FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New York State My Brother鈥檚 Keeper Community Network Reaches 25 Member Communities
The New York State My Brother鈥檚 Keeper Community Network now includes 25 member communities, Interim State Education Commissioner Beth Berlin announced today. The program recently added connections with Peekskill and Monticello, the 24th and 25th communities to join the growing initiative to improve outcomes for boys and young men of color.
鈥淩eaching 25 My Brother鈥檚 Keeper communities is a tremendous accomplishment,鈥 said Board of Regents Chancellor Betty A. Rosa. 鈥淚t鈥檚 evidence that these programs are working, that they鈥檙e making a difference in the lives of boys and young men of color. We are proud to welcome Peekskill and Monticello to our MBK network.鈥
鈥淎s New York State鈥檚 My Brother鈥檚 Keeper initiative continues to expand, it provides more students with programs and strategies that help them realize their full potential,鈥 said Interim State Education Commissioner Beth Berlin. 鈥淲e thank Speaker Carl E. Heastie for his continued support for MBK to ensure that boys and young men of color are provided with high quality opportunities.鈥
鈥淭he My Brother鈥檚 Keeper network continues to grow each year with the addition of new communities,鈥 said Regent Lester W. Young, Jr. 鈥淚t鈥檚 clear that New York schools are dedicated to the My Brother鈥檚 Keeper movement, and these 25 communities are taking the commitment a step further to support boys and young men of color in reaching their full potential.鈥
To join the NYS MBK Community Network, the school superintendent and local government official must sign a joint letter to 快猫成版视频 indicating their support of, and commitment to meeting the six MBK National milestones and the six New York State MBK goals. Upon becoming a member of the statewide network, a community gains the support of 快猫成版视频's Office of Access, Equity, and Community Engagement Services to help build a community initiative and develop a local MBK action plan.
The MBK communities, school districts and higher education partners use grants awarded by 快猫成版视频 to implement programs and strategies to help boys and young men of color succeed. For example, Syracuse used the MBK Challenge grant to host a leadership conference in which community leaders provided students with insight on teamwork, goal settling and overcoming obstacles. At Peekskill Central School District, the Family and Community Engagement Program (FCEP) grant helps to fund a Saturday Academy program that provides community members with free services and resources such as dental screenings, academic workshops, yoga classes and more. Sarah Lawrence College is using its Teacher Opportunity Corps II (TOC II) grant to offer a TOC II Equity and Diversity Seminar. The seminar engages all teacher candidates in authentic dialogues on the issues of racism and gender, and how bias can impact students, especially boys and young men of color, in their classrooms. TOC II institutions aim to develop their pre-service teachers鈥 capacity to create culturally competent lesson plans that meet all students鈥 instructional needs.
The following communities are part of the听MBK Community Network:
- Albany
- Brentwood
- Bronx
- Brooklyn
- Buffalo
- Dunkirk
- East Ramapo
- Greenburgh
- Hudson
- Ithaca
- Lyons
- Manhattan
- Monticello
- Mt. Vernon
- Newburgh
- New Rochelle
- Ossining
- Peekskill
- Poughkeepsie
- Queens
- Rochester
- Staten Island
- Syracuse
- White Plains
- Yonkers
The MBK Initiative
In 2014, former President Barack Obama established the My Brother鈥檚 Keeper Task Force at the federal level. The Task Force was an interagency effort focused on closing and eliminating the opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color so that all young people have the chance to reach their full potential. With the adoption of the 2016鈥17 New York State budget, New York became the first state to accept the President鈥檚 challenge and enacted the My Brother鈥檚 Keeper initiative into law. The budget included a $20 million investment in support of the initiative to improve outcomes for boys and young men of color.听
In 2018, 快猫成版视频 awarded more than $1.15 million in grants to five schools for the MBK Exemplary School Models and Practices program. Grant recipients partner with demographically similar Struggling or Persistently Struggling schools in another district within their region to replicate exemplary practices that demonstrate cultural and linguistic responsiveness to emphasize the needs of boys and young men of color. Also in 2018, 快猫成版视频 awarded nearly听$750,000 in grants to 11 school districts for the MBK Native American Program, to increase the academic achievement and college/career readiness of Native American students, with an emphasis on boys and young men.
Since 2016, 快猫成版视频 has awarded more than $24 million in grants to 45 school districts for the听My Brother鈥檚 Keeper Family and Community Engagement Program. These grants support programs to increase the academic achievement and college and career readiness of boys and young men of color while fostering the development of effective relationships with families to promote the success of all students.
Since 2016, 快猫成版视频 has awarded $21 million in听MBK Challenge grants听to 40 school districts. The MBK Challenge Grant Program is designed to encourage regions and school districts to develop and execute coherent cradle-to-career college strategies. These programs are aimed to develop and sustain effective relationships with families of boys and young men of color toward the goal of success for all students.
Also since 2016, 快猫成版视频 awarded $12 million in Teacher Opportunity Corps II (TOC) grants to increase the participation rate of historically underrepresented and economically disadvantaged individuals in teaching careers. 快猫成版视频 awarded grants to 16 colleges and universities to help them bolster the retention of highly qualified individuals who value equity and reflect the diversity inside and outside of our classrooms, particularly in high-need schools with recurrent teacher shortages.听
Visit the Department鈥檚 My Brother鈥檚 Keeper website for details on this movement and for information on how to subscribe to the MBK Newsletter, 鈥淐hanging the Narrative.鈥
Media Contact
Reporters and education writers may contact the Office of Communications by email or phone at:
Press@nysed.gov
(518) 474-1201