Dear Partners,
We are looking forward to the seeing you all at our School-Age Roundtable tomorrow. Our guest speaker will be Principal Lucia Orduz. There will be a special presentation and breakfast at 9:30 am from Scholastic on their educational resources and newest campaign.
School-Age Roundtable
Wednesday, July 10th | 10:00 am
Children’s Aid | 958 E. 176th St.
RSVP Here
Strong schools are an important component to spreading academic success in our South Bronx neighborhoods. SBRT’s school partnerships emphasize how a collective impact approach can drive better educational outcomes for all students in Bronx Community District 3. We are excited to bring school leaders together with stakeholders to collaborate for results!
Join us tomorrow to hear more about the work of local schools and to learn more about how you can join our campaign for educational success.
All Succeed In School
Luis Torres is the Principal of C.S. 55, a member of SBRT’s Leadership Council, and a passionate advocate for educational equity. Read below to learn more about his approach to improving outcomes for South Bronx students and families.
1. What do you attribute to your success?
I attribute my vision and our success to understanding what I call the “Fifth Priority.” For many families, food, shelter, safety, and health come before education. As a principal, I have been able to create a school that works to address these four basic needs so that families can ensure their children are able to attend school.
2. What support do you need from the local community to have greater outcomes?
In order to better serve my community, we need equal investment in the community. The standards outside the school need to match the standards within the school. For a long time people believed the school would fix the ailments of the community. The reality is that we must invest in the school and the community equally.
3. How do you use data for attendance improvement efforts?
All of our children who have issues with attendance are assigned a “success mentor.” This mentor uses the data to regularly check in with the student and contact the parents when necessary. We also look at the data to figure out what is causing children to be absent. One year, we saw that children were mostly absent during rainy days, so we purchased umbrellas for the families. Anther year, parents were complaining that they were late because they overslept, so we purchased alarm clocks.