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Juneteenth Freedom Fest 2022 Impact

Arete Education and The Collective (CF BERG) partnered over the Juneteenth 2022 Holiday weekend to support the 2022 Juneteenth Freedom Fest NYC in Harlem.

We donated $5,000 in meal vouchers to residents of Harlem in partnership with NYC NYCHA offices and JFF Event staff to feed over 450 people at the event and support a local business partner, Casa Birria NYC! We are so proud to have expanded our Feed Our Needs Initiative to include this Juneteenth Freedom Fest Community Event.

Arete Education volunteers also hosted a youth Creative EQ Table, featuring local business-owner Nicoise Waring's Coisescape Black Arts experiences.

Closing, we extend a large appreciation to Arete Board members McEvans Francois and Kholofelo Mothibi for organizing the event alongside Barclays ERG leader Erica Fray and the 15 volunteers and financial support from Barclays, S&P Global, Mizuho, Nomura, Deutsche, USB, and Factset.

 - 06/22/2022 - sbsd@areteeducation.org

S.T.E.M. to S.T.A.R.S. 2022 Launch

Support Our Summer 2022 Launch of S.T.E.M. to S.T.A.R.S.

Make a Contribution on Square to Sponsor Our First Cohort at our Juneteenth Program Launch

S.T.E.M. to S.T.A.R.S. Supporter

S.T.E.M. to S.T.A.R.S. Supporter

Donate

 - 06/18/2022 - sbsd@areteeducation.org
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Reflecting on the ExpandED SEL Convening 2022: Belonging and Excelling Toward a Bright Future Part 2

This April, Arete Education had the remarkable honor of joining fellow SEL Educators and exceptional EQ-minded professionals in facilitating the ExpandED Schools SEL Convening 2022: Belonging and Excelling Toward a Bright Future. This annual event was curated to lead members of the SEL educational community in networking and in learning promising SEL practices. Arete was asked to co-facilitate the Breakout Room focused on SEL Frameworks and Models. We shared Arete’s SEL Curriculum and the SEL Module II model with a wider audience, and in turn, received numerous SEL resources and praise from others. This 4-part Reflection will share the highlights and takeaways from the Convening and also challenge the readers to join the SEL conversations.

Feel free to explore the resources below:

· Session Slides and Resources (presenter slides/videos)

· Session Recordings

The Convening was sectioned into four parts. The second portion was The City Artifact Shareout, which is a space for selected SEL Educators and professionals to share the resources they utilized to help guide EQ activities within their communities. This year, seven eager SEL experts volunteered their go-to tools. This article highlights three.

  1. Tozyea Reed (Dallas, TX) - SEL Calm Corner are physical spaces designed to help students check in with themselves. In these spaces are handouts, and hands-on tools for self-awareness and mindfulness.

  2. Kara Hader (Tulsa, OK). - Yale University’s Mood Meters are color-coded zones that help students identify their moods and that mood intensity. These meters are helpful in setting up norms and practice for noticing how you feel and then regulating those emotions.

  3. Lavone Walker (Omaha, NE) - Vibratone is a percussion bell that is used to focus group attention. At the sound, SEL student practitioners are intentionally centering.

Other impactful artifacts shared included Cooking Clubs for kids and staff, SEL Calm kits, and stipends geared at SEL initiatives. All of the artifacts provided takeaways that could be specified to our own communities and EQ practices.

The Arete SEL Challenge: Thank you for reading this article. As a part of our growing SEL community, we invite you to join the conversation. Which of Adams's highlighted artifacts interests you the most? Which of the briefly mentioned artifacts would you like to hear more about? Do you have any cool SEL artifacts to share?

 - 05/09/2022 - Nicoise Waring
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Reflecting on the ExpandED SEL Convening 2022: Belonging and Excelling Toward a Bright Future Part 3

This April, Arete Education had the remarkable honor of joining fellow SEL Educators and exceptional EQ-minded professionals in facilitating the ExpandED Schools SEL Convening 2022: Belonging and Excelling Toward a Bright Future. This annual event was curated to lead members of the SEL educational community in networking and in learning promising SEL practices. Arete was asked to co-facilitate the Breakout Room focused on SEL Frameworks and Models. We shared Arete’s SEL Curriculum and the SEL Module II model with a wider audience, and in turn, received numerous SEL resources and praise from others. This 4-part Reflection will share the highlights and takeaways from the Convening and also challenge the readers to join the SEL conversations.

