PennCORD

Participate in The National Online Youth Summit

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:31:00 EST

Deadline to Sign Up: December 17

http://www.abanet.org/publiced/noys/09/home.shtml

To apply, you will need to complete an application form, and ask your school principal to send a letter of support. Application at:

http://www.abanet.org/publiced/noys/09/theapplication.shtml

About the Summit

The National Online Youth Summit (NOYS) is a national program that encourages youth to learn about and critically evaluate a timely, law-related topic. The Summit curriculum, objectives, and goals are adaptable and allow teachers to create an exemplary project-based learning experience tailored to their students and relevant learning standards.

Over the last ten years, more than 4,000 students have participated in the Summit. Past topics have included environmental law, immigration, capital punishment, and youth internet access. Visit 2008 NOYS to learn more about last year's Summit.

The 2009 Summit

During the course of the 2009 Summit, high school students will study, research, and analyze the Second Amendment, and then engage in civil discourse online with students around the country. Students will explore the debate surrounding the Second Amendment through study of: historical context; national and state gun laws; role of pro-gun rights and pro-gun control advocacy groups; and guns in American popular culture.

NOYS Frequently Asked Questions

What is the purpose of the Summit?

The Summit is designed to help high school students learn about a timely, law-related topic, and develop informed opinions about the issue. Students complete a series of activities designed by the ABA to build their knowledge and sharpen skills, such as critical thinking, research, civil discussion, writing, analysis, synthesis, self-direction, and cooperation.

Students will be asked to share thoughts and to take part in online discussions with other students across the country. The discussion is asynchronous— meaning that students do not need to be online at the same time.

Is the curriculum provided?

Yes. Activities are designed and provided by the ABA. Ongoing instructional support from ABA staff is provided throughout the project. Additional resources will also be made available. Teachers will be asked to create one individualized activity for students, based on parameters provided by the ABA.

When does the Summit take place?

The Summit takes place during the second-half of the school year, between January and May. Approximately 10-14 activities will take place over a 14 week period.

What do I need to do to prepare for the summit?

You will need to participate in an online orientation via a "teachers only" message board and complete required orientation activities. You will also need to integrate the program curriculum into your students' course of study.

How do students communicate with other schools? Will I need to install any software?

Students and teachers will communicate with each other and other schools through the use of FuseTalk, an Internet-based software. FuseTalk is an online message board where participants can post messages related to the topic at hand.

The first time you log-in to FuseTalk, you will be prompted to install an application. This application is used for composing posts and will need to be installed on each computer that is used during the summit. The installation is quick and automatic, but you may have problems if your school computers are behind firewalls. You will want to check with your school's technology expert to make sure you can download the application.

Are there any other technical requirements I should know about?

FuseTalk will work with any of the following browsers installed on your computers:

Internet Explorer (IE) version 4 and higher• Netscape version 4 and higher • Opera version 5.12 and higher • Safari • Firefox version 1.0 and higher (Note: There are known display issues with this browser) To participate in the Summit, you will need to provide school computers with Internet access for student use. You will also need to have a valid e-mail address, use e-mail on a regular basis, and agree to subscribe to a Summit listserve.

Is technical support provided?

ABA will help you to learn the software, but cannot help you to manage your technology. You may need to seek support from technical staff at your school.

Will just anybody be able to access my students' posts?

No! Our FuseTalk board is private and can only be accessed by using a password. Only students and teachers involved in the summit will be able to see your students' posts.

Will my students be able to write whatever they want on the message board?

No. We encourage you to ask your students to draft their posts offline, so that you can review the message before students post it online. You will also be responsible for managing your students' use of the Web, and engaging them in discussions on the message board. ABA staff is also active in monitoring web conferences.

Does the program meet national standards? What about state standards?

Yes. The Summit curriculum is adaptable, and can be aligned with many national and state standards.

Do students need permission from their parents to participate in the summit?

We encourage you to seek parental permission for students to participate in the online aspect of the Summit.

