38 THE QUEENS COURIER • KIDS & EDUCATION • JUNE 27, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
kids & education
Seamless scholarship bucks for northwest Qns. students
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Students at PS 69 in Jackson Heights
were all smiles Wednesday when members
City expanding social-emotional learning at all schools
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
New York City public schools will soon
have to tools to help students manage
their emotions and repair harm caused
by crime.
On June 20, Mayor Bill de Blasio
announced that all city schools would
soon have access to Social-Emotional
Learning (SEL) and Restorative Justice
(RJ) practices in partnership with the
National University System’s Sanford
Harmony program.
Th e mayor in partnership with fi rst
lady Chirlane McCray and Schools
Chancellor Richard Caranza confi rmed
that the Department of Education
(DOE) would provide all elementary
schools an SEL curriculum. In addition,
clinical social workers will be on hand
to provide earlier intervention for children
in need.
On the middle and high school levels,
DOE and the Sanford Harmony program
will build RJ practices into the schools,
allowing students to name their emotions,
overcome confl icts and repair relationships.
According to the mayor’s offi ce, these
practices, which will be rolled out over
the next three years, are important in
order to help school communities be
more proactive in the changing
school culture
and climate.
“We’ve heard
from students,
teachers and parents
across our city, and as
a result, we’re revolutionizing
our school system
and giving our kids the
social-emotional tools
they need to ensure they
develop into healthy
adults,” said Mayor de
Blasio. “I’m proud that
New York City is leading the way in our
schools, using research-backed methods
that encourage the whole growth of every
student.”
Aspects of SEL are already part of the
city’s Universal Pre-K program, where
students are taught to identify and communicate
their emotions and deal with
stress. Lessons and activities for elementary
school children include relevant
training and lesson materials, daily student
meet-ups where they learn how to
engage with one another and a “buddy
up” system to teach students
how to get along.
Once students progress into middle
and high school, instructors
will reinforce SEL tenants with
Restorative Justice
lessons. Th ese lessons
de-emphasize
the sole reliance on
punitive discipline
and instead focus on
emotion identification,
confl ict resolution and
problem solving.
50 New York City
middle schools will also
receive more intensive
programming through
the Positive Learning Collaborative
model in collaboration with the United
Federation of Teachers. Th is restorative
approach to changing school climate will
be enhanced by the City Council’s new
Th rive initiative.
Th e initiative will provide the schools
with 85 borough-based licensed clinical
social workers who will directly support
teachers and help students facing emotional
distress from the point of crisis to
a handoff to long-term care, if necessary.
“As the sponsor of state legislation on
this important topic, I applaud the mayor
and chancellor’s eff orts to make schools
safe and welcoming environments for all
of our students,” said Assemblywoman
Cathy Nolan. “Schools must be places
where students feel comfortable and can
learn properly, and I look forward to
working with our schools, students and
families on this important issue at both
the city and state level.”
Several other reforms will also be enacted
as part of the new school climate package,
including a reform governing how
police operate in schools, a guide limiting
in-school arrests for low-level off enses
and a DOE discipline code keeping suspensions
below 20 days except in cases
involving serious or violent incidents.
“Thankfully, today’s announcement
shows that those voices did not
fall on deaf ears as the Department of
Education is now dedicating their eff orts
on social-emotional learning and restorative
justice as opposed to punitive justice.
Students should never be taken out
of a classroom in handcuff s or for extended
periods of time as a form of punishment
as those actions are prohibitive
to solving each student’s problems,” said
Councilman Donovan Richards, chair of
the Committee on Public Safety.
of NYC Kids RISE dropped off
a check for more than $300,000 to be
deposited in their scholarship accounts.
Th e nonprofi t organization has now
deposited more than a million dollars in
the accounts of students in District 30 as it
provides families, schools and communities
to work together to save for their children’s
college and career training futures.
“Th e Save for College Program is a
key piece of District 30’s commitment
to ensuring every student is prepared to
attend college and career training, and
achieve academic and economic success,”
District 30 Community Superintendent
Dr. Phillip Composto said. “From integrating
fi nancial education early on
in District 30’s school curricula to
‘Community Scholarships’ from entities
like Seamless and exceptional eff orts such
as Concert for College, we are creating a
true college-going culture across District
30 community, regardless of a family’s
economic or immigration status.”
Th e check delivered to PS 69 was the
result of fundraising by Seamless, the
city’s largest takeout app, through its
“Donate the Change” feature. To celebrate
Seamless’ 20th anniversary, customers
were able to round up their takeout
order totals and donate the diff erence
to support NYC Kids RISE during the
month of February.
“Seamless has been committed to
serving restaurants, diners, drivers, and
most importantly, the local community,”
Grubhub Director of Public Policy Sami
Naim said. “We were thrilled to mobilize
our diners to give back to a fantastic
organization like NYC Kids RISE each
time they ordered, making a huge collective
impact to benefi t kids in their local
neighborhoods and throughout New
York City.”
Th rough the Save for college program,
NYC Kids RISE has automatically opened
a dedicated 529 plan account for more
than 6,400 District 30 students. Each had
$48.89 deposited in their Save for College
account from the $300,437 check presented
from Seamless.
“Th e PS 69 community is proud to celebrate
this latest investment in our kindergarten
and fi rst-grade students’ educational
futures by members of our community
and supporters throughout New York
City,” PS 69 Principal Martha Vazquez
said. “Planning and paying for college and
career training can seem overwhelming
or are out of reach for many parents. But
thanks to our school and our community’s
work together, with NYC RISE, each
kindergartner and fi rst-grader is already
on their way to building savings for their
future.”
District 30 includes the neighborhoods
of Astoria, East Elmhurst, Long Island
City, Sunnyside, Woodside and Jackson
Heights.
“Th ese scholarships will put thousands
of public school students on the
pathway to college here in Queens” City
Councilman Daniel Dromm said. “As a
former public school teacher, I know that
higher education is oft en out of reach for
many low income families. Programs like
these help break those barriers down. I
thank Seamless and NYC Kids RISEfor
their work on this important initiative
and am pleased to off er them my full support.
Th ese early investments in our children
will pay off in dividends.”
For Murray Abeles, the Chief of
Administration and Finance at NYC Kids
RISE, the event was something of a homecoming.
“As a proud graduate of PS 69 graduate,
I’m thrilled to be back at my school
to announce this investment in our community’s
next generation,” Abeles said. “I
know how much my family and I would
have benefi tted from something like the
Save for College Program when I was a
PS 69 kindergartner. It’s an honor to celebrate
today with District 30’s kindergarten
and fi rst-grade students and their
families, who are already on the path to
college and career training.”
Photo courtesy of Mayor de Blasio’s offi ce
Courtesy of NYC Kids RISE
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
link
link
