March 2014 Announcements From SAFF!

FOSTER CARE YOUTH EDUCATION! EXCITING!

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This past week, a 6 person team from SAFF, Washoe County School District, Washoe County Social Services, and Washoe County Public Defender's Office, attended a conference in Sacramento on the Education of Youth in Foster Care. Attending were Joseph Galata, Tom Murtha, Shannon McCoy, Valerie Welsh, Eric Beye, Ann Drendel Hass, Natalie Choi.

"For me, the highlight," says Joseph Galata, SAFF's Executive Director, "wasspending time with former foster youth who are now in college, many who are completing their Master's Degrees in criminal justice, social work, journalism, nursing, etc. Another highlight was going to a farm where a group of teachers and concerned citizens bought a run down farm and are now working with youth in foster care to restore it. Once the farm is ready, the staff and youth will cultivate vegetable and flower gardens, raise livestock and poultry, and build a theatre in the barn! Magnificent visionaries!"

The six member Reno team returned from California excited about the educational movement for youth in foster care. " These youth have overcome such tremendous difficulties and even tragedies to achieve educational success!" says Joseph. "And there were over 500 social workers, teachers, agency administrators, foster parents in attendance from California, Oregon, Indiana, Arizona, who care so deeply about the importance of the educational needs of youth in foster care."



Webcast about SAFF

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A group of foster youth - current and former - who aspire to becoming journalists, interviewed Joseph  on a web tv production about SAFF's tutoring program.



Proficiency Tests

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Speaking of tutoring... it's been productive this month with SAFF focusing on  increasing tutoring hours for the foster care youth who needed to take the mandatory proficiency testing for graduation in June. We increased our hours dedicated to these specific youth!    

SAFF's wonderful tutors (38 of them) are WONDERFUL!   



Tutoring Information

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Unless Joseph states otherwise, there will be no tutoring from March 31 to April  13... as our students in the Washoe County School District are on Spring Break. 

SAFF will be closed during that time as Joseph will be in Pennsylvania with his son who has been accepted into Penn State. Tutoring will continue during that Spring Break period for youth especially assigned for various reasons.