Founders Award
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Founders Award
Here are some of teh many documents that we used for our application for the 2006 Founders Award.
STUDENT GROWTH
A decade ago the EAST initiative began as a program in an attempt to better meet the needs of students deemed to be troubled and a nuisance to society, not performing well in class and their community. That first EAST program saw the flaw of society and the potential those students harbored, and created a safe-haven to push them and allow them to thrive in an environment that empowered them to make a difference in their community. All subsequent EAST labs have been striving to uphold this simple ideal that if students are given a chance to make a positive contribution to their community, be it school, work, city, town, church, family or friends, they feel more a part of that group of individuals which form an extended family that cares for one another.
The Eureka High EAST Lab is one such family, and through the past five years of fellowship we have provided a classroom environment where students can be productive, learn, and grow with a healthy level of inter-peer competition and meaningful contributions to community. The first group of students who took the initiative to organize our lab and blaze the way for those who follow have since graduated from their humble beginnings and taken their skills to national levels. Though all EAST projects are centered around the principle by providing service by solving community problems, the most important outcome has always been and always be the intellectual, interpersonal, and emotional growth of individual students.
As a lab each year the collective skill, professionalism, and maturity demonstrated has grown dramatically. Students have a fostered a bond of trust with the community necessary to put on community wide events such as Every 15 Minutes, The Youth Relay, The Ride For Life, and the Academic Fair. The technical skills of EAST students have advanced to the point we are called upon as the experts to serve the district’s eight additional EAST schools. Where the community was once hesitant to work with high school students our growing tradition of professionalism has resulted in community members seeking out EAST students for assistance.
Each day there are breakthroughs in EAST as students experience the thrill of the discovery of potential that lies within. Most of the time these moments go largely unnoticed expect for the inner satisfaction experienced by the individual. However, there have been clear public moments of success.
Logan Lamb was afraid to present publicly. He would not even present to the class. However, over time with more investment in his project and a great deal of coaching, he stepped in from of the class to present. Shortly thereafter, when the call went out for presenters a large conference, Logan stepped forward. His presentation to more than 200 people at the tech expo lives on in EAST lore of student growth.
Where Michael Roscoe was struggling last year to piece together simple maps recording the demographics of our community, this year he is actively utilizing GIS to analyze to a map from 1913. Through his efforts he will reveal for the Wiyot Tribe the locations of previously unknown ancient village sites.
There is a continuous parade of students returning to the lab with tales of how the skills they have acquired in EAST led to increased success beyond high school. Perhaps the most telling story of growth connected to EAST belongs to Freddy Tejada and Miguel Garcia. They were troubled young men looking for a sense of direction when they entered EAST four years ago. However, the freedom of express themselves and the technical possibilities offered by the EAST Lab were a catalyst for a metamorphosis. By the time they graduated they renown as experts; they had found their calling. Today they are highly successful students at the San Francisco School of Art.
Student growth is the area in which we take the most pride. Students are
continually asked to reflect upon the lessons they have learned and how they
fit the standards set by the state of California. Their reflections best represent
what really happens in EAST.
Community Achievement
In the world of EAST, all projects have a common, underlying philosophy:
make the world a better place. Students have worked extremely hard to spread
their perspective and enlighten the rest of the world of their goals and how
they plan to make the world a better place than it was before. The motivation
of EAST students has changed minds and began the process of changing the world,
one project at a time.
Through the Every 15 Minutes program, two first-year EAST students, Andrea
Howard and Hannah Jones, took a problem—the high rate of drinking and
driving—and followed a guideline, optimizing it to fit Eureka High’s
various situations to make the program work. The effect of the event was dramatically
positive. From the students who were made-up with fake blood, to the police
officer who had to call in the mock report of a fatal car crash, to those
who read about the program in the newspaper, every aspect of Eureka and the
surrounding communities were affected by the event challenging the people
to face the reality of the consequences of driving under the influence. Now,
nearly 10 months after the event, the legacy of the Every 15 Minutes program
is still embedded into community member’s minds and has taught those
young and old to think twice about the consequences of drinking and driving.
The innovative minds of the EAST students have also set examples of creating
projects that not only apply to the good of the community, but to personal
interests as well. Holly LaCount, an inspired freshman, was determined to
raise money for the American Cancer Society and integrate her love for riding
horses. She created a completely new program entitled HERO (Humboldt Equestrian
Relay Organization). This was an extremely successful event, raising nearly
$12,000 and involving many local clubs and associations. Most importantly
the event set an example to the community and other EAST students: that making
a difference in other’s lives does not have to be a struggle, but an
exciting experience to learn and to teach the rest of the world about a purpose
or cause.
