SPRING 2016
Celebrating Sixty Years at the
Learning Leaders Spring Gala
Parents collaborate during a Families Fostering Success
volunteer training.
FAMILIES FOSTERING
SUCCESS EMPOWERS
NEW PARENT LEADERS
This school year, Learning Leaders and
the NYC Department of Education have
collaborated on an exciting new initiative—Families Fostering Success, a project
designed to boost family engagement in
the City’s schools through structured volunteer and parent workshop programs.
Over 400 parents have been trained in
Districts 4, 9, 16, 29, 30, 31 and 75 to
assume leadership roles in their schools
through meaningful volunteer assignments.
The districts, at least one in each borough,
were selected to target schools where
current parent involvement and volunteer
opportunities are limited. Parent coordinators and staff at participating schools will
receive training and support to enable them
to manage the volunteer programs. Parents are already engaged in new volunteer
roles in more than 50 schools this spring
semester.
The second component of Families Fostering
Success will focus on parents with limited
English proficiency, and will reach up to
500 families. Learning Leaders will work
with 20 of its partner schools that have a
high proportion of English Language Learners, to deliver family workshops tailored to
school communities’ needs and conducted
continued page 4
Over 250 guests gathered on
May 11th at Tribeca Three Sixty°
for the 2016 Learning Leaders
Spring Gala. The event launched
Learning Leaders’ sixtieth year in
helping NYC students succeed
and honored two New Yorkers
who, in the words of Executive
Director Jane Heaphy, “act every
day on their belief in the equalizing power of education.”
John Sexton, President Emeritus Executive Director Jane Heaphy (center) with gala honorees John
Sexton and Jeremy Koch.
of New York University, was honored for his visionary leadership in higher education and his advocacy for increased accessibility to education for students from diverse backgrounds. Sexton commended Learning
Leaders as an invaluable resource for NYC’s children and shared his personal reflections
on why parents are so important to children’s academic success, citing the love of learning
that was instilled in him by his mother. Jeremy Koch, Chair of the Learning Leaders Board
of Trustees, was recognized for his dedication to the advancement of family engagement in
NYC public schools, as both a longtime volunteer and Learning Leaders trustee. “Learning
Leaders is a unique organization with a depth of experience and expertise that comes from
sixty years of partnering with schools and families to support student success,” said Koch.
“It has evolved over time and is more focused in its mission and more productive today
than ever before.”
Chancellor Carmen Fariña, the evening’s special guest speaker, spoke about her long relationship with Learning Leaders—as a principal, superintendent, deputy chancellor and now
chancellor. The gala also featured speakers from the Learning Leaders community, including Guy Reavis, Director of Programs; Laura Frutos de Zelada a parent volunteer from P.S.
20 in Queens; and P.S. 94 Bronx principal Diane DaProcida. Ms. Frutos de Zelada got
involved with Learning Leaders when she found out her son had ADHD. “I wanted to learn
as much as possible about how to support him,” she said.
The evening was an opportunity to celebrate
a milestone year, honoring how Learning
Leaders was formed in 1956 by a passionate group of women who wanted to support
public schools and how it has evolved to
NYC’s leading family engagement organization.
Director of Programs Guy Reavis (center) with guest
speakers Laura Frutos de Zelada and Diane DaProcida.
The gala raised over half a million dollars to
help fund Learning Leaders programming to
engage families and communities to support public school student success. Learning
continued page 2
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Learning Leaders is at the
forefront of parent and community
involvement in education in NYC.
Our programs are proven to enhance
student achievement by providing
individualized tutoring and assistance
to schools and increasing parents’ ability
to foster their children’s education.
SPRING GALA continued
Leaders wishes to thank the gala’s lead sponsors: Citi; Latham & Watkins, LLP; Caryn & Jim
Magid; New York University; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP; Skadden, Arps,
Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; and Time Warner Cable Inc.
Board of Trustees
Jeremy B. Koch, Chairman
George P. Davison, Vice Chairman
and Secretary
Lauren Blum, Treasurer
Phyllis A. Chernin
Jesse Comart
Marianne D. Cooper
Betsy Gotbaum
Cynthia Greenleaf Fanton
Carol Kellermann
Mickie Kerson
Ellen Kier
Marc Lawrence-Apfelbaum
Caryn L. Magid
Cayre Michas
Ellen Needham
Walter G. Nollmann
John S. Redpath, Jr.
