Youngstown program to honor achievers

YOUNGSTOWN —  Jimma McWilson believes it’s time to change the dialogue about the city schools from discussing its failures to discussing its successes.

That’s the way to improve, by building on the wide range of academic successes that already exist, said the president and chief executive officer of FAMILY Empowerment Student Achievement Institute, a relatively new Mahoning Valley nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering families in relation to the education of their children.

That’s why the organization is the chief sponsor of a “Youngstown Best Academic Practice Celebration and Awards” program set for Saturday at New Bethel Baptist Church, 1507 Hillman St.

Registration is at 9 a.m., and the program begins at 10 a.m.

More than 600 of Youngstown’s student scholars, parent-teachers and classroom teachers will be presented with letters of achievement recognizing academic successes.

Children will be honored on two levels: Those who made the honor roll and those who maintained a 3.0 or higher grade point average.

The parents of those academically successful pupils will be recognized as Best Practice Parent-Teachers.

The pupils themselves have nominated teachers who have helped them achieve for the Best Practice Classroom Teacher recognition.

For complete story, see Monday's Vindicator or www.vindy.com.