Washington High School of Information Technology Milwaukee Public Schools Summer 2016 Vol. 5, No. 3

T h e Wa s h i n g t o n I n f o r m e r

Spring iFair gives students opportunity to explore future careers

Hundreds of MPS students discov-ered science, technology, engineering and math actually do have applica-tions in the real world. At the spring iFair, hosted by Mil-waukee Public Schools’ Washington High School of Information Technol-ogy and Harley-Davidson on Thurs-day, middle and high school students took part in workshops, which fo-cused on advanced robotics, com-puter mapping, computer science and computer repair. They also had opportunities to meet with repre-sentatives from more than 20 Mil-waukee area businesses, organiza-tions and colleges to discuss career options and how they are advancing technology. Bob Horton, a professor of compu-ting at UW-Whitewater and member of the Washington High School Advi-sory Board, helped launch the first iFair in 2006 and was on hand for Thursday’s event. He estimates more than 10,000 MPS students have expe-rienced the iFair since it began. “The point of it is to get the students excited about information technolo-gy and introduce them to people who work in that field,” Horton said. “This generation is immersed in technology and it will be this genera-

tion making the next big advance-ments in technology.” Mark Sain, president of the Milwau-kee Board of School Directors, said IT careers are among the fastest growing in the U.S. “That’s why it’s so important that we provide our young people with opportunities like what you’re seeing here today,” he said. Some advanced technology and unique engineering projects were showcased during the iFair. Harley-Davidson had its prototype electric motorcycle on display and repre-sentatives from the Wisconsin De-partment of Transportation had a 3-D display model of what the Zoo Highway Interchange will look like once the reconstruction project is completed in 2018. Middle school students learned about information technology (IT)-related internships available to Washington students. Washington offers seven IT courses and three NAF academies: Engineer-ing, Information Technology and Hospitality and Tourism. Washing-ton also offers strong internship op-portunities for students and its grad-uates have gone on to study IT at colleges including Concordia Univer-sity Wisconsin, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. MPS’ North Division High School also offers the NAF IT academy. -Larry Avila, MPS

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The Washington Informer

On Thursday, May 19th, 2016, Students were welcomed into the Harley-Davidson auditorium by Dave Cotteleer, CIO of Harley Davidson, Mark Sain, President of the MPS School Board, and Valencia Carthen, Principal of WHS. Activi-ties included visiting state-of-the-art IT and Engi-neering exhibits from our local business partners, participating in workshops, and viewing post-secondary education exhibits. National Academy Foundation (NAF) and related Career and Tech-nical Education (CTE) department courses from Washington High School were showcased by students, including Music Theory (Arlesia Ben-son), Hospitality and Tourism (Nadia Ransom), Image Technology (Kejuan Riley), Introduction to Programming - Python and Mobile App Develop-ment (Amaru Boyd, James Pickett, and Shannon Pulliam), Principles of IT and Web Design (Shantavia Vornes), Microsoft Office (Adrian Fuentez and Devin Sikhathakhosa), Project Lead the Way (PLTW) (Montrell Watson and Nicholas Flinn), and Culinary Arts (Lakaisa Fowler). I enjoyed my time at the iFair, where I made con-nections with colleges and employers. The first booth I visited was Paragon Development Sys-tems (PDS), where Sales Representative Maureen Maher explained that a high school degree and business college degree qualified her for the posi-tion. Job responsibilities and goals of computer sales include meeting and exceeding sales goals. Ms. Maher achieves her sales goals by working hard toward meeting yearly goals of computer sales to schools. PLTW and the partnership with WHS of IT has been important to the success and growth of PDS in equipping and informing students of the latest technology and media. The main goal of the partnership is to increase educa-tor, community, and student awareness and par-ticipation in cutting-edge computer technology. The next booth visited was National Fluid Power Association (NFPA). The staff of the recruiting and workforce department (Director of Work-force) indicated a 4-year Bachelor’s college de-gree in Programming is required for the job. Job responsibilities include making more students aware of and interested in NFPA. The staff ex-plained that this is achieved in part through the iFair, which has been a great way for NFPA to get students involved and interested in exploring college and career options. They explained that Joe Kmoch, Dorothy Valentine, and the Washing-ton IT Advisory Board have helped them get in touch with students for advanced opportunities. Next, I met with staff from the UWM School of Information Studies, who explained programming,

