End of an Era

As I write my final post for the PP55 blog, I am going to take this opportunity to be cheesy and cliche and just go ahead and say it: it is the end of a brief but truly transformational era for me. I have reached the end of my second fellowship year, and the dominant emotion I feel as I look back on these past two years is gratitude. I am so thankful that have been a part of this program. It has been integral to my development, both professional and personally. It wasn't just the jobs to which I was connected. The work was certainly the central component of my development, but it really was the sum of the parts: the work, the seminars, the mentoring opportunities, and the broader opportunity to connect with Princeton alums who are similarly dedicated to serving others and building up a new generation of civic-minded leaders. All of these elements taken together are what make me feel confident and well-equipped to take on a leadership position in marketing and development at Mount Carmel-Holy Rosary School in east Harlem. This sense of self-assurance and the accompanying certainty that I am heading down the right professional path is relatively new for me--it certainly isn't something I had in large quantities upon graduating from Princeton. Two years later, I am exceedingly grateful that I have moved out of that place of uncertainty and into a place of more self-confidence and self-awareness. This is not to say that I can accurately predict what I will be doing in ten years, or even in five. But my two fellowships have enriched my interest in the education sector and how business strategies and models can enhance its effectiveness. And, to understate things a little bit, they have confirmed me just how rewarding it is to be working every day to help a struggling family and better the future of a child. So, to wrap things up, thanks Project 55--it's been a great couple of years, and I look forward to remaining connected to the AlumniCorps community for more than a couple more!

New York Fellows Closing Dinner

Last night, the NY fellows, mentors, and key people in the PP55 program gathered at the home of Judy and Sam Suratt to celebrate the end of our fellowship year. It gave me a chance to stop and reflect on my experience as a Program Associate at the Association to Benefit Children (ABC).

My responsibilities at ABC have been many and varied. I have managed all reporting, communications, and analysis for ABC’s small permanent supportive housing program, which operates through a contract with the Department of Housing and Urban Development.  I have taken the lead on managing all contractual, regulatory, and compliance related tasks for ABC’s Youth Alliance program, Family Resource Center, and Emotional Wellness Screening Project. Additionally, I have had the great privilege of attending various coalition meetings as ABC’s main representative. My favorite meetings to attend were those of the NYC Coalition on the Continuum of Care, a coalition of homeless housing and shelter providers, consumers, advocates, and government representatives working together to shape citywide planning and decision-making around the issue of homelessness. Furthermore, I have worked with my colleagues, including PP55ers Julie Leary and Taylor Leyden, on submitting major applications in order to secure funds that allow ABC to continue to operate its programs and provide services. These were some of my responsibilities, among others, and I learned a lot.

When I think about how much we accomplished at ABC this year and how valuable the PP55 fellows have been to ABC, I know that the other fellows have made equally important contributions to their organizations. I’m so proud to have been a part of the 2012-2013 PP55 fellowship program. May the wind be at our backs as we start new journeys or continue on the ones we are on now!

May Highlights

There were many. One was getting to hear a little more about what the fellows in Connecticut are doing at their organizations--the Housing Developing Fund and the Norwalk Community Health Center--during a recent seminar that brought our two AlumniCorps communities together at the Rockefeller Foundation. Another was accepting a job in marketing and development at a Catholic elementary school in East Harlem--a position which I am thrilled about and feel extremely prepared for, thanks to my two PP55 fellowships. And a third was getting to see the American Ballet Company perform "Onegin" at Lincoln Center--for free, courtesy of Judy Hole, a very active member of the NYC AlumniCorps area committee. It's the perks like these that make me wonder...why am I not applying for a third fellowship?

