CORE | Coalition for Residential Education

For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Bethesda, MD – Executive Director of the Coalition for Residential Education (CORE), Nicholette Smith-Bligen and Board Chair and Vice President of Methodist Children’s Home, Moe Dozier will give a presentation today at the 24th Annual “Growing Pains 2011” National Independent Living Conference at the Gaylord Texan Convention Center in Grapevine, TX. Smith-Bligen’s proposal, “Residential Education: A well kept secret of positive outcomes for youth” was selected by the Daniel Memorial Institute, host of the conference, aimed to help social services programs and professionals enhance their work.

“As we continue to grow and raise awareness about residential education (RE), CORE is taking new, strategic steps to highlight our member programs and generate more awareness around the life-changing impact of residential education,” said Smith-Bligen. “CORE will work to address and assuage any concerns about RE and identify more opportunities to support our members.”

This will be CORE’s first time presenting at the National Independent Living Conference, which is attended annually by youth service and independent living professionals, emancipation workers, and youth ages 15 and older. Smith-Bligen will lead the workshop with the support of Dozier, who will provide cogent comment and insight on the benefits of RE programs.

She will also make visits to Texas RE member programs, accompanied by fellow board member, Kelly Mills, who is based in Texas. In addition, she will be having meetings coordinated by Dozier with key stakeholders, leaders, and professionals working in RE.

“Together with CORE’s board, I am working to scale up efforts to advocate on behalf of our members while providing new tools to better serve economically and socially disadvantaged youth,” said Smith-Bligen.

The workshop on residential education will begin at 2:45 p.m. CDT. To get more information on the conference, please email coreinfo@residentialeducation.org or call (301) 656-6101.

Founded in 1994 and based in the Washington, DC area, Coalition for Residential Education (CORE) is the national nonprofit organization that serves economically and socially disadvantaged children through residential education programs. CORE passionately believes high-quality residential education should be added to the scarce options available to these children, their families, and our communities.

On behalf of the CORE members and our board of directors, I extend my sincere condolences to the family and staff of Peter Goldberg, president and CEO of the Alliance for Children and Families and United Neighborhood Centers of America, who passed away on August 12th.
Mr. Goldberg left an indelible mark on the communities and people he served and was truly committed to building a healthy society and quality environment for children and families to grow.

Mr. Goldberg was invested in supporting nonprofits like CORE that serve children and families through capacity building, advocacy, and providing economic empowerment. He will continue to serve as a role model for us and guide how we serve families and children.

I wish Mr. Goldberg’s family and staff consolation as they transition through this challenging time. He will truly be missed by all of us.

Deepest Regards,

Nicholette K. Smith-Bligen,
Executive Director,
Coalition for Residential Education (CORE)

An article describing Residential Education and CORE’s advocacy trip to the Hill this past April was printed in the Associated Baptist Press this past week. Please take a look that this exciting article.

“Building the Next Generation of Residential
Education Programs”
October 6-7, 2011

Hosted by The Crossnore School on their campus in Boone, NC

Letter from CORE’s Executive Director
Residential education programs across the country are grappling with how to continue serving vulnerable youth and families in light of today’s realities. Due to changes at the National and State levels, most residential education and most child care programs are or already have re-examined their program mission, models, and services. How are these programs, our programs, reconfiguring or changing in order to achieve a competitive advantage while staying true to their mission? How do we successfully build the next “generation” of residential education programs? What are some of the new models and changes being adopted? These questions will be the focus of most of our discussions, in addition to touring the highly regarded Crossnore School, our host for this event.

Participants in past leadership institutes enthuse about the small setting and the opportunity to be focused on strategic, big picture issues which may directly affect their organizations. In this setting you will be able to network and make valuable connections that will help you and your program move forward while combating today’s challenges. You will find you are not alone in this battle; we are all in it together.

Sincerely,

Nicholette Smith-Bligen
Executive Director

Join us…
NETWORK with senior staff from established and newly developing residential education programs.
LEARN about CORE’s Outcomes Survey results and discuss what the next steps will be.
VISIT the campus of The Crossnore School; meet students and staff.
GAIN INSIGHT and have input into public policy discussions effecting residential education programs.
FIND ANSWERS to your questions; leave with new ideas, colleagues, and resources.

