Oak Ridge Today

Altrusa, Breakfast Rotary seeking applications for literacy grants

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The Altrusa Club of Oak Ridge Foundation and Breakfast Rotary Club of Oak Ridge Foundation are again seeking applications for grants for projects, programs, and activities that foster literacy in Oak Ridge and Anderson and Roane Counties during 2020, a press release said.

Applications may be requested by emailing [email protected]. The deadline for electronic submissions is December 22. Selections and notifications will be made by February 1, 2020, and the period of performance ends December 31, 2020.

These grants are funded each spring when hundreds of community members attend or sponsor the Lunch 4 Literacy luncheon hosted by Altrusa and Rotary with an interesting author as guest speaker, the press release said. [Read more…]

Opinion: Making positive strides in elementary literacy

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Oak-Ridge-Schools-Keys-Fillauer-March-28-2016

Keys Fillauer

By Oak Ridge Board of Education

We have been reading a lot lately about the dire straits of reading instruction and students’ abilities in reading, especially at the early grades. Although there are challenges, there is also momentum to make positive impacts on students’ reading proficiencies in all grades.

What is happening with elementary literacy?

Two school years ago, the state changed (for the better) the English Language Arts and math standards to make them more rigorous in order to ensure that Tennessee high school graduates will be better prepared in the future for college and careers. Most public schools welcomed the change because the former standards just weren’t serving Tennessee students well. However, changing standards also meant changing state assessments.

In Oak Ridge, we saw a drop in our elementary reading results on state exams after these changes. The drops in reading results were especially evident with our economically disadvantaged students.

Oak-Ridge-Schools-Bob-Eby-March-28-2016

Bob Eby

For us, this was and is unacceptable. We believe that all students can succeed, and we have expanded our literacy initiative as a result. This literacy initiative includes providing additional time and support starting in kindergarten all the way through high school to students who struggle in reading. We have trained reading specialists who provide intensive instruction to struggling students. We have a summer bookmobile program that is expanding to multiple elementary schools in order to help reduce summer reading setback. We have professional development for teachers on improving reading and writing instruction in the classroom, and we have purchased research-based materials to support them. In addition, we have recently been provided an opportunity to work with the Carnegie Foundation and the Tennessee Department of Education to systematically analyze our early literacy efforts in order to improve student outcomes. This work will begin in April 2016 and will last through September 2018.

But what about testing? [Read more…]

Technology in our everyday lives the topic at Wednesday meeting

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“Technology for our Everyday Lives” will be the topic at an Altrusa meeting on Wednesday, January 27.

Speaker Dan Thompson, chief technical correspondent for WBIR-TV in Knoxville, will look at how technology can enhance our daily lives, but also how some “unwanteds” may have crept in, a press release said.

Thompson will discuss security for our online lives, as well as some ideas on how to communicate this to children. He’ll cover social media profiles, content filtering for our homes, and how to deal with those annoying phone calls from “Microsoft” insisting that something is wrong with your computer.

As a senior analyst for 451 Research, Thompson provides insight into the multi-tenant datacenter market space. He has spent 15 years as a practitioner in the information technology (IT) industry, the last 10 of which were spent at a top managed/cloud service provider, the press release said. [Read more…]

Altrusa: Cross country with a woman behind the wheel

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Josee Tousignant

Josee Tousignant

The new owner and operator of Curves, a fitness center for women in Oak Ridge, will discuss her previous work as a cross-country truck driver during an Altrusa meeting on Wednesday.

Josee Paquin Tousignant will discuss “what entices a woman to choose a cross-country truck driving job,” a press release said.

The Altrusa of Oak Ridge meeting is at lunchtime Wednesday at the DoubleTree Hotel.

Tousignant is a French-Canadian woman from a small town northwest from Montreal, a press release said. She comes from a family of four siblings: two girls and two boys, all of whom became truck drivers at some point in their lives. [Read more…]

Breakfast Rotary, Altrusa award more than $20K in literacy grants

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Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotar and Altrusa International

Pictured from left to right front row are Ann Mostoller (Altrusa), Lisa Buckner, Kay Hall, Alana Hunsaker, Rhoni Basden,Gwen Harrell and Beck Hook. In the second row are Christina Young (ORBRC), Judy Trimble (Altrusa), Ginger Adams, Sheila Michaels, Terry Peck, Jill McMaster, Trudy Wideman, Liz Herdses, and Austin Lance (ORBRC). (Submitted photo)

 

The Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club and Altrusa International of Oak Ridge recently presented grant awards from the Literacy 4 Lunch Grant Award Program.