Feel free to explore the resources below:

· Session Slides and Resources (presenter slides/videos)

· Session Recordings

The Convening was sectioned into four parts. The third portion was The City Networking Session, and participants had a choice of three Breakout Rooms. The Breakout Room discussions were focused on Strengthening Community Partnerships, Youth Voice, and Policy and SEL Working Groups, respectively. I joined the Youth Voice room since Arete’s Vision, Mission, and Motto are aligned with youth advocacy and SEL Leadership. The facilitator, Farhen Johnson, was phenomenal in delivering this thought:

 “SEL can’t work if it’s being done to you. However, SEL can work if we are speaking life into each other and showing up for one another.”

She drove home her point by challenging us with this thought:

“ SEL is a thread. How can we braid it in culturally?"

I took this as: Where in Arete’s program can we emphasize beneficial customs and observations based on our specific cultures and experience?

The key is developing a Connected Environment. Johnson listed four strategies for developing Connected Environments:

  1. Know Names

  2. Practice Emotional Checks

  3. Introduce Community Circles

  4. Keep all spaces in alignment

 - 05/09/2022 - Nicoise Waring
Arete-Education-SEL-Guide-for-Educators-Flower-Banner

Reflecting on the ExpandED SEL Convening 2022: Belonging and Excelling Toward a Bright Future Part 1

This April, Arete Education had the remarkable honor of joining fellow SEL Educators and exceptional EQ-minded professionals in facilitating the ExpandED Schools SEL Convening 2022: Belonging and Excelling Toward a Bright Future. This annual event was curated to lead members of the SEL educational community in networking and in learning promising SEL practices. Arete was asked to co-facilitate the Breakout Room focused on SEL Frameworks and Models. We shared Arete’s SEL Curriculum and the SEL Module II model with a wider audience, and in turn, received numerous SEL resources and praise from others. This 4-part Reflection will share the highlights and takeaways from the Convening and also challenge the readers to join the SEL conversations.

Feel free to explore the resources below:
· Session Slides and Resources (presenter slides/videos)
· Session Recordings

The Convening was sectioned into four parts:

  1. The Welcome and Key Note Speech
  2. The City Artifact Share-out
  3. The City Networking Session,
  4. SEL Professional Development

The keynote speaker was David Adams, CEO of Urban Assembly, and the premise of his presentation was to drive home how Belonging truly influences one’s purpose and need for education. The main text of reference was W.E.B Dubois' The Souls of Black Folk. This literary work revealed to Adams several insights. He emphasized three:

     1.) The purpose of Education is to transform from a carefree man to a thoughtful man, and the responsibility of each educated person is to help us all through the struggles and into progress.

     2.) To belong is to understand your responsibility to the group, and the group's responsibility to you. Being named and claimed can be healthy and helpful.

     3.) Burdens are easier to bare if everyone carries their own weight. Keep in mind that the strengths need never be unformed, as long as their benefits are mutual.

In closing, Adams reiterated the importance of belonging to and in educated communities by emphasizing the standstill politics places on education. Adams expressed that when education is guided through teaching rather than learning, a student’s scope is narrowed. The solution to teacher-centered education is in our shared characters, groups, and mutually shared experiences.

The Arete SEL Challenge: Thank you for reading this article. As a part of our growing SEL community, we invite you to join the conversation. Which of Adams's three insights were most impactful to your concept of belonging? What are some of the groups you proudly belong to?


 - 05/09/2022 - Nicoise Waring
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Arete Expands to Brooklyn and Harlem in Summer 2022

$565,000 in NYS Funds Awarded to NYC DOE for Arete's Expansion in July 2022

Serving Mott Haven, Washington Heights, Brownsville, and BedStuy Communities.

Arete Education, Inc. is a named CBO Partner for three grants awarded to the NYC DOE as part of New York State's 21st Century Community Learning Centers Round 8 Grants. See the award listing in NYSED's press release on April 12, 2022. This grant award allows Arete to open three new school sites, each in three new neighborhoods in New York City: BedStuy, Brownsville, and Washington Heights.