Agenda Highlights

• Sharing of Successes and Challenges by each program (A tradition at CORE Leadership Institutes, participants share their biggest success and challenge of the year).
• Keynote Address: Rhett Mabry, Director, Childcare Division, The Duke Endowment Fund, Charlotte, NC.
• Tour of the Crossnore School, led by Dr. Phyllis Crain, Executive Director, and Crossnore’s staff and students.
• Discussion of and input into key CORE initiatives, including advocacy and CAREStandards.
• The results of CORE’s Outcomes Survey will be available by this time, and we will discuss our next steps.
• Speaker, Dr. Grady Batchelor, will speak about organizational change in a changing world to gain economic advantage. Dr. Batchelor is an award winning consultant and change agent in the fields of higher education, community and economic development, and government service. He is President of Grady Batchelor & Associates, Inc. consulting firm.
• Share in an evening of “Rustic Elegance” at the beautiful Eseeola Lodge, an old mountain lodge where a private dinning room will easily facilitate continued conversation.

For the latest information and to register: https://guest.cvent.com

Event Code: F2N6RPLBY5Q

A group of volunteers took part in a beautification day this past month at Seamark Ranch. These volunteers, all employees from Foundation Financial Group in Jacksonville painted rooms in the girls’ houses on the ranch. Foundation Financial Group also made a generous donation to Seamark Ranch.

“It is always amazing to see what one person’s vision can bring to our world,” said George Stone, senior vice president and division general manager of Foundation Financial Group in Jacksonville. “We are honored to play what part we can in helping enhance the lives of children who have found a home at Seamark Ranch.”

To see the original article, please follow this link.

Note from CORE:
CORE programs thrive with help from volunteers! Thank you Foundation Financial Group for being so generous with your time and support.

We invite you, to join senior staff from other CORE member and potential member programs from across the country, on October 6-7, for the 2011 CORE Leadership Institute. This year’s institute will be hosted by the Crossnore School during the peak of the fall season in the exquisite Appalachian Mountains.

Residential education programs across the country are grappling with how to continue serving vulnerable youth and families, via residential education and in other ways, in light of today’s realities. How, exactly, are programs retooling, changing, “bending” to face these challenges? How can your program change to meet today’s demands while still staying true to its mission? How can your program move forward with less resources and still maintain its competitive edge? These questions will be the focus of most of our discussions, in addition to touring the highly regarded Crossnore School.

The leadership institute is not to be missed; past participants have benefited from the vast networking opportunities that this intimate setting has afforded. In this setting you will make valuable connections that will help you and your organization move forward while combating today’s challenges. You will find during this conference that you’re not alone in this battle; we are all in it together.

For more information on this conference, please email Aviva.

Job Title: Dean of Students
Job Level: Student Affairs
FLSA Status: Exempt
Reports to: Director of Student Affairs
Manages: None
Date Created: July 3, 2011

Job Purpose:
The Dean of Students reports to the Director of Program and is responsible for working directly with students, faculty, and staff to establish and maintain a culture of positive student behavior and meet all school goals and student achievement targets.

Essential Functions & Responsibilities:
• Demonstrating and articulating high expectations for student behavior and achievement
• Working with classroom teaching and student life faculty and staff to develop positive student behaviors based on SEED’s character values
• Providing teaching and student life faculty and staff with support to address student behaviors and maintain a positive, safe learning environment for all students
• Counseling students regarding behavior and consequences
• Contacting parents and building relationships with families to support positive student behavior and communicate student information
• Developing and facilitating incentive programs to engender a positive student culture
• Applying SEED’s disciplinary consequences with consistency and transparency
• Developing and conducting functional behavioral assessments and related plans, as needed
• Developing and writing student behavioral improvement plans and monitoring progress with individual students
• Working with the SEED’s leadership team to provide student and school performance data analysis
• Participating in faculty meetings, workshops, staff development programs, and other school sponsored activities
• Assisting in general building supervision and discipline of students outside of the classroom and perform assigned student supervisory duties
• Performing other duties deemed necessary

Expectations
• Committed to the mission of SEED
• Adheres to school policies and procedures
• Acts as a role model within and outside of the school
• Goal-oriented and assertive, yet a strong team player
• Maintains a positive and respectful attitude
• Communicates regularly with the Director of Program about school issues
• Demonstrates flexible and efficient time management and ability to prioritize work load
• Meets department productivity and standards
• Performs other duties as workload and priorities necessitate

Qualifications
• Organized, logic-based, detail-driven work style
• Superior verbal and written communication abilities
• Must be able to effectively interact and communicate with parents and individuals at all levels of the organization
• Excellent team player and team building skills
• Must be able to work in a fast-paced environment with demonstrated ability to efficiently and effectively manage multiple competing tasks and demands
• Must have the ability to manage complex issues creatively and effectively

