Oracle, PPIE Team Present Program on Life's Choices to Area Eighth Graders

Oracle has joined with the Pleasanton Partnerships in Education Foundation (PPIE) to present the CHOICES program this year to Pleasanton middle school students.

CHOICES, included as a component of eighth-grade health classes, is an interactive classroom seminar that focuses on education, time and money management, character development, work ethic, and other areas in which young adults face decisions.

"It's a set curriculum that discusses the choices that kids are making at their age and how they truly do impact their future from this point on through their adult life," says Debi Covello, executive director of PPIE. "The speakers are volunteers from the community or the business community and they add their own stories and analogies to personalize the message. It's a very interactive program so the kids get involved with it."

Oracle has played a key role in the presentation of the CHOICES seminar. "Oracle has underwritten the program for the fall and spring of this year and they also have had volunteers step forward and trained as presenters to participate in the classroom sessions," says Covello, who has clearly been impressed with the company's commitment. "They've been very involved with the program and have really embraced it. They've been a good partner of ours and I've enjoyed working with them."

CHOICES has recently been presented to this semester's classes at Harvest Park, Hart, and Pleasanton middle schools and will be presented again in March. Over the course of the school year, every eighth grade student in the Pleasanton Unified School District will have participated in the seminar.

"The program's message really addresses those choices that they're making. It's a competitive academic environment that our kids in Pleasanton evolve in so the program talks about how important it is to start doing well at their age and really buckle down," adds Covello. "CHOICES also addresses lifestyle choices, health issues, disciplinary issues and that sort of thing."

Covello feels that the key to the program's success is the participation of presenters from the community. "They tell their own stories about their experience and people that they know, and that makes it easier for the kids to relate to. I have teenage boys of my own and they hear it at home and they hear it from their teachers, but to hear it from someone who isn't involved in their day-to-day life gives it a different impact. It seems to really hit home with the kids."

There are still opportunities for presenters to be trained for the March classes. For additional information about the program and how you can become a presenter, contact PPIE at (925) 846-5620 or via e-mail at mail@ppie.org. Additional information on PPIE's programs is available on the organization's web site at www.ppie.org.

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