Areté Education is a 501(c)3 not for profit organization that trains and empowers youth to lead successful lives, by partnering with local schools and community groups to grow investment in Mott Haven youth. Areté designs afterschool and summer programming that exposes youth to diverse career pathways; builds academic, wellness, and leadership skills; and expands access to the arts and culture. With a 1.8 million dollar annual budget in 2022, Arete is able to provide comprehensive services to 1,500 students and families in the South Bronx, Brooklyn, and Harlem.

Arete brings financial and human resources to school communities that significantly expand opportunities for youth to succeed in school, college, career, and beyond. We provide access to excellent schooling, employment experiences, and afterschool and summer programs.
 - 04/22/2022 - sbsd@areteeducation.org
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Feed Our Needs Initative 2.0 Success

As the spirit of giving continues, Arete continues to reach our mission of investing in Mott Haven youth. As part of Arete’s Feed Our Need 2.0 Initiative, members of the community came together to provide over 150 Lab School families with bagged groceries and hot meals. Members of our Arete Alumni Council volunteered to serve the community alongside 25 voluteers from Arete, The Lab School, and the Corporate sponsors of the initiative - IHS Markit, Barclays, and Carvers.

To provide some history on the initiative, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic The Collective Black Employee Resource Group (CFBERG), led by Engage@IHSMarkit and Barclays Embrace partnered with Areté Education (Areté) and black- and brown-owned restaurants to raise funds for meal distribution in Harlem and the Bronx in 2020. The initiative’s objective was to support black- and brown-owned restaurants in the surrounding areas to source the meals that were distributed to disenfranchised communities. Learn more by viewing our impact report.

Alumni Council President, Brittni Ortiz, reflected on the event:

"Feed Our Needs was an amazing experience, and I would definitely do something like it again. This was a type of event that I wanted to do for a long time. We connected with families, escorted them throughout the whole process and had insightful conversations about what the school is doing and what our roles are. It was also so great to see so many parents that I have worked with before through the College Office. It was a great feeling when some of them recognized me, too! Overall, I can't wait to volunteer at future events and for the Alumni Council to have our own.”

Alumni Council Secretary, Chanel De Los Santos also added on that:

"The feed our needs event was a great way to connect with local families. The families were so lovely and wonderful.”

Reflecting as as an Arete staff member and Lab School alumni, it is amazing to be able to provide these direct services to the community. As on organization, it is our goal to make sure that we provide Mott Haven youth and families with these resources. We believe that the sense of hope that comes through creating resilient communities is something that has the power to change our communities forever. We know that our work does not end with an event but continues throughout our lives. We cannot wait to continue the work that we are doing as a team with our staff, alumni and other proud members of the community.

If you want to learn more about the Feed Our Needs 2.0 Initiative Event, visit our event page. We would love your support with a donation or volunteering.

Check out both the Alumni Council's instagram (@aretealumnicouncil) and the main account (@areteeducationinc) to say up to date with the work that is being done.

 

 - 11/29/2021 - Mariyam Sumareh

Work, Learn & Grow (WLG)

We are excited to highlight our Work, Learn, and Grow initiative. Students have already begun their Work, Learn & Grow (WLG) experiences this Fall. This program is being offered in collaboration with United Activities Unlimited (UAU).

WLG is broken down into two parts:

  1. Educational component: The educational component consists of (A) 1-credit CUNY student development course, or (B) non-credited course on Digital Media and Literacy. Alongside this education component UAU will run its own class to offer students additional support, focusing on college/career readiness and exploration. While completing this educational component, students will earn a stipend.
  2. Internship component: Once students complete these courses, they will then become eligible for internship placement. In response to the continued pandemic protocols, UAU will be prioritizing remote internship opportunities. Students will have the opportunity to take a survey to let UAU know where they are interested in working. Overall , this will allow students to work from mid-December through the beginning of March.

 

Students are eager to work and learn through these unique time. As a team, we are eager to have the students involved in different ways and continue to innovate ways to give our community opportunities to grow and succeed.

 - 11/19/2021 - Mariyam Sumareh

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