October 18, 2012
"My hardest days are feeling like my kids are invisible and no one sees how great they are. So to have someone like Ellen who has such high visibility acknowledge them is really cool."
Get to Know BRICK Avon Academy
Not long ago, Avon Avenue Elementary School was considered one of the lowest-performing K-8 schools in Newark and was among the 10 worst schools in New Jersey. In 2010, six Teach For America alumni assessed the situation and emphatically stated, “We must do better for these kids.” And so BRICK (Building Responsible Intelligent Creative Kids) Avon Academy was born.
With only one full year under its belt, BRICK has demonstrated that by doing things differently, all children can succeed. School leaders and Teach For America alumni Charity Haygood and Dominique Lee established a clear vision for a community of dual-language learners who graduate with International Baccalaureate accreditation. They began with the basics: painting, taking bars off the doors, holding block parties in an effort to reach out to the community. Today, with partnership across the school's staff, elementary students at BRICK Avon Academy are achieving double-digit academic gains—the first of what promises to be many successes for the school.
Overheard
My students give 110% every day, in part because I represent for them the possibility of achieving dreams. Daily, I teach them that if I can do it, they can also be successful. I teach them that adversity and challenges are real, but so are the hundreds of people willing to help and believe in them.
Greater Newark Corps 2010
Press
May 5, 2011
A profile of Teach For America alumna Cami Anderson as she takes the helm as Newark schools superintendent.
