St. Mary’s County Branch NAACP and Great Mills High School
are sponsoring a
Community Awareness Night
Great Mills High School (Cafeteria)
Thursday, April 26, 2012
6:30-8:30 p.m.

Topic: Gearing Up for 2013: “What Does It Take to Graduate From High School”?
PLEASE COME OUT AND JOIN US. -- HELP US HELP YOU

The St. Mary’s County Branch of the NAACP is working with Great Mills High School’s Principal, Jake Heibel, on increasing graduation rates. They are “Gearing Up for 2013 to help students and parents learn more about graduation requirements, programs for struggling students, dropout prevention, extra-curricular activities, Fair Lead Academy, After School Programs, Flow Mentoring, the College Access Network Program, Evening High School, Summer School, withdrawal policies, counseling programs ….. and more!!!! The focus of the meeting will be the Apex Learning Program.

St. Mary’s County Public Schools is one of four districts who received funding for the Apex Learning program. This is an on line program which addresses student retention and dropout prevention by implementing remediation programs for struggling students and credit recovery for students who have failed courses. It provides additional instructional resources for teachers in traditional classrooms; increases student enrollment and exam scores for Advanced Placement. It offers original credit for students who are unsuccessful with traditional instruction and helps transfer students, and students who need flexible scheduling options.

America’s Promise Alliance (the Alliance) is the nation’s largest partnership organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth. It was founded in 1997 with General Colin Powell as its founding chairman, and is chaired today by Alma Powell. Apex Learning® is the leading provider of digital curriculum for secondary education and is a member of the Alliance’s Business Leaders Council and Education Innovators group. The partnership with these districts will support America’s Promise Alliance’s Grad Nation Campaign, which is a 10-year initiative to mobilize Americans to end the high school dropout crisis and prepare young people for the 21st century workforce. The goal of the Grad Nation Campaign is to improve the nation’s overall high school graduation rate to 90 percent by 2020. This program is now being offered at Great Mills High School during the regular school day and after school. It has also been expanded to Leonardtown High School and Chopticon High School as an after school offering.

The community awareness program will be held on April 26, 2011 at Great Mills High School in the cafeteria. For additional information contact: Janice Walthour at 301-862-2296 or Jake Heibel at 301-863-4001.

NOTE: There will also be a brief presentation by Ms. Carol Ann Hall of Southern Maryland Mission of Mercy regarding the upcoming FREE Dental Fair that will be held at Chopticon High School on June 22 and 23, 2012.

Misplace Priorities: Sign Our Petition to Tell America’s Governors to Focus on Education, not Incarceration

America spends more money incarcerating its citizens than educating them.

That's not an exaggeration. It's a fact.

The NAACP's new report, Misplaced Priorities, shows how much money states spend on their criminal justice system compared to their education system -- and what that means for our communities.

The results are astounding. Over the past 20 years, for example, state spending on prisons grew at six times the rate of spending on higher education. Our country is home to just five percent of the world's population, but we make up a staggering twenty-five percent of the world's prisoners.

You can do something about this crisis. That's why the NAACP has launched a petition asking all 50 state governors to get their priorities straight and fix this problem with a set of smart reforms to keep our communities safe. Add your name now, and make sure your voice is heard in your state capital:

http://action.naacp.org/MisplacedPriorities

In 2009, as the nation plummeted into the deepest recession in 30 years, funding for K-12 and higher education declined. But for prisons, the reverse was true. That year, 33 states spent more discretionary dollars on prisons than in 2008.

As our children fail to get the education they deserve, our prisons are filling up at an alarming rate. And, as usual, those most affected are communities of color. We know drug treatment is a smart alternative for non-violent offenders. It is also significantly cheaper. Educational opportunities are also cost-effective, and lead to a marked reduction in neighborhood crime. Relatively minor investments in treatment for those suffering mental illness mean fewer people in jail and more contributing members to society.

There's no denying the irrational increase in prison spending, and its impact on state budgets and our nation's children. But there is something you can do about it.

Sign our petition to tell America's governors to support the NAACP's reforms that will focus on making sure we invest in schools, not prisons.

http://action.naacp.org/MisplacedPriorities

Thank you for taking the time to help us speak out to America's governors, and show the strength of our resolve to change our country's misplaced priorities.

It's time we stop over incarcerating and under educating.

Best,
Ben

Benjamin Todd Jealous
President and CEO
NAACP

NEW ADDITION TO ST. MARY'S NAACP WEBSITE

We've now added a new link that contains local Employment Opportunities in the Southern Maryland area!  If you're looking for employment, keep an eye on this page.  If you're an employer with a job opening, please contact us about posting your employment opportunity.

 

Stop the Hate Petition

In an effort to continue the momentum created during the NAACP’s 101st National Convention, we are asking all members to sign the Stop the Hate Petition that is currently on the NAACP’s website. The pledge can be found here: http://action.naacp.org/page/s/stophatepledge

St. Mary's County NAACP
Establishes Claudia Pickeral Memorial Scholarship