Road-Tripping with Purpose: Part 2

Jordan Visits DeAsia and Jasmyn at Bennett College for Women

College Outreach Visits have always been a SEED staple because they cement the graduate-advisor relationship and ease the transition to college. This fall, we asked our College Transition & Success (CTS) advisors to take over our social media handle and share first-hand accounts from their college outreach visits across the country. Below is our second installment, from when Jordan visited first years DeAsia and Jasmyn as well as upperclasswomen Markeisha, Cierra and Imani. (Scroll down to see our first installment from Joi and Liz!)

9:30am: Arrive on Campus

Good morning! I'm Jordan Frasier, College Success Advisor for the SEED Foundation's College Transition and Success (CTS) program. I am excited to take over the SEED Foundation's social media pages to highlight an exciting part of our programming. I am currently in Greensboro, NC at Bennett College for Women visiting DeAsia & Jasmyn, who are first year SEED Graduates!

Also, I'll be checking in later with our older graduates Markeisha, Cierra, and Imani, who are in their second and third years. Through our College Outreach Visits, we experience a day in the life of our enrolled graduates. I am excited to share my day with you!

1:00pm: Campus Tour & Catching Up with DeAsia

DeAsia gave me a tour of campus and her dorm. She was placed in the honors dorm on campus. Also, during our time she shared that she Aced her Spanish midterm, Yay! I'm really enjoying checking in on her transition into Bennett College.

3:45pm: Reflection with Markeisha, a sophomore

I just finished spending time catching up with Markeisha, who is a 2nd year Bennett College Belle. We had a great conversation about persistence and resilience. She is fresh off her fall break and ready to get back to work. Also, it helps that she got the chance to see President Obama speak at North Carolina A&T State University yesterday.

8:00pm: SEED Family Dinner

We have had a great day at Bennett College! In SEED tradition, we are having a SEED Family dinner with all the students at Bennett College & North Carolina A&T State University.

9:15pm: Farewell Hugs & Pictures

Well everyone it's time for me to sign off! We had a great day at Bennett College for Women. Jasmyn and DeAsia are doing well and getting a feel for their new lives in college. Thank you for following me today and please be on the lookout for the next CTS Takeover!

Road-Tripping with Purpose: Tales of College Outreach Visits straight from our CTS Advisors (Part 1)

Joi and Liz visit Myiah, SEED DC '16, at Georgetown University

College Outreach Visits have always been a SEED staple because they cement the graduate-advisor relationship and ease the transition to college.This fall, we asked our College Transition & Success (CTS) advisors to take over our social media handle and share first-hand accounts from their college outreach visits across the country. Below is our first installment, from when Joi and Liz visited Myiah, a recent SEED DC graduate and freshman at Georgetown University! 

8:00am: Arrive at Georgetown (coffees in hand)

Good morning! I'm Joi Baker, College Success Manager for the SEED Foundation's College Transition and Success (CTS) program. I'm joined today by Liz Middleton, College Success Advisor on the CTS Team. We are excited to take over the SEED Foundation's social media pages to highlight an exciting part of programming. We are headed to Georgetown University to visit Myiah, a 1st year SEED graduate! Through our College Outreach Visits, we experience a day in the life of our enrolled graduates. We're excited to share our day with you!

11:00am: Attend Myiah's "Problems of God" theology class

Myiah is a first year International Relations major in the School of Foreign Services. This is Myiah after her theology class, Problems of God. She shared with us that this class is about building relationships, so student participation is really important here. We're thankful we weren't called on during class discussion!

11:50 am: Speak with Georgetown administrators in the School of Foreign Service

Myiah is introducing us to the deans in her department, the School of Foreign Service. She has already made wonderful connections within her school--everyone in this office knows her name! These deans help students like Myiah navigate topics like academic planning and time management. While we wait, Joi and Myiah discuss adjusting to life on a college campus. #CTStravels

12:15pm: Lunch! 

