Our team is hiring for the following positions:
Collective Impact Manager of Organizational Partnerships
Parent Council Summer Associate (AmeriCorps)
Communications Summer Associate (AmeriCorps)
Learn more about the positions and apply here!
Civic Engagement Youth Fellowship
2020 was an extremely difficult year for Bronx students. With significant cuts to the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), a sudden shift to remote learning that widened the learning gap between many low-income students without access to technology and their more affluent peers; the COVID-19 pandemic that disproportionately impacted the Bronx, and a national uprising against police brutality in communities of color; young adults have had a unique vantage point in understanding how government policies can serve and harm New York City communities.
In November 2021, NYC will see major changes across the elected positions of government. Two thirds of citywide elected officials—the mayor and the comptroller—will be term-limited out of office, as will four of the five borough presidents, and most of the 51-seat City Council will also be on the ballot. This includes the City Council members for all districts in the Bronx (11-18), and the Bronx Borough President. Bronx residents have the opportunity to help shape the future of city politics and policies by electing officials that truly represent their needs and interests.
In response to our communities and in collaboration with our Bronx-based partners, South Bronx Rising Together will convene a cohort of 25 young people between the ages of 16 and 24 in Bronx community district 3 (CD3) to provide a comprehensive racial justice and civics education centered around local government structures and policies, both historical and in the present day. This 8-month program will culminate in two major voter turnout efforts led by the cohort in Bronx CD3 for the primary and general elections. Throughout this fellowship opportunity, we will be proving partners with resources for the upcoming elections in June and November.
Here’s what you need to know as we’re 9 weeks out from the June 22 Primary Election:
Ranked Choice Voting
All New York City primary and special elections will use ranked-choice voting protocols. Ranked-choice voting enables voters to rank up to 5 candidates in order of preference. If a candidate receives more than 50% of first-choice votes, they win the election. If no candidates meet the 50% threshold, an instant run-off begins. The candidate with the lowest number of first-choice votes is automatically eliminated and their votes get redistributed to voters’ second-choice candidate on the ballots. For example, if you voted for the candidate that had the lowest number of first-choice votes, your second-choice vote is then counted. This process is repeated for each round until there are only two candidates left. The candidate with the most votes wins.
Learn more about ranked-choice voting here.
Voter Registration Deadline
Are you registered to vote? Check here to check!
To ensure you’re able to vote in the Primary Election (June 22), you must be registered to vote by May 28, 2021. You can do this in-person, online, or by mail.
January Attendance Data Release
The NYC Department of Education recently released disaggregated data capturing student attendance for the month of January. Though we recognize attendance is not synonymous with engagement, attendance data is of particular interest during a time when education advocates are trying to better understand how students are experiencing remote learning.
Advocates for Children of New York published a brief in response to this data release and found the following:
Students living in shelter had by far the lowest attendance rate of any student group: 75.7%, 14.1 percentage points lower than the rate for their permanently-housed peers. Ninth, tenth, and twelfth graders in shelter had attendance rates of just 64-67%, meaning they missed around one out of every three school days.
English Language Learners (ELLs) and students with disabilities in grade 10, along with ELL twelfth graders—roughly 30,000 students in all—missed approximately one out of every four school days.
The attendance rate for ELL tenth graders was 10.1 percentage points lower than the 2018-19 attendance rate for ELLs in tenth grade, a notably larger decline than for non-ELLs; students with disabilities also saw larger drops in attendance, relative to the 2018-19 school year, than their peers without disabilities.
Included in the brief is a set of recommendations for how the City should utilize the $7 billion in federal education COVID-19 funding. Find the full brief here.
Partner Corner
Apply for 3K
As of February 24, 3K and Pre-K applications have opened to the public. Families that have a child born in 2018 are now eligible to submit a 3K Application, and the deadline to apply is May 28. More information, including how to apply, can be found here.
Per Scholas Help Desk
The Per Scholas NY Help Desk is a free service available to local residents and small businesses in New York City. Trained and certified Per Scholas alumni can support you with the following technical issues:
Software: Microsoft 365, Zoom, Cisco WebEx
OS: Windows, Linux and Mac OS
Hardware: Printers, routers and other commonly used devices
Advice on virus removal and protection, data back-up, upgrades, device troubleshooting, networking and more
To access the Help Desk, click here.
Upcoming Events
Bronx Impact Food Access Collective: April 27 at 12:30 p.m.
This group of community advocates is working to realize a collective vision of food justice for all Bronx residents by identifying policy and programmatic strategies to address the structural inequities which repress equitable access to food and nutrition. The group meets bi-weekly on Tuesdays.