Project Diversity, a project developed by Janet Garcia and Mercedes Thibideaux,
uses activities to support and display the diversity in Eureka High School’s
student population. Using different students, clubs, and organizations around
Humboldt County, Project Diversity has shown that the differences among students
are something to discover and celebrate.
Over the past five years, the Eureka High EAST Lab has developed a reputation
of success. Through the abundant amount of sensational projects, the EAST
Lab has gained respect from every level starting locally at school to internationally.
The variety in projects the EAST Lab has on its resume is amazingly diverse,
yet every project seems to make a change in the society for the better. It
doesn’t matter if the project is working with a small group of senior
citizens or if it is a major event dealing with Eureka High School’s
entire population of 1,700 students, the EAST logo always guarantees respect
in the community.
Awards Since Conference 2004
3 EETT Grants “Enhancing Education through Technology” Grant #1 funded the Middle School Labs EAST Lab, #2 funded the Elementary and Alternative Education, #3 funded remainder of elementary schools.
Golden Bell Award from California Association of School Boards form exemplary instruction techniques
Golden Apple Pin Award from Eureka City Schools
Eureka High School Service Award – Excellence in service to Eureka High School
PTA Service Award - Excellence in service to Eureka High School
The Wells Fargo Stage Coach Award – Excellence in Instruction $750 Award
Youth Ready Respond Grant- $25,000 for two years
Youth Relay for Life Service-Learning Academic Fair Award 2004
Every 15 Minutes Service-Learning Academic Fair Award 2005
Project Diversity EAST Poster Contest 2005 Winner
American Cancer Society Youth Leadership Award 2004 (Briana York) and 2005 (Holly La Count)
Kinetic Sculpture Race Ace Status (2004, 2005) 2nd Speed 2004 and 2005
Outstanding Web Page Award – EAST Conference 2004
Coast Central Award for Community Service 2004, 2005
Violet Richardson Award for Service – Briana York 2005
Sister City Student Exchange Student – Alexia Hoff
Superior Rating at 2004 and 2005 EAST Conferences
Lochte Grant from Humboldt Area Foundation - $1,600 for Historic Research
McLean Foundation Grant for Every 15 Minutes -- $4,000
California Highway Patrol Grant for Every 15 Minutes -- $10,000
PTA Grant Award for Safety First $2000
PTA Grant Award for Hannah’s Super Cool Mural Project $550
Certificate of Appreciation from Senator Barbara Boxer
Certificate of Commendation from the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors
Certificate for Model Practitioner for Service-Learning Region 1 (Ron Perry and Jennifer Johnson)
EHS EAST WEBPAGE
Because of the ECS EAST websites age, The EHS EAST Website Team has decided
to bring the website up-to-date. We plan on improving the website both function-wise
and cosmetically. Many people form their first impression of EAST by the website,
thus it is essential that the EAST website looks its best to represents the
EAST program. The webmasters will consist of Kevin Taylor and Sam Gentle.
Facilitator Ron Perry will provide input on content & style.
The creation of a web page requires the integration of many different skills:
Webmasters must utilize knowledge in (but not limited to) English, art, and
technology. We will accomplish the following state standards:
1.0: Grammar for spelling,
2.6: multimedia for impressive looks and graphics.
We will also try to improve many areas of the Habits of the Mind. During the
production of the website, team members will:
Strive for accuracy
Apply past knowledge to new situations,
Take responsible risks and think both independently and cooperatively.
Our prior plan was to finish the updating by the EAST national conference
in Arkansas. We would then design and start on a new home page. Unfortunately
the functionality of the site was underestimated. Now that most of the websites’
sidebars, links and other small problems are fixed we begin on the Project
and Galleries pages. Our primary objective is the reconstruction of the file
pathways, ‘behind the scenes’ so to speak. The organization of
this current page is very poor, and organization is the key to updating the
page in the future. The secondary objective is to organize the photos that
we have collected over the years. Organization is the key to this project.
One of our goals is to provide a place for each projects webpage. By following
an easy step by step template, each project will be able to create a webpage
regardless of web experience. This huge assignment will greatly contribute
in the representation of EHS EAST, by allowing visitors to view each individual
project.
We will first renovate the EAST webpage, and then rebuild it from the ground
up. We will make EHS EAST even easier to communicate with, binding EHS EAST
with our community even more. The webpage will be easily navigable and friendly
to all web browsers and connection speeds. Lastly, we’ll give each project
the responsibility of their own webpage, for public relations.
The current webpage finish date is the end of the 2005-2006 School Years.
