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bioquest program launch

BioQuest Program Launch

Arete Education has officially partnered with RTW Charitable Foundation to launch the BioQuest program

 

RTW Investments invests in biomedical research and products in order to add value to people’s lives. RTW Charitable Foundation extends the RTW Investments mission to include building a sense of community through establishing different health-based initiatives in underserved communities. All of this is done to advance science and research while also addressing urgent public health needs. 

 

RTW Charitable Foundation first began to work with Arete during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, RTW provided Arete with a grant because they wanted to fund grassroots work focused on removing  barriers that prevent children in temporary housing from receiving educational support during the pandemic. Arete was identified as a grassroots organization working in the South Bronx during this difficult time. In the end, $75,000 was allocated towards developing a high-touch and wrap-around support program, The Arete Hope Network, for 30 families in the South Bronx and Harlem, mostly F&T families. 

 

After the peak of the pandemic, RTW Charitable Foundation shifted back towards its main work in funding biomedical research and projects alike. This year, they launched the BioQuest program - an initiative in STEM education for middle and high school students - in collaboration with Arete Education, Hunts Point Alliance for Children, Weill Cornell, and BioBus. RTW Charitable Foundation reached out to Arete over the summer to invite students from the Bronx to enroll in a year-long program receiving STEM educational and mentoring experiences. This was an amazing opportunity for Arete and the students we serve as 1) we have never partnered with Weill Cornell or BioBus and 2) F&T students would be gaining an expansive exposure to the STEM field: engaging in enrichment activities to encourage and inspire an interest in science, biotech, and medicine while also building relationships with mentors and other students with expertise and interest in these fields.

 

The first event to this program was held on September 9th, 2023 where students participating in the BioQuest program were invited, along with their families, to attend a Kick-off Breakfast. This first meeting was a nice way to launch the year-long program as students and families got the opportunity to get to know about the program and get to know each other. The ice breaker and scavenger hunt activities allowed the students and families to go around and network with one another, and it was a nice way to make parents and families feel included as they got to know who their children will be surrounded by in the program. Volunteers also set up backpacks for the participants containing STEM and back-to-school materials. They were distributed towards the end of the breakfast and sent off for the Back-to-School Fair and BioBus event, in collaboration with Hunts Point Alliance for Children.

 

What’s next for these students? The BioQuest program has scheduled 6 events in total: 3 in the fall and 3 in the spring. The next event was a Career Day held on October 5 at RTW Investments in Chelsea. Future events include visiting JLABS with Johnson & Johnson, a BioBus event (mobile lab with interactive + scientific activities), exploring lab spaces at Weill Cornell, and a Science Museum Field Trip. 

Arete is proud to be deepening its relationship with RTW Charitable Foundation and its respective partnerships in order to broaden in terms of science in research and biomedicine. This amazing collaboration will give new pathways to young students for STEM-specific career opportunities and push the boundaries on what is possible for students beyond high school. This program also supports Arete’s mission with its partner school, The Laboratory School of Finance and Technology, of shifting to more career-connected learning as a way to address the experience gap our students face. This is a major step towards inaugurating an afterschool curriculum that prepares students to enter the workforce and provides opportunities for career exposure in a new area: medicine, biomedical research, and biotech investments. 

 - 11/03/2023 - Anthony Ramirez Diaz
arete alumni feature - Dinanyelin Martinez

Arete Alumni Feature - Dinanyelin Martinez

Meet Dinanyelin Martinez - graduate of The Laboratory School of Finance and Technology in 2020 and current student at Mount Holyoke College, double majoring in Sociology and Spanish with a certificate in Latin American study

 

Dinanyelin started working with Arete back in 2020 as a tutor and teacher’s assistant. Following LSFT graduation, Dinanyelin worked as a virtual intern supervisor for the entire academic year. Then, in the summer of 2021, she became an in-person supervisor for the summer tutoring program/summer youth workers, specifically as a supervisor for Summer Programming student interns. As a supervisor, she guided, taught, and evaluated students on different benchmarks like teaching strategies and SEL.

