HARBOR SCIENCE AND ARTS CHARTER SCHOOL

On February 11, 2013, the Harbor Science and Arts Charter School, along with fundraising partners, Magnolia Bakery and Schoola.com were featured on the morning show, The Couch, on CBS New York's local affiliate WLNY 10/55.  A special thank you to Mobile Couch reporter Alex Denis and her crew for coming out to showcase our school!

Additionally we thank Magnolia Bakery for showing their support for Harbor Charter by partnering with us and Schoola.com as sponsors of our fundraiser, and our kindergarteners thank Magnolia Bakery for the delicious cupcakes that they gave us!

 Of course, we'll share our cupcakes with you, Ms. Denis!

I love cupcakes!

 Yummy!

Posted by Helena Stone in Featured Stories on May 6, 2011 at 12:36pm to:
http://www.chipchick.com/2011/05/lenovo-intel-kids.html

Last December, Lenovo and Intel sponsored a giveaway which offered the opportunity for three different worthy causes to win 5 Lenovo M90z All-in-one PCs for their organization. One of the winning organizations was the Harbor Science and Arts Charter School in New York City. The school is committed to providing a challenging, rigorous, standards-based curriculum and currently has over 200 students enrolled in grades one through eight.

This week we visited the school and had the opportunity to see the students and faculty interacting with the M90z PC’s in person. At the moment the computers are set up in a temporary location while the school prepares a new science lab where the M90z’s will be the focal points of the lab. Fortunately because the M90z is so compact, they’re not worried about having too move it around. On hand was Ann Bommarito, the school’s Assessment and Development Administrator, who told us that their IT staff really appreciated how quick and easy it was to set-up the systems when they first received them. As a matter of fact, the school’s IT guys were so impressed with the system that they even asked if they could use one for their own work, but they were turned down.

Ann says that they plan to use the Lenovo M90z’s for kids to work on developing science and art Powerpoint presentations and for students to use in a special writing an technology class. They also plan on installing graphics design software on it for their art students. Finally, the computers will be available for students whom don’t have computers at home to use after school . Speaking of students who don’t have computers, much to our shock and dismay, Ann explained that many of the students at Harbor Science and Arts Charter School don’t have computers at home, so the only opportunity they have to interact with computers, is at school.

She also told us that before receiving the M90z’s, they had been using ancient Apple iMac G3s and some old clunker desktop PCs, which were constantly breaking down. The M90z’s design happens to be very convenient for students and teachers, since it gives them plenty of room to leave their books and papers near them while they work, instead of being crowded in by bulky desktops and a wirey mess. We also observed that the kids are interacting with the system mostly, sans a physical keyboard. The students we spoke to told us that they love the touchscreen and large display on the M90z and that “it’s fast and a lot of fun to use”.

Ann explained that technology donations like PCs are the highest priority for the school, even more so than cold hard cash.

“We don’t want money, we need technology. This is what is going to bring these kids into the future.”

Mr. Angel Perez is the kind of coach most people can only dream about. Always willing to stay after practice to lend a helping hand, Mr. Angel provides leadership and stability for Harbor Charter Hurricane student athletes, as well as for Harlem youth baseball and softball teams. To each athlete Mr. Angel teaches sportsmanship and respect; values not easily learned. He provides a listening ear and a helping hand to the young people he coaches. Vince Coleman, the Director of Baseball and Softball Programs describes Angel as someone who, “will do whatever it takes to make sure his players are successful—on the field, in the classroom, in life. He never gives up on his kids.”

The Play it Forward contest stated, "A good coach simply instructs his or her athletes. True coaches do more than that. They serve as role models and become inspiration to the players they guide."  The four winners of the 2010 Play it Forward contest exemplify those ideals. These four coaches were sent to the Get Set America summit in Washington D.C. They received the opportunity to talk to elected officials about why sports matter and how to support youth athletics in future legislation. In September 2010, Coach Angel Perez was one of the four coaches selected from a nationwide pool of candidates as an exemplary coach as part of the Play it Forward contest sponsored by YouthNoise.com and Up2Us.org.  

YouthNoise created and reinvented Play City, a youth-led movement that uses sports as a catalyst for personal and social change.  Their goal is to build a community of millions of young people to inspire and activate their peers to play and address the most pressing issues in their communities by using sports.  Their mission involves highlighting organizations that share Play City's ideals, sparking conversation about how sports can be used to further social good, teaching youth about the benefits of sports and physical activity, and empowering youth to make a change in their community and encourage others to do the same.

Up2Us is a national coalition of Sports-Based Youth Development (SBYD) organizations. Since 2008, Up2Us has been leading the movement to use sports to address critical issues facing youth-issues like childhood obesity, poor health and nutrition, academic failure and antisocial behavior.

All information about Play it Forward, YouthNoise, and Up2Us were excerpted and paraphrased from their respective websites.  Please click on the links in the text above to visit any of their websites! and read more about these progressive initiatives!

