You Can Bring A World of Possibility to North Philly Students

Feb. 29, 2012 - PRLog -- Did you know what you wanted to be in fifth grade?  Most people don’t, but children from affluent neighborhoods are exposed to family and friends who talk about their jobs and plant the seeds for the future.  On Friday, March 23, 2012, Community Partnership School (CPS) is looking for volunteers who represent the business, government, arts, and the non-profit sectors for a career day at the school, so children from an under-resourced neighborhood can experience the same exposure as those of their more affluent peers.  Located in Project H.O.M.E.’s Honickman Learning Center/ Comcast Technology Labs at 1936 North Judson Street, in one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods, CPS is committed to bringing a high-quality education to its pre-Kindergarten through fifth grade students.  

“People don’t always understand how narrow a world is for a family with limited resources” says Carol Hill, CPS Director of Development.   “Career Day gives us a chance to introduce new career options that turn possibilities into realities.  We hope this event sparks ‘aha’ moments for each of our students in realizing that any career opportunity is within their reach, starting with hard work now.”

To spark a child’s belief in their future, all that is required is your availability between 9:30 am and 11:30 am on Friday March 23rd, and a willingness to chat with 50 students “like they were 8-year-olds.”  Each professional will have a table to display cool items like childhood pictures, and opportunity to interact with students in the 2nd-5th grades.  Last year’s participants included representatives from BNY Mellon, Aramark, The Philadelphia Zoo, Villanova University, and SEI Investments.  A particularly popular booth was that of Villanova professor, Dr. Quinetta Roberson.  Dr. Roberson brought a video camera and after brief coaching, taped each child taking turns being a professor.
Community Partnership School is a non-profit, non-sectarian independent school founded in 2006 through a unique partnership between Project H.O.M.E., and Germantown Academy.  Located in North Central Philadelphia, the average household income for the neighborhood is less than $16,000 per year.  The goal of Community Partnership School is to prepare students from this neighborhood for any of the area’s top independent, parochial, charter or public middle schools by partnering with their families and providing an affordable and high quality education.  CPS Alumni currently attend William Penn Charter, Norwood-Fontbonne Academy, KIPP Philadelphia, and Springside.

Events like Career Day are an important practical addition to the classroom that that help the school to fulfill its mission to shape curious, resilient scholars who will be future leaders in their communities.

# # #

A top quality independent PK-5 elementary school in North Central Philadelphia created through a partnership between Germantown Academy and Project HOME to serve low-income families through community-wide collaborations.