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The City of Norwalk celebrates the unveiling of the Jamaica Heritage Wall Plaque

(L) Novelette Peterkin, Carver CEO, standing with Valerie Watson, Carver board member and VP at Patriot Bank

We’ve been sharing stories about this initiative since last summer. Now, this important plaque in the life of the Carver community and the City of Norwalk is a reality! Yesterday’s unveiling event coincided with Jamaica’s National Heroes Day.

We are proud that Novelette Peterkin, Carver’s CEO, is one among six of the Jamaican-American Honorary Members of the Jamaican Heritage Trust of Norwalk who inspired this initiative. All the other members know Carver well: Janet Evelyn, the Founder and Executive Director of the sponsoring charity, NICE; Valerie Watson, Vice President of Patriot Bank, and a member of Carver’s Board of Directors; George Daley, Norwalk Police Department; Ingrid Aarons-Porter, LMSW; and Diane Jellerette, Executive Director, Norwalk Historical Society (which included Carver in its “Norwalk: Portrait of Diversity” exhibit).

Dozens of people dear to this cause gathered at Norwalk’s Heritage Wall yesterday to unveil the new plaque honoring all those of Jamaican descent who have lived in and contributed to making the City of Norwalk as great as it is and all those who do so today and will do even more in the future.

Mayor Harry Rilling proclaimed October 17 as “Jamaican Heritage Day in Norwalk” and read the city’s Proclamation. Norwalk Common Council member Greg Burnett, a longtime friend of Carver, joined other city officials in making this moment special.

Senator Bob Duff and Representative Lucy Dathan also joined the festivities and read the citation honoring this initiative on behalf of the Connecticut General Assembly. Lucy Dathan is the State Representative for the 142nd District in New Canaan/Norwalk serving her constituents since 2019. Senator Bob Duff represents Connecticut’s 25th Senatorial District, which includes Norwalk and Darien. Re-elected to the State Senate in 2020, he was chosen by his Senate colleagues in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021 to serve as Senate Majority Leader.

Our George Washington Carver Community Center is within walking distance of Norwalk’s Heritage Wall.  According to the Pew Research Center’s counting of countries of birth, Jamaicans are the largest group of immigrants in Connecticut. Jamaican immigration to the U.S. increased during the civil rights era of the 1960s. Jamaican Americans have always been involved in the Carver community.

The US Education Department launched its online student loan forgiveness application today

The US Education Department launched its online student loan forgiveness application today after testing a beta version over the weekend. More than 8 million borrowers have already submitted an application since last Friday. See the application here.

The official release comes after President Joe Biden in August announced an executive action to cancel up to $10K of federal student loan debt for those who made less than $125K per year (or $250K per household) in either 2020 or 2021, and up to $20K for Pell Grant recipients.

The form, available through Dec. 31, 2023, asks for individuals’ date of birth, Social Security number, and contact information. No documents have to be uploaded. Borrowers who qualify for forgiveness and would like their balances adjusted before federal student loan payments restart in January should submit an application by Nov. 15. 

Nearly 43 million Americans owe about $1.6T in federal student debt. The average borrower owes more than $37K; the median is between $20K-$25K (see overview). 

We lost a great friend, Jacquelyn “Lavone” Roberson, who inspired all of us, especially our young people

The Carver community joins Norwalk Public Schools and many, many others in extending our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Jacquelyn “Lavone” Roberson, who passed away this week.

Lavone started her career in education in Norwalk at Naramake Elementary School and taught third and fifth grade at the school from 2007 to 2019. Lavone was most recently an administrator at Horizons at the New Canaan Country School program.

Lavone also worked for a time at the George Washington Carver Community Center. Lavone’s mother, Jacqueline, has been Carver’s inspirational social worker for decades.

Lavone was a prolific children’s book author with a heart of gold. She wrote about Nia, a fictional character who helps people learn purpose.

Lavone died after a long battle with ovarian cancer. Lavone was first diagnosed with the disease in 2015. The disease returned in 2018.

“Lavone believed deeply that the true growth of a student could not be measured by test scores alone and that the social-emotional development was a necessary component for academic achievement,” Naramake Principal Jane Wilkins said.

Lavone (right) with her mother (left)

Lavone’s longtime colleague Lindsay Esposito said of her friend, “Lavone was one of the most amazing people I have ever met. She was a beautiful woman with a warm smile, strong presence, and a heart that embraced all people. Lavone saw potential in everyone, even before they could see it in themselves.”

Esposito said Lavone made meaningful relationships with all students and when they entered her classroom, they knew they were safe, welcomed, and loved. She held high expectations for everyone, and in addition to their academics, Lavone also taught them the importance of morals and values. She made everything she taught relevant and relatable.

“Each day she made her students repeat the mantra, ‘Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best,’” Esposito said. “Her goal was for each of her students to recognize his or her strengths and take the necessary steps to improve areas that needed support.”

Lavone also made an incredible impact on her school colleagues. She always encouraged them to challenge themselves to improve and do better for their students. She was considered a leader and an incredible educator, working collaboratively with her colleagues and creating meaningful learning experiences to positively impact students.

