Check out Filipino-American Kimee Balmilero after Discovery Kids' HI-5

About Kimee Balmilero

Originally from Hawaii, Filipino-American actor Kimee Balmilero is best known as one of the 5 hosts on Discovery Kids' TV Series Hi-5.

Check out "When I Grow Up" a new show for kids Kimee created where kids get hands on with super cool, totally hip and always fun jobs! wigutv.com

www.kimeeb.com

FIL-AM EVENT: Samahang Pilipino @ California State University Sacramento present SAVING F.A.C.E.

35 Filipino-American Students receive Dr. Jose Rizal Youth Awards

The Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that the 19th Dr. Jose Rizal Youth Awards was held at the Embassy last November 19.

A project of the Philippine American Foundation for Charities, Inc. (PAFC) and supported by the Embassy, the youth awards aims to give recognition to outstanding Filipino-American students for achieving excellent grades while being active in extracurricular undertakings.

Through the Dr. Jose Rizal Youth Awards, young Filipino-Americans are encouraged to learn more about the Philippine national hero.
 

This year's youth awards also commemorates the 150th birth anniversary of the national hero.

This year's awardees received a medal and certificate signed by Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr., PAFC President Rebecca Pagsibigan, and PAFC Vice President and Chairman of the Dr. Jose Rizal Youth Awards Roberto Tamayo.

Full story here......

Filipino American Youth Leadership Conference (FAYLC) 2009

One my most favorite events each year, the Filipino American Youth Leadership Conference (FAYLC), a project of the Philippine National Day Association (PNDA), is coming up in less than two months. It will be on August 7-9, 2009, in Sacramento, CA. Participant applications can be downloaded at http://www.xpoinc.org/documents/faylc09participantapplication.doc.

The Recession's Effect on Filipino American Students

As reports of continued cuts in public schools continue to be released each day, many are looking at how this will affect Filipino American students.

As a baseline, a study was released by the National Federation of Filipino American Assocations (NaFFAA) in January 2008. The study strove to explain how Filipino kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) students are doing in America’s public schools.

While there is documented exemplary Filipino academic achievement, it was noted that in California there are: (a) low numbers of Filipino students going to college and dropping out early; (b) high suicide rates among Filipino teenage girls; and (c) many Filipino teens feeling excessive Filipino parental pressure to succeed.

Filipino American Teachers

In California, there is a disproportion between Filipino American students and Filipino American teachers.

168,627 students of Filipino descent make up 2.7% of students in the state of California. 4,418 teachers of Filipino descent make up 1.4% of teachers in California. Comparatively, 243 Filipino administrators make up 0.8% of all administrators, 692 pupil services staff make up 2.3% foo pupil services staff, and 5,292 credentialed staff make up 2.4% of all credentialed staff.

Graduation Rates

As the school year nears its end, one can take a look at dropout rates among high school students. Statewide, among all students, there exists at 5.3% dropout rate each year. For individuals that self-identify as Filipino, that figure is only 2.1%, second only to the Asian subgroup.

Studies time and time again reaffirm long-held knowledge that when students drop out of school, they face more challenges than their peers that stay in school. Compared to high school graduates, research shows that over a lifetime dropouts have increased dependence on public assistance, lower earnings, poorer health, and higher rates of unemployment, mortality, criminal behavior, and incarceration.

The Filipino community can be proud of its academic achievement.

Filipino American Youth Leadership Conference (FAYLC) 2009

At the latest Filipino American Youth Leadership Conference (FAYLC) planning meeting, the attendees brainstormed different workshop ideas to conduct at the FAYLC. It is always such a challenge to choose workshops that relate to the students and also educate them about a new field. While doing an identity workshop is always a hit, finding a different way to address and present it is also important. One goal is to not bore those that attended the FAYLC before. Another goal is to advance their learning while not losing those that have never been introduced to the concepts before.

What prominent issues does the Filipino American community face?

