classroom

40 Cincinnati Students Received Project GRAD Scholarships

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It’s so great to see organizations, volunteers and professionals all putting their energy together to help young people dream and realize personal success.

Project GRAD is a nonprofit partner of Cincinnati Public Schools whose goal it is to help students succeed in the classroom and in life. More than 2000 students have strengthened their academic skills, their relationships with parents and their self confidence as a result the organization’s programs.

And recently, forty 2011 graduates of Western Hills University High School were honored by Project GRAD with Rising Star Scholarships totaling $134,000. Scholarship recipients had a minimum 2.5 cumulative grade point average, completed the college recommended academic requirements and participated in two Project GRAD Summer Institutes.

Congratulations to them for all of their accomplishments…and thank you to organizations like Project GRAD for encouraging them to be their best.

Caught Being Good

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I love this.  What a fun and creative way of encouraging positive values in children. When I visited the R.C. Durr YMCA preschool last week this caught my eye. Teachers there are on high alert every day…to catch good behavior. And from the looks of it, there is a lot of good behavior to recognize. It’s amazing how when you reinforce the behaviors you want to see more of, that’s exactly what you end up seeing.

Robin and Brock Teach Kids About Character Values

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It started out as any other day for the group of Bloomfield Elementary School students. That is, until the door opened and 130 pounds plus of pure love stood before them, his tail wagging like a windshield wiper caught in torrential rain.

Brock, the greater than life teddy bear whose mission in life seems to be spreading joy and friendship, is a jet black Newfoundland who has become quite a celebrity among school age children throughout Butler County area schools.

He and his sidekick Robin Atyeo have been visiting students for about six years now. Actually, I’m not quite sure who is whose sidekick. I guess it would be more appropriate to call them partners.

Together through reading and activities they encourage children to think responsibly and make good decisions. It was actually Robin’s idea – Brock just happily tags along. You could all his a job with ‘perks’.

They’re actually a small nonprofit called R.S.B. Character Education (created to help Robin raise enough funds to keep the program going) aimed at teaching kids lessons in character values. How do they do that? Well, Brock’s Adventures is a series of books drawn by Robin’s now 17 year old son featuring everybody’s favorite larger-than-life teddy bear and local recognizable venues specific to local neighborhoods. In the classroom, Brock sits quietly while Robin first reads a book to the kids sitting round and then has a discussion about choices. Petting and hugging times comes after they’ve listened and participated.

The second part of the lesson comes after Robin and Brock leave. Kids can earn the status of ‘Brock’s buddy’ by completing character building activities throughout the month.

Robin recently received a grant to produce videos for teachers, giving classes more flexibility in teaching the lessons. Through the video program students will earn a visit from Brock through their completion of character building exercises.

So what drives this mother of four – that’d be two human kids and two that have four legs (did I mention the Altyeo’s just got puppy Brody, another Newfoundland, to be a teacher’s aide also?) – to give so much of her time and energy to her program?

“I had worked for the Butler County Juvenile Court and saw so many young people making bad decisions that were life changing. To teach kids that they have it in them to make good choices is really rewarding,” Robin said. “I hope Brock’s Adventures helps them to pause and think about the consequences of their decisions.”

I’d say by the number of Brock’s Buddies – she definitely has.

For more information on Brock’s Adventures, please visit their website.

(right – Brock & his illustrator, Scott Atyeo)

Success Comes In Many Measurements

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Lynn Collins and I met one cold December afternoon on the gymnasium floor at Cincinnati State. It was the iSPACE LEGO League Robotics Tournament. where the mood was nothing short of intense. Loud music ricocheted off the walls sending tremors across the floor, only the sheer concentration of what was happening almost drowned out any other noise than the sound of cheers rising from the stands. Seconds mattered as robots – less than 16 inches high – moved across tables, pulling or dumping objects, turning knobs and pushing levers. Two students just old enough to be called teens, programmers and builders as they were known in that competition, were standing just at the edge of each field making quick adjustments so their robot could change tasks and accomplish as many challenges as possible. Their teams stood just behind them on the floor. Some shouted in sheer emotion. Others stood erect in nervous tension. Referees in black and white striped shirts hovered. And then, in two and a half minutes, the horn blasted and it was over..at least that round. Teams had three tries that day to improve their scores.

Camera in hand, I was moving around television videographers trying to capture what I could. There was one group in particular that stood out to me. I remember watching as one of the students bent over his robot, fumbling to change its attachment. It seemed like a simple enough task inserting one piece into another, but it was a challenge for him. A woman sat in a folding chair several feet away. Her body was taught, leaning toward the table. Her bent elbows pressed into her thighs and her tense face was cradled in the stability of her cupped hands molded around her cheeks. Her eyes were fixed on that young man.

She and I were introduced later that day.

