Summer 2008
School is Out, But Work Continues
Welcome to the summer edition of Keeping It Going, the monthly e-newsletter of The Fund for Public Schools. We hope you're enjoying the warm weather and have some time to relax before things get busy again this fall.
New York City's public school students have had a truly exciting year. Test scores continue to climb, with more students performing at or above grade level than at any time in years. Graduation rates have increased, and millions of dollars have been moved from the bureaucracy into schools and classrooms. Our city's schools have all benefitted from strong partnerships with foundations, corporations, non-profit organizations, and committed volunteers.
Of course, the hard work we've all done to improve our schools doesn't take a summer vacation! An important partnership with the Heckscher Foundation, for example, is providing free summer meals to children at over 1,000 locations across the city. And all summer long, our many non-profit partners are recruiting volunteers for the new school year. Coming this fall is another opportunity for New York's retail community to partner with our public schools, as The Fund for Public Schools kicks off our fifth annual Shop for Public Schools event in October.
Thank you for your support and involvement over the past school year. Have a great summer, and we'll be back with a new issue of Keeping it Going in September.
How to Keep It Going This Summer
Even though school has ended, there are still many ways to show your support for New York City's public school students. As always, if you know of another great volunteer opportunity that helps our public schools, let us know by emailing info@fundforpublicschools.org.
Register Now for New York Cares Day!
Spend a day helping revitalize New York City public schools on the seventeenth annual New York Cares Day. New York Cares, a nonprofit organization mobilizing volunteers for service projects across the city, needs 8,000 volunteers to paint a  brighter future for New York City public school students. You can sign up now for a day of good, clean fun, revitalizing more than 100 public schools across the five boroughs on New York Cares Day, Saturday, October 18. Activities include painting colorful murals, organizing libraries, cleaning up schoolyards, and more to help create brighter, more stimulating learning environments. To register and for more information, visit www.newyorkcaresday.org or call (212) 228-5000. Be part of New York City's largest day of volunteer service!
 Mentor High School Students with Minds Matter
Become a dedicated mentor with Minds Matter and help change the life of a bright, motivated high school student in New York City. Minds Matter was founded in 1991, with the mission of bringing bright and motivated urban high school students together with dedicated mentors, and giving these students the opportunity to achieve academic excellence and expand their educational horizons. Mentees benefit from year-long, rigorous Test Prep and Writing & Critical Thinking programs that work in tandem with the guidance of well-educated mentors to successfully prepare them for admission into competitive summer programs, colleges, and universities. To learn more about Minds Matter, and to apply to serve as a mentor for the coming school year, please click here.
Become a Learning Leader
Head back to school in the fall— volunteer in our city's public schools with Learning Leaders! Learning Leaders is a non-profit that has been training public school volunteers to help in classrooms and schools citywide since 1956. Every year, up to 14,000 Learning Leaders volunteers work with over a quarter of a million New York City public school students throughout the five boroughs. Learning Leaders offers a wide range of volunteer opportunities across grade level, subject area, location, and time commitment. Becoming a Learning Leader is easy: visit their downtown office for an interview, fill out an application, and attend training for your chosen program. Contact Learning Leaders' Manager for Recruitment at (646) 519-3337 or visit www.learningleaders.org today!
Keep Updated with The Fund for Public Schools
Keep yourself informed about the exciting opportunities for involvement with our public schools. Add yourself to our mailing list, and each month you'll receive a copy of our e-newsletter delivered straight to your inbox! Simply click here. |
Winding Path to Success
Bronx Student Gets A Second Chance
High school is full of obstacles and challenges— whether they are academic struggles, social pressures, or changing family dynamics. For Isael Galva, the road to a high school diploma was also a path to personal redemption.
When Isael began ninth grade at Fordham High School for the Arts— a new, small school in the Bronx— he was known as an energetic and gregarious young man, but a fairly uninspired student.
“I always did my work, but I didn’t go above and beyond,” he says. It was during this time that he got mixed up with a rough crowd. The summer before his junior year, following a serious altercation, Isael was arrested and sent to a detention center for nine months.
When word of Isael’s arrest spread at his school, his friends and teachers were shocked. “We couldn’t believe it,” recalls Michael Ryan, the school’s guidance counselor.
During his time in the detention center, Isael attended Passages Academy, the Department of Education's program for incarcerated youth. He also had plenty of time to consider the path he was on, and how he could turn things around.
Isael’s mother asked if anyone at the school was willing to write a letter to the judge, vouching for Isael’s character. Teachers and administrators lined up, enthusiastically offering to help.
“That felt great,” Isael says of the letters. “There’s no way I can express my gratitude.”
Upon his return, Isael set the ambitious goal of graduating on time with a Regents diploma. Having been incarcerated for most of his junior year, Isael was missing many required credits.
Isael, his teachers, and his guidance counselor immediately got to work on a plan to make up for lost time. Isael enrolled in a special after-school program, staying in class until seven o’clock four nights each week.
“Many students in Isael’s place wouldn’t have come back to school, and very few would return with the spirit he had,” says Mr. Ryan. “His head was held high, and he never felt sorry for himself.”
Isael is modest about the remarkable obstacles he has overcome, but he recognizes that others in his situation might have reacted differently. “A lot of people lose hope in jail. They just give up.”
Isael knows that when he applies to college or for a job he will likely need to explain the gap in his high school record. Isael thinks the experience can be construed in a positive light. “Although it was a bad scenario, something good came out of it, ” he says.
“He has a strong spirit,” says Peter Healy, an English teacher. “I have yet to see him beaten down by anything.”
This year, Isael reached his goal of graduating on time with a Regents diploma, and was recognized by Chancellor Klein for his remarkable achievement. At a celebration at Gracie Mansion, Isael got to meet other students from around the city who beat the odds to succeed. He was ecstatic to be in such esteemed company.
“I like to meet other students who want the same thing as I do— to overcome obstacles and keep achieving,” he says with a smile. “I’m very competitive. I have a thing about being number one.”
“‘Isael isn’t a very common name. I feel like I was given that name for a reason,” he says, two weeks before graduation. “So I’m going to do something with it." |
