September 14, 2007 --- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Community Leaders Gather To Celebrate Literacy
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Stuart McCammon
Director, Institutional Advancement
Chartwell School
831.394.3468, Ext. 102
831.295.4474 cell
September 14, 2007
Community Leaders Gather To Celebrate Literacy
Seaside, Ca – On Saturday, September 15, 2007, a cadre of prominent individuals will celebrate a unique collaborative partnership that is producing tangible results in advancing literacy in Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties. This partnership between Chartwell School, Boys & Girls Clubs of Monterey County, Community Foundation for Monterey County, Salvation Army Preschool and other local organizations, provides teachers with research-based instructional strategies and affords families access to literacy education that would be otherwise unavailable to them.
The day’s festivities will begin with a statement to the media and photo opportunities of children from the Salvation Army and Boys and Girls Clubs of Monterey County joining Chartwell students in fun reading activities led by specially trained Chartwell educators and local dignitaries and supporters including Monterey County Supervisor Simon Salinas, Chartwell School Executive Director Douglas Atkins, Community Foundation for Monterey County Senior Program Officer Jeff Bryant, Boys & Girls Clubs of Monterey County Executive Director Donna Ferraro, Chartwell School Board of Trustees Chair Kay Sullivan, California State University, Monterey Bay Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Diane Cordero de Noriega and Soledad Unified School District Superintendent Jorge Guzman.
Set against the picturesque backdrop of Chartwell’s brand new, energy efficient campus, A Celebration of Literacy will center on a festive barbeque with family games and activities including arts and crafts courtesy of Monterey Youth Museum and the ever popular “Dunk the Dean” booth featuring Chartwell School Dean of Students Judy Gaughf. The event, presented by Chartwell School Parents, Families and Friends, is open to the public and attendees are encouraged to donate much-needed items that Chartwell will distribute to literacy educators throughout the local area as part of its Outreach program. A list of needed items can be found by following the link “Tools for Teachers” at www.chartwell.org.
CHARTWELL Outreach
Chartwell School’s Outreach program provides direct literacy education to children, as well as offering professional development in literacy education best practices to local teachers. The goal of Chartwell Outreach is to bring research-based instructional methods to bear upon Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties and to address the problem of literacy in its largest context. Chartwell Outreach was recently honored with the award of a grant from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation to support scholarship of low-income, high potential students. Collaborative partners have included Boys and Girls Clubs of Monterey County, Salvation Army, Salinas Union High School District, Salinas YES program, future teachers at California State University Monterey Bay, Monterey County Adult Schools and local foster care programs.
PARENTS, FAMILY & FRIENDS
Parents, Family & Friends (PFF) is a new grassroots group sponsored by Chartwell School, with the aim of increasing participation in literacy programs community-wide and providing opportunities for all persons who seek help or are interested in volunteering to address the problem of poor literacy. PFF members and Chartwell School reach out to interested persons through in-home meetings, monthly community and parent workshops, email newsletters and our annual Celebration of Literacy.
About Chartwell School
Since 1983, Chartwell has educated children through grade eight with dyslexia and other learning variations in a way that provides them with the learning skills and self-esteem necessary to return successfully to mainstream education. A significant outgrowth of Chartwell’s traditional educational offerings has been the ability to deal with the broad spectrum of literacy for all ages, as exemplified in the activities of the Outreach program. Chartwell School has recently opened a new, sustainably designed, high performance campus at the former Fort Ord and is one of the “greenest” schools in the nation.
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