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recreation | Partnership between city and Boys and Girls Clubs of Bellevue could net new gym at Hidden Valley Park [11]
Festivals | Flavor of India Festival Community | Quick action by staff at Pro Sports Club saves life of former Mariners pitcher to bring food, dances and a Punjabi wedding to Downtown Park [3] friday, August 31, 2012 Bill Krueger [2]
BACK TO SCHOOL
Bellevue program provides students with strong start By Julie Benson Special to the Bellevue Reporter
In late August, when most students are still on summer break, kids in Bellevue’s Starting Strong program are already back in school and taking on new challenges. Starting Strong provides targeted support for middle and high school students, giving transitioning or at-risk kids a head start in school. Students come to campus for a week in the summer and spend their time getting to know the school, meeting teachers, participating in team-building activities, and attending classes. Many of the students who participate are incoming 6th and 9th graders, and the opportunity to become acquainted with new systems and experiences is invaluable. “The program helps them to become comfortable during a transition time that can be really difficult for kids,” said Odle Middle School Principal Eric McDowell. This year, Bellevue Schools Foundation is funding Starting Strong programs at four schools with high populations of students in need: Highland and Odle middle schools and Interlake and Sammamish high schools. Data shows that Starting Strong is working: In Odle’s first year with the program, participating students had an average GPA of 2.60 compared with a 2.05 GPA for a similar group who did not participate in Starting Strong the previous year. Results have continued to show higher grades for participating students. Teachers notice an increased level of engagement and leadership among Starting Strong students as well. “The students in the program become leaders during that first week of school,”
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Bellevue Police seek man who raped woman at knifepoint Bellevue police are searching for a man who raped a woman at knifepoint on Tuesday evening, Aug. 28. According to police, just before 10 p.m. a man came in to a local business for a massage. He then made several sexual advances, which the woman was not receptive to. After declining his advances, he pulled a knife and sexually assaulted the woman. The business is located in the 15200 block of Northeast 20th Street, and the man has been there before. The woman was taken to a local hospital. Police are now looking for a white man, approximately 45 years old who stands roughly 6 feet 1 inches tall with a muscular build and has dark hair. The victim said the man was dressed in a business suit and was armed with a knife.
Bellevue man among Somalis awarded $21 million in torture suit By Nat Levy
Odle Middle School student Neida Hilario shows new Bellevue School District Superintendent Dr. Tim Mills a specimen in her microscope during the Starting Strong program. COURTESY PHOTO, Julie Benson says McDowell. “They’re helping other kids to navigate the lunchroom, open their lockers and find their classes.” Staff follow up with students once the school year has begun, making sure they feel supported and on track. The program has proven popular among teachers. “Word has spread that this is such a cool program,” McDowell said. “Teachers want to be part of it.” Teachers who participate are paid for their additional work time through the Bellevue Schools
Foundation grant. Parents love Starting Strong, too, reporting to McDowell that their kids come home and tell them that they like school now, and they like Odle. “Some of these kids had already been turned off to school by 5th grade,” McDowell said. “If we’re starting to change their attitude and opinions about school now, we’re giving them a real chance to start strong.”
More stories pages 12-20
Julie Benson is a member of the Bellevue Schools Foundation.
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A Bellevue man was one of seven people awarded $21 million by a federal judge in a lawsuit claiming they were tortured by a former Somalian prime minister. Seven Somali natives, including Aziz Deria of Bellevue, filed the lawsuit in 2004 in federal court in Alexandria, Va. against Mohamed Ali Samantar, who served as vice president, defense minister and prime minister throughout the 1980s under dictator Siad Barre, until the months before the regime collapsed in 1991. The lawsuit alleges that Samantar ordered mass killings of members of minority clan in Somalia. “The case was never about money,” Deria told the Associated Press following the verdict. “This case was about having an opportunity to be in court with Samantar and prove he was in charge of what was happening.” During the trial, the plaintiffs presented evidence including a 1989 BBC interview in which Samantar claimed leadership over a bombing in the northern portion of the country. The evidence also included testimony from an army colonel who heard radio messages in which Barre was urging moderation in a bombing campaign, while Samantar advocated a harsher attack. Nat Levy: 425-453-4290; nlevy@bellevuereporter.com