Dear Partners,
As the year comes to a close, I want to personally thank you for all your contributions to the South Bronx Rising Together network and community. Since I’ve started with SBRT seven months ago, the thing I’ve come to appreciate the most about our partners is their unwavering, deeply held belief that our community is resilient, striving, and engaged. At CAN meetings, recent Roundtables, and in one-on-one conversations, the SBRT network affirmed again and again the existing strengths of our students and families.
Your conviction and work has personally impacted me and given me the greatest lesson to take into the new year: relationships matter. Data-driven strategies drive our efforts to change population-level outcomes, but we rely on individual relationships to inspire and create real change in our community. We must stay connected to residents and engage our community members in a deep and meaningful way.
As we turn the page to a new year, I look at the road ahead for the South Bronx Rising Together community with excitement! Below are a number of ways for you to get involved or to deepen your involvement with us in 2019:
Pre-school Enrollment
Access to early education is vital to a strong academic beginning for our children! Is your organization or program recruiting for 3-K, UPK, or Kindergarten slots? Click here to let us know how we can support your efforts.
South Bronx Playgroup
The South Bronx Playgroup in launching! On January 19th and 26th, we are having focus groups with parents and caregivers of children ages 0-3. Food and incentives will be provided. If you have families or community partners we should reach out to, please email our Family Organizer, Arlene Rivera.
School Success
Our K-12 work is expanding! We are looking to support schools and students in Crotona Park East, Melrose, and Morrisania improve outcomes in student attendance, early grade literacy, middle school math, and college readiness. We’ll be making an exciting announcement about this work in late January. In the meantime, if you would like to partner with us to help move these indicators, email me.
Happy New Year and see you all in 2019!
Sincerely,
Michael Partis