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Top New Haven not-for-profits have invited 150 colleagues to design their contribution to New Haven’s ambitious school reform drive. City and non profit leaders announced a new partnership called BOOST at city hall press conference Thursday afternoon.
City and non profit leaders announced a new partnership called “BOOST” at City Hall press conference Thursday afternoon. The plan represents the not-for-profit sector’s organized entrance into the school reform drive, following on the heels of the business community. The fledgling reform drive aims to cut the achievement gap, cut the drop out rate in half, and prepare each high school graduate for college.
Under BOOST, the non-profits’ aim to provide “wraparound” outside-the-classroom services that kids and schools need to succeed.
Leading the partnership will be the United Way of Greater New Haven. Its CEO, Jack Healy (pictured at the top of the story with schools chief Reggie Mayo), described these services as non-academic yet critical to each kid’s academic success.
BOOST will focus on social and emotional behavioral supports; a way for families to be involved in the school system; student enrichment like tutoring programs; and physical health and wellness.
United Way is providing a full-time staff person. The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven promises to drum up corporate and other support for the effort.
A website, www.boostnewhaven.org will soon be up and running. The kick-off event for the design of the program is a briefing at the Lawn Club on March 23 at 3:30 p.m. All citywide non-profits are invited to participate and participate in the planning..
Not-for-profits abound in New Haven. Of them, the mayor said, “We’re challenged [because] they’re not always coordinated, focused, and there are gaps.”
“The real task before BOOST is coordination,” agreed Healy. Not creating new organizations, but streamlining and capitalizing on what exists. To that end, he said, the first step will be to assess each school’s needs and keep the focus on the non-academic, unfulfilled needs of the kid population.
By way of example, Healy said, “Let’s say a kid is depressed in class. Then he goes to the Boys and Girls Club and he’s acting up.” A staffer at the club should be in touch with the teacher, and then on to the family to provide what the child needs. The ultimate goal is “seamless communication between the professionals working inside the school and the community.”
A pilot program is scheduled to be place in September at six schools, two from each of the three tiers into which schools are being categorized, per the reform initiative.
“Once we get it [BOOST} right, we’ll take it to scale,” Healy said. That would mean all the schools in the system by 2011, he estimated.
Of the four areas where the non-profits are to provide kids help, Superintendent Mayo said, “They’re all important. But the social and emotional is where we have the least resources.”
BOOST was generally well received by the dozen or so not-for-profit executives who attended Thursday afternoon’s press conference. Rachel K. Heerema, who heads the Citywide Youth Coalition, hailed in particular what she called the “school by school approach. That’s how kids are, they live in neighborhoods, and this [BOOST] seems to understand it.”
Gubernatorial hopeful Ned Lamont (pictured with Mayo), who has been touting New Haven’s school reform drive, popped by the press conference. He pronounced himself equally impressed.
“Each kid and each school is different, and they’re customizing and reaching out to the whole kid,” he said.