Saturday is Enrollment Day at Tacoma's Destiny Middle School

Destiny Middle School will be enrolling current 5th, 6th and 7th graders from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 18 at its third annual Enrollment Day. Interested parents, students and community members are invited to visit Destiny, part of the Green Dot network of charter schools, at 1301 E. 34th St. in Tacoma, Wash.

Washington State's charter schools are showing success closing opportunity gaps created by our traditional public school system, and Destiny may be the cream of the crop. It's worth checking out.

Students can be fully registered at the event. Food and kids' activities will be provided.

Check out the event page on Facebook for more info.

Green Dot Destiny Middle School in Tacoma, Wash.

Youth Speaks Seattle is seeking fierce young artists for a social justice institute

Calling all youth poets, dancers, musicians, artists and activists!

Youth Speaks Seattle (YSS) is looking for fierce young artists (aged 14-19) interested in making art, learning about social justice and earning $150 this summer at the YSS Arts Liberation and Leadership Institute. Application deadline is July 31st.

The five-day institute will be held Aug. 22-26 at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, where leaders will build a tight-knit, loving community with 20 other youth artists and activists while working with Daniel Pak from the music group Kore Ionz and with community activist/visual artist Henry Luke.

In addition to professional development and skills around promotion, event planning, public speaking and facilitation, participants will learn about forms of oppression and how to fight against them using art and community. They will also receive a $150 stipend upon completion as well as credit for 60-plus community service hours.

Download the application here or apply online here.

From Youth Speaks Seattle's website:

Since 2003, Youth Speaks Seattle has been the city’s premier collective for youth spoken word poetry, creating avenues for youth voices through creative writing instruction and performance opportunities. Over the years, Youth Speaks Seattle has conducted residencies and visited classrooms in nearly all of Seattle’s public high schools, hosted a thriving monthly open mic series, transformative all-city writing circles and explosive poetry slam competitions.

In 2011, the renowned youth-led poetry program became a part of Arts Corps. We are proud to continue the Youth Speaks Seattle legacy with twice-monthly open mics, weekly writing circles, the hallmark Poetry Slam Series and a fierce Spokes board of Youth Leaders.

Tacoma’s Charter Public Schools to Host Open House Tour for New Families

SOAR Academy, Green Dot Destiny Middle School and Summit Olympus High School will host a tour of open houses on Thursday, July 28, for Tacoma families exploring their public school options for the upcoming 2016-17 school year.

The tour of open houses will give potential students, parents and caregivers the opportunity to tour each school building, ask questions and meet school leaders and teachers, and hear the experiences of founding families and students who are returning to Tacoma’s charter public schools for the second year.

As all three of Tacoma’s small, personalized and academically rigorous charter public schools head into their second year of operation, each school is growing to serve new grade levels in Fall 2016.

SOAR Academy, which eventually will serve K-8, served K-1 in its first year and will grow to serve K-2 in Fall 2016. Green Dot Destiny Middle School, which served sixth grade in its founding year and will serve grades 6-8 at capacity, is enrolling sixth and seventh grade for Fall 2016. And Summit Olympus High School, which opened to ninth graders in its founding year, is enrolling ninth and tenth graders for this coming school year.

Enrollment is open for Fall 2016 at Tacoma’s charter public schools. All schools are tuition-free and open to all students. For more information: http://wacharters.org/enroll/tacoma/.

WHAT: Tacoma Charter Public Schools Open House Tour

WHEN: Thursday, July 28, 5 – 8:15 p.m.

LOGISTICS:
The open house tour begins at SOAR Academy and then travels to Summit Olympus and Destiny Charter Middle School. Bus transportation will be provided for those attending the full three-school tour, and will return to SOAR Academy at the end of the tour.

5:00 pm: Meet at SOAR Academy, 2136 MLK Jr. Way, Tacoma, WA 98405
5:30—6pm: Tour SOAR Academy
6:30—7pm: Tour Summit Olympus, 409 Puyallup Ave., Tacoma, WA 98421
7:30—8pm: Tour Destiny Middle School, 1301 E 34th St, Tacoma, WA 98404
8:00 pm: After the Destiny Middle School tour, participants will be dropped back off at SOAR Academy.

RSVP here. View the Facebook event here.

About Washington’s Public Charter Schools
Charter schools are state-authorized public schools. Like all public schools, they do not charge tuition, they are open to all students, and they are publicly funded. However, charter schools are held more accountable for showing improved student achievement. In exchange for greater accountability, teachers and principals are given more flexibility to customize their teaching methods and curriculum to improve student learning.

Washington’s charter public schools are helping to close the education equity gap. More than 67 percent of charter public school students in Washington are students of color, as compared to 43 percent statewide. Two-thirds of charter public school students qualify for free or reduced-price school meals, as compared to 45 percent statewide. At four of Washington’s charter public schools, this number exceeds 70 percent.