Students at Harms Elementary School proudly wore their official FBI Junior Special Agent badges during a graduation ceremony today where more than 150 students were recognized by representatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The students represent the first graduates of the FBI Junior Special Agent Program in Southwest Detroit. Fourth and fifth graders at the school completed five weeks of training conducted by the FBI.

Special Agent-In-Charge of the Detroit Division Andrew G. Arena, Head of the FBI for the State of Michigan, spoke to the students during several training sessions. Arena is a kindergarten graduate of Harms Elementary School.

“It was quite moving when he showed up for the first session,” said Michelle Bouchard, FBI Investigative Operations Analyst, who facilitated the program. “He told them, ‘You can be whatever you want to be. I’m from this neighborhood and this is what I’ve achieved.’ I think that really showed them that it doesn’t matter where you’re from, if you work hard, you can achieve anything.”

During the training sessions, the students learned about how law enforcement works and how they can make a difference in the community.

At the ceremony, each student received a certificate of completion, badge, and credentials stating they are official FBI Junior Special Agents. Several students also spoke about what they learned through the program.

“I really enjoyed all of the presentations because I’ve always wanted to learn how they do their jobs,” said Esmeralda Varela, a fifth grader at Harms Elementary School. “I enjoyed the SWAT team a lot because they talked about defending themselves, and I think everyone should know how to defend themselves.”

The goal behind the program was to encourage students to make the right choices, whether they decide to pursue a career in federal law enforcement, or with any career, said Todd Mayberry, FBI Assistant Special Agent In Charge.

“We discussed anti-bullying, self-defense, physical fitness, and a ton of other issues specific to this age group,” Mayberry said. “The biggest issue for me was clearing up the misconceptions about law enforcement, and helping the students to see the positive things that we do in the community.”

Students Also Recognized for Winning Diversity Art Fair Poster Contest
During the graduation ceremony, a group of art students at Harms Elementary School were also presented with a $125 check from the Detroit Federal Executive Board for winning a poster contest based on their definition of diversity.

The contest was extended to Detroit students in December 2011.

Three schools were selected based on grade level. EMAN Hamilton Academy K-2 students will receive a $100 prize; Harms Elementary School students received a $125 prize; and Farwell Elementary-Middle School will receive a $150 prize. The schools can decide how to use the prize money.

More than 500 students from across the state of Michigan competed in the 17th annual Michigan Regional Future City Competition held January 30, 2012 at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi.

Two teams from Detroit Public Schools received special awards for their displays on safer and greener cities of the future.

Foreign Language Immersion and Cultural Studies School was honored with the Most Healthy Community award, sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield-Blue Care Network of Michigan.

Paul Robeson, Malcolm X Academy-Team 1 was honored with the Paul Tucker, Jr. Excellence in Engineering Award, sponsored by Tucker, Young, Jackson, Tull, Inc.

Three DPS teams total attended the competition, two teams from Paul Robeson, Malcolm X Academy and one team from Foreign Language Immersion and Cultural Studies School.

“All three teams worked with an engineer the entire time,” said Alycia Meriweather, Executive Director of the Office of Science for Detroit Public Schools. “Even after weeks of preparation, FLICS worked until 9:30 p.m. the Friday night before the competition to make sure they were ready. All of the teams really represented DPS well.”

The Future City Competition is a national, project-based learning experience where students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade imagine, design, and build cities of the future in which they would like to live, according to www.futurecity.org.

Students work as a team with an educator and engineer mentor to plan cities using SimCity™ 4 Deluxe software; research and write solutions to an engineering problem; build tabletop scale models with recycled materials; and present their ideas before judges at Regional Competitions in January. Regional winners represent their region at the National Finals in Washington, DC in February.

For a full list of the 2012 Michigan Regional Future City Competition winners, visit the Engineering Society of Detroit’s website at www.esd.org.

Students at Golightly Education Center made their first bank deposits following a ribbon-cutting ceremony today to celebrate the grand opening of Golightly’s In-School Bank.

The bank was created through a partnership with Citizens Bank to provide the students with hands-on experience in learning basic money management skills and the basics of how a bank operates.

“We’re excited to launch this new program to teach students banking skills, encourage saving money and to help them feel comfortable with personal banking,” said school Principal Dr. Sherrell Hobbs. “The staff at Citizens Bank has been wonderful in helping us to launch this effort, and we look forward to seeing the students learn about personal banking and watching their savings grow.”

Honors Teacher Cheryl Vincent helped coordinate setting up the In-School Bank and views the bank as a great learning tool.

“This is an excellent opportunity to provide hands-on learning that we hope the students will carry throughout their lives,” Vincent said.

The bank will be staffed and operated by 12 students, with adult supervision provided, and will be open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Thursday for the students to make deposits. The staffed positions include branch manager, assistant manager, client services representative, public relations/marketing representative, community relations, teller and security officer. Students in fourth- through eighth-grade are eligible to participate.

“The students had to complete job applications to work at the bank,” said Stephanie Grimes, Citizens Bank-Canton Customer Services Supervisor. “The goal is to make this a fun learning process that teaches skills the students will carry with them throughout life. We want them to understand the importance of saving money and that saving a little over time can add up to a lot.”

Students making deposits will receive a savings account number that corresponds with an account at Citizens Bank. Students wishing to make a withdrawal will need to visit a Citizens Bank branch with their parents.

About Golightly Educational Center:
Golightly is part of the Detroit Public School District and serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Detroit Public Schools is creating Centers of Excellence in every school within every neighborhood. The district’s primary mission is educating students to perform at the highest academic level. DPS offers educational advantages to students throughout the district’s 130-plus schools, including Netbooks for every student in grades 6-12, expanded time for reading and mathematics under a common core curriculum, pre-algebra for 7th graders, nine different languages and robust ESL (English as a Second Language) programs, Advanced Placement courses at every high school, and Fine Arts programs with instrumental music, vocal music and dance.  DPS also has five new charter schools led by educators with proven track records of raising achievement, 10 new state-of-the-art school buildings or major renovations, along with millions of dollars in school building improvements district-wide, business partners for every school to help raise student achievement, parent engagement initiatives, and safety and security enhancements. To learn more about our programs, visit detroitk12.org.

About Citizens Bank:
Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc. is a diversified financial services company providing a wide range of commercial, consumer, mortgage banking, trust and financial planning services to a broad client base. Citizens serves communities in Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin with 218 offices and 252 ATMs. Citizens is the largest bank holding company headquartered in Michigan with roots dating back to 1871 and is the 52^nd largest bank holding company headquartered in the United States. More information about Citizens is available at www.citizensbanking.com.