Good News from Generation Schools Network!

NEW COLORADO RURAL EDUCATION COLLABORATIVE MEMBER: WELCOME TO DEER TRAIL SCHOOL DISTRICT!

Deer Trail 26J, a school district east of Denver, is the newest member of our Collaborative! They have recently reached the 200 student mark and have a staff of 27 teachers and paraprofessionals. As part of the Collaborative, they are hoping to connect with other similar Districts and to engage in more opportunities for students and teachers, such as expanded professional development opportunities.

For more information on the collaborative, click here , or email Facilitator Denille LePlatt.

COLLEGE APPLICATION WEEK AT BGS

During the week of Oct. 17th, Brooklyn Generation School hosted its College Application Week to coincide with the national effort across New York City. This week-long event is meant to inspire and guide BGS's high school seniors as they look for scholarships and navigate the process of filling out college applications. Throughout the week, guest speakers came from around the northeast region to present information to students. Some of the speakers included representatives from the Emma L. Cunningham Memorial Scholarship Fund, admission offices from Monroe College and alumni from Princeton University. GSN's very own East Coast Director, Claude Aska, along with GSN Development and Implementation Manager, Christon Harris, were among the speakers and shared their own stories of navigating college.

Pictured:
GSN East Coast Director, Claude Aska speaks to BGS students about his experience.

RECORD NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS FOR THIRD TEACHER RECRUITMENT IMMERSION EXPERIENCE!

Twelve teacher candidates participated in a three-day event facilitated on behalf of the Colorado Rural Education Collaborative by partners CSU-Pueblo, Generation Schools Network, Battelle for Kids and the Manzanola School District 3J. The organizers had two applications for every opening during the October 26-28 event which culminated with an interview session for teaching candidates and rural districts at the Share Fair Nation event on October 28 at Pueblo West High School. The immersion experiences, funded by a grant from the Colorado Department of Higher Education. Teaching candidates spent time touring Manzanola, CO and the surrounding area, and met with teachers in the district. The teacher candidates visited Old Bent's Fort with students from Manzanola Jr/Sr High to learn about the Arkansas Valley's history. After visiting classrooms in both Manzanola and Fowler and working with students, the potential teachers participated in a community clean-up project orchestrated by Manzanola Superintendent Tom Wilke.

GSN AmeriCorps member Kathryn Allison attended the Immersion Experience to provide professional development in Team Building (part of the GSN Social Emotional Learning curriculum).

The immersion experiences are a test as a potential answer to the state-wide teacher shortage, which is felt more acutely in rural Colorado. Superintendents and principals felt that good candidates were presented to fill current and upcoming teacher vacancies.

Pictured: Potential teacher candidates meet with teachers from Manzanola School District 3J to plan which Team Building activity (a part of GSN Social Emotional Learning curriculum) to use in the classroom.

OUT AND ABOUT WITH SEVERAL SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS!

GSN is proud to continue to bring expertise on several subjects to regional and national conferences. Ashleigh Valentine and Denille LePlatt spoke with partners at the National Rural Forum in Columbus, Ohio. Our staff members have been continuing to speak at Share Fair Nation events in Rifle, Pueblo, and Denver on topics of Social Emotional Learning and College Career Readiness. Katie Peyton and Kate Lister presented on Classroom Community at Ohio's SOAR Collaborative. Brittney Ames and Courtney Lancaster presented on the importance of Community Partnerships at the Equity and Excellence Conference in Denver! Keep following our eBlasts for Upcoming Events included in each mailing!

Pictured:
Wendy Cooper, BFK's Brad Mitchell, Kate Lister, Melissa Muniz, Katie Peyton, Denille LePlatt, and Ellen Sarkisian

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT:

Sandy Kraft has been a professional volunteer with GSN for eleven months. She has had her own marketing consulting practice for over 13 years, with clients such as Safeway, Intuit, and Oracle, and has helped set successful strategies to exceed revenue and profitability targets for many companies. She serves on the board of Family Supportive Housing, a family shelter with wrap-around services in San Jose, CA and on the Wellesley College Alumnae Club of Silicon Valley. She has an MBA in Marketing from Kellogg Graduate School, Northwestern University and a BA from Wellesley College. Her work for GSN has included assisting in refining organizational strategy with board input, facilitating board meetings, re-configuring board committees to enable the board to better support the organization, and evaluated and recommended online fundraising software options.

"Sandy came to us as a highly skilled Taproot Volunteer and has been a huge asset to Generation Schools Network with her strategic thinking and broad skill set. She has become a part of our team and we are grateful," says Wendy Loloff Cooper, CEO.