DEARBORN STEM ACADEMY NEWS & NOTES
Week of April 27, 2020, Volume 2, No. 33
FROM A DSA PARENT..."Thank you and your staff so much for not just the chromebook but all of your support. We are all grateful. Stay safe and healthy."
DETERMINED
I set and meet challenging goals. I hold high expectations for myself and my future. I never give up.
SELF-C0NFIDENT
ACCEPTING
DSA Senior Francy Barbosa speaks to the challenges of school during her senior year at DSA-click on link below
Dear Dearborn Community,
The rules have changed; Governor Baker has said we will not be back in our school buildings this academic year. What a punch that was to all of us. We miss seeing you in class and we miss all of our day to day interactions with you. Many of you miss us!
It's been a rollercoaster of emotions for all of us. As a school community we have to find a way to maintain our momentum and finish this school year on a high note. Please let us know how we can help. We have delivered food, Chromebooks, hotspots, and money and we can help any student and their family. There are resources available and we can connect them to you when needed.
In the meantime we want you online IN CLASS if you can get there. If you cannot get on at the time your classes are scheduled we'll support you by communicating at other times. Again, please let us know what will work for you. WE ARE A TEAM TRYING TO FIGURE THIS OUT.
Dana Brown, 781-953-4642, dbrown8@bostonpublicschools.org
Darlene Marcano, 857-205-0223, dmarcano@bostonpublicschools.org
on behalf of the entire DSA Community
We're going to have a Spirit Week...WHY?
More details to follow...stay tuned!
BOSTON'S PRIVATE INDUSTRY COUNCIL SUPPORTS DSA AND OTHER PARTNER SCHOOLS
Emergency Assistance Referral Options and
Protocol for Accessing the PIC Emergency Fund
Additional resources are listed on the PIC website and can be found here.
Food:
- The BPS and the City both have food distribution sites, where students and families can pick up food daily. Here is a link to the BPS food distribution sites and their hours. Here is a link to the list of City distribution sites and their hours; scroll below the map to the list of city food distribution sites.
Educational Technology:
- BPS students can make an appointment to pick up a Chromebook through this link. They can also call the BPS hotline at 617-635-9046.
- BHCC students can make an appointment to pick up a Chromebook by emailing Melissa Holster at mbholste@bhcc.edu and UMass Boston students through this link.
Unemployment:
- Young adults and families who have been laid off may be eligible to apply for unemployment. Even people who have worked part-time or through the gig economy and people who have had gaps in employment over the past fifteen months will be able to apply (when guidelines are released – not through the current system). Here is a link to the Unemployment Insurance site.
PIC Emergency Fund:
For those who have an urgent need that does not fit into these categories, the PIC is piloting a small coronavirus emergency fund. The fund is designed to provide short-term financial support to program participants. Funds should be used to meet critical expenses like emergency food assistance, household essentials like toiletries, educational materials or paying an unpaid bill. Requests may be made by any student or young adult currently being served by the PIC.
Payments from the fund will be made through electronic gift cards. We expect that the average gift card will run between $50 and $100. Participants may make multiple requests to the fund over time but will not receive more than $300 in total.
Thank you so much and take care of yourselves!
Quinton Frahm
Career Specialist
Boston Private Industry Council
555 Amory Street, Suite 2
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
P: 617-895-7694
BUILD IS A GREAT PARTNER TO DSA AND OTHERS!
BAM, ANOTHER GREAT PARTNER!
MESSAGE FROM MYLES LAYNE,BAM COUNSELOR AT DSA
Good afternoon DSA Team,
I hope all is well with you and your loved ones as we are still in the thick of these unprecedented times. The BAM team and I have been very active in scholar engagement and making sure they have a safe space to speak on how they are doing physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. We have been active in getting families the resources they need, if any and we will continue to do so. I have also continued weekly zoom sessions with my groups on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
This week scholars from around the city including two DSA scholars had the opportunity to be apart of a BAM Boston Virtual Youth Summit with the Mayor, Ayanna Pressley and the Superintendent of BPS. During this summit scholars were able to voice their questions, concerns and all things around COVID-19. It was a wonderful event that gave scholars a strong platform to speak their truth.
I will continue to give our scholars a safe space to be open and vulnerable and I will also continue to advocate for them any way possible. Again I hope you and your loved ones continue to stay safe and enjoy the weekend.
Best,
Myles
APPRENTICE LEARNING HAS BEEN A GREAT PARTNER!
Apprentice Learning is showcasing DSA's 8th Grade Apprentices on our Instagram page: @apprentice_learning. Add us to see your students career choices and fantastic photographs.
We have also signed 12 DSA rising 9th graders to our City Summer Internship. City Summer Internship is a paid 5-week career exploration program for girls. Interns earn a weekly stipend of $100.
Some of our staff were staying shape during the vacation...
The BPS Office of English Language Learners has created a site with multilingual read-alouds! You can watch stories read in your language or access books to read together. Share also with families and on social media - a great way to pass some time over next week’s break!
Julia is nationally recognized as an award-winning children’s book author and parenting expert. She will do read-alouds every Monday and Friday morning at 9:00 am on Facebook Live.
A repeat tip, but one worth repeating. Audible is making a large collection of stories available for free throughout school closure. Give your eyes a break from the screen, and listen to stories
OUR ATTENDANCE WILL LOOK DIFFERENT NOW. BE ONLINE. STAY IN TOUCH.
The BPSWeDreamTogether.org website has been updated with immigration resources during the COVID-19. Please check out the website and share the resources with teachers, staff and families that you work with!
Let's communicate!
We will communicate by newsletter with you each week. It will be distributed at the beginning of each school week. The purpose of the newsletter is to inform Dearborn STEM Academy students, staff, and families as well as the greater Dearborn community.
If you would like to add something please submit the contents to the appropriate principal; Co-Principal Dana F. Brown, dbrown8@bostonpublicschools.org or Co-Principal Darlene Marcano, dmarcano@bostonpublicschools.org.
Stories, pictures, calendar reminders, club, activity, and classroom notes are all welcome.
Dana Brown
Darlene Marcano
STEM Fun!
Call, visit, message
Dana Brown, Co-Principal, dbrown8@bostonpublicschools.org
Website: www.dearbornstemacademy.org
Location: 36 Winthrop Street, Roxbury MA 02119
Phone: 617-635-8412
Twitter: @brownprincipal
A message from Jaedyn, a Dearborn senior:
I wake up, realizing everyday that not only am I not in school but thousands of other students are in the same shoes as me, thinking of where life is going to take us. I crack open the curtains to let the sun creep in for reassurance that each day we will be okay and we will get through this.It’s been a hard few weeks in quarantine, especially regarding to school work. The energy to get up and recognize that we all have work to do to get somewhere in life each day is the encouragement. College tours, phone calls, emails, each day and every other hour of our senior lives. Sitting in our living room dining table or even on our beds, we’re getting work done for the benefit of showing our parents and family that this quarantine hasn’t stopped us from working hard. Class of 2020, this may be your view now, but September will be a completely different thing. We have to stay strong, everyone! This is our class and even though we might not get the same experience ending our High School years, you did your part regardless & we’re proud of you!”