Black Lives Matter
In unprecedented times, hate raises; police brutality continues and creates horrible situations for people of color. Which makes you think, why is this still going on in 2020? The truth is that America has not yet evolved to be able to have equality among all races, and with this, it creates deadly scenarios for some people. That makes people fear going outside, fear authority, fear just living in America.
After recent footage of George Floyd getting knelt on by an officer repeating,
"I can't breathe”
the protest broke out, riots followed, as well as various stores in Minneapolis being looted, where the original incident took place. George Floyd was arrested for trying to pay with a counterfeit bill. He was brutally attacked by police for this reason. People are tired of the racism and are looking to do something about. Once the crowd got "out of control,” they were tear gassed, causing many people to get injured and need to push back. When getting tear-gassed, people ran in a local Target to get supplies. Running into this store led to worse things, eventually looting the Target and other big businesses such Dollar Tree and an Auto Zone.
"Ignorance is bliss for the majority, but ignorance is death for the minority."
The same story every time, just a different person. The hatred has to end, and it’s not going to take one protest or one person speaking up. It’s going to have to be more than that. Racism that happens in the police department is not something that should continue to happen. No one should die because the color of their skin. NO one should be feared because of the color of their skin. This is something more than just one person dying at the cost of a racist police officer. There are so many people who died for reasons they shouldn't have.
Say Their Names
Everyday it’s another life that has been lost due to carelessness. Black people should not have to put their lives at risk just to receive equality. It is sad to see how much progress we have not made as a country, to continue to be living in a time like this. Stay educated and stay informed. Stand for what you believe in, and use your voice, because if you don't, injustice will continue.
"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor" -Desmond Tutu
As the protest continued, the Minnesota National Guard was activated to help aid officers to be able to control the area. None of this would be needed if there was equality, if a Black person would have not lost their life to an unreasonable matter.
Here are some links to support
Donate: https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd
Support: https://minnesotafreedomfund.org/donate
Intern-Tutors Engage their Peers in Remote Learning
“The most rewarding part about my tutor experience has been being able to showcase my abilities in helping people in hopes that they will gain from me, the same way I gained from my teachers.”
-Joselyn, 9th Grade Intern
20 High School Students have joined an Intern-Tutor Program led by Mr. Edward Martinez
This 16-week internship program initially began this spring with 8 high school interns preparing to gain job-embedded skills to enter the education field through an innovative internship program at the Laboratory School of Finance and Technology led by teacher leader and Areté Education Director of Professional Learning, Edward Martinez. Since the ramifications of a global pandemic have radically altered the context for the internship, these high school students (now swelling to a group of 20!) are now serving as the lifeline for middle school students during the final weeks of remote learning for the 2020 school year.
“The best part of it all is learning and teaching at the same time.”
-Jose, 10th Grade Intern
Below is the program description for the first cohort of 8 intern-tutors, as designed and written by Mr. Martinez.
The goal of the 16-week Internship Program at Arete Education is to prepare students at HS 223 for job opportunities in the education field. Interns are provided with professional development centered on leadership skills, curriculum development, and social-emotional learning. The weekly work schedule allows for each intern to provide 6 hours of small group tutoring services to middle schoolers who need extra help in ELA or Math. The interns also receive up to 4 hours of professional development per week to support their growth. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, all professional development is now being delivered through remote learning via Google Classroom and Meet.
“What I find most useful about the Intern-Tutor experience is learning how to manage classrooms, create lessons, and work with students.”
-Natalie, 10th Grade Intern
The Internship uses a community service-learning approach where the interns study education issues and receive specialized training in order to address the academic and social-emotional needs of MS 223 students. Interns who successfully complete the internship program, walk away with updated resumes, portfolios of the work they completed and recommendation letters they can use for future employment. The interns will also have an opportunity to be employed in the summer and fall programs that are operated by Arete Education and its partners.
“My intern experience has allowed me to gain many useful skills such as the ability to manage classroom behavior. This skill is very important when dealing with children and this internship has given me the necessary tools I need...”
