Scholarship Opportunity

In Reach is a community-based nominating organization to the Posse Foundation for their Leadership Scholarship. This scholarship is aimed at identifying outstanding high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential. 

In Reach can nominate 10 rising seniors (currently in the 11th grade) for a chance to receive a four-year, full-tuition scholarship to one of five partner colleges and universities —Bucknell University, Lafayette College, University of Rochester, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Sewanee: The University of the South.  

If you are the parent or guardian of a rising senior, or know any rising high school seniors in Prince George's County, MD that you believe should have an opportunity to become a “Posse” scholar, and they are not being nominated by their school, In Reach is here to help. Click here for In Reach nominating application materials. Contact Ms. Gross via jgross@inreachinc.org or 301.357-8433 ext. 7005 for additional assistance.

Prospective nomination applications are being accepted until Friday, May 26, 2017. Don't delay!!

In the meantime, visit the Posse Foundation website at www.possefoundation.org to learn more about this amazing opportunity!

Dedication | Patience | Love - #TeacherAppreciationWeek

Our amazing team at William Paca Elementary School in Landover, MD
In Reach Executive Director Toni Smith (far left) and Principal Dorothy Clowers (third from right)

During Teacher Appreciation Week, In Reach warmly thanks all of the amazing educators it is fortunate to work with in the Prince George's County Public School System to implement its College and Career Ready 21st Century Community Learning Center Program and Youth Ambassadors College Access High School Program. We could not do our work without these awesome educators. They are an intricate part of our existence and make our work possible.

This week, we recognize our educators for their

Dedication - most people do not understand the level of dedication it takes to manage a classroom with twenty or more personalities, learn each personality, teach each unique child, give assignments, grade them, complete assessments, talk to parents and so much more and this is all in one day!

Patience - with so much on their plate every day including working with partners like In Reach, usually after an already long day, we are thankful for their patience. 

Love - there is no way they could do all that they do without love. Although working with children can be very fulfilling, only love for them could truly sustain the amount of energy required to perform each day. We know this from experience.

Today, we recognize and thank each and everyone of our amazing and awesome educators.

William Paca Elementary School
Alma Ardita
Denise Bishop-Edwards
Novilen Bendebel Capadngan
Lisa-Michele Dunmore
Lekitta Epps
Renee Mahomed-Washington
Claribel Mendoza
Aileen Montillano
Florence Moreno
Teixeira Reynolds
Janet Rivera
Beverly Wilborn-Butler

Carrollton Elementary School
Ernesa Bess
Eboney Brisker
Tiffany Dupree
Rebecca Harrison
Edwin Ibias
Alisa Kove
Karen Mack
Teresa Trozzo

Kenmoor Middle School
Randi Coward
Jasmine Davis
Jeffrey Garcia
Beverly Neal 
Elizabeth Robinson
Maya Webb

Parkdale High School
Erica Bullock
Shayne Swift
Melvin Twine

Pick Up a Book and #Read with a Child

Each year on March 2, we celebrate National Read Across America Day (Dr. Seuss’ birthday) with the goal of encouraging children to read for enjoyment and providing parents and families with the tools to help them do so.

Reading is at the core of learning and children who do more of it tend to be more successful in school. According to the International Reading Association, seven out of eight students with reading problems in first grade continue to struggle with reading in 9^th grade. They get better but never catch up. Students reading on grade level read twice as much outside of school (thirty minutes a day), and students reading two grade levels above, read for a full hour a day outside of school on average.¹

Parents play an extremely important role in encouraging and supporting their child in learning to read and continuously helping him/her strengthen his/her skills. Here are some tips supporting your child in becoming an awesome reader:

1.  Stay engaged with your child's teachers to keep up with what’s going on in their classrooms. Ask teachers how you can make your child’s learning skills stronger.

2.  Use the Library - your local public library is a wonderful place to start and continue your families reading journey. There are so many amazing resources onsite and online for parents/family members to sign up for, free, as well computers available at each location to use for job search, typing resumes and much more. Don’t have a library card? Now is an excellent time to get one for everyone in the household.

3.  Subscribe to a Reading Rockets Growing Readers Newsletter for ongoing information and monthly tip sheets (available in English and Spanish) on raising strong readers and writers,  http://www.readingrockets.org/newsletters/extras.

^1. The Future of Children (2012). Literacy Challenges for the Twenty-First Century, VOLUME 22, NUMBER 2, FALL 2012. 

What are you doing for Teen Read Week?

As an organization that provides academic afterschool programs to students, we are naturally concerned with the development of their literacy skills and abilities and encouraging their life long interest in reading. These are a few reasons why each year we join the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) in recognizing and celebrating Teen Read Week™, a national adolescent literacy initiative created to encourage teens to be regular readers and library users. 

An annual celebration, this year’s theme, Get Away, encourages libraries to help teens escape from the day to day grind of school, homework, family responsibilities, part time jobs and other activities by picking up something to read. 

