Compiled by Lauri Johnson
PARENTS AS TEACHERS NATIONAL CONFERENCE
RALLIES PARTICIPANTS TO BECOME ADVOCATES
FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Parents as Teachers National Center drew national attention to the importance of early childhood and parent education at its national conference in St. Louis. The conference provided more than 1,000 early childhood professionals, social workers and other family support service providers with advocacy tools to reach key decision makers in school systems and government offices.
"We want
to arm participants with the knowledge and materials necessary
to become champions for early childhood education," explained
Susan Stepleton, president and CEO of Parents as Teachers National
Center. "It is extremely important to educate local, state
and federal officials about the successes that programs such as
Parents as Teachers provide for families that are working toward
a better future."
Conference participants gained insight from field experts on how to develop a strategy for reaching out to legislators, organize effective grassroots networks, implement a successful advocacy day in their local community, recruit advocates, educate voters and candidates, and build coalitions for funding and program development.
Parents as Teachers National Center is the nonprofit resource base of Parents as Teachers, an award-winning parent education program serving families with children from birth to age five.
TWO ST. LOUIS
ORGANIZATIONS
PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
TO MORE THAN
19,000 EDUCATORS
Cooperating School Districts of Greater
St. Louis Inc. and the St. Louis Regional Professional Development Center have announced that more than 19,000 educators have benefited from their on-site professional development services and training opportunities since July 1, 2007.
School district
personnel participating in the organizations' professional development
activities included 12,272 elementary, middle and high school
teachers; 1,444 principals and assistant principals; and 5,312
coordinators, superintendents, support staff and other personnel.
The two organizations continue to provide an array of professional development services for school districts, including leadership training, workshops, special education consultation, National Board Certification for Teachers, English Language Learners programs, Reading First and Professional Learning Communities.
GRAYBAR LAUNCHES NEW
DELIVERY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Graybar, the
national distributor of electrical and communications products
and related supply chain management and logistics services, has
launched a mobile resource management system that tracks and documents
deliveries made by Graybar's drivers.
Developed
with customer input, Graybar Delivery Advantage is a real-time
system that helps customers better manage their incoming materials,
saving them time and money. The system provides valuable details
on incoming deliveries that include the delivery date and time,
an electronic image of a customer's signature for proof of delivery,
an electronic image of the delivery, and an aerial map of the
delivery location.
Graybar drivers
gather the delivery information using Sprint/Nextel mobile phones
that are enabled with Xora GPS TimeTrack service. Once the service
captures the delivery information, it is available immediately
to Graybar's customer service representatives, who can then turn
around and provide it to their customers.
The new system
was recently recognized in the 20 Great Ideas section of the InformationWeek
500 for Graybar's innovative use of cell phones to optimize supply
chain performance.
HABITAT FOR NEIGHBORHOOD BUSINESS, SLU CELEBRATES RETAIL SERVICE CENTER GROUNDBREAKING
Years of planning and a vision of thriving businesses serving area residents became
a reality as Habitat for Neighborhood Business and Saint Louis University broke ground on their first freestanding retail and service center.
Located at the corner of Martin Luther King Drive and Whitter Avenue in the historic Ville neighborhood, the site is part of an effort to develop urban retail and service business centers that will spark economic development and job growth in urban neighborhoods.
Business, community and religious leaders joined 4th Ward Alderman Sam Moore and members of Habitat for Neighborhood Business and the Smurfit-Stone Center for Entrepreneurship at the SLUÕs John Cook School of Business to kick off the new project. The team behind the new retail center includes Glantz and Associates Architects Inc., general contractor Interface Construction Corporation and Montgomery Bank.
Organized in 2006, Habitat for Neighborhood Business is a volunteer 501(c)3 organization that develops retail and service business centers in economically distressed neighborhoods.
SSM ST. JOSEPH HOSPITAL FOUNDATION RECEIVES GRANT FOR GREEN INITIATIVE
The SSM St. Joseph Hospital Foundation has received a $55,000 grant from The Home Depot Foundation to develop and install a green roof at the future SSM St. Clare Health Center. The grant will also support the development of educational materials that highlight the benefits and value of the green roof and other landscaping initiatives at the new campus.
"This
generous gift by The Home Depot Foundation will assist our efforts
to integrate environmentally-friendly aspects into the future
SSM St. Clare Health Center campus that will benefit not only
our campus, but the surrounding community," stated Sherry
Hausmann, president of SSM St. Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood and
the future SSM St. Clare Health Center. "The outdoor amenities,
such as the green roof, courtyard gardens and strolling paths,
are integral to its overall design. In addition, the materials
component of the grant will give us an opportunity to educate
the community of the many benefits of incorporating nature into
new construction, particularly in healthcare."
The roof will
be planted with low-maintenance foliage that will provide improved
drainage and storm water retention, added insulation and improved
air quality. The foliage should also prevent heat absorption,
reducing the "heat island" effect typically created
by large roof surfaces.