-Chanel, 12th Grade Intern
The Interns are currently in the process of preparing enrichment club lesson plans that align with the workshop model. They partnered up to design fun and interactive lessons for the after-school setting. Last week (April 16th), the interns had the opportunity to receive guidance from MS/HS 223’s Principal, Dr. Gonzalez, who participated in a Google Meet session. The students engaged in a discussion to critique each other with feedback. Much of the suggestions that were provided were rooted in consistency with having clear and measurable objectives, simplicity, and alignment. The lessons ranged in genres from analyzing song lyrics, drawing 3-dimensional objects to creating a space for team-building. Dr. Gonzalez was impressed with the high level work that the interns were doing. Before the session was over he let the interns know that “It takes years for teachers to learn these concepts, but you are all showing your learned them after a couple of sessions... Pretty impressive!”
“One thing that I have found useful about my Internship experience is understanding that there are different ways to help students... that being an intern is not only about helping a student, but also about building a relationship in which they feel comfortable asking for help.”
-Evelyn, 12th Grade Intern
“I definitely feel more confident to lead a group of middle schoolers because of how I have been taught to deal with different scenarios that I may face. I just overall feel more prepared. I am capable of creating a lesson for kids that is engaging...”
Franklin, 9th Grade Intern
An afternoon PD session on April 21 via Google Meet with Mr. Martinez, Director of Professional Development at Arete Education and a Social Studies Teacher at MS 223.
2020 Annual Campaign
Annual Campaign Goals
Discover Your Unique Character Strengths
We know strengths are important for leading successful lives. Strengths and talents can help us grow and thrive when we intentionally use, develop, and cultivate them.
Have you ever thought about what your character strengths are?
Scientists began studying the psychology of strengths in earnest decades ago. They started to explore what it looks like when we focus on developing what is right instead of fixing what is wrong. In 2004, leaders in positive psychology, Dr. Martin Seligman and Dr. Peterson developed the VIA Classification of Character Strengths and Virtues (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). Following that, the personal strengths assessment, VIA Survey, was developed, measuring 24 character strengths under 6 Virtues in human beings (Find a copy of VIA Classification of Character Strengths and Virtues here).
Character Strengths are defined as the positive parts of your personality that impact how you think, feel, and behave in daily life. You can discover your unique profile of strengths by taking the FREE VIA Survey online. Users need to register and create an account in order to take the survey.
According to leading positive psychologists, we each have strengths we are naturally good at. These are called our signature strengths. Find out your unique profile and your TOP 5 signature strengths!
When you have your signature strengths (TOP 5) identified, consider these questions to help you reflect on how to develop greater awareness of your strengths:
- Do they seem to fit you well?
- Are you surprised by any of them?
- Read over your list of signature strengths. Think about ways in which you already use them in your life.
- Do you underuse any of your strengths?
- Do you overuse any of your strengths?
- Brainstorm ways in which you can use them in new ways, and write down a list of specific actions you can take to use your strengths more in healthy and balanced new ways. And then, commit to using your strengths in new ways each day this week.
You can also invite others to take the survey and have some fun activities with them!
- Families: Invite your family members to take the survey and make a Family Strengths Tree!
- Friends / Colleagues: Invite your friend to do this survey and have a discussion with them! Share with each other a story about one of your strengths and ask them to guess which strength it is!
- Romantic Partner: Have you ever had a strength date? Invite your partner to take the survey and have a Strength Date with them!
Empowering Documentaries for Women
Becoming 
Based off of her memoir Becoming, we follow Michelle Obama through her book tour as she resonates with young women all over America to tell her story. She not only speaks about herself and her successes but includes hardships she faced, connecting it back to young women in Chicago. Michelle Obama decides to speak to young women in almost every state to see how they view the world and to listen to the hardships they face.
“I crave some longer experiences with young people. Through the community events. The tour could do a great job of giving me a little taste of it.”
She gives them advice and makes sure that they are not giving up, making sure that they follow their dreams. Following the story of the first woman of color becoming the first lady and having her husband be the first Black president. She speaks about her experiences in the White House and how it has had an affect in her life. Telling stories from her childhood to adulthood and how they made her the woman she is today. Students in colleges asking her questions about being a successful black woman. What it actually means to her to preserve.