Do I have to pay to apply?

No! All we ask is that teachers hand in final reports, evaluations, and post tests.

How long has this program been around?

The first National Online Youth Summit was held in 1999. Since then, ten summits have taken place, and more than 4,000 students have participated.

Over the last ten years, students have told us that they enjoy the experience of online discussion with other high school kids in different parts of the country. Our pre- and post- tests show that students improve their knowledge of the topic during the course of the Summit.

For more information, please contact:

Rina Shah

American Bar Association

Division for Public Education

321 N. Clark Street, 20.2

Chicago, IL 60654-7598

shahr@staff.abanet.org

Student Videos On Demand

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:53:00 EST

The Top 20 videos from the PennCORD video contest Voting: the Power of Your Voice will be available OnDemand starting Friday, December 12, 2008 and will be up through January 12, 2009. You can find the videos in the PennCORD folder located under the "Get Local" section.

Grand Prize Winning Video

Runner Up Video

And the winners are...

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 11:18:00 EST

First Lady Congratulates Allegheny, Luzerne County Students for Top Video Entries Depicting Importance of Voting

HARRISBURG – First Lady of Pennsylvania Judge Marjorie O. Rendell today congratulated five Fox Chapel Area High School students from Allegheny County for their video that won the grand prize in an online contest designed to highlight the importance of civic engagement through voting.

The video, “Voter vs. Non-Voter,” is a spoof of the Apple vs. PC commercials. It depicts two high school-aged students discussing the important issues facing the nation and the convenient access to answers on voting questions through the Department of State’s VotesPA.com Web site.

The winning entry was produced and submitted by Thanh Doan, Alexander Radkoff and Charles Wei of Ohara Township; Akansh Murthy of Aspinwall Township; and Anders Bergren of Fox Chapel Township. All students are seniors.

“These students are to be commended for their creativity in taking a concept that is widely recognized and using it to convey the opportunity before young voters to help shape the future of this country at a time when there are so many pressing issues,” said Judge Rendell.

The first lady also recognized Michael Wolfe as the runner-up in the contest. Wolfe, of Shickshinny, is a senior at Northwest Area High School in Luzerne County. His video, “An Honest Opinion,” is a silent 40-second spot that depicts how one person’s opinion cannot have an impact unless it is voiced by going to the polls.

The Pennsylvania Coalition for Representative Democracy, or PennCORD, launched the Voting: The Power of Your Voice contest in September. The statewide contest challenged Pennsylvania students in grade six or above to create a 30-to-60-second video that demonstrates how voting gives power to citizens’ voices and why it is important for them to exercise that power. The competition was presented in partnership with the Pennsylvania departments of State and Education.

All videos submitted urged viewers to visit www.VotesPA.com to learn more about voting in the 2008 general election on Tuesday.

VotesPA.com is a Pennsylvania Department of State online tool that has information for different types of voters, including first-time voters, college students, older Pennsylvanians, citizens with disabilities, members of the military, and voters who have recently moved or changed their name.

The Web site’s Election Day assistant can help voters find their polling place and tell them what to bring. Those with questions about electronic voting machines can learn more about their county’s system by watching a video demo. First-time voters or voters who are voting in a precinct for the first time can view a list of acceptable types of identification they need to present at the polling place.

The Web site also provides facts about absentee, alternative and provisional ballots.

PennCORD is a unique union of educational, advocacy and governmental organizations committed to improving civic learning for students in grades K-12 that was created in 2004 in response to The Civic Mission of Schools report and is currently supported by the Annenberg Foundation. PennCORD’s goal is for every Pennsylvania school to prepare its students to understand and participate in their communities, society and government. The initiative supports schools across the commonwealth in their efforts to fulfill their civic mission by offering resources and opportunities to participate in statewide and local programs. For more information, visit www.penncord.org.

PennCORD, led by the first lady, was founded by the National Constitution Center, Pennsylvania Department of Education, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, and the Governor’s Office of the First Lady.

