For Leadership in Volunteer Service & Academic Achievement

COLCHESTER, VT (08/06/2013)(readMedia)-- The following local high school students were awarded the 2013 Saint Michael's College Book Award for Academic Achievement with a Social Conscience:

David Harb of Davenport, a student at Assumption High School.

Molly Monroe of Davenport, a student at Assumption High School.

The award recognizes students who demonstrate a commitment to leadership in volunteer service and academic achievement. Saint Michael's, located in Burlington, Vermont, one of America's top 10 college towns, was founded on the belief that serving others is part of its Catholic tradition, and through the award seeks to honor those who demonstrate the true spirit of volunteerism.

Award recipients, named at schools throughout the country, are high school juniors who are inductees of the National Honor Society or an equivalent school-sponsored honors organization. They must demonstrate a commitment to service activities in high school or community organizations, taking leadership roles in these activities.

Winners were presented the book First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (HarperCollins 2000) by Loung Ung, a 1993 Saint Michael's College graduate who has become a widely acclaimed author. In "First They Killed My Father," Ung gives a powerful autobiographical account, from a child's perspective, of surviving captivity during the genocidal Pol Pot regime in Cambodia. She reveals an indomitable spirit in the face of profound suffering, including the loss of both her parents and two of her siblings. Ung has written a riveting memoir about a family's survival, and in turn, about the development of Ung's on-going crusade for a landmine free world.

About Saint Michael's

At Saint Michael's College www.smcvt.edu students are challenged to do their best, find their niche, take on opportunities to grow, and immerse themselves in academic pursuits. Intellectual rigor, compassion, teamwork, caring-these characterize a Saint Michael's experience. A residential Catholic college, Saint Michael's is steeped in the social justice spirit of its founding priests, the Edmundites. Saint Michael's is located three miles from Burlington, Vermont, one of America's top 10 college towns. Headed by President John J. Neuhauser, the college has 1,900 undergraduate students and 500 graduate students. Identified by the Princeton Review, 2014 as one of the nation's Best 378 Colleges, and included in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2014, Saint Michael's students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Goldwater, Pickering, Guggenheim, Fulbright, and other grants and awards. The college is one of the nation's top-100, Best Liberal Arts Colleges as listed in the 2013 U.S. News & World Report rankings.

(DES MOINES) - Gov. Terry E. Branstad today named Dr. Brad Buck, 44, to be the next Iowa Department of Education director, calling him a visionary leader with the right skills to implement the landmark education reform package passed by the 2013 Legislature.

Buck has served as superintendent of the 1,300-student Saydel school district in rural Polk County since July 2011. He previously worked as a school administrator in the Waukee, Hudson and North Mahaska school districts from 1997 to 2011. Buck began his education career in 1992 as a science teacher at Parkview Middle School in Ankeny.  He is also a past president of School Administrators of Iowa.

"Dr. Buck's passion for giving all students a world-class education and his knowledge of how to better utilize teacher leadership to accomplish that goal played a critical role in his selection," said Branstad. "He understands the importance of collaboration as educators and parents work together to assure students are prepared to compete in the global economy."

Better utilizing teacher leadership is the centerpiece of Iowa's 2013 education reform package. Each of Iowa's 346 school districts has the option to adopt a teacher leadership system that will use the expertise of top teachers to improve instruction and raise student achievement.  Districts can apply for planning grants in September, and the teacher leadership systems will be phased in over the next several years. When fully in place in 2016-17, the price tag is expected to be $150 million annually.

Buck has a head start on understanding how to put a teacher leadership system in place. Working closely with the Saydel Education Association during the 2012-13 school year, Buck helped secure a federal Teacher Incentive Fund grant that will allow the Saydel school district to implement its own teacher leadership system starting this month.

"Brad Buck's strong record of service in Iowa school districts and willingness to think outside the box make him a great choice to lead the Iowa Department of Education at this point in time," said Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds.

Buck said, "The Governor and Lt. Governor, the Legislature, and the Iowa Department of Education have cast a bold vision for school improvement efforts in our state. As importantly, they have recognized the importance of providing the necessary tools and supports needed to implement this work. I am excited and humbled to be chosen by the Governor to serve the students, families, and educators of Iowa in delivering on the promises contained in this legislation and making our education system the best performing in the nation."

Buck's official start date has not been finalized, but will be no later than September 1.  He and his wife, Traci, live in Urbandale and have 6 children.

When budgeting for back-to-school expenses, parents generally include routine fare like clothes, school supplies and maybe a new backpack. But if your kids participate in extracurricular activities, whether it's sports, music lessons or art classes, you could be on the hook for hundreds - or even thousands - of dollars in additional expenses throughout the year if you're not careful.

As parents, we hesitate to stifle our children's athletic and creative urges, especially when it can be so difficult to drag them away from their iPods and Xboxes. But sometimes you've just got to step back, weigh the different options available and decide what you can afford without upsetting your other financial goals and responsibilities.

You'll face tough questions like, "Is it better for my child's future to spend $500 on a soccer day camp he'll really enjoy or to invest the money in a 529 College Savings Plan?"

My wife and I commonly wrestle with these types of questions. For example, last fall our son had outgrown his baseball equipment and was begging us for a new bat that cost $125. A year later, it sits on the sidelines because he prefers to use a friend's bat. (We're not complete pushovers, however: When he recently obsessed over a $200 pair of high-tech gym shoes, we said no.)

Among the best advice I've received from other parents is, when your kids are exploring new activities, don't overcommit your time or money until you know whether they'll stick with it or quickly move on to the next thing.

For example, before you sink a small fortune into private swimming lessons, start small with a summer class at your local Y or recreation center. If your kid shows a genuine aptitude and doesn't balk at long hours of practice, then you can explore more costly alternatives. Just remember who'll be driving to practice and out-of-town swim meets; in other words, make sure you can honor the time commitment before signing on.

Here are a few tips for prioritizing extracurricular events and keeping your costs down:

• Focus on one sport or activity per kid, per season, especially if they involve multiple practice sessions or games per week.
• Form carpools with other parents. You'll save gas money and time, especially if your kids are practicing at different locations.
• Learn how much equipment and instruction the sport requires. Some, like soccer and basketball can be relatively inexpensive; while others, like horseback riding, golf and ice skating involve expensive equipment or facility rental time.
• Rent or buy used sporting equipment (or musical instruments) until you're sure they'll stick with the activity. Visit Play It Again Sports stores, online ad sites like Craigslist and yard sales.
• Seek out or form a sports equipment exchange in your community where families can donate outgrown or cast-off equipment and uniforms for others to use.
• It's probably better to invest in new safety gear, like helmets and masks, than to buy it used - and potentially damaged. The same goes for items like shoes or baseball gloves that become molded to a child's body - unless they were hardly used.

Sometimes the cost of an elective program is worth making sacrifices elsewhere in your budget. Our daughter loves theater arts, so we decided it was worth shaving our vacation budget to send her to theater camp. She'll make new friends and hone her dramatic and social skills in an environment that public school just can't duplicate.

LA CROSSE, WI (08/01/2013)(readMedia)-- Benjamin Kammel, of Moline, graduated from Western Technical College in the Bio-Medical Electronics program. Kammel is one of the 1,456 graduates to receive an associate's degree, technical diploma, or certificate in 2013.

Western Technical College is part of the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS). Each year, more than 400,000 Wisconsin residents receive education and training from the state's 16 technical colleges.

To learn more about Western Technical College programs and services, please call 608.785.9200 or visit the website at www.westerntc.edu. For more information on WTCS, visit www.witechcolleges.com.