training. The award will provide up to $460,000 over four years in financial support. In addition, the foundation will retire up to $100,000 of outstanding medical school debt owed by the grant recipient. Physician-scientist applicants (MDs only) must have completed their residencies and clinical training, be U.S. Specialty Board eligible prior to the award start date, and be able to devote at least 80% of their time and effort to Damon Runyon-supported research. Applications are due December 1. Young Investigator Program The annual program of the Arnold and Mable Beckman Foundation provides research support to young faculty members in the early stages of an academic career in the chemical or life sciences, and to foster the invention of methods, instruments, and materials with the potential to open up new avenues of research in science. Projects are normally funded for a period of four years. Grants typically range around $600,000 over the term of the project, contingent on demonstrated progress after the second year of the award. The program is open to individual researchers within the first three years of a tenure-track position, or an equivalent independent research appointment, in an academic or nonprofit institution that conducts research in the chemical and life sciences. Letters of Intent are due August 14. Back to Top 2 RESEARCH & RESOURCES Sign Up for K-12 Summer Learning Programs Today ACPS offers a variety of learning opportunities over the summer for elementary to high school students, some of which are free. ACPS Launches Elementary School Swim Skills Pilot Program ACPS, in cooperation with the City of Alexandria Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities, is launching a swim safety pilot program as part of the physical education curriculum at James K. Polk Elementary School. The pilot program will culminate in a series of one-hour swim sessions over four days at Chinquapin Aquatics Facility for 37 fourth-grade students of varying backgrounds and abilities. Free Meals Available This Summer for All Children Free breakfast, lunch and snacks are available to Alexandria City residents 18 years old and younger at fourteen ACPS sites, fourteen city recreation centers and other sites over the summer. Yes, You Can Text This Number to Find Free Summer Meals for Hungry Kids A quick text message can help families locate nearby federally supported summer meals sites. Text "food" or "comida" to 877-877, and reply with the address or zip code. The service pulls active summer-meal sites from a U.S. Department of Agriculture database and forwards a list of nearby locations. Meet the New Student Reps for the School Board The Alexandria City School Board has selected two new student representatives for the coming school year: Betelhem Demissie and Jay Falk. Betelhem, who is originally from Ethiopia and has been a student with ACPS for the past seven years, said she intends to be a voice for immigrant students. Jay is part of the T.C. Williams Debate Team and has participated in speech competitions as well as Inspire Virginia’s peer-to-peer voter registration. School Board Announces Timeline for Superintendent Search The School Board has established a timeline for the Superintendent search that includes appointing an Interim Superintendent prior to Superintendent Crawley’s departure in late July. The School Board will hire a search firm to conduct the search for the new Superintendent, who is expected to be in place by the end of 2017. ACPS Begins Discussion