The New York State My Brother’s Keeper Community Network now includes 25 member communities, Interim State Education Commissioner Beth Berlin recently announced. The program added connections with Peekskill and Monticello City, the 24th and 25th communities to join the growing initiative to improve outcomes for boys and young men of color.
To join the NYS MBK Community Network, a school superintendent and local government official must sign a joint letter to New York State Education Department indicating their support of and commitment to meeting the six MBK National milestones and the six New York State MBK goals.
Upon becoming a member of the statewide network, a community gains the support of NYSED’s Office of Access, Equity, and Community Engagement Services to help build a community initiative and develop a local MBK action plan. All five boroughs in the city are part of the NYS MBK Community Network.
In 2018, NYSED awarded more than $1.15 million in grants to five schools for the MBK Exemplary School Models and Practices program. Grant recipients partner with demographically similar Struggling or Persistently Struggling schools in another district within their region to replicate exemplary practices that demonstrate cultural and linguistic responsiveness to emphasize the needs of boys and young men of color.