For 25 years, Lynn told me, she has been driving an hour each way to teach Cincinnati’s urban, inner city kids. This year with the closing of Burton Elementary, she’s been at Rockdale Academy teaching language arts to 7th and 8th graders. Many come to her classroom with deep emotional scars, baggage from travels to unthinkable places. Some have huge responsibilities caring for their siblings and others struggle just to survive. Some keep to themselves while their counterparts won’t let anyone push them around. 99% are living below poverty level. 98% receive free lunch.

These are the reasons why Lynn gets in her car day every day and why she stays late after the last bell in case anyone wants some extra help – or maybe just an attentive ear. She does all this because she sees in them the same potential she sees in her own children. They just need to be given the opportunity to succeed. Maybe that’s what makes Lynn so special in my eyes.

“My students don’t need sympathy,” she told me. “They need empathy and understanding. They’re not any different than any other kids their age.

“If you asked them, they would probably tell you I’m mean, but I’m fair,” she went on. “I don’t deviate from my expectations for any one of them. I hold each one to the highest of standards. I tell them ‘we’re all in this together. Your successes are my successes but if you fail, it’s my failure too.’ “

One day Lynn announced to all her students she was organizing a girls and a boys team to compete in iSPACE’s robotics tournament. Anyone could sign up, but if they did, Lynn required them to sign a contract committing to meet at least three nights a week, work together as a team, and of course show up for the actual event.

Eyes widened. There was a sense of eager anticipation. In the end, seven girls and three boys came to Cincinnati State that weekend. They had a long journey ahead so they didn’t waste time.

Two of the girls on the Rockdale Rockettes have cognitive delays. Math, one of the most important skills in programming robots, was about as difficult to understand for them as hieroglyphics are to me. They struggled, and I mean they really struggled to overcome their challenges. Lynn wasn’t willing to bend. One of their tasks was to program their robot to move forward on the table, stop, turn around and come back. The robot needed to make a 180 degree turn, a concept Tera wasn’t able to grasp despite years of trying in math class. Lynn drew pictures on a board to demonstrate it. The group drew their own pictures, brainstorming as they went. They focused as hard as it was possible to focus. Suddenly, a light bulb went off. “I got it! I understand!,” Tera screamed. The eighth grader could barely wait to tell her math teacher.

That moment was one Lynn will never forget. But then again, you get the feeling Lynn has many moments that will linger with her probably for the rest of her life.

The Rockdale Rockets included Samuel who is considered gifted, Tony who is visually impaired, and Charles who is autistic. They are three very differently abled and talented boys, bringing to the team their own strengths and perspectives. “We all have our own strengths and weaknesses,” said Lynn. “My job was just to help the kids identify their own strengths and guide them to know how to use them to benefit the whole.”

Simple enough. Tony has a great knack for programming. Computer skills are definitely his thing. Charles has such an incredibly mechanical mind. He could look at a mission, figure out what needed to be accomplished and build an attachment for the robot in a matter of minutes. And Samuel’s critical thinking, communication, and writing skills made him the natural leader of the group.

A second component to the tournament involved researching and developing a solution to a climate related problem, then sharing their ideas to people who could act upon them like community councils and legislators. Teams presented their projects and reports to judges the Saturday before the robotics challenge in the gym.

Lynn gathered the boys for a meeting. “You guys understand if Charles chooses to not participate, you need to take the lead,” she told them. Actually, she knew Charles wouldn’t participate because she had never heard his voice. A head nod and eye contact had been his form of communication for as long as she’d known him. She just wanted to acknowledge it was ‘ok’ for him to be his own way.

Then Lynn asked, “what is the last thing you say to the judges before you leave the room?” ‘Thank you’ was the boys’ answer.

But something completely out of the blue happened. Something no one, not even Lynn could have anticipated. She was sitting outside the doors that Saturday, nervously waiting while her teams explained their research to strangers. Suddenly the doors flew open and the boys sprinted toward her. “I couldn’t imagine what could have gone wrong,” Lynn said.

“Mrs. Collins, you won’t believe what happened,” Tony and Samuel blurted out in unison. “We turned around and said ‘thank you’ and then Charles turned around and said ‘thank you’ too.”

Charles stood before Lynn and grinned. There haven’t been many times in Lynn’s life where she’s been at a loss of words, but that was definitely one.

“We were never in this to win the highest score. There was no way I’d tell my students there was a total of 400 points. Our goal was to increase our points with each try, learning to improve compromising and communication skills along the way. The Teamwork Award was what I wanted for them,” Lynn said.

Did they accomplish what they set out to achieve? They sure did. The Rockdale Rockettes went from 9 points in their first round to 61 by the end of the day. The Rockdale Rockets started at 20 points and scored 51 points in the third round. And that Teamwork Award? The Rockettes won a 2nd place Teamwork Award while the Rockets won the Judge’s Award given to a group that demonstrates fortitude and diligence.

And by the way, Lynn was also recognized as one of iSPACE’s 2008 outstanding coaches.

PLEASE NOTE: Students names have been changed at Lynn’s request. Unfortunately, I didn’t know I’d be writing her story when we met and did not take her photo. Please continue reading the blog for a look at how Lynn encourages success in her classroom.

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