“I have been at, probably, every powerful table there is in the world. I’ve been at G-summits, I’ve been in castles and palaces, in boardrooms and academic universities. And I’m coming down from the mountaintop to tell every young person that is poor and working-class and has been told, regardless of the color of your skin, that you don’t belong, don’t listen to them. They don’t even know how they got into those seats”
Knock Down The House
This movie is a little different because it is not just about one person but four different women from different places across the US trying to speak up. This shows how just to get one seat at the table is extremely hard to do and to see that only one of the four women makes it is very devastating. The four democratic women who run are Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Amy Vilela, Cori Bush, Paula Jean Swearengin all back in 2018 who were trying to get a seat in congress.
“Being a woman of color, our image is really scrutinized. You have to speak like this, you have to dress like this, I decided that ‘Yea, I don’t care.’ Basically, you deal with it. You know, people in my district, this is how we look. I’m going to serve and represent the people of my district.” Cori Bush
The movie does primarily focus on Alexandra Ocasio Cortez because she ends up getting her competitor. But also the true story that the women went through in order to transform Congress. Politics are includedm but it helps to show this side of how and who influences politics. All women make reasonable claims about being a woman trying to have your voice heard in this day and age. Overall, it is very uplifting to see AOC Bronx born to succeed and represent minorities in congress. Ask and propose the things that are important to the working class.
“For one of us to make it through, 100 of us have to try.” AOC
I believe that overall these two movies are by far some of the most empowering movies that actually help you see the bigger picture. These movies tell you a story of different women and different upbringings, but at the end of the day they still end up succeeding. Both AOC and Michelle Obama have made just a big difference in people's lives. Their stories are one of a kind but still stories that us minorities can find hope and motivation. Motivation to stand out and continue proving people wrong. Being the person to speak up for when something is wrong, not being afraid to give up when it gets hard. These documentaries are very helpful to young women as well to be able to see the harsh truth of the world and to learn from it. To show women that even if you fall, get back up and try again.
iMentor @223 Supporting Students During COVID Pandemic
iMentor program recognized this week for the impact it is making with Lab School Students: Bronx Times Article
Combatting Hunger with Hope
Grocery Home Deliveries to Mott Haven Families
Over the last eight weeks, Areté has re-established online programming, enrolling 300 students at the Lab School in a variety of weekly learning activities. We have also provided resources for direct services to Lab School families to acquire groceries, hotspots, and other critical services and supplies. Working with the Lab School staff, we keep track daily of students in terms of COVID-19 sickness (self and household members), hunger, and family member loss.
We have also seen a desperate need emerge: hunger.
How can our students learn if they are hungry?
How do we connect our students and families to immediate resources they need to bring meals and groceries into their homes during this COVID-19 pandemic?
Areté has responded by starting a Family Help Hotline and Grocery Delivery initiatives for the families we serve in Mott Haven.
We are working every day to garner foundation, private donor, and government funding to expand these efforts. Recently the Tracy Family Foundation funded our volunteer grocery delivery team by awarding Areté $7,500 to purchase groceries for our families recently losing a loved one to COVID and/or suffering from acute food shortages. Private donors have also been filling in the financial gaps needed to continue the initiative beyond the first delivery to 20 families.
Areté and Lab School staff have been volunteering every Saturday afternoon to meet at Fine Fare, load our cars with boxes of groceries, and then deliver directly to the apartment buildings of our families most in need.
We need more help.
Please consider sharing news our hunger relief efforts with friends, families, and foundation who would be interested in supporting our students and families during this critical time.
We have traditionally served the Mott Haven neighborhood of the South Bronx, home to the poorest congressional district in the nation. We partner with the Laboratory School of Finance and Technology to serve 700 students and their families; those services have been dramatically curtailed due to COVID-19, due to a suspension of all on-site youth and family programming. By virtue of zip code, our Mott Haven families will be hit harder by COVID-19 than most due to decades of historical and structural inequities that erect barriers to accessing healthcare, employment, and educational opportunities. The Bronx has the highest number of COVID-19 fatalities as a share of its population of any borough.
You can learn more about our COVID-19 responses to support students and families in Mott Haven by watching a video about our recent efforts in March and April.
Copyright 2023 Areté Education © All Rights Reserved
Recent Comments