It's the grads' favorite part of the trip--lunch on CTS! We took Myiah to Mai Thai of Georgetown.

2:12pm: Meet Myiah's Financial Aid Advisor

Myiah, Ms. Middleton, and I visited the Office of Student Financial Services. We met Myiah's Financial Advisor, Ms. Vairapandi, who was VERY helpful and knowledgeable. Myiah has some great supports!

3:40pm:  Farewell Hugs and Photographs

We got a quick picture of Myiah in front of Healy Hall with the iconic statue of Georgetown founder John Carroll, before dropping her off at her International Relations class and saying goodbye. We had a wonderful visit at Georgetown today and can't wait to keep visiting our grads on campus! 

P.S. You can follow these adventures and lots more in real time by liking The SEED Foundation on Facebook or following us on Twitter!

2016 SEED Summit

All SEED staff from across the network had the opportunity to gather, learn, and grow together at the annual SEED Summit, which took place on August 4th at SEED DC and August 5th at SEED Maryland. School staff relished seeing the other schools’ campuses, and they were even more excited to share best practices during four 70-minute workshops. Staff led and selected workshops based on their interests and job responsibilities; workshops included everything from Understanding the College Matching Process to Positive Youth Development to Differentiated Reading Strategies. 

The 2016 SEED Graduate Institute

On July 15-17, while so many Americans found themselves on vacation or trying to beat the heat, SEED graduates were hard at work honing their resumes, learning how to invest their money, networking, playing laser tag, and reuniting with friends at the 11th Annual SEED Graduate Institute (SGI).

Professional Development sessions ranged from financial education, including “The Art of Budgeting” and “Understanding Credit, Saving, and Investing”; a resume-writing workshop; a meditation and yoga session; and a professional networking mixer. Graduates were also able to choose interest-specific career workshops, such as “Creating the Perfect Art Portfolio,” “Developing and Presenting a Research Proposal,” and “Effective Internet Marketing & Writing.” In addition to learning from SEED friends and supporters–who volunteered to lead these sessions and help graduates hone their skills–participants also benefited from the wisdom of older SEED graduates during a graduate panel question-and-answer session.

We are deeply grateful to all the donors and supporters who made this extraordinary weekend of professional and personal development possible for our young graduates! To catch more highlights from this event, check out our photo album. Here is just a small glimpse into our graduates’ packed weekend:

Building Partnerships: An Example 13 Years in the Making

“SEED is a partnership between students, families, and SEED staff. When our students face challenges, we all work together to morph into the support system that the student needs.”
— The SEED Foundation CEO Lesley Poole, with Tamia Spells, SEED DC ’10

The SEED Foundation’s new CEO, Lesley Poole, has seen the power of partnership between families and staff during her 18 years at SEED. Ms. Poole’s 13-year relationship with Tamia Spells is just one story of how these partnerships can make all the difference in our students’ path to college:

Part I: A Leap of Faith to SEED DC

Tamia, during a SEED-sponsored trip to India, where she volunteered at a school.

Tamia, during a SEED-sponsored trip to India, where she volunteered at a school.

According to Tamia, Ms. Poole was “a constant, nurturing, and commanding presence.” Tamia’s family welcomed Ms. Poole into their home for an informational visit, where she convinced them to take the leap of faith in SEED and apply. After Tamia enrolled, Ms. Poole’s consistent presence on campus helped cement their confidence in SEED. And when a health crisis struck Tamia’s mom, Ms. Poole and Tamia were the first family members to reach her bedside.
“Ms. Poole didn’t have to be the one to drive me to the hospital—to coordinate with doctors, tell me what was happening with my mom, help my family with the paperwork—but she made it a priority,” says Tamia.

Ms. Poole’s motivation was simple: “Our investment in Tamia was far too important to let this tragic situation undermine it.”

Ms. Poole wasn’t just there for the tough times—she also watched Tamia grow and expand her worldview through SEED’s many opportunities, including challenging academic coursework, varsity sports, and exposure trips in India and Greece.

