PS7 Middle School Band 3
interview: aizik “aik” brown, wide open walls muralist
Valley Vision Blog
Aizik “Aik” Brown proudly describes himself as an Artist and Educator committed to improving the lives of those around him, particularly in Oak Park. Over the past two weeks, Valley Vision has been fortunate enough to have Aizik paint a stunning mural on the outside wall of our new office building as part of Sacramento’s Wide Open Walls mural festival, in partnership with St. HOPE.
Soccer Succeeds at PS7 Elementary School!
For the last two years, Street Soccer USA and PS7 Elementary School have partnered to provide 3rd – 5th grade scholars at PS7 access to after school soccer as an enrichment program multiple days per week. The partnership is funded by Councilmember Jay Schenirer’s Way Up Sacramento initiative to provide more healthy activities for Oak Park youth, and because soccer was a sport they wanted to pilot.
What’s Working: ‘College Track’ program creating first-gen college students
Students at Sacramento High School managed by St. HOPE Public Schools are outperforming state standards, thanks in part to the College Track program.
Published: 10:11 PM PDT August 8, 2018
A program called “College Track” is helping disadvantaged students become first-generation college students; setting an example for their families and their entire neighborhood.
There is a lot to be impressed by with those first-gen college students, and the guy who helped get the program off and running, Jake Mossawir. He serves as the CEO for St. HOPE, a family of non-profits on a mission.
Still Accepting Applications!
St. HOPE Public Schools is still accepting applications for the 2018-2019 school year! School starts August 8th! Enroll your scholar today!
St. HOPE Announces MLB All-Star Barry Bonds as 2018 Dinner Speaker
St. HOPE is excited to announce MLB All-Star Barry Bonds as the special guest speaker for the 2018 St. HOPE Dinner to be held on Sunday, September 23 at the Hyatt Regency downtown. The St. HOPE Dinner attracts a sellout crowd of 1,000 guests and has included speakers such as Michael Jordan, LeBron James, John Wooden, Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Webber and many more!
St. HOPE Promotes!
One of our favorite moments at St. HOPE is celebrating our scholars during school promotion time. The end of a school year is always a time full of heartfelt reflection and excitement for what’s to come. As we gather to celebrate the achievements of our amazing scholars and reflect back on their unique journeys, we are reminded of their triumphs and trials, hardships and successes and are overflowing with joy as we set our eyes to the future!
5th Annual Sacramento Black Book Fair
The 5th Annual Black Book Fair took place Friday, June 1st and Saturday, June 2nd. The Black Book Fair is held once a year to bring African American literature and authors to the community. This year’s featured authors came from Sacramento as well as different cities in California. There were also several national other authors who showed up from all across the country, including Florida! It’s no surprise to say this year’s fair was a success.
2017 St. HOPE Annual Report
2017 was a fabulous year for St. HOPE, and you can check out a few of the details in our newly released annual report found here. While we are proud of our work in 2017, we can’t help but look forward to showing off our 2018 accomplishments. We have already seen tremendous growth this year in scholar achievement, and 95% of Sac High seniors were accepted to a four-year college.
Byron Pitts comes to Oak Park
The Oak Park Speaker Series hosted the second of a four-part series on June 11th at the Guild Theater with special guest speaker Byron Pitts. Nearly 150 guests attended the event, emceed by former Mayor Kevin Johnson and included remarks by Greater Sacramento Urban League President and CEO Cassandra Jennings. The evening concluded with a fireside chat with Mayor Johnson and award-winning journalist and author Byron Pitts. Pitts was raised by a single mother and struggled with severe learning disabilities.
Mobile Teaching Kitchen
In the first week of May, more than 200 St. HOPE students and staff took a break from the classroom and participated in Chartwell’s Mobile Teaching Kitchen program. Chartwell’s has been contracted to serve school meals at St. HOPE for the last several years. The Mobile Teaching Classroom was very impressive and is a custom-designed shipping container modified into an 80-square-foot, fully functioning kitchen complete with three-sided belly height kitchen countertop and five individual induction plates.
St. HOPE Accelerates Mission to Support Sacramento Youth
SAN MATEO, Calif., June 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ – St. HOPE, a nonprofit community development corporation, has leveraged Oracle NetSuite to support its mission to create one of the finest urban pre-kindergarten through 12th grade public school systems in the United States. With NetSuite SuiteSuccess for Nonprofits, St. HOPE has been able to streamline critical business functions in order to focus its time and resources on providing high quality public education and creating living-wage sustainable jobs.
St. HOPE Scholars Are Oak Park Smart!
Know some amazing students? So do we! This past month, three students, one each from PS7, Oak Park Prep and Sac High, were recognized at the second annual Celebrate Oak Park festival as Oak Park Smart’s top students. Celebrate Oak Park is an annual celebration of learning and student achievement for the schools serving Oak Park and is put on by Jay Schenirer’s WayUp initiative.
Best of Sac High, 2018
Underground Books and Old Soul were pleased to present the 15th annual “Best of Sac High Student Art Exhibit.” The exhibit showcases the school year’s best work by students attending Sac High. The exhibit is a board cross-spectrum of talented youth – freshmen to seniors, as well as a diverse representation from the three art pathways on Sac High’s campus.
Pi Day Fun!
PS7 Middle scholars had the opportunity to participate in our annual Pi Day carnival in March. Pi Day is an annual celebration of the mathematical constant pi (π), celebrated on March 14th (3.14)! The event was led by our 8th grade scholars as they managed a variety of stations for our sixth and seventh grade scholars to participate in, such as field games, math worksheets, a Pi chain, and of course, enjoying a slice of pie!! Our sixth and seventh graders had a fantastic time participating as they were able to show off their math knowledge and teamwork skills!
Sac High Class of 2021 Visits Google!
Last month, the entire Sac High Class of 2021 (9th grade) was invited to spend a day at Google headquarters in Mountain View! The Dragons spent the whole day touring the #googleplex with a “Googler”, eating a meal from the Google Kitchen, and hearing from a panel of “Googlers” with diverse backgrounds and experiences. This trip was important for our students in that it opened up their minds to the endless possibilities available to them when they pursue and obtain their college degree.
Shout Hooray for St. HOPE’s Big Day!
Earlier this month, St. HOPE participated in the Big Day of Giving, one of the region’s biggest online giving campaigns created to support Sacramento’s nonprofit community by raising essential funding and allowing for nonprofits to continue in their efforts to make Sacramento a better place!
As hopeful as our staff and students were, we would have never expected what was to come on that big day! Securing over $60,000 in donations and matching donations of a $50,000 goal was more than we could have ever anticipated! EVER!
Sac High Staff gets “Lunch on Us!”
Sac High Staff was awarded “Lunch on Us” from Schools Financial Credit Union in March as a way to acknowledge their hard work and influence on campus.
Speaker Series Returns to Oak Park
In partnership with Underground Books and the Greater Sacramento Urban League, the inaugural Oak Park Speaker Series is proud to announce an exciting lineup of speakers including Roland Martin, Byron Pitts, Terry McMillan and Carla Harris. Individual tickets and sponsorships are now available for the 4-part series that will launch on May 9 at the Guild Theater.
Big Day of Giving to Help Transform the Sac High Library!
May 3rd marks the Big Day of Giving and for St. HOPE a day of HOPE and anticipation!
Student Section: Reflecting on Gun Violence
Last month Sac High participated in the “National School Walkout” during which students across the country walked out of school to honor the 17 victims shot and killed at Stoneman Douglas High School in February. The walkout was initiated as a call to the U.S. government to pass stricter gun control laws. Here’s what one student had to say about it: