Cultural & Academic Enrichment Programming Offers Bronx Students Valuable, Life-Changing Experiences & Opportunities

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Published on May 12, 2018, 4:59 pm
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Senator Jeff Klein joined City Island P.S. 175 school administrators, teachers, parents and students for a 5th grade theater production of the “The Grunch,” a new children’s musical currently being performed in schools across the country. The young performers invited Senator Klein to attend the May 11th show, to thank him for bringing Project BOOST (Building Options and Opportunities for Students) enrichment programming to their school.

“I am so proud of the students of P.S. 175, and to fund Project BOOST in schools throughout the 34th District,” said Senator Klein. “Project BOOST provides the young people in our community with life-changing experiences and opportunities, while improving their academic performance, building their self-esteem, and inspiring new interests and talents. In the State Senate, I champion academic and cultural enrichment programming for our schools because when youth are positively guided and exposed to culture beyond the classroom, they are set on a path to a brighter future.”

“Senator Klein has been a wonderful partner for our school,” said P.S. 175 Principal Amy Lipson. “We have been awarded a BOOST grant for the past several years and have used it to expose our students to wonderful things including Broadway shows, the 6th grade Greenkill trip; Yankee games, Chelsea Piers and college visits for middle school students.”  

“It is amazing to see how excited students are when they come back to school after BOOST trips,” said P.S. 175 Parent Coordinator Tina Gisante. “The 6th graders were excited and exhausted after Greenkill, and learned so much about the environment and how to get along with each other.  This was a trip they will remember forever!”

“I loved Greenkill,” said 6th grader Abigail Hayes. “The best part was the hiking and the sports activities.  We had a birds of prey exhibition, which was amazing and scary at the same time.  I wish I could go back again!”

In 2017-2018, Senator Klein allocated $865,000 in Project BOOST funding for 41 Bronx Schools, and over $ 3 Million total since he brought the program to the 34th District in 2012. Project BOOST is administered by the Center for Educational Innovation-Public Education Association (CEI-PEA), and provides academic enrichment opportunities to elementary and middle school students.

This year, “The Grunch” cast participated in a Project BOOST theater trip to see Disney’s Aladdin on Broadway, and were excited to share their newly cultivated musical theater appreciation with Senator Klein, their parents and the whole P.S. 175 community.

In addition to theater visits, P.S. 175’s Project BOOST programming includes trips to New York City cultural and historical attractions. This year, 7th and 8th grade students visited Sarah Lawrence College as a part of the college preparatory program, and the entire 6th grade participated in a three day camping trip at Camp Greenkill in Huguenot, New York, where they studied environmental science, wildlife exploration, geology and ecology, as well as the history of the Lenape Native Americans and how settlers in the area lived in the 19th century.  

 

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Jonas Bronck is the pseudonym under which we publish and manage the content and operations of The Bronx Daily.™ | Bronx.com - the largest daily news publication in the borough of "the" Bronx with over 1.5 million annual readers. Publishing under the alias Jonas Bronck is our humble way of paying tribute to the person, whose name lives on in the name of our beloved borough.