Thursday, March 31^st

BEM Offers Career-Shadowing Program for At-Risk Youth

Ronald Mitchell grew up in the drug-infested streets of Southside Chicago where one of the largest gangs in the country was located. On his way home from the YMCA at the age of 14, Ron was held up at gunpoint by a gang member.

He pleaded for his life and convinced the assailant not to kill him. The assailant put his gun down and began talking about his troubled life. Ron convinced him to seek help and guidance through a mentoring program. The assailant listened to Ron's advice and put himself back into high school. That experience changed Ron's life forever and led him to start his organization – BEM Foundation – helping at-risk kids through mentorship and life-coaching. Read More

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Microsoft Donates $1 Million in Software to Los Angeles Unified School District

Parents' engagement in academic progress is key to their children's future success, and Microsoft is committed to helping in this effort.

"Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner visited Garfield High School alongside Superintendent-elect Dr. John Deasy to celebrate Microsoft's announcement of a major contribution to the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Educational Foundation. The donation comes in the form of $1 million in Microsoft software to be installed in more than 500 Parent Centers across the district," Microsoft informed.

LAUSD Parent and Family Centers serve as the hub for school volunteerism and provide trainings for parents to support their child's academic success. Microsoft's donation will help parents to play an effective role in their children's education through the use of technology. Read More

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Changing Education Paradigms

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Friendship Beats Bullies Every Time

Usually bullying happens when adults aren't around, in between classes, at lunch or recess, or after school. Still, . . .

Usually bullying happens when adults aren't around, in between classes, at lunch or recess, and after school. Still, bullying rarely takes place without an audience--kids are around to see bullying 85 percent of the time.

But even though they see it, kids usually don't try to stop bullying. That doesn't mean kids don't want to help--two out of three kids want to help when they see bullying-but it means that they don't know how. Read More

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PACT Initiative for Tackling Gang Violence Could Be New 'Boston Miracle'

Boston Police Superintendent Paul Joyce has gone on a talking tour around Dorchester, Mattapan and Roxbury, the neighborhoods he says are the heart of Boston's violence hot spots, where 90 percent of the city's shootings take place.

On Wednesday night, he visited the Greater Four Corners Action Coalition, a group created in response to drug violence in the early 90s, to give his update on the Partnerships Advancing Communities Together program, better known as PACT, which is up for its eight-month review. Joyce said it was his 155 community meeting since July 1, 2010. Read More

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Young Offenders Exhibit Their Work at the National Gallery

From next week, famous national treasures like Caneletto's The Stonemason's Yard and Turner's The Fighting Temeraire will share the limelight with an exhibition of drawings, sculptures and paintings by men from Feltham Young Offenders Institution. It might seem an unlikely alliance, but it has proven to be an enriching experience, both for the National Gallery, and for these young artists.

Art education projects like this offer young people in juvenile prison an alternative to traditional academic and vocational qualifications, says Gill Jenkins, a course director for creative studies at Kensington and Chelsea College, which provides education services to Feltham. "The outcome of each project has always been amazing, and it offers these young men a new experience and valued teaching by professional artists," she says. Read More

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School, All Fun and Games

Lakeside Primary school, a non-fee-paying school in Vryheid, is a modest structure of brick and prefab. Most of the 600 pupils who attend the school come from a nearby informal settlement and a sub-economic housing complex. They speak English as a second language, despite it being the medium of instruction at the school.

Many lack access to a computer or a television. But behind the school's walls, learning with a unique twist on gaming technology is taking place and pupils box, play bowling, drive cars and go on countless action adventures - all in a bid to improve the literacy rate at the school.

Principal Yunus Kirsten has now partnered with Microsoft to use an Xbox360 and Kinect to teach pupils in Grades 1 to 3 literacy and numeracy, and boasts of already seeing an improvement in results. The initiative is the first of its kind in the world. Read More

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City Hopes Open Gym Keeps Teens Off Streets

An effort is under way in Portland to keep kids away from violent behavior during Spring Break.

The Office of Youth Violence Prevention, the Police Activities League and partners of the Gang Violence Task Force are hosting open gym basketball every night this week.

Organizers say events such as open gym are vital because there is typically a spike in violence involving our youth during spring and summer breaks when kids are out of school. Watch the Video

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