Creative Communities assists you in creating your powerful school, agency, business or neighborhood community with proven activities, methods, training and continued facilitation.
How it Works
Creative Communities takes the important goals set by your leadership and the parameters you establish then empowers representatives from all your community stakeholder groups to gather and develop creative plans to meet them. The emphasis is not a spirit of compromise, but one of synergy; not being better than anyone had believed but being the best by working together to find new solutions. The emphasis is on innovation with a threefold focus on: importance, joy and fulfillment, and timeliness.
All of your developed projects or programs should meet all three of these expectations.
The result? New programs that are ground breaking, exciting and models for other similar communities.
Creative Communities unify your folks
How often do we hear of the divisions between labor and management; teachers, parents, administrator and students; institutions and their clients? Time after time we have used our programs, techniques and experience to break down those walls and build teams. When folks are empowered they work together more easily together.
Creative Communities empower and unify
Creative communities are innovative
When you use us to empower your people you set up important goals and ask your own community members to find new and innovative ways to solve them. We have the materials and methods you need to develop your successful program.
Creative Communities evolve that creativity
CREATIVE COMMUNITIES ARE LEADERS
The quality of leadership is a strange one. It is not always the strongest, richest or most important person in the room. Often it’s a quiet, soft-stated soul who rarely talks but when they do everyone listens. Given the right circumstances nearly all of us take a leadership role Creative Communities create those circumstances and unleashes the leader in all of your folks.
Creative Communities are leadersOur continued presence and support teach you the magic
Who We Are
Paul Harvey: The founder and chief consultant has been a student, teacher, administrator, businessman, alumnus community member , small businessman, worker and union member A Summa Cum Laude graduate of Syracuse University’s Maxwell School and School of Education. Paul has been building innovative successful programs for over forty years; the last fifteen in varied parts of the community, including our highly challenged urban schools. Many of his programs have had a life span of twenty five to thirty years.
Dr Hong Anh Vu (cross cultural education; cultural Integration; group organization): received her Doctorate in Anthropology and Masters Degree in Public Administration from the Maxwell School in 2012. As an anthropologist who has worked with colleagues in multicultural environments, Hong Anh firmly believes in the value of cross-cultural communication in promoting fun, productivity, harmony, and peace. As a former international student herself, Hong Anh understands the challenges faced by those who have the courage to seek adventure and opportunity by studying abroad in America. She has joined the team with a desire to support Vietnamese students seeking higher education in America.
Stephanie Bartling (group empowerment; fundraising; college placement): with an Ed.M. from Harvard University specializes in College Placement. Stephanie has over 20 years of experience in student support services, including coordinating freshman academic support at M.I.T and serving as a college counselor at a highly regarded boarding school.Her approach to counseling is highly personalized, which focuses on helping students to discover who they are and what they want for their future. As such, she emphasizes using academic advising as a long-term strategy to enable students to build on their strengths and capabilities. Stephanie has served as a college placement consultant for 20 years and strives to create a wide range of options for students, including at their highest level, while remaining committed to finding a student’s best college match. She has recently placed students at the following institutions: Yale, Stanford, Syracuse University, Fordham, Franklin and Marshall, Ithaca and many more. Stephanie has also been a key to Creative Communities Leadership activities and to fund raising with many local community groups and schools.
Phil Stone (alumni involvement; fund raising; group dynamics): Phil is a proud member of the Nottingham Class of '61 and a board member of what may be the most active High School alumni group in CNY, the Nottingham Connection. Phil's mission is to develop alumni across the country into active support groups for the many needs of our schools. As such he helped develop FACES of Nottingham as a PTSO with community and alumni membership. He also organized and/or facilitated several fund raisers including his class's effort to raise $30, 000 for iPads for Nottingham students. He was also key to reviving The Wall of Fame a Nottingham tradition and fund raising effort that had regularly honored prominent and famous alumni whose accomplishments entitled them to be seen as real role models to future generations. A retired salesman Phil has developed his skills into a community asset for everyone with whom he works.
