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Education

ClassACT focuses its work and service in three areas: Justice and Civic Engagement, Education, Health, and we are developing a fourth program area focused on the Environment.

Our projects (ClassACTs and Sustained Collaborations), Bridges and Forums in the area of Education appear below. Please click on those that interest you.

If you would like to work with us on any of these endeavors, or you have questions about them, we invite you to email us at classacthr73@gmail.com and we respond promptly.


Projects 


BENAZIR BHUTTO LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

Consistent with our mission to support positive change, ClassACT has developed the Benazir Bhutto Leadership Program (BBLP) in honor of our classmate, the first female Prime Minister of Pakistan. The fellowships support scholars enrolled in the Edward S. Mason Program (MC/MPA) of the Kennedy School of Government. 

LEARN MORE. 

#ClassACTForums

CAN 21ST CENTURY CAPITALISM SOLVE SCHOOL FAILURE, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND INCOME INEQUALITY?

Moderator Leigh Hafrey ’73, Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and former co-Master of Mather House, led a stirring discussion about imaginative ways that impact investing and partnerships between public and private investors can help remedy poverty, failing schools and the climate crisis. The distinguished panel included Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. ’73, the former Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the former President and CEO of TIAA; Natasha Lamb, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Arjuna Capital; and Tracy Palandjian, CEO and Co-Founder of Social Finance and former Vice-Chair of the Harvard Board of Overseers. 

LEARN MORE


SCHOOLS + COVID = INEQUITY AMPLIFIED

COVID-19 led to school closings across the country in March. Here we are, months later, with more chaos and uncertainty, and a variety of modes of learning from which parents and students must choose: all remote, all in-person and hybrid. Which parents are choosing to keep their children home? Who is sending their children back? What do family income and race have to do with the decisions? Can the gap between the privileged and the disadvantaged get any greater? What can we do to make positive impact as a nation? As individuals?

Learn more.


SPORTS IN THE PANDEMIC ERA

During the pandemic, everyone connected to sporting events was affected economically and personally, from the “front office” managers, to the players and team staff, and perhaps most troubling, to the vendors and many other essential workers who supported events. Can sports provide some sense of community and solace in these times? Will sports return to a pre-pandemic "normal?" Along with our moderator, our panelists examined these impacts and questions for youth sports, collegiate sports, and minor and major league baseball.

Learn more.


WHEN THE STAGE GOES DARK: PERFORMING ARTS IN COVID TIME

It feels like an eternity since any of us has walked into a theater or club and seen a live performance. We miss being part of the moments when that magic comes to life. Our performing artists in theater, dance and music miss the hours of creativity that lead to those moments when the lights go on. They have been deprived of their communities and their livelihoods. Our performing arts organizations are in peril. Their civic-minded boards are seeking ways to keep their artistic companies afloat, while embracing the critical role the arts have in advancing racial justice and parity in our society. Through all of this, the spark of creativity is kindling innovations, support and hope.

Learn more.

Bridges

CHILDREN’S ORCHESTRA

The Children's Orchestra Society, founded in 1962 by Dr. H.T. Ma, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to "teaching the language of music" to children and teens. Our mission is to cultivate and nurture children and teach them teamwork and life skills through music-learning and performing in orchestral and chamber music settings. Members of COS receive excellent training in classical music and opportunities to perform in concerts with their peers as well as with well-established musicians.

Learn more.


OLE & NU FELLAS SOCIAL AID & PLEASURE CLUB

The Club is a dynamic and very localized community support engine powered by Sue Press, the president, whose activities include, volunteering as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for Neglected and Abused Children, mentoring sessions to encourage children regarding peer pressure, family matters, social etiquette, and proper behavior and sponsoring a community activities.
Learn more.


OSILIGI-HOPE FOUNDATION

The Osiligi-Hope Foundation recognizes the value of empowering females to assist their partners in addressing the challenges to their way of life and to contribute their knowledge, skill and perspective in shaping a well- balanced future which secures the best of their heritage with formal education and modern technology. The Foundation has championed female empowerment by speaking out against the practice of female circumcision and encouraging advanced education for young women.
Learn more.


THE ROOTS OF MUSIC

The Roots of Music provides free year-round music education, academic tutoring, and mentorship for youths ages 9-14 in Greater New Orleans. Founded shortly after Hurricane Katrina to address the challenges facing the city’s youth and the cessation of music education in most of New Orleans’ public middle schools, the program offers children an escape and alternative to the dangerous after-school street life of New Orleans.

Learn more.



SPORTS ANALYTICS CLUB PROGRAM

Robert Clayton ’73 developed the concept of a Sports Analytics Club Program (SACP) to expand STEM education opportunities to under-served high and middle school students. He had successfully implemented a pilot high school Sports Analytics Club in Baltimore, MD, and needed help developing and expanding the concept. ClassACT has helped to bring together over thirty classmates to assist in the development of SACP. Classmates have helped to facilitate business planning, organization as a not-for-profit, development of a governance structure and financial strategies, and identification of program expansion models to help as SACP has expanded to a multi-city program. The SACP board includes three HR73 classmates.
Learn more.



SALIH SELF-DEVELOPMENT CENTER

The Salih Self-Development Center teaches area children vocational skills, they will be able to find jobs and learn self-sufficiency. It also provides necessities and medical supplies to the community. The Center already made progress towards a better future for Kumasi. Ibrahim Anyars Salih, the President and Founder of the Salih Self-Development Center, grew up in the Aboabo District of Kumasi and knows the challenges that face the children of Kumasi. He saw that children lacked vocational skills and education. He was fortunate to have the opportunity to come to the United States, but has never forgotten his friends who continue to face poverty in Ghana.
Learn more.



UNDERSTANDING OUR DIFFERENCES

Understanding Our Differences (UOD) is a nationally recognized non-profit organization whose mission is to educate communities to value and respect people of all abilities, through school-based interactive disability-awareness programs. The goal is to foster a society that includes people with disabilities – who, at 20 percent of the US population, make up the largest minority group in the country. Since 1978, Understanding our Differences volunteers have regularly been presenting its programs to students in grades 3-5 in our home district of Newton, MA, and in other Massachusetts communities. The lessons increase students’ understanding of a range of disabilities and chronic medical conditions, with visual presentations, hands-on activities, and speakers with disabilities discussing their experiences and answering questions. Accurate information about disabilities makes the difference between discrimination and acceptance, and Understanding Our Differences teaches children – at a young age when they are open and receptive – to be allies, not bullies.
Learn more.



UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION OF GREATER BOSTON

The United Nations Association of Greater Boston is ClassACT's newest Bridge. Sponsored by classmate Rich Golob, who most recently served as the chair of the UNAGB board of directors, the organization promotes global awareness in the Greater Boston area. Rich and their Executive Director, Caitlin Moore, have asked ClassACT to help them find topical experts to serve as speakers for their adult and student programs. We have already provided a connection to Benazir Bhutto Leadership Program Associate and international water expert, Erum Sattar.

UNAGB is developing a water curriculum so they are delighted that Erum has agreed to be the keynote speaker at their annual meeting. Classmates interested in UNAGB should reach out to Rich Golob or Caitlin Moore.In addition to finding experts for their program they are interested more generally in volunteers supporters.

Learn more.

ClassACT HR ‘73
Classacthr73@gmail.com

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