As mentioned above, Bronx Leadership Academy II was created by a team of teachers, parents, students and community organizations in order to provide the youth of the South Bronx with an innovative, college-preparatory program.  Many of the founding members were staff at Bronx Leadership Academy; our community partner in creating and sustaining the school is South Bronx Churches, a group devoted to training leaders within the neighborhood that voices the concerns of the community.   We've also been supported by New Visions in the creation of our school, the establishment of many of our programs and the ability to hire part-time support staff (including mentors for our administration).

 

Some of our other community partners, as described above, include the Bronx Zoo, the New York Academy of Medicine and Christadora.  This year we also started a program with a neighboring elementary school in which our students read to first and third graders; students from both schools also work together to write children's books.

 

Most of these partnerships are in their fledgling stages; as we grow, these programs will grow.  Funding is critical to the success of these programs and to the creation of new programs, including community service (in which every student is required to complete 40 hours of community service) and internship programs.