There is an uneasy air circulating around New York’s private and public schools as Bravo’s NYC Prep premieres on Tuesday, June 23. While the show focuses on the lives of PC, Kelli, Jessie, Sebastian, Camille, and Taylor, and not on their schools, some viewers are clearly not making that distinction. NYC private schools have often been stereotyped as “elite,” “snobbish,” “out of touch,” and “arrogant,” and for some viewers of the preview episodes, NYC Prep confirms the stereotypes.
Do NYC private schools students live in segregated worlds that are out of touch with the lives of their counterparts at NYC public schools? If, and how, does the NYC private school community (teachers, administrators, staff, parents, students, etc.) acknowledge and discuss issues of equity, privilege, and affluence? Does the NYC private school community only care about protecting its image? Should NYC private schools care about their neighbors at NYC public schools, and, if so, why and how?
Certainly, we believe that the NYC private school community is not just “self-absorbed” and most NYC private school students do not only engage community service because it looks good on their college applications. Many schools, along with the community as a whole, have a long history and tradition of local, national, and international community service. The community embodies the ideal that with privilege and affluence, comes tremendous responsibilities, particularly in our local NYC community.
Partnerships Between NYC Private and Public Schools
In addition, there are many strong partnerships between NYC private and public schools. One example is the Green Schools Alliance, which includes a wonderful private-public partnership between NYC private and public schools. A second example is Border Crossers, an organization which “brings together young students from segregated neighborhoods in New York City to explore issues of discrimination, inequality, and social justice, and to develop student leadership toward lasting social change.”
We believe in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words (1968): “Through our scientific and technological genius, we have made of this world a neighborhood and yet we have not had the ethical commitment to make of it a brotherhood. But somehow, and in some way, we have got to do this. We must all learn to live together as brothers or we will all perish together as fools. We are tied together in the single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. And whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.”
The NYC Private Schools Blog, DonorsChoose.org, & Bravo’s NYC Prep
Its time to stop talking the talk though. Now, we must walk the walk. The NYC Private Schools Blog has partnered with DonorsChoose.org to support NYC public schools. Our first campaign will begin on Tuesday, June 23 when Bravo’s NYC Prep premieres and will run through the first season of the show.
DonorsChoose.org, a nonprofit website, is a simple way to provide students with the books, technology, and supplies that they need to learn. At DonorsChoose.org, innovative and committed teachers propose ideas for small projects, such as “Magical Math Centers” ($200) or “Big Book Bonanza” ($400) or “The Case of the Vanishing Pencils” ($284). Individuals around the nation can search student projects by areas of interest, learn about classroom needs, and choose to fund the project idea they find most compelling. Donors receive a feedback package of photographs, student thank-you notes, a teacher impact letter, and an expenditure report showing that their gift was spent as directed. Since being founded by a high school teacher (Charles Best) in 2000, DonorsChoose.org has delivered more than $35 million in resources to over 2.2 million students across the country.
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We invite you to walk with us. We know there are many competing demands for your attention and donations in a tough economy, which include your child’s private school itself, or other equally important local, national, and international causes. If you believe though that NYC private and public schools are “caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. And whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly,” then we look forward to our journey together.
Here is How Our First Campaign Works:
1) Visit our NYC Private Schools Blog Giving Page on the DonorsChoose.org site, which has projects organized by borough (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island), then
2) Choose a project and select how much you would like to donate.
It is really that simple. The most difficult part might be selecting which of the many terrific projects to fund.
Some parents have asked if there any additional steps that they could take on this campaign, besides donating. One suggestion is to involve your children in this process and engage them in this learning opportunity through discussion and reflection. If you choose to do so, we (and other families) certainly would be interested in learning about why and how your family decided on which project to donate. How did you talk to your children about this? Did you discuss issues of equity, privilege, and affluence? Did the subject of race or class come up? Did you incorporate donating into a discussion about money (1/4 to save, 1/4 to spend, 1/4 to invest, 1/4 for charity)? Did your child have any creative ways to raise money to donate? Did you partner with any other families at your child’s school?
Optional Next Steps
1) Please use our “Contact Us” page to tell us you have donated, so we can systematically track the generosity of the NYC private schools community. We will respond to your email by asking whether you would like to be acknowledged and listed on our “Donors Page.” You may choose to have us publish your name (or you can remain anonymous), and your affiliation (private school, consulting organization, local business, unaffiliated, etc.) on our Donors Page.
2) If you have taken an additional step by involving your children and family and would like to be featured on our “Donor Stories Page,” then also use our “Contact Us” page. After your initial story, we will re-contact you in a few weeks to follow-up after your family receives the thank you notes and pictures from the teachers and students.
3) If there are specific classroom projects in your borough or a public school in your neighborhood or a particular area (e.g., arts, literacy, science, etc.) that you would like us to include on our Giving Page, please “Contact Us” to let us know.
Contacts
The NYC Private Schools Blog contacts for this project are Dr. Shamir Khan and Ms. Saubirah Hack. Ms. Hack is an undergraduate intern with our blog and a former intern at DonorsChoose.org. The DonorsChoose.org contact for this project is Ms. Daphra Holder, who coincidentally is an alumna of The Nightingale-Bamford School.
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