September 2008
Students, Teachers, and Families Return for 2008-09 School Year
Welcome to the September edition of Keeping It Going, the monthly e-newsletter of The Fund for Public Schools. We hope you had a wonderful summer, and are ready to roll up your sleeves and get involved with our public schools this fall.
As you can imagine, school is off to an exciting start. This year, the Department of Education has opened 71 brand new schools for students across the city, including 18 new charter schools. The DOE is also in the midst of the largest capital program in its history, which will create 63,000 new classroom seats by 2011, including 11,000 this year alone. Today, our 1.1 million public school students and their families have more choices than ever before.
Our high school graduation rate continues to climb, increasing by more than 11 points since 2002. Test scores continue to rise. And our schools are safer than they've been in decades— Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein have announced a 10 percent drop in school crimes since last year.
New York City's public school students, families, teachers, and principals are embarking on a brand new year— one filled with achievement, challenge, and possibility. We hope that they can count on your support!
How to Keep It Going In September
The start of a new school year is a great time to learn about ways you can help our schools continue to improve. Whatever you can contribute, our schools and students are eager for your support. As always, if you know of another great volunteer opportunity that helps our public schools, let us know by emailing info@fundforpublicschools.org.
Get Sharp This Fall– Join PENCIL’s Partnership Program
 Students, teachers and administrators aren’t the only ones returning to the classroom this fall—so are hundreds of business leaders who are partnering with schools through the nonprofit organization PENCIL. PENCIL creates and supports customized relationships between business leaders and principals to inspire innovative solutions to the challenges facing our schools. By bringing together the best ideas, resources and talent across sectors, PENCIL creates real change in New York City's public schools. This year, PENCIL will launch its 2008-09 Partnership Program during the organization’s renowned Principal For A Day® event on October 16. To learn how you can play a role in transforming our schools, visit www.pencil.org or call 646-638-0565.
Shop For A Cause at Macy's!
Help our city's public schools while shopping at one of New York's most iconic department stores! On September 20th, visit any Macy's to participate in their annual Shop For A Cause event. For $5, you can purchase a shopping pass, which entitles you to special savings on merchandise across the store—10 to 20 percent off on most items. In addition, customers will enjoy live entertainment, special events, and a chance to win a $500 Macy's gift card at every location. Best of all, proceeds from in-store sales of the shopping passes at Macy's NYC locations will benefit The Fund for Public Schools' library programs. To find the Macy's location nearest you, visit www.macys.com.
Make a Difference With the GO Project
Help New York City public school students start the year off right! Founded in 1968, the GO Project provides academic assistance and social services to low-income, underperforming elementary school children in lower Manhattan. GO works in collaboration with public school administrators to identify students performing below grade level and helps them improve their academic performance, build self-esteem, and develop essential life skills. Volunteers are needed to tutor students on 22 Saturdays from October through April. Volunteers are guided by professional teachers and work with students to build academic skills and confidence. Volunteer orientations will take place on September 24th and 25th from 5:30-7:00 p.m. For more information, or to apply as a volunteer, please email goprojecttutor@gmail.com.
Keep Updated with The Fund for Public Schools
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Building School and Community
Queens High School Focuses on Recent Arrivals
For New York City’s 1.1 million public school students, the first day of school can bring an array of emotions. Our entering kindergarteners might feel anxious about leaving home for the very first time. For high school seniors, excitement and anticipation might be mixed with wistful memories of years past.
To this list, Marcella Barros hopes her students will add other feelings—a renewed sense of ownership, place, and belonging. Barros, the principal of Pan American International High School, began the year with her students in a gleaming new building in Corona, Queens. With the smell of fresh paint and floor wax hanging in the air, and as workers put the finishing touches on the glazed windows and installed the new iMac computers, Barros reflected on her accomplishments and the hard work she and her staff will do in the year ahead.
“If I want to be a school leader, I want to create my own school from the ground up,” she says. “Doing that really takes a special spirit, and a special staff with that spirit."
Pan American is one of New York City's public schools dedicated to serving recent immigrants. The school will focus on the diversity of Latin American cultures and will help students enhance their Spanish cultural literacy, while ensuring that students gain proficiency in English.
Students in New York City hail from over 90 countries and speak more than 150 different languages. International high schools focus on recently arrived immigrants, some with significant gaps in their formal education. The students who attend Pan American may be sitting in a classroom for the first time in several years.
Barros, herself an alumna of New York City public schools, spent a significant amount of time and energy assembling a staff that shared her goals for Pan American. She knows her investment will pay dividends for her students.
“When you hire your own staff, you can make sure everyone’s visions are aligned,” she says. “We really believe in collaboration. My teachers went through a lot to get hired.”
Pan American also places great emphasis on parental involvement. From regular meetings for parents (in English and Spanish) to Saturday language classes for students and their families, Barros knows that students have much better chances for academic success if the entire family is engaged.
Last year, Pan American began as a program for ninth graders, located at Middle College High School in Long Island City. The school erected temporary walls in the auditorium, where the inaugural class of 81 students spent their first year getting adjusted to their new surroundings.
This year, Pan American has a target enrollment of 172 students in grades nine and ten. Barros hopes that her returning students can inspire the newest ones, and that excitement about the new space rubs off.
“I want them to feel a more developed sense of ownership,” she says. “This is their place—they’re not guests anymore. I want the older students to transfer those feelings to the younger ones.”
Pan American’s story can perhaps be described in terms of New York's overall immigrant narrative—from humble beginnings to an established presence in the city’s landscape. It is Marcella Barros’ hope that her students’ lives follow the same path toward success, in this coming school year and beyond.
"This year will have challenges, ups and downs, for all of us," she says in her new office, with boxes still not yet unpacked. "But we'll all be going through it together." |
