A Message from BSSWA’S Assistant Principal, Eniale Beachem

The last few years have been one big roller coaster to say the least. We shifted into quarantine and learned new ways of teaching, thinking that we were in a new age of education. We soon learned that new is not always better. We then shifted into a space of blended learning, with many students and families apprehensive about entering spaces occupied by people in fear that they would be exposed to the virus. What was thought to be an innovative way of accessing learning, quickly shifted into an environment that catapulted many of our students to anxiety and a decline in socialization and work habits that we would see some of the effects of during the 2021 - 2022 school year.

These are the things that they do not teach you during your leadership training but one thing that I always remember is the transformative power of relationships. Sometimes they look for us to have all of the answers and we need support ourselves. In times like this I am thankful for Elevate New York who has helped to bridge the gap.

By providing access to experiences outside of the school and the city, Elevate supported the improvement of the social-emotional health amongst our scholars by ensuring that they engaged in experiences in and outside of the school community. They bridged hope to the future of students through their many mentorship endeavors where students were able to make connections with industries that they may be interested in. They also helped to send our graduates off with some small tokens that will help them transition into life after high school.

As always, I look forward to our partnership with Elevate and the possibilities that are to come.