 

This summer, Dinanyelin will return to Arete as an Impact Fellow. She will work alongside our president, Sarah Benis Scheier-Dolberg, to plan the logistics for Arete's pilot Summer Career Camps. She is leading the pilot career program which includes programs teaching, finance, and journalism. As Dinanyelin anticipates her return to Arete this summer, she appreciates all she has learned from this work environment. One thing she noticed that Arete underscores is the mental health of students and how students’ mental health is important when it comes to academic performance. With this, she has learned how to approach students using different tactics based on their different circumstances, learning styles, and skill levels - something that is imperative to effectively address the needs of every student!

 

Dinanyelin is grateful to have picked up pedagogical skills while working with Arete. “The ability to teach and navigate communication with students and other adults is an asset that will come in handy in any career field and network opportunity!” Furthermore, Dinanyelin deeply values the substantial personal and professional development she has undergone in conjunction with her participation at Arete. Through its commitment to cultivating an environment conducive to the expansion of skills and offering unique avenues for active involvement, "Arete has bestowed upon me exceptional opportunities and responsibilities that are rarely attainable for the younger members of my community."  

 - 07/20/2023 - Anthony Ramirez Diaz
2022 Wallach Scholarship Recipient - Sydney

Sydney Pierre-Saint: 2022 Academic Inspiration Wallach Scholarship Recipient

In memory of Edward Wallach, the 2022 Wallach Scholarship was announced in June 2022 to The Laboratory School of Finance and Technology Class of 2022. Edward Wallach was a huge contribution to the community at The Lab School and beyond! He motivated students in academics, community service, and athletics and for that reason, recipients of this scholarship would receive between $2-3,000 in three different categories:

  • Leading athlete -  a student who excels in team sports and proudly represents the 223 community.
  • Community builder - a student who creates meaningful friendships, serves the 223 community, and has a strong passion in doing good in the world.  
  • Academic inspiration - a student who excels in academics and journey inspires others to achieve their highest potential. 

On July 26, 2022, Sydney Pierre-Saint, the 2022 Lab School Salutatorian, became one of the three recipients of the Wallach Scholarship, specifically for the Academic Inspiration category. 

Initially, Sydney applied to the scholarship for the community builder and academic inspiration categories. Within the 223 community, she tried her very best to become involved and get to know those around her. As someone who was new to The Lab School as a high school freshman, it was somewhat difficult at first to find a sense of belonging as most people had already known each other from middle school and established their groups for some time now. Nonetheless, Sydney slowly began to participate in various activities that led her to build a sense of community with her peers and staff. On top of that, her involvement in the school and greater South Bronx community led her to build passions that motivated her to want to do good in the community that raised her. Her personal experiences allow her to have knowledge in different aspects of life which gives her leverage in knowing how to give back to her community. As for academic inspiration, Sydney recounts that growing up, she constantly doubted herself and truly struggled in everything academics. Back in elementary school, she saw that she did not take her academics seriously. Her lack of academic tenacity and overall focus on school-related activities led her to become left back in third grade. From then, she began to lose her pride. She internalized all the comments about her being “dumb” subsequently losing her confidence in her academic abilities. After this incident, she was motivated to not only prove to everyone that she was capable of being academically successful but to herself as well that she was in fact not dumb. She learned that she had to unlearn old habits and build positive ones. Upon prioritizing different things that truly mattered to her grades and her well-being, she began seeing change. This turn-around in academic tenacity and abilities began to make her believe she was just as capable as her peers in doing good in school and that sense of accomplishment gave her fuel to continue working hard. As she progressed through the school years, she realized that she came a long way in her efforts into school and academic passions. From once seeing herself as “dumb” and “stupid”, she ended up graduating as the Class of 2022 Salutatorian at The Laboratory School of Finance and Technology. 

A year later, Sydney, a rising sophomore at New York University, plans on studying Psychology and considers minoring in Creative Writing with interactions in academia and creating theories. Upon finishing first year of college at NYU London, one main lesson she learned is to be in the moment. Yes, it is good to have goals and aim for something; however, it is also good to be content in the moment, indulging in the present, and not compare yourself to others. She also recalls learning to adapt to new environments and make the best out of every opportunity presented to her, just like she did with studying abroad and applying to this scholarship. 

