Elia:
“We need to have people that want to make society better
…”
ELLENVILLE – Education professionals from the local to state level participated with approximately 50 students from 10 school districts across the state in the My Brother’s Keeper Fellows and Friends Leadership Retreat on Wednesday.
The My Brother’s Keeper Initiative, or MBK, was initiated by former
President Barack Obama in 2014 as a way to implement a framework for the
furthering of educational and leadership opportunities for the equity
of all students.
New York became the first state to implement the MBK Fellowship program two years ago, an initiative specifically targeting young men of color.
State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia said affording this opportunity to young, male minorities is a huge focus for State Ed, as many times, these youths encounter the most barriers when it comes to access for educational and leadership opportunities.
“We need leaders in our student population, and particularly, in this group of young men of color,” Elia said. “We need to have people that want to make society better and that want to be leaders for students who they can help to become successful. They, themselves, can be successful and then they can help others to be successful and I think that’s an important agenda that we have at state ed to support students across the state.”
Regent-at-Large for the state Board of Regents Lester Young said this MBK initiative is definitely growing and gaining momentum across the state.
“In our first year, there were five MBK communities in New York State and in year two, we’re up to 22 and we continue to grow,” Young said.
The 50 student fellowship members who attended Wednesday, had their districts funded to identify those individuals to be chosen. The hope is these exceptional fellows will bring what they have learned back to their districts across the state to inspire those within their schools and further their own trajectories toward success.