Marjorie M. Smith
Iris Weinshall Schumer
M. David Zurndorfer
Honorary Trustees
Elsie V. Aidinoff
Kitty Fisk Ames
Nancy Fessenden
Arlyn S. Gardner
Alice L. Halsted
Mary W. Heller
Mrs. Russel H. Patterson, Jr.
Marge Scheuer
Joan Blum Shayne
LEARNING LEADERS
75 Maiden Lane, Suite 801
New York, NY 10038
212.213.3370
www.learningleaders.org
facebook.com/learningleaders
twitter.com/learningleaders
flickr.com/learningleaders_org
youtube.com/learningleaders
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Learning Leaders trustee Jesse Comart with guests Marissa
Comart, Katherine Sexton, and Eric Gurian.
John Sexton with NYU students.
Members of the Learning Leaders Board of Trustees.
Learning Leaders trustee Cayre Michas (center) with Shawn
Evans and Cathy Price.
MathSolvers Launches in Bronx Schools
This spring Learning Leaders partnered with BEAM (Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics)
to launch a new math enrichment program in middle schools—MathSolvers—which addresses
the need for cultivating greater interest and achievement in math and related fields. The pilot
launched in two Bronx schools—MS 101 and MS 244—in early May.
MathSolvers is based on the format of Learning Leaders’ successful book discussion group
program, BookTalk. Each participating MathSolvers school will establish two math clubs, each
made up of four to six students and led by two volunteers. The students will meet weekly and
work together to solve puzzles and logic problems. Students are selected by their teachers
based on their promise in math. The program aims to encourage enthusiasm for and confidence
in the subject and to increase students’ critical thinking, problem solving skills and teamwork
through fun, inquiry-based learning.
The program’s curriculum is aligned with the Common Core, and Learning Leaders family and
community volunteers will be selected and trained to lead the math clubs. On completing the
clubs’ programs, students will attend a culminating event at their schools, and be invited to apply
to BEAM’s summer math program.
“MathSolvers is about helping young people see math as fun,” says Learning Leaders Director
of Programs Guy Reavis. “With this pilot, we’re excited to bring our forces together with BEAM
to broaden students’ math horizons.”
Full Circle: BookTalk Volunteer
Janice Gordon Helps Young
Readers in Queens
Learning Leader Janice Gordon calls herself “a late bloomer.” While
volunteering at her children’s school, she discovered a love of teaching and left a career in publishing to become a full-time educator. A
Queens native, she attended elementary school at PS 94 in Little
Neck; her children attended PS 98 in Douglaston. She returned to
teach at her alma mater PS 94, then went on to become principal
at the Bronx Little School. Now retired, she volunteers at PS 209 in
Queens, co-leading a fourth grade BookTalk group.
As a teacher, principal, and now volunteer, Janice Gordon has seen the
full arc of Learning Leaders programming. She has witnessed—both
in her own classroom and as an administrator—how Learning Leaders
empowers families to fully participate in their children’s school, and
how volunteering can offer advancements in education and career.
When she became principal at Bronx Little School, over half the
student population were Spanish-speaking, and 20% spoke Bengali.
Parents wanted to help out in any way that they could, but many, especially non-native speakers, were intimidated by the NYC school
system. The Learning Leaders program was their way in. “They became
allies for the school,” says Ms. Gordon, “in supporting the school and
representing it to other parents.”
Parent Coordinator Loida Guzman, at the helm of the Bronx Little
School Learning Leaders program, fondly remembers Ms. Gordon’s
leadership. “She had high expectations for our students; she never
gave up on kids.” Ms. Guzman says the Learning Leaders trainings and
workshops reinforced the fact “that parents are children’s first teachers.” The program gave Bronx Little School parents “the confidence to
go into classrooms and work with children.” Both mothers and fathers
Volunteer Janice Gordon with her BookTalk students at PS 209 in Queens.
volunteered in the classroom and beyond. “Their kids took such pride
in the fact that they were in the school,” says Ms. Gordon. The parents,
she said, took pride in their leadership roles. Volunteering, she says,
gave them “a sense of belonging.”