Family Day

This past Saturday, NYCCD hosted our annual Family Day, in which 200+ children, parents, teachers, and other staff crammed into a well over-capacity gymnasium for a full-on carnival. It was quite a spectacle, complete with face-painting, arts and crafts, animal balloons, and a live band that cranked out kids' songs at maximum volume for almost the entire two hour-long event. Due to my extensive involvement in NYCCD's mental health program (as opposed to our preschool program), I was not as involved in planning and organizing the event as it seems like past fellows have been. The time that I spend at the school has been cut down to 6 to 7 hours per week, and I have not had the opportunity to get to know the children as well as I might have thought at the beginning of my fellowship. However, watching 100 preschoolers dance around like crazy people, their faces decorated with a creative combination of paint, ice cream, and goofy little-kid smiles, would have made anyone feel more than lucky to be witness to the circus unfolding in that old gym--no matter how little time they had spent with the dancers, or how much their fingers were blistered and reeking of latex from the hours spent tying balloon swords in preparation for their arrival. The whole day served to reaffirm the importance for me of finding mission-driven work after my fellowship wraps up in June. It's impossible to be unmotivated or uninspired at work when you have a concrete reminder of what you're working towards--even if that reminder comes in the form of blisters and the ever-lingering smell of balloons.

Parent Outreach in Action

As per usual, there have been many memorable moments during my last month at New York Center for Child Development, but I think one of the highlights for me was our Open House, in which NYCCD's preschool for special-needs children opened its doors to prospective parents who are sending their three-year-old's off to "real school" for the first time in the fall. I think everyone present was a little nervous--the parents were understandably concerned about finding the right fit for their child while navigating the complex special education system, the staff was hoping to set the parents at ease while selling the unique attributes of our school, and I in particular was nervous because my supervisor had asked me to "say something to the parents"--without providing much more guidance beyond this. As a natural planner who prefers to have everything laid out in advance when it comes to public speaking, I was feeling my share of the communal sense of nerves. What could I say to welcome these parents that the senior staff, all of whom had already spoken before me, could not say more articulately and more knowledgeably than me? Yet when it came time for me to speak, I was surprised by how easily the words flowed. I shared with them not only an overview of some of the projects I work on as Parent Outreach Coordinator--from PTA meetings to family events to parent satisfaction surveys to a parent email listserv that I have started this year--but also the overarching purpose of all of the work we do with and for parents. Namely, our goal is to ensure that all parents feel knowledgeable about their child's progress at school, equipped to support their child's development at home, and connected to the broader New York Center community. I didn't speak for very long, and I certainly did not say anything particularly groundbreaking, but I could tell by the look on the parents' faces that my words resonated with them and their hopes for their children. As I reflected on that moment, I realized how much I had learned about New York Center's work with families in the almost nine months that I have been there, and I was struck yet again the importance of our mission. New York Center works to better the lives not only of the children who enter its doors and benefit from its services, but those of the child's entire family. By engaging parents and ensuring that they feel supported throughout their child's entire early childhood, New York Center can transform a parent's outlook on the future of their special-needs child, and I am very proud to be a part of that work--and to be able to speak about it without stumbling over my words too much!

C-D-A-E-S...We are the best!

This year I have had the amazing opportunity to work at Community Day Arlington Elementary School (CDAES).  Having worked as a classroom assistant, social studies teacher, and after-school program coordinator at an elementary school through AmeriCorps my first two years out of college, I wanted to continue my work in education before I committed to law school.  So far, it's been a wonderful experience and I feel so privileged to be part of CDAES' first year staff.
 

CDAES is a special kind of hybrid.  Although the school is part of the Lawrence public system and is considered a regular public school (serving students from the neighborhood), our classrooms operate in a very charter-school-like manner.  Currently, the school serves K-1st, but will be serving up to 4th grade next year.  We have 8 classes total and the majority of our students are English Language Learners.
 

