President's Message
By Laurence H. Miller, M.D.

As I sit down at my desk to write this year’s message, I reflect on the activities of the AMP Fund this past year and I am delighted with our successes.  Not only did we continue our college essay mentoring evening, we added a second mentoring event in the Spring.  We hosted our seventh Youth Speak Out Conference and awarded scholarships.  This year, we added two additional scholarships for high school seniors living in transitional settings, more commonly known as shelters.  These students are amazing – courageous and dedicated to improving the quality of their lives through education despite not having a stable environment in which to live.

The reference to these students living in shelters leads me to this year’s story about Audrey that I want to share.

WAA?  That’s a question I sometimes ask myself as we plan these AMP Foundation events – "Would Audrey Approve?”  As many of you know, Audrey dedicated her professional life to the education-reform cause – serving important roles at a mentoring organization called Philadelphia Futures, at a powerful education foundation named the Wallace Funds, and of course, at Children’s Aid Society, where she helped to implement the Community Schools concept…an idea still in practice today.

While I have a pretty good idea that Audrey would have approved the spirit in which the AMP has worked thus far (when she was very ill, her express wish was that we give any anticipated donations in her memory to the education community), I catch myself asking the "WAA question” sometimes.

Fortunately, the answer is usually yes, although I’d like to think that she would have been especially proud of some of our 2011 milestones.

To read more about AMP programs, please click here to access the full article from our latest newsletter.

2011 College Essay Application Workshop

We were pleased to team up once again with the Children’s Aid Society’s EXCEL program for our 6th annual College Application Essay Workshop, where a group of wonderful volunteers spent an evening with high school seniors, helping them with their college essays and providing advice and guidance as well.  We were so proud to be joined by family, friends, colleagues, and even some new faces thanks to our friends at the JCC and New York University.  The session was memorable, impactful and fun -- students and volunteers had the chance to work together and learn from one another.  We already look forward to next year!

2011 Volunteers:
Anita Beeber, Michael Conti, Greg David, Mariam Ehrari, Pauline Kravath, Pei-Hsin Lin, Rob Miller, Jen Patricio, Abby Peccoriello, Leticia Pfeffer, Dave Poritzky (and Sophie!), Eric Poritzky, Sandy Poritzky, Stacy Poritzky, Susan Poritzky, Cheo Rose-Washington and Natalie Weinstein

"Dear D.O.E"
A Poem by Students Precious Quick and Nia Thompson

WHEN I GROW UP I want to become a Veterinarian.
I want to be that person that gives your sick dog its medicine.
I want to take all the dogs and cats, puppies and kittens
and place them in a safer place to live in
that’s what I want to do

WHEN I GROW UP I want to become a mathematician.
I want to be able to teach the students before me to solve problems and afterwards not want to take a drug prescription.
I’m not trying to be anybody’s hero
but I do want them to understand that 36x + 2x - 38x
does in fact equal 0
numbers in my brain somehow automatically organize it selves making it impossible for me to go insane.
But, learning this for 45 minutes a day doesn’t seem enough for me,
I just wish that in my spare time
I could be able learn more in my schools LIBRARY

We do not
forgetting, they forgot about the key of education
we want more but they kept us waiting
now this is the key to success, without a library we have less.
For what a student is supposed to have
without research, how will we PASS,

me the ball during my fifth period class,
we play in here because A GYM IS WHAT WE DON’T HAVE
And without that gym, dreams don’t last
that basketball player that never met a defeat,
he was great at stealing and shooting the ball on the courts
but he got more shine when he started stealing and shooting on the streets.
Swayed by the crowd he was always swept off his feet,
he saw a change but nobody listened
because he sagged his pants below his knees
and there was just standards he never seemed to meet
so he just gave up on trying to SPEAK

Loud, sound happy and proud, taunted by the words of oppression
Unheard because of all that forgetting
No way to put on a show
Or show you a lesson
No space, no time
No time to let in the students that was hurt,
ONLY TIME JUST MAKES IT WORST
The only way to help her, is to see her become an actress
Act, unless the street get her first
No matter , just pain and hurt
No voice, so she just gave up on trying to speak,
NO AUDITORIUM TO SPEAK UP and
no place for the principle and teacher to meet
And to tell the student, "come take a seat.”
Just a cafeteria to sit and eat
IF ONLY SOMEONE STOPPED, AND LISTENED

Because behind these closed doors there’s talent hidden
But there doesn’t seem to be a place for them to fit in
Like that basketball player

Or that Actress
Or maybe that poet
BUT THERE’S NO PLACE IN OUR SCHOOL TO PRACTICE
Dreams are left at home on their mattress
And the true of the fact is
I hope to someday see my school
RELEASE SOME OF THE DREAMS
THAT HAVE LONG BEEN CAPTURED

Precious is currently a freshman at Bronx Community College and is majoring in mathematics.  She is hoping to transfer to Stoney Brook University to continue her education. Precious is currently involved in the school’s girls basketball team, track team and art club while also doing a work study program.  Her dream is to become a math teacher.

Precious and Nia recited their original poem with passion and intensity at the
2011 Youth Speak Out Conference.