Count Day Becomes Major Event for Some School Districts

High school athletics are an important part of many students’ lives, teaching them important life lessons such as hard work, perseverance and time management. In Hawaii, sports are an integral part of the high school culture, with a district that boasts more than 40 sanctioned sports and a number of championship seasons under their belts. Now the state will have one more sport to add to their repertoire – the state recently announced plans to make surfing a sanctioned sport in high schools across the islands.

According to a report at ESPN, the governor of the state, Neil Abercrombie, made the announcement in Waikiki, in the company of Lt. Governor Brian Shatz, Department of Education superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi, and Board of Education member Keith Amemiya. Women’s world surf champion Carissa Moore was also in attendance at the announcement.

Origins of Surfing

Hawaii has traditionally been considered the birthplace of surfing since the royalty of the islands used to surf across the waves as an expression of courage and competition. Today, the sport has become big across the globe, and competition has brought surfing to a new level of performance and acceptance. People come from around the world to test out Hawaii’s surfing opportunities for themselves, whether for recreational or competitive purposes.

“Hawaii is the birthplace of surfing,” Governor Abercrombie told the crowd on Waikiki, and ABC News when the announcement was made. “From Duke Kahanamoku to the thousands of residents and visitors who surf both recreationally and

Healthy bodies are the first step to preparing young minds for the rigors of academic studies. Research has shown a straightforwardlink between students' physical health and their educational success. One program that has successfully merged the two is Fuel Up to Play 60, a nutrition and physical activity program designed for the classroom. This year marks the third anniversary of the successful program, and more schools than ever before are gearing up to motivate students to develop healthy lifestyle habits and take charge of their physical health.

What is Fuel Up to Play 60?

Fuel Up to Play 60 is a partnership program between the National Dairy Council and the National Football League. The program also receives significant support from the United States Department of Agriculture. The fundamentals of Fuel Up to Play 60 include teaching children how to make nutritious food choices and encouraging them to get a minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity every single day. The program comes at a critical point, with obesity among children reaching nearly epidemic proportions currently. Today, children are facing many of the obesity-related health conditions that were once reserved for adults only, such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and the early signs of cardiovascular disease.

"We need to provide today's youth with opportunities to make their own health decisions and access fun ways to live a healthy lifestyle," Jean Ragalie, RD, President of the National Dairy Council, stated in a press release on

Schools across the country continue to look for ways to do more with less. Rising costs, staffing challenges, technology needs, and budget constraints have pushed many educators to seek alternative funding sources beyond traditional public funding.

One example of a successful public-private partnership was Chevron's Fuel Your School program, which helped provide classroom resources to schools in California and Utah. Although the original Fuel Your School campaign is no longer active, it serves as an example of how corporate giving programs and community partnerships can support public education.

Today, similar initiatives continue to help teachers secure funding for classroom projects, technology, STEM programs, and other educational needs.

What Was Fuel Your School?

Fuel Your School was a partnership between Chevron and DonorsChoose, a nonprofit organization that helps teachers obtain funding for classroom projects.

The concept was simple. During designated promotional periods, purchases made at participating Chevron stations generated donations that supported classroom projects in eligible school districts. The program focused heavily on STEM education, though teachers could also request funding for a variety of other classroom needs.

During its early years, Fuel Your School generated hundreds of thousands of dollars for public school classrooms and helped fund thousands of teacher-led projects.

The program demonstrated how businesses, nonprofit organizations, educators, and local communities could work together to address classroom funding needs.

Why Alternative School Funding Matters

Public schools receive funding from federal, state, and local sources. However, many districts continue to face budget limitations that affect

High school students' graduation rates and academic success are a primary concern in many school districts nationwide. This is especially true in light of the current administration has recent focus on higher education to remain competitive in the global marketplace. However, the concerns and needs don’t always match the actual data from high schools today – when accurate data can be collected. Naviance Succeed was created to help schools along the way and promote college and career readiness for the high school students who need it most. Is Naviance Succeed working? We’ll look at the innovative program and some schools adopting it.

The Science behind Naviance Succeed

Although most schools have assessment and curriculum systems today, most programs are designed with the educator in mind. Naviance Succeed is a student-centered approach to secondary education that provides sufficient support and resources to ensure students succeed in the public school system. According to the Naviance website, the program is designed with integrated tools that consider the following factors:

• Success Planning—Naviance Succeed allows customizing college and career readiness programs at the school and district levels. Programs can target specific age groups or other demographics as needed.
• Career Planning—In addition to ensuring students are career-ready, Naviance Succeed offers tools to help students find the perfect career by introducing a wide range of choices.
• Course Planning—A large portion of preparing for a career or college is the right schedule of secondary courses. Naviance Succeed has many tools to help students with long-range