Chairpersons' Corner

Please plan to attend the next Minority Achievement Committee, which will be held February 18, 2010 in the Westfield Library.

We are going to complete the planning for the MAC Spring Parent Coffee, which is going to be a fun yet informative event. It will consist of 3 skits that evolve around effective communications between Westfield Students, Teachers, Administrators, but most importantly, you, the Westfield parents. We have looked how the MAC can help parents and students as they attend Westfield. Often times parents or students feel the need to communicate with teachers. We want to help make you as parents and students be better able to communicate effectively with teachers to make our students as successful as they can be.

We are going to have real teachers interact with real students and parents. The goal is to provide scenarios of how to be successful when communicating with your students’ teacher.

The skits will give us tips to help parents and students especially if you believe your child is having problems and you need to know better how you and your child can work with the teacher to help your child be successful in school. Most importantly, it will help encourage you to plan with the teacher follow up steps to ensure your student strengths are recognized while focusing on plans to improve their weak areas.

We’ll exchange ideas and suggests of how each of us has handled specific situations when we’re had parent teacher conferences. The goal is to show how we can continue to be an advocate for our kids to ensure they are reaching their highest achievements.

We are looking for parents and students who would like to participate in the skits.

We still have a couple of openings that need to be filled. We will provide you with the skits at the February 16th MAC meeting.

Sincerely
Evelyn Spain & Milan Coleman

MAC Co-Chairpersons

If you would like to know more about the Minority Achievement Committee, or would like to join our committee, please contact us at mac@westfieldhs.org or complete the online member form. We would love to have your participation.

Minority Achievement Homepage

Progressing Towards Bridging the Gap for 2009-2010

Chairs: Milan Coleman and Evelyn Spain

Secretary: Estella Holliday

MAC Newsletter: OPEN

MAC Mission Statement

The mission of the Westfield Minority Achievement Committee, as a subcommittee of the Westfield PTSA, is to establish positive relationships between the Westfield Administration, Faculty, Students and Parents by encouraging community involvement, while providing communication and guidance of school programs as we work to build bridges to close the minority achievement gap.

Complete the online member form to join.
Read latest NAACP News

Meetings

We meet once a month to discuss effective ways of getting more parents involved in the day to day education of their children. We implement innovative programs to increase academic achievement and develop strategic plans for closing the achievement gap. We also hold parent coffees throughout the school year to share these ideas and programs with parents.

The planned dates for MAC meetings will be:

September 15, 2009
October 13, 2009
December 16, 2009( our holiday party)
January 20, 2010 CANCELLED
February 18, 2010
April 20, 2010
May 18, 2010
June 8, 2010( our annual BBQ)

Our Parent Coffees may include either guest speakers, panel discussions consisting of parents and or students that will be used to stimulate involvement in MAC as a Westfield community. We share ideas, food, door prizes and welcome forward thinking conversation to help bridge the gaps within Westfield. The planned dates for MAC parent coffees are:

March 16, 2010

Please see the PTSA events calendar for times and locations of meetings.

Newsletters & Meeting Minutes & Handbook

MAC Newsletter editor contact information - Mia Spain and Evelyn Spain
Next release is scheduled for late March
View Minutes and Newsletters
WHS MAC Handbook (PDF 187kb)

Scholarships

Northern Virginia Urban League -Application Deadline 2/27 These are merit based awards with the top students competing, the deadline is February 27th and the awarded students will be honored on April 30th at our Annual Community Service and Scholarship Awards Dinner.
Phi Sigma Pi, Alpha Tau Chapter is a non-profit organization founded in 2007 on the campus of Howard University. We support students in the Maryland, Washington, DC and Virginia area by awarding $500 scholarships for them to pursue their college education. Please download application for your child to complete. Applications are due: Friday, February 26th, 2010.
List of latest Minority Scholarship Program Web Sites

College Resources

Granville Academy, a 501 c3, tuition free, after-school coaching and counseling program. Read more at their web site.
Open houses for African American and Latino students at UVA is of interest and value to minority students.
Fairfax County Public School- Office of Student Services College Partnership Program
HBCU On-Site Admission Guidelines
HBCU College Festival Seminar Registration Form

Student Achievement

In today's changing economy the need for advanced skills and technical knowledge is growing. Showing our children that we value learning and education is important and will pay off in the long run as they mature. When you're involved in your child's education, your child achieves more. (Read more)