PALS
Phillips Academy Andover High School Lawrence Schools
A Phillips Academy Outreach Program
Fall 2018 Newsletter
Located in southeast Lawrence, Spark Academy serves approximately 440 middle school children in grades 6 through 8.
New Academic Partner, New Opportunities With much excitement, the PALS program welcomed Spark Academy as a new partner school this summer. Spark now becomes the fourth Lawrence, Mass., partner school joining UP Academy Oliver, UP Academy Leonard, and Parthum Middle School. Tom Bean, a cofounder of Spark and self-described “head cheerleader” of the public middle school, says the partnership with PALS is all about providing opportunity and fits perfectly with Spark’s mission to empower young people to reach their potential. “I tell students that it’s my job to tell them where the door to opportunity is and it is their job to walk through the door,” Bean says.
For some of the students, attending the PALS program was not their first opportunity to visit Phillips Academy. Bean takes students to visit the Addison Gallery of American Art and to tour the campus every year. Students also have the chance to see other high-achieving high schools and colleges through programs at Pingree, Governor’s Academy, and MIT. Located in southeast Lawrence, Spark serves approx imately 440 middle school children in 6th through 8th grades. The school was founded in 2012 in the midst of an educational crisis during which Lawrence public schools were placed in state receivership. That August, Spark opened with a unique philosophy: to
offer rigorous academics along with plentiful health and wellness activities built into the curriculum. The results have been positive. In 2012, Spark was a Level 4 (failing) school; by 2016 the school had risen to Level 1, the state’s highest ranking. And according to Bean, Spark has admitted more students into the Abbot Lawrence Academy (the city’s only exam high school) than any other middle school. This year, 21 children have been accepted out of a total graduating class of 160 students. The partnership with PALS will continue to build on this strong foundation of academic success.
OUR MISSION Established in 1988, PALS is a two-year, year-round program that provides academic enrichment, study skills, and learning strategies for Lawrence middle school students and assists them with
MENTOR PROFILE
the high school application process. At the same time, PALS provides a unique opportunity for Phillips Academy and Andover High School student volunteers to work side by side as mentors and teachers, supported by a carefully planned curriculum and experienced, qualified adults. The “PALS” name is derived from the key partners in this program: Phillips Academy, Andover High School, and the Lawrence Schools.
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Photography: Diamond Gray
Eric You ’18 may have just graduated from Phillips Academy, but exactly one month after Commencement, he was back on campus. The newly minted graduate just could not keep away from the PALS program, where he’s worked as a mentor and volunteer coordinator since he was a 9th-grader at PA.
“I tried to present PALS as a program with opportunities for PA students to effect change. In its 30 years, PALS has built a community of students connected by their shared experiences,” he says. “My most meaningful moment was seeing my students present their programming projects to their parents last summer.”
“I’m excited to come back and see all my students,” says You, who helped design the summer math curriculum this year.
You, who loves to bake, play saxophone, and listen to jazz, is now attending the University of Chicago, where he is studying chemistry and public policy. The lessons he taught—and those he learned—will remain with him.
A day student from Andover, You said that getting involved with PALS was a way for him to find his place at the Academy. During his four years volunteering with PALS, You was responsible for assigning tutors, teaching algebra, compiling homework assignments, and guiding 8th grade students through the high school application process. Most recently he was the volunteer coordinator between Andover High School and PA, helping recruit 25 peers and friends from both schools, 15 of whom became PALS tutors.
“I have gained so much working with PALS. When I first joined, I was just one year older than most of the PALS students I was helping, and yet they readily befriended me. I’ve never forgotten how good it felt to join this community and have strived to make my students and other high school tutors feel the same way. Above all, I tried to emphasize PALS as a way to venture beyond our privileges at Andover and give back to our community outside the ‘Andover bubble.’”
PA Student Raises More Than $12,000 for School Supplies PALS students graduate with the skills necessary to succeed in high school. Thanks to Alexandra Leach ’19, this year’s PALS graduating class will also have the needed school supplies. In the past year, Leach—a Phillips Academy senior and PALS tutor—raised more than $12,000 to fund her backpack initiative. She got the idea last year after gifting one of her PALS tutees with school supplies.
“ The backpack initiative gives the kids some of the tools they’ll need for high school while also providing them with a pat on the back for completing this program.” —Alexandra Leach ’19, PALS tutor
“After seeing how grateful she was and how much use she got out of them, I decided I wanted to do something similar for all the graduates,” says Leach, who also sought to raise money to give the kids special PALS apparel. “I remember receiving a number of T-shirts when I arrived at the Academy as a new student; I wanted to give the PALS kids a similar sense of pride.”
