Youth and Education

A Message to the Youth

Do be a winner! Don’t be a loser like me!
I did drugs and my life was mud. You can’t win with drugs. Stay in school! You’ll be the cool of cool and no fool, and a real winner!

If you’re out (of school) get back (in)! It may be hard, but you can win and the rewards are so great! Don’t be a sinner and you’ll be a winner to the utmost!

Blessings will be high as the tallest mountaintop and will never stop!
--God bless! Ray Scott

Sixty middle school teams in 2007 "March of Champions"
Youth will compete in basketball, chess, Art, Forensics
The Second Annual "March of Champions" will take place on the weekends of March 23 - 25 and March 30 - April 1 at the Mother Kathryn Daniels Conference Center (MKDCC), 3500 West Mother Daniels Way on the corner of 35th and Hampton Avenue.
Forty-six boys’ teams and fourteen girls’ teams from Milwaukee area schools will compete in respective single elimination basketball tournaments. There will also be a chess championship, Forensics competition and an Art contest, in which the public can vote on displayed works. More than three hundred students are expected to compete in each of the chess and Forensics competitions.
Most of the events will be held at the MKDCC. Some basketball games on the opening weekend will be held at the Fitzsimonds Boys & Girls Club, 3400 West North Avenue, the Hillside Boys & Girls Club, 623 West Cherry Street, and the Mary Ryan Boys & Girls Club, 3000 North Sherman Boulevard.
"This event has grown because it is a very positive experience for hundreds of middle school youth. It showcases their talent in sports and academics," said Bill Molbeck, MPS Commissioner of Athletics. "It is also designed to highlight the contributions of role models for young people."
A ceremony honoring former Marquette University basketball player George Thompson will be held at halftime of the boys’ championship game on April 1. "March of Champions" is Wisconsin's first ever Middle School Basketball Championship event.
Schools providing girls basketball teams include Carson Academy, Congress, Fritsche, Hartford, Hi-Mount, Lincoln Center, MacDowell, Martin Luther King, Menomonee Falls, Milwaukee School of Languages, Muir, Parklawn Christian, Sarah Scott and Thoreau.
Schools providing boys basketball teams include Agape, Audubon, Auer Avenue, Ben Franklin, Bethune, Burbank, Burroughs, Carver Academy, Central City Cyberschool, DLH Academy, Eighty-first Street, Fifty-third Street, Gaenslen, Gospel Lutheran, Hartford, Hi-Mount, Holy Redeemer, Humboldt Park, Keefe, Lancaster, Lincoln Center, MacDowell, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Maryland Avenue, Menomonee Falls, Metcalfe, M.G.C.
Milwaukee Academy of Aviation, Science and Technology, Milwaukee Leadership Academy, Milwaukee Sign Language, Morse, Muir, O.W. Holmes, Sarah Scott, Siloah Lutheran, Thoreau, Townsend, Travis Academy, Urban Day, Walker, Wisconsin Conservatory of Lifelong Learning, and Young Leaders Academy. Some schools are providing more than one team.
Information on this event is at http://www.MilwaukeeRecreation.net or at the MKDCC website, http://www.danielscenter.org. Additional information is available by calling Billy Young at (414) 466-1800 ext. 5154.
The "March of Champions" is a collaboration of Milwaukee Public Schools, Milwaukee Recreation, Mother Kathryn Daniels Conference Center and Milwaukee Boys & Girls Clubs. For more information contact Roseann St. Aubin, Director, Office of Communications and Public Affairs, at (414) 475-8237.

Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. raise $210,000 for Boys & Girls Clubs

The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc., parent company of Boston Store, announced today that the Bon-Ton, Bergner's, Boston Store, Carson Pirie Scott, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's and Younkers stores raised a combined total of $210,000 for Boys & Girls Clubs of America locations in 23 states.
The funds were raised through the stores' "Possibilities Begin with Kids" promotion during the 2006 fall and holiday seasons. The stores sold several specially designed merchandise items with proceeds benefiting the Boys & Girls Clubs.
"The Bon-Ton Stores are a proud supporter of Boys & Girls Clubs of America," said Tony Buccina, president of Carson Pirie Scott, part of The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. and a member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee Board of Trustees. "This partnership is the very essence of our company's commitment to supporting the communities in which we do business."
Of the $210,000 raised nationally through "Possibilities Begins with Kids," $25,000 will go directly to Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee.
The cause-related promotion for Boys & Girls Clubs first began in 2002. Last year, the Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. expanded the promotion with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, which benefited Clubs in many of the communities where The Bon-Tons stores operate.
Together, Bon-Ton, Bergner's, Boston Store, Carson Pirie Scott, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's and Younkers donated over $520,000 to Clubs in 23 states.

Secretary Gassman says youth apprenticeship path to rewarding careers

Highlights Governor's Opportunity Budget at Jefferson County Economic Summit
Jefferson - Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Secretary Roberta Gassman said today Wisconsin's Youth Apprenticeship program offers high school students a pathway to rewarding careers and their opportunities will double under the Jobs for the Future initiative in Governor Doyle's new budget.
"As our economy continues to grow and create jobs, we need workers in the skilled trades, health care and technology, all good paying jobs with benefits," Secretary Gassman said.
"Youth Apprenticeship lets high school students explore these career opportunities, while gaining valuable job skills and work experience, and these opportunities will increase substantially under the Jobs for the Future initiative in Governor Doyle's budget."
Speaking at the Jefferson County Economic Summit, Secretary Gassman said that in Wisconsin, Governor Doyle wants every child to go as far as their talent and hard work will take them.
She said Youth Apprenticeship provides an additional career path to students who may or may not be considering a college education. She said 78% of the Youth Apprenticeship students do go on to college or technical school, and 64% earn their degrees, compared to approximately 25% of the students nationally that succeed in earning a degree.
"Youth Apprenticeship helps high school juniors and seniors make career choices and helps Wisconsin ensure a first-rate workforce," Secretary Gassman said. "This successful program is popular with both students and employers.
For all of these reasons, Governor Doyle wants to double Youth Apprenticeship opportunities."
The Governor's two-year budget doubles funding for the program to $2.2 million in the second year, providing 4,000 students with school-to-work opportunities.
Juniors and seniors in public or private schools can apply. They must enroll in apprenticeship related classes and be available for 10 to 20 hours of work per week during the school year.
Students who maintain passing grades, learn requisite work skills and meet graduation requirements earn a Certificate of Occupational Proficiency and advanced standing in technical college or credit in selected University of Wisconsin System programs.
Secretary Gassman praised the Jefferson County School-to-Career Consortium for the success of a special Youth Apprenticeship program in manufacturing at the Briggs & Stratton Home Power Products plant in Jefferson. The program was designed for students who had lost interest in school and at risk of dropping out. In five years, 35 students succeeded as apprentices and earned their diplomas. Secretary Gassman recently visited the Briggs & Stratton plant and met students in the program, which is being expanded to include other manufacturers.

During her remarks, Secretary Gassman highlighted other aspects of Governor Doyle's opportunity budget for working families:
A four-fold increase to $8 million for Workforce Advancement Training grants, another element of the Jobs for the Future initiative. With the increased funding, the Wisconsin Technical College System can provide training and improve the job skills of 36,000 workers at 300 firms;
A fiscally responsible, balanced plan to make Wisconsin the national leader in health care reform with coverage for all children and affordable health care accessible to virtually all citizens.
Over a dozen tax breaks to help working families, saving $1.7 billion in the next four years. They include a full deduction for health insurance premiums; college tuition deduction, including books and fees, saving families as much as $400 a year; a child care tax deduction, saving parents up to $400 a year; and an end to the state tax on Social Security benefits next year.