As a generalist, I get to do a little bit of everything.  I help administer tests (specifically any kind of ELL/ESL tests), assist teachers when their co-teacher is out or, if both teachers are out, serve as a substitute.  When I am not doing either of these things, I am working in specific classrooms that have specific needs.  Classroom instruction at our school is data driven and similarly, so is my schedule.  After a cycle of testing (MAP or STEP), we look at what classrooms might benefit from extra assistance.  K-1st grades spend a lot of time building and strengthening literacy skills, so naturally a lot of the assistance I provide is in that area.  I typically take a small group of students (2-6) and work with them on skills they are having trouble mastering or skills they need to practice.  This can include basics like working on letter sounds, to building words, to rhyming, to guided reading.

Most of my previous classroom experience was with 2nd-5th graders, so working with K-1st grades has been a new adventure!  Academically, the school year moves a lot more slowly, as much of our time is spent on reinforcing basic skills, but behaviorally and socially, you see so much more progress than with older grades.  Most of our kindergarteners came to us never having attended preschool and even some of our first graders had limited schooling in the US, so naturally there was a period of adjusting to the classroom structure.  It really is amazing to see how much each student has grown and I look forward to challenging our little ones and seeing them continue to learn, grow, and succeed.

Update From Norwalk

Things have been going very well here at the Norwalk Community Health Center! I've been learning a great deal about healthcare from both the clinical and administrative sides. There is always a lot of activity in the health center, and as Fellows our tasks vary widely. Some of the things we work on include processing medical record requests, completing medical chart audits for reports to be submitted to the Department of Public Health,  training doctors on the Electronic Medical Record system,  helping patients sign up for medication discount programs, and helping standardize clinical workflows across the health center.

Another exciting piece of news from the health center is that we recently launched a "Health on Wheels" project. In addition to looking snazzy, the bus pictured below contains two exam rooms and a nursing area. Our mobile unit team members travel with the bus to a local homeless shelter and public housing project to provide medical care, dental cleanings, and counseling services to those who otherwise may not have had access. The bus has been on the road for just over a month now, so there are still some kinks to work out to optimize the care we can provide, but so far the team has received many positive reviews!

Everyone is at least at Pre-K reading level!!

I know considering I am a kindergarten teacher, they all should have already been at a pre-kindergarten reading level at the beginning of the year, but in fact, none of them were.  None of the children in my class could write their first and last name from memory, none of them knew more than 10 letters and sounds, and they had no idea how to use a book (which way we go when we read, where we start reading, or even to turn the page).  So yea this is a HUGE deal and I am SSSOOO proud of them.  At the beginning of the year I did not think my class would even be able to sit altogether for a read aloud, without fidgeting or some sort of outburst, but now they can!  And they read by themselves, and they write full sentences, and they sound out words; it is truly amazing to watch!  They have also made incredible strides in math too.  They couldn't count past 3, and could only identify the number 1.  But now they can count to 100, they add, subtract, and know 2D plane shapes, as well as 3D solid figures.  Needless to say, I am an extremely proud teacher today and can't wait to have them all leave kindergarten on grade level!! =)

Snow Day from Baltimore

Today is our first "snow day" of the year (and I mean since 2012), March 6th.  All the DC fellows know what I'm talking about!  Except here in Baltimore it is literally just rain and a little wind, but Hopkins still closed due to the inclement weather.  Apparently it's worse in other parts of the state.

As it nears the end of the year, I'm juggling work and trying to figure out what to do next year.  I'm sure it's a struggle that a lot of P55ers are dealing with.  As much as I've loved Baltimore and my job here, I'm planning to move out of the city and on toward my other love, architecture.  I'm trying to figure out how to merge design, sustainability, and food systems into one career.  For now though, I'm still very excited to be at the Center for a Livable Future soaking up all the information I can until this summer.  I've learned so much!  From random facts about the flu pandemic of 1918 to nutrient pollution in the Chesapeake Bay to the frustrating hurdles of the political system (I got to see a colleague testify about a pesticides bill in Annapolis last week).  It's been a great experience so far, and I hope I can continue to keep the food system a focus of mine throughout my career. 

