MEDIA - REVIEW DIGITAL - CAREERS - EVENTS
Issue N°5 September 10, 2015
SPOTLIGHT: EDUCATION
THE PRE-K PERIL Read more page 22
THE BARGAIN THAT CLOSED ST. VINCENT ’S p.14
MAYOR AL REPORT CARD
K2: THE NEW CR ACK
p.17
p.19
REMEMBERING FRED The voice of New York nonprofits
PERSPECTIVES
“DE BLASIO’S POLICIES FAILING BLACK AND HISPANIC STUDENTS”
p.10
Read more page 25
THE LANGUAGE OF CODE Read more page 26
A
AGENCY OF THE MONTH
FRONTLINE HERO
GIRLS WRITE NOW
NATALIE COX, BREAKTHROUGH NEW YORK
high school student, Corrine Civil, sat in a New York City cafe with her mentor Robin Marantz Henig, an author and New York Times Magazine contributor. The pair, brought together by Girls Write Now, a nonprofit that partners female writers with high school girls, worked on a writing prompt using a line lifted from a magazine as inspiration: “You finally had to sit down and have the talk.” Henig jotted about a character getting the sex talk for the first time, while Civil crafted her own short story. Once they finished writing, Henig read what Civil wrote and was initially confused. What did this have to do with sex? “Even as I was reading her piece, I wasn’t watching it unfold in the right way,” said Henig, who is white. “It was a talk about how black kids should behave when cops stop them. It was that talk.” Henig and Civil (who is black and Hispanic) often wrote in their one-
on-one sessions about their views on race-related issues, like the riots in Ferguson, Missouri, with telling results. In addition to discussing writing, the pair also discussed college, family, boys and many other personal issues. “We’ve tried new writing genres together, watched each other transition into new stages of life, and I really appreciate her advice,” Civil said of her mentor. “Even though my time as a mentee has ended, she will always be my mentor.” After spending three years in the Girls Write Now Program, Civil graduated from high school and starts classes at Columbia University this fall. Over its 17-year history, Girls Write Now has served over 5,000 girls from all five boroughs with its writing and digital media mentoring programs. Ninety-four percent of program participants, referred to as mentees, are girls of color. Read more page 8
O
n Breakthrough New York’s website, beneath a list of guilty pleasures including curly fries and Bravo TV, Natalie Cox describes why she cares about making “breakthroughs” happen for students: “We can equip students and future educators to be the change they wish to see in the world.” Cox, senior program director at Breakthrough, is in a unique position to help bring about that change. Overseeing programs at Breakthrough, a nonprofit that provides
mentoring for academically inclined, low-income middle schoolers, Cox helps lead an organization of students teaching other students. Volunteers and other staff members work tirelessly to inspire, mentor and educate students in order to get them to and through college, hopefully breaking cycles of poverty, and this process can become discouraging even for a dedicated staff. “I deeply understand the challenges of being a front-line Read more page 7
Executive Leadership Certificate Certificates OFFERED BY THE OFFICE OF EXECUTIVE PROGRAMS AT BARUCH COLLEGE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Baruch College’s School of Public Affairs is proud to offer six careerboosting executive certificate programs designed and delivered for administrators in the government, nonprofit, and healthcare sectors.
• Impact Measurement
• Launching and Managing
• Individual Fundraising • Individual Fundraising
• Professional Presentations • Not-For-Profit Financial
and Reporting
(Intensive)
a Not-For-Profit
Management and Reporting
Explore more and register today:
baruch.cuny.edu/spa/elc (646) 660-6718 NYNmedia.com
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