PRESS RELEASE DETAIL
For release: IMMEDIATELY
Release Date: 04/14/2016
City-Parish Dept. of Environmental Services Engaging Baton Rouge Area Schools
April 13, 2016
For release: IMMEDIATELY
For more information contact:
Karen Khonsari, Director of Environmental Services: (225) 389-3158
Susan Boudreaux, Mayor’s Office: (225) 389-5101
Scott Dyer, Mayor’s Office: (225) 389-7957
Press Release
City-Parish Dept. of Environmental Services Engaging Baton Rouge Area Schools
Students to learn problem-solving and teamwork while exploring careers in engineering, technology, and environmental areas of City-Parish
This morning, Mayor-President Melvin L. “Kip” Holden announced his Department of Environmental Services has formally kicked off a school-based outreach program focused on engaging students across Baton Rouge.
“This innovative new program will help our Department of Environmental Services team connect in meaningful ways with students who have an interest in STEM-related concepts while providing support to foster and grow their interests, complement their classroom education, and teach them about how these subjects are very much a part of the work we do on a daily basis to serve our entire Baton Rouge community,” said Mayor Holden. “In addition to the educational components of this program, we see it as a real opportunity to introduce students to the many career opportunities we have here at the City-Parish, and work hand-in-hand with them to fill our workforce pipeline for years to come.”
Director of Environmental Services Karen Khonsari noted that the department is one of the largest within City-Parish government and provides to the public some of the City-Parish’s most visible and complex citizen services – ones that students, as well as all residents, interact with on a daily basis, making a program such as this an ideal platform from which to engage young people looking for ways to apply their interest in STEM subjects.
“With all this department is responsible for, we know how critical it is to engage the minds of our youth and involve them in the work we do, both to educate students on core concepts associated with our work and introduce the variety of career opportunities available throughout our department that our team can help students work to achieve,” Khonsari said.
To introduce this new program, Department of Environmental Services staff are visiting classrooms this week to provide an overview of their role within the department and present students with their first “assignment” – helping the department develop a logo and brand for the organization. Students will be able to submit their ideas and illustrations for potential DES logo options, with the winning design serving as the foundation and inspiration for the future brand of the department.
Classroom presentations are scheduled to take place this week as listed below:
• The Dunham School – April 13
8:00 – 9:00 a.m.
• Scotlandville Pre-Engineering Magnet Academy – April 14
7:34 – 8:34 a.m.
8:38 – 9:38 a.m.
9:42 – 10:42 a.m.
10:46 a.m. – 12:17 p.m.
12:21 – 1:21 p.m.
• Mentorship Academy – April 14
12:10 – 1:50 p.m.
• Scotlandville Pre-Engineering Magnet Academy – April 15
8:38 – 9:38 a.m.
“We’re very excited to see the ideas and concepts these students develop, and to be able to soon adopt a brand for our organization that is directly influenced by some of our community’s brightest and most creative young minds,” Khonsari said.
In addition to this week’s classroom visits, the department’s school-based outreach will include a formal Adopt-A-School Program that will allow the department to have a broader reach in the education community through partnerships with elementary, middle, and high schools across Baton Rouge, as well as a student mentorship program to further build on these partnerships with students who self-identify as interested in science, technology, engineering, and math fields and schools that directly support these subjects.
The department will pilot these programs in the fall, with the goal of assisting Baton Rouge area K-12 schools in connecting students who may be interested in STEM career fields with resources and mentors that can help develop their skills to align with available workforce opportunities – both those available now, and those that will be available in the future in Baton Rouge and beyond.
Any educators who may be interested in participating in these programs are encouraged to reach out to both learn more and explore possibilities for being involved once the pilot program concludes.
About the Department of Environmental Services:
In 2014, East Baton Rouge Parish voters authorized the reorganization of the Department of Public Works, thereby creating six unique departments responsible for oversight of various City-Parish public works functions. The Department of Environmental Services was established through this process to oversee the City-Parish’s sanitation and recycling programs; the East Baton Rouge Parish wastewater system; the parish-wide Sanitary Sewer Overflow Program; and environmental planning and coordination efforts, among others.