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“GIVE

ME A PLACE TO STAND AND I WILL MOVE THE EARTH” WILLIAM J. PALMER HIGH SCHOOL

Some children don’t have the opportunities other children do. Children of color have struggled to have enough money to go to college or pay for rent. ECOC (Educating Children of Color) helps pay for tuition, rent, and books with their scholarships. One opportunity ECOC has is $88,500 in scholarship money available. All scholarship applications need to be submitted by December 31st. A drawing will be held at the ECOC Summit at the Fountain Fort Carson High School on January 25th, 2025 to distribute scholarships. Regina Walter, the founder of Diversity University, believes awareness and opportunity can give advantages to marginalized ethnicities to engage with their future. She stated, “We move other ethnicities by our chances of scholarships and opportunities.” Ms. Walter works to change high school junior’s and senior's minds about college because they don't have the money or the opportunity to go. She engages the community to help students of color. The core values of ECOC are Equity, Empowerment, and Education. Ms. Walter said, “The core values are important because they push children to put themselves in charge of their own futures.” Many people don't believe in these core values because the opportunities have been hard to get in the past. ECOC wants to lift marginalized ethnicities through offering these opportunities Stay


Designed by Amilyana Ruiz and Jazlynn Moreno
The Academic Impact after Winter Break
Interviewing Ms. Waltz, Ms. Raitz
How do feel after coming back from a two week winter break? After being gone from our usual routine of going to school, learning, and then going back home to study or do homework only to do it again we lose some focus. When we lose focus we students sometimes need to back track, but also with a new semester we have to fall into new schedules and get used to our classes. Additional Information: Not only students need to come back and focus into what our routines are for the rest of the year; teachers need to also. Teachers go back with their families and get a break from their jobs, only to come back and have to get back into their routines as teachers for the students. Interviewing Ms. Waltz and Mrs. Raitz about their point of view from both standpoints helped answer my essential question. Ms. Waltz helps with students and usually gets the inside scoop of what they feel. Also with working at Palmer she gets that break too. She replied,”You have to get your sleep routine back and it can be hard to shift your mindset and roles with home life, like being allowed to do things.” While giving some good pointers on how students feel about school in general especially with a new semester, she pointed out the stress of credits There is a lot of pressure coming into the second semester with events like Prom, testing, and stress about credits. Ms. Raitz has her own class of helping Freshmen and Sophomores with extra work and extra time to get their grades up while building a good mindset. Interviewing her about this she had some good points on both sides. “If some students didn’t have a successful semester they come in with dread and doubt. In some sense a loss of hope.” Her response had a very good realization of how most students feel, not just the excitement of new classes and new beginnings. Some of that dread comes from shifting classes after finding a level comfort in first semester classes and with speaking out onto other classmates you have gotten comfortable with.
Ms. Waltz also said, “Sometimes it depends on what people do over break, whether it's travelling and resting or struggling with kids and taking a role in the household. Going back to school can activate some separation, transition anxiety.” Ms. Raitz added, saying, “ I usually deal with separation from my family after a break as a teacher.” What they had said can help understand different standpoints of how the different students feel about coming back. The teachers also have this anxiety after being so comfortable for so long at home, stepping out of that comfort zone. From a teacher stand point, Raitz said, “It is really similar to students with establishing a new routine and schedule, but rejuvenating and having more capacity for dysregulation. Also being nervous about having more students as a teacher.” Most don't think about the teachers when coming back because students and their education are the main focus, but teachers are just as worth noticing when coming back from this big break. The staff here at Palmer all have their opinion on coming back and how they notice they deal with it while also having to deal with students along the way. They both said something about teachers and having cram some things in but also learning to slow down. Ms. Waltz said, “Teachers tend to cram stuff into this semester like field trips and big things because the first semester is where you try getting to the comfortable status with kids.” Mrs. Raitz says, “Though some teachers try and get stuff into the first semester and take the time to slow things down, especially since January and February feel so long.” As we come back from winter break I am sure a lot of us have stress, anxiety and dread of getting into that routine again and having to find that comfortability again in our new classes. Also with coming back after being so comfortable and relaxing for so long in the comfortability of our homes