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 - 06/18/2022 - sbsd@areteeducation.org
event set up banner

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

Welcome The Arete Alumni Council!

We are in full swing this fall semester! As fall brings an energy to reflect and refresh, we take an opportunity to consider new ways to grow and expand to best suit our community’s needs. One of those expansions is the launch of the Arete Alumni Council. The Alumni Council consists of different graduating classes coming together to create a stronger community. The main purpose of the Alumni Council is to provide Alumni the chance to be listened to, as well as provide Alumni with the opportunity to branch out and network in numerous ways. The Council consists of a President, Secretary, Treasurer, Communications Leader & Media Leader.

The Alumni Council will be instrumental in creating initiatives to reinvest in the community from the people that know the community best.

To find out more about the Council and upcoming events feel free to follow both the Arete instagram page (@areteeducationinc) and the Alumni council instagram page (@lsftalumnicouncil) as well. We as a council cannot wait to get started on hosting events and workshops for the community soon. 

 - 11/10/2021 - Mariyam Sumareh

Summer Bridge (Rising) - First Day!

Written by Mariyam Sumareh

Today marks the first day of Summer Bridge for the students at The Laboratory School of Finance & Technology! It is exciting to see many young faces gathered after the year we have experienced. Throughout today, students across the grades engaged in academic and enrichment activities.

We had over 100 students attend summer programming, and we are excited to keep the momentum going. One thing for sure is that today has been a success. It's exciting to know that this is some students' first time being in the building while doing their whole sixth grade experience virtually and were able to engage with their classmates and instructors.

Through all of the first day challenges, we were able to get it done thanks to the students’ flexibility and the drive of all of the amazing staff. Students were able to sample the enrichment activities, exploring and getting a taste of each club so that by the end of tomorrow they can choose where they would like to be for the remainder of the summer.

The enrichment activities available to students this summer are:

  1. Guitar

  2. Fitness & Sports

  3. Visual Arts

  4. Performing Arts

  5. Table Tennis

  6. Creative EQ/Ceramics

  7. STEM 101

  8. Debate

Take a look at what our students had to say about their first day:

“Today was awesome. I got to meet new teachers and classmates. I got to learn more stuff about the school. So now I’m prepared for the school year.” - Juelz Perdomo, 6th Grade

 

“My day went good because I got to make new friends and I got to see new faces. It was good to get to know the teachers” - Juliet Flores, 7th Grade

 

“My first day here today was fine as we did a lot of fun things like play a game for our birthdays and engaged in Ice breakers” - Anonymous student, 8th Grade

 - 07/07/2021 - sbsd@areteeducation.org

Arete Youth Service and Leadership Fellowship

Arete is proud to announce the hiring of Yaritza Montiel, a graduate of the Laboratory School of Finance and Technology (MS/HS 223) and alumni of Arete programs, in the new position of Youth Service and Leadership Fellow. In this role Yartiza will be leading youth service and leadership initiatives for middle school and high school students across our programs in Mott Haven. She will be focusing on the areas: financial literacy, community service learning, advocacy for racial equity, food security for children and families, and high quality job access for youth.

Yaritza is enrolled at Cornell University and is majoring in Information Science and also serves in the U.S. Army Reserves. She will be taking a GAP year for the 2020-2021 school year and during this time will serve as an Arete Fellow and figure out what she is passionate about, enjoys doing, and should explore for a future career. We are thrilled to have Yaritza join the team.

 - 12/01/2020 - sbsd@areteeducation.org
racial-gap

Love and Racial Justice Youth Leadership Initiative

This month Arete is launching a Youth Leadership Initiative integrating the topics of Love and Racial Justice.

What does love have to do with racial justice?
Can understanding the dynamics of love lead towards racial justice?

When prompted, many of us can list all of the injustices that racism has caused in our society. However, can we discuss what it would look like if racial justice was achieved?

Discussions of love as a force of healing are often neglected in talks about racial justice. Research has proven that love is a powerful force of healing in the body and has a positive outcome on the lives of people who experience love.

Starting November 12, 2020, we are inviting our student and alumni leaders to join a year-long study on these topics. Monthly hour-long sessions (5 pm on Thursdays) will provide spaces for youth to engage with expert coach and facilitator, Dr. Maria Akinyele, who is serving as Arete's Coach in residency this academic year. She has designed a six-part series of workshops, where youth leaders will explore conceptions of love as a pathway for imagining and achieving racial justice.

