PUTNAM CITY CHALLENGE DAY 2008

The Putnam City Public Schools Foundation would like to announce

Putnam City Challenge Day 2008. Challenge Day has three important goals for
our district's high school students: 1) to shift dangerous peer pressure
to positive peer support; 2) to eliminate the acceptability of teasing,
bullying and violence, and 3) to increase student's personal power
and self-esteem. In the fall of 2008, all 1,200 freshmen in Putnam City
high schools will be given the opportunity to participate in the Challenge
Day program. Pre-program activities will begin in July and post-program
activities will continue in the high schools during the school year.
The cost for the 2008 freshman program is $50,400.

Challenge Day is a powerful, high-energy character development program.
Putnam City's first Challenge Day program in 2007 was successful in
changing the culture and improving academic achievement in our high
schools. School counselors reported significant improvement in how well
students treat each other. Students gained confidence, reached out to
and connected with peers and broke from cliques to form a more
inclusive, compassionate school community. The number of students
failing classes and the number of disciplinary incidents decreased.

The success of Challenge Day in creating a better learning environment
for students was such that the program received the 2008 Outstanding
Program Awards for Local Education Foundations sponsored by the
Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence.

The Challenge Day project is nothing less than life changing. In its
first year it made a huge impact
on our young people, encouraging them to connect to and support each
other, their teachers and their families. Because three times as many
students will participate in year two of Challenge Day,
we expect even greater success.

Through Challenge Day, the Putnam City Public Schools Foundation is
supporting the district in its efforts to provide a safe environment
where young people can work together and learn to be good citizens.
Please join your fellow community members and support this important
project.