PCSD takes next step in joining My Brother’s Keeper community
December 14, 2023 at 1:08 a.m.
Schools are for more than education.
“I always told my staff that between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., for many of our students, it’s probably the safest time of the day for them,” said Fred Griffin, vice president of the Port Chester/Rye branch of the NAACP. “And probably the only time of day for them where they can feel successful.”
A retired school principal, Griffin believes new ideas must be introduced into the Port Chester School District, an economically and racially diverse entity, to allow all students to receive the same opportunity to be successful. And it has been moving towards that goal.
Jaziel Villadares Rivera, a participant in the Rams Rising program at Port Chester Middle School, which helped lead way to the district’s interest in the My Brother’s Keeper community, tries on some police gear with the help of Rye Brook Police Officer Orelvis Lazala, who could be a future school resource officer in the district. As the My Brother’s Keeper program would embolden community partnerships, the summit hosted various organizations and entities that have relations with the district.By David Tapia
After a unanimous vote by the Port Chester Board of Education allowed the district to pursue joining the My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) community in September, the administration has taken the next step towards that goal.
On Monday, Dec. 11, the Port Chester Schools held a “Local Action Summit,” a meeting where representatives of the district, students and members of the community were invited to gather and assess the needs of pupils and determine priorities. In the Port Chester Middle School cafeteria, Superintendent Dr. Aurelia Henriquez joined Dr. Maeva Kennedy, the director of guidance, in expressing their shared excitement and optimism for the future of the district within the MBK community.
The MBK Challenge, an initiative created in 2014 by the President Barack Obama administration to help combat the unique obstacles seen by young men of color, has a strong community in New York State. Over 30 school districts participating in the program have access to the $20 million investment made by the state to close the opportunity gap that is commonly found in the program’s target population. When a district joins the community, it gains access to a wide array of resources.
Primarily, the Port Chester School District would gain the opportunity to apply for the MBK Challenge Grant—a pool of $6 million that is distributed among affiliated districts to work with community organizations to improve family engagement. It’s the kind of program that Henriquez believes Port Chester is well suited to, as the district has a proud, longstanding tradition bolstering community partnerships.
“We have an incredible and caring community,” she said after the summit. “There have been so many people who volunteer their help to support the work that we’re doing in the school district.”
That public support was reflected in the attendance at the event. Originally intended to take place in the library of the school, the summit was moved to a larger venue—the cafeteria—due to the high volume of interest, Henriquez said.
“The goal of My Brother’s Keeper is all about community engagement and showing support for all of our students,” Henriquez said. In that vein, she and Kennedy elected to combine the summit with a community resource fair.
At tables lining the walls of the cafeteria, various organizations like Meals on Main Street, Family Services of Westchester and the Carver Center gave out cards and pamphlets to interested families, both before and after the summit.
During the presentation itself, Henriquez emphasized how MBK will supplement other initiatives in the district, in particular the Rams Rising program at the middle school and the high school Principal’s Promise Academy. Both are relatively new programs that aim to provide at-risk students with mentorship and secondary education planning, with the intent to best prepare them for the future.
Port Chester Middle School Co-Principal Bryant Romano and High School Principal Luke Sotherden both spoke of the programs in their respective buildings, presenting a handful of students who participated in them with certificates, including middle schooler Noah Thomas and high school senior Joshua Ayala.
Sotherden expressed that joining the MBK community will allow the Principal’s Promise Academy to help even more students.
“We’re excited to be a part of MBK now, to try to expand that initiative,” Sotherden said. “We want to build on helping students create their passions, create their visions for success after high school, and we’re excited to be able to do that at a greater capacity.”
Among the many speakers at the summit were Port Chester Mayor Luis Marino, Board of Education President Lou Russo and State Senator Shelley Mayer. All spoke on the impact that MBK has had in other districts and shared their optimism for how the program will help shape a better future for Port Chester students.
The exact details of what MBK will bring to Port Chester are still being hashed out, as the district is still in the process of joining the MBK community.
The four-step procedure is now halfway complete, with the next stage being to perform a policy review to determine what can be done to achieve the goals of the MBK program—such as reading at proficient levels by the third grade and completing post-secondary education or training. Then an action plan must be developed and launched based on that study.
Henriquez is looking forward to the work ahead.
“We’re going to be looking at the data, working with groups of students, leaders, teachers and parents,” she said. “We’ll see what stories the data tells in terms of initiatives and things we can do to improve our support of our young boys. We’ll be working on our action plan.”
She stated that while not required, the district will provide the plan to the public soon, most likely at a Board of Education meeting.
The final step would be to enact the proposed outline which would cement the district’s place in the MBK community with the New York State Education Department. Though there is still work to be done, Henriquez and her team are looking forward to the possibilities that MBK will bring to the district and its students.
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