Creative Communities!

June 5, 2014

To Whom It May Concern:

It is with great pleasure that I write about my colleague, Paul Harvey. This past October I was hired to run an after school program through the Syracuse School District in partnership with the Northeast Community Center. The person who was supposed to run the program for the year had vacated the position suddenly, and the school and community center were scrambling to get the program up and running. I began my new job on the very first day the students began program. I quickly realized that this was a much more challenging position than I might have thought.

Within the first week it became apparent that we would need more help in order to have a successful program. To begin with, I was unable to work the hours required simply to ensure we cleared the buses every evening. The district and the community center arranged to hire an assistant liaison.

Paul Harvey came into a program faced with many challenges. We were perpetually understaffed, experiencing huge numbers of behavior problems, and disliked by the daytime staff at the school. Paul immediately began cultivating relationships with daytime staff and substitute teachers alike in order to build a pool of substitutes for our program and to bridge the distance between the regular staff and our program.

One way that Paul worked to improve the program was to hold a conference in which he led the discussion with after school staff. He asked staff to identify our problems and asked how we might solve them. He then followed up with the staff on the results of their suggestions. This led to better relationships with our staff, and toward improving issues such as day staff relations and behavior problems.

Paul began making phone calls every evening after program. The "problem solving" phone calls home were made for EVERY child who had difficulties, on the same day. He built relationships with our families to the point that five of them offered to come in every day their child had problems and, if necessary, remove them for the day. Others, in conference with their children, offered rewards for good behavior and consequences for inappropriate behavior. A few determined that the day was too long for their kids and removed them from the program.

Those phone calls and the growing relationships with teachers, students, and families led to a decrease in the number of students in ISS. At the beginning of the year, we had at least 12 students daily in ISS. By the end of program in May, we had reduced the number to 0 to 2 on most days.

Paul led an effort to develop relationships with the students who were struggling the most in their after school classes. He facilitated the development of mentorships as rewards for positive behavior, during which students would earn the right to help the gym teachers, assist individual teachers of younger children, do face painting and balloon animals with younger children, and even get to help Mr. Harvey with duties such as bus dismissal.

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.

Finally, Mr. Harvey was instrumental in planning our end of the year showcase. We chose to hold it in the evening, which allowed family and community members to attend and view the work and performances of the students. The combination of sharing food, having student work and performances on view and personal phone calls assured the success of the program. Paul called over 150 families personally to ensure the wonderful turnout. It was truly a wonderful event.

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.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Dening

After School Program Liaison

Dr. Weeks Elementary