“I want to congratulate all of the students who participated in this competition,” said Judge Rendell. “The response and number of entries we received tell us that young, eligible voters are aware of the issues we face and are excited about participating in the upcoming election.”

The top videos, as well as each entry received, are available at www.ourstage.com.

The grand-prize winner and the runner-up will receive a cash prize for themselves and their school. The grand-prize winner will have the opportunity to appear on the Comcast Newsmakers program with Judge Rendell and will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Harrisburg or Philadelphia. Additionally, the top 20 videos will be available for viewing on Comcast OnDemand, available to all Comcast digital cable customers.

Webcast on Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:44:00 EDT

Tuesday, November 18, 2008
11:00 AM ET
2:00 PM ET

As part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, FPRI will present two 45-minute webcast on Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Secondary schools/classes may sign up to view the webcasts live online and participate in the Q&A periods.

The founders of Yahoo!, Google, and FaceBook are famous and very wealthy. They are our modern heroes. In part, each owes his success to the work and success of many other innovators and entrepreneurs in an unbroken line stretching back hundreds of years. As Isaac Newton famously repeated, "If I have seen a little further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."

On whose shoulders do Jerry Yang and David Filo (Yahoo!), Sergey Brin and Larry Page (Google), and Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) stand? What innovations form the foundations of these companies’ products, and how can we understand how history can give each of us a better chance to create great products and achieve great success?

Lawrence Husick, co-director of FPRI's Wachman Center Program on the History of Innovation will present a fast-paced webcast that traces these modern systems' roots from an early form of telegraph, through Napoleon's France, to Samuel Morse, Alexander Graham Bell, “Ma” Bell, Bell Labs, and then finally to BitNet, ARPANet, the Internet and World Wide Web.

To register for either or both webcasts go to:

www.fpri.org/education/innovationwebcast/

For additional information, contact Aln Luxenberg at lux@fpri.org or telephone (215) 732-3774 x105.

Last chance for video contest entries

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:20:00 EDT

Voting: The Power of Your Voice video contest will continue to accept submissions until MIDNIGHT TONIGHT, Friday, October 24.

If you experienced difficulty submitting your video yesterday due to the technological glitches at ourstage.com, you can enter your contest into competition today. Please remember to ENTER YOUR VIDEO INTO THE PENNCORD CHANNEL. If your video is currently uploaded to OurStage, but not entered into the PennCORD channel, it will not be part of the competition.

CHAD wins BrownPartner's The Big Pitch

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 09:26:00 EDT

On Tuesday, March 11, 2008, a team of CHAD, Charter High School for Architecture + Design, students won the championship title in “The BIG Pitch” advertising competition defeating two-time champions Roxborough High School. CHAD students on the winning team were: Jovan Ellis, David Mullowney, Keshava Stanford-Carter, Kevin Valentin, and Rattanak Yin.

The Big Pitch is a competition created in 2004 by David W. Brown and his Philadelphia-based advertising agency, BrownPartners, as a way to expose inner city high school students to careers in advertising. The students were matched up with advertising agency coaches from agencies Red Tettemer and The Engine Room to learn the fundamentals of how advertising campaigns are devised, how target audiences are reached and how campaigns are implemented. The students also participate in a six week program called “The Big Pitch Institute” that provides after school classes that teach them about advertising principles and careers in the field.

The winning CHAD team received $1500 to split between CHAD and the winning team. Jovan Ellis, the team’s MVP as voted by his teammates, was awarded full tuition to the University of the Arts Pre-College Summer Institute. All other team members were awarded full tuition to the Unviersity of the Arts Pre-College Saturday School.

Every year BrownPartners puts forth a concept with which students are to base their advertisements. The winning advertisement, based on the concept of getting out the vote, was an Ad campaign entitled "The Power of 18." The premise is that if 18 people voiced the concerns, issues and problems that face their community then they can send a powerful message to the government to act on their behalf via voting.

