This photo of Puerto Rican mother and child embarking on a dangerous journey across the river in the mountain region to find shelter and safety, is one of thousands of stories of survival that our families, brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico have endured over the past two months. More than 85% of the island is without electricity, clean drinking water and access to food and nutrition.

There are several organizations that are dedicated to rebuilding Puerto Rico and making sure that the people of Puerto Rico know that they are not alone. "Save the Children” is one such organization.  They are dedicated to making sure children are safe and able to recover physically and emotionally after the devastating storm," said Casey Harrity, emergency response team leader for Save the Children in Puerto Rico.

Our charter school strives to develop students who are global citizens and socially responsive and are celebrating Puerto Rican Heritage Month.

A group of our scholars started a Humanitarian Campaign for Puerto Rico which focused on the needs of the most vulnerable- infants. They engaged the school community to collect hundreds of items that includes pampers, baby formula and sanitary wipes and infant clothing.

This collection over the past 40 days will be shipped to nurseries and clinics in the mountain region of Cayey, Puerto Rico. Our school community is dedicated to joining the movement to bring awareness of this humanitarian crisis and making sure that the people of Puerto Rico know that there are high school students from the Bronx that want to contribute to the rebuilding.  Towards that end, we have organized an event where parents, students and staff can join in a spirit of celebration and united for an important cause. Please join us for an evening of celebration through art, music and dance and bring your donations.
 

Seventh Annual College Fair

Our charter school hosted the Seventh Annual College Fair which was very well attended by admissions representatives from SUNY, CUNY and Private Independent Colleges and Universities. Our scholars enthusiastically greeted all admissions representatives and walked away with many Institutions of Higher Education to choose from. We would like to thank our partners from Manhattan College, Fordham University, The College of Mount Saint Vincent and SUNY Stony Brook.
 

A Celebration of Puerto Rican Heritage
Our school recently organized an event where parent students and staff joined in a spirit of celebration and support of our people on the island.

The celebration included a folkloric dance performance by Bombazo Dance Company, directed by Milteri Tucker and the unveiling of our Leaders of Inspiration Art Installation, curated by artist Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez, and creator of La Borinqueña, a comic book that has been garnering much positive attention and tells the story of a Puerto Rican female SuperShero.

Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez is the director and owner of Somos Arte. He is also a writer for Marvel Comics and Editor-in-Chief of Darryl Make Comics.

Milteri Tucker is a dancer, choreographer and scholar. She was born and raised in Puerto Rico and holds degrees in Dance, Biology, Chemistry and a master in Dance Education.

View Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez's Facebook Live video
(must be logged into Facebook) 

Eleventh Annual Professional Development Retreat

Our faculty and staff enjoyed a weekend of professional development and team building at the Palisades Conference Center in Palisades, New York.

The sessions ranged from communication, collaboration, to main features of our Instructional Model that is rooted in Rigor, Engagement, Accelerated Learning and Student Achievement.
 
One of the main goals of the retreat was to align the practice with the school mission and performance goals as part of a Professional Learning Community.

The retreat also facilitated time for school leaders to collaborate on critical school initiatives and increase their capacity as a team.

All participants left the experience with a renewed sense of purpose, a stronger vision for their team, and clear direction for addressing challenges in and out of the classroom

Ms. Malala Yousafzai, the 20-year-old Pakistani-born activist who survived an assassination attempt is the world’s youngest Nobel laureate, was accepted to Oxford University.  According to Malala, she is “So excited to go to Oxford!! done to all A-level students — the hardest year. Ms. Yousafzai said she would be studying philosophy, politics and economics, or PPE, which “the Oxford degree that runs Britain.”

On her first day at Oxford, Malala tweeted:
5 years ago, I was shot in an attempt to stop me from speaking out for girls' education. Today, I attend my first lectures at Oxford. pic.twitter.com/sXGnpU1KWQ
— Malala (@Malala) Oct. 9, 2017
 
Our school community in the Bronx is very proud of her and we wish her the very best in her new achievement!

Renaissance:  Music on Wheel

Our school has partnered with the Renaissance Youth Center to bring their Music on Wheels initiative to our scholars. The program provides music instruction and use of instruments to our students twice a week.

Students are able to choose their instrument of choice and will learn to play the instrument for the duration of the program. At the end of the program students will perform to showcase the skills they have learned.