Lack of literacy skills continues to be a serious problem in the lives of many of our East Tennessee neighbors and for many throughout the world, a press release said.

“Non-readers and below-grade readers cannot realize their full potential in life, which in turn adversely affects our local and national economies and society in general,” the release said.

To address these needs, the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club and Altrusa International of Oak Ridge co-sponsor an annual fundraiser, Lunch 4 Literacy. Proceeds from the March 2014 event that featured Denise Kiernan, author of “The Girls of the Atomic City,” provide the financial basis for these grants. [Read more…]

Altrusa to award scholarships for women

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Altrusa Scholarships

Altrusa International of Oak Ridge is offering scholarships starting at $1,000 to deserving women to support their pursuit of education and/or training, a press release said.

The Sarah Ketron Scholarship is intended for women who are non-traditional students and have interrupted their studies for work or family obligations and are returning to school to complete their education. It is named in honor of the late Sarah Ketron, Altrusa president in 1973-74. She was for many years a school counselor in Oak Ridge as well as a community leader and volunteer.

The Altrusa Scholarship is available for women who are continuing their education, post-high school, at an institution of higher learning, such as a university, community college, or technical college, the release said. [Read more…]

Shirley Raines to speak at Altrusa January 28

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“Like Lessons Learned from Children’s Books and Stories” will be the topic when Shirley Raines speaks to the Altrusa Club of Oak Ridge on Wednesday, January 28.

Raines—who is a speaker, consultant in education and leadership development, and former president of the University of Memphis—will delight us with her humorous approach about how stories shape our lives in families, in classrooms, and in careers.

Raines began her career as a teacher of young children, then became a Head Start and child care director. She later wrote 14 books for early childhood educators. [Read more…]

Manhattan Project National Historical Park to be discussed at Altrusa meeting Wednesday

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Ray Smith

Ray Smith

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will be the focus of the Wednesday luncheon meeting of Altrusa International of Oak Ridge.

Ray Smith, Y-12 National Security Complex historian, will be discussing the honor and importance in having a national park site in Oak Ridge, a press release said. Smith’s presentation will include the potential implications of a national park site in Oak Ridge as well as the probable timeframe for implementation of the national park bill, the release said.

Smith will be covering the potential meaning of the park for the City of Oak Ridge, the American Museum of Science and Energy, the Y-12 National Security Complex Calutrons, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Graphite Reactor, and the East Tennessee Technology Park’s Heritage Center K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Building site. Smith will also discuss how the newly renovated Guest House at the Alexander Inn in Oak Ridge might contribute to the overall national park strategy. [Read more…]

Altrusa to host author Jay Searcy on Wednesday

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Jay Searcy

Jay Searcy

On Wednesday, the Oak Ridge chapter of  Altrusa Club International will be hosting Jay Searcy from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Doubletree Hotel.

Searcy is an acclaimed newspaper man and author of “The Last Reunion.” The topic of his presentation is  “The Last Reunion—Stories of wartime life in Oak Ridge.”

The Doubletree Hotel is located at 215 S. Illinois Ave.

Altrusa to award scholarships for women

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Altrusa International of Oak Ridge is offering scholarships of up to $1,000 to deserving women to support their pursuit of education and/or training. Two of the scholarships honor former Altrusa presidents and civic leaders, Sarah Ketron and Pat Rush.

Altrusans seek to encourage and support women who are striving to complete their education, search for jobs, and become financially independent. The scholarships also target re-entry students who have returned to college or other training after interrupting studies for work or family, or students who are beginning their education after an interruption between high school and college. “One of the key goals for selection is to award scholarships to those who show significant financial need,” said Janet Swift, chair of the Scholarship Committee. [Read more…]

Altrusa has International Day lunch on Wednesday

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Oak Ridge Altrusa has its annual International Day luncheon on Wednesday at the Double Tree Hotel in Oak Ridge.

The featured speaker will be Waldek Kaczocha. His presentation topic is “Living in Communist Poland and Coming to America.”

Kaczocha is well-known in the Oak Ridge community as one of the proprietors (together with his wife, Ilona) of Razzleberry’s Restaurant in Jackson Square. [Read more…]

Altrusa’s annual spaghetti dinner, auction on Wednesday

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Altrusa will have its fundraising Annual Spaghetti Dinner and Auction on Wednesday evening at the DoubleTree Hotel on South Illinois Avenue.

“Enjoy dinner, wine, and entertainment, a press release said. [Read more…]