Harold "Mr. Mitch" Mitchell (community organizer; mentor; group facilitator): A retired electrician "Mr. Mitch" is beloved by nearly all who know him. His involvement of students, their families and the surrounding community with the schools and school staff, have made him invaluable to the programs he works with. His programs bring the community and community mentors into the school make for a common sense balance between the primary stakeholders.
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FROM OUR CLIENTS
"Mr. Harvey’s efforts grew Westcott’s’ GED program into one with the best if not the best GED graduation numbers in Syracuse City School District."
-Olan E Mack, Executive Director, Westcott Community Center
"Paul’s devotion to improving our relationship with the day staff was integral to the success of our program this year. In a school where many people were openly hostile toward our program in October, by asking for advice and assistance, and sharing good news, Paul was able to establish a rapport that benefited the students and staff.
Without Paul Harvey, this year’s after school program at Dr. Weeks would not have been nearly as rewarding to the students and the teachers. He helped us to develop an atmosphere that fostered teamwork and community."
-Elizabeth Dening, After School Program Liason, Dr. Weeks Elementary
Mr. Harvey was successful in implementing a positive discipline plan for the after school program ... This involved making phone calls home to parents to ask for help in many situations, enlisting other teachers for “cool down” time, setting up placements for redirection of attention for many students, helping students to understand and “own” their behavior, and rewarding positive behavior decisions made by students ... Mr. Harvey’s successful empowerment of staff, families, and students led to building a powerful school community and climate at Dr. Weeks.
-Susan Boyle, Dr. Weeks Elementary
"Not only did Paul band together several doubting teachers and school administrative members, organize an upbeat and safe event, and involve participants at all levels ... Paul called the homes of nearly 400 students to personally invite and welcome their families. Due to this effort, Dr. Weeks had the best attended school event of the year at this showcase."
-Sarah Walton, Deputy Director of Operations, Syracuse Northeast Community Center
Mr. Harvey has worked closely with the PTO and staff to develop new ways to reach out to and involve the families for the support of the school and their children. Specifically Paul has formed a group of family representatives nominated by staff members. The group has met monthly, since last February, and has formulated several plans to improve communication and a friendly, cooperative atmosphere between our school and the student’s homes ... Mr. Harvey has also worked with our staff on a Chronically Tardy program which had real results with the majority of the families contacted.
-Rob DiFlorio, Principal, Lincoln Middle School
When I’ve worked with Paul I get the feeling that I have his complete and undivided attention. He gets right to the root of what you are saying and he has always been on point. When building an organization and empowering the stakeholders his knowledge is far superior on almost any subject. He nurses projects through to the end, insisting on timely results. When you ask for a report on what he is doing you get a complete answer on what has been done and a synopsis of what will be coming in the future. I would not hesitate in asking him to do any assignment and the results I know would be right on line. I would recommend Paul to any organization.
-Harry Lewis, Community Activist
"It has been my experience with Mr. Harvey that he believes in using his thirty years of experience in leadership and public education to facilitate and empower all the stakeholder groups of our school community in their efforts to improve the educational experience and the community climate in all our schools. He works with the utmost integrity to build teams that meet with genuine, lasting effects."
- Daniel G. Lowengard, Superintendent of Schools, Syracuse City School District
"Over the course of a weekend he called over 150 families to invite them to actively participate in the end of the school year showcase. The event was wildly successful with over 400 people attending. I believe that the amount of people attending was directed correlated with the personal outreach that Paul made to the families. "
-Colleen Brennan, Dr. Weeks Elementary
Continuous telephone calls to the parents of children in the program who were experiencing behavior issues created a parent/teacher relationship. The number of students in the In School Suspension (ISS) department drastically dropped from up to 12 or more students a day to 2 students or less ... [His] brainstorming ideas for the program brought forth a strong connection and communication with the school staff ... In my opinion, the (2013-2014) program year was a great success. The program was less stressful, more relaxed and overall highly productive with [his] leadership.
-Harold Mitchell, Teacher Assistant, Dr. Weeks Elementary