Organizational Background
Morris Academy Mentors
The program was conceived in spring 2004 by Morris Academy of Collaborative Studies school director and life-long educator, Charles Osewalt. It was Charlie’s vision as an educator to create a learning environment that extended beyond the walls of the classroom. When Morris Academy was created in 2003, community involvement was a central tenet of the school’s overall mission. As part of the forming of the program, an initial group of mentors spent the summer and early fall of 2004 meeting individually with Charlie and then collectively as a mentoring team to begin the effort. During this period, the team began a word-of-mouth effort and participated in a volunteer fair held by Hope for New York in order to recruit new mentors. In addition, the initial frameworks for programming events were developed as the program kicked off. The program grew from 8 mentors initially, and expanded to 18 mentors by the end of the 2004-2005 academic year. At the end of the 2005-2006 academic year, MAM was comprised of 25 mentors serving over 35 students at Morris Academy. MAM is presently engaged in an effort to incorporate as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation as a means to provide financial contributions such as stipends for unpaid internships and scholarships for exceptional students in the MAM program. The incorporation process is expected to be completed by year-end 2006.
Overview of the School
Morris Academy of Collaborative Studies
Morris Academy for Collaborative Studies (“Morris Academy”) is a public high school located in the historic Morris High School campus in the south Bronx. The school was established in September 2003 as part of the New Century Schools initiative detailed in the New Vision for Public Schools website (www.newvisions.org). The school’s lead community organization partner is Arts Connection, a not-for-profit, arts-in-education organization that has served children in New York City for over 25 years. The mission at Morris Academy is to involve all its students in their own learning processes so that they become self motivated, creative problem solvers who can meet the challenges of college and the job market of the new century. The belief is that the most effective way to provide its students with a meaningful education is through project-based learning, in which students work in heterogeneous groups on projects that are important and relevant to their lives. They learn by doing. Students engage in learning experiences that challenge them to think creatively, push them to behave independently, and motivate them to grow socially. Technology and the humanities are infused across the curriculum.