Filipino American Youth Leadership Conference (FAYLC) Impact

I was chatting with a student that attended their first Filipino American Youth Leadership Conference (FAYLC) last summer. They are now a student at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and the FAYLC came up. They said:

It's so funny, like when I think about FAYLC, I didn't fully understand what was going on and how everything fits together until I got to UCLA. It made sense at FAYLC but I didn't have that passion about all these issues until I got here. I am so happy I went to FAYLC. I mean there are so many things that I learned from just that one weekend. I find myself constantly thinking about how the stuff I learned in FAYLC applies to the real world. I think about the activities we did like Pusoy'd or the strategies for a successful campaign...or all the other ones and I just realize how I can use that to do other things on campus. On Thursday, the committee I'm involved in was talking about LGBT (lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender) issues and I told them what we did during FAYLC. It turned out to be something Samahang Board might want to do with one of their general meeings. I have friends asking me to help with Pilipino Youth Empowerment Day (PYED)--it's like another conference for high school students--because I went to FAYLC and I have more experience on how the workshops are run and what type of things are talked about. I honestly never would have thought that I'd be taking so much from FAYLC and applying it to my life here. Thank you for really making such a big impact by hosting FAYLC. It means so much to me. FAYLC is something I would definitely love to be involved in again. I would love to give back to younger generations.

I responded that I could not take credit for the event because I just did logistics. The programming and implementation was all thanks to the Philippine National Day Association (PNDA) and a wonderful and dedicated group of organizers and counselors. Still, I take pride in being even remotely involved in such an impactful event--to be a part of something larger than me.

Silent Sacrifices

I have been looking for a documentary entitled Silent Sacrifices. Silent Sacrifices is a twenty-five minute documentary and accompanying informational/educational guide for use by both professionals and Filipino American families. The video introduces experiences of cultural conflict between Filipino immigrants and their American-born children, addressing issues of ethnic identity and opposing Filipino and American values.

At a previous Filipino American Youth Leadership Conference (FAYLC), we screened Silent Sacrifices and opened up a dialogue between students and parents. It was a fruitful discussion, one where my own relationship with my mother was enhanced as well.

The FAYLC theme that year was "Connecting the Real and the Ideal." The theme addressed the realities of the Filipino and American realities and the ideals of Filipino and American culture. It was appropriate then, and it is appropriate now.

HOT FIL-AM EVENT! - "Kababayan Fest 2008" One of the Largest West Coast Filipinos Event

Kababayan Fest is one of the largest Filipino festivals on the West Coast. It will be held at California’s Great America amusement park in Santa Clara, California within the Bay Area on Saturday, July 5th, 2008. It is an all day event comprising of headliner acts, singers, dancers, cultural exhibits, local organizations, vendors, and Filipino heritage.

Headliners:
Kuh Ledesma
Melissa Reyes
Passion
Sharyn Maceren
Kaba Modern

Autographs:
Laika
Joey B

Featured Artists:
Mango Kingz
Native Elements
Philtered Soul
FBCV Hula Praise
Special Escrima Exhibition by Cabales Escrima Academy

Footage From Last Year's Event

Tickets are $34.99 pre-sale (limited) and can only be purchased online at:

http://www.cagreatamerica.com/kababayan

Read more here at www.kababayanfest.com....

National Spelling Bee Will Have the Largest Filipino-American Youth Representation In History

18 Fil-Am Spellers at Scripps National Spelling Bee

By Gwen de Leon
INQUIRER.net

Washington, DC -The Scripps National Spelling Bee is the United States’ largest and longest-running educational program administered as a non-profit program by The E.W. Scripps Company and 280 sponsors in the U.S., Canada, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, New Zealand, South Korea and Ghana.

Numerous Filipino-American students have competed in previous National Bees, with Joseph Henares of Avon, CT, garnering the highest rank thus far, finishing in the top five of last year’s Bee, co-sharing 3rd place with two other youths.

This year, 18 children of Filipino descent are competing for the title of Spelling Bee Champion, the largest number in recent memory, comprising over 6% of the top 288 spellers from the sponsors’ districts.

Read more here at Inquirer.net....