On June 9th the team from CHAD was recognized by Judge Marjorie O. Rendell, Mrs. Lisa Nutter and Mr. David W. Brown in a ceremony where the team put on a presentation of their "Power of 18" Ad campaign. Judge Rendell, Mrs. Nutter and Mr. Brown spoke to the assembled students, educators and guests at the Charter High School for Architecture + Design. Both 1st Ladies, Rendell and Nutter, also took questions from CHAD students.

Interboro's Freshmen Mentoring program

Thu, 29 May 2008 09:26:00 EDT

This is the third year of Interboro’s Freshmen Mentoring Program. In light of its success at entrusting students with the responsibility for creating an inclusive school culture, Mr. Andy Costanzo, Interboro High School’s Activity Coordinator and Mr. Bob Tryanski put on a seminar for rising senior who will be Freshmen Mentors next school year.

Out of a list of 76 students who wished to take part in the Freshmen Mentoring program, the 5 mentoyeers employ the Freshmen Mentors, and faculty members have chosen 53 students to act as mentors. The term mentoyeers was created by students 3 years ago as a title for the 4 or 5 students in charge - who use this program as their senior project and in a sense,The Mentoyeers and Freshmen Mentors first met on May 28th for an orientation and then again in August for training. Mentoyeers are required to visit their assigned freshmen homeroom one to two times a week. They are to counsel freshmen about the social, emotional, intellectual and academic realities of high school.

Mr. Tryanski’s motivational speaking and his training session is of value to the new mentors. He provided a four hour training session on May 28th to the soon to be Freshmen Mentors

Teachers use Technology to Make Learning Relevant

Tue, 27 May 2008 09:27:00 EDT

Springfield High School (Delaware County) is using its Classrooms for the Future grant to enhance instruction in a truly interdisciplinary way. Technology is integrated into all subject area classes, such as William McRae's American Government class.

In a particularly original assignment, McRae asked his students to watch the presidential primary debates and analyze them by way of podcast recordings. In a style that will remind listeners of NPR broadcasts, students reported on the candidates' views and performances.

Not only did students turn these podcasts in to their proud teacher, they shared them with the entire school community, on the Springfield website. Parents and principal alike responded to the students' work with comments on the class discussion board, another product of the Classrooms for the Future grant.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education states on its website: "Classrooms for the Future will create learning environments that students will find engaging and that will pique their interests - a critical component to boosting student achievement." After visiting the school and seeing firsthand the level of proficiency students have both with the technology and the content material, I am pleased to say that this goal has been met at Springfield High School.

Dwight Evans' Career Day at Finletter Elementary School

Fri, 23 May 2008 09:28:00 EDT

I spoke to 6 classes of students at Thomas K. Finletter ES about my career as an educator, the importance of Education and how dreams can motivate anyone to work hard to achieve their dreams. Several other speakers from Temple University, Wachovia Bank and from the music industry also spoke to the students about their careers and the importance of education to their respective careers.

I was led from class to class by Daniel a very astute 5th grade student from Finletter. The program was set up by the guidance department and the office of State Representative Dwight Evans. Special thanks go out to Sabrina and Denise Holloway for setting up such a wonderful program and inviting PennCORD to speak to their constituents children.

Springfield High School's Celebration of the Arts

Fri, 23 May 2008 09:28:00 EDT

The name does not do this extravaganza justice: it should be called Celebration of Students. Somewhere between 75% and 85% of the Springfield HS (Delaware county) students take part in this annual ritual. The walls of the school are lined with images created by students and displays of student work occupy seemingly every nook and cranny of the HS. Student work also includes architectural models, advanced carpentry, wood-working and sculpture.

The highlight for us at PennCORD was the What is Freedom? wall created by Mr. Bill McRae's and Mr. Mike Mann's students. Both teachers worked together to create not only a model of inter-disciplinary collaboration, but to help create an original and thought provoking public display of what freedom looks like to their students. Government students from Mr. McRae's class worked with Mr. Mann's in his photo lab to visually represent what they felt freedom is. These are not images of flags and bald eagles, vaunted symbols of freedom they are, but personal musings on what freedom means.