planning for the future, working with students, and the increasing need for high school and col-lege graduates with IT skills in the workforce. The UWM School of Information Studies benefits from their partnership with Washington IT by getting students to attend college, which will equip our students with the knowledge and skills needed to make a difference in the 21st century economy. The UWM staff explained it is im-portant for more colleges, organizations, and businesses to get involved in MPS because we have the students they want and will need for the future of information and technology needs of our connected society. Next, I met with an undergraduate college stu-dent working in the Operations Department for the MPS TEAM UP College Access Center (CAC). In order to qualify for the job, the stu-dent had to be trained in and exhibit customer service skills. Job responsibilities for the CAC Operations Dept. include listening to the needs of high school students interested in enrolling in college, providing updated information on college opportunities available, and data entry, in order to keep a constant flow of MPS students entering terms as soon as possible after high school grad-uation. The MPS CAC experiences not only stu-dents coming in to enroll, but also coming in to volunteer and help peers with similar college enrollment experiences they have been through. Finally, I stopped by MATC, where their recruit-er explained that a Bachelor’s degree, business experience, desire, and passion, are all qualifica-tions for a professional career. The staff member explained their job responsibilities as staying or-ganized, building relationships, teambuilding, teamwork, working with senior citizens, 20 high schools, churches, and community services. The staff person explained, “Washington High School of IT is vital to the growth of MATC because we need students and WHS always provides good students that we look forward to meeting. Washington High School of IT brings us the next generation of students.” -Amanda Brooks, Shannon Pulliam, Kejuan Riley

Spring iFair gives students opportunity to explore future careers

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The Washington Informer

On Saturday, May 7th, 2016, the Washington High School Alumni Association held their an-nual Alumni Scholarship Luncheon for the pur-pose of raising money for scholarships. Sharon Butler, WHS Class of 1985 and current North-western Mutual employee in the IT depart-ment, was the keynote speaker. Mr. Herro, Javan Moore, and I showcased the WHS of IT award-winning mobile bowling app from Mr. Kempen’s Mobile App Development course on a series of 7” tablets. It was fun and informa-tive interacting with alumni and hearing about the evolution of technology in their lifetimes as they played the bowling app. Alumni present spanned over 70 years of Milwaukee history and some even had published works of Milwau-kee’s History! Our first interview was Dr. Jack Porter, Re-search Associate at the Davis Center for Rus-sian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University. His latest book is titled Freilich (Happy) Days Revisited: Growing Up Jewish in Ike’s America with contributions by Dr. Porter, Gerald S. Glazer, and Sanford Aronin. Dr. Porter graduated from WHS in 1962. His favorite courses at WHS were Literature, English, and French. He was involved in The Washington Scroll school newspaper, Stage Craft, and Basketball. His goals were to have fun! Dr. Porter has achieved his goals set in high school by going to college and now works for Harvard University. Dr. Porter gave us business cards and gifted the following two books to the WHS Library: Mil-waukee Memories: Milwaukee and Hollywood & Small Town Secrets and Freilich (Happy) Days Re-visited: Growing Up Jewish in Ike’s America. Also in attendance from the Class of 1962 was Heiner Giese. Mr. Giese’s favorite courses were English, Latin, and History. His extracur-ricular activities included The Washington Scroll and German Club. Mr. Giese’s goals in high school included earning a high school diploma and college degree. He achieved his goals and graduated from a law school. His advice to WHS students is to pick a good field to go into. Finance was suggested as a major that currently has good implications for success. Ms. Bell, Class of 1975, enjoyed Computer Sci-ence and Mathematics at WHS. She was an advisor for the National Honor Society during her enrollment at WHS. Her advice to WHS students is to “Study hard, make sacrifices when needed, and save your money!”

Joann Brandt, Class of 1947, enjoyed English at Washington IT. She was involved in Debate and Women’s Group. Her goals in high school were to graduate and then go on to college. After she graduated from college, Ms. Brandt achieved her goal of teaching and is happy with what she has achieved. Ms. Brandt’s advice to Washington students is to enjoy high school. Debby Tewes, Class of 1969, enjoyed English, Social Studies, and Science. She was involved in many extracurricular activities and clubs, in-cluding Drill Team, Debate Club, and Spanish Club. Her high school goals were to graduate high school and college, both of which she achieved. Her advice to Washington students is to stay in school. Pamela Anderson, Class of 1969, enjoyed Speech, English, and Secretarial Sciences. She was involved in theater, poetry, and stage crafts as extracurricular activities. During high school, her goals were to become a secretary and attend MATC, which she did enroll in after high school. Ms. Anderson has achieved her goals by becoming a teacher with a double de-gree in Elementary Education and Special Edu-cation. Ms. Anderson has a message for Wash-ington students: “Go for your dreams!” Julianne Ravely, Class of 1969, enjoyed Stage Craft, English, History, and Art at Washington High School. She was involved in Theater, Choir, and Newspaper after school hours as extracurricular activities. Goals in high school included teaching, marketing, and advertise-ment. Ms. Ravely achieved her high school goals by attaining higher education and her ad-vice to current Washington IT students is to go on to higher education. Bringing a final farewell to our amazing day at the Wisconsin Club – Country Club was Ronald Bowers, Class of 1969, who enjoyed his experience in History, Geography, and English, as well as Varsity Football, Track, and Wres-tling. His high school goals were to get out, graduate, and get into the global market. Mr. Bowers was hired right out of college and started his Master’s program while working in an international exports company. Mr. Bowers hopes Washington IT students will continue to “Enjoy high school and spend time wisely.” -Javan Moore, Kejuan Riley, Mr. Dan Herro

Alumni Scholarship Luncheon

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Volume 5, Issue 3

Dear Mr. Dan Herro, Javan Moore, and Kejuan Riley, I and the Alumni Scholarship Foundation would like to thank you for demonstrating at our Annu-al Alumni Fundraiser Social what students are now doing and working toward at Washington. It was a great addition to our history table show-ing the technology of the school from where it started in 1911. I hope the students were able to look at what other alumni did in the past and how times and technology have changed for the better for them to accomplish what they are now working on, like developing their own apps, etc. We would like to include the students next year on the history table. I hope it was as rewarding an experience for them to talk to the alumni as it was for all alumni to see what current students are learning at our wonderful high school! Thank you again for helping to add to the history of our school! Linda Durrenberg WHS Alumni Scholarship Foundation Alumni/Historian

Alumni Scholarship Luncheon Generations of MPS graduates attend MPS Alumni Reunion

Old friends reconnected and new friends were made as generations of Milwaukee Public Schools graduates came together for the first-ever MPS All Alumni Reunion Tuesday evening. Nearly 500 people representing MPS high schools and graduating classes from the 1930s through the 2000s, gathered at the BMO Harris Bradley Center to share stories from their high school days and catch up with each other. Many attendees wore their school colors and others broke out their treasured and well-preserve high school varsity jackets and sweaters. The festive evening featured entertainment from the Kevin Haden Band of Milwaukee. MPS Superintendent Dr. Darienne Driver thanked the hundreds of attendees who came out for the event to show support for their high schools and MPS. The event was sponsored by the BMO Harris Bradley Center and the Milwaukee Public Schools Foundation Inc. MPS is rethinking high schools, one of the district’s Eight Big Ideas, to accelerate student achievement. Part of this effort is engaging alumni to promote alumni networks across the district to foster pride, loyalty and lifelong commitment to MPS schools and continued relationships with graduates. Retrieved from http://mps.milwaukee.k12.wi.us/en/District/About-MPS/District-News/News-Detail.htm?DataID=37023 The event was also covered by WTMJ http://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/hundreds-attend-mps-first-all-alumni-reunion Save the Date MPS Alumni Summit: Connect. Discuss. Create. Friday, July 22, 2016 7:30 a.m. Registration 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Networking & Breakout Sessions 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. - Lunch (optional) Bradley Tech H.S. | 700 S. 4th Contact Phone: 414-475-8633 Email: willia73@milwaukee.k12.wi.us Alumni & Student Engagement Associate: T.R. Williams, J.D. Department of Business, Community & Family Partnerships Office of the Chief of Staff http://mps.milwaukee.k12.wi.us/en/Community/Alumni-Hub.htm

