Students at one Bronx school got a blast from the past Tuesday. The Jurassic World Live tour stopped by Mott Haven Academy to teach students how prehistoric times impact the modern world.
The tour featured Olive, a life-sized baby stegosaurus who let students have a hands-on learning experience. Principal Ashlyn Field says it’s part of a district initiative to add more science into the students’ curriculum. “We a few years ago decided that we don’t have enough science in our curriculum, so we overhauled K to 5 and added a lot of science into it and so students a learning about pushes and pulls and forces and plants and animals and survival,” says Field.
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New York Foundling President & CEO Bill Baccaglini appeared on Spectrum News NY1’s In Focus to discuss The Foundling’s work in Puerto Rico, and what is needed to provide stability and support within the communities that are most impacted by the ongoing earthquakes.
The Foundling has been providing Head Start and Early Head Start programs on the island for decades, providing vital support to 1,500 children and families on the island. Joined by Luis Miranda, Founding Partner of The MirRam Group and a leading voice for NYC’s Hispanic community, and Frances Lucerna, Co-founder and Executive Director of the NYC/Puerto Rico-based non-profit El Puente, Mr. Baccaglini discusses the mental health services we’re committed to providing as we look ahead, how children and families in the regions most impacted by the earthquakes are doing, and what needs to be done in terms of rebuilding Puerto Rico’s infrastructure and communities.
Nationally, as many as 3 out of 5 students enter school below grade level. The numbers are even higher for low-income students and children of color. To address this problem, some educators and policymakers advocate for more access to higher-quality instructional materials — grade-appropriate curriculum and content that are standards-aligned, coherent and easy for teachers and students to use.
Others argue that personalization — which strives to give students more choice over their learning, access to a variety of content based on interests and needs, and flexible pacing, all driven by continuous use of data to inform instructional decisions and often using technology — is the key to postsecondary success. However, personalized learning alone does not dramatically improve student learning outcomes. Swapping one curriculum out for another is also not a panacea, especially without ongoing professional learning supports for teachers.
Given that neither of these approaches — more access to grade-level content or to personalized strategies — is enough to help students who are behind, what is the answer? The key is to do both.
Some schools, usually new or existing schools that want to avoid multiple implementation cycles, roll out a high-quality curriculum and personalization at the same time. Mott Haven Academy Charter School, a pre-K-8 school in New York City that serves foster children and students in the child-welfare system, decided on this approach after years of seeing English Language Arts test scores hovering around the state average — a comparatively strong performance for a vulnerable student population, but below the school’s big goals.
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On Tuesday, a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Puerto Rico leveling buildings, destroying roads and infrastructure, and causing a massive power outage across the island. Despite the conditions and wreckage, our dedicated and determined Head Start and Early Head Start staff won’t back down. They are visiting families, assessing damage and immediate needs, and doing everything they can to comfort and support not only the kids, but parents, family members and the entire community.
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When The Foundling launched its charter school, Haven Academy, more than a decade ago, it marked the beginning of an effort to understand the educational needs of children in foster care and to develop measurable, replicable strategies for meeting those needs. Simply put, ensuring the future well-being of these children must include providing them with an adequate education.
The Foundling’s education conference on November 19 – “Safeguarding Their Futures” – further placed the education of children in the child welfare system front and center. For a full day, experts from around the country convened to describe their own efforts and to share information about effective programs and research from New York and around the United States.
Made possible with support from the Conrad Hilton Foundation, this may have been the first conference of its kind, and we hope it’s not the last. Collaborating and brainstorming with other professionals, reviewing data and learning about effective programs, is essential if we are to raise education on the agenda throughout our child welfare system.
David Hansell, ACS Commissioner
ACS Commissioner David Hansell kicked off the event and set the tone right from the outset. “Education,” he said, “is central to everything we do at ACS.”
We heard about several promising new programs from Jess Dannhauser, President and CEO or Graham Windham; Julie Farber, Deputy Commissioner of ACS; and our own Jessica Nauiokas, Head of School at Haven Academy. Janis Avery, CEO of Seattle-based nonprofit Treehouse, described her organization’s goal of raising graduation rates among children in foster care to match those of the general population.