Ms. Gordon is looking forward to traveling and spending more time with
her family, including two new grandchildren, but she has committed to
volunteering both in the classroom and with BookTalk at PS 209. What
does she enjoy most about BookTalk? “The kids are starting to become
very comfortable with the idea that they can have opinions,” she says,
“that there can be questions that aren’t easily answered.” Exploring the
author’s purpose, she say, is key to Common Core learning standards.
Not only must students understand that authors write with intention,
but also that “there isn’t only one way to look at it.”
Under Ms. Gordon’s guidance, the BookTalk students gain critical
thinking skills that boost their work in the classroom. Not only are
they celebrating a love of language and storytelling, but also pushing
themselves to make bold interpretations, and that’s exactly what Ms.
Gordon has in mind. “I hope it will make them deeper thinkers.”
DISTRICT 75 PROGRAMS ENGAGE
PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS
As part of the Families Fostering Success initiative, Learning Leaders is bringing our programs to a pilot group of District 75 schools,
which serve students with special needs, including physical disabilities,
autism and learning disabilities. School administrators and parents
were excited about fuller parent engagement for the mutual benefits it offers—more support and resources in schools, and hands-on
learning opportunities for parents. In January, Learning Leaders conducted a two part, six-hour training for 18 parents from four schools.
Learning Leaders staff facilitated the sessions in conjunction with
NYC DOE personnel who provided information on the kinds of classifications students have and their corresponding educational plans.
As a result, four schools have new cohorts of Learning Leaders—parents working to improve school climate, reach out to other parents,
help with special activities, such as school performances, and more. In
May, Learning Leaders will conduct a second training, engaging even
more parents as new volunteers in District 75 schools.
Executive Director Jane Heaphy with newly trained volunteers in District 75.
Executive Director Jane Heaphy says that parents in all schools, of
all children, need to be involved for the greatest possible academic
success. “Over the years,” she says, “we have heard from many parents of children with disabilities that they want the same opportunities
Learning Leaders provides in general education settings. To measure
the feasibility, we talked to many parents, school administrators and
teachers, and determined that our parent volunteer model and parentcapacity building through workshops would adapt easily to schools in
District 75. In our first parent volunteer training, we co-facilitated with
NYC DOE staff from District 75, who added content to our regular
curriculum. The reception from parents and schools in our first cohort
has been warm and enthusiastic.”
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FAMILIES FOSTERING SUCCESS continued from page 1
in the parents’ first languages, which include Spanish, Mandarin, and
Bengali. Additionally, two community workshops providing information
to support parents as learning partners will further increase language
access, with the first being delivered in Mandarin and the second in
Spanish. These sessions will be held in June in partnership with the
Queens and Brooklyn libraries.
“This transformative family engagement partnership between FACE
and Learning Leaders champions the DOE’s commitment to build trust
and develop parent leaders in our school communities regardless of their
native language and zip code,” says Yolanda Torres, Executive Superintendent, Division of Family and Community Engagement. “Schools
with strong community partnerships empower parents to become more
involved in the education process, leading to student achievement.”
Thank you to
the Booth Ferris
Foundation
for its very generous grant
to underwrite a new study
on the impact of Learning
Leaders’ work.
Learning Leaders Presents
at Family Engagement Panel
Executive Director Jane Heaphy presented at the “Family
Engagement: Partnering For Student Success” panel on March
23rd, convened by NYC Youth Funders, Philanthropy New
York and Donors’ Education Collaborative. The goal of the
panel was to explore the role of family engagement in student
success and to outline critical issues and challenges in developing strategies for effectively partnering with parents. The
session included a keynote on transformative family engagement by Megan Hester of the Annenberg Institute for School
Reform, and highlighted the work of organizations which
have developed successful programs with parents/families
and youth. Steven Choi, Executive Director for the New
York Immigration Coalition, moderated the panel on citywide
initiatives which included NYC Department of Education and
Learning Leaders.
The panelists, together, demonstrated the research findings
that family engagement, to be effective, must be relational,
linked to learning and must recognize parents as partners. Jane
Heaphy talked about the important shift that’s going on now
from seeing educational success as something that happens
despite parents, to instead seeing it as something that happens
with parents’ support, because of parents’ support.