| Releases & Statements
At the Marte Valle High School library
on the Lower East Side, New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum
today announced the donation of $70,000 in books and literary
grants to ten New York City high schools spread across region
9 (Manhattan and the Bronx). This gift from an anonymous donor
was secured by Gotbaum and processed by the Fund for Public Schools
and the New York City Department of Education.
“I appreciate the generosity
of the anonymous donor and encourage others to do the same. This
gift will have long-term benefits for students reading these biographies,”
said Gotbaum, who stressed the importance of reading in boosting
English Regents scores. In 2004, 55 percent of Marte Valle students
passed the English regents.
In addition to $40,000 in books, each
school received $3,000 to buy books for their literacy programs.
The books will be used to augment the strong literacy coaching
programs at these schools.
“Improving literacy in our schools
is a major priority for the New York City Department of Education,”
said Leslie Koch, CEO of the Fund for Public Schools. “On
behalf of our public schools, we are grateful for this donation
which will bring additional resources and books to thousands of
our students.”
Schools receiving the books include:
School for Physical City, Marte Valle High School Health Professions
High School, New Designs High School, Baruch College Campus High
School, Central Park East Secondary School, Humanities Preparatory
High School, Millennium High School, all of which are in Manhattan
as well as the Bronx’s High School of Letters and Hostos
Lincoln Academy.
The schools selected biographies on
important historical figures and will receive 40 copies of the
following titles: Martin Luther King Jr. by Marshall Frady, Rosa
Parks by Douglas Brinkley, Abraham Lincoln by Thomas Keneally,
and Robert E. Lee by Roy Blount Jr. Each school will also receive
55 copies of the following books: George Washington by Paul Johnson,
Thomas Jefferson by Christopher Hitchens, and Ulysses S. Grant
by Michael Korda.
“These selections offer students
a cross-section of leaders who have shaped our country at critical
times. U.S. history is a fundamental part of a sound high school
education. I am confident many of the students reading these books
will become leaders in their own right,” added Gotbaum.
The Fund for Public Schools is the
non-profit organization affiliated with the New York City Department
of Education. Its mission is to inspire belief in public schools
and our ability to make them better; to increase private sector
support of public education and to encourage every New Yorker
to participate in our City’s schools. The Fund seeks critical
funding for system-wide educational reform initiatives; helps
businesses partner with individual schools and programs; supports
volunteering and reaches out to the entire City to create awareness
about our public schools’ needs. For more information about
the Fund, log on to www.fundforpublicschools.org.
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