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(photo courtesy Sue Larson/January 16, 2013) Fremont High School math teacher Jessica Uy recently earned certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. The certification is regarded as a high-status benchmark for teaching knowledge, skills and practices.

Fremont High School math teacher Jessica Uy is now among the elite few teachers to achieve certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Uy is one of just six recent alumni of the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation's fellowship to earn the elite certification. The five other early career educators teach science and math in high schools in California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Washington.

The certification is regarded as a high-status benchmark for teaching knowledge, skills and practices, earned through a series of complex, rigorous assessments and testing. The voluntary program can take the better part of a school year and involve hundreds of hours of work beyond the regular demands of teaching, according to board certification officials.

"In a lot of ways, it was on par with the work it takes to get a master's degree," Uy said. "It was definitely a challenge. Teachers like to push themselves and see what they are capable of."

Teachers complete a comprehensive portfolio with written and video entries on classroom practice and discourse, instruction and content knowledge, as well as work with parents and the wider community. More than 97,000 teachers were nationally board certified as of 2011, representing approximately 2.7 percent of the 3.7 million American teachers, according to board officials.

Uy is in her sixth year teaching mathematics at Fremont

"I love teaching at Fremont," she said. "The administration is very supportive, and everyone is focused on the kids and what they are learning."

Uy grew up in Southern California and attended a number of gifted, talented and academically accelerated programs throughout elementary and middle school. She attended UC-Davis, where she saw a stark contrast between her own and her peers' schooling experiences, she said. The gap in public school experience inspired her to teach.

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Fremont High teacher among select few with national board certification

Published: Friday, January 18, 2013, 12:01 a.m.

Four hefty scholarships are available to Edmonds School District seniors, thanks to a grant from the Hazel Miller Foundation.

The foundation awarded $30,000 to the Edmonds School District Alumni Association to be used for scholarships for students graduating from any of the Edmonds School District high schools in June.

There are two $2,000 scholarships for a male and female at each of the five district high schools and two $5,000 scholarships for a male and a female from any one of the high schools. Application forms will be in the high schools by Feb. 1 and are due by April 10.

An additional grant of $1,700 was also given by the Foundation to assist the Alumni Association with the mailing of one of its two newsletters this year.

Gold Bar: Council seeks more help

Gold Bar has asked the Snohomish County Council for help filling a City Council vacancy -- for the second time in less than a year.

This time, it's for a position former City Councilman Chris Wright resigned from in September.

The County Council in June appointed Elizabeth LaZella to a separate council vacancy on Gold Bar's City Council, which has five positions.

The appointee will serve out Wright's term, which would have expired at the end of this year. To qualify, a person must have lived within Gold Bar city limits for at least a year and be a registered voter. The deadline to apply is Feb. 15, close of business.

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Around Snohomish County

Published: Wednesday, January 16, 2013, 9:00p.m. Updated 17 hours ago

Bethel Park High School has a long tradition of honoring its accomplished athletes in its Hall of Fame, but a basketball game on Friday will mark the beginning of a separate honor roll for accomplished alumni.

The first seven members of the Alumni Hall of Fame will be inducted at halftime of the game between Bethel Park and Canon-McMillan high schools, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the Bethel Park High School gymnasium. The inaugural class of distinguished alumni includes veterans of the Air Force and Navy, Ivy League graduates, doctors, advocates and entrepreneurs.

The first group of inductees are:

Lt. Kenneth Buzz Beyda, Class of 2003, a U.S. Navy fighter pilot.

William Brucker III, class of 2000, a doctoral candidate and medical student at Brown University; founder of the Providence Alliance of Clinical Educators to improve the way science is taught in schools in the United States and Haiti.

Thomas R. Watjen, Class of 1972, president and CEO of Unum, a Chattanooga, Tenn.-based insurance company. He established a $1 million fellowship at the University of Virginia for military students of the business school.

Dr. Roger Zelt, Class of 1972, a Harvard-educated opthalmologist and assistant professor of clinical instruction at the University of Pittsburgh.

Grant Hammond, Class of 1962, deputy director of the Air Force Center for Strategy and Technology at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Ala.

Barbara Bowman Pierce, Class of 1962, president of the National Federation of the Blind and editor of Braille Monitor magazine.

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Bethel Park High School to welcome first seven inductees into Alumni Hall of Fame

The recession and high national unemployment rates make life after college look worse than college itself, often leaving new graduates overqualified and underemployed.

It's an awkward and sobering time for college grads, like recent UW alumni Alice Tattersall, who works part-time at a Ravenna restaurant.

Tattersall has long intended to attend medical school and is now preparing to take her MCATs in March. But in the meantime, she's found her options for college-level employment limited.

"My parents are nervous that I'll get in a rut because it's easy to pick up a shift, take the money and stay in the service industry," said Tattersall, a psychology grad pursuing pediatrics.

Tattersall's story is typical, leading many recent grads questioning whether their costly bachelor's degree was worth the time and treasure.

But a new study by the Pew Charitable Trust's Economic Mobility Project would seem to dispel that skepticism, and confirm what high school counselors have been saying all along: It pays to go to college.

The report, based off a 2003-2011 Current Population Survey, says recent college grads age 21 through 24 experienced higher employment rates than their counterparts with high school and associate's degrees.

According to the report, 42 percent of recent college grads are in college-level job and 26 percent are underemployed in high school-level jobs. Only 10 percent of recent college grads were unemployed or out of the labor force--a small figure compared to 18 percent for high school grads and 11 percent for associate's degree holders.

While the unemployment rate is higher for young people compared to other age groups regardless of their education background, the statistics show quicker employment stabilization for those with a college degree.

At the UW Career Center, Senior Career Counselor Kimberly Petersen was optimistic about prospect for college grads in the economic upswing.

