Posts Tagged ‘department of education’ (Feed)

 

Papers and Pencils and Pens, Oh My! – August 17th, 2009

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Grammy award winning Singer-Songwriter Ciara speaks to youth about the importance of education.

The back to school countdown is on! Grammy award winning recording artist Ciara, along with Staples, Inc. and Do Something 101, joined forces this summer to collect school supplies to benefit low-income youth. On, Tuesday, August 04, 2009, celebrities and Do Something volunteers gathered at The Children’s Aid Society’s Dunlevy Milbank Boys & Girls Club to stuff 5,000 back packs to the brim with school supplies donated by Staples. Ciara was joined by Chaske Spencer of the Twilight movie saga and singer/actress Leah Renee.

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Do Something 101 volunteers stuff backpacks with school supplies for youth.

Joel Klein, Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education also dropped in to lend a hand with the tons of paper, pencils and highlighters. Ciara encouraged members of the Dunlevy Milbank Summer Day Camp to focus on their education and not worry about having the latest fashions or hairstyles. “Life is what you make it…you create your destiny”, said Ciara advising the youth to give their all at school this year. She added that now they should have everything they need for a successful start to the school year.

Images courtesy of Giany Mejia

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New York’s Children’s Aid Society serving Children: Our Community Partners Make it all Happen! – August 7th, 2009

The Children’s Aid Society in New York could not flourish without all the community agencies and organizations that it works with. These partnerships ensure that our services are as complete, accessible and effective as possible – helping to stretch our resources. Working with our partners allows for innovation in our programs as we benefit from the experiences of others.

One great example is our community schools.  Our leading partner is the New York City Department of Education. This year there are also over 100 partners in this effort, bringing fabulous results.  Leading examples include Alvin Ailey, American Ballet Theatre, and Michael cas87Roberts restaurant. For more information about community schools, please visit us here.

We are also founding members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (B&GCA) and are working more closely than ever with the Clubs’ local, state, regional and national staffs. One partnership with B&GCA is at our Dunlevy Milbank Center: the B&GCA was the recipient of the largest gift made to date by Microsoft, bringing its latest hardware and software to children using our cutting-edge facility.

There are far too many partners to name individually, but our community partners include city, county, state and federal agencies and departments; hospitals; health providers; colleges and university graduate schools of social work, nursing, medicine and education; mental health providers; community development groups; service societies; parents groups; police groups; youth-serving agencies; child and family welfare coalitions; school boards; housing alliances; food cooperatives; and scores of other agencies, businesses, church groups, professional associations, task forces and volunteers.  Lots of Volunteers!

And any list of partners with the Children’s Aid Society would also not be complete without acknowledging the support of thousands of donors that help finance these important programs, helping bring brighter futures to so many youth at risk! To learn more about donations, visit us here.

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Teens Talk Education with Children's Aid NYC and the New York City Council, Department of Education – July 31st, 2009

On Tuesday, May 19th approximately 60 teens met with representatives of the New York City Council, Department of Education administrators and Children’s Aid Society staff at the 2009 Teen Town Hall on Education, appropriately titled “Cut the Cutting,” held at the Adam Clayton Powell Building in Harlem. They discussed issues affecting their education such as truancy, overcrowding, school closings and safety. “I don’t think adults do enough of this which is listen to young people” said Katherine Eckstein, Director of Public Policy at the Children’s Aid Society. These teen leaders from Bronx and Washington Heights community schools provided recommendations on possible solutions to issues that impact their daily school experiences.Teens-Talk-Education

One recommendation is that students be held accountable for supplies and furniture by requiring deposits on books, fundraising for new furniture and clean desks. The teens on the council also recognized the need for improvement in staff and programming. They recommended training for security officers, adding “specialty teachers” who teach career specific classes and programs that help build supportive relationships between students and staff.

As members of the Youth Council, the teens have had months of discussions and research in teen leadership groups where they are encouraged to become advocates for their communities. Their own experiences served as a platform to discuss these obstacles and develop potential solutions. Listening to these teens share their stories brings to light how critical the school environment is to the educational experience and the effects it has on education quality and dropout rates.

These recommendations have been sent to the Department of Education administrators and elected officials who were not able to attend the event. What’s next for these teens? The young people who coordinated the teen town hall will be interning this summer with elected officials in city council, state assembly and the state senate and others have jobs working with the kids in summer camps.

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N.Y. Post Praises Children's Aid Society Community School M.S. 324's Performance – June 5th, 2009

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GRIN & MERIT: Teacher Benjamin Lev and Principal Janet Heller are at the forefront of MS 324's educational achievements, which earned teacher bonuses.

The March 12 New York Post gave kudos to M.S. 324 in Washington Heights and its above-average test performance, which has led to $3,000 bonuses for all teachers and staff through an experimental merit-pay program. (President Obama supports merit pay for teachers!)

What the paper didn’t say, however, is that M.S. 324 is a Children’s Aid Society community school, led by principal Janet Heller and community school director Marinieves Alba.

So here’s the info: the school has extensive after-school programming and additional caring adults present via Children’s Aid; medical services for students are right in the school and dental services are provided across the street at P.S. 8, another Children’s Aid community school. Social workers and other qualified adults within the school help ensure that the school’s students are coping with stress and any other problems they may have and are in their classrooms ready to learn.

The Post’s article, by Carl Campanile, pictured teacher and union rep Benjamin Lev along with principal Heller. The article didn’t point out that Lev is also educational coordinator for Children’s Aid’s after-school program at M.S. 324, so he is a supporter of the Department of Education – Children’s Aid partnership.

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Katherine Eckstein is The Children's Aid Society's New Director of Public Policy – May 27th, 2009

Katherine Eckstein

The Children’s Aid Society in New York is delighted to announce Katherine Eckstein’s promotion to the position of Director of Public Policy. Katherine’s new position is part of the agency’s Office of Public Policy and Client Advocacy, which leads in developing, coordinating and implementing The Children’s Aid Society’s policy priorities and strategies. C. Warren Moses, CEO of Children’s Aid Society, said of Katherine-

“After her successes in advancing our community schools policy agenda at the city, state and federal levels, Katherine is the ideal person to help us achieve greater impact in all of our policy work going forward.”

New York’s Children’s Aid Society is one of the nation’s largest and most innovative non-sectarian agencies, serving 150,000 of New York’s neediest children and their families. Katherine has been with The Children’s Aid Society for three years, and previously worked to broaden support for the agency’s community schools. As Katherine puts it-

“We understand the real needs of the children and family we serve through our client and legal advocacy work. Our policy work will allow us to advocate for large-scale, high-impact change to really address what children and families face each day…”

Before joining Children’s Aid Society, Katherine was special assistant to New York City Department of Education regional superintendent, and interim director of a community technology center. Eckstein has a BA in Public Policy from Brown University and an MA in Elementary Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Congratulations!

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