“An educated Petersburg, is a successful Petersburg”
Introduction
Petersburg is an independent American city found in the Virginia state of the United States. Its population is overwhelmingly black with an estimated percentage of 79. The city has got a rich industrial history and once supported a booming tobacco industry. Petersburg boasts of several schools in all learning levels.
Overview of the campaign
Generally, Petersburg education standards are adversely reviewed in all quarters. This is a view well rooted in the collective mind of the nation. Recently, a study was conducted on the relationship of education standards and affluence. It was noted that poorer kids do worse than their richer counterparts. The population in Petersburg is on average poor. According to statistics from the 2000 census, 16.7% of families and 19.6% of the total population were found to be living below the poverty line, counting 27.1% of those under age 18 and 15.8% of those in the age 65 or over bracket. Combined with the collapse of the tobacco industry which served as the main source of income for the city, it has faced inevitably difficult economic times. the resources to be allocated to the education sector are hard to come by for the local administration given the economic might of the city compared with other counties in the country.
Goals
A major revamp of the education system is of absolute necessity to the city of Petersburg. In order to achieve this goal we need to set up clearly defined areas that need to be addressed. Some of these areas include.
- Build education public policy
- Create encouraging environment for youth to enroll in educational programs.
- Strengthen community and enterprises partnerships and participation.
- Encourage the development of personal skills for youths who fail to make the cut for formal education.
- Advocate for a commitment to education and equity.
- Increase resources allocated to the development of education in the city.
Petersburg needs to badly redeem its education sector if it to attain competitiveness for its graduates not only in America but also worldwide. The poor performance of education as key societal pillar in Petersburg has only served to ruin the outlook of the city to the rest of the counties and the rest of the world.
Strategy to be employed
An intense and captivating campaign on the need to revamp the education sector in the city need to be run in assistance with the mainstream media. Reporters need be encouraged to write articles and do feature stories on the education situation in the city to create awareness for the challenge. Other informer communication platforms such as social media ought to be utilized in a more grand scale as these are the platforms that are more likely to reach the youth and hence the ultimate target audience of the whole campaign. In engaging the youth through social media it is important that the messages are tailored in a way that is engaging and communicative in order to retain the reader’s audience.
Intended message
The main messages that need to be communicated are group specific as the target audience is as varied. The business community should be informed of the benefits of partnering with the local schools for their labor needs as this will not only alleviate the problem of unemployment but also ensuring that subsequent generations of learners are motivated towards being better learned to achieve these positions. The Petersburg Area Region Tourism organization has pledged to increase the number of students it accommodates to it attachment programmes hopefully employment. This has proven to be a huge motivational factor for undergraduate students. To the schools it is paramount that they are motivated to implement the appropriate learning programs for the different learners so as to retain them in the classrooms. The adult population should be well involved in this exercise too in an extensive way. In this respect the Nehemiah Petersburg project has gladly volunteered to incorporate into its activities the task of sensitizing its members and general audience in the society of their expected role in the education system improvement drive. The success of any education program leans heavily on the weight put behind it by the parents of the children involved. Taking a keen interest in the developments of a learner by their parents or guardians instills a drive in the learner to succeed in order not to disappoint the parents. The teachers on the other hand are forced to put real effort towards the development of their learners as keen parents act as a watch dog body against poor standards.
Techniques to be employed
Techniques used by the tutors in teaching the students ought to be reviewed comprehensively in the city’s education system. The algebra club has volunteered to institute a network of apt individuals in their club to help the students in the varying levels of learning from basic to university. This has been agreed as an initiative to curb the seemingly underachieving tactics employed at the schools. Additionally it shall be enforced that the students are introduced to educative programs outside of their expected curriculum. By increased involvement with movements such as the algebra movement, the general mentality of the learning youth is hoped to be changed towards educative involvements.
Technology use
An increase in the employment of technology in the learning program is a major pillar of the reforms intended in the education system of the city. The involvement of the government in this engagement is crucial due to its capital intensive nature of the undertaking. The participation is to be sought through mainly lobbying the government to establish information technology centers around Petersburg. This will act as research centers through internet and other technology based resources. The accessibility to this facilities should be either free to the appropriate learners targeted or at a nominal to be determined fee. The maintenance and running of these facilities shall be the collective responsibility of the community. These centers shall not only serve as extremely resourceful sources of knowledge, but they shall also serve as an attraction to the youth who are more receptive of online based knowledge rather than the traditional learning avenues.
Staff and organization
The staff of this initiative shall include the Nehemiah Petersburg project staff members, a select panel of parents, businessmen, Algebra Project, Design Team., the Petersburg Area Tourism unit, Nehemiah Petersburg Project, and Design Team select staff. Other members of society who will feel of value to the cause shall also be afforded the opportunity to contribute in their various capacities. The office for the committee shall be at the Nehemiah Petersburg project premises. The executive committee shall hold the primary role of formulating coordinating and supervising the various recommendations that are stated. They shall convene on a regular basis as agreed or at any other time as they may agree to.
Budget and funding
The budget for the functions intended by the recommendations of this committee shall be raised from mainly the partner organizations and to a considerable extent the county government through lobbying for increased funding for education reform in the county. The various goals set out to be achieved in this report are to be allocated resources as to their availability and using the impact assessment evaluation to determine on which areas to prioritize on first in resource allocation.
Work cited
"Department of Social Services." City of Petersburg. N.p., 12 July 2013. Web.
6 Sept. 2013.Brandon, Phillip L. Comparing Two Methods of Instruction for Standards of Learning Tests in Detention Home Education Programs. Petersburg: Virginia State University, 2004.
Barnes-Brown, Crystal S. Effects of Technology in the Classroom for At-Risk Urban Third Grade Elementary Students' Achievement on Standards of Learning Assessment. Petersburg: Virginia State University, 2004
N.p., 1 May 2012. Web. <buildingbrickbybrick.homestead.chttp://buildingbrickbybrick.homestead.com/index.htmlom/>.