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Don't Brood: It Still Pays to Go to College

ATLANTA, Jan. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --Over the course of a history-making, seven-year effort, Emory University has raised more than $1.69 billion from alumni and friends to support teaching, research, scholarship, patient care and social action.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130114/DC41840)

Nearly 150,000 donors contributed to Campaign Emory, ensuring the success of the most ambitious fund-raising effort in the university's history. Emory alumni contributed more than $349 million of the overall total. Emory faculty and staff contributed more than $105 million to Campaign Emory.

Funds raised through the campaign already have begun to transform Emory's physical and academic landscapes, enhancing the student experience, teaching, research and patient care by better equipping the university and its medical centers to serve the local and larger communities.

This level of philanthropic support, even in the midst of a worldwide economic downturn, is inspiring, says Emory President James W. Wagner.

"Philanthropy touches every area of Emory's work. The success of this campaign and the generosity of our many donors affirm that we are on the right track," Wagner says. "This campaign exceeded its goal because of the thoughtful, essential support of many alumni and friends, faculty and staff. We are confident that they will share in our success and continue to support us as we pursue the important work their generosity has made possible."

Hundreds of volunteers donated their time to help make the campaign successful.

"Without the dedication of our volunteers, we could not have achieved all they have made possible. The Emory community owes a debt of gratitude to Sonny Deriso, volunteer chairman of Campaign Emory, and every one of our volunteers who gave their time to lead and serve on school and unit committees," Wagner says of Deriso, a 1968 graduate of Emory College and a 1972 graduate of Emory University School of Law.

Campaign Emory provided essential support to enhance academic programs and research in schools and units. More than 351 endowed funds were created. Over the course of the campaign, donors provided more than $225 million for student scholarships and programs.

The steady growth in personal giving reflects a growing culture of philanthropy at Emory, says Wagner.

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Supporters Contribute $1.69 Billion Through Campaign Emory

Mary Sue Coleman University of Michigan President. (File Photo)

ANN ARBOR (AP) - Strengthening ties with alumni in India and pursuing collaboration with schools and researchers in that country will be the focus of a visit later this year by University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman.

Coleman will spend about a week in India in November, The Michigan Daily reported on its website.

Colemans fifth international trip as Michigans president will include stops in Mumbai and New Delhi. She also has visited Brazil, China, Ghana and South Africa on behalf of the university.

Plans are for Coleman to reach out to alumni living and working in India.

They have a lot of MBA graduates, and now BBA graduates, who are generally visible people in their communities, said Jo Rumsey, vice president for International Alumni Relations at the University of Michigan Alumni Association. They take the initiative. They get out there ahead of others. Indias alumni have been pretty active in wanting to stay in touch with the University.

University research has benefited from relationships in other countries, according to the school. The school is involved in a Science Without Borders program in Brazil and is conducting medical research in Ghana.

Were exploring some interesting opportunities for some new educational exchange study abroad programs in India, said Mark Tessler, vice provost for International Affairs.

Research projects between University of Michigan faculty and faculty at schools in India also could be pursued, he said.

The India trip should be beneficial to the university and India, according to Coleman.

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University of Michigan’s Coleman To Visit India

Branciforte thanks you for support

Thank you for helping to strongly support the fundraising efforts at Branciforte Middle School. We are close to our goal of raising money for new computers and software for our Media Lab and appreciate the shoutout to graduates and alumni. We are hoping that with their help and others in the community we will be able to meet our goal. It definitely takes a village.

Kathy Ferraro, Santa Cruz

Serving our schools and community

On behalf of the San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District, we would like to thank Matt Ryan, program director for Athletics Training Department, the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF), Santa Cruz and Greg Vandervoort, engineer/paramedic for Scotts Valley Fire Protection District, for providing the Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) that we now have in our high school and middle school gyms. Having these machines readily available in our schools will provide an invaluable lifesaving tool in the event of a heart attack.

We would also like to thank our local fire departments: Scotts Valley, Boulder Creek, Ben Lomond, Felton and Zayante for providing training to our school staff and coaches in AED, First Aid and CPR. Their professionalism and dedication in support of our schools is greatly appreciated.

Karen van Putten, Jeff Calden, Debbie Ruskin, Mark

SC Warriors basketball first-rate

This Warriors thing is really something. I haven't seen people this jazzed about anything since Pete Newell's Santa Cruz High Cardinals' joy ride to the state championship. The arena is cool, the basketball is first-rate and the experience is thoroughly enjoyable.

Thank you Jim Weyermann's Warriors, the Seaside Company, the mayor and City Council, and especially city staff whose enthusiasm, creativity and professionalism has resulted in this wonderful attraction. I'm thankful for your hard work and proud of what you've accomplished. You've enhanced our reputation as a city where unique and exciting things happen.

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Praiseworthy: Jan. 14, 2013

MOUNT CARMEL - Family Home Medical Home Health Agency announces that Stephen Minker has accepted an invitation to join the agency's professional advisory board. The board provides guidance and oversight for the company's daily operations and community outreach efforts.

"Mr. Minker's professional expertise and dedicated community involvement is a welcome and valuable addition to our board," said Warren D. Altomare, CEO.

Minker, of Coal Township, graduated from Shamokin Area High School in 1971 and earned a bachelor of business administration degree from the University of Miami in 1975.

He serves on several local boards, including Geisinger-Shamokin Area Community Hospital, Brush Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce and Northumberland County Recreation Commission.

Minker is a past member of the Shamokin-Coal Township Joint Sewer Authority and the University of Miami alumni board.

"His strong community involvement and commitment to the residents of our area give him an excellent understanding of the various health care needs of the community," Altomare said.

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Coal Township man named to health firm's advisory board