Spokane is test
site for federal jobless program
Spokane is one of a handful of national test sites for a new federal
program designed to help the chronically unemployed get jobs and get off
public assistance. The $200 million program was announced Monday
by U.S. Agriculture Undersecretary Kevin Concannon, who spent the day
touring Spokane’s food and nutrition programs. Washington, one of 10 states
participating in the effort, will receive $22 million to pay for case
workers, skills training, job-based training and support services such as
child care and transportation. ... Concannon announced the grant
at Spokane
Community College, where several hundred students are
receiving USDA nutrition assistance.
The Spokesman-Review, March 24, 2015
SVC welding
students enhance city sign
Drivers passing through west Mount Vernon can expect to be greeted by an
unusual aviary sight. The city of Mount Vernon sign is decked out in
snow geese as part of an art project created by Skagit Valley College
students. It took seven students more than a month to craft the geese
out of metal. The geese were welded to the sign on Friday.
Skagit Valley Herald, March 24, 2015
Students fend
off cyber attacks in competition
A good guy in real life, Robert Hartshorn is no good guy today. "Oh
right now? Bad, totally," he laughed. He's a security engineer
for Hewlett Packard, exercising his sinister alter ego at Highline College
during the 8th Pacific Rim Collegiate Cyber Defense
Competition. "We have 14 teams we're actively attacking," Hartshorn
said. About 50 professional cyber security officials banded together
to hack teams of college students from across Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
KING 5, March 22, 2015
Sammamish seeks
Mars Hill Church site for college campus
The city of Sammamish hopes to buy the former Mars Hill Church and its
22-acre site for a future community-college satellite campus. The Sammamish
City Council last week authorized a $6.1 million offer on the property
after receiving a joint letter of interest from three local colleges, Cascadia, Bellevue and the Lake Washington Institute of
Technology. The colleges, all part of the state community-college
system, could offer Running Start courses to high-school students at the
site.
The Seattle Times, March 22, 2015
State’s harder
GED exam draws far fewer takers
In 2013, 18,474 high-school dropouts in Washington state took a
wide-ranging exam known as the GED to earn a high-school certificate. About
86 percent — nearly 16,000 — passed. ... After losing her longtime
office job last fall, [Elizabeth] Laed is now studying at Highline College
to pass the GED, struggling with concepts she hasn’t studied in years, like
proportions and square roots. ... One result is High School 21+, a new
program that allows dropouts to earn high-school credit by demonstrating
they have gained some of the skills they need through work experience.
... Tacoma
Community College, which adopted High School 21+ last year,
hoped to pilot the program with five to 10 students. But 50 students
registered right away, and now more than 100 are enrolled. ... One
school — Clark
College in Vancouver, Wash. — already has a waiting list of
600 for its program, which it plans to start as early as this summer.
The Seattle Times, March 22, 2015
For love of
family, love of the game
Dave Quall doesn’t speak as firmly as he used to. But when the former
state legislator and Skagit
Valley College coach talks about basketball, everyone
listens up all the same. Quall spent 18 years in the state House of
Representatives, 11 seasons coaching the Skagit Valley College men’s team
and 12 years coaching Mount Vernon High School. Now slowed by Parkinson’s
disease, he hasn’t let the condition keep him off the sidelines, instead
teaming up with his daughter Kay to coach the eighth-grade girls’ team at
LaVenture Middle School in Mount Vernon.
Skagit Valley Herald, March 22, 2015
Military
veterans forge new careers with Peninsula College studies
At 24, Lauren Piper has seen plenty. And she knows exactly what she
wants. Piper joined the U.S. Air Force a little over five years ago,
not long after her 19th birthday, and studied to become a medical
technician. Stationed at Texas’ Lackland Air Force Base, Piper served
a stateside deployment with war-wounded service members making the
transition home. ... She’s among the men and women using Post-9/11 GI
Bill benefits to attend Peninsula
College — which is based in Port Angeles and has sites in
Port Townsend and Forks — where she’s preparing to enter the nursing
program.
Peninsula Daily News, March 21, 2015
Clark College
rolls out 2015-20 strategic plan
The Clark College
board of trustees approved the 2015-2020 Strategic Plan at its March 18
board meeting. The campus will begin implementing the new plan immediately.
The approval represents two years of discussion and work at Clark to
clarify the mission, vision, themes and values that will guide the campus
over the next five years, said Shanda Diehl, associate vice president for
planning effectiveness.
