Ossining Schools Receive My Brother's Keeper Grant from SED

OSSINING, NY — The State Education Department awarded more than $6 million in grants to 42 school districts, including Ossining, for the My Brother’s Keeper Family and Community Engagement Program.

The funds will support programs to increase the academic achievement and college and career readiness of boys and young men of color while fostering the development of effective relationships with families to promote the success of all students, said State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia in the announcement.

Among the grantees were these Hudson Valley school districts:

• East Ramapo CSD $150,000
• Greenburgh CSD $141,467
• Kingston City SD $150,000
• Monticello CSD $150,000
• Mount Vernon City SD $150,000
• Newburgh Enlarged City SD $150,000
• Ossining UFSD $147,415
• Peekskill City SD $150,000
• Poughkeepsie City SD $139,502
• Yonkers City SD $150,000

“We know the achievement gap exists as a direct result of the opportunities that are available to some students but not others,” Elia said. “An important part of closing that gap is to foster real change and provide opportunities for all students. Speaker Heastie and the tremendous support of Assemblymembers Nolan, Glick and Blake made this funding possible. I also want to thank Governor Cuomo and Majority Leader Flanagan—who have been instrumental in making sure these programs get the attention they deserve and continue to get the resources they need.”

The federal My Brother's Keeper Task Force established in 2014 by President Barack Obama was an interagency effort focused on closing and eliminating the opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color so that all young people have the chance to reach their full potential. With the adoption of the 2016–17 New York State budget, New York became the first state to accept the President’s challenge and enacted the My Brother’s Keeper initiative into law. The budget included a $20 million investment in support of the initiative to improve outcomes for boys and young men of color.

Strategies to support the MBK initiative are explored in a report, New York State Education Department My Brother’s Keeper Guidance Document: Emerging Practices for Schools and Communities, commissioned and released recently by SED. It provides an overview of the outcome trends among boys of color in K-12 school environments, and a research review of the most prevalent strategies currently being implemented in schools and communities across the country.

Details on New York’s MBK Initiative can be found here.

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