March 1, 2018
Please give $10 or more to Help Carver kids win Fairfield County’s Giving Day on Thursday, March 1st!
The charity that receives the most unique gifts of $10 today wins the grant prize of $20,000. If Carver wins first place it will award $2,000 to each of Carver’s partnering schools!
Donate as little as $10 or more to Carver’s FC Gives page
Thank you for your support!
Carver took students to see "Black Panther" the movie yesterday. The movie is headed for breaking box office records, not only because it is well received by the critics, but mostly because it has an important message that minority children are valued. The movie is elevating role models for Carver's young people. Carver and countless organizations around the world are raising funds to help send children to see the movie.
Exploring issues of privilege and power, the movie is based on the black superhero character created in 1966 by Marvel Comics' Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. "'Black Panther' follows T'Challa who, after the events of 'Captain America: Civil War,' returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to take his place as King. However, when an old enemy reappears on the radar, T'Challa's mettle as King and Black Panther is tested when he is drawn into a conflict that puts the entire fate of Wakanda and the world at risk."
The movie may very well in the end be more impactful as something to contemplate and remember than to watch.
Today, thanks to vital new financial support from 21st Century Community Learning Centers, Carver began its new after school enrichment services to 5th grade students attending Brookside and Tracey Elementary Schools. We will also provide a Summer Transition Program for these same students who will be entering Roton and West Rocks Middle Schools in next fall.
Carver’s after-school personalized learning model starting today will compliment regular school day learning for 5th grade students with certified teachers from their respective schools and other professionals delivering Literacy, Math, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Science, enrichment, recreation and wellness programming through structured activities that have been proven by Carver to achieve significant academic improvement. Carver will also provide a Summer Transition Program for 80% of these students who will be transitioning into Roton and West Rocks Middle Schools. Carver will offer parents literacy, technology classes and related educational opportunities and support.
Carver’s after-school Youth Development Program (YDP) provides students (a minimum of 4 days per week, 2.5 hours per day, not including field trips, career fairs, etc.) with a variety of learning opportunities that compliment and enrich school-day instruction, utilizing the Scientific Research Based Interventions (SRBI) three-tier learning framework. YDP emphasizes successful instruction for all students through high quality core education practices, as well as targeted interventions for students experiencing difficulties. YDP ensures the differentiation of instruction for all learners, including students performing above and below grade level expectations and English language learners (ELLs). YDP offers services not available during the school day and collaborates with school day teachers, counselors and parents to assess students’ needs. The Summer Transition program deploys YDP education methodologies while helping students learn the basics of navigating their respective new schools. These after-school and summer programs incorporate comprehensive use of each school site. Carver employs certified teachers from each participating school.
Black History Month, also known as African-American History Month in America, is an annual observance in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and in the Netherlands (as of 2016) where it is known as Black Achievement Month. It began as a way for remembering important people and events in the history of the African diaspora. It is celebrated annually in the United States and Canada in February, as well as in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in October.
Of course, the Carver community is especially proud of its namesake, George Washington Carver (1860s – January 5, 1943). He was an American botanist and inventor. He became well-known to the public due to his active promotion of alternative crops to cotton and methods to prevent soil depletion.
While a professor at Tuskegee Insitutute, Carver developed techniques to improve soils depleted by repeated plantings of cotton. He wanted poor farmers to grow alternative crops, such as peanuts and sweet potatoes, as a source of their own food and to improve their quality of life. The most popular of his 44 practical bulletins for farmers contained 105 food recipes using peanuts. Although he spent years developing and promoting numerous products made from peanuts; none became commercially successful.
Apart from his work to improve the lives of farmers, Carver was also a leader in promoting environmentalism. He received numerous honors for his work, including the Spingarn Medal of the NAACP. In an era of very high racial polarization, his fame reached beyond the black community. He was widely recognized and praised in the white community for his many achievements and talents. In 1941, Time magazine dubbed Carver a "Black Leonardo".
On Tuesday, January 30, 2018, 5:00-5:30PM, immediately following the annual Carver Career Fair at Carver Community Center, 400+ Carver students wearing WE ARE CARVER t-shirts joined Norwalk and Carver leadership and student speakers to celebrate Carver's 80 years of service.
The event planning committee members were Dr. Susan Weinberger, Committee Chair; Marc Alan; Tasha Branch; Marge Costa; Meri Erickson; Richard Whitcomb; and Brenda Wilcox Williams. The Norwalk Arts Commission officially endorsed the event that launched a yearlong series of occasions to celebrate Carver’s 80 years of “Building Lifetime Achievers.”
The speakers included Novelette Peterkin, Carver Executive Director; Diana Napier, Carver Board President; Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling, Introduced by Carver student Rodelin Constant; Ralph Valenzisi, Chief of Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, Norwalk Public School, Introduced by Carver student Joseph Jakpasu; Diane Jellerette, Executive Director, Norwalk Historical Society, Introduced by Carver student, Jordyn Powell; and Carver alumnae Gabrielle Pierre-Louis sang Carver’s new official song, “WeR1", Introduced by Marc Alan, Director of Marketing, Factory Underground Records. The event's DJ, was Steve Lou (DJ Connect), Diageo and a Carver alumnus.
Hundreds of Carver students once again gathered at the Carver Community Center to be introduced to career choices presented by successful professionals. See the photos here!
