briefs

Thursday, April 28, 2005

Job Fair, Education Conference Set

The D.C. Department of Human Services has scheduled two events for the public, a job fair and an early childhood education conference, on Saturday. The department's Income Maintenance Administration (IMA) will hold a job fair from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the IMA headquarters, 645 H St. NE. Officials will accept applications and conduct interviews for the following positions: social service representative, bilingual social service representative, clerical support workers and investigators.

For more information, call 202-671-4200.

The agency will also hold its third annual Universal School Readiness Conference from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Cardozo Senior High School, 1300 Clifton St. NW. The free early childhood conference is for teachers of 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds in the District, administrators of such programs and interested family and community members. Attendees can register on site and will receive education and training to help young people make the transition to school.

For more information, call 202-986-1819.

Group Donates 2,005 Books

Executive Women International has donated 2,005 books for its annual Reading Rally initiative, a six-year-old effort that makes books available to children in the District and the region through the Reach Out and Read program.

The donation was marked by a Reading Rally held last Friday at Brightwood Elementary School in Northwest and attended by about 40 children and 40 Executive Women International members. Members handed out books and read to the children.

Ms. Senior D.C. Pageant

District women 60 and older are eligible to apply to participate in this year's Ms. Senior District of Columbia Pageant, to be held June 26. The pageant is presented by the D.C. Senior America Cameo Club, Child and Family Services of Washington, D.C., and the D.C. Office on Aging.

Pageant contestants are judged in four categories: a personal interview, talent, the recitation of their philosophy of life and their appearance in an evening gown. The winner will represent the District in the national Ms. Senior America Pageant.

For an application or more information, call 202-289-1510, Ext. 170, or 202-724-5622.

Zoo Program Is 'Webby Worthy'

The National Zoo's online education program, Conservation Central, was recently named "Webby Worthy" by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. The award honors excellence in Web design, creativity, usability and functionality.

Conservation Central, which teaches about the temperate-forest habitat and the challenges faced in protecting endangered species, was also given a Parents' Choice Gold Award by the Parents' Choice Foundation, the nation's oldest nonprofit consumer guide to educational media for children.

Gay Unit, SEED School Nominated

The District's SEED School and the D.C. police department's gay and lesbian unit have been named finalists for the Innovations in American Government Award presented by the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

The SEED School in Southeast Washington is the only public school in the country to offer a college preparatory boarding school education to underserved youth. And the police unit, created in 2000, could be a model for other cities, university officials said.

The school and the police unit are among 18 finalists, selected from more than 1,000 applicants. The Kennedy School will select five winners, and each will receive a $100,000 grant to encourage replication of its innovations in other jurisdictions. Each finalist will deliver a public presentation next month at Harvard University. The winners will be announced July 27 in Washington.

For more information about the awards presentations, see http://www.ashinstitute.harvard.edu .

--Compiled by BRUCE C.T. WRIGHT