From PCPS: PHS Homecoming reception; PCPS awarded grant to launch Community Learning Centers

1) All alumni of Petersburg High School are invited to a Homecoming Week reception October 24. 2) PCPS awarded grant to launch Community Learning Centers in Petersburg 1) All alumni of Petersburg High School are invited to a reception October 24. During Homecoming Week 2008 in Petersburg, all alumni of Petersburg High School, the former Petersburg High School […]

September 23, 2008; 8:58 AM • by brenda p

1) All alumni of Petersburg High School are invited to a Homecoming Week reception October 24.
2) PCPS awarded grant to launch Community Learning Centers in Petersburg

1) All alumni of Petersburg High School are invited to a reception October 24.

During Homecoming Week 2008 in Petersburg, all alumni of Petersburg High School, the former Petersburg High School on Washington Street and the former Peabody High School, are invited to join the Homecoming Celebration and to attend a meet and greet reception from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, October 24, at Petersburg High School, 3101 Johnson Road. High school slides, yearbooks and other memorabilia will be on display. At this time, plans will be made for the 2009 Homecoming Reunion.

For more information, contact John Hart, President of the Petersburg Citywide PTA at 943-1745 or by email, petersburgpta@yahoo.com.

2) Grant will launch Community Learning Centers in Petersburg

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) is awarding 38 year-one grants to fund 21st Century Community Learning Centers in communities across the commonwealth. The Petersburg City Public Schools (PCPS) is proud to announce that, thanks to the hard work of Johna Vazquez, a PCPS Instructional Technology Resource Teacher who wrote the grant application for the school district, the PCPS had the highest score of all 21st CCLC applications submitted for the 2008-09 school year.

The grants range from $82,880 to $200,000 and will allow school divisions, faith-based organizations and community groups to provide tutoring, enrichment and counseling programs for students and families in high-poverty neighborhoods and low-performing schools. The centers offer services on a variety of schedules, including after school, during school breaks, during summer vacation and on weekends and holidays, according to VDOE.

The PCPS qualified for the full $200,000 grant. Here is how it will work:

Petersburg City Public Schools (PCPS), as the lead applicant, and the Southside VA Family YMCA, as the co-applicant, with the collaboration of several community partners, propose to establish 21st Century Community Learning Center sites at JEB Stuart Elementary School and Peabody Middle School. P.R.I.D.E. (Pupils Reaching Inward to Determine Their Excellence) will serve 160 students and 240 of their family members in this after-school program that is focused on improving academic achievement, offering youth development programs and activities, and serving the literacy and education development needs of working families.

P.R.I.D.E. will provide students with academic opportunities, including supplemental instruction in reading, writing, and math that is aligned to state standards. It will offer a wide array of recreational, cultural, and enrichment activities that support the development of the whole child and their families. Success criteria for P.R.I.D.E. will be measured by substantial gains in student achievement, youth development, and family literacy that will make our communities a more desirable place to live and work. Our center is designed to instruct and enrich our students while we reclaim and involve our parents.

September 23, 2008 8:58 AM 0