Abington High & 26: A Match Made in Student Heaven

Thu, 22 May 2008 09:29:00 EDT

Led by Ms. Kathleen Hauger, the Social Studies Chair, Ms. Mary Rodgers, the Service Learning Coordinator and the Art Department, Abington HS has taken 26: Student Advocacy Kit along with their renowned service learning program and created something special.

One of Ms. Hauger's student's, used 26 as a template to describe how other young people and adults use concepts from 26 to become change agents in their own communities and solve problems. This project is organized as an 8 minute DVD that features 3 different civic problems. After each problem is presented the DVD is stopped and students are asked to discuss how they would deal with the problems presented to them on the DVD. After which the students are shown the ways in which each problem was dealt with using the 26 template. This project is designed by a student to be used by classroom teachers to demonstrate to their students what civic engagement looks like. This project was part of a student’s senior project. All Abington HS seniors must complete a senior project that is connected to community service.

Another of Ms. Hauger's student's created an on-line voting program, School Voting, that will be used by the school to not only ballot students on their choices for President of the U.S., but for local elections, student council elections, prom and home-coming and student sentiment: This program is slated to be used district-wide.

The Art department with help from PennCORD went forward with The Memory Project, which is designed to make students more aware of global poverty & food security issues. The Memory Project is a unique initiative in which advanced high school art students create original portraits for children who have been abandoned, orphaned, abused, or neglected. To do this, the art students receive pictures of children who are waiting for portraits, and then work in their art classrooms to create the portraits. Once finished, the portraits are delivered to the children, and the children are then invited to create drawings or write letters to send back to the art students. The children are from: Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Peru, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, and Haiti.

Cheltenham High School's Leadership Conference

Mon, 19 May 2008 09:30:00 EDT

66 Students from Cheltenham High School worked together in 8 groups to come up with 8 different proposals to be considered by a mock Cheltenham board.

The 8 proposals were: combating the achievement gap; expansion of the senior independent experience; improving facility maintenance; raising PSSA performance; the negative impact of proposed block scheduling; monitoring an open campus at CHS; creation of a green campus at CHS and; healthier food choices in the cafeteria.

The mock school board was composed of the presiding president of the school board Tina Viletto, CHS principal Dr. Elliot Lewis as well as members of the faculty and administration from the Cheltenham School District, other Cheltenham school board members, CHS students and PennCORD's own Joanna Richman. This wonderful event was hosted by PennCORD alum Anne Spector, who did a marvelous job setting up, organizing and baking desserts for the assembled guests and participants.

Students answered questions from the mock board concerning the necessity and viability of their proposals. One proposal, improving facility maintenance, is being addressed by the school district and the talking points the students used were integrated into the districts plans to improve school facilities. The group proposing ways to raise student performance on the PSSA were invited to Harrisburg to make their proposal to the PA Department of Education.

The Leadership Conference was designed by Ms. Spector to give the students practice in advocating for students at CHS and instruct students on the school board process through which proposals, like theirs, are subject to before they can be implemented. All the students were extended an invitation from Ms. Viletto to come to the school board meetings so their voice can be heard.

All of the groups gave excellent presentations that were at once pertinent, well researched and humorous to students and adults alike.

Dwight Evans Civic Leadership Summit

Sat, 17 May 2008 09:25:00 EDT

3 teams of students from MLK High School, Imotep High School and Parkway Northwest High School presented their We The People: Project Citizen projects to State Representative Dwight Evans, Governor Ed Rendell, and an esteemed panel of judges. All 3 programs have been implemented in each school and have all been a positive influence in their respective school environs.

MLK High School was crowned the winner, but both Parkway Northwest and Imotep had excellent projects and powerful presentations.