The Excellence in Education award was given to the Washington High School Alumni Scholarship Foundation on February 25, 2016. Pictured below are just a few mem-bers of the Alumni Board group. Not every-one was available to attend the ceremo-ny. We actually have 17 people on our board. Steven Brown is the WHS Alumni Association President. Dr. Driver and Mark Sain, School Board Member and 1977 alum of WHS are also pictured with us. The award can also be seen in the display case right outside of Washington's main office alongside the Excellence in Education Award won by the school in 1994. The first award was given to the Winners of the 32nd Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Writing, Art, and Speech Contest of which we were enriched with three first place win-ners speeches. These speeches are a must hear as they were truly amazing. It was much better watching them give the speech-es, but there was no video. The first one was a 14 year old girl, the second one was a 7 year old boy, and the last was a 10 year old girl. Our award was the second - Excel-lence in Education Award - Washington High School Alumni Scholarship Foundation. An audio file of the ceremony can be ac-cessed through the following link: http://mps.milwaukee.k12.wi.us/MPS-English/OBG/Audio-Files/2016/20160225_reg.mp3 The kids are introduced at 02:15, starting around 05:00 and the presentation of our award can be heard from 19:50 to 31:20. Linda Durrenberg WHS ASF Alumni/Historian

Washington High School Alumni Scholarship Foundation receives Excellence in Education Award

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Volume 5, Issue 3

Writing improves mathematics outcomes Math is more than just numbers at Washington High School of Infor-mation Technology. Teachers have worked with students to get them comfortable talking about math and to begin incorporating writing in math classes to encourage students to express through writing what they've learned. It is hoped through writing that students will develop a deeper understanding of what they're learning in the classroom. Literacy is the gateway to conceptual understanding in mathematics. We need to move beyond procedural fluency and get our kids making con-jectures, justifying their thinking, communicating their reasoning, and responding to the reasoning of oth-ers. Last year, one focus of the Math Department at WHS of IT was to get students comfortable talking about the mathematics (i.e. making assumptions, developing definitions, formulating arguments, etc.). Upon reflection, the WHS of IT Math Department recognized that just because a student can share their thinking orally, does not neces-sarily mean that they can express their thinking through writing. The

Math Department came back at the beginning of the year and began looking at the Math Practice Standards. They drew the conclusion that writing was embedded in the expecta-tions of Math Practice Standard 3 (MP3): Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. This Practice Standard became the focus in all math classrooms at WHS of IT and the basis of the department’s Student Learning Objective. After unpacking MP3, the WHS of IT Math Department concluded that writing supports students’ process of making conjectures and building a logical progression of statements to explore the truth of their conjec-tures. Throughout the course of the school year, the WHS of IT Math Department began noticing through common formative assess-ments that writing needs to be incorporated (continued on next page)

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Volume 5, Issue 3

Writing improves mathematics outcomes (continued from prev. page)

across mathematics, not just in relation to meeting one standard. Teachers needed to begin providing students the opportunities to deepen their conceptual under-standing through the process of writing to learn. Next steps became researching and implementing strate-gies for providing students opportunities to express their understanding through writing, and continue monitoring by the use of frequent common formative assessments. WHS of IT has been utilizing strategies presented in Sil-ver, Dewing, and Perini’s The Core Six: Essential Strate-gies for Achieving Excellence with the Common Core, as well as resources from DPI’s “Disciplinary Literacy in Mathematics” page. For more information contact Holly Jackelen or Cynthia Schoonover at WHS of IT.

