This is a one time facebook post to this group concerning Martin Van Buren High School (MVB HS) that many of you in this facebook group are alumni of. MVB HS which had been declining in overall performance measures in years past has been turning around with vast improvements and progress. The MVB HS Alumni Alliance is a group of dedicated individuals committed to working to make sure that those improvements and progress continue. Please take the time to read through the information below and if interested in supporting your alma mater the donation link is included. Also please share this on your facebook pages to get the word out to others thanks. We are writing to you as we begin our Fall Fundraising Campaign on behalf of Martin van Buren HS. Last year, the first for the Alumni Alliance, was a great success and we are looking to build on all our efforts as we begin year two. We are asking each of you to help us fund the programs that ARE making a difference. We had a lofty goal last year to raise $50,000 and we came quite close. This year, we are looking to double that amount. This is a very ambitious target, but we are already on our way, having already raised $40,000, thanks to our Hall of Fame inductees and the terrific support we have received from our corporate partners. Whatever you can give will help us towards our goal. What will we be doing with the funds we raise? We are expanding the programs we ran with great success last year. For example, we will triple versus last year the number of students participating in The Animation Project, an innovative program which teaches students to design their own 3D animation. The number of students involved with Summer Search, a proven leadership development program will hopefully be doubled. We are also working directly with the top students in the school as we support the Scholars Institute program at MVB. Here’s what the vice president of that organization had to say: The Scholars Institute has the best and the brightest Martin Van Buren has to offer. As part of this elite group, the students are put in all honors classes and given a higher ranked official class. It is no easy feat getting into Scholars. Being part of this organization requires a higher level of commitment from the students. Once you’ve been accepted, your journey as a Scholar has only begun. As a Scholar you are expected to do a minimum of 24 hours of both school and community service. Scholars are also committed to helping their fellow students. Peer tutoring is a very important function of a Scholar. Our institute focuses on being interactive with our surrounding community. In fact, we just finished raising donations for breast cancer awareness and we are ecstatic to inform you that we raised over $1600 for this cause. Many of our elite participated in the walk and brought honor and pride to our school. Our devoted Scholars are even participating in the trick or treat for UNICEF program which has also been very successful in raising needy donations. We hope to continue to further help the community, as well as work together in making Martin Van Buren exceptional. We are proud to be assisting the scholars every way we can. In addition, we are also supporting the Leaders, the Drumline performing group, the robotics team and even the baking club (featured this month in the Beeline-Alumni Edition mvbhsaa) . We want to be involved in every aspect at the school where we can help to improve student engagement and impact academic outcomes. What proof do we have that all these efforts are making an impact? Here are some recent statistics shared with me that show MVB is heading in the right direction: Two of the goals for the past year were to reach a 60% passing rate on the ELA Regents exam and for 60% of our 11th graders to earn 10 or more credits during the academic year. These two areas were key for us, since they are leading indicators of the next years graduation rate. Through the efforts of everyone pitching in to our school-wide literacy initiative and our attentiveness to students who just needed that extra encouragement to succeed, we had an ELA Regents passing rate of 66.5% and a 10-or-more credit accumulation for our 11th graders this year of 81%. These statistics define real progress and we want to do all we can to ensure this success continues and can accelerate. Here’s one of our teachers explaining what she is seeing in her classroom: People often overlook change unless its some dramatic, over-the-top, sudden event. Change is more subtle here at MVBHS, and has a simple meaning: positive progress. Change at MVBHS is positive progress towards something better. Having taught at MVBHS for four years, I now see, feel, and hear the change taking place this year; my 9th graders this year are, by far, the most positive signal of change in this building: they have goal-oriented attitudes, sharp minds, and a love for the challenge of learning. They want to come to MVBHS and are expecting the best of themselves and their teachers. Our objective is to make the best possible experience for today’s students and improve the academic outcomes. We can only do this with your support. Please help us to keep this effort going and growing. I would also ask if you could please help us reach other alums and ask them to join us. We need as many as possible to be a part of this effort to continue the great progress that has already been made. Thanks for your support Steve Wilson 77 Stephanie Hochman 81 Lloyd Fishman 69 Anthony Pla 98 Alpa Yeagley 85 Brian Greenspan 89 Owen Rumult 77 Kirby Lindell 73 203-536-9450 mvbhsalumns@gmail To make a tax deductible donation By Credit Card please use this link firstgiving/fundraiser/MVBforSummerSearch/supportmartinvanburen2014 By Check please make it payable to Summer Search and mail it to Megan Sussman Summer Search 8th floor 261 5th Ave NY NY10016
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 01:53:53 +0000
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