Educate Differently
Setting the standard isn’t a responsibility that can be put on the shoulders of many global cities, but when one of the most highly regarded cities in the world is put to task on improving supplemental education for its public school system of an over 9M+ population, they turned to Fortell Communications to design what this benchmark setting program looks like with the goal to educate differently.
By partnering up Silver Spoon Foundation (@silverspoonfund) and Aspire @live2aspire, both leaders in the education reform space and then inviting entertainment and lifestyle partners in the NYC area such as Rush Communications (@tantrisyoga) , Roc Nation (@rocnation) , Dreamville (@dreamville) , Billionaire Boys Club (@bbcicecream) and Macy’s (@macys) to be a part of this unique curriculum, we tapped into something truly magical, highly engaging and innovative.
Designed with a vision of a 6-week immersion course steeped in social-emotional development, career planning and college prep, 2 secondary level student cohorts would assemble once a week to experience education thru the lens of lifestyle integration. With the support of celebrity influencers like Angela Yee (@angelayee) and leadership from entertainment brands like Myorr Janha (@myorr) of Rush Communications, individual lesson plans were amplified significantly and keeping the students engaged and retention high was of little concern. Meanwhile, students were quoted as saying “I wish all school was like this.”
Dream BLDRS upon its introduction in 2016 has become a regular part of the City of New York’s Department of Youth and Community Development’s calendar of activities, with year over year by 120%.