Maryanne Schretzman, NYC Center for Innovation through Data Intelligence
Jennifer Pokempner, Senior Attorney for the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia, described the current state of federal law. And we heard a fascinating presentation of research findings from a panel that included Mark Courtney of the University of Chicago, Vanessa Xiemenes Barrat of WestEd, Amy Dworsky of Chapin Hall, and Maryanne Schretzman of the NYC Center for Innovation through Data Intelligence.
Those of you who are familiar with The Foundling’s work in this area may already know how our educational programming has grown beyond Haven Academy, providing coaches to high school students and partnering with ACS and CUNY on The Dorm Project, supporting the education and life needs of youth from the foster care system as they attend college on CUNY campuses. These programs have proven extremely effective – putting many kids on a trajectory toward a successful life.
Still, these programs are small compared to the overall population. Most children in the child welfare system are attending public schools that, through no fault of their own, are ill-equipped to deal with their unique challenges. Only 9% of foster youth in middle school in New York City are proficient in math. Only 25% graduate from high school on time. Many change schools multiple times over the course of a school year as their addresses change.
Clearly, there is much to be done and many challenges ahead. All of us must keep this conversation going, continue supporting and conducting research, sharing information and collaborating with each other. This conference was an important milestone and we are proud to have been part of it.
Interested in learning more? View the full video of the conference below:
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Thanksgiving came early at a Bronx charter school on Tuesday for more than 500 students — some of whom are homeless or in transitional housing.
The feast at Mott Haven Academy Charter School was part of an annual event that provides a traditional meal with all the trimmings for some of the neediest children in the South Bronx.
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Nine percent of foster youth who are in middle school in New York City are proficient in math compared to approximately 40% citywide. Only 25% of students in foster care graduate from high school on time compared to 45% citywide.
These were just a few of the numbers shared and discussed by education and foster care professionals from around the country at “Safeguarding Their Futures: Supporting the education of child-welfare involved children & youth,” a conference last week. They gathered at the New York Bar Association to share research and data gathering techniques and to brainstorm ways to collaborate across systems and agencies to make sure that youth in foster care get the education they need to succeed.
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En la escuela Charter Mott Haven Academy de El Bronx, el 25 por ciento de los estudiantes no tienen un hogar. Es la primera escuela en toda la ciudad que está dedicada a jóvenes sin techo.
“Tenemos un equipo de trabajadores sociales que trabajan desde el principio, cuando los niños comienzan aquí en la escuela, para asegurar que tengan uniformes, que tengan comida, transportación, para que tengan las mismas experiencias que tienen otros niños que no vienen de la misma situación”, explico Sara Touma, directora de grados de 6to a 8vo de la Charter Mott Haven Academy.
Con esto, la escuela trata evitar los efectos negativos que sufren los niños al no tener un lugar donde vivir. Según las cifras más recientes del departamento de educación del Estado, uno de cada 10 estudiantes de la ciudad de Nueva York no tiene un hogar. Tienen que vivir en un albergue o temporalmente con un familiar.
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Mott Haven Academy honored the important men in its students’ lives Thursday. The school kicked off its annual ” Bring Your Male Rode Model To School Day” with a fun photo shoot. At the event, students were seen with dads, grandpas, uncles and community leaders.
Some male teachers from the academy also got involved in the event. The school also hosted a panel discussion for the men. This created an open dialogue about their own role models. They were also able to share advice about everything from parenting to being an involved community member.
The day encouraged the men to build a support group with each other to continue these discussions outside of the school.
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Christina Young is one of a fraction of foster youth that make it all the way through to college graduation with a bachelor’s degree. Only 50% of foster youth graduate high school by the time they turn 18. Those that do graduate often do not fare well in college. Only 20% go on to post-secondary education. The numbers vary, but experts say that 1 to 11% finish their degree.
As a foster youth over 21, Young had been part of a pilot program called the Dorm Project. It offered a solution to one of the biggest problems facing foster youth: stable housing. It allowed Young and a few dozen other students to live in their dorm rooms all year. When other students went home for break or holidays, Young could stay in her room without having to navigate the complicated foster care system and worry about finding a new temporary home to live in until the semester went back into session.
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