by butch | Feb 4, 2023 | Blog, GPS Project
Dear Community,
Since our last update, Team GPS met with Brandon Noah of Unitech Training Academy and Mr. Darby, Northside High School’s Senior Counselor, to determine eligibility requirements for three (3) Northside High School Seniors to receive FULL academic scholarships to Unitech Training Academy. We will interview six (6) Northside High Seniors on February 8 to finalize the Unitech Scholarship Recipients to attend Unitech after graduation.
One of the objectives of the GPS Project is to provide guidance and resources to help students improve their ACT scores. On February 3, Team GPS met with NHS JAG students to discuss the significance of taking the ACT. Team GPS will begin ACT Prep with forty (40) JAG students on February 6 until March 7 when juniors and seniors take the ACT exam given by the school district.
Team GPS held it’s second JAG Academic Celebration at Northside on January 27. Students who earned a 3.0 or above with no D’s or F’s and/or successfully achieved their 2nd 9-weeks S.M.A.R.T. goals were awarded a certificate, movie pass, and sweet treats from Nuthin Bundt Cakes.
We are excited about every opportunity to connect with Northside JAG students to provide guidance, encouragement, and resources to help them transition to post-secondary education.
Thank you again for your support.
Karen Dugas & Team GPS
by butch | Dec 20, 2022 | Blog, Inclusive Prom
Dear Community,
Since receiving the $4,000 from the 24 Hour Citizens Project we have hit the ground running! Inclusive Prom will be taking place on Saturday, March 11th from 7:00-10:00pm. Team Inclusive Prom was initially made up of member of Acadiana Queer Collective but has since grown to include; The Family Tree/Jacob Crouch Suicide Prevention, PFLAG Lafayette, Safe Havynn, and We Demand More. We have met twice so far to begin planning Inclusive Prom and will be meeting with a potential host for the event today. We haven’t spent any money yet and instead are inquiring with vendors and potential sponsors who can offer us in-kind donations to supplement the budget we’ve already created. We will be offering each participant at prom a Swag Bag full of goodies and resources from around the community. We also hope to have a raffle that offers each participant the opportunity to win awesome prizes. Currently, across social media platforms we are asking the community to vote on a theme for prom–currently it’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ vs. “The 4 Elements” and “Retro” vs, “Over the Rainbow” in a head-to-head match. We will be sharing the winners of this match soon so that voting for the final theme can happen.
Thank you Community!
Team inclusive Prom
by butch | Dec 20, 2022 | Blog, Healthy Acadiana Seed Library
Dear Community,
The Seed Library is growing! We are still in awe of the magic that the 24 Hr. Citizen Project gave to us. Between our conversations with the experts, the community support, and the other amazing teams we are so excited to see what’s to come for all of us.
Since receiving the funding we’ve held various meetings to keep planning and moving forward. Most notably:
1. Took photos with the BIG Check with our committee and library staff to gain excitement.
2. Branding discussions
3. Formation of an expert Advisory Council
4. Picked out a cabinet to house the seeds.
5. Figured out processes for “checking out” the seeds.
6. Thanked the amazing backers! In the new year (how is it 2023, already?) we will begin to use the funding we so generously received from the backers at the 24HCP.
We can’t wait to update you again in February because by then we will have hopefully purchased the cabinet, seeds, and have a good understanding of where we need help and be deep in the planning of the launch in March. Our team would like to thank the 24HCP, the amazing backers and you for the support we received during the event and ongoing. We look forward to sharing more with you in the coming months.
Healthy Wishes,
Marissa Winters & the Healthy Acadiana Team
by butch | Dec 14, 2022 | Blog, Freetown Sound Lab
Dear Community,
It’s The Freetown Sound Lab!! We’re still riding high from the 24 Hr Citizen event and enjoyed working alongside some pretty amazing folks…all of whose stories we plan to capture! We were awarded our request to create a digital sound lab in Freetown that will give our citizens a chance to be heard. We are in the process of planning the studio build which is scheduled to begin within the first quarter of next year. We held a neighborhood Harvest event on November 19th at Maison Creole de Freetown and secured a few of our first story prospects. Once the Holiday season is over, it’s go time! Can’t wait to share the lives, happenings, and people that make Acadiana special. Stay tuned!!
-Team Freetown Sound Lab
by butch | Dec 5, 2022 | Blog, GPS Project
Dear Community,
On November 14, 2022, just two weeks after 24HCP, The U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona released this statement, “It’s time we bridge the divide between our K-12 systems and our college, career, and industry preparation programs, which leave too many students behind and perpetuate inequities in our most diverse, underserved, and rural communities.“
His Dear Colleague Letter goes on to reiterate the importance of implementing programs like The GPS Project that will provide academic coaching to help students navigate the complicated process of career discovery to enrollment into a postsecondary school or workforce program.
As a result of 24HCP and our community, The GPS Team is building partnerships and acquiring resources to help students in our community take intentional steps towards entering postsecondary schools or workforce programs immediately after high school.
This month, we will meet with Noah Brandon, President of Unitech Training Academy to discuss scholarship eligibility and guidelines for Northside High School seniors. We have also met with The Master’s Guild of Acadiana and learned how students can gain skills-based training to begin a career in construction even while in high school. And we talked to a Lafayette Parish School Board member to inform them of the initiative of our national Department of Education to increase the number of students transitioning to postsecondary schools and workforce programs. Our team is discovering that a major component of The GPS Project is making our schools and community aware of traditional and nontraditional postsecondary opportunities that are available in our community.
The GPS Team has completed the volunteer form and background check at LPSS to begin academic coaching with Northside High School JAG students starting in January 2023!
Our team would like to thank 24HCP, Backers, and our community for the overwhelming “cheering on” and support we have already received. Many open doors will happen for our students because of your concern and generosity.
Many thanks,
Karen Dugas & The GPS Team
