Check out some of the latest events and activities our schools have put on for their students over the last couple of months.
Auburn School District
Auburn High School has been busy taking students on many field trips to help expose them to different career options. During their mid-winter break, GEAR UP students in Auburn toured the American Car Museum, UW-Tacoma campus, Museum of Pop Culture and recently visited the Fisherman’s terminal!
70 students from Auburn visited the Port of Seattle where they had the opportunity to learn about Maritime careers. Students participated in a career scavenger hunt, toured the Fisherman’s Terminal, interacted with maritime professionals and even got to hop on one of their docked boats. During their field trip to the Museum of Pop culture, students had the opportunity to participate in a workshop and a museum tour. Students were able to understand how artists used their talent, skills and artistry as a platform to raise awareness to different causes and make a difference. Students were able to use their individual and collective skills to process collective anger, raise awareness and let their voices be heard through crafted personal justice statements. Finally, at the Car Museum, students got to learn about the automotive field from a different perspective. Students learned about the history of automobiles and how innovation and technology have shaped the industry.
Kent School District
Students and families attending Kent-Meridian (KM) got to dive into topics around money. Erika Enciso-Castillo, GEAR UP coordinator at KM, partnered with the Red Canoe Credit Union to offer a financial literacy workshop for students. GEAR UP Hangouts is a weekly event that is held on Thursdays from 2:15 – 3:15 PM for students to come in and learn and prepare themselves for college. During this hangout, GEAR UP students learned more about credit scores, interest rates, loans, differences between the various banking accounts and asked questions they had about those topics. Erika mentioned, “Many of our students are starting to have jobs and they had many questions about financial literacy. I believed it was an important topic for them to learn about and have the space to ask questions.” We are excited that Red Canoe Credit Union will be back for another GEAR UP Hangout in May!
KM also hosted a school-wide family night focused on paying for college in partnership with the College Success Foundation (CSF) & Upward Bound. Families were able to learn about the various ways to make college affordable and emphasized the importance of applying for scholarships. The event was a huge success, with over 200 people in attendance! After the presentation, parents could check out the scholarship fair with representatives from local and state scholarship organizations. Some of the partners included: Science Hill Scholars, Kent Foundation, Washington State Opportunity Scholarship (WSOS), CSF– Leadership 1000, Husky Promise & Upward Bound. Seniors who participated could also start or get help completing their financial aid application.
Kentridge & Kentwood High school hired their newest Student Success Specialist. We are excited to see the impact our new coordinators will have in Kent.
“My name is Jonathan Delcid, and I am the new GEAR UP Student Success Specialist at Kentwood High School. I grew up in Seattle, WA and graduated from the University of Washington. I started working in education through the YMCA working with their afterschool and intervention programs. Over the past 4 years, I have been with Treehouse, a non-profit focusing on working with youth in the foster care system. I am extremely excited to begin working within the Kentwood community!”
“My name is Favian Mares, and I am the GEAR UP Specialist for Kentridge High School. I am originally from the Yakima Valley and attended the University of Washington where I studied Education, Communities & Organizations and Nutritional Sciences. In my previous work with Seattle Promise and Dream Project, I have been able to engage with the Seattle and Kent community through family/student outreach and learn different ways to provide equitable college and career educational opportunities. I am really excited to be back at Kentridge High School and collaborate with the staff and students!”
Renton School District
Hazen high school had a family night focused on preparing for post-secondary. Over 150 people were in attendance and were ready to get their questions answered. Hazen’s school counselors joined the event to discuss high school graduation requirements and dual credit options such as running start. Representatives from the UW’s Multicultural Outreach and Recruitment team (MOR) also came down to talk about college admissions and answer families’ questions. Hazen will host another family night in May to teach families how to prepare for junior and senior year.
Lindbergh High School hosted their first-ever Brighter Future Summit. The summit is designed to give young Black men the space and opportunity to build community, get inspired, dream and plan for their future. Students learned more about themselves and engaged in topics around social-emotional learning and academic goal setting. Students had the opportunity to hear from Malcolm Baber, a local firefighter, and Mohamed Abdi, the youngest councilman to serve in Tukwila. Black students at Lindbergh are looking forward to more opportunities to connect with each other and continue having conversations about their future and striving for Black excellence.
Renton High School and Talley High School partnered with the Washington Alliance for Better Schools (WABS) a nonprofit organization that supports students to graduate career and college ready, bring all 10th grade students on worksite tours. All 10th grade students were asked to complete a survey where they picked their top 3 career interests, and they were then matched with a location that best fit one of their three choices. Most of the field trips had 3 main components: Learn about the company, a hands-on activity, and speed networking to learn about different jobs in the company. Students got the chance to visit one of the following companies:
- Hyatt Seattle
- Hyatt Lake Washington
- Orion Industries
- Skills Inc.
- Microsoft
- Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center
- Coffman Engineers
- Boeing
- King County International Airport
- Port of Seattle
- Costco
- Providence Healthcare
Tukwila School District
Foster High School hosted their first-ever Parent Academy. Glendal Tautua, GEAR UP Coordinator at Foster, led a 6-week program to help teach students and their families how to best prepare for the college going process. Parents at Foster were interested in learning more about how to support their students, information about the various postsecondary pathways and how to pay for college. One parent mentioned, “I appreciated receiving the information to feel more prepared in supporting my student during senior year. I also appreciated being able to hear from other parents, sometimes it can feel like we are trying to figure it out alone but it’s nice to know other parents are in the same place as me.” Another parent stated, “Financial literacy is really important. I never went to college. I went to trade school, so I didn’t really know much about the process. I know a little bit now, but Parent Academy really helped fill in some gaps and better prepared on what to expect.” Parent Academy has been a huge success with helping get our families ready for the college going process.
Written by Quadelle Satterwhite