400+
Learning Leaders School Volunteers Celebrate
Learning
Leaders, the city-wide public school volunteer organization, convened
its annual Queens Borough Recognition Ceremony at St. Johns University
recently. The event featured Learning Leaders who shared their
experiences in the city's schools this past year and exhorted
their fellow volunteers to keep up their incredible work.
One volunteer, Carol Torres, a parent at PS 101 in District 28
and a police officer, spoke about her daughter who was having
a lot of difficulty in school. Torres worked the night shift and
only saw her daughter for an hour each day. Then, a Learning Leader
began working with her daughter twice a week and she learned to
read. In an emotional and moving speech Torres remarked, “I can
now sit with her and she can read an entire book to me.” She cried
as she thanked the volunteers for what they do to help children.
Additional speakers included Teri Thomson, Queens representative
on the Board of Education and new New York City Councilmen Tony
Avella, Allan Jennings and James Gennaro. The officials thanked
Learning Leaders for their hard work and commitment. Councilman
Jennings remarked that he was so impressed by the work of the
volunteers “that I am in favor of increased funding for Learning
Leaders.”
“This
has been a difficult year for many children and for the school
system”, said Carol Kellermann, Executive Director of Learning
Leaders. “Our year-end ceremonies provide a much-needed chance
for volunteers to celebrate and talk to each other and feel the
encouragement and support of hundreds of their fellow Learning
Leaders.”
This year, 11,000 trained Learning Leaders volunteers (75 percent
of them parents of public school children) are working with over
165,000 NYC public school students in 780 New York City public
schools.#
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