She is extremely grateful for the Wallach Scholarship as it granted the freedom of not having to worry as much about financial hardships when it came to her college education. Applying to this scholarship also gave her time to reflect on what she has accomplished so far and what she sees herself doing in the future. Moving forward, if ever presented with more scholarship applications, she will definitely apply and utilize every resource possible. These opportunities will only grant her the ability to continue pursuing her passions, continue learning and furthering her education, and continue to grow as an individual!

 - 07/11/2023 - Anthony Ramirez Diaz
Niroga-Institute

Leaders of Dynamic Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a nonjudgmental sense of awareness that allows one to pay attention to purpose and being in the present moment. Mindfulness is not just meditation, reflection, concentration exercises, or a quick fix for stress. It is the nature of being conscious of personal sensations and feelings and attending to them. 

The Mindful Stress Buffering Account presented by Creswell and Lindsay (2014) proposes that mindfulness alters stress appraisals to reduce stress reactivity and strengthens stress coping mechanisms. Furthermore, they present that mindfulness can activate the SAM-axis (a stress-response system) in one of two ways: reducing the activation of the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight response to stress) or increasing activity of the parasympathetic nervous system (network of nerves that relaxes the body after experiencing stress). This biological evidence communicated that mindfulness can help mitigate the effect stress has on human health. 

Moreover, applications of Mindfulness-Based Programming have observed increases in well-being, improved behavior regulation, and reduced stress and psychological symptoms. Stress and trauma can have direct (onset of diseases) and indirect (impair cognitive function and performance) effects. Implementing mindfulness practices can help reduce stress and support health. 

Arete President Sarah Benis Scheier-Dolberg plans to use a Niroga Dynamic Mindfulness Training to implement mindfulness practices within Arete to help not just students but staff and leaders too!

Why this training? 

The work from the Niroga Institute has developed from using their training in groups with students in Oakland. It was tailored for youth who are in serious distressing circumstances and focuses on addressing their trauma. Niroga specializes in an integrative approach that involves social emotional learning, social emotional teaching, and social emotional parenting. 

Materials from Niroga are not new to Arete as we have used their approach in the past when piloting and designing the SEL curriculum 2019. It started with training students and afterschool staff with Transformative Life Skills sessions with the help of Niroga. This work resembled a bottom-up design where the Arete SEL pilot team saw how students took the lead in mindfulness-based programming like deciding when they wanted to take the time to do breathing exercises. Four years since the SEL pilot, Sarah wants to layer in a top-down design where leaders within Arete receive training through Niroga’s Dynamic Mindfulness sessions. 

“The intent of this training is to give you more oxygen to survive with your work,” Sarah coaches the leadership team. She underscores the importance of providing her staff with the necessary tools to help and support their needs as human beings and educators. She intends for this training to help Arete's leaders deal with their trauma, whether it be vicarious trauma or acute trauma. This is a call for Arete’s leaders to know how to support themselves and find ways to address their stress. Down the line, they will be transferring the skills learned through Niroga to their work within Arete.

What do you hope your employees gain from this training? How will progress and learning be tracked? 

“I want them to feel comfortable breathing. I want them to feel comfortable creating a space for mindfulness.” Sarah hopes to see these mindful behaviors happening in all Arete meetings, classrooms, and across the organization's culture. The leadership group will finish the intensive training period by June and subsequently have working products that are manifested at the partnership schools

In terms of assessment, there is a plan to have our leaders working on designing a curriculum for this summer that implements what they have learned in their Niroga training. Engaging Arete's leaders in some form of design work will put their skills to the test. This is imperative for implementing their new learnings for the upcoming school year at all of Arete's four expansion sites.  Their learning will be observed, and they will be coached to integrate Niroga's dynamic mindfulness skills into their staff trainings and regular team meetings. From there, the dynamic mindfulness skills gained from this spring's trainings can serve as a model for future work. Niroga is well known on the West Coast but not in New York. Arete can serve as an example for others to see how powerful integrating Niroga's trainings can be within an organization and at community school sites.  

Why this group? Do you hope it’ll have a trickle down effect?

Sarah’s vision for this session was to have a pilot to start with an influential group. She states that this approach is partially in response to Arete's expansion as the organization is living through the question: “How do we want this culture to expand with the other boroughs?”