Our your leaders will:

  • Develop an awareness of self-love and your love identity.
  • Explore different understandings of love as a feeling and as an action.
  • Understand the role of love in racial justice work
  • Explore protocols to engage in racial healing conversations amongst staff and students.
  • Engage in love study of yourself, others and society.
  • Explore visions and models of racial justice
  • Develop equity stances and statements that promote racially just school environments

Beginning in February 2020, our youth leaders will begin working with Dr. Maria to design bilingual family workshops on the topics they are exploring in their work and offer those sessions in English and Spanish for all families in our school community.

This youth leadership team will also begin working as professional learning facilitators in Arete Forum sessions as all staff across the organization follow the lead of our youth leaders and delve into the topics and learning activities presented in the 6-part workshop series. Our youth leaders will be co-facilitators during those professional learning sessions.

At the end of the youth leadership initiative, we will have 8 certified youth leaders on the topic of racial justice and love, having gained 25 hours of learning and coaching. We look forward to the new community learning initiatives and service projects that come forward through this focused work over the year.

 - 11/11/2020 - sbsd@areteeducation.org
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Restoration=Power (Self-Care and BLM)

The Black Lives Matter movement is not something that has recently emerged in America-- it has resurfaced. For centuries, America has been a place that has constantly neglected the issues at hand regarding black people. There have been constant battles from the Civil Rights Movement in the mid 1950s to the late 1960s, to the modern day Black Lives Matter movement that was started back in 2013, which is still very relevant till this day. Our American system is built on principles made to serve white men, and has been buried by slogans like “liberty and justice for all,” when in reality justice has countless times never been served for the black innocent lives lost due to the systemic racism present. 

It has been the job of the people to stand against the corrupt American system and fight for basic human rights that everyone is entitled to. There should not be a fight, but there is. There has been, and it will continue until the system is truly changed to serve everyone like they promised. 

The Black Lives Matter movement is particularly important to me because most of my life up to this point, I’ve been influenced by so many black people who have shaped me in ways unimaginable. From my childhood friends, my mentors, music teachers, and my family members I have felt so closely connected to, I feel so enraged about the current state of the country and bias against people who I have felt so much love for. Fighting for your personal community is a form of advocacy I have been exercising. Contributing to this movement and understanding why it is so important, is part of my own growth through continuously learning about shared worries black people around me and nationally have.

The worries black people share nationwide through social media outlets like Twitter and Instagram, have educated me and have brought awareness to issues that are far from the surface. As I’ve read and read through countless posts, articles, and looked at pictures, it instantly made me think if everyone deeply affected by the issues at hand have been taking care of themselves. It made me worried that the strong black people I am so inspired by through their bravery, were looking within and finding ways to stay in touch with themselves. Mental health during these times is incredibly important because sharing with the world your traumas and fears can be draining, so recharging is essential in the restoration of power. Through restoring oneselves power, your voice will be used to its full potential and clearly heard by those like me who are allies. 

Self-Care & BLM 

Many people don’t think that self-care is important during these times because there are greater problems to worry about and advocate for. However, advocacy looks different for everyone, and can actually be tied to anything relating to the honoration of black lives. For example:

  • Painting/Drawing: Painting and drawing are effective ways to perform self care because your focus will be turned over into your art instead of everything else. The problems going on don’t have to be ignored, but instead brought to light through art. Painting and drawing your feelings can help liberate your mind from the stressors contributing to your current worries.
  • Journaling: Journaling is a way where you can be completely honest with yourself and spill everything you have been feeling onto a piece of paper that no one else has to read. This will help in the organization of thoughts and feelings, making it easier to understand yourself and your feelings. This can also help you realize what you truly want to use your voice for the next time you speak up.
  • Reading: Reading is a form of escape from the real world into other stories that have nothing to do with you. Pulling out a book to read can help ease your mind but also give you new perspectives as you go. By reading books by black writers, you can take a trip into one of their stories and connect through their words.
  • Exercise/Dancing: Having feelings of frustration can psychologically be released through exercising. Dancing, more specifically is a gift that can be twisted in a way to serve you physically but also mentally. It is exercise, but also a fun activity to do with your family and friends. During these tough times, putting on music by black artists and dancing will be a way to enhance black artists' voices through your own self care.
  • Listening to Music/Making Playlists: alongside dancing, listening to music can be a great way to amplify black voices. The stories hiding within music can be an escape from reality, similar to reading books, and you get exposure to the works of art that these artists hold dear to their hearts no matter the genre.

My preferred self care activities would be dance and listening to music since they come hand in hand. Dancing has always been a way for me to destress and recharge myself. During these times I have dedicated myself to learning some dance routines to songs by black artists that I admire. One of these artists being Lizzo. Lizzo is not only an icon of being confidently beautiful, but an inspiration to the black community in general. A black successful artist who has done nothing but spread positivity and light; she should be celebrated through times like these. Black lives matter, her life matters, her father, uncles, cousins, brothers lives matter, and all of her black fans that she inspires matter. 

