YPS Superintendent Aníbal Soler, Jr., right, with YPS MBK Fellows Raheem Azeez, Samuel Rodriguez, Lenny Toribio, Jr., Corbin Wright
Four Yonkers Public Schools students selected as fellows for 2024-25 school year; Yonkers is one of four MBK Alliance Model Communities in the country
Students and educators from Yonkers Public Schools traveled to Albany for the 2024 My Brother’s Keeper Symposium, a daylong convening by the New York State Education Department focused on young men of color.
The event included the induction of four Yonkers Public Schools students as fellows, special roles that include leadership and public speaking opportunities throughout the upcoming school year.
The Yonkers Public Schools students – both the four outgoing 2023-24 fellows as well as the four incoming 2024-25 fellows – were joined by MBK Yonkers staff members, including the new Executive Director, Dr. Jason Baez, and the new Superintendent, Aníbal Soler, Jr.
“We’re so proud of how our students are stepping up as leaders and representing Yonkers on the statewide stage,” said Superintendent Soler. “Educators and policymakers across New York look to Yonkers for our success serving young men of color, and we offer a clear and powerful example of what’s possible. Under our new Executive Director for the MBK program, Dr. Jason Baez, and with support from the Obama Foundation as an MBK Model Community, we are working hard to build on our progress.”
Speakers at the event included Board of Regents Chancellor Lester W. Young, Jr., Commissioner Betty A. Rosa, journalist Cheryl Wills, and author and entrepreneur Jemal King
The four Yonkers Public Schools students who will serve as MBK Fellows in 2024-25 are:
- Raheem O. Azeez, Barack Obama School from Social Justice
- Samuel A. Rodriguez, Lincoln High School
- Lenny A. Toribio, Jr., Roosevelt High School-Early College Studies
- Corbin J. Wright, Charles E. Gorton High School
The four Yonkers Public Schools students who served as MBK Fellows in 2023-24 are:
- Justin Lauture, Roosevelt Early College Studies High School
- Jason Martinez, Saunders Trades & Technical High School
- Juan Morales, Saunders Trades & Technical High School
- Cameron Williams, Yonkers Middle High School
“I’m thrilled our students had the experience to travel to our capital and represent Yonkers,” said Dr. Baez. “These moments represent powerful opportunities for our students to meet some of the leaders of New York’s educational system and to connect with peers from across the state.”
Yonkers Public Schools is an MBK Model Community, one of four selected by the Obama Foundation from across the country. Yonkers Public Schools was selected in recognition of its on-time graduation rate for young men of color, which is the highest in New York State.
As a Model Community, Yonkers receives additional support from the Obama Foundation to help its students achieve six milestones that range from school readiness to post-graduate employment.
