EDUCATION REPORT - SEED School Aims to Help Students Grow Wi

EDUCATION REPORT - SEED School Aims to Help Students Grow With Skills for Life
By Dana Demange

Broadcast: Thursday, December 29, 2005

I'm Faith Lapidus with the VOA Special English Education Report.

The SEED School in Washington, D.C., provides an intensive¹ educational program in a boarding school environment. Students live at a boarding school. The SEED School is one of the few public boarding schools in the country.

 
Girls at SEED School in Washington, DC
It opened in nineteen ninety-eight. It is a modern, high-technology school in the poorest part of the District of Columbia. Most of the students are black. Often they have grown up in areas of poverty and crime.

SEED officials say the school provides a safe and secure² environment twenty-four hours a day. The educational program is designed to prepare students for college. The boarding program is designed to help them learn life skills.

School representatives work with local teachers and the community to identify students who could be helped by the school. Parents and children decide together if the SEED program is the best educational choice for them. It is not for everyone. Students enter the program in the seventh grade. They agree to stay for six years.

The goal is to prepare them for success in college and in future employment³. This means that learning⁴ continues after classes are over for the day. School officials say the students receive family and community support. They learn about personal responsibility. They learn to balance work and play. They can help teach younger students, or do community service. The school also offers sports and social activities.

The SEED School currently⁵ has more than three hundred students. So far, two classes have completed the program. School officials say all of the young people were accepted at universities.

The SEED School is a charter⁶ school. This means it is privately⁷ operated but receives public money. Private gifts also help pay for the school.

The SEED School has had some important supporters and guests. In November, Britain's Prince Charles and his wife, Lady Camilla, spent an afternoon there with First Lady Laura Bush.

The boarding school in the nation's capital is the first opened by the SEED Foundation⁸. The group says it plans to open schools in other cities, such as Baltimore and Los Angeles. More information about the program can be found on the Web at seedfoundation dot com (seedfoundation.com).

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Dana Demange.  I'm Faith Lapidus.

1 intensive   

adj.加强的，密集的；精工细作的，集约的

参考例句：

• I'll make an intensive study of a subject.我将集中学一门课程。
• There we received several weeks of intensive training.在那里我们受了几星期的集中训练.

2 secure   

adj.无虑的，安心的，安全的；adj.牢靠的，稳妥的；vt.固定，获得，使...安全；vi.(海上工作人员)停止工；vi.(船)抛锚，停泊

参考例句：

• He found a secure foothold and pulled himself up.他找到了一个稳固的踏脚处并爬了上去。
• Extra men are needed to secure the camp against attack.需要增加兵力以保护军营免受攻击。

3 employment   

n.雇用；使用；工作，职业

参考例句：

• A large office requires the employment of many people.一个大办事处需要雇用好多人员。
• The state of employment in this city is improving.这个城市就业状况正在改善。

4 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

5 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

6 charter   

n.特许状，执照，宪章；v.特许，发给特许执照

参考例句：

• This new law amounts to a tax evader's charter.这项新法律简直成了为逃税者开的许可证。
• We will charter a steamer to convey the goods.我们将租一艘船运送这批货物。

7 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

8 foundation   

n.[pl.]地基；基础；基金会；建立，创办

参考例句：

• The foundation of the university took place 600 years ago.这所大学是600年前创办的。
• The Foundation gives money to help artists.那家基金会捐款帮助艺术家。