More on BLM and Music

I decided to make a BLM Playlist and put together songs that I have been listening to throughout this month. There’s a variety of genres included within the playlist so you can either skip around or listen directly through the whole playlist. I recommend listening to the whole playlist because new black creators can be exposed to you, and by streaming their music as a form of self-care, their voices will be magnified. Black lives matter, these artists’ lives matter, their fathers, uncles, cousins, brothers lives matter, and all of the black fans that these artists inspire matter. Here is the link to my playlist:

https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/blm-explicit/pl.u-Ymb09NqTP8Pm8G9

I urge everyone to engage in a form of self care during these times. The Black Lives Matter battle is nowhere near over and the movement needs activists who are strong and powerful. Restoration of power is essential in working towards a changed future, and we will get there. Like Lizzo once said:

You know what I want above all things? I want people who are aware of my music right now, to believe in change.”

 - 08/10/2020 - Rose Padilla

50 Ways You Can Help

For the past couple of the days the BLM movement has turned into an unrest of wanting equality. Many people do not understand the movement because they fail to realize the privilege they have. Seeing several articles on how to stay in involved and what type of media you should be consuming so you are much more aware of what is going on. Here are a couple of lists of media I have seen that can help someone understand.

10 movies/shows you can watch that speak on these issues are...

  1. When They See Us (Netflix)
  2. 13th (Netflix)
  3. American Son (Netflix)
  4. See You Yesterday (Netflix)
  5. Dear White People (Netflix)
  6. Freedom Writers (Netflix)
  7. The Hate U Give (Hulu)
  8. If Beale Street Could Talk (Hulu)
  9. 16 Shots (Hulu)
  10. Hidden Figures (Hulu)

10 Children Book that speak about race...

  1. Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up To Be Malcolm X, Ilyasah Shabazz
  2. Let it Shine Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters, Andrea Davis Pinkney
  3. Something Happened in Our Town A Child's Story About Racial Injustice, Ann Hazzard, Marianne Celano, and Marietta Collins
  4. My Hair is a Garden, Cozbi A. Cabrera
  5. My Family Divided, Diane Guerrero
  6. Lailuh's Lunchbox, Reem Faruqi
  7. Moses: When Harriett Tubman Led Her People to Freedom, Carole Boston WeaherFord
  8.  Happy In Our Skin, Fran Manushkin
  9. Little Leaders Bold Women in Black History, Vashti Harrison
  10. A is for Activists, Innosanto Nagara

10 Petitions you can sign...

  1. Arrest Jared Campbell who maced little girl: http://chng.it/wGPvrnB98T
  2. Justice for Sandra Bland: http://chng.it/gMHfz8gsdc
  3. Justice for Breonna Taylor: http://chng.it/2LnHYJnrYK
  4. Justice for Ahmaud Arbery: http://chng.it/mMgKzRTq9w
  5. Implement Mandatory "I can't Breathe" Training to All Police Academies: http://chng.it/ZLqM5kDbF9
  6. Justice for Sean Reed: http://chng.it/VpdQYqxqkR
  7. Justice for Emerald Black: http://chng.it/XfMbjGmKGq
  8. Mandate Police force to take "Racial Biased Test": http://chng.it/MJLzvm8zbm
  9. "Hands Up Act": http://chng.it/xy4GvHDxfS
  10. Justice for George Floyd: http://chng.it/Rsns9HGJPp

10 Organizations you can donate to...

  1. Brooklyn Bail Fund: https://brooklynbailfund.org/
  2. Minnesota Freedom Fund: https://minnesotafreedomfund.org/
  3. This YouTube Video was created to donate if you don't have money. If you click on the link it will take you to the video and ads will play do not skip the ads and that money will be donated to different BLM organizations.
  4. Bail Fund: https://bailproject.org/
  5. Black Lives Matter Foundation: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_blm_homepage_2019
  6. People's City Council Freedom Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/peoples-city-council-ticket-fund
  7. Campaign Zero: https://www.joincampaignzero.org/
  8. Black Vision Collective: https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/
  9. Liberty Fund: https://www.libertyfund.org/
  10. Higher Heights Leadership Fund: https://www.higherheightsleadershipfund.org/donate/

10 Podcast to listen to...

  1. 1619- NY Times
  2. About Race
  3. Seeing White
  4. Code Switch
  5. The Diversity Gap
  6. Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast
  7. The Combahee River collective
  8. Pod Save the People
  9. Pod for the Cause
  10. Intersectionality Matters! Hosted by Kimberle Crenshaw

 

 - 06/06/2020 - Yaritza Montiel

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