By Julie Faryniarz
It is September and school is back in session! To all of the teachers, administrators, students and families, we wish everyone an exciting year of learning.
At the Greenwich Alliance for Education, we spent the summer preparing First Generation students – AVID Greenwich High School graduates – for their first day of school on a college campus. Transition to College (T2C), is a twelve hour workshop series specifically designed to address skills and knowledge that result in a successful transition from high school to college. Topics included budgeting & banking taught by The First Bank of Greenwich, an alcohol & drug awareness conversation with Liberation Programs, lessons focused on adjusting to the college lifestyle – time, task, materials – and much more. We are very proud of these AVID graduates and their older alumni who excel in college and beyond. Funding for T2C is made available by the Greenwich United Way and the Greenwich Department of Human Services.
Starting a new school year also means college tuition bills. GHS AVID graduates currently attending college were awarded $83,000 in AVID SUCCESS scholarships. These 60 students share that the scholarships go well beyond reducing debt. They give them the opportunity to spend more time on academics and get involved on their campuses as leaders because they do not need to work multiple jobs. Our overall scholarship awards have reached $1.1MM.
A new list of Reaching Out Grants will be posted at the start of the school year. Our grants provide funding for innovative programs and enrichment opportunities to elevate achievement for all students and for projects that foster educational success for under-resourced students. Innovation grants include Greenwich High School: Student Facing AI Tools, Middle School Science Teams: U.S Department of Energy Science Bowl, and BookBreak platform of A-List authors at the middle schools. Grants focused on under-resourced students include AVID professional development for Hamilton Avenue educators, theater arts comprehensive experiences for students at New Lebanon and Julian Curtiss Schools, and afterschool academic and enrichment programs at Hamilton Avenue School.
Free private music lessons for students participating in the Greenwich Alliance for Education’s Tuning In To Music program begin again in the new school year. Greenwich Public School (GPS) music teachers recommend students eligible for free/reduced lunch to take afterschool music lessons taught and administered by the Connecticut School of Music. This opportunity expands access for these musicians to the vast array of ensembles offered in the district. And, from a GPS music teacher, “[playing] an instrument fosters confident, independent thinkers who are actively engaged in learning and expressing themselves.”
A new school year always makes me excited at the Greenwich Alliance. It also reminds me how important each year of education is for each student. We live in a wonderful community and investing in our children is worth it!
Julie Faryniarz is the Executive Director of the Greenwich Alliance for Education
YWCA Women Who Inspires Honoree
Recipient of the PTAC Excellence Award
Mother of 3 GPS graduates and married to her husband, Danny for 35 years.