Fellow Fellows

I want to use this blog post to give a brief shout-out to my fellow New York fellows, because they are really awesome and deserving of it! As Julie mentioned in her below blog post, it has been so nice to have a pre-established group with which to experience fun city things. Everyone is incredibly friendly (I guess that goes to show the kind of people who are interested in pursuing nonprofit careers!), and everyone is extremely dedicated to the program. For instance, Avion, who is one of the fellows at Association to Benefit Children, put a huge amount of effort into helping coordinate a very successful Career Night, during which we had the opportunity to speak with Princeton alums and other professionals connected to the AlumniCorps community who are working in education, healthcare, social enterprise, law, business, and more. Julie and Susanna have been doing a wonderful job planning fun activities for us as co-chairs of the Social Alumni Relations Committee--last week's comedy show was attended by most of the New York fellows and was hilarious! And Eleanor was key to helping secure Anne-Marie Slaughter as a speaker at our April seminar on her highly circulated article, "Why Women Still Can't Have It All." Clearly, I owe a lot to all of my fellow fellows for making this year such a well-rounded and valuable experience--thank you New York fellows!

Hangin Out

A few weeks ago, the New York fellows met up for a free happy hour event at a bar in midtown. We had a blast catching up in a more casual setting and getting to know each other in a place other than a Madison Ave mansion! Here is our attempt at a selfie:
The social committee has planned another event, this time an improv show at Upright Citizens Brigade, for next week. It's so fun to have a group to explore the city with!

Transitions

This past month has been a rather exciting time for me, as the Character Education Partnership (CEP) is in a major period of transition, with lots of staff coming in and leaving and major changes on every level, from the organizational mission and vision down to the software.

Being part of an organization that is in a process of such significant transition can be a little confusing sometimes but it is also is tremendously educational and presents major opportunities. For example, because of various staff departures, I've ended up managing CEP's social media accounts, e-marketing and blog. Though this isn't really the direction I originally expected when I began the fellowship, it's been probably the most engaging thing I've done so far and taught me a great deal about inbound marketing strategies, search engine optimization and a lot of other things that I would have never been introduced to in my role as I originally understood it. I guess the main takeaway from this experience for me has been that at a small organization, there's a lot of space for people to make their own roles, if they choose to and that this can lead to to the discovery and development of new talents and skills.

The "Community" Piece of "Parent/Community Outreach Fellow"

Somehow, I think I may have managed to go over half a year without mentioning an exciting project that I've been working on since I arrived at NYCCD: our brand new Junior Board! This coming Tuesday, we will be holding the first meeting/orientation of the Junior Board, which will be the fruits of about six months of slow but steady labor. The concept for the Junior Board was conceived months before I began my fellowship. Ideally comprised of about 20 well-connected young professionals, the Junior Board was envisioned as being an arm for raising both funds and awareness for our mission in New York, with the concrete goal of contributing towards the building of a new center-based preschool. Yet while multiple planning sessions had already taken place when I first came on board, very few concrete steps had been taken towards finding the right group of people to get involved in this endeavor and developing suggested strategies for them to use in order to work towards our larger goals--mainly because the staff members involved simply did not have the time to dedicate to essentially create a Board from nothing. So, I have had the opportunity to take the lead on many aspects of this project. Among other efforts to move the project along, I reached out to the New York Junior League in order to partner with their Nonprofit Board training course, so that those who are taking the class would learn about our Board. I also developed materials to send to Board candidates, and I researched other Junior Boards in order to create an application in line with what other established nonprofits ask prospective Board members to complete. After many conference calls with staff and Board co-chairs, we have a very impressive group of about 25 young professionals and parents, who will be meeting each other for the first time on Tuesday to learn more about our agency's work and discuss their goals for the year. I'm really excited to see the whole group together and hear their ideas for how NYCCD can advance its mission in the city. With any luck, I will hopefully see the results of my efforts pay off for the agency--literally as well as figuratively!