“Lavone lived her life with purpose and intent. She positively impacted the lives of the children and adults she interacted with. In the field of education, she is a leader beyond compare. She gained the respect and trust of colleagues and students, was empathetic, worked to understand people, developed ideas, solved problems as they arose, and always showed grace and patience,” Esposito said.

“Lavone is someone we should all strive to live like.”

Carver kids have a STEM education hero to watch in Marvel's Riri Williams

Black Panther is a particularly important franchise for our students. Beyond being one of the brand’s most successful theatrical debuts in history, it still exists as one of the better examples of inclusive entertainment, from its mostly Black cast to its diverse, Oscar-winning crew.

One especially resonant detail lies in how Wakanda—and, by extension, the franchise itself—embraces the overt presence of Black girls and women in STEM through Shuri (Letitia Wright), the resident tech genius.

With the franchise’s forthcoming second installment, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, our young science enthusiasts will get a double dose of brilliance with the addition of Riri Williams—a.k.a. Ironheart—played by Dominique Thorne.

How PLAY improves the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of Carver children

By volunteer student Carver blogger, Julia Berg

A small group of students chases after each other in a game resembling tag, dodging their peers’ playing other games as they run around the gym.

Occasionally, they playfully hide behind their friends for a moment before they make a run for it. They dart by a pair of students passing a soccer ball to each other.

The soccer players try to improve by practicing passing and receiving passes – the pair cheer when both use control to pass the ball smoothly and quickly several times in a row.

One of the students accidentally catches the soccer ball in midair, looks up, and calls out to his partner “Look! I caught it!”. He passes it a few more times when he instinctively catches the ball again. Happily surprised by the catch, he pauses to process his instinctive reaction before resuming the game. Many catches later, the ball slips away when he reaches out for it, but he can secure it in his grasp before it touches the floor. He smiles widely and walks back to his position, asking his partner “What’s happening today?” out of disbelief and setting down the ball for another pass.

Meanwhile, in another corner of the gym, a couple of students use their rackets to volley a ball with their counselor.

They playfully joke around, encouraging each other when they maintain a good volley and giggling when the ball inevitably falls.

Volunteer Julia Berg tells us lively stories about our summer and after-school students at the Carver Community Center.

See more of her stories here.

19-year-old Amanda Mammana from Trumbull inspired the judges and audience on "America's Got Talent" - and the Carver community, too!

During her audition, Amanda Mammana told the “America’s Got Talent” judges that she had a stutter. Part of what motivated her to pursue music is that she doesn't stutter when she sings. She is set to return to the national stage by performing an original song at halftime during the Dolphins vs Vikings game on Oct. 16. She will perform her song, "Worth Fighting For." "It’s about fighting for what you believe in and fighting for your dreams," Mammana said.

Julia Berg reports on what learning looks like at the Carver Community Center

By Julia Berg

A student flips his packet over and examines the array of dots at the top of the page before tackling the multiplication as his friend looks on. Moving through the steps as he completes each problem, he finds that he is now able to do them with a little more ease. Meanwhile, a couple of students finish their own homework while the rest of the students read books that they chose from the bookshelf or retrieved from their backpacks.

At one table, two students are immersed in their graphic novels. One reveals that he is reading Cat Kid Comic Club #1, sharing that he has finished a couple of other series by the same author. He explains to me that he loves reading graphic novels because the illustrations add to the humor, which make the books more fun to read. He quickly flips a couple pages back to point to a panel and provides context before reading the dialogue aloud, making himself giggle. He retells all the events that occur after, occasionally describing the funniest parts of the characters’ amusing behavior or another aspect of the story.

He specifically points out a moment that he finds intriguing – the moment when the students in the story struggle to create comics because of their lack of confidence in their skills. The teacher responds by telling the students that they are afraid to fail so they didn’t try. They announce that the assignment for tonight is to fail.

Our Carver student pauses for a second to ponder whether or not he is too afraid of making mistakes and concludes that he has been learning from his mistakes before he continues retelling the story to me.

Volunteer Julia Berg tells us lively stories about our summer and after-school students at the Carver Community Center. See more of her stories here.

We are preparing our students for a rapidly changing work force

The employment landscape is undergoing a sustained, yet seismic, shift. The current environment calls for a renewed focus on career readiness. One that approaches the connection between the classroom and the workplace with fresh eyes.

The world of work is buffeted by automation, artificial intelligence, globalization, and, of course, the pandemic. Over the past decade, the average U.S. job has seen 30 percent of its skills change — and the pace of change is only accelerating. What do we need to do to make sure that our graduates can successfully make the transition from classroom to college and/or career?

Here’s what we are doing and focusing on this year:

  • Paid internships for 11th and 12 graders.

  • Full-time (daytime and after-school) Future Readiness Coordinators in Norwalk and Brien McMahon High Schools devoted to the success of Carver students

  • Preparation for students to understand that they can no longer rely on their college degree to accurately signal their fitness for a job.

  • Integrating career education into the after-school curriculum, connecting students with career networks, and ensuring equitable access to internships and apprenticeships.