www.mimsinstitute.com

Promotes Academic Excellence In Key Urban Zip Codes

The
MIMS Institute LLC is a public service resource that promotes academic
excellence in key urban zip codes.

Individual Family Support – 8th Graders

Scenesetter

"… there's the general confusion that often comes
from dealing with a bureaucracy as byzantine as the typical American school
district. There are parents who are just not as well informed about the way
schools work," says Karen Mapp, director of the Education Policy and
Management Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. "The policies,
the procedures, what state test scores mean — it's not that they don't
care; they just don't know how."

Picture yourself in any one these hypothetical
scenarios: you're a parent who never graduated high school; you're a parent
whose only interactions with schools have been negative ones; you're a parent
who has zero recollection of how to divide fractions; you're a parent who has
no clue as to what the important dates are on the college-application calendar.
Now picture yourself experiencing all of these hypothetical scenarios at once,
and then imagine how your child would suffer from your knowledge deficit. For
as much as the current wave of education reformers like to maintain that
quality teachers and schools can help overcome environmental factors, a child's
home life plays an undeniable role in how well they learn, says Mapp.  Time Magazine,
October 22, 2009

Opportunities for 8th-Graders

·
One or more high school classes (Algebra I,
Integrated Physical Science, Foreign Language)

·
Begin planning and selecting high school classes
(electronic Pupil Education Planner – ePEP at Facts.org)

·
School Choice – Identifying and applying
to rigorous academic high school programs (International Baccalaureate, Magnet)

·
Discussion with current juniors and seniors who
were “ignorant” of the high school opportunities until it was too
late

·
are benefiting from rigorous high school academic programs

·
Explore possibility of receiving invitation to
join National Junior Honor Society

Goal for students in Grade 8: Prep for high school
success in rigorous academic classes

·
Ask and discuss the Phillip Jackson Questions

·
Review current Edline class reports

·
Review ePEP planner and provide recommendations

·
Review School Choice options and help family explore options

·
Deliverable:  Individual
Course of Action Plan by end of February 2010 for 9th grade and possibly beyond
in the following Outcome areas:

Academic Rigor;
Community Service; Postsecondary (college) Opportunities; Leadership
Development;  Local Support

The Bottom Line related to our observations and experiences during the
first decade of the 21st Century:

The transfer of information
about exceptional academic opportunities sometimes changes outcomes for students
from urban zip codes and guides them toward a path to make significant
contributions to the United States of America and the communities in which they
live.

...The fruit of LOVE is SERVICE. The
fruit of SERVICE is PEACE.

Mother Teresa's
Business Card