Upper Manhattan Schools Receive Excellence in School Wellness Awards at NYAM

On June 25, the New York City Strategic Alliance for Health held its first annual Excellence in School Wellness Award Ceremony at NYAM. The event honored fifteen northern Manhattan elementary schools for their commitment to creating environments that promote healthy eating and an active lifestyle.

A project of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the New York City Strategic Alliance for Health aims to make sustainable improvements to the environment, systems, and policies that influence physical activity, nutrition, and tobacco use in East and Central Harlem and the South Bronx. "This project is trying to change the system so that school wellness can be part of the fabric of every school in the New York metropolitan area," said Javier Lopez, Director of the Alliance. NYAM has been a founding member of the Alliance since its inception in 2008.

Deputy Borough President Rosemonde Pierre-Louis

Deputy Borough President Rosemonde Pierre-Louis presented gold, silver, and bronze awards and honorable mentions to representatives from 15 schools. "We know that in our community there are environmental disparities, but when we bring all these resources together, we can make a difference," she said. "I applaud you for putting the health and wellness of your students as a priority; we know that has a direct correlation to learning."

Four of the schools honored are participants in one of NYAM's Office of School Health Programs’ outreach initiatives, Healthy Eating Acting Living: A School and Community Initiative (HEAL), a coordinated school health approach to obesity prevention made possible through the generous support of the MetLife Foundation. The schools, all of which are located in East Harlem, are Harbor Science and Arts Charter School, Anna M. Short School (PS 146), and The Lexington Academy (PS 72), which received gold awards; and Central Park East II, which received silver.

Angel Perez, Athletic Director at Harbor Science and Arts Charter School, spoke about the culture of unhealthy eating that pervades many schools and described Harbor's strategy of "attacking that culture in very subtle ways." The school offers a comprehensive fitness and dance program, has held healthy cooking events, and has a "no soda" policy, even at staff functions. Mr. Perez and the other recipients noted that their collaboration with NYAM was integral in motivating and building the capacity of the school wellness team to foster change and subsequently impact the health and wellness of their students and school community.

"It is gratifying to see that four schools that have participated in HEAL over the past three years have sustained and expanded their wellness activities in collaboration with the Strategic Alliance for Health and will be recognized today for their outstanding efforts," said Joanne De Simone Eichel, Director of the Office of School Health Programs.

This article is was posted on July 1, 2010 on the website for the New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM).  Please click on the link below to visit the website for NYAM and to read more about the efforts of NYAM and the New York City Strategic Alliance for Health to promote healthy eating and an active lifestyle!

To visit NYAM's website, click on the link below:

http://www.nyam.org/urban-health/success-stories/10176.html



October 18, 2007

     The moment Principal Joanne Hunt knew her school had arrived was the first day of the 2007-08 school year.

     Schools Chancellor Joel Klein traditionally makes a five-school tour, and this year Harbor Science and Arts Charter School, an East Harlem 1-8 school, was the only charter on the list.  According to Hunt, principal since 2003, the chancellor wanted feedback on the importance of principal autonomy.  At a time when Klein is in the process of empowering principals and making them accountable for school performance, Harbor Science and Arts served as a stellar illustration of just what a difference a principal can make.

     When Hunt became the fourth principal in just three years, Harbor Science and Arts was a troubled school, able to retain only 10 percent of its teachers each year.  Hunt's first order of business was to hire a whole new cadre of teachers.  Now the school boasts a teacher retention rate of 80 to 90 percent a year, and, to the delight of parent Regina Graham, most of the teachers are men.  About 75 percent of the children qualify for Title I funding, and many live with single moms.  "The children need a lot of role models," Graham said.

     She also credits the principal with closely monitoring teacher performance.  "If the children don't show any growth between October and April, she wants to know why and holds teachers accountable.  The teachers who stay like the chemistry."

     Hunt and the dedicated staff have transformed Harbor Science and Arts into a school where, "Children don't want to go home when they're sick.  They want to be here."

     The result of this hard work shows.  Attendance is at about 90 percent and state test scores are 20 to 30 percent above District 4 standards.

     Harbor Science and Arts prides itself on being able to successfully incorporate a character component, physical wellness and a heavy emphasis on the arts into an exacting academic curriculum.  Through its affiliation with the Boys and Girls Harbor, children get swimming lessons twice a week for eight-week sessions.  Two full-time art teachers, one in the lower school and one in the upper school, spearhead an ambitious arts program.

     "At the end of the school year," Hunt said, "we turn our sixth floor into a museum with an opening night, student docents and artwork displayed from each student with an artist statement."

     With its five-year contract renewal, Harbor Science and Arts is not content to rest on its laurels.  "The school would like to move from being a 'good' to a 'great' school," Hunt said.  "My goal is to eventually hire one of my student alumni as a staff member at this school.  Then I will feel like our mission has come full circle."

On October 16, 2007, The Harbor Science and Arts Charter School graciously accepted an award for Excellence in Education/Charter Schools Renewal at the 2007 Blackboard Awards ceremony created by Manhattan Media.  You can read more about this accomplishment and the history of the Blackboard Awards at the website www.blackboardawards.com.