In Reach found the Teens' Top Ten "teen choice" list, where teens nominate and choose their favorite books of the previous year, to be an amazing resource. Readers ages twelve to eighteen vote online and the winners for that year are announced the week after Teen Read Week. Below is the Top Ten for 2014. Encourage a teen to read at least one of these today. It's a great list to use as encouragement for reading throughout the year, i.e. read-a-thon, book club and so much more. We can barely wait to see what teens from across the country select for 2015.

2014 Teens’ Top Ten

1. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (Macmillan/St. Martin's Griffin)

2. Splintered by A.G. Howard (ABRAMS/Amulet Books)

3. The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson (Tor Teen)

4. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (Penguin/Putnam Juvenile) 

5. Monument 14: Sky on Fire by Emmy Laybourne (Macmillan/Feiwel & Friends)

6. Earth Girl by Janet Edwards (Prometheus Books /Pyr)

7. The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

8. Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson (Random House/Delacorte Press)

9. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo (Macmillan/Henry Holt Books for Young Readers)

10. The Eye of Minds by James Dashner (Random House/Delacorte Press)

How amazing are Prince George's County parents?!

2015 Amazing Parent recipients (c) flanked by In Reach staff and presenters.

Largo, MD | On June 14, 2015, In Reach, Inc., held its Fourth Annual Celebrating Amazing Prince George’s County Parents Awards Program, an event honoring outstanding parents with children currently enrolled in a Prince George’s County Public School.

“Each year, I am more amazed than the last of our wonderful and diverse pool of nominees. Prince George’s County has many amazing parents and it is time they are recognized. It is my hope that In Reach can be a vessel for which these incredibly engaged and involved parents can someday, collectively, raise their voices on behalf of all children in the county especially those living in lower income and under-served communities. Our children deserve the best we have to offer,” said Executive Director, Ms. Toni Smith.

Congratulations again to our three 2015 Amazing Parent Award recipients:

Mr. Robert Mathieu, recipient of the Ingrid M. Turner Amazing Parent Award for demonstrating a strong sense of community as a volunteer, coach and mentor. Mr. Mathieu represents the Barnaby Manor ES community.

Ms. Sharon Lewis, recipient of the Parks and Recreation Amazing Parent Award for being an awesome and dedicated bridge builder in the lives of children. Ms. Lewis represents the (High Bridge ES) Samuel Ogle MS community.

Ms. Dina Bell Nance, recipient of the In Reach, Inc. Amazing Parent Award for being an all around selfless individual, active in the school and community, and an incredible parent who best demonstrates a well-rounded presence. Ms. Nance represents the Walker Mill MS community.

In Reach would also like to thank all 18 of the 2015 nominees: Mr. Mark & Mrs. Monique Adams, Ms. Gwendolyn Allen, Ms. Nicole Barnett, Ms. Gayle Brown, Ms. LaShawn James, Ms. Mary Lane, Ms. Sharon Lewis, Ms. Janice Lofland, Mr. Robert Mathieu, Mr. Jerrod Mustaf, Ms. Dina Nance, Ms. Lisa Ojeda-Brown, Ms. Christine Price, Ms. Sherry A. Rather, Ms. Debbie Robinson, Ms. Ayanna Niambi Shorter and Ms. Cynthia Weaver.

"Our children are our future and we need to build strong and vibrant communities and institutions to support them. We must support and encourage effective parenting, which is the most essential ingredient in child development.  I am encouraged by the work of organizations like "In Reach, Inc." that have enhanced parent involvement and child advocacy as a primary goal," shared Alvin Thornton, Ph.D.

In Reach thanks all of the individuals and sponsors who helped make the Fourth Annual Celebrating Amazing Prince George’s County Parents Awards Program a success especially our passionate guest speaker Dr. Alvin Thornton; the Honorable Ingrid M. Turner, former Council Member, District 4; Ms. Shawna Fachet of the Prince George’s Department of Parks and Recreation; Mr. Jaracus Copes, President of New Destiny, LLC and Master of Ceremonies; and Kelly Bell, In Reach Board Directors, all pictured above.

~

In Reach, Inc., is a tax exempt 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization designed to prepare students for college, work and life. Founded in 1999, In Reach envisions healthy, productive and prepared young adults in every family. To learn more about our work, visit www.inreachinc.org.

Register Today - Youth Empowerment Summit 2015

Registration is Now Open for 

Youth Empowerment Summit 2015

Click here for details and to register.

YES sells out quickly so register today! 

This year's event promises to be the very best. 

Take Action! January is #Poverty Awareness Month

In recognition of Poverty Awareness Month, In Reach has prepared an informative calendar of useful resources for everyday of the month, and an accompanying infographic that provides a snapshot of Prince George's County's poverty indicators.

Poverty is the number one challenge to our mission - preparing students for college, work and life. So many of our students and their families are affected by poverty. It rears its ugly head in every imaginable way, all usually recognizable in an educational setting. We see its affects when we work with a student who can not read proficiently, who may be homeless, receive inadequate health care, is food insecure, and/or lacks self confidence. 

Please share the calendar and infographic with your family, friends, colleagues, political and civic leaders and others to raise awareness about this often misunderstood and polarizing epidemic and join us in becoming a part of the solution, a poverty buster, to reduce its horrible affects.