Experience & Education
• Baccalaureate degree required. Master’s degree in education or other equivalent work experience preferred
• Two years teaching experience, preferably in an urban school or boarding/residential setting
• Experience and/or training in behavior intervention strategies
• Experience in delivering faculty and staff training

Language Skill
• Ability to read, analyze and interpret orders
• Ability to effectively respond to common inquiries or complaints from staff members, parents, contractors, board members, etc.
• Ability to write reports that conform to prescribed style and format
• Ability to effectively present information to supervisors, donors, customers and others
• Ability to analyze and solve issues

Computer Skills
• Proficient in MS Office Suite
• Internet savvy and skilled with technology

Other
Ability, flexibility and willingness to travel as required within Maryland and the District of Columbia metro area

Physical Demands
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop; kneel; crouch or crawl; talk or hear; taste or smell. The employee must be able to lift and/or move boxes up to 25 lbs. in weight. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Having CORE listed on the online site eHow.com is a great opportunity to get the word out about Residential Education. See what they had to say about CORE… Please follow this link to see this most recent success.

Special Agent Craig LeCadre, of the PA Attorney General’s Office, enthralled us at the 2011 National Conference, so we’ve asked him to speak to our membership again. Mr. LeCadre will be speaking about cyberbulling and sexting. Both are extremely relevant topics for many students today.

Cyberbullying is a variation of bullying utilizing technology to perpetrate harassment of one-another. How can we protect our children? How can we identify the bully, the victim, and the bystander? With so much of our childrens’ social lives occurring on the technological interface, how can we possibly find a way to protect them from hurting each other?

“Sticks and Stones” is designed to provide adults with resources to help protect children while allowing them to enjoy the benefits from technology. Mr. LeCadre provides helpful information for ensuring student safety and program liability, delivered in an entertaining manner and is knowledgeable in these subject areas. He also provides guidelines for legal responsibilities of programs in this arena.

We hope that you will be able to join us in listening to his talk. There will be time for a few questions at the end and even sporadically throughout the presentation.

The webinar will occur via our member program, Girard College, June 21st from 9:45-11:15 AM EST. The cost to each member is $60. Please follow this link to sign up for this webinar.

We look forward to your participation in this relevant event! And please do not hesitate to contact the CORE office if you have any questions.

Close date: Rolling

Palmer Home for Children was founded in 1895 by William States Jacobs, a Presbyterian minister who saw a need in Columbus, MS for a ministry to children in need; children growing up as social orphans without the nurture and support of a loving family; children who needed a place to be and to become. Palmer Home currently serves up to 90 boys and girls from birth through college age who live year-round on two campuses in the Columbus, MS area and one new campus near Hernando, MS. It also extends counseling to the family of origin, foster care, and other family-related services that Palmer offers through its professional staff. With the retirement of the current President, Ed Waldron, who has served faithfully for twenty-one years and overseen tremendous growth, Palmer Home is actively searching for the 10th leader in Palmer Home’s 115 year history.

Reporting to the Board of Directors, the President of Palmer Home for Children provides vision and strategic leadership to the organization with a budget of $6 million. He or she will carry out the planning, management and administrative responsibilities of the organization to insure that the mission and critical objectives are fulfilled. The President must be able to inspire and motivate groups of individuals to support Palmer Home through skills in effective public speaking and compelling presentation development. The President must be competent at maintaining key relationships with donors, and specifically major donors, foundations, media, and other individuals who have either a direct or indirect relationship with the organization and its employees. S/he must genuinely enjoy interacting with people, and be willing to fill the role of Palmer Home’s lead ambassador. The ideal candidate will have a strong skill set and a proven track record in cultivating major donors (or customers) and in managing or guiding organizations that depend on major donor revenue streams. The ideal candidate will have passion for residential child care and be able to sign PHC’s Statement of Beliefs.

The headquarters of Palmer Home are in Columbus, MS, and the President is expected to live in the Columbus vicinity, with regular travel required to work with the Hernando campus and to nurture donor relationships. A majority of this person’s time will be spent outside the office as an advocate for the Palmer Home, growing external relationships and networking contacts.

We invite you to review the complete Opportunity Profile, visit The Palmer Home’s website, and contact us for further discussions:

Tommy Thomas or Laura Coverstone
SIMA®International
lcoverstone [at] simainternational [dot] com
Phone: (615) 261-4623