The Home Depot Foundation supports innovative nonprofit organizations that increase awareness of the connection between responsible building practices and the overall health and economic success of our communities.
NEW WRAP TRANSFORMS METROLINK INTO ROLLING MESSAGES
Metro has
unveiled new train "wraps" for its MetroLink light rail
cars that advertise the transit system's successes over the past
few years. While light rail systems across the country have been
wrapping their rail cars for several years, this is the first
time that Metro has used the popular marketing concept on MetroLink.
The "Grab
a Seat. Metro's on the Move" messages were rolled out on
three rail cars this past spring. The trains are promoting Metro's
exceptional on-time performance, safety record and customer satisfaction,
all of which have improved dramatically since 2002, according
to Metro.
"We've
made some tremendous strides over the past five years, and we
believe the train wraps provide an excellent way to spread the
word about those accomplishments and encourage more riders to
try transit," noted Ray Friem, senior vice president of transit
operations for Metro.
The train wraps were designed by Paradowski Creative and produced by Lamar Transit.
ROBOTICS TOURNAMENT COMBINES SCIENCE AND SPORT
Teams of teenagers from the local area and eleven surrounding states participated in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics St. Louis Regional Tournament at the St. Charles Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo. Participants vied for awards and a chance to advance to the FIRST Championship held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
The program challenges young people, in collaboration with professional mentors, to design and build a robot in just six short weeks. Teams received rules and instructions at an event in January at the Saint Louis Science Center, a major sponsor and educational partner for the program in the
St. Louis area.
At the 2008
competition, students' robots were designed to race around a track
while knocking down 40-inch inflated "trackballs," moving
them around, and passing them either over or under a 6'6"
overpass. Extra points were scored when robots positioned the
trackballs back on the overpass before the end of the match.
FIRST is a
not-for-profit organization dedicated to inspiring young people's
interest and participation in science and technology.
BBC FEATURES ST. PATRICK CENTER
IN DOCUMENTARY SERIES
Earlier this
year, the British Broadcasting Corporation stopped by McMurphy's
Grill in St. Louis to tape a story about St. Patrick Center for
a five-part documentary series, "Stephen Fry's in America."
In the series, host Stephen Fry travels to all 50 states and gives
his unique insight into the true nature of the individual parts
that make up the whole country.
Fry, producer
John Paul Davidson and crew members visited McMurphy's Grill at
614 N. 11th Street to film the segment. McMurphy's Grill is part
of the restaurant job training program at St. Patrick Center.
St. Patrick Center provides opportunities for self-sufficiency
and dignity to people who are homeless or at risk of becoming
homeless. Individuals achieve permanent, positive changes in their
lives through affordable housing, sound mental health, employment
and financial stability.
ST. LUKE'S NAMED ONE OF AMERICA'S 50 BEST HOSPITALS
St. Luke's
Hospital has earned a spot on the America's 50 Best Hospitals
list for its superior clinical performance. The ranking is compiled
annually by HealthGrades, a leading national independent healthcare
ratings company. For the second consecutive year, St. Luke's is
the only hospital in Missouri to make the list.
The America's
50 Best Hospitals designation is the only national hospital quality
rating based solely on clinical outcomes. HealthGrades analyzed
tens of millions of Medicare patient records from 1999-2006 to
identify the hospitals. These hospitals have achieved higher survival
rates and lower complication rates across 27 different medical
procedures and diagnoses, from cardiac care to orthopedic surgery,
consistently ranking among the top five percent in the nation
for overall clinical outcomes.
In creating
the list, HealthGrades identified the hospitals that have also
received the HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical
Excellence the most consecutive times. St. Luke's has received
the award for six consecutive years, making it one of only 43
hospitals in the nation to do so.
RSM McGLADREY
RECEIVES AWARD
FROM CONFERENCE BOARD
Accounting
and business consulting firm RSM McGladrey received The Conference
Board's Moving Into the Future Award for its innovative Coach-on-Call
WorkLife program. RSM McGladrey accepted the award at the 2008
Work Life Conference held in Atlanta. The annual award honors
companies that creatively address workplace issues that yield
positive impact.
The WorkLife
program offers the firm's 8,000 employees the opportunity and
support to pursue personal interests and promotes better communication
between managers and employees. Employees also have free access
to coaching services from professional coach Karen Lanson, who
helps them develop, structure and manage individual strategies
for WorkLife effectiveness.
"RSM
McGladrey's WorkLife programs demonstrate their commitment to
creating a vibrant organizational culture," stated Jonathan
Spector, CEO of The Conference Board. "The innovation displayed
by RSM McGladrey distinguishes the company as an example that
other companies can emulate. The Coach-on-Call program is an important
enhancement of the firm's progressive WorkLife environment."
The Conference Board is a preeminent business membership and research organization best known for producing the Consumer Confidence Index and the Leading Economic Indicators.
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