American Institute of Graphic Arts hosts career exploration event

The AIGA Career Exploration event at Washington on March 14 included members from Washington, Bethune, Bradley Tech, MCA, Brown Deer, Madison, BGC B!ke, TRADES FSET, PACA, and Dan Herro’s Art Students at WHS. Additionally, our IT class with Circle 1 Network was running at the same time. The event was facilitated by lead designer Xavier Ruffin of Dopamine Productions, Graphic Design Professionals from AIGA, facilitated by Katherine Wilson and profes-sionals from the Zeidler Center and professionals repre-senting Greater Together. All worked as teams to design concepts for a new Milwaukee Flag. Thank you to all who chaperoned and brought your members as well as all the professionals who volun-teered their time to work with our young people and expose our young people to the field of communication design and the creative arts. A big thank you to Jermaine Howard for hosting the event at the Milwaukee Washington Boys & Girls Club, Dan Herro for recruiting Washington students, Ms. Va-lencia Carthen, principal of Washington, and the Career Development team for set up and driving members to and from the event. I am looking forward to our next event at Brown Deer Boys & Girls Club on April 5. Respectfully, Michael Waite Director of Career Development BGCGM 1558 N. 6th St. Milwaukee, WI 53212 (414) 267-8167 ph (414) 267-8184 fax

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Volume 5, Issue 3

The Washington Informer

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Nondiscrimination Statement It is the policy of the Milwaukee Public Schools that, as required by section 118.13, Wisconsin Statutes, no person will be denied admission to any public school or be denied the benefits of, or be discriminated against in any curricular, extracur-ricular, pupil services, recreational or other program or activity because of the person’s sex, race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital or parental status, sexual orientation or disability. This policy also prohibits discrimination under related federal statutes, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (race, color, and national origin), Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (sex), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (disability), and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (disability). All Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs and activities are open to all students without discrimination under both state and federal law.

Washington IT Administrative Team Ms. Carthen, Principal Ms. Brown, Assistant Principal Ms. Jackelen, Assistant Principal Mr. Leinfelder, Assistant Principal Mr. Johnikin, Student Advisor

Section 1 Ahmad, Sharieff Anderson, Taylor Baldwin, Najaia Benson, Leon Bishop, Derrick Collier, Tori Collins, Terrina Covington, Tracie Davis, Janaya Edwards, Shaun Ennin, Abdul Rahman Farmer, Tamario Grice, Ccarro Hamilton, Shannon Hanrahan, Hunter Haywood, Tamia Johnson, Indiyah Jones, Ireana Kimber, Kamiyah Kimes, Davontaye Lathan, Kamdiria Love, Bryant Mccloud, Manuel Miller, Christopher Mohamad Salim, Shamsul Patton, Lamarrlo Ransom, Nadia Roberts, Kayla Teague, Tatianna Williams, Devonaire Williams, Jeffery Williams, Shawn Winters, Daniyah Section 2 Adem, Erku Ali Hussin, Noor Halimah Bell, William Benson, Arlesia Bernard, Shania Burks, Kahala Burroughs, Leron Butler, Danielle Calhoun, Willielee Coleman, Kevona Collier, Giyea Dinsmore, Jordan Edwards, Emmanuel Hughes, Jonathan Jackson, Laquindez Jacobs, Akeyiviana Johnson, Jeffrey Johnson, Shannon Jones, Raenia Kazee, Darrion Lowery, Deliah Mcafee, Dion Moore, Shanice Spencer, Antonio Swift, Andre Wallace, Charles Williams, Keturah Williams, Tierra Wilson, David

Our Vision

At Washington HS of IT, it is our vision to provide a rigorous academic and career defining curriculum that will empower our students to graduate proficient and prepared to compete and succeed globally.

Our Mission At Washington High School of Information Technology we are passionate about student success. WHSoIT will create an atmosphere that demands excellence. We will build relationships with all stakeholders to assure that we are providing World Class educational experiences that will catapult our students to the highest levels of academic achievement. Through the use of technology and enhancement of partner-ships with business and higher education institutions, we will create opportunities for students to graduate proficient and prepared to com-pete and succeed in an ever-changing global society.

The Washington Informer is coproduced by Image Technology students as one component of their daily graphic design coursework. Students learn design elements, principles, and desktop publishing skills through Microsoft Office 365 and WordPress. Students, parents, staff, and commu-nity members collaborate in promoting WHS and reporting on events related to continuous im-provement of academic achievement citywide. -Mr. Dan Herro, Art Foundations & Image Technology NFHS Video Club CTE Dept. Chair

Image Technology Students

http://mps.milwaukee.k12.wi.us/en/Schools.htm