Leach says working for PALS as a tutor in English and Spanish grammar and as a beatboxing enrichment instructor has given her confidence, taught her patience, and improved her communications skills. “I witnessed firsthand the importance of good role models in inspiring kids. The teachers and interns working for PALS are all caring, talented people who are able to show students what is possible when they enter the real world.”
Leach set an original goal of $3,000 (chosen to mark the 30th anniversary of PALS) and wrote letters to a large network cultivated in her Girl Scout cookie-selling days. A donor offered to match all contributions, which prompted such a generous outpouring of money that Leach announced a second challenge match. With more than quadruple her original goal raised, excess funds will be allocated in future years, impacting even more students. Leach dedicated her fund to former PALS Director Marvin Coote. “He’s done so much for the program,” she says. 3
PALS ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT Valerie Fajardo, PALS ’18 WHY PALS MATTERS: “PALS gives kids that have a lot of potential a chance to use it to the max. We are challenged, given new knowledge, and prepared for our next step in life.”
HOW PALS PREPARED ME: “PALS tutors taught me to have confidence in myself and the courage to speak in front of others; they helped me improve my writing. Truly, PALS was a big reason I got into Pingree, and I am very thankful for that.”
LESSONS LEARNED FROM PALS: “Be open minded. It is important to keep your mind open so you absorb the things being taught. And it’s important to be open to asking for help.”
ADVICE FOR PALS STUDENTS:
Middle School: Parthum Middle School High School: Pingree School, 9th grade Favorite Subjects: Math and science Hobbies: Sketching and playing the piano 4
“Although it may be hard, although it will take much thought and time, you should never give up. You were chosen for this because teachers saw your potential. They know you are capable of doing whatever you set your mind to do. So never give up.”
Denise Taveras, PALS ’17 FAVORITE THING ABOUT PALS: “PALS was the first thing that I was a part of where everyone was serious about schoolwork. We all had the same goal of wanting to succeed and become good role models for other kids in Lawrence. The people that I met are some of the greatest people ever. I made a lot of new friends in PALS and still talk to my tutors.”
Middle School: Parthum Middle School High School: Phillips Academy, 10th grade Favorite Subjects: English and theatre Hobbies: Singing and acting
HOW PALS PREPARED ME: “PALS broadened my horizons. It helped me build connections with adults that I would have otherwise been too scared to do.”
LESSONS LEARNED FROM PALS: “If the work is hard, then it’s probably better for you.”
ADVICE FOR PALS STUDENTS: “Don’t let your self-doubt keep you from trying new things and applying to different schools. I would never have guessed that I would end up at Phillips Academy.”
FAVORITE THING ABOUT PALS: “What I enjoyed most was getting to meet new people and learn in a different, productive way. I gained a lot of knowledge, courage, and social skills.” 5
PHILLIPS ACADEMY OUTREACH PROGRAMS As an expression of our longstanding values of
Amplifying PALS Support
“youth from every quarter” and a “private school with a public purpose,” Phillips Academy has long served as a resource for students and a partner to educators regionally, nationally, and worldwide. In addition to PALS, PA also supports the programs listed below. Mathematics & Science for Minority Students (MS)² was established in 1977 to help underserved African American, Latino, and Native American high school students prepare for college and ambitious careers. The Institute for Recruitment of Teachers (IRT) was established in 1990 to help undergraduate and graduate students of color and others committed to diversity pursue careers as teachers, counselors, professors, and administrators. Andover Bread Loaf (ABL) A partnership with Middlebury College, ABL was established in 1987 to empower students and teachers to transform themselves and their communities by igniting a passion for learning, self-expression, and social justice through writing and the arts. 6
Last September, Phillips Academy launched its Knowledge & Goodness campaign and already this historic fundraising endeavor is having a tremendous impact on Andover’s mission as a “private school with a public purpose.” In particular, alumni, parents, friends, and foundations are rallying together to support the Academy’s transformative outreach programs, including PALS, which continues to create lifechanging learning opportunities for Lawrence middle school students. Andover students also championed PALS on PA Giving Day, when the program received a $500 gift during a campuswide scavenger hunt. Each year, our donors strengthen PALS in important ways: underwriting instructional supplies, funding summer tutor salaries, providing student transportation to and from campus, and much more.
“PALS is a unique and important program,” says donor Cynthia DeAngelis, whose sons served as tutors this year. “To support PALS is to support my community. I feel lucky to be able to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those who participate.” All gifts to PALS will directly benefit our students, partners, and participants. And each contribution will count toward Andover’s comprehensive campaign while strengthening the key priority of equity and inclusion. To learn more about Knowledge & Goodness, please visit www.andover.edu/campaign, and to discuss your philanthropic support of PALS, please contact Beth Parsons, director for Museums and Educational Outreach at 978-749-4523 or bparsons@andover.edu.