Part II: Becoming a Hokie...and a College Graduate

Tamia and her grandmother at her college graduation.

Tamia and her grandmother at her college graduation.

Numerous SEED staff members, including Ms. Poole, continued to help Tamia and her family navigate the next big phase of her life: transitioning to college at Virginia Tech. Ms. Poole witnessed Tamia mature and learn how to ask for help when needed—especially from The SEED Foundation’s College Transition & Success Team, which helped her find housing, jobs, and mentors on her campus. But their relationship was a two-way street: “[Ms. Poole] watched me grow, and I watched her grow—from a faculty member at SEED DC to advocating for the opening of SEED Miami. Seeing a black woman in a position of power was inspiring,” says Tamia.

Part III: Giving Back & Paying it Forward

Tamia’s career has brought her SEED story full circle. Not only has she devoted herself to students from underserved communities in Miami as a Teach For America corps member, but she also volunteers at the very school that Ms. Poole helped to found in 2014. Tamia helps recruit students alongside SEED Miami Head of School Kara Locke, another mentor from her time at SEED DC. As she visits with prospective parents and students in their homes, Tamia is living proof that SEED is worth their leap of faith.

Tamia confers with a SEED Miami student during an end-of-year celebration

Tamia confers with a SEED Miami student during an end-of-year celebration

SEED DC Educator Topher Kandik Named DC's 2016 Teacher of the Year!

State Superintendent of Education Hanseul Kang announced today that Topher Kandik, a nine-year teacher at The SEED School of Washington, D.C. (SEED DC), is the 2016 District of Columbia Teacher of the Year!

Over the last nine years, Mr. Kandik has stoked the passion of hundreds of SEED students in his English classes by turning the city—and the country—into his classroom. Mr. Kandik has tapped into the rich resources available in DC to integrate the arts into his curriculum. He has brought students to the White House for poetry workshops; through a partnership with the local literary advocacy organization 826DC, Mr. Kandik’s students have had their original short stories and poems published. Through the PEN/Faulkner Writers in Schools program, Mr. Kandik’s students have welcomed several MacArthur Geniuses into their classroom to discuss their work. Mr. Kandik has also built partnerships in his own hallway, ensuring that his own curriculum aligns with the lessons being taught in other subjects.

A constant in Mr. Kandik’s work is the value he places on his students’ voices and opinions: “I value their voice on what they think is important. Often, students don’t value their ideas. I want them to figure out their own voice.” Mr. Kandik’s Why New Orleans Matters unit exemplifies this philosophy. After designing a curriculum to compare and contrast low-income communities in New Orleans and D.C., Mr. Kandik followed his students’ lead as they pitched school leadership for permission to plan a capstone field trip to New Orleans. Students—by their own design— researched relevant places to visit, crafted budgets, and executed fundraising plans. “It was everything I loved about education,” he later reflected.

Teaching is Mr. Kandik’s second career, but his former position as an arts fundraiser has helped him succeed in his classroom. As he says, “the experience I had fundraising has paid off in a way that makes me a better teacher. Those skills—organization, time management—all translate.”

Mr. Kandik’s teaching skills have translated to exceptional student outcomes. According to Dr. Manuel, SEED DC’s head of school, “what makes Mr. Kandik’s classroom special isn’t just that his students score above average on state assessments….it’s that his students develop a real joy for learning and intellectual engagement that will help them become not just strong students, but intelligent and engaged adults.”

Lesley Poole, CEO of The SEED Foundation, adds: “This wonderful recognition is a byproduct of Mr. Kandik’s work, his effort, and his commitment to excellence. His success means that young people in DC have the opportunity to become better students and more thoughtful people. It means that our children win.”

On behalf of every student who has learned under Mr. Kandik and every teacher who has worked alongside him, we are very, very grateful to Mr. Kandik and to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) for shedding a much-deserved spotlight on this exceptional teacher.