Happy National AmeriCorps Week

Mon, 12 May 2008 09:24:00 EDT

May 11-18, 2008

PennSERVE is proud to announce that Pennsylvania is putting National AmeriCorps Week on the map thanks to all of the great service projects, rallies, and recognition events planned by AmeriCorps programs and AmeriCorps VISTA projects in Pennsylvania . On Tuesday morning May 13th at 8:00 A .M. there will be simultaneous rallies held in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

In addition, check out the PennSERVE website at www.pennserve.state.pa.us for a list of planned activities, including service projects in which you are welcome to participate.

Siezure by Bumper

Thu, 08 May 2008 09:24:00 EDT

Judicial Outreach program
US District Court: Allentown PA
Case: Scott v. Harris 550 U.S. ___ (2007)

William Allen HS in Allentown and Saucon Valley HS in Hellertown came to the Federal Court House in Allentown to celebrate Juror Appreciation Day by acting as jurors in the case of Scott v. Harris. The questions of law for the jury of students to consider were:

1) Does a police officer who stops a high-speed chase by ramming a fleeing suspect's car violate the 4th Amendment's protection against unreasonable seizure?

2) Was it "clearly established" in federal law that an officer violates the Fourth Amendment by using deadly force during a high-speed chase?

In Judge Gardner's courtroom William Allen HS sat 2 juries and I was asked to portray Deputy Timothy Scott and Nathaniel Edwards of William Allen portrayed Victor Harris.

Deputy Scott was represented by Pam Foa & Mr. Harris was represented by Ben Cooper. After the closing arguments both juries found in favor of Deputy Scott, that's me, because of the superior closing argument given by my attorney Ms. Foa and photographic evidence proving Mr. Harris' recklessness. The Supreme Court found in favor of Deputy Scott as well in 2007.

Ms. Melissa Bell, Mr.John Lutte & Ms. Laura Quinter brought the astute legal minds from William Allen's Constitutional Law & Criminal Justice classes to adjudicate the case.

Afterwards the students worked with each of the lawyers as well as judge Gardner. The students worked with each of the lawyers to appeal the case, in the case of Mr. Harris, or prepare a defense, in the case of Deputy Scott. The students working with judge Gardner acted as a "Supreme Court" to hear Mr. Harris' appeal.

Fight for the Franchise: House Bill 520

Sat, 03 May 2008 09:23:00 EDT

In the Easton Area HS auditorium students from Easton, Pen Argyl, Nazareth, Bangor and Fox Chapel High Schools testified in front of the Pennsylvania House State Government Committee in favor of an amendment to the Pennsylvania State Constitution that would allow 17-year-olds to vote in Democratic and Republican state primaries if they will be 18 by the time of the Presidential election in November. Known as House Bill 520, this bill would align Pennsylvania with the 11 other states that have passed similar legislation.

The students did a wonderful job especially Mike Manchester from Easton Area HS. The students who testified were as diverse politically as the State Representatives who support House Bill 520. The students , Republicans, Libertarians, Democrats and Independents, all said that the bill would not favor any political party, but would expand the electorate to young people who would be Constitutionally allowed to vote in the Presidential election in November.

Fox Chapel get props and much respect for driving 5 hours from Pittsburgh to testify at Easton Area HS. Without the support of teachers like Mr. Jeffery Corpora at Easton Area HS, Ms. Jennifer Klein at Fox Chapel HS and Representative Richard T. Grucela of Northampton County democratic discourse and political action like this could not take place.

Law Day

Thu, 01 May 2008 09:23:00 EDT

On the 50th anniversary of Law Day, 1st proclaimed by POTUS Eisenhower, the Pennsylvania Bar Association celebrated by inviting Chester High School's Youth Court to Philadelphia to demonstrate their court system for the assembled judges from around the Keystone State, including 1st Lady Marjorie O. Rendell, and the US.

The Chester HS students did a wonderful job displaying their legal prowess in a mock trial session. At Chester HS the decisions of this court are binding for the students that come before it. The students and their court are supported by dedicated teachers, attorneys, college professors and law students.