Our Donors We gratefully acknowledge our 2017–2018 donors, whose generous contributions ensure the continued success of PALS and provide critical resources for its participants.
INDIVIDUAL DONORS Britt Ahlfert & Lawrence Pearlman Jeffrey Andrews Neil Aresty Sharyn Bahn
FOUNDATIONS
Holly A. Barnes & Richard Bremer P’10, ’12
Betty Beland Greater Lawrence Summer Fund
Kathryn T. Benvenuti ’12
Charles E. Foisy & Florida C.A. Foisy Foundation
Margot Botsford & S. Stephen Rosenfeld
The Hicks Family Charitable Foundation Edward S. & Winifred G. Moseley Foundation Josephine G. Russell Trust Artemas W. Stearns Trust Nathaniel & Elizabeth Stevens Foundation Waldo Trust
Louis M. Bernieri P’96, ’10
Madden P. Bremer ’12 Victoria S. Briggs ’11 Corrine S. Burke ’08 Ellinor Parnes Campbell ’01 & John-Paul Campbell Hillary L. Chute ’94 Bradford J. Colbert ’06 Thomas E. Cone IV ’88 & Karen H. Schmeelk-Cone Marvin A. Coote & Rachel Skiffer Laura J. Cox ’88 & Dan Rogoff Kyle L. Davies ’05 Cynthia DeAngelis & Francis P. Coyle Michael R. Deschenes ’91 & Mary-Ellen Odesse Michael J. & Rose Marie DiResta P’00
Peter L. Drench P’90, ’95 & Anne Ferguson
Jung C. & Kay Kim Lew P’79, ’84, ’87, GP’19, ’21
John J. & Alexandra Driscoll P’88, ’91
Thomas P. Lockerby & Kathleen J. McCrickerd
Patricia H. & George H. Edmonds P’79, ’82
Todd Marshman
James Elcock
David & Jeannette Morrocco
Beth Friedman
John G. Palfrey & Catherine A. Carter P’21
Andrew Frishman ’93 & Leigh Needleman
Susannah C. Parker ’98
Ziwerekoru C. Fumudoh ’10
Beth Parsons
Michael G. & Joann M. Furlong P’09
Daniel S. Rabinovitz ’97 & Darcy Lapp-Rabinovitz
Elinor Cahill Georgopulo ’44 Riley K. Gillis ’19
Gregory M. Rees ’05
Benjamin & Mona K. Goldthwaite P’18, ’20
Paula & Brendan J. Riley Conrad P. & Joan M. Roberge
Michael F. & Becky P. Goss
Nicaury M. Rodriguez
Aseem S. Gupta ’98
Darren Scandone
Daniel E. ’93 & Lan Haarmann
Margot E. Shoemaker ’12
Edward & Lillian Keefe
Margaret A. Shukur & Robert H. Ruxin
Gregory Kennan & Jane Materazzo
Wonje Song ’98
SukHee C. Kim ’98
Deborah L. Stahl-Hannam ’80, P’17
Thomas Klugherz & Jennifer Colosi
Domingo & Ana D. Taveras P’21
Michael J. ’94 & Amy Koehler
Jesenia Tejada-Perez & Calvin W. Perez
Durgesh A. Kudchadkar ’94
Alyssa N. Warren ’08
Jeanne Larkin-Henry & R. Michael Henry
Jacqueline Washburn & Stan Szwartz
Pamela F. Lenehan
Linda Yew
John I. Lew, MD, ’84 & Alexandra T. Cardoso
Jeff C. ’84 & Laura Woodhead Madeline P. Zerbey ’18
7 *This list reflects gifts received from July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018.
P = Phillips Academy Parent GP = Phillips Academy Grandparent
6 Things You Should Know About PALS PALS Interim Director: Sean McCarthy Summer Instructors Emai Lai, Michael Leyden, Roberto Rivera, Alice Wang, Sam Xifaris ’18 Summer Lead Interns Alexa Leach ’19, Jami Taveras ’19 Summer Interns Michelle Chao ’18, Ethan Coyle, Noah Coyle, Julia Grimm, Anay Mehta ’20, Kishan Patel ’20, Paulina Xifaris
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backpacks purchased for 2018 PALS graduates (See story – page 3)
$100K
in scholarships awarded to PALS students each year for secondary school
PALS
N
S
600+
new middle school partner in Lawrence (See cover story)
300+
Phillips Academy and Andover High School tutors
PALS students and alumni
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180 Main Street Andover, Mass. 01810-4161 978-749-4000 www.andover.edu/pals
More than
30 years
OF ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT
&
MENTORING to Lawrence middle school students (founded in 1988)
Please support PALS! You will help deserving Lawrence students by nurturing and strengthening their aspirations for high school, college, and beyond. Visit www.andover.edu/palsgiving to make a gift today.