The Columbian, March 21, 2015
Supporting
student and workplace diversity — Seattle Colleges gets acclaim
The Seattle
Colleges recently received the American Association of
Community Colleges award for national equity. The Seattle Colleges
system has impressive numbers when it comes to representing diversity. The
minority student population is 52 percent. This is in contrast to the
combined total minority demographics for King County, Seattle, and Washington
state, which is approximately 34 percent. Seattle Colleges also has a
diverse workforce of 36 percent.
NW Asian Weekly, March 20, 2015
Opinion: Making
decisions in Olympia by thinking of Redmond
By Sen. Andy Hill (R-Redmond). While writing a budget in Olympia that
impacts every single Washingtonian and business, I spend a lot of time
reviewing massive amounts of data and policies that go into making
decisions in the Legislature. ... Another main goal for the session is
to again freeze tuition at state colleges and universities. ... But
then I think of the many Redmond students I’ve had the privilege to meet
attending Lake
Washington Institute of Technology, Cascadia College
or the University of Washington, among other schools.
Redmond Reporter, March 20, 2015
Education
leaders talk success, challenges at annual Chamber luncheon
Budget cuts and state-mandated reforms aren’t keeping local education
leaders down. Kelso School District Superintendent Glenn Gelbrich, Longview
School District Interim Superintendent Greg Kirsch and Lower Columbia College
President Chris Bailey said they remain optimistic in spite of public
education’s recent challenges at the Kelso-Longview Chamber of Commerce’s
annual education luncheon Thursday. ... All three educators lamented
their struggles with budget cuts. LCC is losing money because of declining
enrollment and reduced state support since 2008, Bailey said. Despite that
challenge, LCC must keep growing because it provides essential services to
the community, he said.
Longview Daily News, March 19, 2015
Metra, Sullivan
honored with All-Washington Academic Team placement
South Puget Sound
Community College students Brandon Metra and Courtney
Sullivan will be honored at the 2015 All-Washington Academic Team ceremony
on Thursday, March 26. Gov. Jay Inslee will be on hand to acknowledge
recipients at the 20th annual ceremony, hosted by SPSCC. This year’s team
consists of 65 students representing all the state’s 34 community and
technical colleges.
Thurston Talk, March 19, 2015
BC, CWU partner
to expand autism program
This spring Bellevue
College and Central Washington University are partnering to
expand services and educational opportunities for autistic students at the
Ellensburg campus. Four years ago, Bellevue College faculty created
Autism Spectrum Navigators as a way to support autistic students in
accessing college programs, services and improve communication with
instructors. Since 2011, students in the program at Bellevue College
have been able to attend support meetings each week with trained peer
mentors to help with group classes and discussions, their parents have been
able to receive training and they’ve been able to fin assistance with
community engagement and education.
Bellevue Reporter, March 19, 2015
CPTC: Interior
design students present at portfolio event
Clover Park
Technical College Interior Design students
showcased their creativity at the program’s annual student portfolio event
March 18 in the McGavick Conference Center. Kareen Grothuesmann had the
unique opportunity to turn a life event into her final presentation, using
a house flip as her project.
The Suburban Times, March 19, 2015
Rep. Denny Heck
visits Lakewood Computer Clubhouse
United States Rep. Denny Heck made a special visit to the Lakewood Computer
Clubhouse on March 13 to help celebrate the program’s new location in Lochburn
Middle School. This free after-school program is operated in partnership
with Pierce College,
and aims to pair caring mentors with local youth ages 10-18. During
his visit, Rep. Heck spent time touring the facility and getting to know
the program’s goals and its students.
The Suburban Times, March 18, 2015
Seattle’s The
Film School partners with Pierce College
Several lucky Pierce
College students will soon have an opportunity to learn the
art of screenwriting and storytelling directly from Hollywood pros during
The Film School’s Script Development Lab. ... With faculty including
Emmy Award-winning actor Tom Skerritt (Top Gun, A River Runs Through It),
writer/director Warren Etheredge and Disney Pixar Consultant Brian
McDonald, The Film School is dedicated to elevating the craft of
storytelling.
The Suburban Times, March 18, 2015
Nuclear
Technology program providing qualified workers
Washington River Protection Solutions’ continuing need for qualified
workers is being met partly by a local education program the company has
supported since 2009. The Columbia
Basin College (CBC) Nuclear Technology Program offers a
two-year associate of applied science degree in three options: non-licensed
operator, radiation protection technician, and instrument and control
technician. Since it began in the 2009-2010 school year, 72 students have
graduated from the program. At least 50 of the graduates work for Hanford
contractors or Energy Northwest.
Washington River Protection Solutions, March 17, 2015
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