Your world is as wide as you make it. I know, for I used to abide in the narrowest nest in the corner, my wings pressing close to my side. But now I am a story that is yet to be told, a blank page, a new day, with a future that’s bright and full of endless possibilities. Do you remember? I am a force, full of wonder, curiosity, combustible potential. Give me wings and I will assault the sky.
The idea that your educational opportunity would be determined by where you’re born, by your zip code, to me, its really unfair, its un-American. And so, we’re going to do what we can to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Well, first and foremost, Meeting Street Academy serves under-resourced children and families that want the best education that they can get and don’t necessarily have access to.
MSA is just a place where families have a chance.
The parents who bring their kids to this school know that they’re setting them up for success. Not just in elementary school or middle school, but for a lifetime.
A Godsend. It’s not just an academy or a school. It’s like a community. It’s a place where my son doesn’t just feel like he’s coming, and doing some things, and then going home. It’s like it’s a part of his life.
They need to be given the resources, and the right teachers, and the right environment, and have support from their families.
You get teachers that show up to work every day realizing that the parents are involved, the administrators support them, and they have the time to do one thing: teach that kid.
Throughout the day they’re engaged in fascinating learning projects as well as really challenging, rigorous work. And around all of that work is the social-emotional learning component that really serves kids.
Every single child can learn. No matter the circumstance, no matter what they have gone through before, that every single student can learn, and that they should have the opportunity to learn to the best of their ability.
Just the confidence and the understanding that there is so much to learn in the outside world is something you learn here. And now we go, and it’s an exploration everywhere we go. So it’s been really, really good to see him blossom and open up and find his own way through things now.
The kids at MSA, gosh, they’re special. There’s just something different about them. They’re wonderful, beautiful children and I think they know that they are at a very special school.
Oh, it’s the best place in the world to be.
Knowing that he’s here and loved and taught and cared for - it’s just a relief and I can’t sing enough praises about it.
It’s got to be sustained and it’s got to go on. But if you don’t do it at this age, it’s going to be too late. This is ground zero.
Hope is a thing with feathers that perches in the soul. This is my nest. Where I’m offered love, protection, nourishment, and hope. To have these things - is to have wings. And when I unfurl them and assault the sky, you will know, I am a force, full of wonder, curiosity, achievement, tempered with empathy, measured with self-control, and with an army of knowledge at my disposal. I will be a citizen of, and for the world. Gracious. Giving back what was given to me. Combustible achievement. Sparked with hope, it will light the path in front of me. A flame. I can burn forever.
For More About Ben Navarro Meeting Street Schools Visit https://www.pinterest.com/pin/363947213616184703/