Arete is a relatively small organization with over a decade of experience at the The Laboratory School of Finance and Technology, which serves as a model for new partnerships. This training allows for a monthly leadership series to build a leadership cohort. Then, at each community school site, there will be a cohort that will be able to lead the school's dynamic mindfulness work. Sarah notes that these leaders have been through a lot by being an organization within a big city that serves marginalized students and families. Niroga gives Arete a way to power up its employees to help them lead and create a great culture to serve the community. After having gone through the training, she anticipates that these individuals are able to lead others in the work. The goal is to have leaders that are comfortable with leading dynamic mindfulness practices and learning how to self-regulate themselves as they engage their staff, students, and families. This is a beneficial way of providing support to the leaders of our organization by offering opportunities to properly address their stress and trauma to then suitably serve our communities. This work fully embraces the mission of seeing our employees, students, and families prosper! 

What did you notice within the organization that led to adopting this training?

Sarah encountered Niroga five years ago when attending a women's leadership conference in California. One of the Niroga staff members was leading a workshop where he had attendees participate in dynamic mindfulness practices while also learning about impacts of trauma on the work of education leaders. All of the attendees at the conference were working in urban settings that dealt with chronic stress, direct trauma, and vicarious trauma. Since the pandemic, everyone has experienced trauma and stress while also leading with complex issues of working within an urban community. 

With this in mind, she acknowledges that trauma is real and prevalent within Arete and wants to help address that with the help of Niroga! A benefit of using Niroga is that their practices are refined in urban settings which is helpful for Arete implementing mindful actions to help reduce the impact of trauma. One thing that Sarah finds crucial in the work Niroga does that will be beneficial for Arete is the focus on trauma as a somatic definition

“Trauma freezes within our body! I want to provide a sort of first aid for our educators and leaders. Post pandemic, it is clear to all of us that we’re fragile! We are still processing what has happened and figuring out how to effectively move forward.” She finds it vital for trauma not only to be addressed through thinking and processing, but also through movement. This is what Niroga brings to us: dynamic mindfulness - transformative behaviors that require mindful movement, breathing, and centering. Niroga is a call to action! It is a breath of fresh air, a time to pause and take care of yourself! As she puts it, it is a simple way to do some self regulation that can take as little as 15 minutes. It is feasible and asks her staff to partake in these helpful practices.

 - 04/13/2023 - Anthony Ramirez Diaz
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Arete Alumni Feature - Stephanie Polanco Serrano

Meet Stephanie Polanco Serrano - a third year student at Lehman College studying Psychology!

Her journey with Arete started when she was a high school student at The Laboratory School of Finance and Technology where she had the brilliant idea to start up the Self Care Club! Stephanie recounts that starting up this club helped her emotionally because the focus of the club was to offer a space where one would take care of themselves through different artistic activities. This outlet allowed her and other participants to learn of various ways to practice self care! Professionally, she gained communication skills and learned how to take initiative when she had to propose the idea to Arete Executive Director at the time, Sarah Benis Scheier-Dolberg, in order to get the club up and running. She also mentions that she felt connected to Arete and our mission because she felt that her voice was heard and as a student she felt that her idea of starting up a club was validated and taken seriously. 

Stephanie also became a tutor as a high school student during the pandemic. Stephanie chose to become a tutor because she felt that helping students academically would not be challenging to her as she was in good academic standing. Another big factor in taking up this opportunity was being motivated by a former middle school teacher, Ed Martinez, who presented this opportunity and encouraged her to form part of the program. In the end, it worked well as she was able to solidify her teaching and time-management skills and gain different service skills. As Stephanie puts it, “this role helped me grow because I learned how to serve my community!”

Now, her role within Arete is Senior Program Coordinator. Stephanie oversees Arete's afterschool programs at their various sites, on top of many other responsibilities! Currently, she is located at P.S./I.S. 155 to help the program function and flourish. 

 

Stephanie is grateful for Arete because they foster an environment where she can develop professionally. They provide her with opportunities like participating in trainings and professional development sessions. Being part of those things has helped her realize what it takes to be a part of a successful working environment. She continues to benefit from Arete because she feels security in the role she currently has and underscores that within the organization, there is a sense of trust and unity amongst her coworkers! As a college student, she is also extremely thankful that Arete works around her school schedule and does not penalize her for being a student unlike other college students her age who do not have the same privilege.

 - 04/12/2023 - Anthony Ramirez Diaz

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